Chapter 5

The inexplicable irritability made Lin Zheng very uncomfortable. For the first time, he felt an urgent need to understand himself. This hollow feeling had been haunting him for three whole years, tormenting him every moment. This time, he was so close to the truth that Lin Zheng could no longer control himself, and he roared to the sky!

Roar! Roar! Roar!

Lin Zheng's roar startled a flock of birds. After venting his anger, Lin Zheng calmed down and found a safe cave at the edge of the mountain to hide in. In two days, he would set out. Lin Zheng pondered to himself that he must remain calm to ensure he had sufficient strength and energy to face the next eight days. After all, the most terrifying thing in these vast mountains was not the countless wild beasts, but the selfishness among people!

The two days passed in a flash. On this morning, as the sky just began to brighten, Lin Zheng woke up from his meditation, feeling refreshed. He stood up and stretched his body, his joints cracking. It was finally time to set out! If he was careful, he should be able to reach the mountain stream quickly according to the route in his memory.

Leaving the cave, Lin Zheng moved continuously through the mountains. With his exceptional perception, he quickly changed his path whenever he sensed the approach of a strange beast. By noon, Lin Zheng found a dense tree, made some simple preparations, and hid himself.

Lin Zheng's body was covered in various colored plant juices, making it difficult for anyone to spot him even if they deliberately looked up into the tree!

On this journey, he had left no traces, but he had encountered many corpses of his fellow disciples. It seemed that someone had finally made their move. For this assessment, the participants had brought countless life-saving methods, various magical treasures, and divine weapons. Killing was much easier than searching for treasures in the deep mountains!

However, the smell of the plant juices on his body was really unbearable! Of course, this superb hiding technique was largely due to the old man's deliberate "care" over the past three years. The old man had tricked him countless times, and the back mountain of the sect had many hot springs, which became a frequent haunt for the female disciples. The old man, of course, was a regular visitor. In the first year, the old man, pretending to be a transcendent sage, deceived him into sneaking around the back mountain. They had walked every inch of the vast back mountain, and each time they were discovered, the old man would unceremoniously abandon him and run away!

If he followed the old man, he would fall into countless traps and leave many traces. The old man was very skilled at hiding in the forest, knowing how to move in different terrains, how to control his steps, how to blend into the surroundings, and how to identify various plants and their characteristics and habitats, as well as the presence of fierce beasts. Over the three years, Lin Zheng had learned all of the old man's survival skills in the forest, and with his exceptional spiritual perception, he had surpassed the old man. This was the only thing he was proud of!

Thinking about this, it seemed the old man had started planning something three years ago. When he returned, he would have to ask the old man clearly. Lin Zheng muttered to himself for a while, swallowed a grain of fasting pill, and began to recover his energy!

For two consecutive days, Lin Zheng traveled quickly. Along the way, he saw many signs of battles, bloodstains, broken weapons, torn clothes, and skeletons stripped of flesh by wild beasts. It seemed that many people had taken this route. He had not encountered any danger for two days, probably because the previous people had already dealt with the threats. After all, there were not many particularly fierce beasts on this route!

If his memory served him right, he would reach the mountain stream the next day! Lin Zheng calculated step by step in his mind. He would rest well tonight and set out early tomorrow morning to reach the destination as soon as possible and then return to the camp!

On the fifth day, Lin Zheng woke up from his meditation as the sky just began to brighten. He used some plants and flowers he had collected along the way to cover the strange smell on his body, then painted himself in various colors. He swallowed a fasting pill given by the fat man and hurriedly set out! Along the way, he ignored the colorful scenery and the distant sounds of battles among his fellow disciples, carefully avoiding conflicts. After all, his cultivation was too weak. Over the past few days, he had relied on the fasting pills from the fat man, otherwise, making a fire in the deep mountains would have caused many unnecessary troubles. After all, the dry food he brought was limited, and he couldn't keep eating wild fruits!

After crossing two more hills, Lin Zheng stopped at a misty area. Entering this dense fog, he would soon reach the mountain stream. As long as he could successfully retrieve the Netherworld Grass, he would be one step closer to understanding his origins. It felt as if the layers of fog were slowly dissipating, and Lin Zheng had a sense of clarity! After adjusting himself, Lin Zheng plunged into the dense fog!

The fog covered a grassland with a few scattered, not very tall trees. The visibility was not high, so Lin Zheng had to be very careful. He heightened his senses, carefully perceived the surroundings, and began to explore at a slower pace!

This place was truly eerie. A cold wind blew, making Lin Zheng shiver as if the cold from the depths of darkness was freezing him. Lin Zheng tried to recall the location he had glimpsed last time and crushed a few jade talismans, creating a faint protective barrier around him, which made him feel a bit more comfortable!

After walking for about an hour in the direction of his memory, Lin Zheng heard the sound of a gentle stream. He was close. Lin Zheng quickened his pace and heightened his attention, crushing a few more defensive jade talismans. In such a place, a single mistake could be fatal. Given his strength, the more cautious he was, the better. Usually, such cold and dark places were home to rare wild beasts or incomprehensible soul creatures. After walking for less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the fog gradually thickened and then thinned. Lin Zheng stopped, and before him was a winding river, with no visible source or end. On the other side of the river was a sandy beach, and beyond that, he could see nothing. He would have to cross the river to check, hoping that the Netherworld Grass was on the other side; otherwise, this trip would be in vain!

Lin Zheng took out the jade talisman given by the fat man and carefully observed the surroundings, finding no abnormalities. He slowly emerged from the fog and approached the river. He kicked a stone into the water, and nothing happened. Lin Zheng took a deep breath, squatted by the river, and took out a long silver needle from his chest, inserting it into the water and then examining it. Finding no abnormalities, he added a few more jade talismans to his body and entered the river!

The water was not deep, only reaching his calves, but it was bone-chillingly cold, slowly spreading from his feet upward. Soon, Lin Zheng felt numb all over. He was only a few meters from the opposite bank. Biting his lip, he took out the silver needle and stabbed it into his arm, the pain driving away the cold. Seizing this brief moment, Lin Zheng struggled to reach the other side!

Finally, just before losing consciousness, Lin Zheng safely reached the shore. Lying on the sandy beach, he panted heavily, struggling to reach into his chest and take out a jade talisman, which he bit and broke. He was so weak that he couldn't even crush the jade talisman. Lin Zheng laughed bitterly in his heart, but his face showed no expression. A warm feeling soon enveloped his body, and although he was still numb, he felt much better!

Lin Zheng lay by the river for about the time it takes to burn three incense sticks before slowly getting up. He quickly covered his tracks and continued forward. After crossing the sandy beach and the dense fog, he saw a large, semi-circular cave. A cold wind blew through the cave, but there was no echo. Lin Zheng felt uneasy. Having come this far, he wouldn't be satisfied if he didn't explore the cave!

Lin Zheng found a safe place, began to meditate to recover his energy, and released a thread of spiritual perception to probe the cave. To his surprise, the thread of perception disappeared, swallowed by the cave!

What was going on? Lin Zheng sat down to adjust his breathing. After a while, he stood up, his face showing unprecedented determination. He held the jade talisman given by the fat man in one hand and continuously crushed the few remaining defensive talismans with the other. He took large steps into the cave, and soon, his figure disappeared from the entrance, which slowly closed!

The fog outside instantly became denser. The river Lin Zheng had crossed rose like a divine dragon, circling above the cave, constantly changing. Ancient demons, mighty heroes, headless giants, armless war gods, fallen immortals, wingless angels, shattered Buddhas, and roaring sages!

Countless strange phenomena roared silently, and the rolling clouds surged. Time seemed to pass in an instant, yet it lasted for a long time! The strange phenomena slowly disappeared, as if they had never appeared!

However, above the fog, a different kind of celestial phenomenon emerged. The fluctuations from the phenomenon spread far and wide, causing the wild beasts in the vast mountains to panic and tremble uncontrollably. The people searching for items in the mountains were stunned by the distant fluctuations!

Everyone looked in the direction of Lin Zheng, but they saw nothing, only feeling a powerful and overwhelming aura that seemed to come from the primitive era! The fluctuations passed quickly, and the wild beasts gradually calmed down, but the people of the Wu Kong Sect were drenched in cold sweat!

"Could some rare treasure have appeared?" This was what everyone thought after calming down. Everyone knew that although the vast mountains were not boundless, they were vast. Mountains of this scale existed all over the continent, but it was said that the vast mountains had existed for more than a million years, enduring historical changes and natural transformations without disappearing. Could it be that the rumors of the vast mountains containing heaven-defying treasures were true?

Everyone secretly planned to investigate once they found the items they needed. The fastest way was to obtain the items from their fellow disciples who had already completed their tasks or to attack those who had obtained simple items!

For a moment, the eyes of those searching for items in the mountains flashed with a bloodthirsty light!

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