Su Xi's eyelids twitched at the voice in her ear, and she stopped.
Since she already understood that this place was unusual, she naturally couldn't continue forward.
She didn't know what risks lay ahead, so why should she take a gamble?
With her mind made up, Su Xi immediately turned back. It didn't matter if she had gone the wrong way, as long as she could return.
However, just as Su Xi was about to turn back, she suddenly heard an ancient voice from behind, "Since you have already come, why are you in such a hurry to leave?"
"Hmm?" Hearing the voice behind her, Su Xi stopped and looked in the direction it came from.
Not far behind her, an old man in ragged clothes, bound by iron chains, appeared before her.
The old man had a pair of white wings on his upper body, and his lower body disappeared.
Su Xi took only one glance and instantly felt a tremor deep within her soul, as if a dagger was constantly slicing through it.
Feeling the change in her body, Su Xi quickly averted her gaze, daring not to look at the old man before her any longer.
The old man looked at Su Xi, who could automatically break free from his restraint, and a hint of surprise flickered in his eyes.
This woman is truly interesting.
"You are not from the mortal realm, who are you?" the old man asked Su Xi, voicing his doubt.
Hearing this strange old man say that she was not from the mortal realm, Su Xi's eyes showed a hint of emotion.
She had been in this world for so long, yet no one had ever discovered her identity. Now, this person had discovered it with just one glance; his abilities were certainly not small.
Su Xi took a few steps back, then looked at the old man, remaining silent.
At this moment, without understanding the old man's background, she naturally wouldn't reveal too much.
Moreover, she could clearly feel that the old man before her was extremely powerful. This overwhelming pressure made her unable to muster any resistance.
Gui Lao saw Su Xi's wariness towards him and smiled, "You don't need to be so hostile towards me. I have something I need your help with."
Su Xi: "???"
She didn't know Gui Lao, so why was he asking for her help? She wasn't someone who liked to meddle in other people's affairs.
Furthermore, she could sense Gui Lao's immense power. Now that he was asking for her help, she didn't need to think to know how difficult it would be.
Knowing the difficulty, Su Xi refused without hesitation, "Senior, my abilities are limited. My mother has already cooked dinner and is waiting for me to come home and eat. I'll be leaving now."
After speaking, Su Xi prepared to turn and leave.
She believed that since Gui Lao was bound by chains, his movements must be affected. If that were the case, she naturally had to leave.
Gui Lao smiled as he watched Su Xi leave.
He had already anticipated that Su Xi would not agree so easily, so he was prepared.
Although most of his spiritual power was restrained, it did not mean that Su Xi could escape from his sight.
For thousands of years, he had not seen a living person appear before him. Now that he had finally encountered one, he certainly could not let Su Xi leave.
Su Xi felt as though she was about to escape, but before she could sigh in relief, she suddenly saw the exit before her vanish.
Then, she saw Gui Lao before her again.
"Hi, little girl, we meet again." Gui Lao waved at Su Xi with a smile.
Su Xi looked at Gui Lao, a look of helplessness appearing on her face.
From what had just happened, she understood that she had no way of escaping from Gui Lao.
"Senior, please spare me." Su Xi looked at Gui Lao, on the verge of tears. She truly did not want to help.
She just wanted to slack off and didn't want to take risks.
Gui Lao looked at Su Xi and smiled, "What do you think?"
Hearing Gui Lao's response, Su Xi's expression instantly turned to one of utter despair.
What had she done? She hadn't gained any benefits, yet she had attracted a great trouble.
"Senior, what do you want me to do?" Su Xi looked at Gui Lao helplessly, her face filled with resignation.
Gui Lao nodded approvingly and said soothingly, "Don't be so sad. I just want you to help me with a small matter."
Su Xi remained silent, her gaze fixed on Gui Lao with an expression that clearly said, "I don't believe a word you say."
Gui Lao knew it wouldn't be easy to fool Su Xi, so he stated his purpose, saying, "You just need to help me unlock the chains on my body."
Upon hearing Gui Lao's words, Su Xi's face instantly showed disbelief.
She was just a minor character, why would they give her such a significant task?
This task sounded easy, but it was clearly very difficult to accomplish.
If the chains on Gui Lao were so easily removed, why would he need her?
After weighing things in her mind, she couldn't help but say, "Senior, aren't you making things difficult for me?"
Gui Lao knew what Su Xi was worried about and chuckled, "It's not difficult. I have confidence in you."
Su Xi: "..."
She really wanted to say that Gui Lao was crazy for talking so much nonsense.
But at this moment, she couldn't defeat Gui Lao, so she could only look at him with a look of utter despair. She certainly had no confidence in herself.
"Senior, what should I do then?" Su Xi sighed, ready to assess the situation first.
If the situation was not complicated and only required her to lift a finger, she would be willing to help.
Although she didn't know what kind of being Gui Lao was, it was clear she couldn't refuse him now.
Gui Lao was pleased with Su Xi's pragmatism and said, "The 'Kunmo Chain' on my body was made by the bald monk Xuanyi of the Great Xuan Empire. Therefore, to resolve the problem with my body, you must obtain his sarira."
Hearing Gui Lao's words, Su Xi's face instantly turned to disbelief. She then handed the Yun Shen Sword in her hand to Gui Lao, "Senior, you might as well kill me."
She had never heard of the place names he mentioned, but without even inquiring, she knew very well that those places would not be ordinary. Moreover, someone capable of confining Gui Lao would certainly not be simple.
Furthermore, obtaining his sarira would be even more difficult.
After all, a master of this caliber, whose sarira was a treasure in itself, would not be willing to give it to her.
Gui Lao looked at the conflicted expression on Su Xi's face and suddenly burst out laughing, "You don't have to agree. After all, you've already been poisoned by me. Without my antidote, we can just stay together. It would be nice to have company."
What???
Hearing Gui Lao's words, Su Xi immediately checked her body.
Indeed, she quickly discovered a persistent black aura within her.
Even with her supercomputer scanning, she couldn't analyze what it was.
After all, the supercomputer could only analyze things from the mortal realm. There was no information recorded for these things from the underworld.
Sensing the abnormality in her body, Su Xi became even more helpless.
In this situation, she had no choice but to agree.
Knowing that the situation was irreversible, Su Xi looked at Gui Lao, "Senior, you also know how dangerous it is ahead. My cultivation might not be enough to complete the mission."
Since he wanted her to do something, he had to give her some benefits.
Hearing Su Xi's words, Gui Lao nodded, "Your cultivation is indeed too weak. Going now would be of no use and would only be courting death."
Su Xi's eyelids twitched at Gui Lao's words.
Although Gui Lao was speaking the truth, why did it sound so strange?
After criticizing Su Xi's cultivation, Gui Lao plucked three hairs from his head and handed them to Su Xi.
Seeing the hairs Gui Lao placed before her, Su Xi's forehead creased with confusion, "Are these three life-saving hairs?"
Moreover, Gui Lao didn't have much hair to begin with. Wouldn't he become bald if he kept doing this?
After some internal grumbling, Su Xi looked at Gui Lao and asked in confusion, "Senior, what are you trying to do?"
"These three hairs can each summon my phantom once. As long as you don't provoke anyone too powerful, I can help you resist." Gui Lao said proudly.
His cultivation was largely suppressed now, so there was nothing he could do. After thousands of years, he had finally accumulated three opportunities to act, and he had now given them all to Su Xi.
He sincerely hoped that Su Xi would not let him down, otherwise, it would truly break his heart.
Hearing Gui Lao's words, Su Xi's spirits instantly lifted, and she quickly pocketed the hairs.
Although she didn't know Gui Lao's cultivation level, it was clearly not weak. Now that she had the opportunity to have him act three times, obtaining the sarira might not be too difficult.
After storing the hairs, Su Xi looked at Gui Lao again, "Senior, I have one more question."
"Why so many questions?" Gui Lao grumbled at Su Xi, then said, "Go ahead."
"What is the uppermost level of the Sword Cave?" Su Xi asked the question that was bothering her.
Gui Lao frowned upon hearing Su Xi's words and asked in surprise, "What Sword Cave?"
Having lived here for so long, he had never heard of a Sword Cave.
Hearing Gui Lao's words, Su Xi was also quite surprised, "Senior, you don't know about the Sword Cave?"
"No," Gui Lao nodded affirmatively.
Upon hearing Gui Lao's response, Su Xi's expression became grave.
Now that she was considered an ally of Gui Lao, he had no reason to lie to her. However, precisely because she knew Gui Lao was not lying, Su Xi found it even more unbelievable.
She considered a possibility: this place did not originally exist here, but was deliberately moved here to deal with her.
Upon thinking of this possibility, Su Xi's first suspect was Daoist Mengxu.
As the leader of Shu Mountain, he undoubtedly had the greatest motive.
However, although Su Xi suspected that Daoist Mengxu was responsible for all of this, she was powerless.
After all, the event had already occurred, and she could not ignore what needed to be done.
Gui Lao looked at the expression on Su Xi's face and beckoned her, saying, "Time is of the essence now. Don't waste any more time. Otherwise, even if I can resolve the issue with your body, there might not be enough time."
He could not give Su Xi an indefinite amount of time, so there had to be a deadline. Otherwise, if Su Xi procrastinated, who knew how long she would take?
Hearing Gui Lao's words, Su Xi's entire expression froze.
This was pushing her to a dead end.