Following the mountain path forward, there were birds singing and flowers blooming, and the scenery was pleasant.
But the more it was like this, the tighter Changli's delicate brows became.
Logically speaking, the Fractsidus would definitely try to stop the wanderers from entering Mt. Firmament.
Even if they could only delay them for a while, it would still increase their chances of completely controlling the Sentinel.
Yet after walking for so long, not to mention the Fractsidus, they hadn't even seen the Exiles that usually spawn randomly everywhere.
Zane was already so hungry he'd started scratching his head?
Without star sounds, his whole body felt uncomfortable.
"Strange…" Rover also narrowed her eyes. With how the Fractsidus usually behaved, not showing up at a time like this was very abnormal.
Just like you couldn't expect Zane to be a quiet, handsome man.
If Zane goes quiet, he's either sleeping or up to something.
Soon, the group saw Zane running over from the distance carrying a big pile of things.
"Rover, Rover, just got these echo remnants, hurry and absorb them."
"Master, here are the sparrow plume fruits you like."
"Little Hawk, look, I dismantled a Court of Savantae mechanism for you, you can study it as much as you want."
———
Rover froze for a moment when she heard this, glancing at the double-crit echo remnant that had just been absorbed in the Pangu terminal.
...It's just a Court of Savantae mechanism, dismantle it if you want.
What could be more important than making her husband happy?
"Oh right, Rover, I just opened a treasure chest…"
Before Zane could finish speaking, he saw Rover draw her swift blade with killing intent.
No one could touch her treasure chests, just like no one could touch Stelle's trash cans, and no one could touch the Doctor's kettle.
After the brief interlude, the group had already arrived at the cave leading deeper into Mt. Firmament. Rover raised her eyes and saw a huge mountain standing in front of them like a barrier.
This mountain peak was like a massive wall, not only preventing clueless outsiders from barging in, but also stopping the creatures inside from accidentally leaving Mt. Firmament and losing their lifespan for no reason.
Changli looked at the cave in front of them, which had no obstruction at all, and couldn't help but feel puzzled.
"There should have been an insulating light barrier here… why is it gone?"
At the side, Zane, who had been catching butterflies with Stelle, suddenly stiffened and froze on the spot.
Stelle glanced at him in confusion and asked, "Why did you stop moving? That butterfly is about to get away."
Faced with Stelle's urging, Zane let out a dry laugh.
"Well, um, I suddenly remembered I left the air conditioner on at home. I have something to do, I'll get going first."
But just as he took a step, he felt a huge force grab the back of his neck. At the same time, Changli's half-smiling voice came from behind him.
"Zane.", Her originally gentle and elegant voice now sounded in Zane's ears like a call from hell.
"Ahahaha, Master, if I say I didn't mean to, it was an accident, would you believe me?"
But Zane didn't hear Changli respond. He could only feel the delicate hand gripping the back of his neck tightening more and more.
"Master… Master! I was wrong! Stop squeezing! My neck is going to break!"
Fortunately, not long after, Zane felt the hand on his neck slowly loosen.
After all, the insulating light barrier had already been dismantled. Even if she strangled Zane to death here, it wouldn't change the established fact.
Changli sighed helplessly and took the initiative to continue walking forward.
Inside the insulating light barrier, time stands still, and the creatures and objects within are well preserved.
And because of that, once the insulating light barrier is removed, the enemies frozen in time inside will also begin to move again.
Since the insulating light barrier in this cave had already been removed, if there were enemies inside, this amount of time would have been enough for them to hide and wait for an opportunity to ambush passing travelers.
...All risks must be eliminated at the source.
Thinking this, Changli took the lead and stepped into the cave first.
But the next second, she felt someone grab her arm, stopping her from moving forward.
Turning back, it was actually Zane, who had just been scolded.
Right now, he was grinning, a slightly silly smile appearing on his handsome face.
"Master, look, the insulating light barrier is gone, so shouldn't someone stay outside Mt. Firmament to prevent others from casually entering?"
"And Master, you once taught me that a person should take responsibility for their actions. I'm the one who broke the insulating light barrier, so shouldn't I be the one to go in and scout the way?"
Changli wanted to say the path ahead was dangerous, that she didn't want him to take the risk. But no matter how she tried, she couldn't pull her arm free from Zane's hand.
Looking at the young man in front of her who was now a head taller than her, Changli shook her head helplessly. She lightly tapped her toes, raised her hand, and gently stroked Zane's white hair, speaking softly,
"This journey is different from before. You must be careful."
"Also, while ensuring your own safety, head to Hong Town as quickly as possible. That is the hinterland of Mt. Firmament and where the villagers live. Jinhsi came to find the Sentinel, and she can't avoid passing through there."
"You should remember the way to Hong Town, right? Don't get lost again."
Seeing that Changli still had more to say, Zane's face fell. He quickly grabbed Rover and the Doctor, pulled Stelle along, and ran toward the depths of the cave.
"Don't worry, Master, I'll definitely do my best to ensure the safety of the people in Hong Town and bring Sister Jinhsi back safely."
Zane's figure gradually disappeared into the cave. Changli kept watching until the four figures were completely out of sight before reluctantly withdrawing her gaze.
A flicker of light flowed endlessly through her phoenix eyes, her expression deep and unreadable, as if she was thinking about something.
On the other side, Zane led the three of them in a sprint, yet they didn't encounter any enemies.
Soon, they arrived at the entrance of the time-flow barrier. A light screen like a bubble stretched across the exit of the cave. Under the sunlight shining from outside the cave, it showed a texture somewhat like porcelain.
Seeing that Zane had finally stopped, Rover exchanged a glance with the Doctor, who had been dragged along, and somewhat unhappily reached out a finger to poke the soft flesh at Zane's waist.
"You're really good to your Master Changli. Saying things like you accidentally broke the Court of Savantae insulating light barrier, or preventing innocent people from entering the mountain…"
"Isn't it just because you feel bad for your Master and don't want her to lose lifespan by entering Mt. Firmament?"
The Doctor, who had also seen through Zane's little thoughts, looked a bit dissatisfied. Her cheeks puffed up as she reached out and pinched the soft flesh on his waist.
Meanwhile, Stelle clearly wasn't afraid of stirring things up. She leaned closer to Zane, narrowed her eyes slightly, curled her lips, and revealed a mischievous smile.
"Oh? Why do I smell such a strong scent of vinegar? Whose jar of vinegar got knocked over… so hard to guess."
Facing the dissatisfaction of the two beauties and Stelle's instigation, Zane could only smile awkwardly.
"I don't want to lose any of my family, and that includes all of you… it's just that right now, the only ones who can help me are you…"
"Of course, if you don't want to enter the mountain, I won't force you…"
Before Zane could finish, a warm small hand covered his somewhat dry lips.
"Don't say such silly things. No matter where we go, we'll be with you. Besides, I also need to find Jinhsi and the Sentinel to learn about my past from them."
"Didn't you say it yourself? You don't want to lose any family. The same goes for us. We don't want to lose you either."
Standing beside Rover, the Doctor also nodded in agreement.
"Exactly. Whoever dares to block our way can have a taste of the baseball bat."
Stelle rolled up her sleeves and swung the bat a couple of times before resting it on her shoulder.
Looking at the determined faces of the three women, Zane wiped his sweat, moved.
'...Good thing Rover didn't realize the echo remnant I gave her came from this cave…'
"Once we reach the end of the cave, we'll truly enter the core area of Mt. Firmament's time flow.", As his voice fell, Zane was the first to pass through the time-flow light screen and step into Mt. Firmament.