The world of poison beasts was a barrier realm, sealed by five great seals — these five seals were, in fact, its entrances and exits.

Four of the five seals had already been destroyed by the Nanzhao royal family. The fifth remained hidden beneath Mingsha Mountain — Xijing territory, and moreover the Xijing royal family’s own sacred mountain — so the Nanzhao royal family had only ever been able to guard it in secret, unable to destroy it outright.

This much, Meng Duo’er already knew — it matched exactly what Xuanyuan Lige had heard from the Nanzhao king’s own mouth.

But now, hearing her father say this, could it be that the truth was different after all?

“Foolish girl, there are two kinds of barriers — one set in place by a barrier-master, and one that exists naturally. Do you really think a barrier as vast as the world of poison beasts was something a barrier-master simply set up?” the old man said, shaking his head helplessly.

“You mean, Father…” Meng Duo’er was stunned, seeming to grasp something.

The old man let out a long sigh. “The world of poison beasts wasn’t created by a barrier-master at all — it’s actually a natural barrier! What legend calls a ‘dead barrier.’ Back then, the lost island’s great Gu master invited your great-grandmaster to lay four seals upon this natural barrier, deceiving the entire Nanzhao royal family!”

At this, the young girl gaped in complete shock. “How could it be… how could it be a dead barrier!”

After all, across the entire Longyuan Continent, all records of dead barriers existed only in ancient legend — to this day, no one had ever actually witnessed one!

Some had even declared outright that no dead barrier existed anywhere on the Longyuan Continent at all!

Yet somehow the world of poison beasts turned out to be exactly that — a dead barrier, a naturally occurring one, not something any barrier-master had constructed at all!

If a barrier were set by a barrier-master, it was called a “living barrier” — such barriers could be created at will, and any seal placed upon them could be undone by that same barrier-master!

A natural barrier, by contrast, arose entirely on its own, called a “dead barrier” — like a living barrier, it existed as an intangible force. But! It had only a single seal, anchored to something real and physical — such as the deep pool beneath Mingsha Mountain. This kind of barrier could never truly be destroyed; destroy the anchor it depended on, and the seal would simply shift elsewhere, seeking out a new anchor.

“So you’re saying the world of poison beasts’ true seal, its true entrance, was only ever the one beneath Mingsha Mountain!” Meng Duo’er murmured in disbelief.

Then, seeming to grasp something further, she cried out in shock, “Father, are you saying… that tornado destroyed the deep pool, and the seal simply shifted somewhere else? That it can’t be found anymore?”

The old man stroked his beard, gazing at the distant excavation work, sighing with regret over and over. “Too late, too late!”

“Father! Just tell me!” Meng Duo’er stamped her foot in frustration.

“Little girl, how many times have I taught you to observe things carefully with your heart, and yet you never do — no wonder your grandfather can’t stand you!” the old man scolded, exasperated at how little progress she’d made.

Meng Duo’er had no idea what she’d done wrong, only pouting sullenly.

“Look carefully at how high that pile of sand is, then look at how deep they’ve actually dug,” the old man said seriously.

Only then did Meng Duo’er notice, and she suddenly understood. “The tornado didn’t destroy the deep pool — it didn’t destroy the entrance!”

The old man’s expression turned even more disappointed, scolding her further. “As a barrier-master, the single most important quality is keen observation — with eyesight like yours, how do you expect to compete with your cousins?”

This father and daughter belonged to the Meng Clan of Nanzhao — a mysterious tribe whose island territory nominally belonged to Nanzhao, though in practice they had always remained independent of the Nanzhao royal family’s rule.

They were the inheritors of the art of barrier-craft. Back in the day, whether it was the lost island’s great Gu master or the barrier-masters summoned by the Nanzhao royal family itself, all had come from the Meng Clan.

A barrier was like a dream (meng), and so they took “Meng” as their clan name.

As a direct descendant of the Meng Clan’s main line, Meng Duo’er had always lagged behind among the younger generation. She’d never much cared to compete with the others, but her father insisted on pushing her to try.

Bringing her along this time had been meant as a chance for her to gain some experience, to broaden her horizons.

Meng Duo’er paid her father’s scolding no mind, asking instead, puzzled, “Father, could it be they destroyed the deep pool themselves? Aren’t they digging for a spring?”

At this, the old man nearly choked with fury. “You! Honestly, you… this child is simply hopeless! Do you know why I’ve been hurrying you along this entire journey? The year, month, hour, and day of the sexagenary cycle!”

Meng Duo’er only shook her head again, still not understanding.

“You!” The old man was truly defeated by this foolish daughter of his. The whole clan called her a talentless failure, and now it seemed that wasn’t an insult at all, but simple fact!

“A dead barrier’s seal is anchored to a physical object. When that object is destroyed, the seal shifts to something else. That’s the first point — remember it!” the old man said seriously.

Meng Duo’er could only nod.

“Second point — a dead barrier’s seal opens and closes on a fixed time cycle. One cycle opens, one cycle closes. Just as humans are born, age, sicken, and die in their own cycle — that is humanity’s fate. Every cycle of a dead barrier is likewise a matter of destiny. Understand?” the old man said loudly.

Meng Duo’er nodded timidly. “Destiny… cannot be reversed?”

“So this whole trip has been for nothing, and it’s entirely your fault! I told you from the start that it’s easy to lose your way at sea, but you wouldn’t listen, insisted on sailing the ship out yourself! And now look — after finally discovering this dead barrier, we can’t even find it anymore, and even if we did, we couldn’t open it!” The old man grew angrier the more he spoke, his earlier lament giving way now to full-blown fury.

The two of them had, of course, slipped out of the Meng Clan in secret, with no sailing experience whatsoever, recklessly setting out to sea — simply not starving to death out there for over a year had already been extraordinary good fortune.

Seeing her father so furious, Meng Duo’er suddenly understood. “Father, so you didn’t bring me here for experience and broadening my horizons at all — you dragged me out here to hunt for a dead barrier!”

A dead barrier was something not seen once in a thousand years — how could her father possibly know about one?

And how could he possibly know the truth behind the world of poison beasts beneath Mingsha Mountain?

Meng Duo’er might be slow, but she wasn’t a girl easily fooled. She narrowed her eyes at her father, waiting for an answer.

Seeing him stay silent, Meng Duo’er narrowed her eyes further, issuing a warning. “Father, if you don’t tell me the truth right now, I’m going straight back to Nanzhao to tell the whole clan there’s a dead barrier on the Longyuan Continent, and let everyone come looking for it!”

A dead barrier was the one treasure every barrier-master in existence dreamed of finding.

“You wouldn’t dare!” the old man sputtered.

“Try me!” Meng Duo’er seemed dead serious this time. Left with no choice, the old man pulled her down to sit, and said in a low voice, “I’m not here looking for a dead barrier. I’m here looking for your Fourth Aunt — I happened to come across this secret while going through her things.”

“My Fourth Aunt… Meng Wanyue?” Meng Duo’er was startled. She’d never once met her Fourth Aunt, Meng Wanyue — she only knew that her aunt was the fourth-born, closest to her father who was fifth-born, that she’d been a prodigy, and that at fifteen or sixteen she’d had a falling-out with her grandfather and secretly fled across the sea to the Longyuan Continent, never to be heard from again.

The name Meng Wanyue was an absolute taboo within the Meng Clan — whoever mentioned it, the old grandfather would fly into a rage.