Chapter Thirty-Seven: A Hidden Paradise

"Wow! It's so beautiful!" Ruoxi exclaimed in delight as she followed them down into the chasm.

Beautiful? Xiaoshan was baffled. Wasn’t it supposed to be a field of corpses?

He paused for a moment, then quickened his pace. The meteorite fragments under his feet wobbled with every step, giving the unsettling impression that he might fall at any moment.

In truth, the meteorite cave was only two or three hundred meters below the surface. However, the floating meteorite shards suspended in the air made the descent slow and awkward—each step felt as if he were playing the piano, treading lightly from one note to the next.

The moment Xiaoshan reached the cave floor, sunlight blazed into his eyes. The abrupt brightness made him squint, his head spinning a little. He took a moment to steady himself before observing his surroundings.

Looking up, he saw the sky above was still pitch black, yet the bottom of the cave was as bright as day. Perplexed, Xiaoshan asked about it.

He was told, "The earth is round."

Round.

If you walk in a straight line, eventually, you'll return to your starting point from the opposite direction.

What kind of world was this?

"Butterflies fly, and fly, and fly..."

A burst of laughter and song drifted to Xiaoshan's ears, breaking his train of thought.

When he opened his eyes, he saw countless butterflies resting on the blossoming flowers and grasses.

In their midst, a young girl chased after the butterflies, her laughter ringing through the air.

The butterflies fluttered around her as she reached out to catch one. In a blink, she noticed someone ahead and, delighted, hopped over.

"Xiaoshan, Xiaoshan! Look, isn’t this butterfly beautiful?" Ruoxi ran up, smiling, and held out her finger.

Xiaoshan looked and saw a butterfly, resplendent with many colors, perched on her fingertip.

Tiny patterns and spots adorned its delicate wings, and its minute antennae highlighted the creature’s exquisite beauty.

Before Xiaoshan could even voice his amazement, the lovely butterfly on Ruoxi's finger suddenly withered right before their eyes.

Or rather, starting from its wings, it gradually dissipated, breaking down into fine particles that the wind carried away into the world.

"What is this...?" Xiaoshan stared wide-eyed, unable to believe what he was seeing.

Ruoxi, on the other hand, simply moved her finger. From when the butterfly landed to the very moment it vanished, she felt nothing at all—it disappeared as if it had never existed.

She glanced around, even more astonished than Xiaoshan.

"Life and death bound to white bones—this is a Bone Butterfly," Haoyun explained upon seeing their confusion.

"The Bone Butterfly is no different from any ordinary butterfly. As the name suggests, it feeds on white bones.

Born from bones, a person’s soul doesn’t always disappear but sometimes persists in another form. Especially those skilled in martial arts—their souls may linger within the bones or turn into spirits.

But these Bone Butterflies are the souls of ordinary people. They died in happiness, and their souls either dissipated or fused into the environment you see before you."

Xiaoshan hadn't expected that what lay before him was a field formed from the souls of the dead, transformed into bone and spirit.

"Who knows, right beneath your feet or nearby, there could be a heap of bones," Haotian said with a mischievous grin, nodding at Ruoxi.

Ruoxi paled at his words and took a few steps back, her face filled with fear.

After a moment, she gathered herself and glared at Haotian.

"Haotian is right," Haoyun said seriously. "Bone Butterflies only linger near the bones from which they came."

Ruoxi's pupils contracted as she looked down at the ground, and a faint sound seemed to echo in her ears.

"If this whole environment is made from white bones, how many people must have died here?" Xiaoshan exclaimed.

"Impossible. Souls don’t usually become so vibrant after death. Only these Bone Butterflies make sense," Haoyun replied, though uncertainty tinged his voice.

"So you were just making it up!" Ruoxi snapped, clearly annoyed.

"I read it in a book," Haoyun insisted, undeterred by their skepticism.

"Book of Beasts?" Haotian asked.

"Yes," Haoyun confirmed.

The joy that had filled Ruoxi’s face vanished, replaced by a heavy gloom.

"Enough marveling. Let’s go," Hao Po said coldly.

"Which way?" Haoyun asked.

"Forward," Hao Po replied, pointing with his sword.

"I have a feeling what we're looking for is just ahead," he said, his tone leaving no room for doubt.

"But it will be even more dangerous up ahead. You’d better prepare yourselves."

"This is a land shaped by vengeful souls—danger lurks everywhere," Haoyun warned, wary.

"We have to keep going?" Ruoxi protested, her reluctance clear. The scenery was beautiful, but knowing its true nature darkened her mood.

She was weary.

"We’re nearly there," Xiaoshan comforted her.

"Alright," Ruoxi replied softly.