CHAPTER 235: THE MOUNTAIN OF SKELETONS COLLAPSED

Lu Chen chuckled lightly as he approached Nantian Yijian. "Little Jian, what are you daydreaming about? Stand up. What do you mean you'd be dead if we hadn't met?"

He lifted Nantian Yijian to his feet and brushed the dust off his back. "The fact that we met shows our destinies are linked. Even if it hadn't been in the Demonic Beast Forest, we'd have crossed paths somewhere else."

"Hahaha... that's true. You really are cultured, boss, not like Lord Wind Dragon, who only knows how to scare me," Nantian Yijian said, his sharp, duck-like voice echoing as he observed Lu Chen brushing the dust off his back. "By the way, boss, I just thought of something."

Lu Chen tilted his head, listening carefully. "What did you think of just now? Why do you say no one else could come here?"

"Boss, you know about Chosen Ones, right?" Nantian Yijian winked, a hint of mystery in his tone. "I read it in the Scripture Hall a few days ago. Chosen Ones can enter places ordinary people cannot... Could it be we're Chosen Ones?"

Wind Dragon snorted coldly. "Nonsense. Brat, what exactly goes through your head all day? Do you really take those old stories seriously?"

Nantian Yijian ducked behind Lu Chen, wary of Wind Dragon's potential wrath, and hurriedly explained, "Lord Wind Dragon, the continent has no reliable long-term records. Who's to say those old stories weren't chronicles of past masters?"

Wind Dragon's glare sharpened, his dragon whiskers twitching like missiles. "When did you learn to talk back?"

Before he could act, Lu Chen stepped in. "Wind Dragon, stop. I think Little Jian has a point."

"See? Even boss agrees with me," Nantian Yijian said proudly, glancing at Lu Chen.

"Little Lu, you're joining in on this nonsense as well?" Wind Dragon snorted, retracting his whiskers as he eyed Nantian Yijian's peeking head. "I see... so he learned it from you. I used to think your obsession with reading was harmless, but now it seems it has influenced you more than I expected."

Lu Chen scratched his head, smiling awkwardly. "Wind Dragon, it's not like that. Think about it. Why hasn't anyone appeared here since the boundary line?"

Wind Dragon's interest piqued. "Hmm? You mean—"

Before he could ask his question, Lu Chen cut him off. "Think about it. Even if people thought this place was creepy, over all these years, wouldn't at least one fearless person have come?"

He pulled out the hidden treasures he had collected along the way and tossed them lightly to Wind Dragon. "On the way here, we followed a path and found so many treasures. Do you honestly think any reasonable cultivator would ignore them?"

Wind Dragon examined the treasures. "By that logic, something is indeed amiss. But I checked carefully before we entered. There are no formations, and not even simple illusions. How do you explain that?"

Lu Chen shook his head. "I haven't figured that part out yet. But the mist here has all been absorbed, so the answer should reveal itself soon. Right now, let's search for the stone tablet before anyone finds us."

He turned toward the mountain of skeletons. Just as he was ready to move on, Jun Laoye suddenly rose with the Heavenly Spirit-Gathering Disk in hand. "Little Lu, I think you're looking for this, right? There's a stone tablet fragment there, where the spirit qi is most concentrated."

Lu Chen's eyes lit up. He quickly moved toward Jun Laoye and activated his Divine Eye, spotting a dense cluster of spirit qi.

Seeing Lu Chen excited, Nantian Yijian turned to Wind Dragon with a smug grin. "See, Lord Wind Dragon? I was right this time. Do you have anything to say now?"

Before Wind Dragon could respond, he walked off quickly. Red Fox opened her eyes, her tone dripping with mockery. "How's that? Feeling frustrated? Blame yourself for venting on him all the time. This time, he outsmarted you."

Wind Dragon shot her a sharp glance, teeth gritted. "Hmph...

so what? This brat just got lucky once. Besides, why can't I find a reason to train him?"

Red Fox sneered. "Then go train him. Why make such a grim face in front of me?"

She yawned and closed her eyes.

"You..."

Seeing Wind Dragon at a loss for words, Nantian Wan'er pursed her lips and laughed softly. "Lord Wind Dragon, don't mind him. That's just how Brother Yijian is. Don't take it seriously."

Wind Dragon's face reddened with embarrassment. Unable to lash out at Nantian Wan'er, he narrowed his eyes and glared at Nantian Yijian. "Nantian brat, come here."

Standing three zhang tall, Wind Dragon advanced in slow, deliberate steps. "You've always wanted to become the King of Ten Thousand Arts, haven't you? Today, I'll give you a good way to start."

Nantian Yijian had been standing beside Lu Chen, watching him carefully release the vines to retrieve the stone tablet fragments. But the moment he heard Wind Dragon's words, he turned around, excitement flaring. "Is that so, Lord Wind Dragon? You really are good to me."

When he saw Wind Dragon's bloodshot eyes, however, fear overtook him, and he grabbed Lu Chen in a panic.

At that moment, Lu Chen was balancing atop the mountain of skeletons, carefully pulling out the tablet fragment to prevent the entire pile from collapsing. Nantian Yijian's sudden tug shattered his concentration.

His hand slipped, and the stone tablet fell deeper this time, landing squarely beneath a skeleton that had just dropped, burying it completely.

Seeing the tablet fall, Nantian Yijian instantly realized the trouble he had caused. He lowered his head, murmuring apologies over and over, which made Lu Chen chuckle softly.

Lu Chen let out a quiet laugh and patted the remorseful Nantian Yijian on the shoulder, signaling him to go stand by Wind Dragon so he could try retrieving the fragment again.

Head still bowed, Nantian Yijian shuffled toward Wind Dragon. Before he could steady himself, Wind Dragon lashed out with a string of curses. Knowing he was in the wrong, Nantian Yijian kept his head low and silently endured the scolding.

Wind Dragon berated him repeatedly, but Nantian Yijian didn't react. Each strike of words felt like punching a pillow, and it only increased Wind Dragon's frustration. With a frustrated snort, he shrank his body and flew over to Lu Chen's side. "Little Lu, how are you? Can you still pull that stone tablet out?"

He glanced at the fragment, now blocked by a skeleton, worry flickering in his eyes. "That tablet is far too important to you. Should I help move that skeleton?"

Lu Chen's eyes stayed locked on the tablet. He shook his head. "Don't hover above the ravine. I was just testing it. Anything infused with spirit qi will be dragged down by the black mist below."

Wind Dragon released a puff of spirit qi. The moment it reached the space above the ravine, it lost connection and plunged into the darkness like a falling boulder.

Standing at the edge of the cliff, Wind Dragon's eyes glowed deep blue. He stared into the depths, frowning deeply, before finally lifting his head. "This power... It's Void."

Sensing his fluctuating emotions, Lu Chen asked, "What's wrong, Wind Dragon? Your energy's unstable. Could the thing devouring spirit qi down there really be the Void?"

"Yes. The Void exists down there. It represents one of the highest laws. Even in my era, it was rarely seen," Wind Dragon replied, scanning the surroundings in puzzlement. "Why has it appeared so frequently these past few days? Could there be a deeper meaning to it?"

Seeing Wind Dragon murmuring to himself, Lu Chen leaned close and called out, "Wind Dragon."

Wind Dragon lowered his head. "That power just now... if my guess is correct, it was Void, and a high-tier one at that. It might even surpass the Void you encountered before."

"Is it stronger than the one in the Hunyuan Greatsword?"

"That's right. The Void in the Hunyuan Greatsword isn't high-tier. That's only because your cultivation level is still low. As you grow stronger, the Void in the sword will strengthen as well."

Bang!

Momentarily distracted by Wind Dragon's words, Lu Chen applied too much force, yanking the stone tablet fragment free. Wrapped in the Divine Tree's vines, the fragment swung back and forth before slowly being lifted.

The spot where the tablet had rested turned into a massive hole. Skeletons above began to tumble, one after another. With their support gone, the entire mountain trembled violently.

Two breaths later, one side of the massive pile gave way with a thunderous crash, collapsing completely into the bottomless ravine. Pale-gray dust surged from the depths. Lu Chen and Jun Laoye exchanged stunned looks, frozen in shock.

Nantian Yijian, on the other hand, remained largely unaffected. He stood at the edge, arms waving with excitement, as though he was witnessing a grand spectacle. "Boss, I think I saw something glowing just now!"

He flapped his sleeves, clearing the dust rising from the ravine, and peered through the brief window of visibility at the collapsed mountain. Then he pointed toward the section that had caved in. "That... that looks like a tablet fragment. No! Wait! It might be another piece of the tablet, Boss! It's right there!"