Before the bonfire by the lakeshore died out, the water suddenly rippled.
At first it was only a few small waves, but soon the entire surface sank as though pressed down by an invisible hand. The spiritual pressure of heaven and earth surged at once, like an ancient beast awakening from slumber.
The cultivators all paled. "The dungeon… has refreshed?!"
Su Wanci instantly activated her array disk. Lines of crimson characters jumped across the screen. Her cold voice rang out: "Energy fluctuations steadily rising. Within ten breaths, a dungeon event will manifest! Everyone, fall back to the third marker line!"
Her tone was icy, yet it steadied the panicked crowd at once. After all, she was the appointed Observer of the Alliance—dungeon refreshes were her specialty.
But before the retreat could be completed, a massive fissure split open in the heart of the lake.
Boom—!
A "road" of gray-white stone steps rose from the depths, leading straight into the distant void, like the exposed spine of an ancient leviathan.
"The Tidal Stone Steps!" someone cried in terror. "It's the entrance to the second layer!"
As the steps surfaced, a chilling aura swept forth. The lake boiled, and a monstrous shadow surfaced—its body covered in black scales, a single eye glowing, its dark pupil reflecting the figures of everyone present.
"The Ink-Eyed Mokun!" Su Wanci's face changed. "Don't meet its gaze, or your soul will be dragged into the abyss!"
She hurled three formation flags in succession, raising a golden barrier around the crowd.
Meanwhile, Luo Xingyun was already prostrating himself, weeping: "It's the trial decreed by the Heavenly Emperor! This is the holy fish meant to temper us!"
…
At the steps of the divine hall.
Ji Canglan was squatting to change the water in his fish basket. Looking up, he saw the stone steps appear and a huge glaring fish surface from the lake.
His eyes lit up. "Whoa! What a fat carp!"
Grabbing the bamboo pole at his side, he cast without the slightest concern for the eerie gaze.
"Plop!"
The hook landed right on the giant pupil. With a casual tug, Ji Canglan yanked the ten-zhang beast straight onto the stone steps. It flopped about twice before fainting.
The scene froze for three breaths.
Then chaos erupted.
"The Heavenly Emperor… slew a forbidden beast with a single hook!"
"Sacred words supreme! Fishing is the Dao!"
Luo Xingyun wept as he scribbled madly: "Sacred Word Thirty-Four—Cultivation is like fishing, one hook to steady the heart!"
Su Wanci's pupils shrank as she stared at the numbers spiking across her instrument. She whispered, aghast: "…Impossible… this completely violates dungeon balance!"
…
Ji Canglan crouched, poking the "Ink-Eyed Carp" in disdain.
"Tch, its eyeball's creepy. Not nearly as pretty as a little koi. Bet the meat's tough if roasted."
With a lazy kick, he sent the fish tumbling back into the lake.
Boom!
The surface erupted in thousand-zhang waves, the stone steps themselves shuddering.
Countless cultivators wailed on the spot: "The fish returns to the lake, thus life returns to the source! Sacred word reborn!"
Su Wanci's face went black, her fingers trembling so hard she nearly smashed her array disk.
…
At the far end of the steps, three white markings appeared, shaped like fish bones.
"The Key Marks…" Su Wanci muttered. "They're the mechanism to enter the second layer."
Luo Xingyun immediately screamed: "Three fish bones! They symbolize the union of the three realms! The Heavenly Emperor must reveal his revelation!"
Ji Canglan blinked, then casually pulled three fish bones from his sleeve.
"From last night's roast fish. They cracked my teeth, so I kept them. Might as well try here."
Click—click—click—
The three fish bones slotted in perfectly. The steps roared, and ahead, a massive stone gate slowly opened. Wind howled as a shadowed corridor was revealed.
The Wind-Tunnel Corridor—hidden mechanisms, ancient lamps lighting themselves one by one.
…
The cultivators were already on their knees, sobbing in ecstasy.
"With a flick of the Heavenly Emperor's hand, the key to creation appears!"
"The sacred words are clear—fish bones are Dao bones!"
Luo Xingyun bawled as he carved: "Sacred Word Thirty-Four, Part Two: Three bones united, the path to creation opens!"
Su Wanci's face was now pitch black. She stared at those utterly ordinary fish bones, her mind screaming only one thought:
—This is just trash!
But she could not refute it. The instruments had recorded everything. The gate had indeed been opened by fish bones.
Clenching her teeth, her eyes locked on Ji Canglan, a spark of grim resolve igniting within them.
"…I will find out whether this man is truly the Heavenly Emperor, or merely… a native of the dungeon."
Meanwhile, Ji Canglan was grinning ear to ear.
"Haha, new fishing spot unlocked!"