Twilight Boundary-Chapter 671 - 662: A Single Arrow Breaks the Dragon Cave

"Are you sure this is the place?"

"Absolutely!"

"Then why can't we see the mountain? And all the scenery is different from our map too?"

An old man, sleeves and trouser legs rolled up, his wrinkles as deep as those of a lifelong farmer, rode a donkey. Accompanied by the chiming of bells, he and his companions proceeded along a path leading into the depths of the mountains. Following him were three men and a group of workers who resembled well-diggers, some carrying poles with loads, others shouldering lumber and chisels. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

As they walked, they constantly compared their surroundings to the map in their hands, growing increasingly bewildered, even uncertain if they had taken the correct path. The old man on the donkey sighed softly and said, "The orientation is off. Open a path!"

The porters behind him acknowledged quietly. One man stepped forward and erected a wooden doorframe by the roadside. On it, they inscribed directions like 'east,' 'south,' 'west,' and 'north,' and affixed a Red Talisman.

Led by the old man on the donkey, he was the first to pass through the doorframe, with the others following. The last person to cross burned the doorframe behind them, and then they continued onward as before.

The path remained the same, flanked by the same barren lands. But as they gradually proceeded, the scenery began to transform, increasingly resembling the map.

The No-eating Cattle had been searching for the Noble Zhang Family's Dragon Cave for years untold, knowing it was the fundamental cause of all these significant events. They had long since confirmed a location. Upon spotting the familiar Red Cliff not far ahead, they all grew more alert.

"It's just ahead! The Dragon Cave is in the mountain, though its exact location is unknown!"

"But once we enter the mountain, with our skills, finding it won't be difficult!"

They had answered the summons of their Big Senior Brother and rushed here as quickly as possible, traveling with great urgency, yet none of them knew what was truly happening.

The iconic Red Cliff seemed to be only a few hundred yards away, not very distant. However, the farther they walked, the more disoriented they became. Instead of drawing closer, the Red Cliff seemed to recede farther from them.

So, the old man on the donkey had his men build a makeshift bridge over the dry land. An arched bridge was erected on the path, and they crossed it one by one. After passing over the bridge, the Red Cliff, which had just been hundreds of yards away, suddenly seemed to have been pulled right before their eyes.

Yet, when they reached the side of this Red Cliff and searched for a way up, the mountain trail clearly marked on the map was nowhere to be found.

Finally, this Big Senior Brother slowly dismounted from the donkey, personally approached the front of the mountain, and burned a pile of paper money. The smoke rising from the burning paper seemed to curl outwards, away from the mountain, stinging the eyes of the assembled group.

When they looked up again, they were all startled, even recoiling slightly. Before the mountain, a group of people had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. They looked like villagers—men and women, old and young. Their bodies were translucent, and they stood one after another, hand in hand, heads bowed, blocking the path into the mountain and obstructing any view into its depths.

"Why go to such lengths?" Senior Brother No-eating Cattle asked, looking at the people barring their way, a deep weariness evident in his brow. He slowly raised his head, gazed forward, and said in a low voice, "Haishou inherently involves usurping the mysteries of creation; why must you act so viciously? The Noble Zhang Family has stood high above for four or five hundred years, counting the previous dynasty... But it seems... there's no need to treat people as less than human, is there?"

"The Beef-eating Demon People are like rats in the gutter! Hiding for so many years, and now you finally dare to show your faces!" As the words fell, a figure in a gray robe and a small cap emerged from behind a cypress tree on the mountain path beyond the Red Stone Cliff. Looking down coldly, he said, "The world has no shortage of people, but not everyone deserves to be considered human. Simply for what they did to our Zhang family's Second Old Master—their vicious greed, their selfish wickedness—they wouldn't be wronged even if cast into the Eighteen Levels of Hell to suffer. What? You Beef-eating Demon People have hidden for so long, and now you claim you can't bear it anymore and want to speak up for them?"

Senior Brother No-eating Cattle sighed softly. "The man is already dead. What use is there in talking? We of No-eating Cattle do not engage in such futile acts. We only remember our master's teachings and wish for a world free of people like you."

"Enough nonsense!" This remark suddenly enraged the man on the mountain. He snarled, "It's only because the Ten Surnames couldn't be bothered with rats like you that you've been allowed to run rampant for so long! Now that you've emerged, if you have any ability, then come up the mountain! Let us witness the skills of the No-eating Cattle!"

As he spoke, figures flickered in and out of sight at various intersections on the mountain paths, glancing outwards briefly before vanishing again. Clearly, they had deployed their formations and were prepared for a duel.

And on that mountain, an old man whose clothes, worn for who knows how many years, were dirty beyond recognition, was now, under the care of his eldest nephew, bathing and changing into a brocade robe. But the marks of many years of arduous cultivation, the weathering etched upon him, could no longer be washed away. Now, dressed in the brocade robe, it looked ill-fitting. Only the imperious, domineering expression on his stiff face retained some of the Zhang family's characteristic style.

"Second Uncle, I brought your favorite candied fruits and some fine wine. Please rest for now," Eldest Young Master Zhang said, serving him attentively. He opened a wine jar for the old man to smell and smiled. "Those at the foot of the mountain now are just a few fledgling demon people. Mr. Wutou and the others will deal with them; there's no need for you to intervene, esteemed elder. Just wait patiently."

The old man, smelling the wine's aroma, smiled silently and waved his hand vigorously, urging his nephew to pour it quickly so he could drink.

Meanwhile, at the foot of the mountain, the Three Sects' Masters of the No-eating Cattle exchanged glances, each surreptitiously steeling themselves. One of them laughed. "Previously, because our master-uncles hadn't appeared and our Sect Hierarch was terribly busy every day, no one lifted this strict prohibition. For twenty years, we haven't been able to legitimately confront the Ten Surnames. We truly don't know how the No-eating Cattle really compare to them..."

Seeing that these Three Sects' Masters, along with their disciples, senior and junior, were all secretly prepared, the elderly Big Senior Brother shook his head slightly. He walked forward slowly. In his hand, three incense sticks had appeared, seemingly from nowhere. Holding them respectfully, he took a few steps toward the base of the mountain.

On the mountain, the Noble Zhang Family's Four Great Hall Officers all looked as if they were facing a formidable enemy. They focused their attention, preparing to strike. The Haishou school's duels have always emphasized calculation: some attack, some defend. Whether inflicting injury or harm, it all happens invisibly. A single misstep, a moment's oversight, a misspoken word—any could drastically alter the situation and lead to death.

They spoke with bravado, but they dared not overly underestimate these Beef-eating Demon People, who had survived for twenty years. Especially that Senior Brother No-eating Cattle; his every move prompted caution, even a readiness to fight to the death.

However, they hadn't anticipated that this Big Senior Brother would merely step forward, raise the incense high, and then slowly bow.

An eerie silence descended.

The people on the mountain, having waited for a long time, were somewhat taken aback. Suddenly, one laughed. "Have you finally realized how outmatched you are? Come to beg for mercy, have you? Just bowing isn't enough. You'll have to kneel and kowtow to enter the Zhang family's gates!"

"We cannot kowtow," Senior Brother No-eating Cattle said slowly. "Neither our master nor the Sect Hierarch ever permitted us to kneel! Moreover..." He slowly raised his head, looking up the mountain. He saw the pervasive danger, unsure how many experts the Noble Zhang Family had deployed or what preparations they had made. Yet, his face was a mask of calm as he sighed softly, "We didn't come here to duel with your Zhang family. We are merely waiting for the Dragon Cave, nurtured by the Noble Zhang, to be destroyed. Then, we're here to slay the dragon! Of course, you could also see it as us coming to clean up the mess and witness this arrow from Master Uncle Longjing..."

"Nonsense!" The people on the mountain listened with derisive laughter, then sharply demanded, "Where is that Master Uncle of yours? Why hasn't he shown himself?"

"Shown himself?" Senior Brother No-eating Cattle chuckled upon hearing this. "It is said that within the Zhang family, there isn't a single person who truly understands the skills of Haishou. I didn't believe it before, but now I've finally learned my lesson! The true art of the Haishou school lies in calculating the profound mysteries between heaven and earth. If one needed to appear in person, to see the target before striking, how could that be considered superior?"

"You..." The man on the mountain was instantly enraged and about to speak further, but Senior Brother No-eating Cattle suddenly raised his head, looking upward. For a moment, his weathered eyes filled with an boundless excitement and joy. "It's here..."

"Not good!"

At that moment, on the mountain, the Noble Zhang Family's Four Great Hall Officers and their various experts, who had made meticulous preparations, suddenly felt as if the sun above them had been blotted out. Their vision pulsed with darkness. Utterly shocked, they hastily rallied their spirits, bracing themselves. In front of the stone house, the old man tossed the wine jar aside and shot to his feet. His hunched figure, despite a missing leg, now stood remarkably straight, his frame unnervingly robust. Even his tongueless mouth gaped open, and a stream of garbled sounds issued forth—incomprehensible to others, yet seemingly influencing the surrounding mountains and rivers. Words that could shake heaven and earth, and awed ghostly gods, poured rapidly from his mouth.

But in the next instant, his body abruptly froze.

The earth-shattering, god-alarming battle he had envisioned did not occur. Everything transpired invisibly, like a gentle breeze whispering past, the earth quietly reawakening without disturbing the lingering snow on the ground. He remained with his mouth agape, maintaining the posture of chanting, but then he suddenly stiffened, his Divine Soul and consciousness all dissolving into nothingness.

And behind his stone house, a small Jade Wall, at that very moment, unexpectedly developed a crack. The crack, like a spider's web, slowly spread. Then, black water began to seep from the stone wall.

In that instant, no one, neither on the mountain nor below, could comprehend what had happened. Only Senior Brother No-eating Cattle, holding the three incense sticks, bowed deeply, his eyes red, as he proclaimed in a loud voice: "The arts of the Ten Sects are but mortal techniques; an Immortal's arrow descends from the heavens! Fellow brothers, the Dragon Cave is breached! Follow me! For the people of this world, let us slay the dragon!"