Connecting the front hall and the main hall is an empty space. In the middle, a road paved with gold and marble extends from the stone palace incense lanterns. Feng Huo remembers that every time he came to Nanzhe Palace in the past, he couldn't help but come here. Stop. Thinking back to the beginning, when night approached, the incense lamp was lit, the candlelight on both sides was shining brightly, and the sandalwood was curling up. It was like a bridge leading to fairyland. Walking in this dense smoke and fragrance always made him intoxicated. I can't help myself. But now the place is in ruins like this. When the fairyland turns into purgatory, the prosperity is only desolate, and those beautiful things can only be sealed in his memory.
The distance from the front hall to the main hall was unusually quiet, and not a single mourning ghost was encountered. This sudden change made Ouyang Hongye and the others feel uneasy. Only the footsteps of the three of them could be heard in the dead air. Even the screams of the remaining mourning ghosts in the front hall gradually disappeared behind them, making people feel uneasy. A feeling of danger and uncertainty on the road ahead.
The door to the main hall was closed tightly. Hongye pushed it tentatively and found that the door was slightly loose. Just as he was about to push the door open and enter, a sound like a drum came from inside the door. The sound was obviously different from the sound made by the mourning ghost. Although it was not harsh, it was more penetrating. Every low drum beat made Ouyang Hongye and the others' hearts tremble.
"There must be something inside." Wangyue cast a questioning look at Ouyang Hongye and whispered.
"Listen!" Ouyang Hongye also felt that the drumbeat was becoming more violent and accelerating.
"Is there anything that can coexist with the mourning ghost?" Mochizuki asked.
Feng Huo fell into deep thought. It couldn't be... I hope not. It was a monster that only appeared in legends. No one who had seen it was spared. How could they happen to meet it in southern Zhejiang? It was really helpless to enter the Death Eater Ghost City. Their luck wasn't so bad, right? He felt shuddering, even for a strong man like him who had been through life and death, every hair on his back stood up.
The legendary mysterious creature derived from the darkness is a monster that is neither a monster nor a beast born out of fear and death. Its body is filled with the souls of countless ghosts, and its body is transformed from a whole group of insects and ants. Strengthen yourself by devouring everything. Its breathing is as heavy as a drum. When prey appears in its hunting range, its breathing becomes faster and heavier. It has a huge body, extremely majestic and powerful. It has the body of a griffin and the head of an eagle, with a pair of extended wings on its back, and a tail as tight as an iron pestle trailing behind it. It is the black griffon, a dark monster that only exists in legends.
Ouyang Hongye caught the change in Feng Huo's expression. He also thought of this legendary monster, and he also knew how difficult this guy was to deal with. According to legend, if you encounter it, it would be as difficult as climbing to the sky to survive. He weighed it and wondered how big this black gryphon had grown. Then think about why the mourning ghosts outside automatically avoid entering the main hall of Nanzhe Palace? He seemed to understand that it was because this was the lair of the black gryphon. If you came here, you would automatically become its food, and the mourning ghosts in the palace probably did not stay here voluntarily. , they were most likely captured by it for later enjoyment.
"It seems that our trip was really worthwhile!" Ouyang Hongye said to Feng Huo.
"Yeah, I didn't expect that I, Feng Huo, would be able to see a legendary monster in my lifetime." Feng Huo seemed to have mastered some of Ouyang Hongye's teasing.
"Haha, it seems that we only have to go in and meet it for a while!" Ouyang Hongye said lightly. The change in Fenghuo's attitude made him feel much more relaxed from the inside out.
"Well, even if we want to turn around and escape now, it's impossible. We've been locked in the hunting range by it. Can you hear the roaring sound of drums? This guy is full of death-eating ghosts. Maybe he hasn't tasted it until now. Meat, to us, haha, what a delicacy it must be!" Feng Huo no longer put on airs, but expressed his thoughts naturally.
"What kind of monster is it? You two, don't just talk to yourselves, tell me about it!" After listening to the conversation between Feng Huo and Ouyang Hongye, Wang Yue had no idea what was going on.
"We can see the Black Griffin with our own eyes today!" Ouyang Hongye said calmly.
"Oh my God! Is it true?" Mochizuki had no way of thinking of this name, and now she broke into a cold sweat when she heard it.
"Today, we can become legends." Ouyang Hongye looked at Yue and seemed so nervous that she could hardly speak, and winked at him playfully.
"The legendary guy who is even difficult for gods to deal with? One of the top prisoners in the Black Fire Purgatory? I didn't expect that even today in Nanzhe City, you still get what you want." Mochizuki resumed his usual unruly speaking.
"To be honest, if the three of us want to defeat this guy, we need enough luck." Ouyang Hongye said emotionally, "If we are unlucky, one or all of us will be reimbursed here. I I just want to say that I am happy to be with you all the way and become companions and brothers!"
The word "brother" undoubtedly made Feng Huo feel emotional. Although he was stubborn and arrogant, he was also full of emotions. After listening to Hong Ye's words, his eyes couldn't help but get a little wet, "I have no regrets. If you hadn't never left me, I, Feng Huo, would have just You have already died a long time ago, but you saved this life anyway, and you have lived for so many years, so it is worth it!"
"If we can return to the royal city safely with the Tianfu, we must have a good drink." Mochizuki touched the place where the wine bottle was in her arms and said.
"Okay, let's fight side by side today, and we won't come home until we're drunk tomorrow." Ouyang Hongye nodded.
The three of them looked at each other, determined, and stepped forward side by side to open the main door of Nanzhe Palace. Although the light outside the palace is extremely dim, it still brings a glimmer of light to the main hall. The heavy dust in the main hall fell like snowflakes, and was shaken by the heavy drum beats, flying and spinning in the air, and it was actually a bit like the vigorous beauty of snowflakes in the north. But now that life and death are at stake, they no longer have the leisure to lament these things.
"Keep your voice down and don't make any noise!"
"Why can't you see it? Where is it hidden?"
"It's too dark here, I can't see anything..."
Ouyang Hongye and Feng Huo suddenly stood in front of them. After looking at the moon, they looked back and forth inside. With the light coming in from outside, the surroundings were dim and chaotic, and they tried their best to search for the huge figure in the darkness. But when they looked around, it wasn't there, which made them even more shocked. Where is that guy hiding? Will there be a sudden attack and tear the three of them to pieces? They knew deep down that with its sharp claws, it should be as easy to tear them apart as paper.
Following the still roaring drumbeat, Ouyang Hongye carefully searched for it, and when he looked up, he discovered the scene he least expected to see. On the top of a pillar in the main hall, there was a huge black figure. It turned out to be the black gryphon that they had expected.
Its body was pitch black and shiny, seeming to be integrated into the hall. It tilted its head, revealing only one orange round eye, staring at the three of them. The huge wings flapped and closed constantly, and each feather stood upright as if it was ready to attack, as if it was about to swoop down from a high place at any time, stirring up a hurricane.
Seeing this posture, Ouyang Hongye and the others did not dare to neglect. They stood in a horse stance, holding their own weapons, nervously waiting to meet its attack.
But the black griffon seems to be in no rush to attack, as if it is waiting for the movement of its prey. This is probably the first time it has seen such a living life since it came to this world, and it is not the rotten food it eats every day. The withered mourning ghost. From its open eyes, it can be seen that in addition to the desire for prey and blood, there is also a bit of irresistible curiosity, but it is more of an indescribable pain.
Ouyang Hongye winked at the other two, meaning not to rush to attack the black griffon, and the two sides entered a stalemate. After a while, most of the ferocity and vigilance in the eyes of the black griffin disappeared, replaced by more vigorous curiosity, and even a bit of childish simplicity.
"It seems this guy is just a cub!"
Ouyang Hongye guessed that this black griffon was probably still very young and had just taken shape. On the one hand, he sighed that even a cub already had such a powerful body; on the other hand, he was secretly glad that God had blessed them with a "child" who was still in trouble.
When he looked at it and thought about the next step, the black griffon suddenly dived down from the pillar. Its wingspan was astonishingly large, stretching out several feet wide. It stirred up the dust accumulated in the hall, and Hongye and the others were immediately confused.
When he opened his eyes again, the black griffon was already standing less than one meter in front of Ouyang Hongye. It tilted its head, looked at him with its open eye, and blinked from time to time, as if it wanted to communicate with him. Such a confrontation made him a little confused. He didn't know whether to move or stay still. He didn't dare to put down the sword he was holding. He didn't know whether this monster's IQ could reach the level of communicating with him. Maybe it would treat them as companions. He didn't know why he had such a whimsical idea.
The black gryphon leaned its head over, sniffed his face and body, and then pecked the sword in his hand with its sharp beak, making a crisp metal vibration.
He held his breath nervously, fearing that his slightest movement would startle it. When he realized that it didn't mean to attack him, and he didn't know where he got the courage, or just to please it, he tentatively stretched out a hand to it.
At first, it retracted its head with some resistance, but then stopped and allowed him to put his hand on its head and stroke it. At a certain moment, it suddenly turned its head, exposing its other eye. The look was extremely terrifying, shocking the three people in front of it. It turned out that the eyelid of that eye was hooked by a metal hook. The metal hook penetrated from the upper eyelid to the lower eyelid, making it impossible to open the entire eye. Although they didn't know how the metal hook got inserted into its eye, it was obviously the one that caused it so much pain that it lost its original wildness and became so docile.
Ouyang Hongye understood that it was asking for his help. He didn't understand why this guy chose him. Relying on his courage, he slowly tried to step forward, carefully grasped one end of the hook, and pulled it out bit by bit along its curve. He also gently comforted it: "Okay, just hurry up." Okay... just bear with it, little guy... "
After completely pulling out the metal hook, he took out the healing medicine from his arms, opened up the dirty clothes of the mourning ghost still covering his body, pulled off a piece of cloth from his own clean clothes and dipped it in some medicine powder. He smeared the ground on its wound and used magic to promote the healing of the wound.
When everything was ready, it seemed to have changed from its previous depressed state. It was relaxed and satisfied. It gurgled happily from its stomach and seemed to have recognized Ouyang Hongye's existence. But it only acknowledged his presence. It turned around and looked at the other two people with hostility, and made a loud whine from its mouth, which might be a provocation to them.