But just as its claw was about to touch James Walker, a ghostly light on James Walker's body suddenly flickered violently, reaching an extreme in the blink of an eye, causing that eerie glow to envelop James Walker entirely. Right before the little monkey's stunned eyes, it saw James Walker's body vanish in an instant.

　　From the little monkey's perspective, James Walker was swallowed by that ghostly light. This scene made it immediately widen its eyes and let out a piercing screech. With a flash of red, it rushed to the spot where James Walker had disappeared, frantically searching, but in the end, it found nothing and stood there, frozen and motionless.

　　James Walker had no idea where he was. At this moment, he looked around in confusion. The area was shrouded in a white mist, making it impossible to see far; he could only vaguely make out what seemed to be a mountain peak ahead.

　　He had just woken up. He remembered being on Wulong Mountain before, but no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't figure out why he was here now.

　　A sense of vigilance slowly gathered in his eyes. He first lowered his head to glance at his chest, and immediately his heart skipped a beat—on his chest, the strange black shard was gone.

　　"Gone..." James Walker muttered in shock and uncertainty. He looked around once more before slowly standing up, his expression dark and cautious, as he walked toward the mountain peak shrouded in mist.

　　The mountain peak wasn't far away. It seemed like only a short while before James Walker stood at its base and looked up, drawing in a sharp breath.

　　It was indeed a mountain peak, but there was no vegetation on it. Instead, it was bare and seemed to have been worn smooth. Numerous totems were carved into its surface—mountains and rivers, strange beasts, the vast sky... and even some characters James Walker had never seen before, all exuding a primitive aura, as if they belonged to some ancient myth.

　　Almost the instant James Walker saw the carvings on the mountain, a rumbling sound echoed out. Right before his eyes, a crack suddenly appeared in the middle of the mountain, as if some invisible force had cleaved it open.

　　The crack was narrow, its end out of sight, and it lay right at James Walker's feet.

　　James Walker hesitated for a moment. After a brief struggle, he gritted his teeth. Since he had come here, and now had no idea how to leave—didn't even know where this place was—and with a path ahead, he had no choice but to move forward.

　　Deep down, he vaguely felt that this place must be connected to that black shard, because he clearly remembered the surging warmth it had released before.

　　Following the narrow crack into the mountain, James Walker felt as if he had been walking for a very long time. The path ahead gradually widened, and on the surrounding walls there were also many strange carvings. James Walker couldn't understand them. Some depicted medicinal herbs, while others showed naked, wild-haired people stirring those herbs in an even stranger large cauldron.

　　Looking at these carvings, James Walker's gaze finally reached a door at the end of the passage, and he stopped outside it.

　　There were carvings on the door as well. Five different herbs were depicted, each surrounded by irregular lines that emitted a ghostly glow familiar to James Walker, forming a circle around the five herbs and enveloping the door.

　　At the very center of the door were fifteen small sunken holes, seemingly meant to hold something, arranged in a circle.

　　James Walker frowned, carefully examining the door for a few moments. After glancing around, he focused his attention on the five herbs carved on the door.

　　"This is... Ironcore Stamen, that's right, it's Ironcore Stamen."

　　"This one... looks like Joyleaf, but also a bit like Ziling Grass..."

　　"And this is Shining Night Branch! I collect this one often."

　　"What is this one... looks so familiar..."

　　"I've never seen this last one before..." James Walker studied them for a long time, hesitating, unsure whether to try pushing the door to see if it would open.

　　But just as he hesitated, the circular lines surrounding the five herbs on the stone door suddenly began to spin, their ghostly light flashing intensely. As James Walker stared in surprise, the light emerged from the door and shot straight toward him.

　　The light was too fast for James Walker to dodge. In a flash, the ghostly glow enveloped him.

　　At the same time, a flood of memories that did not belong to James Walker suddenly filled his mind. These memories, like vivid images, seemed to be forcibly poured in from the ghostly light, making James Walker's head ache.

　　In those images, there was a phantom figure, reenacting scenes much like those in the carvings, tossing herbs into a strange large cauldron with practiced skill. Each time, the figure would sniff the herb before tossing it in, their expression grave. Sometimes, with a wave of the right hand, a sheet of flame would appear out of thin air, enveloping the cauldron.

　　The process was extremely complex, even the intensity of the flames was precisely controlled. James Walker had never seen anything like this before. In the tribe, things were never so complicated—herbs were usually eaten directly, or at most mashed into juice and mixed with other herbs to enhance their effects.

　　Unconsciously, he became immersed in these memories playing out in his mind, until, after a long time, the phantom figure slapped the cauldron with their right hand.

　　Immediately, the flames around the cauldron vanished. The person opened the strange lid, and James Walker saw at once that inside the cauldron were three small, round, green objects, each about the size of a fingernail.