97: Upon first entering the Ghost Cry Forest, a secret meeting with a Gu keeper.

Deep in Western Hunan, mountains upon mountains overlapped.

"Ghost Crying Forest" was not the name of a specific woodland, but a general term used by locals for a vast, topographically complex primeval forest area shrouded year-round in thick fog and eerie legends. Its range lay roughly deep within several mountain ranges at the border of Western Hunan and Eastern Guizhou. It was sparsely populated, filled with miasma, and teeming with poisonous insects and fierce beasts. Furthermore, there were many strange phenomena that could not be explained by common sense, causing it to be regarded as an absolute forbidden zone by the nearby mountain dwellers.

Although the intelligence provided by Wu Yuanshan was detailed, marking several areas where Hemp Third Aunt was suspected to be active and possible paths, Li Muchen only realized how treacherous and unpredictable this place truly was once he delved deep into it.

Unlike Yuntai Mountain or the forests he had traversed while tracking Corpse Old Nine, the first impression the Ghost Crying Forest gave was one of "oppression" and "chaos."

Towering ancient trees blotted out the sun, and vines wound around them like giant pythons, making it difficult for light to penetrate. Even at noon, the forest was as dim as dusk. The air was humid and sweltering, mixed with the heavy scent of humus, a sickly sweet floral fragrance that was nauseating, and the omnipresent faint smell of musk and sulfur.

Beneath the thick layer of fallen leaves on the ground lay black mud so soft it felt as if one could sink at any moment. Within it, one could occasionally see brilliantly colored mushrooms, strangely shaped insects, and the bleached bones of unknown animals.

Even weirder were the "sounds" here. The wind passing through the dense forest made a wailing sound like a ghost crying; the cries of unknown birds and beasts were sharp and short, filled with warning; one could even vaguely hear blurred sounds resembling a woman's low weeping, a child's laughter, or soft whispering. They seemed sometimes distant and sometimes near, but when his Spiritual Sense swept over, there was nothing, as if it were merely an illusion.

Li Muchen restrained his Spiritual Sense to within a three-zhang radius around him, using it only for passive defensive sensing, not daring to easily project it outward for investigation. He sensed that an extremely thin yet omnipresent "interference" force permeated this forest, like countless fine spiderwebs that would obstruct, distort, or even "pollute" an outsider's mental probe. If he forcibly swept with his Spiritual Sense, he would not only easily lose his way but might also alert unknown existences lurking in the shadows.

Following the intelligence, he chose a relatively "safe" path—a broken, hidden trail that a tiny number of brave local herb gatherers or hunters had mapped out with their lives. The trail had long been covered by rampant vegetation and its traces were hard to discern, but for the keenly perceptive Li Muchen, he could still vaguely identify the minute markers left by predecessors that had almost merged with nature.

His steps were light and silent as his figure shuttled rapidly through the shadows of the forest, doing his best to avoid touching any suspicious plants or disturbing the creatures within. Although the qingxiao sword was not unsheathed, its Sword Intent was contained within; should any change occur, it could transform into a thunderous strike at any time.

After traveling like this for more than half a day, he had already reached the core area of the Ghost Crying Forest. The surrounding environment became increasingly gloomy, and the fog began to thicken, taking on a faint grayish-green hue that severely obstructed vision. Those unsettling "whispering" sounds also became clearer, as if they were lingering right by his ear, trying to burrow into his mind.

Li Muchen held his spiritual terrace firmly, silently circulating the mind-cleansing technique from the Supreme Clarity Purple Mansion Returning to Origin True Scripture. He protected his Divine Soul with Golden Core Essence, isolating these noises and mental interferences.

Just as he passed the edge of a swamp where giant, brilliantly colored man-eating flowers grew, his footsteps suddenly paused slightly.

In his passive Spiritual Sense, an extremely faint breath of a "living person" that was incompatible with the surroundings came from deep within the thick fog ahead to the left. That breath was cold and obscure, carrying the faint scent of herbs and the musk of insects, and... there was more than one.

He silently vanished behind a massive, moss-covered withered tree, restraining all his aura like a lifeless stone.

A moment later, the grayish-green fog ahead churned, and two figures, one after the other, slowly "floated" out.

The reason for using the word "float" was that their steps were extremely light and slow, making almost no sound. Furthermore, their bodies leaned slightly forward as they walked, their movements carrying a bizarre stiffness and coordination. They did not walk like living people, but rather like Puppets controlled by invisible strings.

Walking in front was a short old woman wearing tattered Miao clothing with a thick black cloth wrapped around her head. The wrinkles on her face were as deep as if carved by a knife, her skin was dark and shiny, and her eyes were cloudy and dull, as if covered by a white film. She leaned on a black, twisted wooden staff, the top of which seemed to be carved with some kind of insect pattern.

Following behind her was a tall, bald man. The man wore an ill-fitting grey monk's robe covered in mud. His face was dull, his eyes hollow, and dried white foam remained at the corners of his mouth. As he walked, his joints made a slight "click-clack" sound. It was precisely the long-missing Release Void!

However, at this moment, he no longer had the aura of a living person. His skin presented an unnatural greenish-grey color, and his entire body was surrounded by a faint, nauseating corpse qi and another even more sinister evil power. Clearly, he had been refined into a bizarre existence somewhere between a Walking Corpse and a Gu Puppet.

"A Gu Raiser... and Corpse Refining..." Li Muchen understood. This old woman was likely one of Hemp Third Aunt's subordinates or a Miao Witch who relied on her. Release Void had become a "tool" in their hands.

The old woman stopped at the edge of the swamp, her cloudy eyes seemingly scanning the surroundings at random, her nose twitching slightly as if sniffing for something. She muttered to herself in a raspy, unpleasant voice that sounded like a worn-out bellows.

Li Muchen held his breath and focused his mind, even slowing his heartbeat to a near stop. He could feel a cold Mental Energy field radiating from the old woman, spreading outward like a spiderweb to investigate. At the same time, the eyes of the insect carving atop her wooden staff seemed to light up with a faint, eerie green glow.

Suddenly, the old woman jerked her head around. her cloudy gaze seemed to pierce through the obstruction of the fog and the withered tree, "pinning" itself directly onto the direction where Li Muchen was hiding!

"Heh heh... the scent of a living person... fresh..." She grinned, revealing broken, yellowed black teeth, her voice like a night owl's. "Come out, little bug... hiding is useless... Third Aunt already knew... you would come..."

Li Muchen felt a slight chill in his heart. Was it a momentary fluctuation in his aura that had been detected just now? Or did this old woman, or the Hemp Third Aunt behind her, truly have some bizarre tracking or prophetic means?

Since he had been discovered, there was no longer any need to hide.

He slowly stepped out from behind the withered tree, looking calmly at the old woman and the Release Void Puppet ahead.

"Where is Hemp Third Aunt?" Li Muchen went straight to the point, his voice clear and resonant, sounding exceptionally distinct in this deathly silent forest.

The old woman cackled strangely, sizing Li Muchen up, especially the sword case on his back and the suppression talisman at his waist. A trace of greed and wariness flashed in her cloudy eyes. "What's the rush... Is Third Aunt someone you can see just because you want to? However... the scent on you... is very special... very... nourishing..." She licked her dry, cracked lips as if seeing something delicious.

Beside her, the Release Void Puppet's hollow eye sockets also turned toward Li Muchen. A strange "heh heh" sound came from its throat, and its stiff arms rose slightly, assuming an attacking posture.

"It seems that if I don't pass your trial first, I won't be seeing the main person," Li Muchen said faintly, his right hand already resting on the hilt of the qingxiao sword behind him.

"Jie jie... smart!" The old woman gave a strange laugh and slammed her black wooden staff onto the ground!

Thump!

A muffled sound rang out, as if some mechanism had been triggered. In the muddy water of the surrounding swamp, countless bubbles suddenly emerged! Immediately following, a dense swarm of poisonous insects of various colors and sizes surged out from the mud, fallen leaves, and even the air like a tide! Venomous snakes, centipedes, scorpions, colorful spiders, and strange moths with transparent wings... they formed a skin-crawling Insect Tide, hissing and writhing as they closed in on Li Muchen! The air was instantly filled with various foul-smelling poisonous gases and scales!

At the same time, the Release Void Puppet let out a low growl that didn't sound human and lunged forward, his arms reaching straight for Li Muchen! His fingertips were shiny black, clearly carrying potent poison. Though his movements were stiff, his speed was incredibly fast, bringing with it a gust of fishy wind!

The Gu Insect Tide and the corpse Puppet attacked from above and below!

Li Muchen's gaze turned cold.

Facing this nauseating Insect Tide, he didn't panic in the slightest. His left hand formed a seal as he softly chanted a mantra. The Golden Core Essence within his body flowed, combining with a trace of the earth's heavy aura drawn by the earth vein suppression talisman, and was suddenly released!

"Quake!"

An invisible wave of air, carrying a steady sense of suppression, boomed outward in all directions with him at the center!

The poisonous insects rushing in the front were sent flying back as if they had hit an invisible wall of air, their carapaces shattering and fluids splattering. The subsequent Insect Tide also stalled, as if encountering a natural enemy, letting out terrified hisses as their offensive slowed.

And in that moment of hesitation, Li Muchen's right hand moved!

Clang—!

A sword chime as clear as a dragon's roar echoed through the forest! A stunningly brilliant azure-green sword light, like a bolt of lightning tearing through the gloom, suddenly flared up!

Qingxiao was unsheathed!

The sword light was not grand, but it was refined to the extreme, moving faster than the eye could catch! Striking after the enemy had moved but arriving first, it swept precisely across the Release Void Puppet's wrists just a moment before those black poisonous claws could touch Li Muchen's robes!

Squelch!

With a soft sound, the Release Void Puppet's arms were severed cleanly at the wrists! The cuts were as smooth as a mirror, yet not much blood flowed out; only a thick, foul-smelling blackish-green liquid seeped out.

The Puppet's figure stiffened, its forward momentum stopping abruptly. A trace of bewildered pain seemed to flash through its hollow eye sockets before it crashed to the ground.

The azure-green sword light did not stop there. It drew a graceful arc in the air and shot straight toward the old woman, who was currently driving the Insect Tide and wore a look of horror!

The old woman shrieked and hastily swung her black wooden staff to parry, while simultaneously spitting out a cloud of dark green poisonous mist as she retreated rapidly.

Clang!

The sword light struck the wooden staff, producing a crisp sound like clashing metal! The wooden staff snapped! The old woman felt as if she had been struck by a heavy blow and was sent flying back, crashing into a large tree and spitting out a mouthful of black blood, her aura instantly withering.

Only then did the azure-green sword light recede, revealing once more the autumn-water-like cold blade of the qingxiao sword.

Li Muchen stood with his sword, his robes fluttering, untainted by a single speck of dust. Having lost their master's drive and intimidated by the suppression of the Sword Qi and the qingxiao sword's might, the surrounding Insect Tide retreated like a receding tide, quickly vanishing into the swamp and fallen leaves, leaving behind only a ground littered with insect corpses.

In just two or three breaths, the battle was over.

Li Muchen didn't even look at the armless Puppet on the ground or the heavily injured old woman. He cast his gaze deeper into the fog, his voice cold and clear:

"Hemp Third Aunt, if you send any more of these lackeys to their deaths, do not blame my sword for being merciless as I kill my way to you."

His voice wasn't loud, yet it seemed to possess a certain penetrating power, spreading far through the eerie forest.

Deep within the grayish-green fog, there was dead silence.

After a long while, the drifting laughter of a woman, which seemed to ring out from all directions simultaneously and carried a heavy Miao accent while being somewhat raspy and shrill, echoed faintly:

"What fine skills... what a sharp sword... as expected of the person who could kill Corpse Old Nine..."

"Since the guest insists on seeing this old woman... then... please come in..."

"However... the road ahead... won't be so easy to walk... hee hee hee..."

The laughter gradually faded, as if merging into the fog and the forest wind.

Li Muchen returned his sword to its sheath and, with an unchanged expression, stepped forward.

The heavily injured old woman curled up under the tree, looking at his back with venomous hatred, but she didn't dare make another move.

The armless Release Void Puppet lay quietly on the ground, its hollow eye sockets staring at the dim forest canopy, showing no further signs of life.

Deep in the Ghost Crying Forest, the true meeting seemed to have only just begun.