After eating their fill of melon and grilled fish, everyone had to continue on their journey.
When leaving, Mu Cengxiao completely stripped all the beauty-enhancing Yao grass by Lanjing Lake and stuffed it into his Qiankun Bag, presumably planning to take it back as a souvenir for Liu Yunxin. Zanxing couldn’t figure out Mu Cengxiao’s current emotional situation—on one hand, she could see the subtle atmosphere between him and Meng Ying, while on the other hand, he was still thinking of his childhood friend Liu Yunxin. It seemed like his heart to marry eight wives was far from dead.
Continuing forward from the shore of Lanjing Lake, they reached the foot of Wudong Mountain.
Standing at the foot of Wudong Mountain and looking up, this mountain was like a complete piece of azure jade, gleaming magnificently in the vast sky. The forest sea was extremely lush, stretching endlessly as far as the eye could see. The mountain also had many streams and pools—every few steps, you could see water splashing. The flowing water was also very clear, with azure pebbles lying on the stream bottom, emitting a gentle light.
Tian Fangfang’s eyes immediately went straight, and she reached out to scoop up two pieces in her palm, asking: “What are these? Jade?”
“They’re stone jade,” Meng Ying glanced at the stones in her palm. “They’re stones, but they grow to look like jade.”
“If these were taken to Huajin Tower, they’d be good enough to pass for real.” Tian Fangfang rolled up her sleeves and opened her Qiankun Bag to stuff them in. Meng Ying shook her head: “They’re useless. Stone jade can only glow in Wudong Mountain’s water. Once they leave the Secret Realm, they’re no different from ordinary stones.”
Upon hearing this, Tian Fangfang’s jade-scooping movements stopped, and she awkwardly withdrew her hand, saying: “That is a pity.”
Wudong Mountain’s peaks were supremely beautiful, appearing gentle and undulating but magnificent and precipitous. While climbing, occasionally looking back, one could see clouds and mist swirling around, as if thousands of feet high. From time to time, emerald-feathered birds with long tail plumes would fly past.
After circling a deep pool and traveling upward for dozens of li through the lush greenery, a footprint suddenly appeared. This footprint was as large as a cart, hidden among the deep undergrowth—it should have been traces left by some beast.
“It looks like a tiger’s footprint,” Tan Tianxin from Chihua Gate said.
“This tiger shouldn’t be small,” Putao looked at the size of the footprint and instructed the female disciples of Xiangling Sect: “Everyone, be careful.”
“Fellow Cultivator Putao needn’t worry. We’re cultivators—surely we won’t fear mortal beasts?” A disciple from Yinfeng Sect laughed as he spoke: “If there’s real danger, we’ll just kill this beast with one blade and strip its tiger skin to make a pair of boots.”
People from the Yinfeng Sect were always boastful, and others were already used to it. However, upon hearing this, Mendong hid behind Gu Baiying. Being young, he naturally harbored an instinctive fear of wild beasts carrying people off.
Seeing this, Zanxing comforted him: “Don’t be afraid. Even if there are tigers, it doesn’t matter—we still have a lion.” She pinched Mimi by the scruff of the neck and lifted her into the air. “She barely counts as a king of beasts, I suppose.”
Everyone looked at the white cat with a bewildered expression and a belly so round it looked pregnant, and fell into silence.
Mimi struggled twice, jumped down from Zanxing’s hand, squatted on the ground, and lazily yawned.
Gu Baiying said, “Let’s go, stop standing around. The people from Chihua Gate have already gone ahead.”
After walking for about another two hours, or perhaps three, the sunlight wasn’t as intense as at noon. It swept across the mountain peak, and with the dense tree branches in the forest, bits of golden light fell through the gaps in the branches onto the earth, coating the mountain forest with broken gold. The higher they climbed, the denser the forest became. Sunlight couldn’t penetrate, making it increasingly eerie.
In the distance, there was a winding stream flowing with a murmuring sound.
Everyone walked forward a few steps when they suddenly heard the sound of a woman singing.
The singing voice was light and pleasant, like pearls falling on a jade plate. In these deep mountains, it was extraordinarily ethereal. Just from hearing the singing voice, one could imagine it came from a beautiful woman of exquisite appearance and graceful charm.
The cultivators were first stunned, then became nervous, saying: “Who’s there?”
“Ignorant,” Tan Tianxin showed disdain on his face. “What a bunch of country bumpkins.”
Nie Xinghong waved his fan and smiled: “If I’m not mistaken, this should be an ‘Immortal Song Vine.'”
Immortal Song Vine?
Zanxing was startled. Following the cultivators’ footsteps forward, she indeed saw that a stone wall ahead was densely covered with emerald vines. These vines were growing by relying on something unknown, completely covering an entire mountain wall. On these vines, a few light pink flowers bloomed sporadically. These petals had only upper and lower parts, looking like human lips in shape. At this moment, the flowers were opening and closing like people talking.
The singing sounds were coming from these flowers.
“It is an ‘Immortal Song Vine,'” Zanxing murmured.
“Junior sister, what’s an ‘Immortal Song Vine’?” Tian Fangfang asked.
Zanxing: “I once saw ‘All Things: Listening to the Voices of Flowers and Grass’ in the sect’s library pavilion. It recorded a hundred types of flowers and grass that make sounds, and one of them was the ‘Immortal Song Vine.’ It’s said that this flower mimics the singing voices of mortal women, with enchanting and moving tones that lure people closer.”
“Really?” Tian Fangfang was about to reach out and touch it. “This is quite rare.”
Zanxing: “Don’t move!”
Tian Fangfang’s hand trembled, and she looked back in confusion: “What’s wrong?”
“The ‘Immortal Song Vine’ feeds on meat—you can’t get close to it.”
Just as her words fell, a disciple from another sect nearby suddenly reached out his hand. A bird that was resting on a roadside tree branch was caught in his palm. He threw the bird toward the Immortal Song Vine—
In an instant, countless vines suddenly stretched out from the mountain wall, entangling the bird within them. Soon, the bird’s form could no longer be seen. Those light pink flowers that looked like human lips made “crunch crunch” sounds of greedy chewing, mixed with soft sounds of swallowing saliva.
Everyone immediately felt a chill.
After a moment, the vines gradually loosened and once again covered the mountain wall. In front of the wall, there were only a few bird bone fragments and feathers. The Immortal Song Vine seemed to savor the taste, making “tsk tsk tsk” sounds of reminiscence, then began singing again.
The woman’s singing voice was still beautiful and moving, but the cultivators present no longer found it novel or interesting.
If it had been a person instead, they would probably have been devoured clean of flesh and blood by the Immortal Song Vine just now. Perhaps countless cultivators’ bones were buried in front of this mountain wall. The more pleasant the singing voice, the more it made people’s spines run cold.
Although the cultivators entering the Secret Realm were all outstanding members of the younger generation in their sects, they were still young and not particularly well-traveled. Seeing this vine for the first time inevitably made them feel uncomfortable. One cultivator said: “What Immortal Song Vine—I think it should be called Demon Song Vine. It’s all demonic and eerie. Why not just cut it down with a blade?” After speaking, he was about to draw his sword.
“Hey,” Nie Xinghong waved his hand, stopping his movement. “The Immortal Song Vine is a vine—even if you cut it with a blade, it will regrow. You can’t eliminate it with a sword. To completely remove this thing, you’d have to use fire. But this vine has already covered the mountain wall. If you burned it, this mountain would be gone too.”
That cultivator could only angrily sheath his sword, saying: “This demon vine is lucky!”