Starting as the heir of a marquis's mansion, I gained access to a summoning system.

But Dongfang Weiwo's expression became even more solemn.

Killing these three seemed easier than killing the first, not because they were weaker, but because of the restraint from Yan Fei's Sword Domain and the cooperation of everyone. Yan Fei's Sword Domain couldn't hold out for much longer, and this time he clearly saw that in the grayish-white viscous fluid flowing from the broken ends of these corroded bodies, extremely fine dark golden light threads were moving, flowing towards the depths of the marrow passage.

After they die, their souls and power gather back, going deeper into the void. The remaining corrupted entities will become even stronger.

"Let's go," Dongfang Weiwo said in a low voice, "Speed."

Wan Wujiu emerged from the darkness, glanced at the gray and white fragments scattered on the ground, then looked at the side crack that had closed again, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"Yes. But not far ahead is the first 'fork in the road.' The main marrow path will split into three levels there. The upper and lower levels are dead ends, only the middle level leads to the Ruins of Return. If you take the wrong level, you will fall into the underground river of marrow fluid and be swept to the outer edge of the Myriad Star Domain, never to return."

"You knew there was a hidden danger here all along," Dongfang Weiwo said.

"Of course," Wan Wujiu said. "Although I've never been inside, one of my people sent out a diagram before he died, before he became an eroded being. It only goes up to the second eye. So I really don't know anything before that."

"Where's the map?" Wu Wudi asked.

Wan Wujiu tapped his temple with his finger: "It's here. Thirty years have passed, and I can't forget it."

Lin Xiaoman suddenly spoke up: "He's right. The information left by the Demon God Lü in my blood ends at the entrance of the side branch. Beyond that, it's 'self-selection'."

Dongfang Weiwo took a deep breath. The pulsating sound deep within his marrow meridians rang out again, one after another, growing more and more rapid, as if urging him on.

"How do I get there?" he asked Wan Wujiu.

"The Three-Tiered Path has three levels, and each level's entrance is marked," Wan Wujiu said. "The upper level is marked 'Life,' the middle level 'Death,' and the lower level 'Return.' The path of the Demon God Lü leads to 'Death.' But it's said that the three entrances rotate every year, they're not fixed."

"Then how do you know which one is the middle manager?" Yan Fei asked.

"It's based on the bone growth lines." Wan Wujiu pointed to the extremely fine lines on the bone wall. "The growth lines on this coccyx grow one ring every year. The layer closest to the midline of the medullary cavity is the middle layer."

Dongfang Weiwo looked down at his feet. The patterns on the bone wall were as fine as ripples on a lake. If you looked closely, you could indeed see three very faint dividing lines extending forward from his feet.

"These bones are moving," Lin Xiaoman said softly. "With every step we take, the patterns are changing. When we reach the second eye, it might be a completely different set."

"So we'll talk about it when we get there," Wu Wudi said.

The group continued forward, their steps swift. The marrow passage narrowed further as they advanced, and more and more marrow fluid seeped from the bone walls. The poisonous mist was so thick it was almost visible, swirling like grayish-green smoke around their ankles. Yan Fei's sword domain remained enveloping them, keeping the poisonous mist at bay. A small pile of grayish-white powder had formed from the crack between his brows, but his stance remained remarkably steady.

They had traveled about a hundred zhang (approximately 300 meters) quickly.

A glimmer of light suddenly appeared in the darkness ahead.

A faint, cold white light leaked down from the top of the spinal canal, like stars in the night sky. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed to be an exposed section of the spinal canal, where the canal had broken off slightly, revealing the cavity above. Countless tiny specks of light floated within the cavity, like fireflies.

"This is a misaligned eye," Wan Wujiu said.

He stopped in his tracks.

The spinal canal splits into three branches here, extending diagonally upwards, directly forwards, and diagonally downwards respectively. The entrances to the three canals are almost identical, with smooth, dark bone walls that open wide.

"Which one?" Wu Wudi asked.

Wan Wujiu did not answer. He crouched down, his fingertips tracing the intersection of the three paths. There were no bone patterns there, only a very shallow palm print in the center of the ground. The palm print was slightly larger than normal, with the five fingers slightly spread, as if someone had gently pressed their palm onto wet clay, leaving this mark.

"Lu the Demon God," Lin Xiaoman said, squatting opposite him. She stretched out her left palm and compared it; her palm was a size smaller than the imprint.

"It's a man's hand," she said.

"This palm print has been here for thirty years," Wan Wujiu said. "The Demon God Lü must have hesitated here back then. Which path did he choose?"

No one answered. The entrances to all three paths were dark and deep. The wind howled from the lower entrance, carrying a damp, fishy smell. The wind from the upper entrance was extremely cold, like the starlight of the Myriad Stars Domain. The middle entrance was empty, like a stagnant pool.

Dongfang Weiwo walked to the palm print, knelt on one knee, and closed his eyes. His Bone Domain perception sank into the ground.

The skeletal structures of the three paths appeared simultaneously. The upper layer… contained bones. Not dead bones, but living ones, surrounded by a large amount of marrow fluid, with something slowly wriggling inside. The lower layer… was entirely underground rivers, the water being liquefied marrow, with countless fragments of bone floating within, like the Bone Plains outside the Myriad Star Domain. The middle layer… showed no reaction. No bones, no fluid, like a void.

He opened his eyes: "Which direction is the palm print? Which way should I press it?"

Lin Xiaoman examined it carefully for a moment: "The knuckles are pointing towards the middle layer." Her voice trembled slightly, "But the middle finger is slightly off-center, leaning towards... the lower layer."

Wan Wujiu frowned.

"When Lu Moshen pressed this palm print, his hand was trembling," Lin Xiaoman said. "He was pointing at the lower level, but the palm print veered back. It's like he wasn't even sure he could get this far."

"So which way should we go?" Wu Wudi asked.

Dongfang Weiwo stood up. He looked at the three intersections, then looked up at the light-filled gap between the vertebrae at the top.

"We won't take any of those three routes," he said.

Wan Wujiu's expression changed slightly.

"The entrance to the side branch is closed, but the direction of the side branch is different from these three," Dongfang Weiwo said. "The information that Demon God Lü gave to the guardian of the card ends at the side branch. This means that the guardian of the card's path is different from the path that Demon God Lü took back then."

He stared at the palm print: "This palm print was made by Lu Moshen himself, not by the guardian. There are guardians among us. The true path should be pointed out by Xiaoman."

Lin Xiaoman was taken aback and looked at him.

"In which direction does your blood beat the most fiercely?" Dongfang Weiwo asked.

Lin Xiaoman raised her left palm, the wound on her palm glowing faintly at the intersection of the three wounds. She slowly turned her body, as if guided by an invisible thread. Finally, she stopped.

She didn't face any path.

She was facing a ground marked with handprints.

"Below," she said, "there's something beneath the palm print."

Wan Wujiu's expression changed drastically.

"Cut open the ground," Dongfang Weiwo said.

Wu Wudi slashed down with his sword. The broken blade struck the palm print, cracking the bone-like layers of the ground. A dense, dark golden light surged from the crack, so dazzling that it blinded everyone instantly.

In the light, a strange, weary, and aged voice rang out:

"Finally, someone willing to ask the sign holder."

The sound paused, as if it were laughing.

"Very good. My wait was worthwhile."

Dark golden light surged from the crack, like a breath that had been buried for thirty years finally being exhaled.

The light was not dazzling, but it was so thick it was almost liquid. It slowly rose from the crack in the ground that Wu Wudi had cleaved open, coating all three entrances with a layer of dark gold.

Everyone's shadows were pulled behind them, except for Lin Xiaoman's shadow, which tilted towards the light, as if it were being gently pulled by something.

Wan Wujiu staggered back three steps, crashing into the bone wall, his vertical pupils shrinking to two tiny needles.

His snow-white little beast rolled off his shoulder, curled up on the ground, trembling, and made very faint whimpers, like a young animal driven to the brink of despair by its natural enemy.

"Don't come any closer!"

Wan Wujiu hissed, his voice losing its composure for the first time, "This is the 'Bone Soul Sound'—the sound left behind by the Demon God Lü using a section of his own marrow. Those with divine or demonic skeletons will be fine if they hear it, and the guardian of the token will be fine too, but others who hear it for too long will have their souls drawn out!"

Wu Wudi and Chuan Ying both changed color at the same time.

Yan Fei took a step to the side, his sword domain receding to protect himself. Chuan Ying placed a hand on Yan Fei's shoulder, their auras connecting to resist some invisible pull within the dark golden light.

Dongfang Weiwo stood beside the crack. The light that shone on him did not burn him; instead, it felt like warm water flowing over his bones. The divine and demonic skeleton resonated gently within him, as if in response.

That old, weary voice rang out again, coming from the depths of the crevice, as if someone were lying in the deepest, deepest place, speaking with their face upturned.

"Since you asked the sign keeper, it means you're not stupid enough to choose from those three paths."

Those three paths are called "Upper Life," "Middle Death," and "Lower Return." Those who choose Upper Life enter the bone marrow cavity and are consumed by the newly born divine and demonic bone marrow.

Those chosen to die enter the Bone Maze, where they are trapped for thirty years. Those chosen to return enter the Dark River of Marrow Fluid, swept to the outer edge of the Myriad Star Domain, their bones scattering into a handful of ash on the Bone Plain.

The voice paused, as if the person was panting.

"These three paths are all routes that I, Lü, once walked and then turned back to. If I hadn't been half-dead back then, any one of these three paths would have devoured my body completely."

Dongfang Weiwo crouched down and peered into the crack. It was extremely deep below, the dark golden light resembling a well. Something was slowly floating at the bottom of the well, like a bone submerged in water, or perhaps a mirror.

"That palm print is mine."

The voice continued, "When I got here, I was too weak to walk any further. With my last bit of strength, I pressed my palm against the ground, not to give directions, but to remember this fork in the road."

Those who come after me, if they follow only my map, will surely stop at a crossroads. If they follow my palm prints, they will surely think I chose the middle path. But neither is true. The true path only appeared after I died.

Lin Xiaoman suddenly took a step forward, knelt down, and placed her left palm on the edge of the crack in the ground. Her blood fell into the dark golden light, like ink into water, spreading into thin strands.

"It's because of the blood of the card holder," she said softly.