Upon the diminutive frame of Baozhu, resembling some small hound, there now rested a great tree. Perhaps for a human, this tree would not qualify as a towering giant, but relative to Baozhu’s size, it was considerably imposing.

Watching Baozhu approach, its two front paws hoisting the massive trunk while its hind legs twisted and propelled it forward, He Yiming actually felt a distinct urge to vomit blood. Without a second thought, he stepped forward and approached Baozhu’s side.

Although he had done his utmost to blend his own aura into the surrounding black mist, for Baozhu, blessed with a pair of fiery, discerning eyes, the mist offered no obstruction whatsoever to its sight. Thus, the moment He Yiming drifted closer, it spotted him immediately.

Upon seeing He Yiming’s expression, which was a mask of dark frustration, Baozhu’s eyeballs darted quickly. It instantly offered the large tree it held toward He Yiming.

Simultaneously, the tail behind its rear end wagged furiously, and its long snout wrinkled deeply; every indication suggested a posture of fawning appeasement. The anger boiling in He Yiming’s heart vanished instantly at that moment.

He shook his head helplessly. Although he had resolved earlier that if he encountered Baozhu, he would give it a severe beating to teach it that certain places were absolutely off-limits, the moment he actually saw the creature, those intentions were instantly cast aside.

Instead, he was filled with an overwhelming sense of relief. A thought even flashed through his mind.

Forget it. Since Baozhu has returned safely, let it go this time.

He shook his head, reaching out to take the tree. Baozhu immediately capitalized on the moment, scrambling to rest all four limbs upon the trunk—a move mimicking a snake climbing a pole.

This had become its signature gesture; any treasure that caught its eye elicited such a reaction. He Yiming shot it a fierce glare, yet dared not delay.

He slowly began retreating along the path they had taken. If, at first, he had possessed a flicker of interest in investigating what exactly this thousand-year calamity entailed, that curiosity had completely evaporated after viewing the images captured by Bai Lingba.

That enormous serpent was too horrifying to contemplate. As long as there was the slightest possibility, He Yiming wished desperately not to provoke such an overwhelmingly powerful spirit beast.

Concealed by the power of the cloud mist, He Yiming departed silently, unseen and unheard, successfully exiting the forbidden ground. Following closely behind him was Bai Lingba.

Seemingly aware that the creature on the summit was trouble best avoided, Bai Lingba was unusually swift and decisive this time, moving at an unprecedented pace. It was only when the two of them had finally left the forbidden area and were speeding away, still bearing the tree, back to the spot where Baozhu had first disappeared, that He Yiming finally let out a long, relieved breath.

Returning from the restricted zone so easily made He Yiming immensely suspicious. Jin Zhanyi’s expression, when mentioning the summit in the past, had been fraught with a seriousness He Yiming had never witnessed before, which was why he had entered with extreme trepidation.

Yet, as soon as he employed the Cloud Mist Art, he could seamlessly integrate himself with the surrounding black mist. Furthermore, that little fellow Baozhu had rampaged through the area and somehow managed to yank out a whole tree, yet returned completely unharmed.

This sequence of events, while leaving He Yiming utterly shaken by the colossal spirit beast atop the peak, planted a subtle seed of doubt in his heart: was the danger there truly as exaggerated as he had feared? However, he did not realize that even if other experts, skilled in the Cloud Mist Art, had ventured here, none would dare to draw the black mist into their bodies as he had.

Especially near the summit, where the Heavenly Might and the Yin Malevolence contained within the black mist existed in a direct, proportional relationship. The more one absorbed, the greater the likelihood of succumbing to the invading Yin Malevolence, leading to madness.

Therefore, aside from someone like He Yiming, possessing a unique, wondrous Dantian constitution that was impervious to the Yin Malevolence, no other fool would dare attempt such a suicidal maneuver. As for Baozhu, the creature’s origins were shrouded in unfathomable mystery; that it could traverse this place without the slightest hindrance naturally had its reasons, but those were mysteries He Yiming could not fathom at this time.

He Yiming lowered the tree from his shoulder and turned back. His gaze, sharp and focused, locked onto Baozhu, which was currently perched on a forked branch.

A distinctly mischievous grin spread across his face. Baozhu shuddered violently.

Its small eyes darted, and finally, it ducked down, burrowing beneath the branches of the tree. He Yiming paused, wondering inwardly when Baozhu had learned to flee.

The moment this thought surfaced, Baozhu suddenly darted out from under the tree and actively approached He Yiming. Resting on its front hooves was a piece of black hide, which it presented to He Yiming as if offering a grand treasure, its little tail wagging with even greater enthusiasm.

He Yiming froze, looking at the piece of hide, then pointed at himself. “For me?” Baozhu nodded repeatedly.

Its long snout wrinkled once more, accompanied by a soft snorting sound. Inside the forbidden ground, Baozhu had apparently understood the danger, refraining from making any noise, but here, it displayed complete abandon, seeming vividly like a creature celebrating the completion of some monumental feat.

He Yiming managed a wry smile as he took the black hide. If one only observed the creature’s swinging tail, an uninformed person might mistake it for a dog with a strangely formed tail.

But the fact that this creature understood the concept of bribery was utterly incredible. He truly wondered how many secrets this little animal still held, and He Yiming was profoundly eager to discover them.

Slowly, he unrolled the hide, and He Yiming’s gaze sharpened slightly. When he clearly perceived the contents of the skin, his expression became rather strange.

After a moment of contemplation, he reached out and lightly tore the hide. With his current two-fingered strength, even tempered steel would yield easily, yet the hide in his hands remained entirely unscathed.

He Yiming flipped his hand and opened his ring space, retrieving a scroll of hide from within. This scroll seemed to be made of sheepskin, but He Yiming knew that no such miraculous sheep existed in this world.

Unless the sheep was a Divine Beast level creature, it would be impossible to create such an exceptionally durable scroll. Drawn upon this scroll was a map—precisely the kind leading toward the Hohhot Mountain Range.

And what he now held from Baozhu was also a piece of hide, made from the same material as the scroll, yet depicting something entirely different. The drawing on Baozhu’s scroll depicted an island, clearly indicated by the vast, azure ocean surrounding it; even He Yiming could not mistake that.

However, the single difficulty He Yiming faced was that the characters on the map did not appear to be common Da Shen script; he could not recognize a single one. His fingers unconsciously brushed across the uppermost characters on the map, and He Yiming murmured to himself, “What on earth does this mean?” “The Penglai Immortal Island of the Eastern Sea.” A familiar voice spoke from behind He Yiming.

He Yiming gasped in shock. Turning around, he stared dumbfounded at Bai Lingba.

If he hadn't become intimately familiar with Bai Lingba’s voice, he would never have believed those words had come from him. “Brother Bai, how did you know?” “These characters are an obscure script used thousands of years ago.

The first master of the Grotto-Heaven taught them to me, so I know them,” Bai Lingba stated calmly. He Yiming’s eyes immediately shone brightly.

“Why would that senior specifically teach you such knowledge? Did he have some sort of premonition?” Although He Yiming himself found it hard to believe that an eminent master from millennia ago could predict events thousands of years into the future, he couldn't help but inquire.

Bai Lingba shook his head. “He didn’t teach me specifically; I learned them myself.” “Self-taught?” He Yiming glanced at Bai Lingba’s head and sighed helplessly.

In terms of self-learning capabilities, there was probably no second person in this world who could rival Bai Lingba. He pushed the map toward Bai Lingba and said plainly, “Introduce it to me, I can’t read it.” This map was exquisitely drawn, appearing almost three-dimensional, yet it was definitely not something an ordinary person could decipher.

Bai Lingba did not decline. His gaze swept over it, and he immediately said, “This is a secret chart of the deep sea.

If I estimate correctly, beneath an island called the Penglai Immortal Island of the Eastern Sea, there lies a deep-sea labyrinth, and this map details the route through that maze.” His finger tapped the central area of the map. “The map indicates that a treasure resides here.” He Yiming’s eyes glowed faintly.

He scooped up Baozhu, gave its long snout a hard flick as a commendation, and ignoring the protesting grunts, set it down on his lap. “Truly worthy of the name Treasure Pig, to even be able to steal a treasure map!” There was no need to ask: this map, hidden beneath the great tree, must have been something Baozhu had casually pilfered.

“Brother Bai, what exactly is the treasure that requires concealment beneath the ocean?” He Yiming asked with excitement. Bai Lingba shook his head slightly.

“I do not know. It is not written here, but I estimate this treasure must be extraordinary.” He Yiming nodded repeatedly.

Wasn't that self-evident? This entire deep-sea labyrinth was likely constructed for this very treasure, consuming such immense human and material effort.

If the treasure’s value were small, that would be the true oddity. Under Bai Lingba's guidance, He Yiming gained a general understanding.

However, it was unknown how many years this treasure map had existed or through how many hands it had passed. Whether the treasure it marked still remained was impossible to ascertain.

Thus, He Yiming carefully stored the map within his ring space. While curious, he did not place too much hope in it.

Subsequently, He Yiming’s gaze settled upon the great tree that Baozhu had struggled so mightily to carry out. Ps: Want to know what the tree is?

Hehe, but the questions regarding Bai He are generally quite straightforward. Furthermore, Chapter 133 this month has definitely exceeded 400,000 characters, and the monthly tickets have been a huge harvest.

Bai He is deeply grateful. Now Bai He will continue writing, striving to release another chapter after midnight.

After midnight will be June 1st, so I ask for everyone’s guaranteed monthly tickets as a gift for the little Bai He at home! ^_^