Boom!
An explosion rang out. As the smoke and dust cleared, a cave entrance was revealed.
"There really is an entrance!"
"No wonder they vanished — they must have gone through this entrance."
"Strange, why would there be a mechanism here? Ah, the Patriarch has arrived."
When the Bai Clan Patriarch reached the scene, she arrived just as the crowd blasted through the wall, revealing the secret passage behind it.
"This should be a place of inheritance." Tie Dao Ku, who had accompanied them, took one glance and made his deduction.
"So that's it. These two little thieves — their real destination was here!" The Bai Clan Patriarch gritted her teeth, a cold light flickering in her eyes.
Quite the performance indeed.
On the way here, she had replayed all the days of their interactions in her mind.
The more she thought, the angrier she became. She had actually been fooled by two teenagers! The dignified Bai Clan Patriarch, along with a whole group of clansmen, had been duped by two juniors!
If word got out, it would be a devastating blow to the Bai Clan's prestige.
"We juniors failed in our duty and could not protect the two young masters. Please punish us, Patriarch." Bai Lian, Bai Shengjing, and the others were filled with dread as they knelt and offered themselves up for punishment.
"All of you, rise. You were acting under my orders. If anyone is to blame, it's those two little thieves for being too cunning!" One sentence from the Bai Clan Patriarch, and Bai Lian and the others breathed a huge sigh of relief.
"All this time, living day and night with those two, did you truly not catch even a single flaw?" Tie Dao Ku asked.
The three young women rose to their feet, the expressions on their faces complicated.
Bai Lian especially — she had once believed that both Fang and Bai were completely under her thumb, mere playthings. She never expected that she'd been the one played first.
"No flaws."
"Those two were incredible actors!"
"Looking back now, they were using our Bai Clan. Truly cunning and devious."
All three shook their heads in answer to Tie Dao Ku.
Along the way, Tie Dao Ku had already learned the gist of things from the Bai Clan Patriarch. Naturally, the matter of the Bai Clan's Yuan Spring had not been revealed.
"Hmm... so that's how it is. These two thieves' true goal was to find this place. With their own strength, they weren't capable of roaming White Bone Mountain freely. So they used your Bai Clan's power." Tie Dao Ku analyzed matter-of-factly, as though no one else were present.
Hearing his words, the nearby Bai Clan Gu Masters all looked grim.
It was exactly as he said.
All this time, in order to clear paths through White Bone Mountain, they had sacrificed many lives and paid a heavy price. And in the end, it had all been to pave the way for Fang and Bai.
"Those bastards!"
"If those two fell into my hands, I'd chop them into eight pieces!"
"Patriarch, let my division strike! I'll capture and kill those two bastards and wash away this shame!"
For a moment, the cave erupted with outrage.
The Bai Clan Patriarch surveyed the circle and nodded faintly. How could she not want to tear Fang and Bai apart? As the mother of Bai Sheng and Bai Hua, she wished she could appear before her children right now.
The troops' morale was high and their fighting spirit was strong.
The Bai Clan Patriarch turned to the Elder who had volunteered last: "Then I order your division to move out. You must clear this secret passage before you!"
"Yes!" The Elder barked his acknowledgment and accepted the order.
"Wait." Tie Dao Ku stepped forward and raised an objection. "This passage is choked with uneven bone spikes and completely sealed. How did those two get in? There must be a mechanism. Why not let me probe it first?"
The Elder who had been given the order stared wide-eyed. "The situation is dire as fire! The two young masters are in mortal danger, and you want to waste time fiddling with mechanisms? How long would that take?!"
...
"Bone Spike Gu..." Fang Yuan held the Gu in his palm, examining it closely.
The Gu resembled a cactus, about the size of a fist, with its surface covered in needle-like bone spikes. It felt somewhat heavy in the hand.
This was a Third Transformation Gu — the classic type that dealt a thousand damage to the enemy while costing eight hundred to the user.
When a Gu Master used it, it caused every bone in the body to mutate, producing sharp, rigid bone spikes.
To use these spikes against an enemy, they first had to pierce through the Gu Master's own skin and flesh. The pain was secondary. Without a corresponding healing Gu to pair it with, things could get ugly.
The enemy might not die, but the user of the Bone Spike Gu could end up seriously wounded instead.
"What Gu is this?" Bai Ningbing looked over with curiosity. But after hearing Fang Yuan's explanation, she lost interest.
It wasn't that she feared pain. She had already used the Ice Skin Gu.
Her entire body's skin had been permanently transformed by the Ice Skin Gu's power into "ice skin." Not only did it provide defense, but it also stopped sweating and could stanch bleeding.
If Bai Ningbing were to use this Bone Spike Gu, the spikes would first have to break through her ice skin. For her, it would be far more cost than benefit.
Fang Yuan didn't have much interest in this Bone Spike Gu either.
But it was still a Third Transformation Gu, so after refining it, he temporarily stored it in his Empty Orifice.
"Let's go." Fang Yuan chose the last hidden door to appear.
As before, Bai Ningbing took point.
Beyond the door was a flight of grey bone stairs extending downward. The staircase was long — at least a thousand meters.
By the second half, the surrounding light gradually dimmed and the stairs grew narrower.
Nearly in darkness, Fang and Bai reached the end of the staircase. A tightly shut door appeared before them.
Four large characters were carved into the door — Flesh Pouch Secret Chamber.
...
"These bones are harder than hell!" The Bai Clan Elder wiped the sweat from his forehead and cursed bitterly.
A quarter of an hour had passed, but this secret passage had only been cleared halfway.
These dense, uneven bone spikes looked no different from the stone of White Bone Mountain. But only when you actually attacked them did you discover that these bones were hard enough to make your jaw drop.