I work as a security guard at a cemetery, and I overhear the dead chatting about getting rich quick.

Two mountain roads branch off behind the quarry.

The left side is narrow with many bends, and there are monkey paw prints on the ground.

The slope rises steeper along the right side of the mountain wall, with a few gray-black feathers scattered among the loose rocks.

A bone was placed at each intersection.

The locations are all very conspicuous.

It doesn't seem like it was left behind, but more like it's because they're afraid the other people won't see it.

Cheng Fang looked at Lai Changqing.

"We'll go to the left."

Lai Changqing nodded.

"Then let's go to the right."

The concentration of spiritual energy on both sides was not much different, and it was impossible to tell which path was closer to the core. Crowding onto one path would only cause trouble, as neither side wanted to expose their backs to the other.

Cheng Fang glanced at the time.

"Half an hour. If it's blocked, turn back."

Lai Changqing said, "If we encounter that bear, we'll each look after ourselves."

The temporary ceasefire is still in effect.

All that's left is a ceasefire.

First, enter the mountain road on the left at point seven.

The bone fragment at the intersection wasn't taken away directly.

A reinforcement member used mechanical clamps to put it into an isolation box, sealed it, and carried it on his back.

Tang Zhi turned around and glanced back.

"They've put it so politely, wouldn't it be impolite not to take it?"

Cheng Fang walked ahead.

"If you feel embarrassed, you can kowtow to it."

"Then forget it."

Tang Zhi immediately shut up.

The mountain road is very narrow.

The bushes on both sides were almost shoulder-width apart, but there were few fallen leaves on the ground, indicating that animals frequently passed by.

Xu Mian's shadow peeked ahead, probing the way.

No abnormalities were found along the way.

After walking more than 200 meters, a natural stone platform appears in the forest.

The second bone was inserted in the center of the stone platform.

The bottom of the bone was stuck in a crevice in the rocks, facing the mountain path, and it was placed even more upright than the one at the intersection.

Cheng Fang raised his hand.

The line stopped.

The small reconnaissance equipment first circled the stone platform.

There were no explosives, nor was there a sudden increase in spiritual energy.

That bone was as still as an ordinary animal bone.

"Don't touch it yet."

Cheng Fang looked at Lin Ye.

Lin Ye stood five meters away and activated his spiritual hearing.

The sound of the wind in the forest gradually faded away.

The first sound was the panting of the macaques.

It carried the bone for a long time, stopping several times along the way, scratching its fur, and even taking a couple of bites of fruit it had somehow gotten its hands on.

Finally, the bone was pushed into the crevice.

The sound of stones rubbing together was very close.

Listen further ahead, and the surrounding environment changes.

Water droplets fell to the ground.

In the distance, a large beast was breathing slowly.

That familiar voice was right beside me.

"The shoulders and arms of humans are narrower than those of animals."

"The energy flows down the shoulder and along the arm."

Stop at the elbow.

A slight scraping sound came from the bone.

It's like someone is talking while engraving lines on it.

A moment later, the voice spoke again:

"Understand it first."

"If you still dare to wander around without the second half, you deserve to be ruined."

His tone suggested he was waiting to see a joke.

Finally, only one sentence remains:

"If you understand, then move on."

The lingering sound ended.

Lin Ye opened his eyes and repeated what he had heard verbatim.

The recorder wrote it down word for word.

Tang Zhi looked at the sutra bones on the stone platform.

"Does that mean they gave you half an instruction manual, and you tore off the other half?"

"almost."

Lin Ye said, "Only the section from the shoulder to the arm is covered."

There's no way to know where spiritual energy comes from, and there's no way to know what to do once it reaches the elbow.

It might be useful for identifying the route of the journey.

If you actually run it like that, it's no different from pouring water into a sealed pipe.

Cheng Fang did not hesitate.

"Pack them up first."

The mechanical clamps reached out and removed the second piece of bone.

Qin Zhao looked into the depths of the mountain path.

"It knows someone will walk this way."

"But we may not know who it is."

Lin Ye glanced back at the way he had come.

"The left side is more winding, but also more stable."

"A cautious person would most likely choose this place."

Tang Zhi added:

"Then I received a gift that I could take home and study."

The procession continued forward.

After the stone platform, the mountain path begins to ascend slowly.

No new bones or animals were found along the way.

Only the occasional drag marks left between tree roots and rocks prove that macaques once carried things across the area.

Twenty minutes later, the mountain wall in front gradually began to close inward.

Just then, a muffled thud came from the woods on the right.

Then came the sound of rocks cracking.

Everyone in the seven places stopped at the same time.

The voice came from the road of the Candle Shadow Society.

Cheng Fang did not approach rashly, but only signaled everyone to be on guard.

A few seconds later, Jiang Zhaoye's voice came through the communicator.

"He's not dead."

"Go on your way."

Tang Zhi lowered her voice.

"This usually means the injury is quite serious."

No one responded to her.

The two mountain roads soon began to approach each other.

As the seven emerged from the woods, the members of the Candle Shadow Society also came out from the right-hand passage.

The two sides met again.

A member of the Candle Shadow Society sat leaning against the rock wall.

His right arm was swollen, with dark red blood vessels visible under the skin, and his five fingers twitched from time to time.

Blood was also dripping from the corner of his mouth.

Han Xiao squatted down beside him and inserted several thin needles into his shoulder, armpit and elbow in turn.

Several opened medicine bottles were on the ground.

On the other side, a rock about half a person's height had split into several pieces.

There is a fist mark in the center.

Tang Zhi looked at the rock, then at the man's right arm.

"That was a pretty heavy punch."

Jiang Zhaoye looked up at her.

Tang Zhi naturally stepped aside to stand next to Qin Zhao.

"I'm praising him."

Lai Changqing held a piece of bone in his hand.

The markings on the upper part are concentrated on the shoulders, back, and forelimbs, which are completely different from those obtained from the seven locations.

Cheng Fang asked, "Have you tried it?"

"I've tried it."

Lai Changqing made no attempt to cover it up.

"The method is real."

"The second half wasn't given."

Han Xiao pulled out the last needle.

The man leaning against the rock wall lowered his head and spat out a mouthful of blood, which contained several dark-colored blood clots.

Han Xiao wiped his hands.

"Torn muscles in the right arm and internal organ injury."

"He won't die, and he won't be able to make a move again anytime soon."

The Candlelight Guild doesn't just blindly practice after getting something.

Before testing his skills, Han Xiao had already used a compass to confirm the route of spiritual energy and prepared pulse-soothing needles and medicine to protect his internal organs.

The person who tested the method had also practiced stable cycles.

They only allowed the aura to pass through their shoulders and arms once.

That punch did indeed cause a surge in power.

The consequences came immediately.

Cheng Fang looked at the shattered rocks.

"Knowing it's incomplete, why still try?"

Lai Changqing put the bone fragments into a sealed bag.

"How will you know if what it gives you is real or fake if you don't try it?"

The two sides have different ways of doing things.

The seven departments will take the items back and verify them layer by layer.

Candlelight will be more willing to take the first step.

Step on the right spot and save time.

If you step on the wrong step, just accept your bad luck.

Lin Ye looked at the sealed bag.

"There must have been some sound coming from inside."

Jiang Zhaoye frowned.

"You want to hear it?"

"Someone has already been injured."

Lin Ye said, "We need to know if this injury was in vain."

Lai Changqing placed the sealed bag on the open ground, asked Han Xiao to open the outer seal, and then stepped back two steps.

"Listen."

Lin Ye did not approach.

He activated his spiritual hearing from two meters away.

The first thing that came through was that punch from before.

His breathing suddenly became heavy, the rock seemed to crack, and then he couldn't suppress his cough.

Further ahead, the background changes to a stone cave.

Water droplets.

The heavy breathing of the animals.

There's also the faint sound of a knife tip or fingernail scraping against bone.

It's the same environment as the bone in the seventh place.

The voice said:

"Gather the Qi in your shoulders and back, then propel it into your arms."

"Shoot it out in one go."

"How heavy you can hit depends on your own skill."

After a pause, the voice chuckled softly.

"Only those who dare to try deserve to win a level."

There was no mention of how to reclaim spiritual energy.

It also didn't mention what kind of damage would occur if the program failed.

The lingering sound ends here.

Lin Ye opened his eyes.

"It allows you to gather your spiritual energy into your shoulders and back, and then unleash it all at once."

"And the next sentence?" Han Xiao asked.

There is no next sentence.

The injured man leaned against the rock wall, his face looking even worse.

Jiang Zhaoye said coldly:

"Anything else?"

"It says, only those who dare to try deserve to win a section."

There was a moment of silence on the rocky ground.

Tang Zhi didn't speak this time.

To add a sarcastic remark after someone is already injured like this is rather unethical.

Lai Changqing asked Lin Ye:

When were those two vertebrae left behind?

"They should be very close."

Lin Ye recalled it all.

"The sound of dripping water in the background is about the same, and the bear's breathing in the distance hasn't changed either."

"It's like finishing one piece and then immediately starting to carve another."

Han Xiao looked down at the sealed bag.

"The left side is for people to watch, but not for people to practice on."

"The right side can deliver a quick and effective move."

Lin Ye nodded.

"The road on the left is more stable and suitable for cautious people."

"The right side is faster and more direct."

"It doesn't need to know in advance which side Qi Chu and Zhu Yin Hui will choose."

"It all depends on who makes the choice."

A cautious person will receive a short passage of scripture that they can study but cannot practice for the time being.

Those who take risks will acquire a technique that is immediately effective, but deliberately lacks the explosive power to finish the attack.

Both bones are genuine.

None of them are complete.

The incentive has been given.

The pit has been dug.

Lai Changqing looked at Cheng Fang.

"It seems it doesn't want to offend either side."

Cheng Fang said, "It's just trying to take advantage of both sides."

There is only one road ahead.

The two rock walls gradually converge, forming a narrow canyon.

The narrowest spot can only accommodate two or three people walking side by side.

The bloodstains left by the giant bear have reappeared here.

The color had darkened, stretching all the way into the depths of the canyon.

Xu Mian squatted down near the entrance to inspect the ground.

"There is a bear paw print."

"Wolves, wild boars, and monkeys have also gone in."

Han Xiao took out a compass.

The pointer wobbled a few times before finally pointing into the canyon.

"The spiritual energy inside is higher than that in the quarry."

Both roads eventually lead here.

Cheng Fang did not immediately order them to enter.

Two small reconnaissance devices first drove into the canyon, skimming close to the ground.

The lizard shadow also peered forward along the left rock face.

Lin Ye found a piece of broken bone next to the entrance.

The bone was pressed into the mud, with only a corner sticking out.

When the mechanical clamp flipped it out, there were still a few monkey hairs stuck to it.

Lin Ye activated his spiritual hearing.

It was still that same stone cave.

The macaques screamed and snatched the food, the sound of flapping wings sweeping past them.

The voice sounded somewhat impatient.

"Keep the one on the left stable."

"Put it higher on the right side, so I don't fall again."

After a while, it said again:

"Don't block either side."

"Let them move forward."

The lingering sound abruptly stopped.

Lin Ye raised his head.

The two roads converge here.

The Seven Places and the Candle Shadow Society also happened to meet again here.

Deep in the canyon, a reconnaissance device suddenly stopped.

The screen shook twice.

The camera slowly rises.

There are no giant bears ahead.

Only on the two side walls were there a large number of rocks that had just been loosened.