Chapter 2

Is this really the La Mountain?

Fang Ling looked at the mountain peak in front of him, which was over a thousand meters high, and his heart was filled with doubt.

He had led a team to La Mountain not long ago, and the mountain was only a hundred meters high. How could it be so tall and majestic? However, standing at the foot of the mountain, Fang Ling vaguely felt that this mountain peak did resemble the La Mountain he had visited.

Hmm, what are these light spots on the map?

While trying to determine the connection between the La Mountain in front of him and the one he had visited before his穿越, Fang Ling suddenly noticed a red light spot at the base of the La Mountain on the map in his mind.

Could this mark my position?

After all, he had received tour guide training and was familiar with navigation systems. After a moment of thought, Fang Ling made a judgment.

"Master Zhao, please open the gate to the La Mountain Secret Realm." The loud-voiced Zhang Zhisshi respectfully said to a man of average height wearing a light yellow Taoist robe.

Master Zhao glanced at Zhang Zhisshi indifferently, then took out several small, crystal-clear stones from his sleeve.

Fang Ling, being close, could see the stones clearly. They were only the size of a finger, crystal clear, and looked even more beautiful than crystal in the sunlight.

Are these diamonds?

But they didn't seem quite right. Could they be spirit stones?!

The concept of spirit stones was something Fang Ling had obtained from the original owner's memory. The reason the original owner remembered this concept so well was that a single spirit stone could be exchanged for a thousand taels of gold!

One must understand that in Dinging City, an ordinary person only needed five taels of gold a year to live without worry.

If these small stones were given to Fang Ling, he wouldn't need to risk his life in the La Mountain Secret Realm, which was said to be a place of nine deaths and one life.

Master Zhao's fingers moved, and he said, "Rise." The spirit stones formed a strange pattern in the air, and points of light rose from the spirit stones, gathering in the air.

Master Zhao, who had been relaxed, now looked serious. He carefully took out a yellow talisman from his sleeve and said, "Sacrifice!" to the pale white light spot in the air.

The yellow talisman floated strangely in the air and instantly emitted a red light, rushing toward the La Mountain Secret Realm.

A wall that Fang Ling couldn't see before showed a ripple like water waves under the impact of the red light. Under this ripple, a door large enough for two people to pass through appeared before everyone's eyes.

Master Zhao looked at the door and smiled again.

Zhang Zhisshi seemed to have breathed a sigh of relief. He respectfully said to Master Zhao, "Master, you have worked hard."

Master Zhao nodded and said, "You have five days, make good use of them."

As he spoke, Master Zhao suddenly let out a long howl.

Master Zhao's voice was long and deep, making Fang Ling's ears feel a bit numb.

With Master Zhao's howl, a large gray eagle with wings spanning half a zhang flew over from a distance.

As the gray eagle was about to fly to his side, Master Zhao lightly rose five zhang high and landed on the eagle like a withered leaf.

"Damn, what are you showing off for? You're just an old immortal at the seventh level of Qi cultivation. Wait until I break through to the Foundation Establishment stage in a few years, and I'll make you pay!" The fierce-looking man standing next to Fang Ling said with disdain after Master Zhao left.

But from his expression, Fang Ling knew that he was actually filled with jealousy toward the departing Master Zhao.

The seventh level of Qi cultivation was a hurdle for most cultivators in this world.

Before breaking through the seventh level, cultivators were just ordinary people, at most martial arts experts. But once they broke through to the seventh level of Qi cultivation, they became cultivators.

Cultivators not only represented strength but also a symbol of status.

In Dinging City, a cultivator could receive three hundred taels of gold annually from the city's government, even if they did nothing.

Although three hundred taels of gold were not much to a cultivator, it was a huge sum to ordinary people.

Many people saw becoming a cultivator as a leap like a carp jumping over the dragon gate.

Fang Ling looked at the fierce-looking man, and his worries grew. This man was definitely not a good person, and he was not pulling Fang Ling along for any good reason.

In such a deep mountain and old forest, with only the two of them, it was the best place to kill and bury a body...

"Everyone, hurry up. I wish you all a smooth journey." Zhang Zhisshi said solemnly by the entrance.

Everyone had been chatting and laughing just now, but now that the door was open, no one had the heart to talk.

After all, this was a path of nine deaths and one life. Even those with good skills couldn't be 100% sure they would come out alive.

They walked through the door one by one, and the mountain body appeared before them. Although the shape of the mountain in the La Mountain Secret Realm was the same as the one Fang Ling had visited, the inside was desolate, with only wild grass and rocks. There were no stone steps or signs of human passage.

"Brothers, I hope we meet again in five days." The man called Skinny Monkey bowed to everyone.

Everyone nodded and then, in默契, formed pairs and walked up the mountain, each choosing a different path.

"Kid, let's go. You walk in front!" The fierce-looking man stood next to Fang Ling, looking at him with a cat-playing-with-a-mouse expression.

Walking in front was naturally the most dangerous!

"Ah!"

A shrill scream suddenly rang out.

Fang Ling turned his head and saw that about twenty zhang away, a man's body had strangely split into two halves in mid-air.

Blood was flowing, but in the scream, the man had silently fallen.

Many people were looking at the fallen man, their faces pale, as if the dead man was themselves.

Fang Ling didn't know how many of these people had a relationship with the dead man, but he knew that just a moment ago, the man had been bowing and saying he would see them in five days.

But now, the man had died mysteriously!

His words of "see you later" still echoed in Fang Ling's ears.

Most of the herbs in the La Mountain Secret Realm were used by cultivators, but few cultivators came to pick them.

This was because it was also very dangerous for cultivators here.

Just the spatial rift that killed the man just now would leave even a seventh-level Qi cultivator like Master Zhao with no chance to resist.

Therefore, no cultivators were willing to come here personally. They used money to drive ordinary people to fight here, using the lives of these ordinary people to obtain what they needed.

Heaven and Earth are not benevolent; they treat all things as straw dogs!

For this almost cliché saying, Fang Ling now had a new understanding.

"Brother, brother..."

The man who was paired with the dead man called out in sorrow, but he didn't dare to move an inch toward the dead man.

"What's there to be sad about? If you're a picker, you have to risk your life!" The fierce-looking man said, pushing Fang Ling's shoulder hard. "Hurry up!"

If it were earlier, Fang Ling might have boldly walked forward, but now, he didn't dare to walk randomly.

After a moment of thought, Fang Ling decided to follow the route on the map in his mind.

Since he was unsure, he might as well take a chance following the map.

Seeing that Fang Ling was hesitating and not moving forward, the man reached out to grab him. "Kid, what are you up to?"

Fang Ling looked coldly at the man and said calmly, "I'll walk my way, you walk yours. We have different paths, so we shouldn't be a team!"

The man looked at the stubborn Fang Ling, first stunned, then a cruel light flashed in his eyes. But he seemed to have some reservations and laughed, "Kid, I'm taking care of you. Don't be ungrateful. Hurry up and walk forward."

Fang Ling didn't say anything, but his heart was cold. Although he was sure this was the first time he had met the man, from the man's words, he had a feeling that the man was after him!

The reason Fang Ling had said that earlier was not just out of stubbornness but also to test the man's reaction.

If the man really didn't care about him, he would have acted by now, not showing any hesitation.

The more hesitation, the more it indicated a problem.

When the red dot on the map aligned with the path into the mountain, Fang Ling started walking forward, very slowly, observing his surroundings with every step.

According to the map, there should have been a wooden walkway here, but now it was no different from other areas, filled with rocks and various plants.

This path would have been impossible for the old Fang Ling to walk on. But now, with the cultivation of the second level of Qi, these rocks were no obstacle.

Although the second level of Qi was not high, it allowed one to lift a thousand catties and move as light as a swallow, easily jumping over a few meters.

After walking for half an hour, Fang Ling had entered the mountain for several hundred meters. The mountain path was calm, with no signs of danger.

The only sounds Fang Ling could hear were his and the man's footsteps.

"Brother, my name is Fang Ling. What's your honorable surname?" Fang Ling asked the man as he walked forward.

The man grunted, "I know your name is Fang Ling. Focus on the path, don't get distracted."

Fang Ling sneered inwardly. Although he didn't turn his head, he knew the man was also very nervous, but this nervousness was not because of Fang Ling, but because of the unknown dangers hidden in the La Mountain Secret Realm.

"Brother, we're a team now, it's a kind of fate. If I don't know your name, it would be awkward to call you. Besides, when we leave this La Mountain, if someone asks who I went with, and I say I don't know, they'll laugh at me."

Fang Ling's words made the man laugh out loud, full of ridicule. But he still laughed and said, "I'm Luo Jie. Remember that."

Fang Ling understood the ridicule. After a moment of thought, he kicked a stone casually in a direction that deviated from the map's path.

As the stone rolled, Fang Ling felt a sense of anticipation rise in his heart!