"How could a bamboo forest possess memory?" Ye Xiu couldn't decipher the meaning behind Old Liu's words. He watched Xia Jie and Mo Shu intimately embracing right before him; everything felt so real. If this was the memory of the bamboo plants themselves, then why could the two of them see it so clearly?

Old Liu put away his compass, its needle having spun wildly before snapping. A thought struck him, and he considered carefully: "Have you ever heard of the Xiangfei Bamboo?"

Ye Xiu didn't understand why Old Liu would bring up the Xiangfei Bamboo at such a critical juncture, though he knew the legend surrounding it. The tale told of Emperor Shun, who, concerned for the suffering of the people along the Xiang River, went to Mount Jiuyi to slay nine vicious dragons plaguing the region. When he didn't return for a long time, his wives, E Huang and Nü Ying, went searching for him. All they found, however, was Shun's tomb. Overwhelmed by grief, they wept before his grave for nine days and nights until they, too, perished. Their tears inadvertently splashed onto the bamboo groves of Mount Jiuyi, marking the stalks with tear-like spots—some purple, some snow-white, and others a vivid crimson. This, legend said, was the origin of the "Xiangfei Bamboo."

"You know the origin of the Xiangfei Bamboo, but perhaps not what happened next," Old Liu said. What he possessed was far beyond mere history; it was the strange residue of history. "After that, scenes of Emperor Shun living with his two consorts would constantly appear above Shun's tomb. This was the memory belonging to E Huang and Nü Ying. Their memories, absorbed through their tears, permeated the bamboo, thus giving the bamboo their recollections."

Ye Xiu found Old Liu's explanation somewhat strained, yet it accounted perfectly for their current situation: "Are you suggesting that this bamboo forest we are in holds the memories of either Mo Shu or Xia Jie, and for some reason, this bamboo is displaying those memories to us?"

Old Liu spread his hands, accepting the reality as inescapable even for himself.

"Swish... swish..." The bamboo leaves began to rustle with a familiar, yet suddenly sharp and slightly loud, sound.

"Is there wind?" Ye Xiu asked sharply, suddenly alert.

Old Liu reached out his palm, closed his eyes to feel the air, and exclaimed in surprise, "There’s no wind at all. It must be the shaking within the grove. What is it?"

"But this rustling sound is getting closer and closer!" Ye Xiu scanned his surroundings in alarm. There was nothing but bamboo everywhere. The terrifying part was that the leaves themselves weren't moving at all, meaning this rustling noise wasn't coming from the foliage...

"It's the bugs! Bugs inside the bamboo shoots!" Old Liu, apparently averse to small crawling things, let out a strange cry and began to bolt. "It’s the Earth-Boring Worms! Run!"

"Hey, what's there to be afraid of with these little things?" Ye Xiu followed the direction of the run for a few steps but didn't immediately flee. He stared intently at the base of the bamboo grove ahead. Green, glowing beetles were surging out of the bamboo shoots like a tide, dense and countless. They merged, swelling suddenly like a small stream becoming a raging river. And this river of insects, after passing over one section of the forest, actually began to push over and voraciously chew on the towering bamboo stalks.

A bad feeling struck Ye Xiu, and he turned to flee for his life, but his speed was insufficient. The churning swarm of insects was certain to engulf him entirely. In desperation, Ye Xiu ignited the Purple Flame in his hand and shot it toward them. Instantly, a scorching smell filled the air. Though countless bugs were incinerated at the front, an endless stream continued to crawl up from the earth behind, filling the gaps and surging toward Ye Xiu again. He stumbled, using another burst of Purple Flame to propel himself forward, finally catching up to the leading Old Liu.

"Did you think these were ordinary insects? Legend says the Earth-Boring Worms are the incarnations of starving ghosts! All they do is eat!" Old Liu was almost looking straight up as he ran, sticking out his tongue and fleeing even more frantically.

"Damn it, where are your artifacts? These things are clearly faster than us, how can we outrun them!" Ye Xiu shouted as he turned and fired several more blasts of Purple Flame. Many bugs were blown away behind him, but their speed didn't decrease at all. They flashed their oily green backs and relentlessly pushed forward, completely disregarding Ye Xiu's attacks. Just then, something rolled out of Ye Xiu's trouser pocket. He looked down to see the Ice Crystal Five-Pointed Star Old Liu had given him earlier. He stopped instantly and clutched it in his hand.

"What are you doing!" Old Liu slowed down when he saw Ye Xiu halt.

"How about trying this?" Ye Xiu threw the Ice Crystal Five-Pointed Star toward the swarm of Earth-Boring Worms. The star slowly penetrated the insect mass. In moments, specks of white ice shards began to emerge from the swarm. Soon after, the entire mass of insects, along with the patch of green ground beneath them, transformed into a massive block of ice.

"Hoo..." Old Liu leaned over, hands on his knees, gasping for breath. He gave a thumbs-up. "You’re the calm one. I completely forgot I even had that artifact."

Ye Xiu looked at the vast expanse of white, far from optimistic. "Old Liu, how long do you think your Ice Crystal Five-Pointed Star will last? We can't underestimate these bugs."

Old Liu caught his breath, his courage returning. He walked forward, took out his thin-bladed knife, and carved off a small piece of ice. Trapped within the ice fragment was a frozen Earth-Boring Worm. He toyed with it briefly and chuckled, "Relax. I brought plenty of ice crystals. This little thing is actually quite cute."

Ye Xiu looked at his hand. The little green life form inside the ice was undeniably a beetle. Its only difference was that it seemed to have no eyes; its entire green carapace encased its body, beneath which were countless legs, making it resemble a tiny war machine.

Old Liu grinned, tossing the ice block back and forth between his hands, thoroughly enjoying himself. He even joked with Ye Xiu, "The Earth-Boring Worms are incarnations of malevolent spirits and guardians of tombs. Since they only consume fresh things, if they go without food for too long, they turn on each other. Throughout history, countless tomb raiders have perished by their mandibles."

"Let's stop discussing them and focus on how we're going to enter the next perimeter wall," Ye Xiu said, hands back in his pockets. Facing that horde of insects had shaken both of them. "We can't exactly hang around in this bamboo forest playing with these bugs forever."

Old Liu gripped the ice block tightly, confident now. "Don't worry. Since this bamboo forest contains human memories, it must be able to show us the vision leading to the next wall. Look over there—aren't those two still embracing? We just need to follow them."

Ye Xiu gazed into the distance at the seductive Mo Shu and the hapless Xia Jie. The two were locked in a tight embrace on the green earth. Xia Jie's hand had slipped inside Mo Shu's top, touching a softness any man would long for. Of course, Old Liu standing beside Ye Xiu was tense, his fists clenched tight. Sweat was actually dripping from his palms onto the ground.