The whole family went mad, but the junior sister turned the tables and her luck soared.

The exclamation made Rong Xuan immediately stop the puppet.

The puppet turned its view toward the black object that had just flashed by.

In the water mirror, not far from the puppet, in the hazy mist, a long, black object was gently swaying.

The fog was hazy and indistinct, making it look like a snake dancing in the mist to lure its prey.

Yun Yici frowned and asked, "Alive?"

What she sensed was a mixture of blood and rotten smells.

Rong Xuan manipulated the puppet to move closer to the black object.

As the fog dissipated, everyone was finally able to see the full appearance of the black object.

It was a fluffy black tail, belonging to a kitten with a black body but colorful markings.

Unfortunately, the little black cat is now lying on the ground, its fate unknown.

Its body undulated slightly, with only its distinctive long black tail swaying gently.

"Could this be the Zouwu?"

"Aren't Zouwus supposed to be white? This one is black?"

"Judging by its size, it looks like a cub. How did it end up here?"

Yun Yici said, "Let's hurry over there."

The group quickened their pace and rushed to the location of the puppet.

Rinyu stepped forward and picked up the Zouwu cub that had fallen to the ground to check on its condition.

Rong Xuan was about to put away the puppet when Yun Yici stopped him.

"This isn't where the smell is coming from; there's something else ahead."

Rong Xuan asked, puzzled, "Could something have happened to the Zouwu clan?"

Rinyu held Zouwu in her arms, examined it carefully, and then placed her hand on the little beast's forehead, trying to wake it up.

He said, "I checked and there were no external injuries. It might have been affected by the fog."

"Ji Chun said that the miasma that stretches for hundreds of feet on Ziya Mountain, and that the fog that lingers in the valley for a long time, must be affected by the miasma."

"It's all thanks to Fellow Daoist Dizhao that we have him."

Ji Ying recommended this route precisely because there was an imperial edict.

After waiting for a while, the little Zouwu held in Rinyu's arms showed no signs of waking up.

Rin-tama: "What should we do now?"

"He remained unconscious, so we had no way of knowing what had happened to the Zouwu tribe."

Yun Yici analyzed, "He didn't have any serious external injuries, so he must not have entered in a panic because he was in mortal danger."

"Moreover, this is a land favored by the gods. If the records in the book are true, Zouwu has a good reputation in the divine realm, so it is impossible for any god to choose this time to launch an attack on them."

"This Zouwu must have run into some trouble."

“Continue onward, take good care of him, and return him to his people.”

They couldn't retreat, nor could they stand idly by and leave the little Zouwu to die; they had no choice but to move forward.

Rong Xuan said, "Then let the puppet go ahead to scout the way, and we'll follow behind."

This method is reliable.

The group continued on their journey, with Rinyu carrying Zouwu to continue treating him.

After walking for the length of an incense stick's time, this time without Yun Yici's reminder, everyone could smell the stench of fish not far away.

Xie Qianjue said, "I didn't smell any of this scent just now. It seems that this fog is indeed strange, as it can block out scents."

Everyone slowed down their pace, waiting for the images to be transmitted by the puppet.

Before long, new sounds came from the water mirror.

Everyone looked up and were stunned – a gigantic toad was stuck motionless in the canyon, blocking their way.

Xie Qianjue subconsciously asked, "Is this also a divine beast?"

Rinyu cursed, "My god-beast my foot! This is a toad!"

Yun Yici concluded, "He must be dead."

"This Zouwu was probably blocked in its way, so it tried to move forward to leave the canyon, but it collapsed halfway there."

Lin Yu said dejectedly, "The records say there are no living creatures in this blessed land of the gods, so where did this toad come from?"

The blessed land was only open temporarily; it would close after they left.

Ning Tinglan: "I remember Xiao Ci just mentioned that this clan likes to keep divine pets."

Xie Qianjue: "This hobby is indeed quite unique."

Raise toads until they die of old age, then eat them?

As they talked, they continued walking and soon arrived in front of the huge obstacle.

The water mirror was still a barrier, but now that everyone was closer, they could finally see the toad in its entirety.

Her snow-white belly was covered with messy wounds, and green blood flowed from the wounds.

The foul odor also comes from the flowing blood.

The spot where the toad got stuck happened to be the narrowest part of the entire canyon.

If the hole were placed a little higher, this little Zouwu should be able to squeeze through.

The problem is that this toad, with its fattest belly, is stuck in the middle of the canyon, completely blocking the way.

Its two hind legs were bent backward, and its forelimbs were deeply dug into the rock wall, clearly indicating that it had struggled frantically.

The injury on the toad's belly is unknown; it was probably caused by the little Zouwu trying to break through the obstacle.

In short, what they had in front of them was a dead toad blocking their way.

Shen Huaichuan observed the altitude and said, "We can fly over there, but the fog above will probably be even thicker with the miasma."

The emperor decreed, "Burn it; leaving it here is just an obstacle."

Xie Qianjue: "But this toad is too big. If you get angry, it will definitely make a big commotion."

"Look at its blood, who knows if the smoke from burning it will be poisonous."

"There are many things in this world that we have never heard of, so it is best not to act rashly."

The smoke was drifting everywhere; if it was poisonous, it would be terrible. They were closest to it and would be the first to be affected.

Shen Huaichuan stepped forward, about to conjure the demonic sword, when Yun Yici quickly stopped him.

"Linyu said, don't do anything."

"Let me try."

The Emperor decreed, "No, your actions will leave spiritual energy traces on the toad. If discovered, the consequences will be unimaginable."

"Linyu, do you have a solution?"

Lin Yu handed the Zouwu in his hand to Yun Yici, and said to him, "Imperial decree, open the barrier, be careful not to let the poisonous blood explode on your body."

Rinyu held the demonic sword and cleaved through flesh with a single strike, the sound of flesh tearing accompanied by splattering poisonous blood.

The green, poisonous blood made a sizzling sound when it touched the barrier of the imperial edict, and was quickly evaporated by the heat into a gas that merged into the mist.