Mu Yunjin glanced at Chu Li, her expression solemn as she frowned and asked skeptically, “You can see?”

“Mm.” Chu Li nodded, furrowing his brow, looking around again, confirming that he could indeed see the scene before him.

Mu Yunjin couldn’t explain this strange phenomenon. This Ghost Valley Manor was full of bizarre occurrences; nothing would be surprising here.

Even so, Mu Yunjin was still concerned and wanted to caution Chu Li when suddenly a scream came from nearby—

“Ah—”

“What kind of monster is this!”

Looking toward the sound, it was Qiqi screaming. Her body had been ensnared by vines that had emerged from the ground, and she couldn’t move.

Mu Yunjin was about to step forward when she suddenly found her feet rooted to the spot. Looking down, she discovered that vines were growing rapidly from the muddy ground.

The vines grew at an incredible speed. In no time, they had wrapped around Mu Yunjin’s waist. Everyone nearby was also trapped by vines, struggling against them.

Mu Yunjin immediately drew the dagger from her sleeve and slashed at the vines with fierce strokes. After several cuts, she cleared away all the vines that had bound her body.

Nearby, Qiqi was still entangled by vines. People around wanted to approach and rescue her, but they were all momentarily preoccupied. Throughout the forest, vines sprouting from the ground seemed endless. The spot where Mu Yunjin had just freed herself was quickly filled with new vines.

Mu Yunjin swiftly flew to Qiqi’s side. Qiqi was being strangled by vines that had wrapped around her neck from below, and her small face had turned pale from suffocation.

“Hold on!” Mu Yunjin pulled out another dagger from her boot, cutting at the vines on Qiqi’s body with both hands, her movements quick and decisive.

“Master!” After being rescued, Qiqi took several deep breaths. Looking at Mu Yunjin, she noticed a venomous snake with a red forked tongue hanging from a tree behind her.

The snake was thin and long, with a black and white striped body, clearly extremely poisonous.

Mu Yunjin heard the sound approaching from behind, and her body suddenly grew cold. She wanted to move away, but her feet were once again entangled by vines, immobilizing her.

“Hiss—”

The venomous snake behind her lunged, but when it was just a few centimeters from Mu Yunjin’s earlobe, it was cut in half by a palm wind!

Chu Li flew to Mu Yunjin’s side, severed the vines at her feet, grabbed her arm, and prepared to take her away.

…

After walking just a few steps, the dense and quiet forest began to emit rustling sounds.

Everyone’s faces changed abruptly.

“Everyone run! Don’t linger here, the trees are full of venomous snakes!” Daoist Feng Xuan shouted, flashing toward the direction of the next trial.

Everyone was startled and wanted to fly away, but it was too late.

The venomous snakes that had been hiding in the branches and leaves now emerged after hearing the commotion below. They hung upside down from the branches with their tails.

These snake species were naturally elongated, and now hung upside down from the branches, their heads pointing downward, baring their sharp venomous fangs at the people below.

Combined with the vines continuously sprouting from the ground, under the moonlight, the forest appeared dappled with shadows, unpredictable.

It was filled with a thick aura of death.

“Be careful, these venomous snakes are extremely poisonous. When slaying them, be wary of their poisonous blood splashing onto you!” Hua Ying, being a snake spirit, knew snakes inside out. Seeing so many venomous snakes now, her heart was filled with emotion.

Hua Ying’s words undoubtedly made everyone’s hearts sink further.

It would be fine if they could directly kill the venomous snakes, but once slain, they would be splashed with snake blood.

Mu Yunjin’s nerves were tense as she looked at the venomous snakes surrounding them in the forest. Even her breathing became shallow, afraid that these snakes might suddenly attack as a group.

“I’ll stay here to fight these venomous snakes. You all go ahead!” Hua Ying made her decision, gathering black smoke in her palm and spreading it toward the branches and leaves around.

“I’ll stay too. I’m not afraid of snakes!” Qiqi’s brow flashed with a fierce light, revealing a pair of cat fangs. Her human appearance gradually became indistinct.

The venomous snakes, upon contact with the black mist scattered by Hua Ying, rapidly and densely rushed toward her direction…

“Go quickly!” Hua Ying shouted at the group nearby, the murderous intent in her brow growing more intense.

Qiqi remained at her side, striking at the swarms of venomous snakes with her palm…

…

Mu Yunjin frowned deeply, slightly hesitant, but she was already being pulled up into the air, running toward the exit of the forest.

The trials they had just experienced had already exhausted everyone. The obstacles set by the black-robed one weren’t particularly difficult to deal with, but they were numerous and full of vitality.

In just a few trials, almost everyone had depleted their strength.

After exiting the forest, they came to a fork in the road.

On the left was a narrow suspension bridge. Below the bridge was an abyss so dark that the bottom was invisible. On the right was a long corridor with lanterns hanging on both sides, antique and exquisitely delicate.

Two paths, two extremes.

“Elder, how far is Deep Serene Lake from here?” Huang Yan looked toward Daoist Feng Xuan, his entire being concerned about Hua Ying in the forest, not knowing if she could handle those venomous snakes.

“Deep Serene Lake is at the very back of this manor. We’re barely halfway there.” Daoist Feng Xuan spoke softly.

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin lowered her eyes, pursed her lips, and tightly gripped her sleeves.

“So now, of these two paths, which one do we choose?” Qu Xinyao looked at the suspension bridge and the corridor.

“This suspension bridge seems dangerous, but it’s closest to the next trial. The corridor seems endless, likely hiding other traps.” Chu Li scanned the two paths and spoke calmly.

Suddenly, he felt somewhat fortunate that in this dark and cold place, his Que Meng eye could see everything.

“Indeed.” Daoist Feng Xuan nodded in agreement.

“But if we take the suspension bridge and encounter an ambush, below is a bottomless black abyss. The consequences would be unthinkable.” Chu Li added.

For a moment, everyone was in a dilemma.

“Either way, there will be traps. Perhaps the corridor is safer?” Mu Yunjin glanced at Chu Li, asking for his opinion.

“But what if there’s no ambush on the suspension bridge? Wouldn’t we be taking an unnecessary detour?” After thinking for a moment, Qu Xinyao slowly spoke. Having a fork in the road was truly testing them.

Yun Shuangleng had been observing the two paths. After a while, she stepped forward, “Why don’t I try crossing the suspension bridge first? If there’s no problem, you can follow.”

“That’s too dangerous. You all stay. I’ll go first!” Daoist Feng Xuan stopped Yun Shuangleng. For such a risky undertaking, he would never let a young girl take the lead. What would become of Feng Xuan’s face if word got out?

“Master, let me go. I have the phoenix-tail whip. Let me try securing the other side first.” Mu Yunjin took out the phoenix-tail whip from her wrist, activated her internal force, and the whip suddenly flashed with golden light.

“Yunjin…” Chu Li stepped forward, his hand grasping her shoulder. “You stay. This prince will go.”

Mu Yunjin wouldn’t listen to Chu Li. With a flick of her wrist, the nimble phoenix-tail whip lashed toward the other side of the suspension bridge…

The phoenix-tail whip extended indefinitely, firmly wrapping around the bridge head on the other side. Without looking at the people beside her, Mu Yunjin flew directly onto the suspension bridge.

Mu Yunjin gripped one end of the phoenix-tail whip, using the spiritual power of the whip to pull her toward the other side of the suspension bridge.

Behind her, Chu Li watched her reckless behavior, tapped his toes, and flew after her.

…

Halfway across, Mu Yunjin discovered Chu Li behind her.

Just as she was about to speak to Chu Li, the wooden planks beneath her feet suddenly cracked, and the entire suspension bridge instantly broke into two!

Using her lightness skill to gain footing, Mu Yunjin suddenly stepped into empty air. Her entire body stumbled, leaning backward, without support, falling toward the bottomless black abyss.

At the other end, the bridge head wrapped by the phoenix-tail whip also broke.

“Brat girl!”

“Your Highness, Princess…!”

The people by the bridge cried out, watching helplessly as the two figures disappeared into the night.

As she fell, Mu Yunjin felt a familiar presence beside her, embracing her waist with a strong, imposing aura, supporting her body, moving toward the rock wall to the side.

Chu Li tightly held Mu Yunjin with one arm while activating his true energy with the other. When they reached the rock wall, he intended to grab the rock to stop their falling bodies. But as his palm touched the rock, he discovered it was covered in moss. Combined with the damp environment, the rock wall was extremely smooth, making it impossible to gain a handhold.

The two continued to fall rapidly.

Mu Yunjin pulled out the dagger from her boot, wanting to fix it into the rock wall. But no matter how sharp or sturdy her dagger was, it was no match for the harder rock.

The dagger broke into two pieces on the spot.

“Chu Li, I’m sorry!” Mu Yunjin buried her head in Chu Li’s chest. Looking down, it was still endlessly dark. If they continued falling like this, both she and Chu Li would lose their lives!

Chu Li lowered his gaze to look at Mu Yunjin in his arms, furrowing his brow slightly. The fingers around her waist suddenly flashed with silver light.

Mu Yunjin felt a pain at her waist, then her vision darkened, and she lost consciousness…

…

“Black Qilin!”

Chu Li’s voice, cold as ice, echoed in the vast black abyss.

The next second, from the bottom of the abyss shrouded in darkness, a qilin beast with a completely black body, wearing golden armor, came galloping through the air with the force of thunder.

The qilin beast emitted silver light all around, majestic and imposing. Wherever it went, the earth trembled, with an aura that could shake heaven and earth.

“Take us away.” Chu Li’s body rotated, and he sat on the back of the Black Qilin with Mu Yunjin in his arms.

The Black Qilin let out a low roar, carrying Chu Li and Mu Yunjin, disappearing into the boundless dark abyss…

…

At the suspension bridge.

“Hahaha, Senior Brother, do you like the grand gift your Junior Brother sent you?”

The figure of the black-robed Feng Lan emerged from the shadows, his eyes full of amusement as he stared at the group of people whose eyes revealed shock and bewilderment.

On the other side, Daoist Qiuye and Qin Muyue also slowly stepped out, their faces similarly showing triumphant smiles.

“You haven’t gone into seclusion!” Huang Yan glared at the black-robed one, realizing at this moment that they had all been played by him.

The black-robed one chuckled softly, looking back at the deep abyss below, “Those two are truly fortunate, allowing them to be a pair of doomed lovers before death…”