Chapter 464: Shocking Discovery! Huaxia Totemic Divine Beast!

Ning Fei walked out of the passage.

He took out his flashlight and illuminated the path ahead, while the drone cast its lights down from above.

Ahead lay several piles of broken stones.

"The passage is about twenty meters long. It's truly a perfect hiding spot."

"This place must have been a valley, surrounded by mountains on all sides with only one entrance. It wouldn't have lacked water or fertile land."

Ning Fei explained to the viewers in the live stream.

He crouched down to carefully examine the crushed rocks on the ground.

"Judging from the indentations in these stones, they have a history of at least a thousand years."

"It seems no one has been here for a very long time."

Stepping around the rubble, Ning Fei continued forward.

After a few short steps, a faint light appeared ahead.

"There's light, just as I thought."

"Usually, barring major upheavals like earthquakes, terrain can remain unchanged for millennia."

"Which means the real Peach Blossom Spring is very likely right in front of us!"

Ning Fei quickened his pace.

"Is that light really the Peach Blossom Spring?"

"Do you guys think there are living people inside?!"

"It's the 21st century, how could something so mysterious exist!"

"Don't scare me!"

"I suddenly feel a little scared."

"Scared +1!"

The further Ning Fei walked, the more nervous the viewers became.

The drone trailed behind him, capturing his every move.

Through the screen, the viewers watched Ning Fei step out of the darkness and into the light.

The drone immediately followed him out.

The video flared briefly, blinding everyone for a second before the image gradually sharpened.

"Hiss! This is..."

"My god, what did Temple Master Ning discover?"

Once the scene in the live stream became clear, every viewer gasped.

Even Ning Fei's expression turned somewhat solemn.

It was indeed a valley surrounded by sheer cliffs. As far as the eye could see, the only entrance was the passage right behind Ning Fei.

Lush green weeds overgrew the valley floor, and ahead, two rows of dilapidated dirt houses stood in ruins.

The presence of houses proved that people had once lived here.

More importantly, not far in front of Ning Fei was a massive, deep pit.

This pit was not naturally formed into a bowl-like depression.

Rather, it was perfectly square, as if it had been artificially excavated.

"I have a bad premonition."

"During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, wars raged endlessly. To escape the chaos and avoid conscription and taxes, many people chose to live in the wilderness."

"Living like this violated the imperial court's laws at the time. It was essentially a capital offense."

"Perhaps the ending of the Peach Blossom Spring wasn't as beautiful as the stories say."

Ning Fei slowly walked forward.

He finally reached the edge of the deep pit.

Everyone was intensely curious—what exactly was inside?

The drone hovered high above, filming downward.

The viewers saw that the contents of the pit defied all expectations.

Flowers!

There were flowers in the pit!

Yellow blooms filled the entire pit, looking exceptionally beautiful.

"How can there be flowers!"

"What a magical scene!"

"Is this really the Peach Blossom Spring Ruins?"

"No matter what, that row of houses is definitely an ancient ruin!"

"Temple Master Ning is truly awesome. He actually found the Peach Blossom Spring that's been hidden for thousands of years just like this!"

Ning Fei looked at the flowers down in the pit, pondering in silence.

Then, he sighed and slowly said, "These are winter jasmine flowers. Winter jasmine fears no bitter cold, thrives in any soil, and is highly adaptable. It's very common in Huaxia."

"Sometimes, winter jasmine grows very quickly on freshly swept graves. Because of this, there's another saying about them."

"That they are the emotional sustenance of the deceased, symbolizing the continuation of life."

Ning Fei's voice was steady and clear, bringing a sense of peace and tranquility to those who heard it.

"Why does Temple Master Ning seem a bit sad?"

"It seems like it."

"Look over there! Holy shit! Skeletons!"

"It's a skull, I see it too!"

Just then, the drone's camera zoomed in, and the viewers finally noticed a few bones exposed on the surface of the dirt beneath the winter jasmine.

From their shape and characteristics, they were unmistakably human skeletons.

The viewers grew tense, their fists clenching unconsciously.

If human skeletons could be seen near the surface of the deep pit, did that mean the people of the Peach Blossom Spring were buried inside it?

With that thought in mind, the viewers looked again at the winter jasmine swaying in the wind, feeling a sudden chill run through their bodies.

"The story of the Peach Blossom Spring is now very clear."

"A group of people, seeking to escape the ravages of war, conscription, and heavy taxes, found a valley blessed by nature and lived a life completely isolated from the rest of the world."

"A fisherman accidentally found his way here. The people of the Peach Blossom Spring falsely claimed they were refugees from the pre-Qin era, doing so to avoid legal punishment under the laws of that time."

"Afterward, the fisherman left and reported this to the local magistrate."

"The history books say the magistrate sent men to follow the fisherman back to the Peach Blossom Spring, but the markers he left were gone, so they never found it."

"However, the truth is that the magistrate's army did find the Peach Blossom Spring."

"They burned, killed, and pillaged this place. They simply told the outside world they never found it."

"The final sentence of the text states that Liu Ziji of Nanyang heard the story of the Peach Blossom Spring and gladly went searching for it. But instead of finding it, he returned, fell severely ill, and passed away shortly after."

"I believe Liu Ziji must have found the Peach Blossom Spring. Only, the Peach Blossom Spring he found was already a hellish landscape, ruined and strewn with corpses."

"That is why he fell severely ill as soon as he returned."

Ning Fei explained as he bypassed the giant pit and walked forward.

The atmosphere in the live stream was incredibly eerie.

It was as if the viewers could visualize the horrifying massacre that occurred here thousands of years ago.

The people here thought they had found a paradise where they could live in peace and happiness.

Little did they know that tragedy would soon follow.

Sunlight spilled down from above. Several massive boulders lay scattered across the valley, bearing the heavy marks of time.

The ground no longer showed any signs of fertile farmland; only weeds and wildflowers remained.

However, as he walked deeper into the valley, Ning Fei spotted an endlessly flowing little stream not far ahead. It ran straight through the valley before disappearing into the mountainside.

Most of the houses had collapsed beyond recognition, leaving behind only broken walls and ruins.

With every place he passed, Ning Fei pictured what it used to look like.

Surrounded by mountains and water, with rich and fertile land... in that era, the people here, far from the flames of war, must have lived a truly blissful life.

Beside the dwellings, Ning Fei spotted a stone platform, heavily rusted tools like an iron plow, and a dry well with its rim mostly shattered.

"To think the Peach Blossom Spring was real!"

"It's just a pity that it's no longer the utopia people yearn for!"

"No, the Peach Blossom Spring is a legacy. It represents the beautiful life that the people of Huaxia long for."

"Yeah, life today is countless times better than back then."

"Temple Master Ning is truly a godsend. To think he could actually find a place like this!"

"He actually found the Peach Blossom Spring Ruins!"

"How in the world did he know about it?"

Everyone buzzed with discussion.

The valley was deathly quiet. As Ning Fei walked through it, he didn't hear the slightest chirp of a bird or trill of an insect.

"Clatter."

Right at that moment, the sound of a falling stone suddenly echoed from the dilapidated house.

The noise was exceptionally distinct, and Ning Fei immediately looked over with a bewildered expression.

What was going on?

Could there be something living in the Peach Blossom Spring Ruins?

At the same time, the System's notification chime rang out in Ning Fei's mind:

"Ding! Rare Huaxia totemic divine beast discovered: Tengshe."

"Quest triggered: Tame and protect Tengshe."

"Quest Reward: Invisibility Card * 1."

"Invisibility Card: A card that allows the host to become temporarily invisible. Duration: 10 minutes. Can be canceled manually."

"Note: Tengshe possesses the bloodline of an ancient divine beast. All items and skills are ineffective against it."