Fairy, help me cultivate.

It's indescribably eerie.

Chapter 237 Ghostly Encounter

Something's not right.

Suddenly, the freeloader said this.

Everyone's expressions turned serious, and they all looked at her.

She frowned slightly, looked around, and suddenly asked, "How long have we been out of town?"

Chen Yao looked at the sky. The sun's position seemed to be about the same as when he left the town, but he felt an indescribable sense of unease.

How is this going?

The blind Taoist patted the little girl's head. The little girl observed her surroundings for a long time before saying, "Our time has been stolen."

"time?"

Lu Dan and Lü Qing felt something was very strange when they saw the little girl say such a serious sentence.

The blind Taoist priest took the string of paper bells from his belt, which jingled as he handed them to the little girl.

The little girl pursed her lips, bit her tongue, and spat out a mouthful of blood. The bell was instantly stained red and glowed with a scarlet light.

"go with!"

The Taoist priest released the bell, and the bell rang as the creature flew sideways into the forest.

The Taoist priest listened intently and followed the sound of the bell forward: "Everyone, this way."

Chen Yao, Lu Dan, and the others, unaware of what was going on, looked at the freeloader.

Bai Piao scratched his head: "Follow him."

"What exactly did you mean by something being off? You're just being mysterious," Lü Qing asked.

Bai Piao stared at the old man and child leading the way, without answering.

Chen Yao said, "The timing is wrong."

"Time?" Lü Qing and Lu Dan were even more puzzled. The little girl said that time had been stolen, which they really couldn't understand.

"How long do you think we've been out of town?"

Chen Yao asked.

“It feels like a long time has passed,” Lu Dan said honestly.

Chen Yao looked at the sun in the sky: "But the sun doesn't seem to have gone very far."

Lü Qing frowned: "Could it be that we're mistaken?"

"No, the sun is wrong," said the freeloader.

"The sun is in the same position for the second day now." Chen Yao looked down at his dusty boots.

Walking for a short time wouldn't accumulate such a thick layer of dust.

The freeloader nodded.

Just then, the bell stopped ringing, and the old Taoist priest and the little girl stopped.

Chen Yao and the others stopped.

We're back to square one.

"A ghost wall?" Lu Dan asked in surprise and doubt.

The old Taoist priest smiled bitterly: "I'm afraid it's even more difficult to deal with than being trapped in a maze."

Lu Qing was a little angry: "What are we paying you for? Aren't you the one who can lead us out of Evil Water Ridge?"

The old Taoist priest said sheepishly, "Everyone makes mistakes, and even horses stumble. Sometimes these things are unavoidable."

"You're still being stubborn!" Lü Qing glared.

"Alright, now is not the time to argue. Whether it's a ghost wall or something else, it's either an illusion or a formation. Let's find the key point of the formation!"

Chen Yao released his divine sense, scanning the surrounding area within several feet.

Bai Piao glanced to the left and flicked out a sword aura with his finger.

A wooden stake not far to the left exploded.

The surrounding vegetation and forests began to fade.

However, even after peeling off one layer, there's still another layer.

The scenery was exactly the same as before.

"This……"

Even the freeloader hesitated and looked at Chen Yao.

Chen Yao felt that even his divine sense was being disturbed by something indescribable, circling around in circles within his own little world.

"Even the White Fairy can't do it, what should we do?" Lu Dan said worriedly.

"Who says I can't? Women should refrain from using the word 'can't'!"

Bai Piao was enraged, and bursts of sword energy erupted from his body, instantly shredding a landscape into fragments, leaving only ruins and devastation.

However, even though they could clearly see the outside world, they still walked in circles, as if the road beneath their feet was alive and could change at any time or play a prank on them.

Chen Yao questioned Yun Jiang and Jiu Luo, but neither of them spoke.

That's strange.

After circling around three times, the group returned to the starting point. The Taoist priest, who had been pondering for a long time, finally let out a long sigh.

"I have one last trick up my sleeve, but..."

He seemed quite conflicted, and fell silent after saying only half a sentence.

"But what? What time is it now? We're all in the same boat. Speak your mind quickly, and use your methods quickly!"

Lu Qing, being impatient, urged.

Chen Yao and Bai Piao exchanged a glance, both understanding that the old man intended to raise the price.

Lu Dan glared at the old man resentfully: "If you have a way, then use it. With our young master here, money is not a problem."

The old Taoist stroked his beard, looking troubled. "I've always heard that this Evil Water Ridge isn't that dangerous. Who knew what would happen today? If I had known, I wouldn't have accepted this business from you all."

Seeing that the old Taoist priest was trying to have his cake and eat it too, Lu Dan snorted.

After waiting for a while, seeing that no one was responding, the old Taoist smiled awkwardly and said, "Very well. We're all in the same boat anyway. If anything happens to me, I don't need any money. I just hope you all will take good care of my poor little disciple."

He lovingly patted the little girl's head, his voice trembling slightly.

"Master..." the little girl cried out, clutching his sleeve.

Seeing this scene of deep affection between master and disciple, everyone was unsure whether the old Taoist was really going to carry out some dangerous method.

"Brother, just do what you're doing. Not to mention you, little boy, even you, I, Bai, might be able to protect." Bai Piao took off his bamboo hat, revealing his white hair cascading down like a waterfall, his expression solemn.

The blind old Taoist nodded, beckoned the blood-stained paper bell into his palm, and crumpled it into a ball.

Then, he punched his nose twice hard with his fist, accompanied by a muffled groan, and blood gushed from his nose.

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, wondering why he had suddenly hit them.

"Hey, don't do anything rash. There are so many of us, we can figure out a solution slowly. Why hit yourself out of anger?" Lü Qing felt a pang of sympathy.

The old Taoist priest seemed not to hear, and punched his nose several more times. This time, the muffled groan turned into a deafening thud, and the blood from his nose turned into white steam.

"This……"

Bai Piao looked at him seriously.

"What?" Chen Yao had never seen someone take a freebie so seriously.

"This is the long-lost thunder magic of the South China Sea - Thunder Slapping."

"I've only ever heard of blowing your nose, never blowing thunder! Ugh, that sounds disgusting..." Lü Qing shrank back.

"Qing'er, don't be rude." Lu Dan scolded her daughter, looking at the old Taoist priest with curiosity.

Sure enough, after he rubbed his nose a few more times, black mist with lightning and thunder began to spew out of his nostrils. As soon as the black mist came out of his nostrils, it swelled with the wind and soon covered a small area above everyone's heads.

Thin, bluish-green lightning flashed intermittently, striking the old Taoist's limbs and bones. The old Taoist cried out in pain and suddenly opened his blind eyes.

His eyes flashed with blinding white lightning, and amidst the wind and thunder, he appeared ethereal and righteous.

"Over here!"

His voice boomed like thunder, carrying him forward with lightning speed.

Chen Yao and the others quickly followed.

Sure enough, a flash of lightning from the old Taoist priest transformed the unchanging landscape of desolate mountains and rivers into a scorched landscape with a ring of lush greenery.

Amidst the lush greenery outside Jiaoquan, a dilapidated mountain god temple stands quietly.

"You fiend, stop your tricks now! Otherwise, I will strike you down with lightning!"

The old Taoist roared like thunder, taking a step out of the painting's focal point, the thunderous sound echoing atop the mountain god temple.

Chapter 238 Skinning and the Blood Gourd

Chen Yao and the others followed closely behind, stepping out of the focal circle as if stepping out of a faded painting.

The lush green mountains surrounding them and the dilapidated temple hidden behind the trees all proved one thing: they had arrived at the Temple of the God of Evil Water Liangshan.

"You wicked creature, today I will rid the people of this scourge!"

Bathed in the glow of purple lightning and blue light, the old Taoist priest appeared majestic and arrogant as he charged toward the dilapidated temple behind the tree.

However, in the next moment.

The thunder that had been booming suddenly stopped, and the dark clouds above the old Taoist priest's head were also completely dispelled. His figure, which had been striding forward, paused and hunched over.

Chen Yao and Bai Piao went up to him and found him covered in sweat and panting heavily.