Xie Lian said coldly, “Get out of the way.”

The will-o'-the-wisp didn't move. Xie Lian asked, "Why are you trying to stop me?"

The will-o'-the-wisp didn't answer. The other will-o'-the-wisp continued to repeat "Don't go over there". Xie Lian didn't want to get entangled with these things any more, so he waved his hand and dispersed them.

It wasn't that the soul was scared to death. This palm only dispersed the ghost fires that formed a blocking formation, just like dispersing a group of fireflies or goldfish.

Xie Lian passed quickly, making the dead branches and leaves on the ground rustle softly. However, when he looked back, he saw that the ghost fires had quickly caught up with him, and it seemed that they were about to form a formation again. Xie Lian warned, "Don't follow me."

The brightest and hottest will-o'-the-wisp flew in front, turning a deaf ear to the enemy. Xie Lian raised his hand as if he was about to strike, and fiercely said, “Follow me again, or I’ll beat you to pieces!”

With such threats, many will-o'-the-wisp were frightened, and they shrank back in fear. The leading will-o'-the-wisp froze in mid-air for a moment, still following him less than five steps away, making Xie Lian feel as if it was saying, "It doesn't matter if my soul is scattered." Or maybe it knew that Xie Lian would not really hit it.

Xie Lian suddenly felt a surge of inexplicable anger. In the past, if he shouted, which little ghost would dare to harass him? They would have long ago scattering without a trace. Now, not only did everyone dare to trample on him at will, but even this small ball of will-o'-the-wisp did not listen to him and did not take his threats seriously. He was so angry that his eyes turned red and he muttered, "...even a little ghost like you is like this...all of them are like this...not one of them is not like this!"

It was a little funny to be so angry over such a small matter, but Xie Lian was really angry at the moment. Unexpectedly, after he muttered these words, the will-o'-the-wisp seemed to understand that he was angry and sad. It stopped in the air and stopped moving forward. It slowly retreated with hundreds of will-o'-the-wisp. After a while, they all disappeared into the night.

Xie Lian let out a breath, turned around and continued walking.

After seven or eight hundred steps, a few corners of eaves appeared faintly in the mist ahead, which seemed to be an ancient temple deep in the mountains. Xie Lian walked closer and took a closer look, his eyes slightly widened.

This is actually... a prince's temple.

Of course, it was the dilapidated Prince Temple. It had long been looted by thugs, and the plaque fell to the ground and broke into two pieces. Xie Lian paused at the temple gate for a moment, stepped over the broken plaque, and entered the temple. The statues in the temple had long since disappeared, and no one knew whether they were smashed, burned, or sunk into the sea. The altar was empty, with only a charred base left. The words "In hell, heart in paradise" on both sides were slashed with twenty-seven or eight knives, as if a beautiful woman had her face slashed with a knife, no longer beautiful, but eerie and hideous.

Xie Lian calmed down and sat down in the hall, waiting for Bai Wuxiang to appear. After an incense stick of time, a figure appeared in the mist outside the temple.

However, the figure was not right, not as leisurely as Bai Wuxiang; the footsteps were not right either, they were more hurried, not as quiet as Bai Wuxiang's. Therefore, the person coming was definitely not Bai Wuxiang, nor was he anyone he knew.

So, who could it be?

Xie Lian was extremely alert, and only when the man rushed to the front of the Prince's Temple with a "tap tap" sound did he see his appearance clearly. Unfortunately, the man did not match any of his guesses - he looked like a passerby, and there was no clue.

But Xie Lian still did not let his guard down. Who knows if this was Bai Wuxiang in disguise?

In the wild mountains and the dilapidated Taoist temple, Xie Lian suddenly encountered a person. Xie Lian was wary of the other person, and the other person was also wary of Xie Lian. After a long while, he tentatively asked: "This... Taoist priest? Do you know where this place is?"

Xie Lian frowned slightly, raised his head and asked, “You don’t know where this is? Then how did you get here?”

The man said, "I'm lost! I've been wandering around for a long time but can't find a way out."

Xie Lian knew that he was definitely not lost. If this man was not Bai Wuxiang in disguise, then he was most likely lured here by something.

He said, "Don't turn around, you can't get out."

"What? What did you say?"

Xie Lian did not answer and continued to meditate. If Bai Wuxiang had kidnapped them, then there was no point in getting anxious. If he didn’t let them go, they could not leave. It would be better to wait and see what he was going to do.

The man was also tired from running, so he sat down to rest, and the two of them were at peace. After a while, another figure appeared in the fog and walked to the temple. He was also a puzzled passerby. Seeing someone in the temple, he hurriedly came up and said, "Two brothers! Excuse me, what is this place?"

The two passers-by started chatting, and Xie Lian had a premonition.

This is not the end. There will be more people coming.

Sure enough, within an hour, dozens of people came to the Prince's Temple. There were men and women, young and old, some alone, some in groups of three or four, some with their families. Most of them were lost, but they got lost in all kinds of strange ways. Some even got lost while walking on the street. It was incredible. Inside, Xie Lian also saw the street performer who had insisted on competing with him in breaking rocks with his chest. He didn't look very good. It seemed that the last competition had really injured him. The two of them looked at each other, didn't say anything, and nodded.

It is obvious that these are all ordinary people, and they were all brought to this deep mountain forest by Bai Wuxiang on purpose!

Xie Lian's alarm bells were getting louder and louder, but he remained calm. He took out a cold steamed bun from his sleeve, took a bite, chewed it hard, and swallowed it hard. He wanted to conserve his energy as much as possible to deal with the battle that might come later.

Two hours later, the Prince's Temple was packed with people who had "lost their way". Xie Lian counted secretly and saw that there were about a hundred people. No one could get out of the forest.

As more people came, the scene became noisy, and everyone was talking at once: "You also came here for no apparent reason? This is really weird!"

Someone suggested: "Why don't we look for it again?"

Someone immediately agreed: "Let's go, let's go! I don't believe that there are so many people and not even one can get out!"

Xie Lian, who was sitting in the corner, suddenly raised his head and said, “It’s no use for you to leave. You can’t get out.”

Everyone looked at him: "Why?"

Xie Lian said coldly, “Because you were all led here by a monster. You are all his toys. Would he let you go so easily?”

“…”

Some people thought he was exaggerating, some thought he was being mysterious, and some thought he should not be underestimated. One person stood up and said, "Who are you? What makes you say that?"

"He seems to be the first one here. He was sitting here when I arrived."

"strange……"

"Yes, and his face is covered."

"Do you have any proof?"

Xie Lian said calmly, “There is no proof. Believe it or not, that monster definitely didn’t lure you here to treat you to a meal. Be careful, I don’t need to say more.”

Just as he finished speaking, before anyone responded, a sound of rapid and frantic footsteps could be heard in the distance. Everyone's spirits immediately lifted, and they shouted, "Someone's coming again!"

Even if someone wanted to go out to see what was happening, they would quickly run back as soon as they stepped out of the temple gate. Because, along with the sound of running, there were also waves of crazy shouting!

This cry was not something a human could make. Everyone's faces changed drastically and they all retreated back into the temple, saying, "Oh my god, who is this? Could it be a wild beast?!"

The figure in the mist was getting closer and closer. Xie Lian narrowed his eyes and said, “No, that is indeed a person!”

However, the man howled loudly while running towards them, and covered his face with his hands. Seeing that he was about to run into the Prince’s Temple, Xie Lian squeezed out of the crowd and stood outside to see what was going on. However, the man seemed to have no eyes and ran straight into a tree at the entrance of the Prince’s Temple. With a "bang", he was bounced back a foot and fell to the ground unconscious.

Everyone was shocked. They crowded in the temple and stretched their necks, asking anxiously, "…what’s wrong with this person?"

Including the street performer, a few brave enough wanted to go and check, but Xie Lian immediately said, “Don’t get close!”

Several people were startled by his harsh tone again and asked, "What should we do? Just let him lie there?"

Xie Lian said, “I’ll just go and see.”

Everyone asked, "Then you should be more careful?"

Xie Lian nodded, slowly approached the tree, squatted down, and was about to move the man’s hand that was covering his face away, but the man suddenly jumped up and screamed twice.

Yes, there were two screams. Moreover, they were two sounds coming out at the same time. One came from the man's mouth, and the other came from his face - this man had another face on his face!

Human face epidemic!

Xie Lian immediately got goose bumps all over his body, and his pupils shrank suddenly. Everyone in the temple was also shocked by this horrific scene. After the man jumped up, he opened his hands and rushed to the crowded place. Fortunately, Xie Lian was quick-witted and slapped the man with the plague away. Xie Lian quickly stepped back a few steps to block the entrance of the temple. The people behind him said in horror: "Isn't this disease only found in the Imperial City? So many people died in the Imperial City, isn't this disease already extinct?!"

"It can't be real, right?! Is that really a human face on his face?!"

What was even more terrifying was that the next moment, more screams were heard from all directions, and more than a dozen figures staggered towards the Prince Temple.

You can tell without even looking, they are all patients of the human face epidemic!

Someone shouted, "Everyone run! Spread out! Don't let them get close to you!!!"

Xie Lian shouted, “Don’t scatter! We don’t know how many are left in the forest!! If there are more outside, we’ll be finished!”

"What should we do?!" "We can't just wait for them to catch us!" "Isn't this just waiting to die?!"

The branch that he had broken off on the road had been pinned to Xie Lian’s waist. He pulled it out and held it diagonally like a sword, saying, “Don’t worry, they can’t get over here. Of course, I have the final say on whether they can get close to here!”

This is his territory, the Prince's Palace!

"you……"

Without waiting for anyone to ask, Xie Lian flew out, and with a few swishes of branches, he instantly knocked down those people with human-faced plague to the ground. This was not a difficult task for Xie Lian at all. He did what he said, and none of these weirdos could get close to him. Everyone in the temple was panting, and they were terrified. Seeing him win, they cheered and thanked God loudly. In the night sky of the forest, many ghost lights appeared and danced wildly. It was unknown whether they were helping to drive away those people with human-faced plague. Anyway, Xie Lian felt that they did not hinder him. After sweeping a circle, he habitually put the sword back into the sheath, but when he did, he realized that what he was holding was not a sword but a branch. He was embarrassed for a moment, and the next moment, he saw a white figure waving at him not far away. Xie Lian had just finished a round of battle, and his blood was boiling. He immediately chased after him: "Don't even think about running away!"

The group of ghost lights also followed him and rushed up, as if lighting the way for him. Bai Wuxiang was of course not trying to escape, and he walked neither fast nor slow, very calmly, but always seven or eight steps faster than him. Xie Lian chased for a few steps, then suddenly realized something and turned back immediately. Seeing that he had stopped chasing, Bai Wuxiang stopped walking instead, and asked, "Why don't you follow me?"

Xie Lian turned around and said, “You just want to lure me away and spread the human-faced plague again. Why should I follow you and let you succeed?”

Bai Wuxiang smiled and said, "No, you are wrong. My purpose is not to 'lure you away'. My purpose is you."

Although he was wearing a mask that made it impossible to tell his expression, for some reason, Xie Lian could feel that he was smiling.

It does not make sense to lure the tiger away from the mountain. If Bai Wuxiang wanted to spread the human-faced plague once again, he could spread it all over the world and Xie Lian would not be able to stop him. Why did he have to spread it in this deep mountain?

Xie Lian paused and asked, “Then what on earth do you want to do?!”

He had asked this question countless times and was almost losing his patience. Bai Wuxiang said, "I told you, I want you to come over to my side."

Xie Lian pulled out a branch and pointed it at him. Although this had no deterrent effect at all and even looked a little funny, it was the only weapon he had at the moment. Fortunately, a particularly bright will-o'-the-wisp fell on the front of the branch, which still added a bit of momentum to him. Xie Lian said sternly, "Why do you want me to go over there? To kill you?"

Bai Wuxiang laughed softly a few times and said gently, "Your Highness, you are a beautiful jade. Let me teach you."

“…”

Xie Lian felt both funny and angry, and couldn’t help but spit, “How dare you teach me? My master is Xianle Imperial Master, who the hell are you! Where did you come from, you monster?”

Bai Wuxiang stretched out a finger, shook it, and said, "You are wrong again. Your Highness, I should say that in this world, I am the only one who is worthy of teaching you. Your master? Imperial Master Xianle?"

His tone became unreasonably arrogant, and he said, "In front of me, this kind of thing is not worth mentioning at all. On the contrary, you have learned very well from what I taught you."

Xie Lian angrily said, “What did you teach me? What nonsense are you talking about? I don’t understand anything at all!”

Bai Wuxiang snorted and laughed: "The first thing I taught you is that there are many things in this world that you are powerless to do anything about."

Hearing this, many chaotic sounds and images flashed through Xie Lian’s mind. Finally, he gritted his teeth and thrust out his sword, Bai Wuxiang dodged easily, and said, “The second thing——”

He grabbed Xie Lian, causing him to stagger and nearly fall. He felt a hand touching his head and said, “Do you want to save the people? The people don’t need you to save them. They don’t deserve it.”

Xie Lian's movements faltered for a moment, and he slapped the hand away and stabbed again. With a "snap", it was Bai Wuxiang who broke the branch in his hand, flashed behind him, and placed two cold fingers on the fatal spot behind his head!

Xie Lian was pressed against the back of his head, feeling like he was about to pierce through his head at any moment, and froze. A voice came from behind him: "If you don't come to me, you will never be able to defeat me, and you will always be defeated by me."

Xie Lian took a few breaths and said in a deep voice, “…Just come on!”

After a pause, he said word by word: "I can't win, but only now. You can defeat me countless times, but you can't kill me. And as long as you can't kill me, one day, I will definitely defeat you!"

The will-o'-the-wisp heard his words and burned even more fiercely, as if it was going to light up the entire night sky. Bai Wuxiang was silent for a moment behind him and asked, "Can't I kill you?"

Xie Lian held his breath and said nothing.

In fact, he didn't know how strong the immortal body that Jun Wu had given him could be. What if Bai Wuxiang really dug out his brain in anger? Would he still be alive?

At this time, Bai Wuxiang said calmly: "I really can't kill you. I won't kill you either.

"But don't be too confident now. Don't regret it later."

Regret? Why?

Before Xie Lian could figure it out, a knife suddenly chopped his neck, and his vision suddenly went dark.

In the darkness, there seemed to be light and heat coming from far ahead. Xie Lian followed the light and woke up little by little.

I opened my eyes slightly, and the first thing I saw was a will-o'-the-wisp above me. It seemed that the light and heat I felt while unconscious was from it.

Seeing him wake up, the will-o'-the-wisp suddenly came close to him, but then seemed to feel that it was not good to be too close to people, so it slightly retreated. Xie Lian always felt that this will-o'-the-wisp seemed to be particularly unusual. If I remembered correctly, it was the will-o'-the-wisp that blocked him on the road just now. He wanted to reach out and probe, but unexpectedly, his hand could not reach out at all.

Xie Lian was stunned, then suddenly came to his senses. He looked down and realized that the reason he couldn’t stretch out his hands was because his hands and feet were tied.

He was actually tied tightly to the altar, with the broken base beneath him. Many people crowded under the altar, staring at him with eyes wide open.