Walking into the narrow mountain path, winding and twisting, on both sides of the hard stone wall, there are protruding rocks from time to time, if not careful, it's likely that one's head will be knocked against them.

  Looking around the stone wall, there are still water droplets dripping down in many places, and the most concentrated place has gathered into a small pool. On the upper and lower parts of the stone wall, in the dark places, a lot of green moss has grown, making the air filled with a faintly damp and cool smell.

  Gui Li and Xiao Bai wound their way through the twists and turns, finally managing to turn out of this mountain path that had been shrouded in who-knows-how-many years of mist, and saw the sky again.

  Today, the sun rose, a departure from the gloomy weather of the past few days, and it seemed quite clear.

  As soon as they walked out of the dark mountain path, under the sunlight, both Gui Li and Xiao Bai couldn't help but squint their eyes, feeling the rays of light shooting down from the sky, as if it still carried a beautiful halo, shining on them.

  After a moment, as his eyes adjusted, the distant hum of activity also gradually became audible.

  The two of them looked ahead and saw that the scene before their eyes suddenly opened up, in this ring of mountains surrounding them, there was a piece of fertile, flat and vast land appearing before them.

  House after house with strong Miao flavor rose from the ground, either built on the mountain or closely connected. There is also a clear stream flowing, originating from the deep mountains in front, winding through this land like a paradise on earth. Many Miao people's houses were built on both banks of the stream.

  And on the surface of the water, far away, the Miao people built three bridges, which were all different. One was a wooden bridge, the simplest, with two giant logs tied together and laid horizontally between the two banks, making up a bridge.

  As for the other two, they are stone bridges, but also more flavorful. One is made of large stones, rough and solid, laid flat on the narrow stream, and then covered with thick stone slabs to form a bridge, which is a simple and practical way of building bridges in southern Xinjiang.

  But the last stone bridge, however, was made of small stones and surprisingly had no piers. It was an arch bridge with each stone block tightly connected, spanning across the sky and flying over the stream. The style looked completely like a bridge from the Central Plains region, it's really strange that it would appear in this place.

  Gui Li saw all this, his heart moved, but he didn't show it on his face. He and Xiao Bai continued to walk forward, the crowd grew larger, and it became more lively. Most of the people around them were speaking Miao dialect, Gui Li listened with only a "gibberish" sound in his ears, unable to understand a single word even after a long time.

  Xiaobai walked beside him, looking around at the surrounding area. Many of the Miao people they met looked over at them, but since they were unfamiliar faces, they just took a few more glances without any particular hostility. After walking for a while, she said in a low voice to Gui Lian, "It seems that Nanzhong has become much more peaceful over the years."

  The ghost was taken aback and didn't understand what he meant, saying: "What's wrong?"

  "When I first came here, ordinary Miao people saw outsiders as a great enemy, with vigilant and preventive eyes. At that time, the five ethnic groups were fiercely competing, and inter-tribal battles broke out from time to time. If an outsider dared to come to this Seven-li Gorge without self-defense skills, they would likely meet a tragic end. However, looking at today's situation, it seems that such conflicts have decreased significantly over the years."

  The ghost nodded slightly, and as he looked around, they were already walking among the Miao people. This main road was on one side of the stream, with rows of closely connected Miao houses on one side and clear river water on the other, with many green trees lined up along the shore.

  At first glance, Miao people's houses are mostly made of wood, with a style completely different from that of the Central Plains. They are square and simple, without any decorations, and on the corners, doors, and walls, there are hung fierce animal skeletons, with those of ferocious beasts being more common. It seems that this is a Miao custom, used to show the bravery of the house owner.

  On both sides of the road, there are Miao people setting up stalls to sell things, but most of what they sell is animal hides and raw meat. Walking a few more steps, you occasionally see one or two stalls selling small jewelry and jade ornaments.

  Xiao Bai smiled and said: "The fur here is all high-quality goods, and the price is much cheaper. If you want to buy a few pieces here, it's a great deal."

  The ghost's mouth moved slightly, but he didn't say a word and walked straight forward. He slowly walked to the riverbank and looked down, only to see that the river water was extremely clear. Standing on the riverbank, you could even see the stones at the bottom of the creek, and the large and small fish swimming and playing in the water were countless.

  In the distance, there seemed to be flying birds swooping down, flapping their wings and landing on the water's surface. They looked around in all directions for a few moments, then closed their wings contentedly and glided gently across the water.

  Heaven and earth and all things, in this place, are surprisingly harmonious.

  Xiao Bai walked over slowly, and Xiao Hui, who had somehow run onto her shoulder again, curiously poked out his head to gaze down at the stream.

  "What now?" the ghost asked indifferently.

  Xiao Bai pondered for a moment, saying: "It's been three hundred years since the incident. If that person from back then didn't have our level of cultivation, they're probably already dead. Let's first go find the place where that person was."

  The demon nodded silently and said, "Where is he?"

  Xiaobai smiled slightly and pointed forward with his hand, saying: "There."

  Gui Li raised his head and looked over, suddenly stunned, only to see where Xiao Bai was pointing, but it was in the depths of the Miao people's gathering place, a stone platform building built on the waist of a mountain, far above the ordinary Miao people's houses.

  The ghost frowned and said in a low voice: "Altar."

  "Not bad."

  The ghost was silent and did not speak, but in his heart he felt a faint burning sensation. It wasn't for any other reason, but the altar had special significance in the southern border area.

  He had been to South Xinjiang many times before, although he was preoccupied with his thoughts and focused on searching for the mysterious Black Shaman tribe, so he didn't pay much attention to the local customs of South Xinjiang. However, he still knew some basic things about it.

  In the southern border areas, the five ethnic groups of Zhuang, Miao, Yao, Li and Gaoshan have their own territories and governance. Due to differences in tribes, they also believe in different gods and religions. However, among each ethnic group, there are specialized places for worshiping spirits and ancestors, which are called altars.

  The altar has a high status among the tribes in southern Xinjiang. In the eyes of most tribal people, there is no difference between what the shaman says and what the great mysterious god says. In the past, when the five tribes were fighting fiercely, every war had to be preceded by asking the shaman in the altar for permission from the gods, explaining the situation, and obtaining the consent of the gods - that is, the words spoken by the great shaman himself, before the tribal leader could launch a new war.

  From this, we can see what kind of status the altar and the wizards inside have in Nanjiang!

  And these wizards, as far as he knew, rarely met outsiders.

  Gu Li was silent for a moment, then turned his head towards Xiao Bai and said: "That is the Miao people's altar, the person you mentioned, could it be..."

  Xiao Bai smiled faintly and interrupted, "Not bad, three hundred years ago, I saw it here, the great witch doctor of the Miao people used the soul-calling technique to rescue a Miao person whose soul had been taken away by the mountain spirits."

  The great shaman of the Miao people...

  The ghost's mouth moved again, and if the wizard in the altar was highly respected among the southern ethnic groups, then as the most powerful wizard with the highest status, who personally conveyed the will of the gods every time, it was simply a god in the eyes of ordinary people.

  If anyone dares to offend the great witch, Gui Li will not hesitate at all. All the Miao people on this land in front of him, and even all the Miao people in the entire southern border, will rush over and fight with him to the death.

  Xiao Bai looked at Gui Li with interest and smiled: "How about it, what should we do now?"

  The ghost looked at her with a stern expression, and saw that the morning sunlight was shining on her face, as if it had been refracted, carrying a faint warmth.

  He didn't say another word, turned around and slowly walked towards the altar on the half mountain.

  Xiaobai smiled and followed him up.

  This place is known as the Seven Mile Stockade, and it's naturally quite large in scale. It's also said to be the largest Miao people settlement on the southern border of Jiangxi Province. As they ventured deeper, they saw more and more Miao people.

  From this relatively large road they walked on, there were constantly small branches extending to the sides, just like a big tree branching out and spreading its leaves.

  The two of them looked far away and saw that the road under their feet extended directly to the altar in the distance, so they didn't have to ask for directions.

  As they went deeper, more and more Miao people noticed their behavior, and the whispers around them grew louder. After about half a cup of tea's worth of time, they arrived at the foot of the majestic mountain where the altar was located.

  Then they stopped in their tracks, not because they were hesitant, but because the Miao soldiers stationed at the foot of the mountain blocked them.

  The ghost felt a slight sense of annoyance in his heart, but the situation before him was not unexpected. Of course! As the sacred altar of the Miao people, if it wasn't heavily guarded, it would be strange instead.

  There were indeed many Miao soldiers guarding the foot of the mountain. At a glance, there were at least over ten robust men standing on the road leading to the middle of the mountain, keeping watch from near and far.

  At this time, the two men who stopped them were the two Miao men standing in front. They wore ordinary Miao clothes, but with a wooden armor made of hard wood on their chest, holding long-handled spears in their hands. It seems that this is the difference between Miao warriors and ordinary Miao people.

  Those two Miao people looked up and down at Gui Li and Xiao Bai for a few eyes, then more than half of their gaze fell on Xiao Bai's pretty face and lingered for a moment before saying loudly: "Gee li gee loo, hua la hua loo hu..."

  The ghost turned his head and looked at Xiaobai, who shrugged and said, "Don't ask me, I've been locked up for so long, how can I still remember these local dialects?"

  The ghost's face was stern, turned his head around, and after a moment of contemplation, said: "We have urgent matters to attend to, we'd like to request an audience with your great shaman." Because he had something to ask of them, it was rare for him to speak in such a polite manner at this moment.

  However, it was clear that these Miao people were far less civilized than the boss and his partners who ran the inn at Tianshui Village. They didn't understand Chinese, but when Guili said something, the two Miao men furrowed their brows even more tightly, exchanged a glance, and picked up the long-handled spears in their hands. Their faces were stern as they loudly asked: "Hu hu lu lu la la, lu lu hu hu ji li li..."

  He was so furious that he didn't know what to do for a moment. To be honest, he had been running around for ten years for Bi Yao, searching everywhere for the Black Witch tribe's whereabouts. Now that he finally had some clues, he was blocked by these Miao warriors. He was extremely annoyed and really wanted to get rid of them directly, rush into the altar and find that great witch doctor to treat Bi Yao.

  He was no longer the naive young man he once was, and he knew that he couldn't afford to be impulsive at this moment. If things went awry, it would likely have the opposite effect of what they intended. After a brief hesitation due to the language barrier, he pointed to the altar located halfway up the mountain using his hand, and said in a gentle voice: "We want to go to your altar to pay our respects to the great shaman."

  What he said, the Miao people didn't know whether they understood or not, but his gesture of pointing to the altar on the mountain with his hand suddenly made all the surrounding Miao people angry, including the Miao warriors standing further away and some Miao people who followed them to watch the excitement. One by one, they suddenly shouted loudly, and the Miao warriors even surrounded them, enclosing them in a circle.

  The ghost's expression changed slightly, and Xiao Bai whispered beside him: "It's bad, you may have offended the taboos of the Miao people."

  "What did I do?"

  Xiao Bai looked at the angry crowd around him and said in a low voice, "In the eyes of the Miao people, the altar is a sacred and inviolable place. In everyday conversation, it cannot be mentioned lightly, and pointing to the altar with one's hand is an extremely disrespectful act, which is considered the greatest insult among the Miao people."

  The ghost glared at her and said in a bad temper: "Such an important thing, you actually didn't tell me earlier?"

  Xiao Bai let out a soft laugh, and her gentle charm seemed to seep out, as she said softly: "You should think about it too, I've been locked up for 300 years, how could I still remember so much..."

  The ghost was so fierce and he was dumbfounded, for a moment he really felt overwhelmed.

  The surrounding Miao people looked at them being surrounded, but they didn't show any fear, instead they were calm and chatting in low voices. The man had a hint of anxiety, while the woman seemed to be completely ignoring the surrounding Miao people, smiling cleverly and glancing around with flowing eyes.

  There were many Miao women around, looking at the beautiful appearance of Xiao Bai in the field. They all secretly admired her, but when they saw more Miao men staring at Xiao Bai with shining eyes, the whole scene suddenly became agitated. In an instant, there was a flurry of whispers and murmurs, as if this pair of lovers had desecrated the sacred altar and should be punished by being cut into pieces and executed in a brutal manner.

  Among them, a few younger men couldn't help but argue for a while, saying that the one who insulted the altar was that man, and this woman didn't make any big mistakes. Why not kill that man and leave that woman, she can be my wife too...

  Before they could finish speaking, the men were suddenly submerged in a sea of Miao women, who were their mothers, sisters, younger sisters, aunts, and female cousins, as well as unrelated Miao women. The women kicked, pulled hair, grabbed ears, punched eyes, and struck chests. In short, it was a chaotic scene with hands and feet flying everywhere, accompanied by wails and howls. A moment later, there were several splashing sounds, and the men were thrown into the creek one after another, creating huge splashes of water.

  The Miao women are strong and capable, it's worth taking a look.

  Those Miao soldiers didn't expect the Miao women to be so furious, even more enraged than the warriors who were supposed to guard the altar with utmost loyalty to the gods. They hated these outsiders who desecrated the altar so much that anyone who tried to plead for mercy was beaten mercilessly.

  The head of the Miao soldier seemed to be the leader of these dozen soldiers. He glanced at the young men who were still crying and splashing in the river, coughed, looked at Gui Li and Xiao Bai, and suddenly his face turned pale. He stared at Gui Li without even looking at Xiao Bai, as if afraid that this man would slip away or that his gaze would shift, and loudly shouted: "Haha Lu Lu Ji Li, Qia La Ji Li Hu Lu Lu!"

  The local tyrant was also very anxious, although he didn't know why a large group of Miao women suddenly rushed together in the crowd, grabbed several young Miao men, beat them up and threw them into the river. But thinking that the Miao people were an alien tribe, they probably had some strange customs, so it wasn't surprising.

  However, at the moment, he couldn't communicate with these Miao people, and earlier, he had unintentionally offended them, angering them. As he looked around, more and more Miao people were gathering, although he and Xiao Bai were cultivators who didn't fear these physically strong Miao people, but unfortunately, he was currently in a situation where he needed the help of this Miao tribe.

  For the past decade, he has gone from hope to despair and almost desperation, truly suffering greatly. Now that a good opportunity has suddenly re-emerged, he is unwilling to let it slip away no matter what. However, at this moment, speaking doesn't seem to work, and using gestures to communicate is also feared to be ineffective, in case he unknowingly offends some taboo of the Miao people again, which would be too unjust.

  He stood there, unable to advance or retreat, feeling extremely awkward.

  While the surrounding Miao people saw that these two had made a mistake and did not repent, they still stood in place without making a sound. The man had a somewhat anxious expression, but the woman actually smiled even more brightly, and under the gaze of the crowd, she seemed to be even happier, her smile becoming more charming. In between, she even smiled at several Miao men who were staring at her, instantly mesmerizing them into a daze.

  This scene fell into the eyes of the Miao women around, and suddenly it was like a pot bursting open. It was unbearable, what could be tolerated, and the noise grew louder and louder, almost drowning Gui Liang and his men with saliva.

  Just as the crowd was about to get out of control, many Miao women were about to rush forward and teach that saucy little demon a good lesson in the name of the gods on the altar, when a loud shout came from behind the warriors guarding the mountain path.

  This voice was extremely thick and majestic, actually suppressing the noise of so many people, and the voice was full of majesty. The surrounding Miao people seemed to recognize this voice as well, immediately becoming quiet, looking up at the mountain, it was clear that this person had great prestige among the Miao people.