"Don't scare yourself; if your natural predator were here, it would have already taken you out," Ye Xiu walked slowly toward the mirror. This sight reminded him of the origins of the Death God—both the ancient Qidao and the Bone Sect could be considered part of the Primordial Races, and perhaps they held some connection to the Fuxi Clan. Could this lineage be entangled with the Death God?

"Look, look, the serpentine glyphs are showing up again!" Old Liu practically jumped with excitement upon seeing those winding characters again. Gazing at these things that looked neither like straight lines nor possessed any discernible pattern, he was filled with curiosity. "Hong Ling, quickly, tell us what it says this time."

"Ye Xiu, Liu Kai..." Hong Ling read the text on the mirror, then suddenly turned and smiled at Ye Xiu. "Your names actually appeared on this. By the way, Ye Xiu is quite an unusual name."

Ye Xiu shook his head helplessly. Heaven knew where the name Ye Xiu originated; it was merely a marker, a signature of the Death God.

"Translate quickly, before something else flies out!" Old Liu was growing impatient.

Hong Ling seemed to finish reading the message. She paused for a moment before looking at Ye Xiu. "The mirror is asking the two of you to go inside. That’s all."

"What!" Old Liu rushed forward, trying to see the text clearly, but just as he approached, the serpentine glyphs, truly like snakes, slowly slithered back into the mirror, leaving only a rippling, watery surface in his vision. "Go in? Go in for what? Trying to lure us into a trap, are they?"

"Wait, how does the mirror know my name and Old Liu's?" Ye Xiu began to ponder the true identity of the girl, Hong Ling. What if she was the mastermind behind this Nine Venomous Array, trying to trick him and Liu Kai into entering? No, that couldn't be it. She didn't even know his real name. Besides, if she wanted them dead, why go to such elaborate lengths? Her little 'Sha' was trouble enough for him.

"There’s nothing to be done; that’s what the mirror says," Hong Ling stuck out her tongue, displaying an almost cheerful demeanor at the prospect of the two walking to their doom. "Respected experts, please, proceed. How else can we break through this Mirror Palace?"

"Damn it, do we really have to go in..." Old Liu's courage had likely been utterly shattered by the Crimson Snake. He tugged at Ye Xiu's hem, half-tempted to give up. "Why don't you go in alone? As the Death God, you shouldn't be afraid, right?"

"Nonsense. Do you still want to find the foundational artifact or not?" Whenever Ye Xiu saw Old Liu acting cowardly, he felt immensely superior. After scolding him, he walked straight to the mirror.

The mirror was enormous, seemingly without boundary. Its surface was pure and flawless, shimmering like a perfectly still lake upon first glance—no flow, no ripple, imparting a sense of calm. Ye Xiu took a deep breath, raised his hand, and lightly touched the surface with his index finger. At that moment, he felt as if his fingertip had brushed against baby skin—effortlessly light. When he tried to press harder, intending to pierce the surface, he realized his finger was actually melding into the mirror.

It seems this time I really have to risk it all, Ye Xiu reminded himself, resolving not to show a shred of weakness in front of the beautiful Hong Ling. Ye Xiu gracefully lifted his leg and stepped into the mirror without hesitation. The sensation was bizarre: half his body remained outside, while the other half was inside. When he looked at his half-body reflected within, he saw that it had shrunk.

"Blast it, if we die, we die!" Old Liu, pushed to the brink by Ye Xiu’s action, directly leaped into the mirror. Watching his recklessness, Ye Xiu steeled himself and stepped in with his other foot. And so, the two of them, inexplicably, entered a bizarre mirror world.

"Hey, how do you two feel?" Hong Ling's voice drifted in from the world outside the mirror, sounding distant yet perfectly clear. "I see you’ve both shrunk. Are you okay?"

Ye Xiu followed the sound and discovered Hong Ling's huge mouth opening and closing right above him in the sky. It seemed he truly had shrunk, and the world outside the mirror had become the sky here.

"Hey, hey, don't just stare up there," Old Liu nudged Ye Xiu. "Look who's here to greet us—an old friend has arrived."

Ye Xiu shifted his gaze forward. This place appeared to be a cliff edge, surrounded by natural rock formations. At the end of the precipice stood a cluster of giant white eggs, and those eggs were cracking open. Ye Xiu cursed loudly, "Damn it, could it be the Fierce Birds again?"

"Not the Fierce Birds this time; these look like they're going to be a bit larger," Old Liu had already drawn his Thin-Bladed Saber, killing intent flashing instantly in his eyes.

Ye Xiu took a step forward, and immediately all the eggshells shattered. What emerged this time were not those scrawny Fierce Birds; on the contrary, these creatures resembled vultures—vultures with three heads.

"Waa... waa..." The vultures squawked wildly as soon as they hatched and swooped toward Ye Xiu. Their wings were massive, and their three heads sported different mouth structures: one like scissors, one like a spoon, and one like a trident. With such an impact, they likely considered Ye Xiu to be a delicious Western meal.

"Boost me up! I’ll use the Thin-Bladed Saber on its eyes!" Old Liu instantly spotted the vulture’s weak point. He sprinted forward to meet the vulture head-on. Just as the two were about to collide, he suddenly jumped in the opposite direction, exposing the soles of his feet diagonally above Ye Xiu’s charging path. "Find a way to get me higher, cover me with your Purple Flame!"

Ye Xiu nodded in agreement, palms forming Purple Flame. He blasted backward, propelling his body forward at maximum speed. As he neared Old Liu, he executed a spinning kick, directly meeting Old Liu's feet. This kick was powerful enough to launch him directly over the top of the three-headed vulture.

Riding the force of Ye Xiu's kick, Old Liu shot skyward, instantly leveling with the vulture. At that moment, Ye Xiu’s Purple Flame, shrouded in thick smoke, blasted toward the vulture’s body. Old Liu found the perfect position; the familiar arc of his blade struck true, slicing across all six eyes of the three-headed vulture. "Now you're done for, right?"

"No, it's useless..." Ye Xiu stood on the ground, watching helplessly as the three-headed vulture did not stop its movement despite being blinded. It maintained its original trajectory, crashing down and kicking up a massive cloud of dust that sent both him and Old Liu flying several dozen feet away.

"What’s going on? I clearly blinded it!" Old Liu rolled around on the ground, nursing his serious injuries, cursing resentfully.

Ye Xiu rolled aside, finding a large rock for cover. He hadn't seen clearly. At this moment, he hoped Hong Ling outside had noticed something, so he looked up. "Hong Ling, did you see what just happened? Why wasn't the vulture injured?"