At twelve noon, the group descended from the sunny peak and re-entered the misty and somewhat eerie forest.

Compared to the ascent a few hours earlier, the descent was fraught with thicker fog and visibility of less than two meters. It was only by relying on the "Fireball" spell conjured by Xie Xiaofeng that they could barely make out the winding and steep path ahead.

Chen Hao and Ye Yuqiao walked hand in hand, leading the way, while Tang Jing guided Tang Chao and Xie Xiaofeng on either side of her, closely following behind.

"Hoot hoot!"

"Caw caw!"

The occasional eerie or lonely calls of owls and crows highlighted the silence and eeriness of the forest nearby.

After half an hour, they stopped and rested on a relatively flat and large rock.

Through the skill 'Nether Vision,' Chen Hao discerned that the path down the mountain was long and winding, and they still had a considerable distance to go before reaching midway.

"I just feel something's not right," Ye Yuqiao frowned and pondered.

"What feels wrong?" Chen Hao asked.

After thinking for a moment, Ye Yuqiao shook her head in resignation and lamented, "It's just a feeling; I can't pinpoint what's actually off."

Suddenly, Chen Hao had a flash of inspiration and whispered in Ye Yuqiao's ear, "Why do I feel like there's something off about you, too?"

"What's off about me?" Ye Yuqiao was genuinely surprised.

"You're getting more and more attractive!"

Ye Yuqiao squinted at Chen Hao, lifted her hand, and pinched his cheek, "Naughty! To think you're still in the mood to joke at a time like this!"

"Hmmph!" At that moment, Xie Xiaofeng let out an intentional loud cough and shook his head, "It seems we don't need my 'Fireball' for light anymore, since we three are bright enough already!"

After resting for ten minutes, they continued their trek towards the middle of the mountain.

Another half hour passed!

"Ah! What's going on?" Chen Hao exclaimed from the front, as he discovered they had circled back to the same large rock where they had just rested.

"I told you something was off!" Ye Yuqiao spoke through narrowed eyes, looking pensive.

Xie Xiaofeng, Tang Jing, and Tang Chao joined the two, with Tang Jing breathlessly asking, "Isn't this the same big rock we just rested on? How did we end up back here?"

"Could we be under some kind of illusion?" Xie Xiaofeng guessed with a furrowed brow.

Chen Hao darkly shook his head, then stepped forward to an intersection, deploying the skill 'Nether Vision' with his left eye and quietly observed the changes in front of him.

Half a minute later, Chen Hao's expression suddenly turned to surprise.

Chen Hao actually saw the path in front of him twist—the path that originally turned left at the end now suddenly veered right.

Immediately, Chen Hao turned back and shared this astonishing discovery with his four companions. Of the four, apart from Ye Yuqiao, the others showed expressions of shock upon hearing it.

"It must be an illusion!" Xie Xiaofeng exclaimed. Saying so, his eyes shrank to several times smaller and looked utterly bewildered.

"It's not an illusion!" Ye Yuqiao said coldly, "If it were, Chen Hao's left eye would have definitely distinguished it. If he saw the road itself twist, it can only mean that the road truly did twist!"

Hearing Ye Yuqiao's explanation, Xie Xiaofeng, Tang Jing, and Tang Chao were even more shocked!

"How can a road possibly twist on its own?" Xie Xiaofeng asked, his tone full of disbelief.

"This Heavenly King Mountain has a guardian spirit, which legend says later married King Ning as his wife," Ye Yuqiao explained expressionlessly. "It's very likely that this guardian spirit is causing trouble, with the purpose of either not wanting us to ascend to Jade Peak, or delaying our ascent."

Hearing Ye Yuqiao explain it this way, Xie Xiaofeng was at a loss for words.

After a brief silence, Chen Hao walked back to Ye Yuqiao's side. He, who had been somewhat anxious, immediately revealed a bright smile upon holding Ye Yuqiao's hand, as in times of confusion and helplessness Ye Yuqiao always had a way of calming his heart.

The two shared a light laugh, exchanging glances for a second, after which Chen Hao asked Ye Yuqiao, "What should we do next, then?"

The slight upward turn of Ye Yuqiao's lips vanished instantly, and her brow furrowed as she fell into deep thought. Not long after, a light flashed in her eyes as she said softly, "The sword you gave me might be able to help us!"

With that, Ye Yuqiao took out the miniaturized Evil-Banishing Moon Sword from her pocket.

After she called out "Grow larger" twice, the Evil-Banishing Moon Sword returned to its original size. She stared at the sword in her right hand with a gaze as misty as when she looked at Chen Hao. She slowly extended her left hand and gently stroked the somewhat cold blade, speaking in an extremely tender voice, "Help us find a way out of here, will you?"

Seeing this, Xie Xiaofeng and Tang Chao on the side were dumbstruck, both wishing that they were the sword in Ye Yuqiao's hand, able to receive such gentle comfort from the school beauty.

After saying that, Ye Yuqiao's hand released the Evil-Banishing Moon Sword. After falling a few centimeters, the sword began to float, leaping into the air excitedly.

Ye Yuqiao chuckled and then looked at Chen Hao, "Doesn't it seem like its temperament is very much like yours? Both of you are children who need pampering!"

Chen Hao laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

Returning from its leap into the sky, the Evil-Banishing Moon Sword finally hovered in front of Ye Yuqiao, its tip pointing towards the bushes ahead.

"Are you sure we should be heading through the bushes instead of a path?" Chen Hao asked doubtfully.

The Evil-Banishing Moon Sword shook, and suddenly spun around with its tip facing Chen Hao; it then surged forward at high speed, piercing Chen Hao's chest and killing him instantly.

"Ah!" Seeing the tip of the Evil-Banishing Moon Sword protruding out the back of Chen Hao, dripping with fresh blood, Tang Jing couldn't help but let out a scream.

Xie Xiaofeng scratched his head in resignation, remarking, "Truly a capricious sword!"

Not long after the Evil-Banishing Moon Sword was withdrawn, Chen Hao, supported by Ye Yuqiao, came back to life. The moment he opened his eyes, he hurriedly said to the sword floating in front of him, "I was wrong, I will never doubt you again!"

Hearing this, the Evil-Banishing Moon Sword once again pointed its tip towards the bushes ahead.

"Hey," Ye Yuqiao chuckled in Chen Hao's ear, "I'm starting to think this sword is quite like you."

Chen Hao responded with a wry smile, "That's why I gave it to you, isn't it?"

Guided by the Evil-Banishing Moon Sword, it took the group two and a half hours to descend from the west side of Heavenly Son Peak to the foot of Jade Peak.

Looking at his watch, Xie Xiaofeng gazed up towards Jade Peak and said, "It's three forty-five in the afternoon now; we should reach the Heavenly King Temple at the summit before sunset!"

With that, Xie Xiaofeng's voice became increasingly excited, thinking that it was finally time to show his true power.

"Mm!" Chen Hao nodded, then turned his head to look at Ye Yuqiao standing to his right. "Let's continue our journey!"

However, just at that moment, there suddenly came a shaking of the earth and a rocking of the mountain!

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