The southern part of the province of Tianluo.

It darkened, gradually changing from dark blue to inky blue, and soon became dark. The wind is still blowing, the snow is still falling, but not as strong as before. Generally speaking, the winter in the Cangling Continent is like this, the closer to the northwest, the colder the temperature, and the more snowy days.

The five men lined up in a straight line in the air and flew southwest. Li Wenxin was at the front, Lei Xi followed, Xue Mengyi was in the center, and Ye Hengyuan and Leng Han were behind. The spiritual protective membranes on the five people's bodies fused into one, condensing into a large oval protective membrane, directing all the air currents and snowflakes to both sides. Naturally, this protective film could not be compared to the protective shield released by Qiu Bai or Cao Shunyang, but its strength was enough to be compared to the protective shield that an ordinary fourth-order seventh-order spirit master who focused on defense could use with all his might.

The crowd flew over hill after hill and jungle, over frozen river after river. Due to its border location, the western, northwestern and southwestern parts of the province are rarely inhabited, with most of the province's population concentrated in the east and southeast. The five of them flew for nearly half an hour, and they only saw one small city, two modest towns, and a few scattered villages and towns.

"It'll be there in a few minutes. The Scorpion Tower is on the hill ahead. Beyond that hill was the headquarters of the Scorpion Cult. Li Wenxin said lightly.

None of the others answered him, just nodded. Having just been freed from a fierce battle, everyone's hearts were heavy, as if they were pressing down on a stone. Although they have also received a lot of combat training, and have performed the task of hunting spirit beasts, and even participated in the fighting arena, those battles cannot compare to the real battlefield. No one could help but grieve for the soldiers who had died in battle, and they could not help but feel sick for the corpses and blood that littered the ground. Even that spirit element couldn't make them feel relieved immediately.

Ye Hengyuan's mood is particularly complicated. After absorbing the spirit element of the Demon Sound Demon Bat, he felt that the spiritual power level in his body had increased significantly, and it was already very close to the third and fourth levels. What's more, he also felt that his perception of sound had become more acute. Even if he was flying in the air, he could hear the cries of spirit beasts in the forest on the flat ground from the whirring wind, and he could even perceive the precise cultivation and spiritual power attributes of the spirit beasts whose cultivation was lower than or close to his own. It stands to reason that he should have rejoiced at this unexpected gain. But he was more sad in his heart. And it seems that this sadness is not only because of the soldiers who died in battle.

Xue Mengyi's mood was not very good. She was the only one of the five who did not take off her mask. Although the mask obscured most of her face, the corners of her mouth were slightly drooping and her red lips pursed slightly.

A few minutes later, a bare hill came into view. Unlike all the other hills and steep slopes around it, this hill is completely stony, made of only rocky soil and no vegetation grows on it. What is even more peculiar is that it is completely unaffected by the wind and snow, except for a little snow on the summit, from the halfway up the mountain to the base of the wall, it is the color of stone and soil, and it is not white at all. In front of this hill, there are three column-like tower-shaped buildings. Looking far away in the darkening sky, it is impossible to see what color they are, nor what pattern is on them.

"That's it ahead. Li Wenxin said.

The five of them accelerated with all their might, and in an instant, they came to the foot of the mountain, landing in front of the three towers lined up in a triangle. The three towers are located in a clearing at the foot of the mountain. The surrounding land is dark brown and as barren as the hill behind it.

"This is the Scorpion Tower?" Ye Hengyuan asked.

"Yes," Mr. Lee said, "this is it." This is one of the parts of the Scorpion Sect's headquarters that is open to the public, and is generally used to receive distinguished guests. The true headquarters of the Scorpion Cult is underground, under this hill. It is said that the structure inside is similar to that of the Spirit Core Valley, and the size of the space may not be much different. But I haven't been in, so I don't know. ”

"That's right, Brother Hengyuan," Xue Mengyi's voice became much lower, "Today's Scorpion Sect still maintains the traditions they have since their founding. The vast majority of the members of the Scorpion Sect possess dark attribute spiritual power, and the relatively closed and gloomy underground palace is more suitable for their life and cultivation. Some of them will even go out like owls in the day and night in pursuit of greater power, sleeping during the day or cultivating in the dungeon, and only do other things after dark. This is one of the reasons why they are still called Demon Cults by many people. ”

"Not only that," Lei Xi said, "the dungeon is also suitable for cultivating all kinds of poisonous insects and poisonous flowers, as well as producing all kinds of poisons. Only if you do this underground at a certain depth and without access to a large amount of water, will you not pollute the environment. ”

Ye Hengyuan and Leng Han took a few steps forward at the same time, and walked towards the two towers on the left and right sides respectively. The height of these two cylindrical towers is only about one-third to one-quarter of the height of Tianling Pavilion, and the diameter is less than 100 meters, which looks like a relatively ordinary building. The tower in the middle is a little taller and a little bigger, but not much bigger. All three towers are gray and covered with black and purple patterns. At the top of them, a huge black scorpion pattern is painted on each side. The scorpion's back also had a strange purple pattern, and the high cocked tail hook was slightly purple, which looked a bit like the purple scorpion they had encountered.

"Who?"

"Who?"

The doors of the two towers on either side of the left suddenly opened. The six gatekeeper disciples lined up in two lines, walked out of the two gates, and stood in front of Ye Hengyuan and Leng Han. The six disciples were all dressed in black robes and wore black masks. The masks of the four male disciples covered only the lower half of their faces and revealed their mouths, while the masks of the two female disciples covered their entire faces, revealing only their eyes. They were all very thin, and one of the bald male disciples was as thin as a bamboo pole.

Ye Hengyuan and Leng Han took a few steps back at the same time, setting their eyes on the six gatekeeper disciples. Judging from the fluctuations of aura and spiritual power, the strength of these six gatekeeper disciples is not weak, four of them are above and below the third order and seventh level, and two people are around the fourth order level. Each of them emitted a dark aura that belonged to the dark attribute spiritual power, and two of them also faintly emitted a pungent smell that made people feel uncomfortable.

Xue Mengyi subconsciously turned her head and looked elsewhere.

"We are from the Spirit Core Valley," Li Wenxin stepped forward, took out his documents from the pocket of his robe, and handed them over, "I am under the orders of the Twelve Spirit Generals and the National Military Commission to investigate some matters." ”

A male disciple with black hair that stood up like a steel needle stepped forward, took the document from Li Wenxin's hand, and took a few glances. He immediately nodded, put on a respectful expression, returned the documents with both hands, touched his chest with his right hand, and bowed to Li Wenxin.

"It turned out to be a disciple of the spirit generals. Disrespectful, disrespectful. I'm going to report it. Please go to the living room in the tower and wait for a while. ”

"May I ask if we can meet the Sect Master?" Ye Hengyuan asked.

The black-haired male disciple turned his head and glanced at Ye Hengyuan, a strange look flashed on his face, but he immediately returned to his respectful expression.

"I'm so sorry. The Sect Master and the two Deputy Sect Masters have been in retreat and cultivation for the past few days, and they have not seen any outsiders. May I report to the head of our Foreign Affairs Hall and let him answer your questions?"

"Okay, no problem. Lei Xi stepped forward and nodded.

The black-haired male disciple bowed again, turned around, and walked towards the Scorpion Tower in the middle. He stretched out his hand, unlocked the dark attribute spiritual power seal on the door, and walked in. Ye Hengyuan looked at his back, as if he was thinking about something.

"There should be a passage to the headquarters in there, right?" Leng Han crossed his arms and said lightly, "I guess there is a teleportation circle or something." ”

"Ladies and gentlemen, please. ”

The two female disciples stepped forward and led the five into the Scorpion Tower on the left. The other three male disciples stood still.

On the first floor of the Scorpion Tower on the left, there is a large living room. The furnishings in the living room are relatively simple, nothing more than a table, chairs, fruit bowl and tea set. The table and chairs are all made of black wood, and the corners and backs of the chairs are carved with patterns that are identical to those carved on the tower.

"Please wait here for a few minutes. The hall master will be here soon. You can start with some refreshments. ”

The voices of the two female disciples were very soft and sounded very comfortable.

Ye Hengyuan and the five of them found a chair in turn and sat down. A female disciple with long purple hair similar to Lei Xi picked up the teapot in the center of the wooden table and poured a cup of tea for everyone. The tea is dark green, with a hint of gray mixed in.

A small light gray door in the living room opened. Two female disciples dressed in the same attire walked out of the door, one carrying a pale cyan plate with a purple pattern printed on it. One of the plates was filled with finger-sized black jelly beans, and the other was filled with a dark brown grid-like fried food.

"What is this?" Leng Han raised his head and asked the female disciple who poured the tea.

"These are two homemade snacks," replied the female disciple, "and you can try them." ”

"Seems a bit overdone. ”

"Huh?"

Everyone turned their eyes to Ye Hengyuan at the same time. He was picking up a dark brown grid between his two fingers, placing it under his nose, and sniffing.

The female disciple who poured the tea raised her head and glared at the female disciple who served the plate of fried food.

"Huh?" Ye Hengyuan was stunned for a moment, "I...... Did I say something wrong? I said, this thing blew up a little too much, a little bit mushy......"