After Wang Da finished speaking.

Baiyu didn't stop, either. He walked up to the large door, searched for an angle, and punched the door's pillar twice, causing a stone button to pop out from the pillar.

After Baiyu pressed the button.

The light screen of the door gradually disappeared.

Wang Da seemed a bit uncomfortable: "That's it? So simple?"

Baiyu shrugged: "It's that simple. Didn't the bookshelf clearly state how to open the door?"

Hearing Baiyu's words.

Wang Da leaned in for a closer look and found a small line of text carved under the bookshelf: "Knock on the door pillar to deactivate the mechanism."

However.

This line of text was very faint and could easily be overlooked if not paying attention.

Moreover, if the books on top were not removed.

This line of text would be completely invisible.

But for someone like Wang Da, a strong presence in the Eclipse Moon Realm, discovering this line of text wasn't difficult. He was just too tense, and the hanging clock above added to the urgency, so he had no mood to observe.

Soon.

Wang Da accepted the simplicity of the task.

And ahead.

Was a domain he had never ventured into.

All these years.

Wang Da had only reached the third trial and knew nothing about the subsequent stages.

The two continued climbing the stone steps.

Soon they reached the fourth trial.

In front of them was only a table, with two bowls placed on top, filled with a dark liquid.

Between the two bowls was a stone slab inscribed with the word "Drink."

"This... should we drink or not?"

Wang Da looked at Baiyu.

The latter had entered a realm Wang Da was unfamiliar with, the fourth trial.

At this point.

He no longer knew what action to take.

"What kind of person is your old friend? If she places two bowls here, what would happen if we don't drink?" Baiyu asked.

Wang Da pondered for a while.

Then he picked up a bowl of water and drank it down in one gulp.

After he drank, Baiyu also picked up the other bowl and drank it down. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Once both had finished, Baiyu turned the bowl over, revealing the word "Smash" written on the bottom.

Without hesitation.

Baiyu and Wang Da smashed the bowls.

Wang Da's action suggested his old friend was someone who disliked contradiction.

So whatever she said, they just needed to follow.

After the bowls were smashed, suddenly a cracking sound came from before them, as the floor tiles split open to reveal a downward passage.

Their destination was the mountain summit.

And this passage was clearly leading inside the mountain.

Wang Da hesitated a bit.

But Baiyu walked in with long strides, without any pause. Seeing this, Wang Da hurriedly followed suit.

They moved forward in the dark tunnel.

After a few steps.

A rustling sound echoed.

The torches on both sides of the tunnel walls began to ignite themselves from near to far, illuminating the dark space.

On the tunnel's ceiling.

A stone slab hovered at their entry point, inscribed with the word "Forward."

"See, your friend is urging us to go forward, what's there to be afraid of?"

Baiyu laughed.

Wang Da shook his head: "I'm not afraid, I just don't want to fail again. This is the farthest I've come. Thank you, Baiyu."

"No worries, it was a small act."

Baiyu brushed it off and took the lead along the tunnel's depths.

They advanced continuously.

The tunnel was much larger than Baiyu and Wang Da anticipated, with many branches and rooms, even traps that left both on edge. Had they triggered any, it would have been hard to handle.

However.

Following the stone slab's guidance, they encountered no danger, not even a scratch.

A crackling sound was heard at the tunnel's exit.

Baiyu and Wang Da kicked open the iron door and emerged from a mountain cave. Wang Da glanced around and quickly noticed the nearby mountain peak.

Indeed.

They had gone straight from the mountainside to the mountain top.

They were just a step away from the summit.

Success was near!

Wang Da's heart surged, clenching his fist as a bright light shone from his eyes: "Just this final stretch, Baiyu, let's go."

With those words.

He commenced his ascent.

Baiyu followed closely.

The last stretch posed no obstacles.

They safely reached the summit, where a small bamboo hut stood, surrounded by lush green bamboo forests. In front of a simple fence was a well, with several large water jars filled around it.

Inside the fence.

A young woman dressed in green sat on a small bamboo stool, playing a zither. The melodious tune spread all around, but beyond a certain distance, it vanished completely.

The woman looked to be no more than in her twenties.

Not due to any youthful appearance spell, but from Baiyu's sensed that she truly seemed as young as himself.

Wang Da seemingly hoped to woo a much younger woman; this young lady was in the prime of her youth, while Old Wang was likely old enough to be her grandfather, so how could she possibly give him a good impression?

No wonder she built a mountain to shield herself.

At this thought.

Baiyu silently offered his condolences for the young woman's situation.

He hadn't expected this conclusion, thinking Old Wang really did have an old friend up here.

"Xiaoqing, in just a few short years, you've grown up. When you came to the mountain, you were just a child. Where is your master? I'd like to see her. She promised me that if I could reach the mountain, she'd meet with me."

At this moment.

Wang Da wore a smile, seemingly trying to show a friendly side to the young girl.

Now Baiyu understood.

It seemed Wang Da had come to find this girl's master.

Xiaoqing's fingers halted on the zither: "Master is in the bamboo hut. If Elder Wang can enter, she will definitely meet you. But this last stretch, your companion cannot help you."

Wang Da nodded repeatedly: "Of course, Brother Baiyu, thank you for this. After this matter, I owe you a big favor."

Baiyu didn't answer, instead urging: "Go ahead, the final step, though possibly the hardest."

Wang Da took a deep breath.

Determination in his eyes, he began walking inside.

The road to the bamboo hut was merely ten meters or so, but as Wang Da stepped on it, his face changed suddenly, as if a heavy weight was bearing down on him, causing his knees to buckle, half-kneeling on the ground.

His face turned red, gasping for air.

Baiyu observed him and quickly realized it was not his body being influenced but his Spirit that was pressed to a standstill.