"Careful! It's the Green-Spotted Viper!"
Jiang Daoyu reacted swiftly, raising a golden protective barrier in front of the three of them just in time to block the venom spat at them. The venom sizzled upon contact with the golden shield.
Chen Jinshu countered by flicking three silver needles at the vipers. Her movements were lightning-fast, and the needles pierced through each of their heads.
"They're only at Qi Refining Stage 4?" Chen Jinshu frowned in surprise, not expecting the vipers hidden in the pool to be so weak.
"It must be that Master already took care of the stronger ones," she guessed silently.
The three continued probing the pool for some time. After confirming there was no further danger, they finally harvested the Jade Lamp Fruits. Each of the men took two fruits, while Chen Jinshu carefully collected the entire plant as well.
Though a bit embarrassed, she explained that she wanted to see if she could cultivate it again. The two men didn't mind. Although they lived on Medicine King Peak, they didn't have much talent with spiritual plants, only a modest aptitude in alchemy. Being able to get the fruits was already satisfying.
"Take it, Junior Sister. It's useless to us anyway."
She nodded in appreciation.
The group then resumed their journey through the stone cave, cautiously pressing forward.
Eventually, they reached a fork in the path.
"Why do all these ancient dwellings have so many routes?" Chen Jinshu muttered, though her attention remained fixed on the bronze bell in her hand, which kept trying to float toward the right path.
Fortunately, she gripped it tightly.
The bronze bell served as a guiding tool. She took it out from time to time to confirm their direction, ensuring they didn't get lost.
"This time, let's stick together and take one path. No splitting up."
"Agreed!"
They chose the left path and followed it to the end, only to find… nothing.
"This can't be right. A dead end?" Du Yi said, confused.
"Look around for mechanisms!"
They were standing in an empty spherical stone chamber, the stone walls neatly constructed. Chen Jinshu ran her fingers along the bricks and soon found a slightly loose stone.
"Senior brothers, check this brick—could be a switch."
Du Yi stepped forward, pressed it—and the cave began to tremble violently. Dust rained down from above, filling the chamber with a haze.
Then, a stone door emerged in front of them.
They exchanged glances and finally decided to open it. The moment the door swung open, a fierce wind blasted in. Beyond the door was a cliffside—its depth unfathomable. No ground could be seen, only drifting clouds and mist. One wrong step and they'd fall.
"This might be an exit!"
"But why does it lead directly out? Should we go back and try the other path?"
"That other path has to be more complicated. And this place is still full of secrets," Chen Jinshu said.
"Then we'll go back. Once we finish exploring, we'll leave from here."
They retraced their steps to the fork and took the path on the far right. As they advanced, the space widened, and stone structures appeared: tables, benches, beds—all thick with dust. Eventually, the path opened to a spacious pavilion, perched on what seemed to be the highest point.
"There are two corpses over there, aren't there?" Du Yi asked curiously.
"Seems like it. Just bones now. No telling how long they've been dead."
When they reached the pavilion, they found a chessboard laid out at the center, locked in an unfinished match. The black pieces were made from human cultivator bones, the white from the bones of a beast—a snake demon.
The snake's skeleton stretched along the floor, its skull bearing two protrusions. It likely had dragon blood, though impure. As the trio moved closer, a mysterious barrier stopped them.
"There's a restriction here!"
Chen Jinshu hesitated, then took out the bronze bell from her storage pouch. But this time, the bell did nothing. It had lost all function—as if reaching this destination rendered it mere scrap metal.
"Junior Sister, why do you keep carrying that lump of black iron?" Jiang Daoyu asked curiously.
"It's something Master gave me. I'm not sure why either," Chen Jinshu replied, shaking her head slightly, offering no further explanation.
She stared at the now-useless bronze bell, puzzled. Her gaze shifted to the chessboard. Maybe the answer lay there. Her master must have been here once. Why didn't they take anything?
Was it the restriction?
Chen Jinshu pushed away the speculation. "Senior brothers, let's see if we can find any clues here. I don't think this chess match is ordinary."
"But this game is sealed by a formation—we can't get close."
Chen Jinshu tried channeling spiritual power into the barrier, but it couldn't penetrate.
"Why not try using music cultivation? Perhaps sound can pass through."
"The game isn't finished either," Jiang Daoyu noted.
"Senior brother, do you know how to play?" Chen Jinshu turned to Du Yi.
She had studied chess in her clan but had long since forgotten most of it.
"I know a little," Du Yi replied sheepishly. "I used to play with my father often. I'm not great, but I should manage here."
Jiang Daoyu studied the board carefully and called out, "Place the black piece on three-three."
Chen Jinshu nodded, pulled out her Lüqi Zither, set it before her, and plucked a string.
The music pierced the restriction, resonating above the board. Through the mental technique Ten Thousand Echoes Heart Manual, the sound transformed into a black chess piece, which landed at three-three.
The moment it settled, an image unfolded in the air above the board. It was the deserted ancient village they'd first arrived in. The illusion depicted a peaceful scene of human life in the village—until one day, a beast with a human upper body and a snake's tail arrived.
It was the same snake demon whose bones now played opposite the human cultivator. After the snake-being's arrival, the villagers' lives changed dramatically. No one knew what it said, but its words sparked public outrage, and soon a conflict broke out.
The snake demon went berserk and attacked the villagers—only for a human cultivator to appear out of nowhere, intercepting the attack and protecting the village from destruction.