Chapter 186 She
Accurately speaking, that wasn't an actual speaking voice, but a sound that directly resonated in Li Ang's mind.

The voice was dreamlike and illusory, its melody slow and strange, like distant rumbling thunder, or indistinct muttering.

Li Ang's mind was instantly filled with the sound, and other stray thoughts quickly vanished as if flushed down a toilet.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

In the darkness ahead, footsteps slowly approached.

The scorching heat became tangible, rushing towards him, the temperature rising sharply, distorting the surrounding air.

The sandy ground beneath Li Ang's feet instantly dried and cracked, even showing signs of crystallization.

His own skin also shriveled and cracked due to the sudden increase in temperature.

The divine mark on the back of his left hand slowly emitted wisps of coolness, nourishing the skin scorched by the heat. The Dilium Elixir, still within its duration, was also constantly repairing Li Ang's injuries.

Fear.

A cold fear, born from the instinct of survival, enveloped Li Ang's entire body. Every part of his body screamed and shouted under the pressure of the threat, urging him to flee.

But his feet were rooted to the spot, unable to move, as if they were trees. His entire body was nailed firmly in place.

Li Ang could see, outside the fog gate, in the trench shrouded by moonlight,

The standing player companions seemed to have sensed something, and subconsciously looked in Li Ang's direction.

Through the fog gate, their gazing movements suddenly stopped.

As if struck by an invisible thunderbolt, they instantly fell to the ground before they could even struggle—even Miss Chai, who was residing in the Azure Maiden Armor, was no exception.

Li Ang, whose body was stiff and unable to move, did his best to close his eyes.

However, the figure in the darkness possessed an extremely strong "presence."

Even through his eyelids, it could project its image onto Li Ang's retina in the form of déjà vu.

Li Ang "saw" the other party's image.

It was a short girl,

She had fiery red skin, which contrasted sharply with the light blue flowing gauze wings she wore.

Her black hair reached her waist, and flames burned at the ends of her hair and around her wrists and ankles.

Her eyes had no whites, and her dark pupils, like the night sky, were dotted with countless glittering lights, as deep as the vast starry sky.

And the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned, like an innocent smile, or a mocking sneer.

Tap!

The other party took another step with ease, and the sandy ground in the entire space was completely transformed into a mirror-like crystal surface by the heat wave sweeping across the land.

Only the part under Li Ang's feet remained sandy.

"You are quite good."

The other party didn't speak aloud, but the voice entered Li Ang's mind, "In thousands of years, you are the first human to open this door."

Bearing the immense pressure that almost crushed his bones, Li Ang barely opened his mouth and spat out a word through his teeth, "Ba?"

*Shan Hai Jing (Classic of Mountains and Seas)*: There was someone wearing blue clothes, named Huangdi's daughter, Ba. Chi You made weapons and attacked Huangdi. Huangdi then ordered Yinglong to attack him in the wilderness of Jizhou. Yinglong stored water, and Chi You invited Feng Bo and Yu Shi to unleash a great storm. Huangdi then sent down the heavenly maiden, Ba, and the rain stopped, and Chi You was killed. Ba could no longer ascend, and where she lived, it would not rain.

This is, Hanba (drought demon)!

The other party, or rather Hanba, was silent for a moment, then slightly raised her head, her eyes gazing at the boundless, silent, dark sky, and said softly in a nostalgic tone, "Heh, it's been a long time since I've heard that name."

She lowered her head, looked at Li Ang, and said casually, "Just call me Ba."

The heavy pressure on Li Ang instantly disappeared. He looked at the mythical being, who seemed to be in a very good mood, and didn't try to overestimate his abilities by attacking or running away. Instead, he stood silently in place, sorting out his thoughts.

This was the first time he had directly faced such a legendary existence with a clear consciousness.

Even the false reindeer god trapped in the underground space of the Williams mansion was far less imposing than Ba.

Perhaps only Li Ang's perfect quality could compare with Hanba in terms of "mysticism" after it was completely repaired and promoted.

Ba ignored Li Ang's silence. She seemed to be in a very good mood, and walked closer barefoot (the ground she stepped on would turn into crystals due to the high temperature before her feet touched it, so there would be crisp footsteps).

She took the Bafang Mingyue Palace Lantern directly from Li Ang's hand, and held it in her hand, scrutinizing it with a nostalgic look.

Li Ang remained silent. Facing such a mythical being whose mere existence was enough to create a natural disaster, remaining silent might be the best choice.

However, Ba didn't seem to intend to ignore Li Ang. She held the palace lantern in one hand and waved the other casually in the air, asking Li Ang casually, "Are you from the Heterodoxy Association?"

As she spoke, the black cloud connecting the Moon God's Crown directly broke, and the thick dark cloud above the trench in the distance was also torn apart as if erased by a rubber, gradually dissipating.

Li Ang let out a breath of stale air, his brain working frantically, guessing the other party's purpose, while cautiously answering, "No, but those lying outside have connections with the Heterodoxy Association."

Ba nodded indifferently, casually crushed the palace lantern frame, and took out a yellowish candle burning with a bright flame from it, "After you go out, notify the Heterodoxy Association and tell them to prepare.

"Shuiyun and I are about to leave. With their current strength, it is not enough to suppress the Qiumo Grotto and prevent it from infiltrating the present world.

"The demonic tide is unavoidable.

"The sooner they prepare, the smaller the losses will be in the future."

Hanba's words contained too much information. Li Ang was silent for a moment, and slowly asked, "What do you mean by the Qiumo Grotto infiltrating the present world?"

"You don't know?"

Ba said indifferently, "Heh, that's right, how far has the Heterodoxy Association fallen now, that even the handover ceremony of the Qiumo Grotto has to be completed by outsiders."

She shook her head and explained to Li Ang casually, "Thousands of years ago, Shuiyun and I, that is, the Mirage Dragon, reached an agreement with the Heterodoxy Association.

"They promised to protect the bloodline of the Dragon race for the Dragon race, and provide me with the right to live in the bottom layer of the Qiumo Grotto, so that I could hide in the Qiumo Grotto to avoid the Heavenly Tribulation.

"In return, Shuiyun and I would guard the myriad demons of the Qiumo Grotto.

"For thousands of years, Shuiyun has remained in a semi-conscious sleep, while I have been here with her, and incidentally used the Mist Realm to spy on the changing world above.

"Now that the agreed time has come,

"Someone opened the door with the palace lantern, and it's time for Shuiyun and I to leave.

"As for the Qiumo Grotto, that's something you have to consider yourselves."

Wan Jia Xiong Meng

Wan Jia Xiong Meng