The Silent Village

"It really is!" Jiang Daoyu exclaimed, also spotting the faint outline of distant structures. They were still a fair distance away, so the view remained unclear.

"Master might have been here a hundred years ago…" Chen Jinshu couldn't explain why the thought suddenly surfaced in her mind.

She recalled the strange spirit fungi growing in her master's courtyard and the bronze chime she now held that had guided her here—everything pointed to the fact that her master had once been to this very place.

And perhaps it was here she had obtained something extraordinary, something that had accelerated her cultivation in a short time.

"Junior Sister!" Du Yi had to call her twice before she snapped out of her daze.

"Let's walk over slowly. We should observe first for any unusual circumstances. If we run into something like that illusionary stone cave again, we're in trouble!"

Jiang Daoyu still felt lingering fear from their last ordeal. That stone cave had left him bedridden for four or five days. He had no desire to go through such an experience again.

A short while later, they arrived at the foot of a desolate, ancient village. Clustered stilted houses were scattered like stars along the mountainside. The wooden pole-and-rail structures had been weathered by time into a silver-grey hue, most of them half-collapsed and rotting.

The thatched roofs were overrun with moss and fungi. Brown mushroom caps poked through the cracks in the tiles, emitting a faint white glow. Other spirit fungi grew in crevices all around, displaying even more colors than the ones they had seen in the miasma zone.

The building materials matched the spirit wood they'd encountered earlier in the forest. While the aura of the structures had long since faded, the intricate patterns on the wood were still visible. The entire village sat beside a massive emerald-green waterfall, cascading down from a triple-layered cliff like a silken ribbon—striking and beautiful.

Fine sprays from the waterfall blanketed the village in a unique, glowing green mist.

"At least we've found a place to rest. Though I wonder if these spirit fungi will attack us," Jiang Daoyu murmured, his gaze sweeping across the many grass-roofed huts ahead.

"This place was clearly inhabited once. Whatever happened here, the villagers all disappeared."

"We'd best not separate too far from each other," Du Yi warned, squatting to examine a glowing green mushroom near his foot.

Chen Jinshu clutched the bronze chime, unsure what to do. Whatever this chime pointed toward was likely crucial to her master. But she didn't know how her two senior brothers would react if they learned the truth—would it affect her master's plans?

"Very well. When we rest, let's pick nearby huts," she said, feigning deliberation before nodding.

"It's still early. Let's explore the surroundings first," Jiang Daoyu suggested, strangely energetic, clearly eager to redeem himself after the fiasco in the illusionary cave. The other two understood well: he wanted to prove himself.

They nodded, following him into the village. All along the way, the trio scanned the abandoned homes with care. The houses still bore traces of life—bowls, pots, and utensils all remained in place. Some homes even had chicken and pig pens.

The stilt houses had once housed humans above, with poultry and livestock below. Yet not a single human trace remained. It was as if the entire population had vanished at once. Broken bowls and pots littered the ground, hinting at a sudden catastrophe that had left the villagers no time to react before being swept away.

Eventually, they reached a wooden tower—built entirely without a trace of metal. The structure was complex, with interlocking wooden beams and faded cloth strips hanging from within. After walking for nearly half an hour, they had found nothing unusual—not even a single clue. Other than the spirit fungi growing in the corners of buildings, there was nothing else.

"This place is too strange. Apart from the buildings and the fungi, there's nothing—no writings, not even pictures," Du Yi muttered.

"And yet, the signs of life are so well preserved!"

"Maybe something happens only at night? Should we wait and observe then?"

"Did you forget? There's no day or night in this secret realm—only temperature changes," Chen Jinshu reminded him.

"Ah, right… Then we really don't have any leads," Du Yi said bitterly.

They had finally found an ancient, secluded village, only to discover no spiritual items, no herbs—nothing of value. Just a forgotten ruin.

"I think the waterfall is the key," Chen Jinshu said, her eyes fixed on the emerald cascade across from them.

That was exactly the direction the bronze chime had been pointing toward. Perhaps this village had once been inhabited by humans surviving within the secret realm—now mysteriously gone.

"Why are you so sure, Junior Sister?" Jiang Daoyu asked gently.

"I can't tell you everything. Just know that I need your help," she replied after a long pause.

She couldn't guarantee her own safety in the face of such unknowns. How could she ensure she would retrieve what her master sought?

Yet, since her master had told her to bring a team, it meant that some level of disclosure was acceptable. Still, she knew—the less they knew, the safer they'd be. So she opted not to explain everything directly. All she could do was guide them to the right place.

"I trust you wouldn't lie to us. Let's check out that waterfall then," Du Yi said with a soft smile.

"He's right! I was overthinking it. That waterfall is clearly the most unusual thing here—if anything's hidden, it must be there," Jiang Daoyu agreed with a chuckle.

"Let's wait until we get closer before discussing anything else," Chen Jinshu said.

The trio followed the narrow path through the village, heading toward the emerald waterfall.

It didn't take long before they stood at its base.

But they couldn't go any farther.

That was because numerous spirit fungi clustered near the riverbank below the waterfall.

These fungi were unlike those in the village—they exuded a dangerous aura.

"These spirit fungi must've mutated—unlike the harmless ones in the village, these are aggressive," Du Yi said grimly.

"It must be the river. Its emerald color might look full of life, but in reality, it causes these mutations. That suggests the source of the river is no ordinary thing."

Chen Jinshu stared at the top of the waterfall—where the water flowed from.

That was also where the bronze chime had tried to fly toward.

Perhaps the thing her master sought lay hidden there.

To avoid the chime reacting with the source, Chen Jinshu tucked it away carefully.

She then sent Xiao Yin into the air to scout out the cliff where the waterfall began—to see what awaited them at the summit.