This valley was the same one that Yan Luo had entered before, and the raven on the tree was also the same one that appeared during the Battle of Embroidered Spring. For anyone who saw it, it would be forever unforgettable, because whether it was the black raven on the tree or the woman with a dark aura like black smoke under the tree, they both had an eerie and chilling presence that seemed to come from the underworld. This feeling of fear was inexplicable, as if it came from their eyes that showed no emotion, or perhaps it came from the dark mist that seemed to seep into everything.

  "You were inside the temple at that time." The woman in black smoke said. Black Crow did not answer, and the woman in black smoke said again: "What's it like inside?"

  "I don't know." The crow replied coldly, and continued: "I only know that it's very dangerous inside, you'll die."

  "We have long been immortal." The woman in black smoke said.

  "Immortality doesn't mean you can't be killed," said the crow.

  "We are both formless and shapeless, transforming at will, how can we be killed?" The woman in the black smoke said.

  "You're still recovering from your injuries," said the crow. "If there are beings like us in this world, then naturally there must be things that can kill us."

  "What is it?"

  "The lamp in front of the idol can burn me, there is a person in the shadow of the idol, almost didn't let me out of the temple."

  "Who is it?"

  "A spirit in the temple by the river."

  "What can a ghost hurt you with, what does it have in its hand?"

  "I don't know."

  A gust of wind blew by, and the cluster of black smoke under the tree had dispersed with the wind, and the valley was once again plunged into deathly silence.

  The River God Temple already had a person dedicated to sweeping the temple and taking care of the incense, who was born and raised in Heqian Village. It can be said that from a young age, he grew up listening to the stories of Chen Jing, the River God. In the past year or two, the world began to become chaotic, his father was killed by thieves while doing business outside, and his mother remarried. He did not follow his mother, but instead stayed in Heqian Village, and at just ten years old, Li Xianglian became an orphan. It so happened that the people of Heqian Village felt that the River God Temple needed someone to take care of it, so he became a temple servant, also known as a divine servant.

  Since the emergence of this divine servant, Chen Jing has felt that the faith and will of Heqian Village have become much clearer and more intense. In his heart, he had always known little about the aspect of faith and willpower, only knowing that incense fire willpower had some unique uses, which could be transformed into magical power, but not just transformed into magical power. For example, the reason why the curse of the dead soul on his body did not break out, Chen Jing had always been thinking whether it was because of the incense fire willpower.

  Li Yannan was initially afraid to sleep alone in the village of Heqian, so every night after lighting incense, he would go to the village. One evening when he couldn't sleep, he went to the River God Temple. However, when he arrived at the riverbank where the temple was located with his lantern, he saw that the entire riverbank was filled with all sorts of animals that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, including some he had seen before, some he had only heard of, and some he had neither seen nor heard of.

  He was stunned, but as a ten-year-old child seeing so many wild beasts at night would naturally be afraid. However, he didn't turn around and run towards the village in front of the river. Because he saw someone sitting on the threshold of the River God Temple, although it wasn't very clear, his intuition told him that it was the River God he had been serving day and night.

  As he stepped forward to the river god, the wild beasts in front of him surprisingly stood up and made way for a path leading to the temple. He came before Chen Jing, but still couldn't see clearly under the dim light, not because of the lighting, but because Chen Jing was indeed a dark deity. However, he could already confirm that this was the river god, and immediately wanted to kneel down, but found himself unable to do so. A gentle voice echoed in his ears: "It's enough to have the intention in your heart, why bother with these empty rituals."

  "If you can't sleep at night, come to the River God Temple," Chen Jing said. Li Xiangnan responded with a "yes", and didn't seem afraid anymore. He stepped into the temple from beside Chen Jing, lit up the candles inside, and hung the lantern he was holding in front of the temple. The dim light couldn't illuminate the empty space in front of the temple, but it gave off a warm feeling. Chen Jing didn't stop him or say anything. Li Xiangnan finished hanging the lantern and retreated back into the temple, standing in the dark, his heart racing with fear. He was lying when he said he wasn't afraid - this was his first time doing something under the gaze of so many eyes, and those eyes weren't even human.

  At this time he suddenly heard people talking outside.

  "River God, lately this little demon has been confused in her heart. She's always thinking about what cultivation is all about, but no matter how much she thinks about it, she just can't seem to figure out what cultivation is really for."

  Li Yulan wiped out the head and looked outside the door. The dim yellow lamp couldn't illuminate anything clearly, so he couldn't see who was speaking. However, he knew that those sitting in front of the River God Temple were not humans. Now, he could hear human voices, which meant they were monsters. In his heart, he secretly took a deep breath, feeling both fear and excitement. It seemed as if an invisible gate to heaven and earth was slowly opening.

  "There's a saying among humans that where the heart is, the feet will follow. But before taking action, one must first rectify their mind. We cultivators are no exception. What do you think we cultivate for?" Chen Jing asked.

  "The little demon cultivates just to shed this demonic body and transform into an immortal."

  "I said before that Xian represents freedom, this freedom is not just about physical liberation, but rather spiritual. Only when the spirit is free, even if there is no magical power on the body, can it be called a Dust World Immortal."

  Li Yulan stood inside the door, listening intently. Her heart was filled with excitement. She stood there for a long time, feeling her legs ache, so she ran to fetch a meditation cushion from the temple and sat down in the shade of the doorway to listen. As she listened to those unknown monsters asking questions and listening to lectures, she couldn't help but think: "It turns out that the River God is really that powerful, even monsters are his students."

  As he listened, a warm current enveloped his body, and he didn't feel the slightest chill. Unbeknownst to him, he had dozed off leaning against the doorframe. When he woke up, there was already a faint light outside, and the River God and those demons who had been listening to his questions had vanished into thin air. Everything seemed like a dream, and if it weren't for the lantern hanging on the doorframe, he would have almost thought that everything he saw yesterday was just a dream he had.

  From that day on, a lantern would be lit in front of the River God Temple every night. When the lantern was lit, living creatures would emerge from the darkness to gather in front of the temple.

  The starlight and moonlight illuminate the hazy sky, the trees sway gently, and the night wind blows through the treetops like a mournful cry.

  In front of the ancestral temple by the river, a wisp of black smoke slowly took shape and transformed into a woman shrouded in black smoke. Her face was indistinct, but her figure revealed that she was a woman. She gazed at the serene ancestral temple in the shade of the large tree. Suddenly, her body shifted, and she transformed into a man clad in blue robes, with his face gradually taking shape. If anyone had seen this, they would have been astonished to discover that he looked exactly like the deity in the River God Temple.

  He didn't get close to the ancestral hall, but instead shouted towards it: "Hollow spirit... hollow spirit..." The voice was surprisingly identical to Chen Jing's. This voice was similar to Chen Jing's, yet seemed to have a magical power to it, and although it wasn't loud, one couldn't help but want to respond after hearing it. As soon as the voice appeared, the originally quiet back mountain immediately had many birds and insects crying out, but their cries quickly weakened and became almost inaudible, until the dark back mountain was once again silent, except this silence had a kind of dead stillness to it.

  "Ghost..."

  The black door of the shrine opened silently, as if it had been called open by that shout. A woman walked out of the dark shrine and stopped at the door. She looked at this scene outside and smiled: "Your illusion technique is very subtle, but it's useless to me. No matter what kind of illusion or transformation technique in the world, it can't deceive me."

  The figure that had transformed into Chen Jing's appearance had already retransformed into a cloud of black smoke when the spirit finished speaking. The woman in the black smoke looked at the spirit with surprise and said, "You don't belong to this world."

  She stood quietly in the temple gate, behind her was endless darkness, and she seemed to be standing on the edge of darkness and starlight. Her whole person looked exceptionally clear and weak, as if she would be swallowed by the darkness behind her at any time. All I heard was her quiet voice saying: "Why don't I belong to this world."

  "Because you have the same aura as me."

  "Heh heh, having an aura like yours means you don't belong in this world?" Xū Líng said with a soft laugh.

  The woman in black smoke said immediately: "That's natural, since you and I come from the same place, this world can't hold both of us. One day, Chen Jing will also not be able to hold you."

  "This heaven and earth can accommodate all living things, if it cannot accommodate me, I would have been destroyed long ago." said the Void Spirit.

  The woman in the black smoke let out a sarcastic laugh and said, "Do you know why our powers are severely weakened when we enter this mortal realm? Do you know why there are so few of us in this world? It's because of the rules of heaven and earth. The person who set these rules didn't allow us to exist in this world. Now it's just that the person who sealed us with those rules has disappeared, so we can barely survive."

  The spirit was silent and didn't speak, the woman in the black smoke said again: "As the world is about to undergo a great change, it's the right time for the gods of heaven to seal their fate. You should..." The spirit didn't wait for her to finish speaking and quietly disappeared into the darkness. The woman in the black smoke was furious, she hadn't finished speaking when her body flashed and turned into smoke, drilling into the ancestral hall. Just as the door had not yet closed, a mournful cry rang out, and the black smoke escaped from the door like a fleeing soul, rushing far away. In the gap of the door, the spirit stood quietly, slightly frowning, with a small mirror gently stroking her palm.