Not wanting his daughter who was growing sharper by the day to see through the lie, Arya simply nodded and changed the subject. "Look at how many pieces of candy Daddy made. With hundreds of them, Ara can have one every day without ever running out. And besides, this candy is very good for your health." "Hmm..." Kiara furrowed her brow, trying to work out whether what her father was saying added up. Because ever since her bloodline had awakened and she had begun cultivating without fully realizing it, her physical condition, mental clarity, and overall sharpness had been improving steadily day by day. Compared to the Kiara Arya had first met, the little girl was no longer the quiet, thin child she had been. Her cheeks were round and rosy, and anyone who looked at her could see she was a healthy, sturdy little girl. Her eyes carried a faint but growing brightness, a glimmer of intelligence and, increasingly, a hint of shrewdness. In terms of physical health, mental sharpness, and a

At the same moment, as the group began making their preparations, they found themselves on the receiving end of looks from the villagers — pitying, hostile, and in some cases openly disgusted. As though the locals already knew exactly what they were walking into, and what the outcome would be. It became clear that their group was not the first expedition to attempt this. Arya caught fragments of conversation among the villagers saying that this group was clearly heading toward their deaths. Even the village chief came forward personally and strongly urged them to turn back and abandon their plans. He warned them with unmistakable seriousness not to enter the forbidden area known as the Misty Valley. Hans and his group paid no attention to the warnings. A few payments and some money to keep things quiet eventually wore the village chief down, and he finally gave up, stating only that whatever happened from that point forward was no longer his concern. Hans's group agreed, and mov

"Master," Ryan said, approaching Arya after finishing his exercises, "given how strange and dangerous this place is, wouldn't it be better to move on rather than stay and rest here? Baki also said we're not far from the Misty Valley." Arya smiled easily and answered, "This area was previously the territory of the blue wolves, so no other animals will dare come here. There's a small chance something as foolish as that snake might wander in, but it's unlikely. Besides, traveling at night is too dangerous. We're just over five kilometers from our destination — we can leave early tomorrow morning and arrive before noon." Ryan furrowed his brow and fell quiet for a moment, mildly confused about how Arya knew the exact distance to their destination. He was fairly certain Baki hadn't mentioned that figure. But since Arya had spoken, Ryan wasn't about to argue. He gave the order for everyone to set up tents. And Arya was right, when he thought about it. If this had been blue wolf territor

"Excuse me. Can I talk to you?" Arya, who had been busy harvesting the Three-Leaf Silver Star Grass, was caught off guard and looked up at the unfamiliar language. "Hm?" He saw a woman approaching — attractive by any reasonable measure, both in face and figure — and paused with mild surprise. A rare gold-type spiritual root? The surprise had nothing to do with her appearance or the undeniable appeal of her figure. It was because this woman was only the second person he had encountered, after Evelyn, who possessed a spiritual root of her own. A spiritual root — the innate foundation that allowed an ordinary human to walk the path of immortal cultivation — appeared in roughly one person per ten thousand. Finding two in such a short span of time, both of them women with rare spiritual roots, was genuinely startling. Was a high-quality spiritual root truly not as uncommon on Earth as

"BOOM." The ground shook violently, a deep tremor rolling through the cave floor before settling back into silence. But the laughter had stopped completely. Whatever the cause, the message was clear — this cave was not a simple place. "Everyone, we move forward, but watch every step." Victor's expression had gone serious, and the order came without elaboration. No one needed it explained. They already understood. Fortunately, the tremor — which had felt like a small earthquake — did not repeat itself, and the group pressed on until the passage opened up before them. A vast hall, nearly a hundred meters across and ten meters high, stretched out ahead. It wasn't dark — faint daylight filtered down through cracks in the ceiling high above. And scattered throughout the hall, the group came to an abrupt, collective stop. Enormous bones. "These bones—" Thalya moved forward immediately. "Wait." Victor stopped her and turned a look toward two of his men. Understanding at once, the t