Ye Tiancheng and the others, although attacked by vines earlier, were in such an urgent situation that they didn't have the time to turn back and deal with the vines, to find out what they were, and to avenge the little fox.
Of course, Ye Tiancheng also kept this matter in mind, and if he had the chance, he would still get revenge for the little fox.
While he wasn't a bad person, and his tolerance was decent, he wasn't that magnanimous.
Ye Tiancheng was naturally biased and protective. If his younger brother suffered such a great loss, he would definitely not miss the opportunity to regain face.
This time, to avoid further trouble, and as it was not good for them to lose any more members, they did not choose to camp but instead decided to travel through the night.
The few of them traveled without rest for the entire night, and by the early morning of the next day, they had arrived at the location of the entrance to Mount Luoqi, as indicated on the map.
They arrived at the foot of a mountain.
There was truly no sign of human activity here.
Ye Wuji had no idea that near his former home, and not too far away, there existed something like this, something legendary.
He wondered if Mount Luoqi truly existed in reality.
Or if such a thing only existed within this illusion.
Ye Wuji curiously asked, "Is this Mount Luoqi?"
At this moment, the little fox had also recovered quite a bit. Mainly, he didn't want Ye Tiancheng to be too tired, so he requested permission to walk on his own and returned to the ground instead of continuing to ride on Ye Tiancheng's back.
Hearing Ye Wuji's question, the little fox replied, "This is Mount Luoqi, and it is not Mount Luoqi."
Ye Wuji looked at the little fox inexplicably and asked, "How can it be Mount Luoqi and not Mount Luoqi? What kind of saying is that?"
The little fox explained to Ye Wuji, "According to the map and the records in the books we've read before, this should be the true entrance to Mount Luoqi. However, this mountain itself is not Mount Luoqi. Only after we enter through the entrance of Mount Luoqi will we have truly reached Mount Luoqi."
Ye Wuji thought for a moment and then said, "That seems to be the case. We have to enter through the entrance to truly reach Mount Luoqi."
"But, how do we find the entrance to Mount Luoqi?"
At this moment, Ye Tiancheng answered Ye Wuji's question.
Ye Tiancheng explained, "There must be clues around here regarding the entrance to Mount Luoqi. The books we've read should also contain some hints, but we need to patiently search and discover them ourselves, much like solving mechanisms."
However, looking at the forest before him, Ye Wuji was truly lost.
Although he knew how to solve some mechanisms, the mechanisms Ye Wuji had encountered before were all indoors, and they were clearly identifiable as mechanisms, or even slightly less obvious ones, Ye Wuji could still discern them.
But faced with such a natural, outdoor setting in the mountains, he couldn't figure out where the clues and mechanisms would be.
Ye Wuji asked curiously, "This looks like a deep mountain forest where no one would ever come. There are no traces of human activity at all. How can there be mechanisms?"
The little fox said to Ye Wuji, "Oh, these things, you'll understand when you experience more in the future. You just haven't encountered them before, so you can't imagine it, but there will definitely be clues and mechanisms."
Ye Wuji said thoughtfully, "Alright then, I will study more."
"But this time, I might not be able to help much."
Ye Tiancheng said to Ye Wuji, "That's not necessarily true. But it's okay if you can't help. When we encounter things, whoever is skilled takes the lead. We all have our own strengths, and we don't need to force ourselves to do things we're not good at."
"For example, when it comes to talismans, formations, or mechanisms, I only assist. The main work has always been done and handled by the little fox."
Ye Wuji had just joined them and was easily worried that he would be abandoned if he couldn't contribute.
Although Ye Tiancheng wasn't particularly meticulous, he could think of these basic things even if he didn't feel them. Therefore, he intentionally comforted Ye Wuji.
Don't worry that you can't contribute, and therefore have no value.
He used himself as an example, which could somewhat appease Ye Wuji's mood and be more convincing.
With Ye Tiancheng's words, Ye Wuji did indeed feel much better.
They circled around the foot of the mountain and found a strange stone tablet. Many birds were perched on it, resting. That's what they initially thought.
However, as they examined the stone tablet, the birds remained completely still.
Slowly, they began to feel that something was strange.
It was rare to find birds this bold in the wild. Wild birds in the wild were very vigilant. It was impossible for them not to flee when they were so close.
Ye Wuji spread his wings, flew closer to the birds to observe them, and then poked them with the tip of his wing, confirming the situation.
Ye Wuji said to Ye Tiancheng and the little fox, "Big Brother, Second Brother... Little Fox Brother, these birds aren't moving!"
Midway through his address, Ye Wuji noticed that the little fox seemed to have a slight objection to his new address, so he immediately changed his wording and stopped calling him that.
Although the little fox still had an opinion about the second address, it seemed quite good in comparison to the address "Second Brother."
Besides, one couldn't demand too much from that fellow Ye Wuji.
Therefore, the little fox said nothing more.
After hearing Ye Wuji's words, Ye Tiancheng thought for a moment and then picked up all the birds that were not flying. Ye Wuji was a little confused and surprised when he saw this, as he didn't know why Ye Tiancheng was doing this.
Ye Tiancheng knew that Ye Wuji didn't understand these kinds of things very well.
So, Ye Tiancheng explained to Ye Wuji, "Unlike these birds that are so abnormal, in this kind of place, they themselves are often part of the clue. Therefore, it's definitely okay to catch them all."
"Besides, if they can't be used in the end, we can just let them go."
"Clues must be grasped in hand beforehand. It's often better to kill by mistake than to let go, otherwise, when you realize it's a clue later, but the clue has already slipped away, it will be too late to regret it."
Only then did Ye Wuji understand why Ye Tiancheng had done that.
However, since Ye Tiancheng had taken the initiative to catch these birds, it was because Ye Tiancheng had already noticed where they should be used.
On their way to the next clue location, they passed by a plant with very large and thick leaves, and they picked some leaves. They didn't have to worry about this plant being poisonous. Later, in many situations, these leaves could be used as wrapping paper or even containers for water.
They were not short of such props, but those were supplies they kept in their storage space.
Even though they knew they weren't short of supplies, out of caution, Ye Tiancheng and the others would still try to gather materials on the spot. Only when there were no suitable items would they take what they needed from their storage space.
It was like eating. In this place, they didn't dare to eat food from outside, which was why they kept taking food from their storage space.
This was a necessary procurement.
But for tools, if there were substitutes outside, there was no need to insist on using their own.
Ye Tiancheng walked up to a cave and threw a few birds inside.
As Ye Tiancheng threw the birds out, those motionless birds seemed to suddenly come alive.
The moment they were thrown out, they spread their wings and flew into the cave.
Ye Wuji couldn't quite understand these actions, so he chose to observe.
After those birds flew into the cave, not long after, Ye Tiancheng and the others saw an animal with black and white striped fur emerge from the cave.
It was a white tiger of enormous size.
Ye Wuji was terrified and immediately hid behind Ye Tiancheng.
The little fox was a bit calmer, but Ye Tiancheng had instinctively shielded the little fox behind him.
The white tiger was truly very large.
In their understanding, normal white tigers in reality would not have such a physique.
Ye Tiancheng estimated that this white tiger probably weighed over a thousand catties. Its size was such that the three of them combined wouldn't be enough to satisfy its hunger for one meal.
However, the white tiger's appearance before them was not malicious.
As the white tiger stopped in front of Ye Tiancheng and the others, it suddenly spoke human words and said to Ye Tiancheng and the others, "Thank you for breaking the seal for me and releasing me from here. As a reward, I can give you a few things."
Ye Tiancheng had only vaguely felt that this could be done when he checked earlier, but he didn't expect that this would actually break the seal.
He didn't know if breaking this seal would bring about any negative consequences.
However, it seemed unlikely, as the white tiger didn't look like it was going to attack them at all.
It even said it wanted to give them a thank-you gift.
Ye Tiancheng thought for a moment and then replied to the white tiger, "We didn't know that doing so would break your seal. It was merely an unintentional coincidence, and we dare not take credit."
The white tiger's face showed a very human-like expression.
The white tiger seemed a little displeased, its whiskers twitching, but it still said to Ye Tiancheng, "Regardless, you have helped me, and I cannot owe you anything. I don't want to be indebted to others for nothing."
"If I say I want to thank you, then I will thank you. You just have to accept the things."
With the white tiger saying this, Ye Tiancheng had no reason to refuse.
Moreover, who knew if this was their opportunity, a necessary step to enter Mount Luoqi.
Ye Tiancheng had no choice but to reply to the white tiger, "Then I accept your kindness."
As soon as he finished speaking, a flash of light appeared, and two items materialized in front of Ye Tiancheng, placed on the ground.
To the left was an object of unknown origin, and to the right was clearly a piece of jade.
Ye Tiancheng hesitated and asked, "What... what is this for?"
The white tiger replied to Ye Tiancheng, "Seeing you appear in this desolate place, you must be here for Mount Luoqi. These are essential items for entering Mount Luoqi. When you can use them, you will know their benefits."
"That's all there is to it. I've given you the items, so don't refuse. Just accept them."