As soon as I put it on, I met a sickly man

Everyone carefully stepped onto the stone path guided by Master Qinglian, step by step, as if walking on thin ice.

The air around seemed to be frozen, making it suffocating.

Finally, they bypassed numerous traps and arrived at the entrance of the cave.

The cave was dark and damp, and a pungent musty smell hit the face, making people frown.

The cave walls are covered with strange rocks and shadows, as if countless unknown dangers are lurking there.

Water drops dripped from the top of the cave, making a "tick-tick" sound, which was particularly clear in the silent cave, adding a bit of eerie and terrifying atmosphere.

Yingfeng looked around vigilantly, holding the dagger tightly in his hand, ready to deal with any sudden danger at any time.

"Something... doesn't feel right here," he whispered.

Xiaoxuan also nodded. She could feel an inexplicable sense of oppression, as if something was secretly watching them.

"Everyone, be careful."

Everyone walked deeper into the cave, taking one step at a time, being extremely cautious with every step.

After walking for a long time, they finally saw a hunched figure in the deepest part of the cave. He was sitting motionless on a rock with his back to them.

"Excuse me, you are..." Ding Chen asked tentatively.

The figure slowly turned around, revealing a wrinkled face and a pair of cloudy eyes flashing with a gleam.

He was the mysterious old man they had been looking for.

"Who are you? Why are you disturbing my peace?" The old man's voice was hoarse, with a hint of impatience in his tone.

Ding Chen hurriedly stepped forward and told the old man in detail about the strange disease in the village and the conspiracy of the old man in black robe, and sincerely asked the old man to lend a helping hand.

After listening to Ding Chen's story, the old man fell into deep thought.

After a long while, he slowly spoke: "You want to know the secret of the village? Sigh... This is a very old story..."

Just as the old man was about to speak, a sinister laugh suddenly rang out from the cave entrance: "Haha, I didn't expect you to find this place..."

The black-robed messenger's laughter was chilling and chilling, echoing in the cave and making people shudder.

Before anyone could react, he appeared at the cave entrance like a ghost, holding a pitch-black scimitar in his hand that glowed with a faint cold light.

"Want to get the secret out of you? Dream on!" The black-robed messenger's hoarse voice sounded like it came from hell. He flashed and pounced on the mysterious old man.

Yingfeng reacted extremely quickly, his figure was as fast as lightning, and he instantly stood in front of the old man.

"Your opponent is me!" he shouted coldly, and the dagger and scimitar collided violently, bursting out dazzling sparks.

The two figures crossed each other at a speed so fast that it was almost impossible to distinguish them with the naked eye, leaving only afterimages flickering in the cave.

Upon seeing this, General Lin immediately drew his sword to help Yingfeng and attacked the black-robed messenger from the flank.

However, the black-robed messenger seemed to have anticipated this. He raised a sinister smile and threw a black smoke bomb in his hand.

"Cough cough cough!" Thick black smoke spread out instantly, choking General Lin so much that he couldn't open his eyes and lost his sense of direction.

"Despicable!" General Lin roared and swung his sword wildly, but he could only hit the air.

The black-robed messenger took the opportunity to force Yingfeng back and approached the old man again.

Although the old man was old, his eyes were extremely sharp. He quickly took out a jade talisman from his sleeve, crushed it, and a golden light instantly enveloped him.

The black-robed messenger's attack hit the golden light and was bounced back. He groaned and staggered back a few steps.

"A mere trifle!" The black-robed envoy roared, and swung the scimitar in his hand again. Black energy surged like a poisonous snake, heading straight for the old man.

"Ding Chen, take the old man away quickly!" Ying Feng shouted while resisting the attack of the black-robed messenger.

Ding Chen did not dare to delay and immediately helped the old man up and ran deep into the cave.

Ah Hu followed closely behind and protected the two of them.

"Want to leave? Not that easy!" The black-robed messenger sneered and was about to chase after him, but was stopped by Xiaoxuan.

"Your opponent is me." Xiaoxuan's eyes were cold, and the silver needle in her hand flashed with cold light.

The white-haired wise man standing beside her stroked his long beard, smiled slightly, and said, "It seems that I need to stretch my muscles..."

Xiaoxuan's slender fingers fluttered, and several silver needles jumped on her fingertips, as agile as elves.

She quickly took out several herbs from the medicine bag, crushed them into powder, and mixed them together.

"This is the powder to dispel the smoke. Senior Wise, please lend me a hand."

The white-haired wise man nodded slightly, waved the whisk in his hand, and an invisible force was injected into the medicinal powder.

The medicinal powder suddenly emitted a faint golden light, as if it had life.

Xiaoxuan threw the powder into the air, and the powder spread rapidly, and the black smoke dissipated quickly as if it had encountered its natural enemy.

The vision became clear again, and the figure of the black-robed messenger appeared in front of everyone again.

He covered his arm that was stabbed by Ding Chen, his face terribly gloomy.

"Damn it!"

Ding Chen's eyes were sharp, and he was always concerned about Xiaoxuan's safety.

He fought with the black-robed messenger, his sword skills were sharp and every move was deadly.

With every attack, he carefully avoided Xiaoxuan's direction, his eyes full of concern.

Xiaoxuan also responded to Ding Chen's gaze with a firm look, without any fear.

Although the black-robed messenger was injured, his strength should not be underestimated.

His moves were brutal, and every blow was filled with murderous intent.

Ding Chen fought with him for dozens of rounds and gradually felt exhausted.

At this moment, General Lin and Yingfeng also joined the battle.

The three of them joined forces to surround the black-robed envoy, forming an unbreakable encirclement.

The black-robed envoy was caught in a dilemma and gradually fell into a disadvantage.

Seeing everyone working together to fight against the black-robed messenger, a hint of admiration flashed in the eyes of the mysterious old man.

He slowly walked in front of the crowd and said in a deep voice, "Children, you have done well. Now, it's time to tell you the secret of the village..."

The old man paused, his eyes swept over everyone, and finally fell on Ding Chen and Xiaoxuan.

"This secret concerns the fate of the entire village, and even... the entire world." He took a deep breath and said slowly, "In fact, this village..."

The old man's words came to an abrupt end. His eyes were as sharp as torches, fixed on the depths of the cave. There, something seemed to be stirring...

"Here it comes..." the old man whispered.