Ye Xiu felt something was off from Old Liu’s fixed gaze, and when he turned to look, he was nearly terrified to death by the dense sight before him: "What in the world are these things..."

The world beyond the intestinal tract was a space resembling a grand golden palace, shimmering with an intermittent green light. Yet, within this vast area, there were no gold or jewels; instead, there were rows upon rows of neatly arranged black jars. Their sheer density was enough to make one feel their eyesight was failing, utterly unable to take it all in.

Old Liu, being a cultivator, could vaguely sense the auras within the jars. He slowly descended the steps and approached a row of black vessels: "These jars are all identical. Could they be..."

"Thump, thump, thump..." Ye Xiu didn't wait for Old Liu to finish before following, lightly tapping a jar twice. To his surprise, these jars were half a person's height, yet the sound they made upon impact was remarkably crisp. This meant they were either hollow inside or contained something without being completely filled.

"Hey, be careful not to wake up whatever is inside..." Old Liu harshly barked at Ye Xiu, adopting the stance of someone who had just offended an immortal deity. "As the God of Death, shouldn't you be familiar with these kinds of vessels? Or perhaps you have no idea that a profession called 'Bone Gatherer' even exists in this world."

"Wake up?" Ye Xiu instinctively drew his hand back, yet some memories were stirred by Old Liu’s words. "What did you say? Bone Gatherer?"

"Exactly. These jars are what Bone Gatherers use to store bones." Old Liu slowly squatted down, beginning to examine the engravings on the black jars. "Look at these snake-like carvings. I don't think my guess is wrong, but I wonder why such a massive collection of bone jars would be stored here all at once. Show me, which Bone Gatherer in the world could amass the bones of hundreds or thousands of the deceased?"

Ye Xiu took a deep breath, scrutinizing the patterns on the bone jars. Those intertwined motifs were indeed snakes, and more than one. Furthermore, Ye Xiu was unfamiliar with the profession of the Bone Gatherer. Did this world truly harbor many ancient races? Or was the power emerging from this race the true factor restraining the rise of the God of Death? "What is stored inside these? Bones? Human bones? But why use snake carvings?"

"Although I'm not clear on the history of your Death Realm, I know the origin of the Bone Gatherers is as ancient as our own Ancient Strange Dao. The snake motif traces back to the era of Fuxi and Nuwa," Old Liu gently stroked the snake carvings on the jar, filled with reverence. "Don't forget, both Fuxi and Nuwa had human heads and serpentine bodies, and the ancestors of the Bone Gatherers revered the Scarlet Serpent, likely sharing the same lineage as the Fuxi clan."

"What's the advantage of having a human head and a snake body? Is it to make finding human bones easier?" Ye Xiu was truly ignorant. As the God of Death, not only were his skills lacking, but his access to information was severely limited. "What special use do human bones have for Bone Gatherers?"

Old Liu shook his head, seemingly organizing his thoughts: "Advantage my foot! Do you know how long Fuxi lived according to ancient records?"

"How long?" Ye Xiu wasn't clear on the concept of age; he only knew that as the God of Death, there was no need to worry about such matters.

"Damn it, ancient records state he lived for over three hundred thousand years," Old Liu gnashed his teeth heavily. "Three hundred thousand years, precisely because humans and snakes coexisted, supporting each other in life."

"Holy cow, no way. A single human, or a single snake, could live that long alone?" Ye Xiu was greatly astonished. This implied that during the ancient Fuxi era, the lineage of the God of Death must not have existed, to tolerate such longevity in a half-human, half-snake being.

Old Liu stood up, adopting the posture of lecturing Ye Xiu: "That's why Bone Gatherers revere the Scarlet Serpent. The Scarlet Serpent can spew clouds of fire from its mouth and is also a symbol of longevity. It's clear the Bone Gatherers crave the power of fire and an extended lifespan."

"Then what is the significance of bone gathering?" Ye Xiu remained deeply puzzled.

"I only know they must wait until the deceased person's flesh has rotted before they can begin gathering the bones, which are then interred in specific locations. I'm not very familiar with the purpose of the bone jars."

Old Liu's experience had its limits. "I don't know the specifics, but I am certain these jars hold bones. Didn't you just tap one? It was hollow; only storing bones would create that effect. Ashes wouldn't produce such a crisp sound." Old Liu looked helpless, perhaps trying to mask his embarrassment at being a half-baked Daoist scholar. "We can't worry about that now. We need to find a way out; this place doesn't look like it houses the central suppressing artifact."

Ye Xiu was furious upon hearing this: "You dragged me to this cursed place just to get a suppressing artifact? Didn't you notice that vicious bird earlier could actually wound me? It's highly likely that I, the dignified God of Death, will end up dying with you, this smelly Daoist, in this Nine Poisonous Fiend Formation."

"We are already here, what's there to complain about? You yourself have only a superficial understanding of the Death Realm. Perhaps the suppressing artifact would be useful to you too?" Old Liu seemed eager to evade Ye Xiu's persistent questioning and walked toward the front of the hall on his own. With his hands behind his back, he moved like a professor lecturing in a hall, his mouth never pausing. "The more malevolent the area, the more powerful the artifact stabilizing it, otherwise it would have connected to the mortal realm and caused widespread harm long ago. Having finally encountered the Nine Poisonous Fiend Formation, I am determined to find a way to neutralize the malevolence and seize the artifact."

"Hey, what are you talking about? And you're walking further in!" Ye Xiu didn't actually intend to blame him much. On the contrary, he felt his past experiences as the God of Death were too monotonous, and it was only by encountering this self-proclaimed master Daoist that he truly felt his own existence. "These densely packed jars—if you walk further in, I can barely see you anymore."

"What? What are you yelling?" Old Liu was lost within the jungle of bone jars, seemingly responding to Ye Xiu’s words, but his voice became very faint. "Hello... hello..."

Ye Xiu felt a sudden dread and hurriedly looked up in the direction Old Liu had gone. But now, before his eyes, there was nothing but endless, monotonous bone jars, not a single living trace. Old Liu hadn't left him long ago, and he was walking, so how could his voice become inaudible in such a short time? Could it be that the bone jars themselves were causing this mischief?