Exploring the Cave

The queen bee soared into the air, stretching her body nearly as long as a person. Her wings beat violently, producing a buzzing sound like rolling thunder, and her head was terrifyingly fierce.

At her sudden rise, the swarm inside and outside the cave surged up. Although the bees once possessed some intelligence and would avoid Chu Liang, under the queen’s summons, they seemed to completely forget about life and death!

Without a word, the queen bee immediately sought his life upon seeing him!

Chu Liang found himself surrounded by the swarm inside the cave. If it were before, he might have been troubled by this. But now, having acquired several new divine abilities and significantly increased his cultivation, he faced the situation without the slightest fear.

Raising his flying sword, it shattered into over a hundred sword lights, filling the cave with shimmering radiance, wrapping around him protectively.

His spiritual awareness split, with dozens of sword lights guarding him, keeping the bees at bay. Another group of sword lights gathered at his fingertips, launching a coordinated attack on the queen bee.

The clash of metal rang out repeatedly. The queen bee’s body was harder than iron and stone, and the flying swords could not cut through her.

Sighing inwardly, Chu Liang thought, “These standard flying swords still aren’t quite effective. When facing something tough, they just spark but don’t break through.”

Yet he remained calm, for he had other means.

The queen bee did not wait for his next move and immediately counterattacked. With a piercing scream, she shot out a black arrow.

Sensing danger, Chu Liang swiftly leapt back, barely dodging.

The black arrow spread out midair, transforming into a dark liquid that rained down like a deluge, leaving no place to evade!

If the Qingye artifact were still with him, Chu Liang would have been unafraid of such an indiscriminate attack. But now without it, he had to think quickly and merged the hundred sword lights into a single glowing sword shield.

Hissing—

The corrosive black liquid struck the sword shield, emitting a strong sound of erosion and piercing several holes through the sword energy.

The queen bee showed no concern for her own kind inside the cave. The black liquid fell upon the swarm and instantly killed a large number of her own poisonous bees.

How ruthless.

Chu Liang thought, struck by her utter disregard for allies.

His fingers shifted again, and the hundred swords swiftly converged to form a single flying sword once more. The sword, glowing with silver symbols, slashed forward at the queen.

Ice and fire twin runes!

Whoosh—

The long sword, imbued with the dual power of frost and flame, struck the queen’s body.

At first contact, the two were evenly matched for a moment.

But as the sword’s overwhelming armor-breaking power manifested, it rapidly pierced through the queen bee’s body, impaling the creature.

“Ah—” The queen screamed twice, her body trembling before gradually losing vitality.

A golden mark floated out.

With the queen’s death, the swarm immediately lost command and scattered with a thunderous roar. The cave seemed to dissipate a dark cloud.

Only then did Chu Liang sheath his sword and breathe a sigh of relief.

…

After a brief rest, he calmed his spirit and resumed surveying the cave.

He found it was just an ordinary mountain cave. The only strange thing was a golden skeleton seated in a meditative posture.

Both the queen bee and the poisonous swarm gained their extraordinary intelligence from gnawing on this skeleton.

No wonder the bees were so aggressively hostile… Normally, cultivated demons have basic intelligence and avoid unnecessary harm, unlike beasts that attack on sight.

But these poisonous bees were literally transformed by devouring humans!

This also explained how terrifying the power contained within the skeleton was. Even in death, it elevated an entire tribe.

To have bones turned golden like this, the cultivator must have been at least a Sixth Realm Body Cultivator. At that stage, when reshaping the body, such mutations could occur.

And possessing such potent spiritual energy likely meant the person was a Seventh Realm powerhouse… or at least close to that level.

Yet how did such a mighty being fall in this nameless valley? This place was so near Mount Shu—could it have been a powerful figure from the Shu Mountain Sect?

While pondering, Chu Liang moved closer.

After careful inspection and finding nothing unusual, he approached the skeleton.

Though long deceased, the golden luster on the bones remained vibrant and contained extraordinary spiritual energy. Countless poisonous bees gnawing day and night had not caused significant damage.

The flesh and clothes had likely been devoured by the bees; otherwise, the decay wouldn’t have been so complete. Strangely, no other belongings remained.

Would such a high-level cultivator really have no treasured items or weapons on them?

Upon closer examination, Chu Liang noticed something odd.

In the center of the skeleton was lodged a dark golden scroll.

The cave’s dim light and the scroll’s color, similar to the bones, made it easy to overlook.

“Excuse me, honored predecessor,” Chu Liang said respectfully, then gently extracted the scroll.

Unfurling it, he saw it appeared to be a map or a route drawing on dark golden leather, the animal source unknown.

However, the scroll was clearly torn, and judging by the shape, this was only one quarter of the whole.

Thinking back to where it was lodged…

The deceased must have swallowed the scroll in life, which remained inside the skeleton after death.

For such a powerful cultivator to guard something in this way…

Chu Liang pondered the fragment in his hand. Could it be a legendary treasure map?

But there were no descriptions; he didn’t even know what was drawn on it, let alone find the other parts.

Looking around carefully and confirming nothing else was nearby, Chu Liang stood up.

Near the spot where his flying sword had struck, there was a pit. He respectfully placed the golden skeleton into it and filled the pit back in.

“Honored predecessor, your bones have suffered from these poisonous bees for many years and must have been uncomfortable. I hereby help you rest in peace. I do not understand what this map depicts, so I will take it with me, giving it a chance to see the light of day once more. I hope you will not take offense.”

After bowing politely, he left the cave.

…

Meanwhile, on Mount Shu’s Bilu Peak.

Atop the peak stood a tall silver tree, its branches twisting and reaching upward, as if to pierce the cloud-filled sky. This ancient silver tree gave the peak its name.

A figure clad in a flowing white immortal dress ascended step by step. With each footfall, a white blossom bloomed beneath her feet, as if a celestial maiden climbing to heaven.

She reached the crown of the tree, where a woman in fluttering feathered robes awaited, standing alone against the wind, gazing over the sea of clouds.

The feathered woman turned, wearing a crown and bearing a serene, inscrutable expression, her age indiscernible, faintly imbued with a divine aura.

She was Yan Daoist, the master of Bilu Peak at Mount Shu—a name well-known throughout the cultivation world, though few knew she was a woman.

The young beauty gracefully stepping among the blossoms was Jiang Yuebai. If Chu Liang were here, he would recognize her at a glance.

“Master,” Jiang Yuebai greeted with a slight bow.

“Back already,” the feathered woman’s voice drifted in the mountain breeze. “Was it smooth?”

“Fairly smooth, but no true inheritors of the Divine Ruin Sect,” Jiang Yuebai replied. “Only descendants of its abandoned disciples, completely unaware of the secrets within.”

“Are you hurt?” Yan Daoist asked.

“I was a bit reckless in pursuit and fell into a minor ambush,” Jiang Yuebai said. “Nothing serious.”

“Sigh…”

Yan Daoist sighed softly.

“Your mother emerged from the Divine Ruin and then returned there. Your father has since pursued its traces with no word… But you need not be like this. Since you have ascended Mount Shu, why not cultivate peacefully? The Divine Ruin is like a curse; drawing too close will bring misfortune.”

“But… I am already cursed,” Jiang Yuebai’s expression was cold yet resolute. “Maybe this is my fate.”

“Your father was once a dazzling genius, so brilliant. Now…” Yan Daoist looked at Jiang Yuebai with deep concern. “I only fear you will be the same.”

They met each other’s gaze. Jiang Yuebai’s eyes were gentle but unwavering.

“Escape… is impossible.”