Chapter 36: Humans don't graze; it must be a demonic beast!

He began to carefully retrace every previous attempt and every detail, trying to pinpoint the source of the problem.

"That shouldn't be right. Based on my deductions and observations, pressing the rocks on both sides should have been the correct way to trigger the mechanism." Yun Yi reaffirmed his logic, yet the doubts in his heart grew like wild weeds, impossible to suppress.

Just as he was lost in thought, Yun Yi slowly stood up, preparing to try again.

However, fate did not seem intent on letting him succeed so easily.

The moment he stood up, one of his four hind legs suddenly stepped into thin air. His entire body tilted violently forward, nearly sending him crashing to the ground.

"What? Since when was there a hole here?" Yun Yi exclaimed, a flash of astonishment in his eyes.

He spun around quickly, his gaze falling on the spot where he had just stumbled. Indeed, there was a small, inconspicuous pit hidden in the dim environment; had he not stepped into it, he would never have noticed it.

"A pit..." Yun Yi repeated the word under his breath, and like a bolt of lightning, a flash of inspiration struck his mind.

He snapped his head up, his eyes gleaming with excitement, and without hesitation, he spread his wings and soared straight toward the sky.

In mid-air, Yun Yi looked down at the land like an eagle, using his unique compound eyes to carefully examine the pit below.

As the full view of the pit came into focus, a wave of shock washed over him: "What? It’s gourd-shaped!"

The shape of the pit was strikingly similar to a gourd—narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, with a clever constriction in the middle that formed a natural bottleneck. There were no traces of artificial carving, yet it exuded a sense of natural, effortless design.

Yun Yi’s heart suddenly cleared; he felt he had found the key to cracking the mechanism.

This discovery thrilled him. "It seems that as long as I take the rocks from the small and large caves, and place them into this gourd-shaped pit in a specific order, I can trigger the mechanism and reveal the hidden secret."

At this thought, his tail flicked involuntarily—a subtle manifestation of his mounting excitement.

He could not wait to act. Moving with lithe grace between the caves, it didn't take long for him to retrieve the rocks from the small and large caves and carry them carefully to the edge of the gourd-shaped pit.

"Small one first, then the large one," Yun Yi whispered to himself, his expression focused and determined.

He gently placed the rock from the small cave into the upper part of the pit, then steadily set the rock from the large cave into the lower part.

As soon as the two rocks made contact with the inner walls of the pit, the entire gourd-shaped cave began to vibrate. The mountain stone seemed to tremble, emitting a dull, rumbling sound.

"What’s happening? Did I get it wrong?" Looking at the cave that seemed on the verge of collapse, an ominous premonition surged in Yun Yi’s heart.

He looked around nervously, unwilling to believe his judgment could be flawed. After all, he had spent so much effort finding this clue; how could he fail now?

"Impossible." Yun Yi gritted his teeth, deciding to wait a moment longer. He would at least wait until the cave completely collapsed before leaving. After all, a moment of carelessness could mean missing the crucial instant to solve the mechanism.

And so, Yun Yi waited anxiously within the shaking, crumbling cave.

Suddenly, he noticed something strange at the connection point between the small and large caves.

A powerful surge of energy radiated from the pit, forcing him to scramble out of the way. Then, to his amazement, he watched as the small and large caves miraculously merged together, forming a brand-new, much larger cavern.

"They’ve merged into a single cave!" Yun Yi’s eyes widened, shimmering with excitement, and a surge of indescribable joy filled his heart.

He knew he had finally found the key to the mechanism.

This cave was unlike any he had known before; its structure was more complex, with passages crisscrossing like a massive labyrinth.

Yun Yi carefully observed every detail of the cave. He noticed marks on the cave walls that appeared to be deliberately carved, while in the corners lay scattered small stone tools, crude furniture, and many nut shells—clear signs that someone had lived here.

"Has someone actually lived in this cave?" A flicker of doubt crossed his mind, but he quickly cast it aside.

He didn't care if it had been inhabited; he had only one goal—to find the treasure.

"Wait, if someone lives here, they will return sooner or later. I must get my hands on the treasure before they come back." Yun Yi plotted to himself and began to scour the seemingly abandoned cave.

His eyes scanned every corner like searchlights, not letting a single clue that might lead to treasure escape his notice.

However, as he delved deeper into his search, he began to notice something amiss.

The layout and decor of this cave were completely different from the human dwellings he was familiar with; instead, it exuded a dense, subterranean atmosphere.

He crouched down and examined the soil of the cave, finding traces of grass and mud mixed within.

"No, this doesn't seem to be human. It’s from a creature that lives underground." Yun Yi mused, his nose twitching slightly as he sniffed the damp, earthy scent of the cave, which was laced with the faint fragrance of grass.

Looking closely, he saw tiny grass roots and clumps of soil mixed into the ground beneath his feet—a sight that would never appear in a human dwelling.

"Humans don't eat grass. Oh well, it doesn't matter if it was inhabited by humans or not. Since I, Yun Yi, went through so much trouble to find this place, I must see if there is any treasure of value to me here."

Yun Yi’s gaze sharpened, and he began a meticulous search of every corner of the cave.

However, after a thorough investigation, Yun Yi could not help but frown, a sense of disappointment rising in his chest.

"You’ve got to be kidding me, there’s nothing? This cave looked so mysterious, and it turns out to be an empty shell?"

Unwilling to give up, he made another round, and after confirming there was truly nothing worth taking, he sighed and decided to rest for a moment.

"Forget it, I’ll take a break. Maybe once I’m rested, I’ll discover something I missed before." With this thought, he swept his eyes across his surroundings and finally landed on an ordinary-looking stone stool.

Yun Yi hopped lightly onto the stool, preparing to sit. But the moment his backside touched the stone, a strange vibration emanated from beneath the seat, making his whole body shudder.

"Eh? Beneath this stool..." Yun Yi’s heart skipped a beat, and he immediately became alert.

He carefully used his claws to gently scrape away the dirt around the edge of the stone stool, afraid of disturbing whatever might be there.

As the dirt was gradually cleared away, Yun Yi discovered that something was hidden beneath the stool, and an inexplicable sense of tension quietly crept into his heart.