Immortality and Cultivation: This old man seeks enlightenment through mere survival.

Everyone felt a chill and hurriedly followed in Qingming Zhenren's footsteps.

However, how can a single glass lamp illuminate the entire bloated and massive team?

Or perhaps... Master Qingming did not use his full strength.

This caused trouble for the lower-level cultivators who were at the back of the group.

The eerie fog kept surging in, churning like spilled ink!

Even the radiant light of Buddha cannot shine equally on everyone.

"Wait for me!"

"Slow down! We can't keep up!"

"no, do not want!"

"..."

From the rear of the column came screams and cries of agony.

From the eerie mist emerged long, thin, and deformed, dark claws resembling those of corpses!

In the blink of an eye, those who fell behind were dragged into the eerie fog.

The screams abruptly stopped...

Seeing this, Master Qingming made a 'decisive decision' and said:

"Ancestor Huang, please take action and slay the demon!"

Huang Tian Lao Zu nodded expressionlessly and flew to the back of the group.

He simply pointed his fingers like a sword and lightly slashed at the eerie mist behind him!

In an instant, a sword aura, like a cascading waterfall of stars, poured out, illuminating most of the forest.

Zheng——! !

The swords clashed like a tidal wave, and the starlight shone brightly!

The eerie mist, as if splashed like ink, was suddenly cut off, as if a stream of water had been broken in the middle and could not rejoin for a long time.

"A mere mist demon can be destroyed with a flick of the finger."

Huang Tian Lao Zu waved his sleeve and said coldly, "You may continue forward. I will guard the rear."

"Thank you for your help, Elder Huang!"

"Huangtian Zhenren's swordsmanship is indeed divine!"

"Using fingers as swords, one can slay demons and monsters with a mere laugh. When will I ever reach that level...?"

The team behind breathed a sigh of relief, having temporarily escaped the crisis, and were all grateful to the Yellow Heaven Ancestor for his timely intervention.

The team moved on.

Along the way, eerie fog attacked repeatedly.

But as long as the Azure Netherworld Immortal leads the way with a glass lamp in hand.

In addition, the Yellow Heaven Ancestor would occasionally unleash sword energy from behind to cut off the eerie mist.

Thus, no one else died.

In the team.

Jiuyou, caught up in the crowd, frowned slightly, gradually sensing that something was amiss.

To say that this eerie fog is really that powerful is not necessarily true.

After all, even the Mist Demons have different ranks.

Currently, these eerie mists are only stirred up by the outermost mist demons.

At most, it can only threaten Qi Refining cultivators.

Any Foundation Establishment cultivator with some skill could handle it...

Therefore, it's not worth Huangtian Laozu's intervention at all.

In Jiuyou's view, it didn't matter how many Qi Refining cultivators died.

That's right, this is the demonic mindset of the Nine Netherworlds.

He also didn't believe that Huang Tian and Qing Ming, who were at the Core Formation stage, would have more compassion than him.

As we continued to venture deeper into the area.

It is about several tens of miles away.

Along the way, they passed through many forbidden areas and dangerous places inhabited by monsters...

However, just as Master Qingming promised, the "safe route" did indeed work.

In the past, cultivators would never have been able to explore such depths.

"The eerie fog seems to have dissipated?!"

Suddenly, someone in the group pointed ahead and said something.

Everyone quickly looked over and saw that the eerie fog around them was beginning to thin, and their vision was no longer obstructed, allowing them to see further!

"real!"

As visibility improved, the scene ahead was revealed.

Through the menacing, black branches of the trees, one can see:

Large swathes of broken walls and ruins, jade pillars covered with cracks, and red bricks and white tiles scattered on the steps.

The palace has collapsed into ruins. The left eye of the stone mythical beast at the entrance has fallen out, and a nest of unknown birds is now nesting in the empty eye socket.

In the abandoned medicinal herb garden, countless wild vines intertwine, and aquatic plants grow so densely that they reach above one's knees.

There were also towers submerged in the deep water—a sudden gust of wind swept by, rippling the water's surface and revealing half of the crooked spire, whose bells, entwined with algae, emitted a dull tinkling sound…

The landscape is desolate.

A dead silence.

"Look, that's the ruins of an ancient sect!"

"That's right, there must be treasure inside..."

"What are you waiting for? Let's go in!"

"Yes!"

The crowd's eyes gleamed with greed, eager to make their move; they were clearly impatient.

If it weren't for Master Qingming's cold gaze sweeping over them, they probably would have already secretly made their way ahead.

Master Qingming's gaze was indifferent, and he gave a faint snort.

"Hmph, you really think it's that easy to get in?"

Everyone was stunned.

"What do you mean by that, Master?"

"Could there be some other level?"

Jiuyou, also in the crowd, was puzzled and kept looking ahead.

To his naked eye, there was indeed nothing unusual; it was as if the ruins were right in front of him.

But Jiuyou's intuition told him that danger was imminent!

At this moment, the Yellow Heaven Ancestor spoke up to explain:

"The 'safe route' explored by Tianming Palace ends here, because there is still a maze ahead that cannot be solved..."

Having said that, Huang Tian Lao Zu raised his hand and slashed at the air in front of him with his sword!

Zheng——!

A sword rang out with a resounding clang!

Everyone looked intently.

The previously empty air suddenly seemed to be stirred, rippling with waves.

Behind these ripples, countless menacing black trees suddenly emerged!

What's even more surprising is that these black trees actually moved as if they were alive!

Their roots spread across the ground, and their branches intertwined, forming a layered maze that completely blocked the sword light!

"What...what's going on?" someone cried out in terror.

"These trees actually came back to life?" Another person asked, equally astonished.

Everyone couldn't help but look at each other.

The Black Miasma Forest has a wide variety of tree species, including both aquatic and terrestrial ones.

However, most of the trees are the kind of trees in front of us called "magic camphor trees".

The trunks and branches of these camphor trees are entirely black, with rough and twisted bark resembling ghost faces. After the leaves fall, the lonely branches look like menacing ghost claws, which is quite eerie.

And now these magical camphor trees can even move freely?

Wouldn't that really turn it into a monster?

The thought of countless other demonic trees around them made the ghostly faces on the tree trunks seem even more grotesque and realistic.

Some timid low-level cultivators couldn't help but shiver.

"After consulting ancient texts, I found that this formation is called the [Illusory Soul Thousand Wood Maze Formation], which is one of the protective formations of ancient sects."

At this moment, Master Qingming also spoke up.

Upon hearing this, a Foundation Establishment cultivator pondered for a moment and immediately raised a question.

"Since it's a remnant of an ancient sect, after thousands of years, the power of the formation should have weakened. Shouldn't we be able to force our way through?"

Other cultivators also offered their ideas.

"That's right, formations also need spiritual energy to replenish them. I refuse to believe that with so many of us working together, we can't break through a maze!"

"How about we fly over from above, or dive in?"

"Yes, that's a good idea..."

Seeing everyone chattering away, Master Qingming promptly interrupted them, coldly saying:

"Silence! The Heavenly Underworld Palace has already tried every method you can think of!"

Over the course of a thousand years, this formation has undergone changes and is likely closely connected to the entire Black Miasma Forest, capable of summoning demonic trees from thousands of miles around to create a labyrinth.

Not to mention the interplay of reality and illusion, the constant rebirth of mirages; how much effort would it take to destroy it by brute force, and how long would that delay?

The team was taken aback upon hearing this.

It is indeed unrealistic to expect them to destroy the Demon Tree Forest, which spans thousands of miles.

It seems that brute force alone is not going to work.

Master Qingming continued:

"As for flying and diving, those are also not feasible, because according to my research, this formation also has the effect of teleportation. No matter what angle you enter from, you will eventually fall into the Demon Tree Maze."

"This won't work, that won't work, are we just supposed to stand by and watch this treasure mountain go unused?"

"Yes, there must be another way for the real person to gather us here, right?"

Discontented voices rose from within the ranks.

Having fought their way here, they were certainly not willing to turn back.

"Of course, there is another way."

At this moment, Master Qingming revealed a cruel smile and said, word by word.