Chen Ye’s eyes froze.
In front of him stood countless enormous stone monuments, some tall, some short, some square, some round, densely packed and stretching into the distant horizon where his sight could not penetrate.
These stone monuments had withstood the ravages of time, and their surfaces were etched with patterns resembling knife cuts and ax carvings, faintly forming obscure and difficult-to-understand words and images.
"No wonder the outside world rumors that this stone monument forest is the place of cultivation technique legacy for the Songyang Sect..."
Instinct told Chen Ye something was amiss about this place, yet he couldn’t quite pinpoint what was wrong.
"Master, the intel from the sect ends here. Does that mean the dangers inside far exceed the Whimper Swamp?"
Zhiwei stood by her master’s side, gazing into the distance.
Unfortunately, these stone monuments were like a dense forest, blocking the view, making it impossible to see deeper inside,
"Moreover, Aunt Mao mentioned before, it’s because Xu Buhui went to the Grotto Heaven that she took Qing Jun back early."
The young girl reminded her master,
"And we didn’t see the figures of Xu Buhui, Bai Susu, or the Emotion Crossing Sect in the Whimper Swamp, doesn’t it mean they’re all inside the stone monument forest?"
Chen Ye suddenly felt a headache.
This stone monument forest is like hell difficulty for him!
Inside, each one is a boss far stronger than Wei Shu, and handling just Wei Shu was already challenging for him.
"Forget it, forget it... there are ultimately allies, and they have grudges with each other."
Chen Ye thought to himself, now he really needed to quickly find Bai Susu.
Even among these people, the Golden Furred Ball is still at the pyramid’s top; with her protection, nothing would go wrong!
Moreover, doesn’t he still have the little white fox?
But somehow, this fox was getting slower and slower, too lazy and idle.
"Little White."
Chen Ye put on what he thought was his warmest, most harmless smile, waving to the little white fox walking ahead,
"Come here for a moment."
The little white fox stopped warily, turning its head to glare at Chen Ye with disdain.
This sinister human, does he want a fox to carry him?
Chen Ye wasn’t in a hurry, leisurely taking out a Two-striped Qi Nourishing Pill from his Storage Bag.
Who knew, this little white fox seemed tired of it, turning its head away, not even looking, and even let out a light hum.
Unfortunately, the humming only caused drool to accidentally slip out.
The dark-haired little girl’s eyes flashed with a hint of admiration, finally showing some backbone...
Chen Ye stayed calm and composed, a sly smile curling on his lips.
He deliberately tossed the pill in his hand, letting the enticing fragrance for the fox more strongly permeate the air:
"Alas, this is a freshly made Two-striped Qi Nourishing Pill, full of Spiritual Qi... but alas, it seems a certain little fox isn’t interested in leading us into that stone monument forest to broaden our horizons? Looks like it’s spent too long in the Whimper Swamp and its courage has shrunk?"
"Chirp! Chirp!"
As soon as the little white fox heard Chen Ye call it a coward, it bristled at once!
It spun around, standing on its hind legs, waving its front paws fervently, barking at Chen Ye, full of defiance.
But its protest didn’t last for even three breaths.
Chen Ye quietly urged his Spiritual Power, transforming the enticing fragrance for the fox into a straight line, directly into the little white fox’s nose.
"Chirp!!"
The little white fox shivered all over, its waving front paws stiffening, its round, angry eyes starting to well up with tears.
No... no!
It’s a good fox, it can’t go along with him, and definitely can’t let him toy with it!
But unconsciously, its nostrils flared wildly, its body involuntarily inching towards the direction of the pill, drool trickling from its pink mouth.
Chen Ye chuckled to himself; his pills were Limit Break Pills imbued with Dao charm.
Such pills were immensely enticing to small spirit beasts.
"Whimper..."
Soon, a weak, pitiful whimper quietly emerged.
Seeing the opportunity, Chen Ye gently handed the pill forward:
"I’ve said it before, we’re in this together, helping me is helping you. This is just your payment."
It’s different... this wicked human is clearly toying with the fox!
Despite its thoughts, the little white fox couldn’t resist, "Whoosh," jumping to Chen Ye’s feet.
Its two front paws clutched Chen Ye’s pant leg, and its pink little tongue nearly stretched out to reach the pill so close by.
"Good..." Chen Ye chuckled, pinching the little white fox’s tongue.
This time, the little white fox didn’t resist at all, even warmly licking his fingertips.
Chen Ye then flicked the pill into the little white fox’s mouth.
Sigh, was it easy for him?
Normally, feeding a spirit beast some pills would tame them, but this little white fox insisted on needing some adjustments...
Zhiwei, unable to stand it, bit her lip:
"Master, what... what did you put in the pill? The little white fox is our spirit pet, don’t bully it."
Her words implied as if he’d put something unspeakable in there.
Chen Ye’s old face darkened: "Obviously, this fox is greedy. Am I that kind of person? Besides, is it necessary to do this to a little fox?"
Zhiwei’s eyes filled with doubt...
With the pill paving the way, the little white fox was full of energy. It took the lead, stepping into the silent forest of tombstones.
Upon entering, Chen Ye felt his divine sense sinking into a sticky quagmire, finding it difficult to advance beyond six or seven meters. The suppressive feeling far exceeded anything he’d felt before.
"Stay close to Xiao Bai."
Chen Ye whispered a reminder, one hand resting lightly on the hilt of his sword.
The towering stone steles of varying heights stood in disarray, with many broken and collapsing, making them of no research value.
The little white fox was quite familiar with the place, nimbly weaving through the forest of steles.
Though there was no danger along the way, the little fox became increasingly hesitant.
Its hind legs were trembling, and it looked back pitifully:
"Chirp chirp..."
Clearly, it didn’t dare to go any further.
Chen Ye immediately understood. No wonder the little white fox had been so passive before; it was scared.
Chen Ye’s face turned cold: "You’ve made a promise and must keep it. A lying fox is not a good fox."
"Chirp..."
The little white fox, with tears brimming, nodded tearfully and cautiously began exploring the way again.
Alone, the fox explored, nervously extending its paws.
Chen Ye, his mind stirring, abruptly tossed a pebble, which landed on an otherwise ordinary piece of ground.
"Buzz—!"
In an instant, an obscure prohibition under the pebble lit up below the ground.
That pebble, the moment the runes illuminated, was crushed into powder, scattering with the breeze.
"Chirp!!"
The little white fox gave a shrill cry, its white fur standing on end. It bolted back in a flash, jumping directly into Zhiwei’s arms, burying its small head tightly, shivering in fear.
"So, there are prohibitions all around here... No wonder there’s no other living creature."
Seeing the little white fox so frightened, Chen Ye felt somewhat guilty.
But he had to test it. Without tossing that pebble, he wouldn’t have known there were prohibitions everywhere on the ground.
"Ahem, little white fox, don’t be afraid. It was me who tossed the pebble just now."
Chen Ye coughed twice, trying to console it.
The little white fox was not only uncalmed but trembled even more, burying its small head even deeper into Zhiwei’s embrace, refusing to come out, its throat issuing pitiful whimpers.
"Master, Xiao Bai... is really scared."
Zhiwei said with some distress, holding the little furball in her arms,
"The prohibitions here probably make it feel very uncomfortable."
Scared?
What good is it to be scared...?
In the end, it’s just a spirit beast. If his master and apprentice want to survive, they must make it the fox scout.
Chen Ye ultimately steeled his heart and took out another three-striped pill:
"Rest assured, we will all be with you. Once we leave, you’ll have as many of these three-striped pills as you want."
His promise was heartfelt.
If they made it out of the cave heaven, the three-striped pills would be shared half to the fox!
The little white fox, crying, hesitantly poked out half its head, and after some hesitation, chose to swallow the pill.
It then jumped out from Zhiwei’s arms and cautiously continued to explore on its short legs.
Before long, the group reached the core area of the tombstone forest.
The nearby tombstones were gradually becoming intact, yet the patterns on them were still extremely vague.
Chen Ye furrowed his brows, pondering privately:
"Are these really cultivation technique steles? But a thousand years ago, jade scrolls also recorded cultivation techniques, so why use stone steles?"
"What is most puzzling is that the suppression of divine sense within the Songyang Cave Heaven seems to originate from these stone steles, and besides, there are prohibitions everywhere here..."