Yunmengze was situated within an immortal mountain.
Bathed in sunlight and moonlight, its golden and silver palaces resembled a celestial realm.
"Oh my, Xiao Chizhan, you actually brought a woman here?"
As soon as they entered Yunmengze, a man in a red robe swaggered over with a smarmy grin.
Ye Luan recognized him.
Li Qiongyu, the imperial merchant of Da Liang, was one of the few good people in the book, a comic relief character.
"Get lost."
"Tsk, boring."
Ye Luan ignored the two of them, awestruck by Yunmengze's appearance.
It was an impossibly vast place.
Thousands of feet away, a waterfall cascaded down the mountain cliff.
Pale blue mist coiled around, and behind the cliff lay countless cages, known as the Thousand Buddha Caves.
The Thousand Buddha Caves held countless beasts, their roars and cries unending.
The Thousand Buddha Caves connected to a high platform in the center of the ground, a truly terrifying, blood-red platform.
To the west and east stood magnificent pavilions and grand halls, their corridors offering a clear view of the spectacle on the central platform.
"Ye Luan, do you know what this platform is called?"
The man's menacing aura instantly enveloped her. He held her tightly in his arms, a sinister smile on his face.
"It is called the Bone Platform."
As the name suggested, it was a platform built from mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
Winding, dragon-like ancient red trees with vast canopies stood rooted on the Bone Platform.
Flowers resembling phoenixes, their red branches stretching for tens of thousands of miles, connected to every opening of the Thousand Buddha Caves to the north, like a towering pagoda piercing the clouds.
A chill ran down Ye Luan's spine.
"Scared?"
She wasn't scared; she was disgusted.
On the towering ancient red tree, thousands upon thousands of corpses hung densely, suspended by red threads, unevenly spaced. Some were withered, others appeared recently deceased.
She gagged, feeling like she would vomit.
But the man behind her continued to laugh, "If you die on the Bone Platform, your body will also be hung up until it withers and turns black."
"Didn't Your Highness want me to serve you? If I truly died here, wouldn't Your Highness regret it?"
Xiao Chizhan caressed her waist and chuckled, "You won't die." With that, he pushed her, "Go ahead, I'll watch with great interest."
"Xiao Chizhan, you're sending a delicate young girl onto the Bone Platform, tsk, that's too cruel," Li Qiongyu said, raising an eyebrow.
Xiao Chizhan glanced back at him, "What? Do you want to go in her stead?"
"What are you arguing about? Come up, you can see the clearest from here."
Ye Luan heard the voice and looked up.
She saw Tantai Ye on the western pavilion, holding a gentle woman in his arms, laughing heartily as he looked towards them.
Lan Murou.
This woman must be the heroine Lan Murou mentioned in the book. She looked gentle and dignified, but when her gaze met Ye Luan's, it held a hint of pity.
Tsk.
She was pitying her.
Ye Luan's eyes flickered to Lan Murou's feet. The heavy iron chains were like shackles, not only binding her freedom but also her dignity.
Madmen.
Tantai Ye was also a madman, to put chains on a woman's feet.
Xiao Chizhan leaped directly onto the pavilion.
Li Qiongyu winked at her discreetly, and with a smile, handed her a dagger. "Miss Ye, good luck."
"Come on, release the Black Dragon."
Behind the Thousand Buddha Caves lay the Valley of Ten Thousand Beasts, filled with various wild creatures.
Ye Luan's eyes burned with fury. Watching the giant python being lowered into the cage, her fists clenched tightly.
This perverted bastard, he was trying to kill her again.
As soon as the giant python was released, it lunged towards Ye Luan standing on the platform. She quickly dodged, thrusting her dagger at the snake.
But this massive python was at least six meters long, truly terrifying.
Its skin was incredibly thick; her blade couldn't pierce it.
Its tail swept over, its cold, chilling tail brushing against her skin. Ye Luan felt utterly disgusted.
Its cold, greenish eyes stared at her intently, as if in a single misstep, it would open its maw and swallow her whole.
Strike the snake's seven inches.
But this giant python was incredibly cunning. If she hadn't dodged quickly, the python's colossal tail would have coiled around her like a vine. The chilling phosphorescence made Ye Luan curse aloud.
Truly a pervert, who kept giant pythons as pets.
On the pavilion.
The four sat on chairs, sipping tea, watching the figure darting about on the platform. Xiao Chizhan's eyes glinted with a bloodthirsty desire.
"Xiao Chizhan, what's with that expression?" Li Qiongyu kicked him.
Xiao Chizhan kicked him back, annoyance in his voice, "Don't f***ing touch me."
"Tsk, just keep acting out. I truly hope Heaven sends a woman to tame you someday, saving us from your bullying."
Tantai Ye roared with laughter, enjoying the spectacle. "Qiongyu, why are you so upset? Are you sticking up for Miss Ye?"
Li Qiongyu glanced at the green figure below and sneered, "You tortured her mercilessly a couple of days ago, and now you want her to die miserably in a snake's mouth. I say, Xiao Chizhan, build up some good karma. If you want to kill her, just do it quickly."
"What's it to you? Stop your incessant babbling?"
"Alright, alright, I can't afford to offend you."
Xiao Chizhan's gaze remained fixed on the figure below. His voice was cold yet filled with chilling intensity, "Did you give her that knife?"
"Yeah, what about it? Don't tell me you've lost all humanity. By the way, when did this Ye Luan learn martial arts?"
Tantai Ye, holding Lan Murou's hand with one hand and drinking wine with the other, scoffed at Li Qiongyu's words, "She's like a completely different person."
Xiao Chizhan recalled everything that had happened in the dark prison before. He snorted, "Test her martial arts."
An unknown demon!
He wanted to see how capable she truly was.
Lan Murou looked at these men, feeling a wave of disgust. She then glanced at Ye Luan below and sighed softly.
Getting involved with these demons meant losing a layer of skin even if they survived.
She looked again at the iron chain on her own feet, feeling a surge of helplessness.
"Is Liu Rongruo not coming today?"
Li Qiongyu said with a lewd smile, "Tantai Ye, that scumbag, as soon as he heard you were bringing a woman here, he went to notify her. She'll probably arrive tonight."
"Speaking of which, how long are you planning to stay?"
Unhappy at being insulted, Tantai Ye kicked Li Qiongyu's leg.
"Ouch! You two are so stingy."
Li Qiongyu cried out, clutching his leg and stumbling back a few steps.
Damn it.
The way they kicked him was like him kicking them ten times.
He couldn't compare.
He couldn't compare.
"We'll play for a few days. The autumn hunt is approaching, so we'll cause some commotion for a few days before returning."
Behind Yunmengze lay the imperial palace, with a vast hunting ground.
----
Ye Luan's strength was gradually ebbing. Looking at the blood on her hands, her gaze turned cold. This wouldn't do.
This python was clearly trained; it was too formidable.
"She's out of strength," Lan Murou said softly from the pavilion.