Everyone nodded in agreement without hesitation, and soon found a place to rest, falling soundly asleep.

After all, they had critical tasks to accomplish early the next day, such as completing their search of the Summit of Thousand Peaks as quickly as possible so they could leave this place soon.

Everyone slept soundly all night, except for Wang Zhan, who stood quietly to one side, gazing into the distance.

Early the next morning, when Han Junxiong woke up, he noticed Wang Zhan standing nearby. He approached Wang Zhan, patted his shoulder, and asked, "Brother Wang, what are you looking at?"

Wang Zhan smiled, waved his hand slightly, and said, "Nothing, just curious."

"Curious?"

Hearing this, Han Junxiong was momentarily startled. "Brother Wang, what exactly are you curious about?"

Wang Zhan narrowed his eyes, his gaze flickering slightly. After a long pause, he said, "Haven't you noticed? This place is very strange, but we can't quite pinpoint what the problem is. Take the demon cores from the demonic beasts here, for instance. How did they appear here, and why hasn't anyone taken or consumed them?"

Actually, humans and demonic beasts are quite similar. Humans hunt demonic beasts to seize their demon cores, using them to refine weapons and enhance their own cultivation. Demonic beasts, however, also fight amongst themselves, aiming to improve their cultivation and replenish their energy by consuming the bodies of their fallen kin.

At this, Wang Zhan's expression darkened considerably.

When things are out of the ordinary, there must be something amiss, he thought. So, this place definitely wasn't as simple as it appeared. The secret seemed to be hidden, and it wouldn't be uncovered so quickly.

Han Junxiong also furrowed his brows slightly. He gently tapped his forehead for a moment before finally saying with a frown, "I'm still not sure what's actually happening here."

"But regardless of the situation, there shouldn't be any great risk for us, right?"

"After all, we've been searching here for a day. If there really was danger, whatever 'things' are here probably couldn't have stayed hidden and would have likely confronted us by now."

Wang Zhan caught the specific word Han Junxiong used and asked, "What 'things' are present here?"

Han Junxiong faltered, quickly waving his hands. "I was just going along with what you were saying. My intuition isn't as sharp as yours, so I don't know what might be around here either."

Wang Zhan nodded with a smile. "So, that means your subconscious assessment is the same as mine?"

Upon hearing this, Han Junxiong remained silent.

Meanwhile, the others who had been resting nearby gradually woke up. Seeing the two conversing, everyone gathered around them.

In an instant, one of them walked over, slung an arm around Han Junxiong's shoulder, and then looked at Wang Zhan. "You two are up so early? What are you talking about? Care to share it with everyone?"

Wang Zhan didn't say anything and started walking to one side.

Han Junxiong, however, shot the man a glare and grumbled irritably, "You brat, where do you get so much nonsense?"

Hearing this, the man was momentarily stunned. He turned his face away and said no more. It was clear to everyone that both Wang Zhan and Han Junxiong were not in the best of moods, so naturally, they didn't dare to risk their ire.

With time being short, no one wasted any more of it. They quickly formed pairs and got busy again.

Wang Zhan, however, took the lead, beginning to ascend towards the highest point of the Summit of Thousand Peaks.

Halfway up, he glanced back at the group in the distance and shouted, "You don't need to wait for me tonight. Just return here to rest. Remember, everyone must regroup so you can look out for each other."

Everyone nodded in reply.

Han Junxiong was taken aback, and he quickly rushed in Wang Zhan's direction. Within a few steps, he was already by Wang Zhan's side.

"Brother Wang, where are you heading?"

Wang Zhan glanced at the summit before replying, "We've been here for two days but haven't yet seen what it looks like from up high. I'd like to climb to the top and see just how vast this Summit of Thousand Peaks truly is."

Of course, the main reason was the old saying: stand high, see far. Wang Zhan needed to reach a vantage point to overlook the entire mountain range. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Han Junxiong quickly caught up to Wang Zhan, saying with a smile, "Perfect! I'm not interested in those demon cores anyway. I'd rather follow you and see what the very top of the mountain peak looks like."

Wang Zhan nodded his head in agreement and then led the way toward the peak.

「A few hours later.」

Wang Zhan and Han Junxiong were standing at the very top of the Summit of Thousand Peaks. However, as far as they could see, dense forests surrounded them, and nothing appeared out of the ordinary.

Wang Zhan squinted, scanned their surroundings, then patted Han Junxiong's shoulder and asked, "Do you see anything unusual?"

Han Junxiong shook his head, then frowned. "I don't see any anomalies, but something seems amiss."

As he spoke, Han Junxiong's gaze suddenly sharpened. Pointing into the distance, he said quickly, "Brother Wang, have you noticed? These forests seem to converge into a particular shape. Looking down from where we're standing, it looks like a Dragon Shadow, doesn't it?"

Hearing this, Wang Zhan quickly looked in the direction Han Junxiong indicated.

At first glance, Wang Zhan was slightly stunned. It did indeed resemble a Dragon Shadow, a sight that sent an involuntary shiver down his spine.

Wang Zhan squinted, then quickly straightened up. "So, it seems there really is something to this place after all?"

Han Junxiong, beside him, also nodded. "But just based on this Dragon Shadow, it's hard to tell what's different. And even if there is a Dragon Shadow here, what could that signify? Anyway, I've never heard anything about this Dragon Shadow, much less seen such a bizarre forest."

Wang Zhan paced back and forth a few steps on the mountain peak, having already scanned the entire surrounding forest. He had to admit, this place was indeed tinged with an odd peculiarity. The forest, converging into a massive Dragon Shadow, looked incredibly menacing and sent a chill down one's spine.

However, Wang Zhan still didn't understand what it all meant.

"Brother Wang, how about this? Let's just use fire to burn this whole place down. What do you think?" Han Junxiong blurted out. "Even if there is a secret, it's probably hidden beneath this forest. So, if we destroy all of this, wouldn't the secret reveal itself to us?"

Wang Zhan immediately shook his head and replied quickly, "That's out of the question. Our companions are all in this forest, and we can't confirm their locations yet. Besides, if we set fire to the mountain, we'd all have to retreat beyond the Summit of Thousand Peaks. And if we're not at a high vantage point, how could we possibly discern the Mystery here?"

For a moment, Wang Zhan was in a predicament; he was extremely intrigued by this place.

The presence of so many demon cores from demonic beasts here couldn't possibly be a coincidence. But try as he might, he couldn't understand why such a bizarre situation would occur.

Han Junxiong sighed and shrugged helplessly. "If that's the case, then we really are in a bind. If we can't uncover the secret of the Summit of Thousand Peaks, aren't we just wasting our time here?"

Han Junxiong once again revealed the true nature of a Bounty Hunter—always considering his own benefits wherever he went and never easily passing up any guaranteed gains.

Wang Zhan shot him an irritated glare. "Have we taken too little from this place?"

"Once everyone finishes collecting today, we should have even more demon cores. If we take all these to the city, it'll be a huge fortune. Plus, I can use them to refine some elixirs. All in all, we've stumbled upon a massive windfall here."

"You brat, don't push your luck and pretend you're hard done by after profiting so much."

Han Junxiong scratched his head, deciding not to respond.

"Alright, now that we're at this vantage point, I can see no trace of demonic beasts around. So, we don't need to worry about anything. You should go join the others and collect those demon cores. This place is strange through and through. It's best we gather everything we can and then leave here as soon as possible."

Han Junxiong nodded and, in an instant, headed down the mountain.

Wang Zhan, however, didn't join them. After all, having that group collect the demon cores was sufficient. He now only wanted to figure out what kind of Mystery this place held.

But just by relying on his eyes, he seemed unable to discern the secret of this forest.

After pacing back and forth on the spot for a good while, Wang Zhan's gaze suddenly focused on a point of light within the forest.

Wang Zhan paused, startled. Squinting, he muttered to himself, "What's that?"

As he muttered this, Wang Zhan leaped into the air, treading on the treetops as he sped towards that gleam of light.

In the blink of an eye, Wang Zhan arrived before the gleam of light.

Wang Zhan squinted at the diamond-like object before him, his brow furrowing slightly. I've seen diamonds before, but never one of this size. This place truly is full of marvels.