Wang Bugui brought Puppet Chiou along as they traveled around the region, and they arrived at their destination, Heizhugou, a few days later. This was roughly more that 100 kilometers to the southwest of Ermei Mountain, and it was covered with rows after rows of bamboo which interlaced with each other. The brook that ran through it was deep, and the entire area was shrouded in mist, giving it a creepy quality. Even the things that happened here were extra strange.
The Yi People worshipped this place, while others thought that it contained too many secrets. The quality of life in Heizhugou was extremely good, and it was common knowledge that pandas ate bamboo, but the pandas here also ate meat. They even raided the livestock of the Yi People kept in their camps, and they could doze off after that without fearing any retaliation.
After Wang Bugui began asking around, he realized that this place was extremely mysterious. According to incomplete statistics, from 1951 till now, the Forestry Ministry of Southern Sichuan, the Sichuan Provincial Forestry Department search team, various survey teams and Yi People have met with mishaps while adventuring in this area. Three died, three people were injured, while two went missing.
According to the introduction given by an elder of the Yi People, Hu Zongnan of the Kuomintang let 30 of his remnant troops into Heizhugou, thinking that it would not be a problem since they had superior weapons. None of them managed to emerge alive, however. From then on, the legend of the 'Terrible Valley of Death' was created.
Many people died in Heizhugou, and those that survived had lost their wits. Any mention of the place would drive them into a state of fear and panic.
"What a strange and extraordinary place. Could there be some living being that does not belong to the mortal world residing there? I've to take a look for myself. If it's a demon causing all these disturbances, I'll make sure it dies!" Wang Bugui muttered to himself as he stood outside Heizhugou and thought. After making up his mind, he wanted to stride into the mysterious place.
"Young man, please don't enter. There's danger lurking in Heizhugou, and it'll hard for you to escape," an old man said as he suddenly appeared and stopped Wang Bugui from walking in.
"Don't worry, grandpa. I've made some enquires and I don't think this place will be too hard for me to handle," Wang Bugui said as he turned to smile at a old man with a wrinkly face and white hair.
"Sigh, I can see that you're no ordinary person. None of the animals in our camp dared to make any noise when you entered, and they even kowtowed to you. The others have not noticed this except me. Since you're determined to enter, I can't stop you. Just remember not to break into Stone Gate Pass, and you'll be fine," the old man advised.
"Stone Gate Pass? Please explain in greater to me, grandpa," Wang Bugui frowned as he stepped forward to receive the elder's advice.
"The vast valley above the pass is a restricted area designated by our ancestors. For generations, we've been instructed not to enter, or else we will be destroyed. Young man, you cannot try to force your way into Stone Gate Pass!" the old man warned as he grabbed Wang Bugui's hands, looking serious.
"Oh? I'll take note about this. Please rest assured, grandpa. I'll uncover the mystery of this place, and if all these troubles were caused by demons, I'll subdue them," Wang Bugui said with a laugh before bidding the elder farewall and entering Heizhugou.
"Every year, there will be people who do not believe the tales and enter that place, but how many of them will emerge? This young man looks unique. I hope he'll return safely," the old man muttered as he looked at Wang Bugui's figure disappear from sight. He let out a short sigh before turning back to the camp.
There were many mysteries about Heizhugou, and after Wang Bugui searched through the consciousness of the tourists that had come here for their holidays, he got to know a few more of them. It was said that a hunter of the Yi People had captured a black panther here once, and rumor has it that many other rare species of animals had not been discovered.
Second was the latitude of Heizhugou itself. It was as huge as that of the terrifying Bermuda Triangle and ancient pyramids of Egypt. Its highest peak was shaped like a triangle, causing it to resemble the pyramids. It gave of a golden glow as sunlight shone down upon it, making it look like a dazzling mountain of gold. As such, it was known as the 'Pyramid of Heizhugou'.
This 'pyramid' also served as a valuable vantage point of the entire Jiu Zhaigou area. Tourists who climbed to the top of the pyramid could see the entire ancient glacier, including Bingdou, the Triangular Peak, the V-shaped Valley along with other amazing places. Gazing far away, they could see the Sun set, and various wonderful sights from the sea and also the 'Buddha Light'.
Thousands of azaleas were growing at the foot of the pyramid, and flowers of many colors surrounded the area. Azaleas were especially abundant, and their colors were amazingly bright. It brought flavor to the entire Heizhugou, and they were a sight to behold. The beauty of the flowers seemed to be meant as a counterbalance for the terrible things that had happened in the place. What secret could be contained in thei beautiful yet mysterious place?
Wang Bugui darted through the Heizhugou region like a summer breeze, and his surroundings soon turned into a blur. He had been dashing around for 10 minutes now, but still he could not detect anything strange. This valley of barbarians seemed to be as ordinary as other valleys.
Aside from a black panther, he had also not spotted any undiscovered species of animals. He even went to the pyramid, and aside from many tourists there, he found nothing and left after enjoying the scenery for a while. He was pertubed; was this place not reputed to be filled with danger? Why could he not encounter anything dangerous then? Thinking about it, he immediately unleashed his sense field to search the region.
He heard some tourists speaking to the Yi Clan and got to know that there were already fewer terrible incidents that happened during the past few years. The land remained strange, though. It was situated on unique ground, and mist from the mountains always covered Heizhaigou. The mist could take many forms and shapes. During early morning, thick purple mist would billow, while grey mist would cover the skies when it was evening time. They moved and glowed erratically, and they were constantly changing.
The locals warned the tourists not to talk or shout loudly in the valley, as it would anger the Mountain Gods. This would result in them releasing a green mist from their mouths, and it would tow them away to be killed. Also, aside from the Stone Gate Pass, there was another spot known as the Lake of Azaleas.
There were two separate Lake of Azaleas, and they were designated as male and female respectively. Tourists could only view from afar and were not allowed to walk close to them. If one could hear the sound of crying coming from any of the lakes, then one would realize that the skies would turn dark, no matter how sunny the weather was, and rain would soon fall.
Wang Bugui was extremely curious and asked a random middle-aged man of the Yi People, "Uncle, do you know why the Lake of Azaleas are separated from each other?"
"No, I don't... stop asking me about that!" the man replied, his expression immediately turning dark, as if he was extremely respectful about the two lakes. Wang Bugui got more suspicious, as he was not sure if the man was truly unaware about the history of the lakes, or if he did not want to reveal any secret.
He then asked a few more locals, ranging from children a few years old to elderly folk up to 90 years of age. The latter group would shake their heads and reply that they did not know anything about the lakes, while the children, who were still full of innocence, would reply truthfully that they too did not know anything. Wang Bugui, however, possessed an extraordinary sixth sense, and he was very certain that the old people were lying to him.
"They must contain some unspeakable secrets. I'll investigate later at night," Wang Bugui muttered.
At 10 p.m., when everyone had returned back to the camp to rest, Wang Bugui snuck out under the cover of darkness. The locked down the location of the Lake of Azaleas within the blink of an eye, and he appeared between them in less than two mintues' time. He then leaped into the air and suspended himself in mid-air before channeling the maximum amount of sixth sense he had to observe the lakes carefully.
There were azaleas of various colors surrounding the edge of the lakes tightly. Wang Bugui searched carefully, but he did not come up with many discoveries. He then turned his sensory skills toward the bottom of the lakes, but still there was nothing extraordinary about them. He frowned and poured more divine energy into his sense field.
He opened his eyes suddenly to look at the lakes. Just now, when he searched the bottom of the lakes with his sense field, he had picked up the scent of blood. Even though it was minute, he could still sense it. He then unleashed the Divine Sense of his six senses, and a clear mist-like aura began to disperse from his body toward his back, bringing his senses to the maximum strength of his level.
"Open, Divine Eyes!"
Wang Bugui gave out a loud shout, and his eyeballs expanded by a few centimeters before his pupils transformed into a sea of stars. Some stars began to fall and shatter before a few complicated talismanic words began to flicker in his eyes. His Divine Eyes were completely opened. In fact, every practitioner contained stars in their eyes- it was a sign of someone close with Tao. They would conceal this unique feature from other civilians, however.
The first step to activating the Divine Eyes was to contain stars within one's eyes before using one's senses to feel the Tao within them. If one's understanding of Tao was strong, and one was fated to have Divine Eyes, one could use them. Wang Bugui could use them at such a young age because of the cultivation of his six senses, as well as the fact that he entered a state of meditation many times when training with the pendant. After observing the lakes with his Divine Eyes, he realized that they were actually huge tombs!
A man and a woman were buried in the male and female lakes respectively. Wang Bugui used his eyes to trace back through time to the beginning of the tragedy, and what he saw caused him to sigh before looking angrily at the Stone Gate Pass.