He tried to push open a bronze door with force, and a slightly grating metallic sound rang out as the door was opened.

William Carter did not go in immediately. He stood outside for a moment, and only after the air had circulated did he cautiously step inside. It was very quiet within, as if cut off from the outside world—so silent you could hear a pin drop. But it was bare, with nothing inside.

There was nothing on the floor or the walls—no other objects at all.

The other two bronze houses were the same: empty inside, with no tables or chairs.

After a careful inspection, he found nothing left behind; the bronze houses were simply empty.

William Carter stepped back out, looking at the three bronze houses, filled with confusion. Were these buildings where ancient people lived, or were they used for rituals?

In that distant ancient era, this was truly extravagant!

Historical records state that when the Simuwu Ding was cast during the Yin-Shang period, it took two to three hundred craftsmen working closely together to barely complete it.

In ancient times, how difficult would it have been to cast three bronze houses?!

William Carter lingered here for a long time. Finally, he climbed the mountain again. After several hours, he was almost at the summit, about two hundred meters away, and he was sweating profusely.

He was in excellent physical condition, tall and strong, but climbing such a great mountain for so long was still extremely exhausting.

As he neared the summit and looked out as far as he could see, the mountains undulated and the land was vast, making the individual seem incredibly small, like a speck of dust.

Standing atop the giant mountain, looking up at the azure sky so close at hand, he felt his heart open up, able to forget all worries. Personal honor and disgrace, everything, seemed insignificant.

The altitude here was already very high, yet there was no snow, and there were still plants growing, which struck William Carter as odd.

“There are traces of lightning strikes!”

William Carter discovered scorch marks on the mountain, evidence of being struck by lightning. Large areas of vegetation had been reduced to ashes, leaving a patch of blackness.

In addition, the rocks had been split open, and large sections of the mountainside were damaged.

This made him even more certain that the thick fog and swirling blue light here a few days ago were actually lightning; this area had been struck by lightning.

The road ahead was difficult, with huge rocks piled up. William Carter detoured, trying to ascend from the other side of the mountain.

However, when he rounded the mountain and reached the other side of the summit, his body stiffened slightly, his pupils contracted, and for the first time he felt such shock.

Even when he saw the bronze houses, he hadn’t felt this way.

A landslide had occurred on this side of the mountain, with earth and rocks tumbling down in a thick layer, revealing a metallic sheen.

“A bronze mountain!”

After the earth and rocks had fallen away, the scene revealed was truly astonishing.

The summit area was actually made of bronze, once buried beneath the soil.

And this was not a small area—nearly two hundred meters from the summit, this whole expanse now showed a bronze luster.

How could one not have other thoughts? Was this mountain made of bronze, its surface covered by earth and stone, with the “real scene” beneath?

It was simply inconceivable!

What the truth was, no one could say, but at the very least, this two-hundred-meter-high section of the mountain was bronze—enough to shock the world.

William Carter was stunned. This was a mountain in Kunlun, and its interior was bronze, overturning his long-held beliefs and challenging his established views.

He didn’t believe in those mystical things, always treating so-called legends as mere stories.

But now, there was something uncanny here, something that defied explanation.

After the lightning strike, the truth of the bronze summit was revealed.

What happened here was truly astonishing!

William Carter climbed up along the bronze mountain, but stopped when he was about a hundred meters from the top, because it was extremely steep here—a sheer bronze cliff, almost impossible to climb further.

At the same time, he caught a whiff of a fresh fragrance, carried by the wind.

This area was all bronze, cold metal, and earlier he had seen no vegetation—just bare rock.

William Carter looked up, searching carefully.

Sure enough, he saw it: on the bronze cliff, there was a plant!

That area was already part of the summit. He retreated, then searched for another route from a different direction, gradually getting closer, wanting a better look.

Soon after, though he still couldn’t reach the summit, he could see clearly.

A lush green sapling, just over three feet tall, had actually taken root in the bronze cliff, bearing a single flower bud, about to bloom.

William Carter was sure he wasn’t mistaken—there was no earth or stone there, only bronze, and yet it had rooted itself in the bronze cliff. It was truly inconceivable.

It was astonishing, almost incomprehensible.

He changed position, choosing a spot more suitable for climbing, getting even closer. He could see clearly now—the sapling was indeed rooted in the bronze!

Chapter 0004: The Strange Tree and the Fierce Beast

At the summit of Kunlun Mountain, on the highest cliff, a three-foot-tall sapling grew alone.

It treated the bronze as soil and nourishment, stubbornly taking root, its whole body a lustrous green, glowing with vitality.

The trunk was as thick as a wrist. Though not tall, it was covered in old, cracked bark, like layers of scales, giving it an ancient, powerful look.

Its leaves looked as if carved from green jade, translucent and full of spirit, shaped like a child’s palm, holding some crystal-clear dewdrops. When the breeze blew, they rolled like white pearls on a jade plate.

At the top of the sapling grew a flower bud, the size of a fist, entirely silver-white but flecked with gold, waiting to bloom on the sheer cliff, already exuding a delicate fragrance—truly beautiful.