The woman in black then began drawing next to the pattern with a stick, mumbling something under her breath.

Bored with being on the ladder and worried that it wouldn't hold my weight if I stayed on it too long, eventually collapsing, I simply leaned over from the top.

Daxiong and Liang Qian below steadied me, allowing me to descend smoothly to the ground.

Then, all of us gathered closer to the woman in black.

The stick in the woman's hand swished back and forth across the damp earth, pausing occasionally as if in thought, before she continued sketching.

The three of us watching nearby couldn't decipher what she was drawing, as it consisted of rows upon rows of pictogram-like figures—surely the Wūwén she had mentioned.

As she drew, the woman in black glanced back at us.

Seeing the confusion etched on our faces, she let out a soft chuckle and said, "This is Wūwén. I am using this script to interpret the patterns on the stone slab."

Before we could respond, she continued, "You’ve all likely heard something about the origins of Wūshù. In the vast, ancient past, when humans couldn't comprehend natural phenomena like wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, they assumed these were manifestations of the wrath of sky gods. Thus, ancient primitive tribes held nature in deep reverence. They prayed to nature, begging for favorable weather, and the leaders who guided these prayers were called Wū (Shamans)."

"Whether the Wū could truly communicate with the spirits, no one can definitively say, but after thousands of years of evolution in primitive society, Wū developed structure, developed its own culture. And Wūwén is a crucial element within the culture of Wūshù."

"Wūwén was not invented by primitive civilization, nor did it form naturally; rather, it originated from an ancient stone slab. Legend says this slab was a piece of bluestone upon which the Yellow Emperor sat while cultivating by the Luo River, gaining insight into the fundamental laws governing the universe."

"The Yellow Emperor recorded the Great Way he understood of heaven and earth in symbolic form on this slab. The front side is composed entirely of patterns made of straight lines, intersections, and right angles; because straight lines represent the brilliance of the sun and moon, it is called Yángwén (Yang Script). The back is mostly composed of arcs, which symbolize water, symbolizing the Qì that existed before heaven and earth, so it is called Yīnwén (Yin Script). After the Yellow Emperor ascended to immortality riding a dragon, his tribe inherited the slab, but no one could decipher the true meaning within the patterns. It wasn't until the Spring and Autumn period that Li Er penetrated its mysteries, interpreting these patterns as Wūwén, transforming Yángwén into the script for male Shamans, and Yīnwén into the script for female Shamans."

"Nowadays, although most Mongolians still adhere to Shamanistic beliefs, very few can recognize true Wūwén. This is why Wūshù is generally dismissed as trickery today; without the support of Wūwén, Wūshù cannot exert its power."

Hearing her speak with such mystique, I couldn't tell if it was true or false, but I did know that Li Er, who is Laozi, is indeed revered as the patriarch by all believers of Wūjiao.

However, even now, I still didn't know precisely what incredible feats Wūshù could achieve.

If Gūshù could harm people or heal illness, and Nuójiao specialized in exorcising ghosts, I was genuinely unclear about the specific function of Wūjiao.

At that moment, Daxiong, standing nearby, chuckled and said to the woman in black, "It's quite novel that you all treasure a stone the old fellow the Yellow Emperor used as a cushion, and even study it. So, after all that talk, did you decipher anything?"

Seeing how rude Daxiong’s tone was, Liang Qian nudged him sharply with her elbow.

Daxiong merely grinned, patting his stomach with an unconcerned expression.

Knowing the temper of the woman in black, I quickly interjected, "I apologize. This fat guy didn't take his medicine before coming out. Did you manage to decipher anything?"

The woman in black didn't seem angry. She looked again at the Wūwén she had drawn on the ground, her brow deeply furrowed.

I sensed these symbols must indicate something unfavorable, so I held my tongue and watched silently.

After a long while, the woman in black looked up and asked me, "Are you certain we must take this path? There are some bad things indicated here."

"What kind of bad things?" I asked urgently.

The woman in black's previous excitement vanished, and her face grew somewhat pale. She said, "What this text deciphers is that this way leads to Guīyuán."

"So many words, and it only deciphers into two characters? What's Guīyuán? Is it a thing?" Daxiong rubbed the back of his head.

Without waiting for the woman in black to speak, I said, "Guīyuán? Does that mean transcending birth and death, returning to the original state of things?"

The woman in black shook her head. "That's the Buddhist interpretation. In Wūjiao, Guīyuán has two meanings: one refers to death, and the other refers to the world of death—what is commonly called the Underworld."

Daxiong chimed in, "How is that different? It's just a place that grinds people to dust, crushes them into powder, burns them to ash, and turns them into vapor. In short, once you enter, you are no longer human."

"No…" I interrupted both their deductions. "There won't be anything up there. I've been here before; it was just an arena, although perhaps with some unusual natural phenomena."

"Really?" The woman in black looked at me doubtfully.

Under her gaze, I suddenly lacked confidence, realizing that many things happening now differed from the last time I was here. Therefore, what would actually happen if we climbed up, I couldn't say for certain.

Fortunately, Liang Qian and Daxiong placed immense trust in me.

Hearing my words, Daxiong spat twice into his hands and declared, "Fine. Since our Xiao Chuan says so, I, your brother, have no reason not to go. Tell us, how do we open this stone slab?"

Liang Qian nodded. "We've wasted too much time here; we need to hurry."

The woman in black looked at the three of us in turn, then brushed back a strand of hair from her ear and sighed, "Alright, if that is the case, I will require some of a man's blood."

Hearing the mention of blood, I immediately became wary, as it was my blood last time that triggered a series of unfortunate events.

Could this be another trick now?

The woman in black seemed to sense my apprehension and said to Daxiong, "Use yours. Your Yáng energy is stronger."

I was momentarily speechless, wondering just how effeminate I was perceived to be.

Daxiong grinned, clapped me on the shoulder, and said, "Relax, if it needs to be me, then I'll do it."

With that, he drew his dagger and nicked his own fingertip. A drop of crimson blood slowly swelled at his fingertip like a ruby pearl.

The woman in black then pulled a tiny porcelain vial from her pocket and held it out for Daxiong to drip two drops of blood into it.