Three days prior, at the dilapidated temple between the precipitous valleys.
Sculptor: "It's you... What is it?"
Wolf: "I'll buy you a drink."
Sculptor: "Monkey wine, is it? Still as harsh, but... it brings back memories."
Wolf: "Do you drink it often?"
Sculptor: "The valley where the monkeys dwell, I once trained there."
Wolf: "Alone?"
Sculptor: "No... two of us. We were masterless warriors, without proper teachers. So, in that valley where one false step meant death, we ran, we jumped, we clashed with blades... repeating our training. After that, we became as nimble as monkeys. When training grew tiresome, I'd drink this monkey wine, and then the crybaby would whistle."
Wolf: "The crybaby...?"
Sculptor: "She had a peculiar ring. When she put on the ring and whistled, a sorrowful melody would echo through the valley. Strangely, I loved that sound. I often asked her to play it for me."
The memory ended there. Chun Hei glanced at the memory of the Lion and Ape's battle, then at the description of the slender finger, and understood.
"Before coming to the Sunken Valley, I spoke with the Sculptor. That crybaby he mentioned, the one who loved whistling, isn't she the owner of this finger?"
"You can tell he misses the time he spent training with the crybaby. A pity, that crybaby was devoured by an ape long ago. I surmise they had a fight, and the crybaby even killed the white ape in its first phase. Unfortunately, that creature was possessed by a parasite, making it unkillable. The hideous scar on the white ape's head was likely left from that encounter. Truly a poignant tale."
Chun Hei walked on, lost in thought, and before he knew it, he had reached a cave deep within the battlefield.
Suddenly!
A gleaming white lotus bloomed in the muddy cave, pure and unblemished, standing in isolation.
This...
"Is this the flower?"
Chun Hei stepped forward, and a prompt instantly appeared:
【Admirable Lotus
A blue-white lotus that grows in the Sunken Valley, blooming where Fountainhead Water accumulates.
The Female Ape favors this flower's fragrance, and the Lion Ape diligently tends to it to present it to its beloved mate.
This flower is one of the ingredients for the Fountainhead Perfume, which the Prince requires to sever immortality.】
"This is it!"
Chun Hei strode forward. "One of the three ingredients for the Fountainhead Perfume. You made me look for you!"
After carefully storing the Admirable Lotus, Chun Hei sat before the Sculptor and processed the combat memory, converting it into tangible attack power.
He then prepared to return to the dilapidated temple to have the whistle installed into his cybernetic arm and, perhaps, to hear the rest of the story.
"While the loading screen is up, I'll recap the main plot for everyone. We aim to sever immortality. Severing immortality requires Dragon Tears, which can only be obtained from the Divine Realm. To reach the Divine Realm, we need the Fountainhead Perfume, and one of its ingredients is the Admirable Lotus. The other two are branches and stones."
"Now, we've taken a significant step in advancing the main quest. Master, I'm coming in~~"
Approaching the Sculptor, Chun Hei playfully teased him, a rare occurrence.
"What is that..."
The Sculptor's body tensed slightly upon seeing the object in Chun Hei's hand. He lowered his voice, "Where did you get that finger?"
"It was swallowed by the Lion Ape of the Sunken Valley," Wolf replied.
"Is that so?" The Sculptor's emotions flickered slightly. "So it was inside the monkey. Lend it to me, I'll install it onto your prosthetic arm."
*Krak-krak-krak—!!*
After installation, Chun Hei's cybernetic arm gained a new skill called "Whistle."
【Echoing Whistle
A whistle that can play an echo, usable by consuming Paper Figures.
The whistle's tone can incite animal frenzy. Using the fixed target function allows only the designated enemy to hear the whistle.
Take a deep breath and blow the echo to produce a mesmerizing melody.】
"That's all for now."
After installing the prosthetic arm, the Sculptor dismissed him. It was the first time Chun Hei had been actively driven away by the Sculptor, clearly indicating that the slender finger had stirred up past memories.
Although the Sculptor didn't reveal more of the story, it felt as though he had conveyed everything.
Bidding farewell to the Sculptor, Chun Hei continued to explore deeper into the valley, as it was the only way to reach the Waterborne Village.
At the valley floor, the ground was covered in dark green swamps formed from animal excrement.
The stench here was beyond description. Being immersed in it, a progress bar labeled "Poison" directly appeared before him.
Much like the Posture meter, it was the kind that yielded surprises when filled.
*Crunch!!*
Silently creeping behind a monkey clad in red shorts and wielding twin blades, Chun Hei successfully extinguished its life with a stealth assassination, marking its vital year.
*Swoosh!!*
Ascending mountains and crossing valleys, Chun Hei soon arrived at a gathering of monkeys.
Perched on a branch suspended in mid-air, Chun Hei prepared to test the whistle's efficacy.
*Swoosh~~~*
The sonic waves emitted by the Echoing Whistle reached the ears of the monkeys below. For a short while, the monkeys became agitated, and then they began to fight amongst themselves.
Moments later, only a single brown-furred monkey remained. Chun Hei leaped down and easily dispatched it.
"It's so effective. Against animals, this whistle is a divine artifact."
Chun Hei looked at his cybernetic arm with joy, feeling the versatile utility for the first time.
From then on, Chun Hei used the whistle to make the monkeys kill each other, advancing through the area at a rapid pace.
Soon,
He reached a cave. Above it, a hall was entwined with a giant white snake. After picking up a piece of "Dried Snake Gourd" within, Chun Hei quickly departed.
This was because, in the dark cave, he felt a chilling aura, and in the darkness, it felt as though two massive eyes were staring at him.
"I already killed the white snake, didn't I? Is it not dead, or is there another one?"
Chun Hei's heart tightened, and his retreat became more urgent.
However, he was still a step too late. At some unknown moment, the cave entrance had been sealed. The object sealing the cave was a segment of a body covered in massive white scales. Although he couldn't see the entire white snake, Chun Hei wisely retreated.
The time he killed that white snake was pure luck. If the system hadn't alerted him that he could leap from a height and plunge directly into the snake's coiled resting head, he would never have dared to deal with the white snake so early.
With his path blocked, Chun Hei had no choice but to find another way.
Fortunately, there was still space above. Using his grappling hook, Chun Hei flipped and jumped, climbing all the way until he broke through the clouds and reached Ashina's lower levels.
Here, even the air was permeated with dark green fog, and the scent of swamps assaulted his senses.
If he hadn't been searching for the entrance to the Waterborne Village, Chun Hei would have turned and fled immediately. Of course, he couldn't leave now, as the path back was blocked.
Lighting the Sculptor's Idol below, Chun Hei continued his exploration.
After dealing with the stragglers, Chun Hei extensively scoured the lower levels, acquiring a good amount of coin and paper figures.
His meager treasury, which was not very full to begin with, gradually began to swell.
However, his joy was short-lived.
The background music suddenly changed, and then a headless corpse, its fur matted and dirty, appeared before Chun Hei, holding a horrifyingly familiar monkey head.
"What the f— A headless white ape sword saint???"
"You're not dead yet!!!"