The colossal beast statue was entirely black, with a sturdy build and fine fur, resembling a black bear at first glance.
However, the four ears atop its head and its five evenly distributed green eyes quickly revealed its uniqueness.
Despite its bizarre appearance, its head was rounded and its long fur abundant, giving it a somewhat honest and simple look, though it was unclear if the sculptor had intended this.
"Four-Eared Five-Eyed Beast."
After a thorough examination to confirm the absence of hidden mechanisms or traps on the statue's exterior, Zhang Qiling pondered for a moment before naming the giant beast.
"Mm-hmm..." Fatty, still lost in his disappointment that this wasn't a treasure, responded listlessly, "That name is too casual. Four ears and five eyes, so it's called the Four-Eared Five-Eyed Beast. Does that mean I'm also called the Two-Eared Two-Eyed Beast?"
Chuckling inwardly, Wu Tianzhen, reminded by Zhang Qiling, recalled the beast's origin. He patted Fatty's shoulder and deliberately exclaimed, "As expected of Fatty! This is actually a treasure after all~"
"Legend has it that the Four-Eared Five-Eyed Beast is an incarnation of Indra, it feeds on charcoal and excretes peculiar golden feces!"
"You're rich now! When you're living the good life, don't forget about your little brother, hahahahahaha!"
Mid-sentence, Wu Tianzhen couldn't help but laugh at himself. This was purely from mythology; there was no telling if it was true.
Fatty clearly didn't believe it either, but he seemed a bit more spirited. He shot a glance at Wu Tianzhen, who was laughing uncontrollably, then scooped up a handful of dirt from the ground and, in retaliation, stuffed it into the Four-Eared Five-Eyed Beast statue's mouth.
"Here, here, here. No charcoal, but plenty of mud. Eat up!" He fiercely stuffed the statue's mouth full of mud, thinking he had vented his frustration. To his astonishment, the Four-Eared Five-Eyed Beast actually closed its mouth, as if about to eat the mud!
"Holy crap!" he exclaimed in shock, "This thing isn't picky at all?!"
The statue then began to tremble, emitting a piercing crackling sound from within.
With a thud, something actually fell from its rear!
Stopping Fatty, who instinctively reached for it, Zhang Qiling carefully picked it up.
The object was bound tightly with a thick rope, resembling rolled-up paper. But as Zhang Qiling rubbed it between his fingers, he felt a soft yet firm texture, with fine patterns and grain visible on its surface.
"...Human skin."
His voice was calm and certain.
Upon hearing this conclusion, Wu Tianzhen and Fatty, who had been leaning in closely to observe, instantly jumped back several feet!
"Good heavens, it just ate some dirt and you're this upset!"
Fatty circled the Four-Eared Five-Eyed Beast, lamenting with disappointment, "Human skin! If you didn't have gold, you could have at least given us something decent?!"
Wu Tianzhen was also starting to doubt the legend's veracity. He hesitated, "There are so many trees here... should we burn some charcoal?"
Fatty was amazed by this suggestion and immediately prepared to chop down trees.
However, a deafening roar sounded from behind them. Turning back, they saw that the Four-Eared Five-Eyed Beast statue had completely crumbled into dust.
Fatty and Wu Tianzhen: ...
"Well! It certainly has a temper!" Fatty muttered speechlessly, but still came over to watch Zhang Qiling's actions.
Meanwhile, Zhang Qiling had confirmed that the human skin scroll was not poisonous and had no other traps. He cut the rope and slowly unrolled it.
On the human skin, hidden within the statue, was a bizarre scroll painting!
In the center, a vertical pillar was depicted, immensely tall. On either side of the pillar, several rough horizontal spikes were drawn, resembling some kind of fishbone.
Countless human bodies were pierced through by these horizontal spikes, hanging on them, with blood flowing down the pillar into a dark, deep abyss at the bottom.
The pillar seemed to grow from the dark abyss, surrounded by many living people who appeared to be cheering and celebrating.
"...What is this?" Fatty stared at it from all angles for a long time but couldn't make out anything. "Is this primitive barbecue?"
"??? No, what kind of barbecue is this outlandish?" Wu Tianzhen was utterly speechless but still explained carefully to Fatty.
"This was likely a form of live human sacrifice back then. They would impale prisoners of war or slaves on this spiky pillar to receive blessings from their blood."
"However, this pillar... its shape is very peculiar, a bit like—"
"A tree."
It was Zhang Qiling, who had been silent after unrolling the human skin, who suddenly interrupted Wu Tianzhen's speculation.
"A bronze tree."
His expression was grim, and the atmosphere around Zhang Qiling became so oppressive that the other two instantly tensed up!
Carefully rolling the human skin back and tying it, Zhang Qiling finally found the source of the strange power that had suddenly transformed Cangshan into a forbidden land.
In his memory, the perilous nature of the bronze tree was marked in red.
Whatever one could conceive, it could manifest in reality. As long as it could be visualized in the mind, the bronze tree could replicate it exactly in the real world.
Even a single branch of the bronze tree possessed such immense power. It could even perfectly replicate a person's self.
This sounded good, but if the replicated person adamantly believed they were the original, it would be a disaster.
...Such things were best destroyed.
And regardless of whether they could be destroyed, upon initial contact, any miniature cameras on one's person must be disabled first.
"...Brother, Brother?"
Wu Tianzhen's worried voice interrupted his thoughts.
"This... the bronze tree, is that what you've been searching for?"
Fatty stood with his arms crossed, his expression equally serious.
The two of them had always known Zhang Qiling's mysterious background and distinguished origins. They were willing to leave Changbai Mountain simply because he wanted to find something in the forbidden land.
The mysterious Ghost Seal had appeared, and now a bronze tree had surfaced. Although they didn't know how Zhang Qiling knew about these things, his obsessive pursuit subtly gave them a sense of unease.
"...No."
Zhang Qiling didn't understand their concerns. In his view, he was merely diligently completing system tasks.
"But this thing cannot be left behind."
Hearing Zhang Qiling's denial, they couldn't tell if they were relieved or more anxious. They could only focus on the present.
"Alright!" Fatty patted his chest and declared with bravado, "Since Brother says this thing can't be left behind, it's definitely no good bird!"
"Anyway, we have plenty of bombs this time. We'll just blow up that tree and its entire homeland to the sky!"
"Yes!" Wu Tianzhen agreed, gently squeezing Zhang Qiling's shoulder, trying to comfort his visibly fluctuating emotions.
"Brother, don't worry, blowing things up is Fatty's specialty!"
Zhang Qiling didn't know how to explain to them that the bronze tree extended deep underground and was colossal, impossible to destroy with bombs.
But looking at their smiles, he couldn't bring himself to say anything. Finally, he calmed his expression and nodded slightly.
...They would understand when they saw it for themselves anyway.
"Great!" Wu Tianzhen's spirits lifted. "Then our goal is clear—find the bronze tree!"
"Where the bronze tree is located, there will be more strange phenomena," Zhang Qiling added.
"It seems simpler now, but the situation hasn't changed, has it?" Fatty looked around at the surrounding grass, feeling a bit disheartened again.
"These trees are all together, the grass is all together. Even if there are strange phenomena, we can't tell!"
"Alas, if only we could fly up and take a look. Then we'd know for sure if it's a horse or a mule when it's paraded out. That would definitely be a sure way to find it!"
"There's nothing we can do about it..." Wu Tianzhen was also a bit discouraged. "The signal here is chaotic. Even the specially made cameras are barely functional, let alone other equipment."
"Are we supposed to fly up there ourselves?"
Just then, the nearby grass rustled as if moved by the wind, and the sound of flapping wings could be heard.
The three exchanged glances, knowing that the persistent Chishè had caught up.
As they were about to ignore them, a flash of inspiration struck their minds. Fatty and Wu Tianzhen reached a silent consensus and simultaneously fixed their gaze on Zhang Qiling.
"Brother, can you train birds?"
Zhang Qiling: ...???