"Ah, what a mysterious stone slab, but unfortunately we can't see anything on it."

[Ghost Valley] said regrettably.

Every day he would take out this stone slab to study a bit, but from the day he got it from Wu Xiaoyao until now, he had never seen any writings or patterns on it.

To him, it seemed to be nothing more than an indestructible and enigmatic object of unknown material.

Rustle, rustle—

Perhaps the conversation among the three was too loud, there came some sounds of packing up from within the tent, followed by the ripping sound of chains. A young man, who looked about the same age as [Ghost Valley], walked out from inside.

The young man's appearance was not outstanding; his skin was not particularly fair, and he even looked somewhat tanned as if he had been sunburned from years of farming under the sun. He had a slightly flattened nose and a few acne scars on his face.

He had the kind of ordinary appearance that would make him hard to find if he were lost in a crowd.

But under this flickering firelight, his eyes seemed to shine brightly, as though there was a flame burning within them, making it hard for people not to take a few more glances at him.

He walked to [Ghost Valley]'s side, took the stone slab, and said in a calm voice: "Only the teacher can see the writings, which proves it must be some form of divine oracle. Perhaps we can trace the lineage of the teacher's family to see if there are any tales of extraordinary people or events."

"Ha, if there really were such extraordinary people, they probably would have to be like Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng, who created the Tui Bei Tu and prophesied the rise and fall of future generations, or like Master Guigu, who orchestrated the world as a chess game, grooming disciples to become important figures, influencing the survival of nations and guiding the course of history."

[Ghost Valley] couldn't help but retort.

This young man was the only apprentice of his older brother—Yin Qiming.

He and Yin Qiming were about the same age and both had a strong interest in archaeology as well as various supernatural legends, so their relationship had always been quite good, and they could be considered close friends.

The most important thing was that both of them greatly admired Wu Xiaoyao.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have embarked on this archaeological journey that was initiated by a mere whim of Wu Xiaoyao and brought them along.

"Master Guigu... If we could foresee things in advance through this stone slab and change some things, the teacher might also leave behind titles like 'prophet' and 'pioneer' in the world, hahaha." Yin Qiming joked.

Seeing everyone wake up and gather around the fire to chat.

Wu Xiaoyao gently held Yao Qingxue's hand and stood up, saying, "Since everyone is awake, let's set off. I have a few key points to clarify."

The core of this team was Wu Xiaoyao.

As soon as he spoke, Yin Qiming and [Ghost Valley] immediately stopped chatting and listened intently to every word that followed.

"First, in the cave, we might encounter various supernatural phenomena. Unless I instruct you to act, do not recklessly seek out or come into contact with the sources of these supernatural phenomena; second, I can't guarantee everyone will be able to see the Immortal Realm, so if you find any peculiar entrance, make sure to inform me; third, Xiaoliang's physical body must be the first to enter the Immortal Realm."

"Bro, Qiming, I'm counting on you both for this journey."

After saying that, Wu Xiaoyao solemnly expressed his gratitude to the two young men.

This made Yin Qiming a bit flustered as he quickly waved his hand and said, "No need to mention it, Wu Liang grew up under our watch, teacher, you don't need to be so formal."

"Yeah, bro, that's my own nephew!" [Ghost Valley] said, scratching his head awkwardly.

Seeing the harmonious atmosphere among them, Wu Liang, who was hiding not far away, couldn't help but sigh.

Nowadays, the [Promised Land] that's wreaking havoc was established by [Ghost Valley] and [Pioneer]; Wu Xiaoyao's bio-replica has been created, and his life and death remain unknown; Yao Qingxue has been trapped in the Tianshan Mountain Range for five years without taking a step away.

If what he saw now truly happened in the past, it's hard to imagine what could have taken place in that so-called "Immortal Realm" to turn this archaeological quartet into the current situation.

After the chatting ended, under Wu Xiaoyao's guidance, they packed their things and continued forward to explore.

But seeing Yin Qiming and [Ghost Valley] bring out a dried-out, shriveled corpse on a portable stretcher from the tent, that familiar feeling couldn't help but make Wu Liang's heart tremble.

"Is that... me?"

He found it incredibly hard to believe.

He just heard Wu Xiaoyao say that he had only been dead for two days.

But his dried corpse curled up like that hardly resembled the normal size of a ten-year-old child. Its weight probably wouldn't even compare to a sack of rice!

After all, he could see how effortlessly [Ghost Valley] and Yin Qiming were carrying the body, seemingly without any difficulty.

What could have happened to him to end up like this?

Once the group moved away from the vicinity of the Gloomy Pool, Wu Liang emerged from hiding to the extinguished fire.

He kicked at the fire, scattering ashes beside him, and his face looked somewhat grim.

"Can I interact with everything happening now?"

This was the last thing Wu Liang wanted to see.

He didn't want any unintended actions on his part to change what happened in the past, even if he didn't know if the change would only occur within the cave or affect external circumstances.

He only wanted to understand what happened back then.

"Sigh... it seems I must continue hiding."

With a sigh, Wu Liang wrapped himself in the effects of [Heavy Fog] and silently followed behind the four ahead.

...…

...…

What happened next was somewhat unexpected.

He initially thought Wu Xiaoyao and the others would quickly reach the so-called "Immortal Realm," but unexpectedly, after advancing in the cave for two or three days, they still hadn't reached their destination.

During these three days, Wu Liang watched as his father, mother, and their companions encountered countless Fierce Ghosts.

But perhaps because it was before the Supernatural Calamity, almost all the Fierce Ghosts barely counted as anything more than "ghosts" of that level.

They were just slightly stronger than certain Supernatural Objects.

Moreover, most of the Fierce Ghosts seemed different now—they didn't have as strong a desire for slaughtering the living, and a few even avoided the group to avoid direct contact when encountered.

Thus, with the information about the Fierce Ghosts that Wu Xiaoyao could obtain through the stone slab, they repeatedly managed to get through challenges unscathed.

Of course, there were a few close calls that almost made Wu Liang, standing by, intervene to assist.

But at critical moments, when Wu Xiaoyao couldn't find a way to resolve the situation with the Fierce Ghosts, there would always mysteriously appear a sign of life that allowed the group to avert disaster.

Sometimes, it was Yin Qiming falling into a stone wall and revealing another path; sometimes, it was Yao Qingxue finding something even Wu Xiaoyao didn't know could restrain the current Fierce Ghost; or sometimes, it was the Fierce Ghost suddenly sparing them when about to act.

As the saying goes, the onlookers see clearly while those in the scene are lost.

It was precisely these strange occurrences of narrowly escaping trouble that made the onlooker Wu Liang notice something odd and come to an absurd conclusion—

"Besides my father, there's actually someone else in this team who can see the information on the stone slab!"

"And the information they see is different from my father's! That's why they can find a way out!"

"Who is that person? Why are they hiding it from the others at such a critical moment?"

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