Siheyuan: The Temptation of the Mountains

After running for a long time, the surrounding scenery gradually opened up. They came to a quiet valley filled with light mist, like a fairyland.

Just when they had just relaxed their tense hearts, a strong wind suddenly blew up without any warning, sweeping over with a roar. In an instant, the originally clear sky was covered by rolling dark clouds, becoming extremely gloomy and depressing, as if a heavy lead plate was pressing down on them, making people feel fearful and uneasy.

At this moment, a black shadow rushed down from the dense clouds like lightning. Looking closely, it turned out to be an extremely large bird! It spread its wings, like covering the sky and the sun, and its sharp claws flashed with cold light, flying straight towards the scrolls they were holding tightly in their hands.

Seeing this, Lin Ze was startled and quickly dodged to the side, nimbly avoiding the bird's fierce attack. At the same time, he did not forget to anxiously shout to Su Yao beside him: "Be careful!"

At this moment, they just woke up from their dream, deeply aware that this valley seemed calm and peaceful on the surface, but in fact, it was full of endless crises and dangers. Su Yao held the precious book tightly in her arms with both hands, and her beautiful eyes were full of determination, staring at Lin Ze firmly. Lin Ze quickly reached out and drew a sword from his waist. The sword still flashed a chilling light in the dim sky.

He shouted angrily, and rushed towards the bird like an arrow, and instantly started a thrilling and fierce fight with the ferocious bird. For a while, the sword light and claw shadows crisscrossed, and the two sides fought back and forth, neither giving in.

After several rounds, Lin Ze finally saw a fleeting opportunity and swung his sword, stabbing the bird's abdomen. The bird was caught off guard and suffered a severe blow. It let out a shrill whine, then flapped its wings and flew high, disappearing into the vast sky.

Taking advantage of this gap, Lin Ze did not dare to delay for a moment, grabbed Su Yao's hand, and ran forward. Not long after running, they saw an ancient temple standing in front of them. The temple looked very old, and there was a solemn and mysterious atmosphere around it, which made people wonder if there might be countless shocking secrets hidden in it.

The two exchanged glances, understood each other, and without hesitation, ran straight towards the mysterious temple. They both held a glimmer of hope in their hearts - perhaps only here could they be truly safe and secure.

As soon as she stepped into the temple, a gust of cold wind blew and Su Yao couldn't help but shiver.

Lin Ze protected her behind him and looked around vigilantly.

The light in the temple was dim, and one could only vaguely see some huge statues standing there, exuding an invisible sense of oppression.

Suddenly, there was a deafening and extremely heavy sound of a door closing behind them, and the sound seemed to penetrate the human soul. Su Yao and Lin Ze were frightened and trembled all over. They turned back in horror, only to find that the door that was originally open was now tightly closed without a gap.

At this moment, a low and eerie murmur began to sound from somewhere around them. The sound seemed to come from the Netherworld, and it was like some mysterious and ancient spell being chanted in a low voice. Su Yao's face was as pale as paper. She subconsciously hugged the book in her arms tightly, her body trembling slightly, and she couldn't help but lean on Lin Ze beside her.

Seeing this, Lin Ze was a little frightened, but as a man after all, he still managed to calm down. He held the sword tightly in his right hand, and the sword flashed a cold light under the dim light. He mustered up his courage and shouted loudly at the illusory darkness: "Who is the evildoer here? Don't hide your head and show your tail, and don't pretend to be a ghost! If you have the guts, come out and fight me!"

As Lin Ze's angry shout fell, a faint light and shadow slowly appeared in front of them like a ghost. When the light and shadow gradually became clear, the two looked closely and found that it was an old man with white hair and a haggard face. The old man was wearing a tattered gray robe, and his body was hunched, like a candle in the wind. However, when his cloudy eyes fell on the book in Su Yao's arms, a strange light flashed across his eyes, which made people feel frightened.

"Why did you two ignorant kids dare to trespass into this place? And you even carried this forbidden book with you! Don't you know the great danger contained in this book?" The old man's voice was as hoarse as the cry of a night owl, which made people shudder.

Hearing this, Lin Ze frowned and said in a deep voice: "Old man, to be honest, we had no choice but to flee here to avoid danger. As for this book, we really know nothing about it."

The old man sneered with disdain after hearing this, and said with a sneer, "Humph! This book is the key to unlocking the seal of the ancient evil creature. Now, the evil creature has sensed the breath of this book and is about to wake up from its slumber. You two reckless people, I'm afraid you're in big trouble this time!"

After saying this, the old man waved his sleeves violently, and in an instant, the entire temple began to shake violently, as if it would collapse at any time.

Su Yao hugged the scroll tightly and looked at Lin Ze in horror. Lin Ze stepped forward to protect Su Yao and shouted to the old man: "Old man, since you know how serious it is, you must have a solution, right?"

A cold light flashed in the old man's eyes, "A solution? There is one, but it is extremely dangerous." Lin Ze said hurriedly, "No matter how dangerous it is, it is better than sitting and waiting to die. Please tell me something."

The old man raised his head slightly, looked towards the top of the temple, and slowly spoke: "We need to send this book to the Xuanbing Cave in the far north. The pure cold air there may be able to suppress the evil spirits' sensitivity to the book. But the journey is long and full of dangers. Not only are there all kinds of demons blocking our way, but there are also natural dangers."

Lin Ze's eyes were firm, "No matter what, we are willing to give it a try." Su Yao also nodded. The old man looked at the two of them deeply, "Okay, since you are determined, I will give you a treasure." He took out a bead emitting blue light from his sleeve.

"This bead is called the evil-avoiding bead. It can keep you safe when you encounter evil spirits. Don't let me down. Go quickly." As soon as he finished speaking, the old man waved his hands, and a force sent Lin Ze and Su Yao out of the temple.

Lin Ze and Su Yao looked at each other, clenched the beads in their hands, and set off towards the far north.

The two of them headed north, and it was smooth sailing at first, but when they reached a forest, the fog thickened.

Suddenly, a sinister laugh was heard, followed by a group of black shadows rushing out. They were demons that looked like wild wolves but had flaming eyes.