Chapter Fifty-Two: The Key Takes You on a Journey

A silver streak cut through the sky above Blackcurtain City, utterly disregarding the prohibition against aerial travel, leaving a massive wake in its path. Cultivators within the city witnessed the spectacle, but chose to look the other way. Was this someone they could afford to provoke? Besides, there had been too many complications lately; it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble.

"Young Master, this old slave is incompetent!" The gray-robed elder pressed both palms against the floor, beads of sweat dripping down as he trembled in terror. Just as it was Wu Yue’s habit to polish his spiritual energy whenever he had a spare moment, Zhang Xuandao seemed to spend his time only on calligraphy and reading.

"That artifact was simply too fast; I could not catch up." Seeing that Zhang Xuandao remained unmoved, the gray-robed elder hurriedly added, "Young Master, your subordinate is willing to pursue him. Even if I must scour the entire Immortal Spirit Realm, I will surely slay this brat to appease your wrath."

Zhang Xuandao stretched lazily and murmured, "The breeze does not know how to read, yet it mindlessly riffles the pages." He pressed a finger against the corner of the book and said, "Who said I was angry? You may go; put this matter aside for now."

"Old slave? Subordinate? Interesting, truly interesting. An artifact? Wu Yue? Fast, very fast. There are no mediocre people in this world."

"If you are the protagonist, I shall kill you. If you are not, I shall still kill you. In that case, what difference does it make to me whether you are one or the other?" Zhang Xuandao’s brush danced like a dragon or snake, forming a large character for "Fate," which seemed imbued with a celestial aura.

The gray-robed elder bowed his head, acting as if he had heard nothing.

"In a few days, you will accompany me to White Bone Mountain," Zhang Xuandao said calmly. Only then did the gray-robed elder heave a sigh of relief.

The floors, walls, and ceiling were all silver, reminiscent of what one might call a sci-fi aesthetic back on Earth. However, the people inside were nowhere near as versatile as the protagonists in science fiction films. Rows of buttons dazzled the eye, covered by a thin light screen filled with complex symbols.

"Please enter the password."

Wu Yue tried a few times, but ultimately dared not force a breakthrough; after all, what if it self-destructed? He furrowed his brows, not daring to press buttons at random.

The story began a day ago.

Wu Yue had taken out the small vat. Seeing the key, which looked every bit like a magical artifact, the group was naturally filled with curiosity and gathered around, eager to admire the treasure that had sparked such a bloodbath. Then, the fully energized vat suddenly took flight, grew in size, and projected a massive beam of light that engulfed everyone.

"Genetic chain identification in progress."

"Identification criteria met. Highest match rate: sixty percent."

"Returning to base."

The three mechanical declarations, coupled with that unstoppable beam of light, signaled the beginning of their grand voyage.

At first, everyone was in high spirits. Hou Baiyu accidentally brushed against a button on the wall, causing a section of the silver plating to slide away, revealing the scenery outside. Looking down from such a height, the view was magnificent: rivers on the ground were like threads, mountains like dots, and cities and human dwellings looked like exquisite trinkets. Flocks of birds flew past, and occasionally they spotted cultivators soaring through the sky, though they seemed to ignore the vessel entirely. That meant their safety was guaranteed.

The group watched with increasing delight. Li Wenzhang added to the festivities by producing fine wine, and everyone was in high spirits. They began to speculate: where was their destination?

This excitement lasted only a day before it vanished into thin air. Outside, it was already pitch black. Zhao Qingzhi’s stomach let out an involuntary growl. Wu Yue suddenly realized: if it was "returning to base," did that mean it was flying back to the secret realm owner’s homeland? If so, would it fly out of the universe?

Thinking of the desolate reaches of space, Wu Yue realized that if he continued to treat this silver key—no, this spacecraft—as a mere key, he would have lived these past lives in vain.

Looking inside, there were complex controllers at the front, but nowhere else was there even a seat. Wu Yue did not hide this from the others and told them exactly what he thought.

The journey changed in tone.

However, it did not cause panic. Yu Fu kept saying he was starving, yet he didn't pull out a single scrap of food. "Don't look at how much I eat," he said nonchalantly, "I am perfectly capable of enduring hunger." The remark left Hou Baiyu speechless. Still, Hou Baiyu looked proud. "I am a Golden Core cultivator. Even if I am injured, I am still a Golden Core cultivator." In the end, he didn't dare look at Wu Yue, who had caused all of this.

Li Wenzhang was much better off; he kept pulling out jar after jar of wine.

"It was too hasty; I didn't prepare any supplies at all," Li Wenzhang sighed. Hou Baiyu simply stared at Li Wenzhang’s storage pouch from start to finish. Li Wenzhang didn't mind, intentionally or otherwise pulling out more items, but other than a few snacks, there was no real food to be found.

Thus, the group fell into a survival crisis. Yet, there was truly nothing they could do. After much deliberation, they realized their predicament was hopeless, so they started playing leaf cards; the sound of shuffling filled the air.

Wu Yue stared in astonishment, then began to worry for himself. He seemed likely to be the first to starve. However, he could also guarantee that he would certainly not be the first to die. Realizing he had just had that thought, he cursed himself twice and began to contemplate how to survive.

A name may not always define a person, but mountains and rivers often live up to theirs. A place with beautiful scenery surely has an elegant name, while a deep, tangled forest usually has a casual one. If a place like White Bone Mountain bore such a name, it was naturally not a pleasant place.

There were many legends about White Bone Mountain, all of them hair-raising. Either there were bones that harmed the living, or evil spirits that haunted the area, and most of all, there were stories about the wailing of the undead.

Despite this, there were still a few scattered villages near White Bone Mountain, though they were sparsely populated. The lack of inhabitants was not due to these legends, but because the land was incredibly barren.

Although there was a saying about "relying on the mountains to feed on the mountains," White Bone Mountain was a standard barren, rocky peak. Across hundreds of miles of mountains, large and small, most were nothing but rock, weeds, or scrub brush. Even the river that flowed down from the mountain caused hair loss in humans and livestock alike if they drank too much of it.

Therefore, there was truly nothing to eat. But if they moved away, where could they go? This was the land their ancestors had chosen. Whenever this was mentioned, the villagers could only sigh deeply, helpless against their fate.

They had heard that many years ago, this place had been lush and beautiful, a true treasure land. Everyone would begin to reminisce about the glory of their ancestors, growing happier the more they thought about it, until they finally made a resolution.

But the few times the village sent young men to seek the source of their prosperity, they mostly died in mysterious ways. Thus, the fierce reputation of White Bone Mountain only grew.

Yet, where there are people, there is conflict; where there is conflict, class emerges. Any mountain with even a sliver of resources became a battleground for the surrounding villages.