The Bronze Ship's deck stretched out across an immense distance.
The two followed the bulwark through the nether mist, walking nearly a kilometer before the remains of the Golden Crow finally came into clear view.
One of the colossal carcass's feathered wings sprawled over a forest of steles on the deck, while the other rested atop a nine-story deckhouse. Even a behemoth like the Jiuying would have appeared delicate beside it.
It had been dead here for untold years, yet the body had not grown cold. A resplendent gold, it flowed with radiant trails of fire.
Even standing a hundred meters away, waves of heat surged outward from the carcass.
Every single feather of the Golden Crow was dozens of times larger than an adult human's body, gleaming with iridescent brilliance—a sight of breathtaking magnificence. It was hard to imagine just how dazzling it must have been when it was still alive.
Could it truly have been like the myths and legends claimed, capable of transforming into a sun that roamed heaven and earth?
The fatal wound on its body was located on its skull: a terrifying, three-meter-wide hole bored straight through by an unknown sharp weapon.
The Golden Crow blood used for planting was drawn from a blood pool over twenty meters in diameter directly beneath this gaping wound. When freshly scooped up, the blood in the bucket was near boiling and required special treatment before it could cool.
Li Weiyi stood by the edge of the pool, observing. The Golden Crow's blood was a vivid scarlet infused with a faint golden sheen.
The smell of blood was thick, yet not pungent.
Instead, it carried an appetizing aroma of bloody vigor that made one's mouth water.
Had the Golden Crow not borne the ominous reputation of a "Bird of Ruin," inspiring dread in everyone's hearts, the expedition members would have cast aside all hesitation and drunk their fill long ago.
"No wonder everyone wants to gulp it down. Drinking the Golden Crow's blood would definitely be as delicious as eating roast meat. And on top of that, there's the possibility of immortality—it's enough to drive anyone mad."
Gao Huan swallowed hard, then added, "Back on Earth, if a single drop of Golden Crow blood appeared, every billionaire would throw vast fortunes at it. Yet here we are with an entire pool. Hurry up and use your charms on Dr. Cai! Don't we have that saying back at our university: 'If an underclassman wants an older girl's heart, he'd better be filthy rich or handsome and smart'?"
"Spouting doggerel again—are you trying to... to earn a doctorate in rhyming?" Li Weiyi chuckled.
Perhaps because he had only recently unlocked a supernatural threshold and his body desperately needed high-grade nourishment, the appetite welling up inside him was even more ravenous than Gao Huan's.
The scalding current at the center of his right sole even began to surge out of its own accord, circulating through his thirteen trace veins as though urging him to drink the Golden Crow's blood without delay.
*The greater the temptation, the greater the danger.*
Li Weiyi suppressed the scalding current within him and quickly stepped away from the blood pool.
***
On the other side lay the Black Flood Dragon, cleaved in two by a sharp weapon. Its thick, massive corpse was far taller than Li Weiyi.
Each of its scales resembled a sheet of thick iron the size of a cattail leaf fan, exuding a frigid chill.
Where the dragon's body had been severed, the blood had frozen into purplish-red ice crystals that had to be chiseled away with an axe and heated to melt.
Near the remains of the Black Flood Dragon, numerous armored human skeletons lay scattered every which way.
Six people from Lab 705 were huddled around one particularly unusual skeleton, sketching structural diagrams and recording the inscriptions and patterns on its armor.
What made this skeleton unique was that the bones emitted a faint luminescence like luminous jade. They had already metallized; smooth to the touch, they rang like iron when tapped.
Hearing footsteps, the six from Lab 705 turned in unison to look at Li Weiyi and Gao Huan.
Always familiar with people, Gao Huan greeted them with a grin. "Director Yang, find anything interesting?"
Among the six was a burly man with a crew cut, nearly two meters tall, holding a shotgun. His grip tightened on the weapon, his gaze distinctly guarded. Only when he saw that it was just two injured patients out on a stroll did he relax slightly.
Clearly, all factions on the Bronze Ship had sensed the uneasy atmosphere and no longer trusted one another as they once had.
Director Yang remained relatively cordial and smiled. "Whatever died aboard this Bronze Ship was clearly no ordinary creature—none of this can be explained by science. The armor on these human skeletons weighs at least a thousand jin; even with all six of us pulling together, we couldn't budge it.
"The weapons are just as heavy. The lightest spear takes two people just to barely lift. It's incredibly dense; heavens know what material it's made of."
Li Weiyi was eager to test whether he could lift the zhang-long ancient spear on the ground. But after his fingers brushed against it, he abandoned the thought and asked, "How did they all die? It's so strange. Who killed them?"
"Could there be some unknown danger lurking on this Bronze Ship?" Gao Huan asked.
Director Yang replied, "After studying this Bronze Ship under microscopes for years, our conclusion is that the Golden Crow, the Black Flood Dragon, and these armored humans were all intruders. Most likely, they came seeking treasure, exploration, or conquest. There must be some dangerous force aboard this ship that defies our comprehension!"
Gao Huan asked out of curiosity, "Aren't we intruders too? Why haven't we been killed?"
A heavy silence fell over the six members of Lab 705.
Not being killed now did not mean they would be spared later.
Li Weiyi ventured a guess. "Perhaps we are too insignificant, or perhaps we haven't violated any of the taboos here, so the danger hasn't befallen us."
Director Yang clearly preferred that explanation. Suddenly thinking of something, he pointed ahead. "Do you see that nine-story deckhouse? If you pass through the narrow corridor between the deckhouse and the bulwark railing, you'll reach the stern. There's an ancient garden back there, complete with pavilions, halls, high towers, and covered walkways... It's likely where the ship's master resided."
Gao Huan asked, "Director, you think they were killed by the ship's master?"
"I can only say it's an extremely likely hypothesis," Director Yang said.
Li Weiyi looked toward the deckhouse. It was magnificent, each story standing thirty to forty feet tall, cast in a deep crimson glow under the radiance emanating from the Golden Crow's remains.
Strangely enough, along the railings outside every single story stood a large number of human-shaped stone figurines.
The doors to each cabin remained tightly shut, leaving whatever lay within an utter mystery.
A forest of steles, burial mounds, ghost banners, stone figurines...
How could this possibly resemble a normal ship?
Gao Huan said, "They've been dead for at least a thousand years, perhaps even longer. Even if the master of this Bronze Ship truly killed them, that master must have passed away long ago."
Director Yang chuckled. "Quite right. A being capable of slaying a Golden Crow and a Black Flood Dragon—if they were still alive, how could they allow the Bronze Ship to remain stranded on the Buddha relic for thousands of years?"
"Director, but the Bronze Ship has set sail again!" a bespectacled middle-aged woman from Lab 705 reminded him.
After bidding farewell to the group from Lab 705, Li Weiyi walked toward the nine-story deckhouse.
He did not draw too close, stopping about a dozen meters away to gaze down the narrow passage leading to the stern.
The passage was shrouded in nether mist and lined with stone figurines in various postures and expressions. Anyone faint of heart would have felt their hair stand on end at such a sight and fled immediately.
The passageway was pitch-black, offering no glimpse of the stern.
*The celestial radiance I saw before must have come from the ancient garden Director Yang mentioned. Just what kind of place is it?* Li Weiyi's curiosity was piqued, yet an instinctual unease told him something was wrong.
Gao Huan caught up, brimming with enthusiasm. "The master of this Bronze Ship must have been someone truly extraordinary. Their living quarters might have celestial pills or divine herbs lying around. Li, should the two of us quietly go check it out?"
Li Weiyi noticed something, took two steps forward, and crouched down.
There was a pool of dried, blackened blood on the deck.
Reaching out, he rubbed his finger against the stain and brought it to his nose, sniffing carefully.
Li Weiyi snapped his head up, staring into the dark passage ahead with unprecedented vigilance and gravity. "After we crashed onto the Bronze Ship, did anyone see that bear-like creature?"
"You mean the Ghost Bear Emperor? Why bring that up all of a sudden?" Gao Huan asked.
Li Weiyi said, "The entire expedition, including the Longji, crashed onto this Bronze Ship. That bear-like... that Ghost Bear Emperor you mentioned—how could it possibly be an exception?"
"That's true, it is strange... But if it crashed onto the ship, it's been five days—how could it not have come out to hunt for food?" Gao Huan said.
"It might be right here on the ship."
Li Weiyi pointed to the dried black blood on the deck. "This is its blood! It must have been severely wounded, so it's hiding away for now."
"How do you know this blood was left by it?"
Gao Huan was curious, bewildered, and increasingly panicked.
Li Weiyi had no way of explaining that his sense of smell had vastly sharpened after stepping across the supernatural threshold, allowing him to distinguish the scent of the Ghost Bear Emperor's blood.
From the distance came a familiar voice: "Are you two looking to die? What are you doing over here?"
"Dr. Qi, we're just... taking a stroll, hehe."
Gao Huan offered an apologetic grin.
"Is this a place for a stroll? One of you has a broken right arm, and the other has an injured left shoulder—a pair of half-crippled wrecks! Get your asses back to the medical tent right now!" Qi Shanshan snapped in a cool, sharp rebuke.
Li Weiyi had heard Qi Shanshan's footsteps long before and was not startled in the least. Standing up, he offered an apologetic smile alongside Gao Huan. "Director Yang told us there's an ancient garden at the stern, so we were just discussing whether there might be celestial pills or divine herbs back there. Who knows, taking one might heal our injuries completely!"
Qi Shanshan was a woman who cared deeply about her appearance. Even in an environment like this, she wore delicate makeup, her skin snow-white and translucent, her cheeks flushed pink and lips crimson. Her white doctor's coat was spotless, and she even wore high heels over skin-toned stockings.
Standing over one hundred and seventy centimeters tall, she had a slender waist and prominent curves at her chest and hips, with the third and fourth buttons of the light-blue shirt beneath her coat visibly strained. In short, she possessed exceptional feminine allure.
Thus, even when delivering a frosty reprimand, her voice was far more melodious and captivating than Cai Yutong's, lacking that aggressive, domineering edge.
Qi Shanshan knitted her delicate brows. "Didn't he tell you that place is dangerous? Four expedition members have already gone in to explore, and none of them ever came back after entering that deckhouse corridor."
Li Weiyi and Gao Huan exchanged dumbfounded glances.
Director Yang seemed so kind-faced, genial, and friendly—who would have thought he was such a sinister schemer?
If Li Weiyi hadn't spotted the Ghost Bear Emperor's blood on the ground, and if Qi Shanshan hadn't happened to come looking for them, the two of them might very well have followed in the footsteps of those four expedition members.
Qi Shanshan's full chest heaved violently, and she held her forehead in exasperation. "You two really are naive kids who've never stepped out into the world! Li Weiyi, don't you know everyone suspects the Buddha relic is on you? Director Yang values that relic more than his own life; he was definitely trying to use this chance to test you!"
Gao Huan immediately backed away from Li Weiyi as if avoiding a plague. "Li, I was almost dragged to an untimely death because of you!"
Qi Shanshan glared at him. "You'd have deserved it! Li Weiyi is only a college freshman with no real-world experience, so falling for it is understandable. You're already in your third year of graduate school—don't you have a shred of vigilance? If there were truly something good, would anyone be kind enough to just hand it to you?"
Gao Huan wasn't angry in the slightest; being scolded by Qi Shanshan seemed to bring him joy. Suddenly, as if presenting a treasure, he beamed. "Dr. Qi, we made a huge discovery! This pool of dried blood was likely left by the Ghost Bear Emperor."
Qi Shanshan rolled her eyes. "That blood was discovered two days ago and tested. It was indeed left by that bear-like creature. The four expedition members who went down the deckhouse corridor to investigate were almost certainly eaten by it. Hurry up and get away from here. Nobody knows when that beast's wounds will heal. Once it comes out, with the few rounds of ammunition we have left... well, we can only leave it to fate!"
Li Weiyi was deeply worried as well.
The Ghost Bear Emperor was very likely a supernatural creature as well, which explained its terrifying speed and physical constitution. Its self-healing ability was unlikely to be slower than his own.
It had enjoyed three more days of recovery than Li Weiyi. Even if its injuries had been more severe, by now it was probably largely healed.
Li Weiyi and Gao Huan hurriedly followed Qi Shanshan back, eager to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the nine-story deckhouse.
Qi Shanshan's long legs carried her forward with rhythmic, clicking strides.
Li Weiyi asked, "Since you know it's there, why not gather all the guns, ammunition, and weapons to take it out before its injuries heal?"
"That bear-like creature is terrifyingly powerful. When it was out in the open and we had plenty of ammo, we still couldn't take it down. Now that it's lurking in the dark, it's even harder to deal with. That's the first reason!"
Qi Shanshan's eyes turned frosty as she continued, "Second, everyone knows facing it is a near-certain death sentence. How many would dare to go?
"Third, there are only three guns on the ship, and ammunition is scarce. Those who hold them see them as the tools that preserve their status and authority. Without those weapons, who would still respect them?
"If we die, we all die together.
"But losing their status and power would be far more agonizing to them than death itself.
"In short, when people aren't united and everyone harbors their own sinister motives, nothing can ever get done."
***
Chapter 10