Ye Xiu didn't argue with Hong Ling further, knowing the little sand creature on her arm was not to be trifled with.

"One more person means one more helper; Sister Hong Ling, you lead the way for us," Old Liu stated his purpose clearly; he was intent on pushing deeper into this Nine Venomous Array.

Hong Ling glanced at Ye Xiu, then turned and walked to the immense jar. She reached out and gently stroked the little sand creature on her arm. Suddenly, the previously minute grains of sand swelled to their previous massive size. It coiled tightly around the jar, and with a slight movement, shoved the crooked-legged figure aside, revealing a gaping, deep maw before them.

"This..." Ye Xiu cautiously peered down. The surface of the hole was reflective, much like an ordinary lake, and he could clearly see his own reflection. "Is that layer on top water? It doesn't look like it."

Old Liu also crowded over to observe. He had studied the Venomous Array but couldn't grasp its essence: "My Strange Path Perception only tells me that within the Nine Venomous Array are nine distinct layers of malevolent aura. Just like the tree face, the intestinal tract, and now this bone jar formation, they have all generated three different kinds of (fierce energy). By this logic, there should be six more terrifying things waiting for us below."

"Perhaps my father is trapped in one of the lower levels." The thought instantly made Hong Ling bolder than the two men present. She strode confidently onto the layer of thin mist shimmering with a faint glow. As a descendant of the Bone Gatherers and one who understood Daoist arts, she felt little inherent danger standing there.

Ye Xiu exchanged a look with Old Liu, silently urging him to follow. Thus, the three of them stood precisely at the edge of the opening. It was then Ye Xiu remembered to ask, "By the way, Old Liu, your Thin-Faced Blade—it ran off earlier, did it come back?"

"The shameless thing is hiding in my sleeve," Old Liu admitted without dignity, revealing his sleeve to Ye Xiu. His Thin-Faced Blade was nestled there like a child, its tip seemingly trembling toward the little sand creature on Hong Ling's arm.

"Boom..." A somewhat mechanical sound suddenly echoed. Ye Xiu felt the ground soften beneath his feet, and the three of them began to descend as if riding an elevator.

"Right, Hong Ling, what abilities do you Bone Gatherers possess?" Old Liu couldn't help but ask. After all, the Bone Sect had some historical connection to the Ancient Strange Path, and perhaps the Bone Sect could even be considered descendants of the Fuxi Clan.

Hong Ling, feeling superior, spoke of her lineage with considerable arrogance: "You saw the Sky Jar Array above. I can control the bones within any jar at will. This means anything composed of bone can become my medium for casting spells."

Her description reminded Ye Xiu of necromancers in certain games—essentially, ones who could summon skeletons to fight for them. Ye Xiu mused, "We certainly encountered that earlier. Those things crawling out of the jars could mimic the abilities of both of us. What was that about?"

Hong Ling shook her head, admitting partial ignorance: "I am not privy to the more profound Bone Sect arts. My father collected all those jars; I have no idea who or what powers they contain. The Bone Sect has two branches: one is Bone Gathering, and the other is Serpent Control. My father only taught me how to cultivate alongside Xiao Sha."

Ye Xiu nodded. He trusted anything involving Xiao Sha implicitly, but reflecting on those jars, he realized the secret techniques of this Bone lineage must be no less formidable than those of a Shinigami.

"One more question, Hong Ling," Old Liu, when not being overly sentimental, was quite perceptive. He scratched his head. "You said you and your father lived here for a long time. There's nothing to eat here—how did you survive? And that little sand creature of yours, it must require sustenance, right?"

"Only low-level creatures need to feed," Hong Ling's retort instantly silenced Old Liu. "Bone Gatherers survive on bone. As long as the bone remains uncorrupted, one can achieve longevity. Xiao Sha and I don't need to eat at all. Don't let this young and beautiful appearance fool you; the age of my bones is likely countless times greater than both of you waste specimens."

"It's over. Among the three of us, I'm the only mortal," Old Liu lamented, distressed because he had felt hungry ever since he and Ye Xiu descended into the array. "A Shinigami, a freak, and a serpent all need no food, and only I, your old man, go hungry."

Understanding the Shinigami was one thing—it wasn't truly a living being to begin with. But for a Bone Gatherer, who cultivated the human body, to subsist only on bone and require no food was truly difficult to comprehend. Ye Xiu looked at her and inquired, "Does that mean your entire lineage is immortal? The calcium compounds in bone last almost as long as the world itself. Surely you haven't been alive since antiquity?"

"You think it's that easy?" Hong Ling interrupted Ye Xiu. "Just as Xiao Sha has natural enemies, the Bone Sect has always remained hidden in the mortal realm, protecting living beings. However, there is another lineage constantly searching for and slaughtering us. This is one reason my father brought me here."

"Another lineage capable of slaughtering powerful Bone Gatherers?" Ye Xiu was very interested in this question. He had never understood what 'natural enemy' meant, as he had never heard of the Shinigami having any natural foes in this world, yet the Shinigami lineage had declined due to the rise of various racial powers.

Old Liu stroked the dim, dark walls surrounding them and recalled some knowledge. He told Ye Xiu, "I read ancient texts of the Fuxi Clan. The Fuxi people, part human head and part serpent body, fragmented into many tribes scattered across the world due to strife. The Bone Gatherers, or Bone Sect, continued to revere the Red Serpent and achieved longevity through the Bone Sect's unique method of survival—perhaps this is what Hong Ling meant by 'bone not decaying.' Another tribe, witnessing their serpentine kin slaughtered by eagles during the wars, was forced by harsh realities to abandon the Red Serpent and worship the Eagle instead. I just forget the name of that tribe."

"It is the Secret Sect, the Sun-Blind Clan," Hong Ling knew all of this, recalling her and her father's experiences. "The Secret Sect's cultivation strength is likely above ours in the Bone Sect, but they cannot achieve longevity. This might be why the Secret Sect became the Bone Sect's natural enemy."

"Rumble..." The violent shaking within the floating structure abruptly ended the calm conversation between the three. Regardless of Bone Sect or Secret Sect, Ye Xiu only felt that the support beneath his feet suddenly vanished. In that instant, he knew only that he was falling into an abyss thousands of feet deep.

"Are you all alright?" Ye Xiu shielded his eyes from the intense light, not knowing why he felt the light originated from beneath his feet. When he noticed his footing, he saw that below him, another person was mimicking his exact gesture of raising a hand. How could that person possibly be Ye Xiu himself!