Chapter 4

Lijishui is the name of a river, its source being in Zhaoyao Mountain, which is the place Li Mang is looking for on this trip. Those who enjoy adventuring in the primeval forest all know how important streams are to the animals in the forest.

Therefore, Li Mang hopes to discover something at the source of Lijishui.

However, Li Mang stopped after walking less than a hundred meters, his eyes shining as he looked at a stone under his feet.

Yes, it was a stone, but this stone was golden, far more dazzling than the gold of the nouveau riche, and under the light, it was enough to blind Li Mang's titanium alloy eyes.

"My god!" Li Mang squatted down, picked up the stone, and examined it from all angles, even tapping it with the kitchen knife in his hand. He quickly determined that it was a piece of gold, and it was pure.

This was just the surface, yet there was gold exposed here. This piece was large, and at a glance, there was a patch of dazzling sand, shockingly all gold sand.

"Is this the rhythm of getting rich?" Li Mang said this very calmly.

Indeed, he was very calm. It's not that Li Mang didn't love money; it's just that even if he had money, he had nowhere to spend it. After all, Yanhuang restricted his freedom, leaving him no girls to date, no sports car to drive, and no need to rush to buy a house. The tens of thousands of yuan he had earned in the past six months were still in the bank!

Moreover, although Li Mang's hometown was not wealthy, it was at least well-fed and well-clothed, and everything was fine. He didn't seek great wealth and honor; he was a content person with little ambition.

Therefore, this large piece of gold and the gold sand all over the ground only left Li Mang deeply impressed, but that was all.

Besides, he had nothing with him now, so he would come back to dig later!

He threw the gold stone under a osmanthus tree and continued on his way.

"Chirp chirp..."

The monkey calls from ahead made Li Mang's spirits rise, but he didn't dare to approach easily. After all, monkeys are not necessarily friendly animals, let alone the monkeys in the world of the Classic of Mountains and Seas. Li Mang didn't know if they were savage.

Li Mang crouched and moved forward slowly. Soon, he saw the source of the calls, his face full of surprise, his mouth unable to close for a long time.

Ahead was Lijishui, a beautiful stream that cut through the ancient forest like a silver river. Through the Migu, Li Mang knew that this was Zhaoyao Mountain, and on the other side of the stream was the second mountain of the Que Mountain range—Tangting Mountain.

The calls came from the opposite Tangting Mountain. There were no other animals in sight, only a group of monkeys, the number of which could not be counted. It was a vast black mass, chaotic and scattered, with a scale of tens of thousands, like a beehive, truly terrifying.

What surprised Li Mang even more was that these were not ordinary monkeys. They looked like monkeys but had no tails, with thick arms larger than their legs, white fur, and were skilled climbers.

"Are these ancient white apes!" Li Mang swallowed his saliva, not only because of their strong bodies but also because of their numbers and fierce appearance. If he appeared on the other side rashly, he would probably be torn to pieces.

"Roar roar... Chirp chirp..."

Because of the danger, Li Mang had already reached the stream bank. The white apes on the opposite side naturally noticed his presence and gathered at the opposite bank, roaring and gesturing provocatively, their momentum strong.

If there wasn't a nearly fifty-meter-wide stream in between, these guys would probably have rushed over to tear Li Mang apart.

Li Mang didn't doubt this.

"Do I need to be like this!" Li Mang pretended to be calm, but he was actually very afraid. The momentum of the tens of thousands of monkeys on the opposite bank was overwhelming. Even though he knew they couldn't come over, he still felt intimidated. No wonder there were no other animals on this side; they were probably scared away.

Li Mang's gaze finally returned from the opposite side to the stream in front of him. Perhaps because it was near the source and there was no pollution, the water was incredibly clear, like a mirror.

The water in the middle of the stream was deep, about ten meters, but the bottom was still visible. The stones at the bottom and the fish in the water were clearly visible.

"What kind of fish are these!" Li Mang couldn't help but marvel.

The fish in the water were very peculiar, even bizarre. They were black, yellow, and purple, with various colors. Many of them had legs, some with two, some with four, which was still normal, but some had only one leg or three legs, and their appearances were very strange, completely beyond Li Mang's understanding.

However, these fish were very alert and had extremely strong senses. There wasn't a single one within ten meters of Li Mang, deliberately avoiding him.

"I was thinking of catching some to taste, but now it seems impossible; they're all too smart." Li Mang could only look and drool, not knowing why, but seeing these fish made him feel delicious. As a foodie, he had a good eye.

"I need to go upstream to the source."

After hesitating between going upstream or downstream, Li Mang finally decided to go upstream, hoping to find the source of Lijishui. This stream was so beautiful and magical; he wanted to see how it was born.

On this journey upstream, Li Mang's eyes were opened. Not only were the fish in the water peculiar, but there were also many interesting things on the shore.

Jade was the most common, both on the shore and in the water, each piece crystal clear and beautiful, a masterpiece in the outside world, worthy of the name "treasure." If he were to sell it, Li Mang could become a god of wealth just from the stream bank.

More interestingly, these jade pieces not only had different colors but also unique shapes. Although Li Mang convinced himself that he didn't have a bag to take them back, he couldn't resist stopping to pick up a beautiful piece each time. When his pockets were full, he took off his shirt and used it as a bag to carry the jade he liked, holding it in his hand.

But even so, Li Mang's clothes were soon full, and he had to reluctantly give up the search.

Unconsciously, Li Mang had already reached the source of Lijishui.

Ahead was a large, extensive stone mountain, from which the spring water seeped out, making a pleasant sound. The abundant water formed a beautiful forest on both sides, with osmanthus trees and a large area of Xiangfei bamboo, full of spiritual spots, like jade carvings, very beautiful.

Looking up, the stone mountain was towering, and behind it was a gray expanse, not white mist, as if there was no space ahead, or something was blocking the space ahead.

"Is this the end of the Southern Mountains?" Li Mang's heart was not calm, as the space here was too strange, defying common sense.

Recalling the map of the Southern Mountains through the Migu, the area ahead was indeed the end of the Southern Mountains. However, in real life, the Earth is round, with no concept of the end of the world, and space should not have an end.

But the scene in front of him was real.

"This is probably not the end of space, but a restriction, a limitation on my activity area in the world of the Classic of Mountains and Seas." Li Mang had another perspective.

This was not a random guess. Previously, he had tried to turn to the second page of the Classic of Mountains and Seas but failed. Now, recalling it, Li Mang speculated that it was due to his insufficient authority.

"Does this mean I can only move within the area of the Southern Mountains map?" Li Mang made a bold guess.

However, this was not the immediate concern. The most important thing now was to understand the situation of this space, especially the environment.

The area above was the end, and the area ahead was cut off by the stream, requiring swimming or making a bamboo raft to cross.

Li Mang had not seen the area behind and below, but according to the map of the Southern Mountains, there was probably no path behind, and the area below was also separated by Lijishui. To explore other areas of the Southern Mountains, Li Mang would have to cross Lijishui to the second mountain, Tangting Mountain, but the conditions were not currently favorable.

First, there was no bamboo raft. Although Li Mang could swim, there were snakes and even fierce fish in the water. Swimming rashly would likely result in his body being divided by unknown species.

Additionally, starting from Tangting Mountain, there would be fierce beasts in the mountains. Without mentioning others, the white apes on the opposite side looked very savage and should not be approached rashly.

"I need to familiarize myself with this first mountain to prepare for exploring the next mountain." Li Mang made a plan for himself.

However, what puzzled Li Mang was that, despite the beautiful scenery of Zhaoyao Mountain, with mountains and water, he had not seen a single wild animal, as if it were a safe zone.

"Is this because it is set up for my safety?" Li Mang seemed to understand, but he could not rule out the possibility that he had not encountered any yet, as he had only explored a small area.

"Wild pheasant!" Indeed, Li Mang's eyes lit up when he saw a pheasant with flamboyant feathers slowly walking out of the Xiangfei bamboo forest. Although it was just a pheasant, its feathers were smooth and long, very majestic and beautiful.

However, Li Mang didn't care about that. He only saw a delicious dish calling to him. He carefully placed the bag on the ground, thought for a moment, and put down the kitchen knife, holding only the 20-inch watermelon knife, and crouched to approach cautiously.

Li Mang's hometown was in the mountains, and he often caught pheasants and rabbits in the forest as a child, naturally developing a keen eye. The pheasant ahead was clearly fat and delicious, a must-catch.

"Strange, this pheasant isn't afraid of people." Li Mang stopped five meters away from the pheasant, feeling something was off.

Pheasants are very alert and would run at the slightest disturbance, but this one was peculiar. It had clearly noticed Li Mang's approach but only fluffed its feathers in a warning, arrogant manner, without fleeing.

"Heh! This pheasant probably hasn't encountered danger and thinks it's very strong!" Li Mang chuckled, gathered his strength, and lunged forward with the watermelon knife.

"Cluck cluck cluck!!!"

However, to his surprise, the arrogant pheasant not only didn't run but instead pushed off the ground with its feet, causing the sand and stones to collapse. It leaped high, spreading its sharp claws like spearheads and raising its sharp beak, flying quickly toward Li Mang, faster than Li Mang could imagine.

Caught off guard, Li Mang was approached by the pheasant, whose sharp claws fiercely clawed at his chest!

"Shriek shriek!!"

Li Mang was bare-chested, and his chest skin was like being scraped, leaving several deep blood marks.

"Thud!"

The pain was not over. The sharp beak of the pheasant fiercely pecked his shoulder, tearing out a large piece of flesh.

"Ah!"

Li Mang let out a painful cry but also reacted, using his instinct to dodge and swinging the watermelon knife with all his strength at the pheasant.

"Thud!"

The watermelon knife hit the pheasant's neck, severing its head, but the lower body of the pheasant did not die immediately. It struggled on the ground, and when its claws met the tough rocks, they were instantly shattered, a terrifying sight.