"How about this," Jiang Daoyu suggested. "There are three items: the two spirit treasures in the wooden boxes and the serpent demon's eyes. Let each of us pick one."
The bronze chime Chen Jinshu held glowed brightly as it neared one of the wooden boxes. She hesitated and looked toward her two senior brothers.
"Take it, Junior Sister. We wouldn't have made it this far without your guidance," one said.
"Exactly! Go ahead and take it—who knows what else might be waiting for us!" added the other.
"What do you mean by that?" Chen Jinshu looked confused by Du Yi's words.
This stone pavilion was already the end of the cave. What else could there be?
"Just take it for now. I'll explain later."
Chen Jinshu nodded and took the wooden box containing a black stone. Du Yi picked the two serpent eyes, while Jiang Daoyu took the remaining box.
"These serpent demon eyes are at third tier. If refined, they could become pearls capable of illusion magic!" Du Yi admired the two pale golden eyes in his hand, smiling.
"What did you mean earlier, Senior Brother?"
"Junior Sister, take a look beyond the ancient stronghold. See anything?"
Jiang Daoyu gestured ahead with a smile. When she looked out, her gaze froze. Roughly fifty li away, there was a white mountain—it looked as though it was entirely made of bones.
"Senior Brother! Is that the Bone Mountain? But isn't the Bone Mountain supposed to be up north?"
Chen Jinshu hadn't known there were two Bone Mountains in this secret realm.
"They're different," Jiang Daoyu explained. "The forbidden Bone Mountain the Sect Master spoke of is surrounded by dense yin energy, and the ground is littered with bones. There's also a heavy mist. The one ahead seems more like a beast's den. Whether it's still occupied, we'll have to find out ourselves."
From their current viewpoint, the white mountain was barely visible, partially hidden by several other peaks. From the top of the ancient stronghold, one might not even see the edges of that white peak.
"So what now? Do we rest at the stronghold for a few days, or head straight there?"
"There's no day or night here, but the drop in temperature suggests it's nighttime. Let's rest and discuss our next move."
"Agreed."
The three returned the way they came, passing through the stone cave beneath the emerald waterfall to the ancient stronghold.
Strangely, the mutated spirit fungi near the creek didn't attack them this time. Perhaps their bodies carried the river's scent now. As they crossed the bridge over the stream, they noticed spirit fish leaping below.
"Didn't expect such rare fish in a strange place like this."
"It looks like the stream comes from a pool above the waterfall—but actually, the source lies elsewhere," Jiang Daoyu observed.
"How do you know?"
"Didn't you notice? The flow speed doesn't match the pool above. The lake where the waterfall falls seems to be draining water too."
Both nodded. It made sense.
"Still, let's not overthink it. We should rest and head for the Bone Mountain tomorrow." Jiang Daoyu tried to impress them with his observation, but the others didn't seem too interested.
Chen Jinshu chuckled, pulling a dragon-fishing rod from her storage pouch.
"Care to fish, Senior Brothers?"
She gave the rod a playful shake.
"You're in good spirits, Junior Sister. But I'd rather study the Art of Forging Puppet Soldiers," Du Yi replied, gently declining.
Jiang Daoyu also politely declined. So Chen Jinshu went to the bridge alone, pulled out a self-made lounge chair, and started fishing. The stream was deep—she couldn't see the bottom.
"Master, there's quite a few spirit fish in there!" Xiao Yin chirped from her shoulder.
"Yeah... but I wonder if they're poisonous."
She tossed a handful of spirit grain into the water to bait the spot, then hooked a piece of spirit beast meat and cast her line.
The Next Day
The trio set off from the stronghold and flew north.
Chen Jinshu had spent the previous evening fishing. She caught a few large spirit fish—though they had nothing to do with dragons. Their emerald scales shimmered with color.
Unfortunately, they died shortly after leaving the stream.
They were only mildly infused with spiritual energy—useless aside from compost.
Du Yi and Jiang Daoyu teased her a little for it.
After flying over two mountain peaks, they finally reached the white mountain.
As suspected, it was entirely made of bones—no mist, no haunting yin ghosts like the forbidden Bone Mountain.
Still, many beasts crawled across the surrounding area.
To stay safe, the trio didn't land.
"Could this mountain be the remains of the entire village?"
"What else could explain why everyone vanished?"
"There's a massive hole at the summit!" Du Yi pointed to a dark chasm at the mountain's peak.
"Not many beasts like nesting in a Bone Mountain. What kind of monster could this be?"
"Something strong enough to make an entire village disappear…"
"We test it. If it's too strong, we flee," Jiang Daoyu said seriously.
Their mission was to investigate the village's disappearance—not to confront whatever beast dwelled in the cave.
They were well aware of their limits.
"Agreed!"
"I have a few fireburst talismans—like spiritual grenades," Du Yi pulled out three red talismans and handed one to each.
Chen Jinshu's talismans were more defensive in nature. They launched the talismans together. Three fireballs the size of human heads shot toward the cave's opening.
Boom!
The explosions rocked the Bone Mountain.
A deep ROAR! echoed from the cave, sending chills through them.
"Run!" Jiang Daoyu exclaimed, grabbing the others and flying into the nearby mountains. He quickly activated a concealment array around them.
From the cave, a pair of crimson eyes opened.
A massive blue-green dragon-like head emerged.
"A dragon?" Du Yi said in shock.
But he quickly corrected himself—the creature's eyes looked too similar to the ones he had taken.
"No... it's a serpent demon turning into a flood dragon!"