Thirty disciples had entered the mountain, but only twenty-nine returned.

The noisy crowd gradually quieted down. Tian Fangfang realized Zanxing wasn’t there and walked up to Zi Luo, saying, “Senior Sister, why hasn’t Junior Sister Zanxing returned yet?”

Zi Luo frowned tightly and asked Tian Fangfang: “Were you with her before?”

“Yes,” Tian Fangfang nodded, “Junior Sister Zanxing was looking for Night Vine branches, and I was looking for other herbs, so we split up. Later, after I finished gathering herbs, I went to the black swamp to look for her. I saw that the Night Vine branch had already been cut down, and there was no sign of Junior Sister Zanxing around, so I thought she had already left.”

“She found the Night Vine branch, but there’s no person…” Zi Luo’s expression grew increasingly grim. “Could something have happened to her?”

“Senior Sister,” said the youth who had been bitten by the snake earlier, “I heard that Gufeng Mountain becomes very dangerous after sunset. Why don’t we find a few senior brothers and enter the mountain to search for Senior Sister?”

Hua Yue, standing to the side, spoke up blandly upon hearing this: “Yang Zanxing didn’t follow the rules herself, and now she’s trapped in the mountain, yet she wants others to risk danger to save her. You should know there are quite a few fierce beasts on the mountain. Going in rashly would be inappropriate.”

Tian Fangfang was displeased: “Are we supposed to just stand by and watch someone die?”

“Senior Sister, has this situation ever occurred before?” Mu Cengxiao, who hadn’t spoken until now, paused before asking.

Zi Luo sighed: “It’s not that it’s never happened. It’s just that Gufeng Mountain at night is very dangerous. To prevent disciples from accidentally entering, the Sect Master specifically set up restrictions at the mountain entrance. Once the sun sets, Gufeng Mountain only allows exit, not entry. To enter the mountain, one must lift the restrictions.”

“Then report this matter to the Sect Master and ask him to lift the restrictions,” Tian Fangfang said with hope.

Zi Luo shook her head: “The Sect Master is currently in closed-door cultivation and won’t emerge for another eighty-one days.”

“In the entire Taiyan Sect, is there no one else who can lift the restrictions?” After a moment, Mu Cengxiao asked.

“There is – Seventh Master Uncle can also lift the restrictions, but,” Zi Luo said helplessly, “Seventh Master Uncle left the Taiyan Sect over a year ago, and we don’t know when he’ll return.”

Silence fell around them.

In the distance, the starlight of Gufeng Mountain was like golden mist, shrouding the end of the dark peaks and forests.

“First, let’s inform all the elders and master uncles about this,” Zi Luo said with worry. “Let’s hope Junior Sister Zanxing is safe and sound.”

…

The surroundings were becoming colder and colder.

Zanxing stood up, supporting herself against the tree.

Earlier, Hua Yue had used his sword to shred her clothes. Now her gauze robe had become several tattered pieces. Zanxing reassembled them, looking like a model in an avant-garde fashion show.

The Taiyan Sect favored a cold, minimalist aesthetic. The gauze robes were ethereal enough, but provided little protection against the cold. Cultivators usually had good physical constitution, which was normally fine, but whether it was because her yuanli was currently damaged or due to the special nature of Gufeng Mountain, it felt like wearing a single layer in winter – cold enough to make her teeth chatter.

There was still colorful miasma around, but Zanxing felt nothing, probably because of the mint candy she had just consumed. Since it was already night and Gufeng Mountain was very dangerous, Zanxing figured it would be best to leave as soon as possible.

Gufeng Mountain at night looked very beautiful – different from the daytime Penglai fairyland, it was tinged with an eerie charm. Distant shrieks of Rakshasa Birds could be heard, accompanied by several unknown beast roars, combined with fierce winds and heavy dew, creating what looked like a wilderness survival backdrop.

She took two steps and felt increasingly cold, couldn’t help but rub her hands and breathe warm air on them.

If, in the original story world, she wasn’t killed by demon beasts but instead froze to death in the mountains, it would sound rather like a joke.

Zanxing pushed aside a cluster of tree branches in front of her and suddenly heard a “rustling” sound ahead. This sound was originally quite soft, but in the silent mountain forest, it took on an indescribable terror.

She pressed her hand on the small knife at her waist that she had used to try cutting the Night Vine branch. Looking carefully, she saw a golden snake coiled in the grass ahead. This snake was about as thick as a child’s arm and glowed, its body coiled in a circle. It raised its head, flicking its forked tongue, then hissed and lunged at Zanxing.

Zanxing was prepared. She raised her hand and struck – “swoosh” – her hand moved, and the knife fell, cutting off the snake’s head and splattering green juice everywhere. The snake’s head wasn’t dead yet, and flew toward Zanxing again. Zanxing wrapped the snake’s head with yuanli and struck hard, finally crushing the snake’s head to pieces.

Thanks to her previous fight with Duan Xiangrao, Zanxing was quite experienced with dealing with snakes. She carefully stepped around the snake’s corpse and was about to leave when she suddenly sensed something was wrong. Her steps halted as she looked back in the direction she had come from.

The headless snake corpse had lost its strength, and the coiled body had gone limp, revealing what the snake had been coiled around.

It was a golden egg.

The dead snake was dull and gray, but the egg seemed dusted with luminescent powder, almost bright enough to blind someone. So the golden light earlier hadn’t been the snake’s color – it was coming from this egg.

This didn’t look like an egg the snake had laid, either. This egg was much larger than the snake.

Zanxing didn’t dare touch the egg directly. She crouched down in front of the golden egg and observed it.

This egg was about the size of an ostrich egg. At first glance, it looked like a prop from those “buy a house, get a golden egg to smash” activities at real estate sales offices – garishly golden.

She gently touched the egg with the sheath of her small knife. The egg didn’t move at all, but when she got close, it emitted a bit of soft warmth.

It was warm?

Zanxing was stunned. Carrying this thing would be like having a ready-made hand warmer!

She was somewhat tempted, but also afraid that taking this egg might cause trouble, since the original story world had been quite inhumane for a long time. After thinking about it, Zanxing activated the Xiaoyuan Pearl in her chest. The pearl seemed to be running low on power now, and under Zanxing’s forceful activation, it reluctantly sent out a wisp that tentatively enveloped the yuanli in front of her.

Zanxing felt no sensation when connecting with the egg, but as soon as she approached it, she immediately felt a comfortable, soothing aura washing over her.

It was like when you’re tired and a bed appears in front of you – warm and soft, like pet fur, gentle and affectionate. In just an instant, Zanxing made her decision. She reached out and picked up the egg.

The golden egg didn’t look big, but it was somewhat heavy when lifted. However, it was very warm, like a hand warmer in the cold mountains, immediately warming both Zanxing’s heart and body. It was also very bright, with built-in illumination that instantly lit up the path ahead.

Zanxing carried the golden egg as she walked forward with unsteady steps, vigilantly watching her surroundings to prevent any accidents. She didn’t notice that the bird cries and the beast roars that had been intermittently echoing through the mountain forest had, at some unknown point, all fallen completely silent.

Gufeng Mountain’s bright moon shone, and all things were tranquil.