Chapter 386

"Is everyone here?"

"Wang Er, did you forget the rules for entering the mountains? Where are the red cloth and the five grains? Go find them quickly..."

"Why are you crying? It will take two days at most!"

Early in the morning, Village Head Zhou was shouting outside the courtyard.

At this moment, he had changed into a hunter's outfit, made of coarse hemp and animal fur. Although it looked tattered, it was excellent for concealment.

He carried a bow on his back, a sword at his waist, and tools such as ropes, looking like an experienced old hunter at a glance.

Unlike other places, in this remote Longtan Village, if you want to be the village head, martial power is more important. Village Head Zhou is the most powerful hunter in recent years.

He originally only planned to take two people, but what happened yesterday made him change his mind and directly organize a small team.

If this matter is not resolved, the entire Longtan Village will have to relocate.

Adding manpower temporarily was naturally a mess, and almost all the hunters who often entered the mountains in Longtan Village were called out.

In the small courtyard, Wang Wang Daoxuan and the others were also preparing.

Although they had prepared their luggage and packed various Dharma artifacts and daily necessities, they still needed to prepare quite a bit to enter Inside Shennongjia.

As for Li Yan, he sat on the steps, looking at the dragon-patterned jade Gui.

"Little Brother Yan, did you see anything tricky?"

Seeing this, Sha Sha Li Fei hurriedly stepped forward to ask.

Li Yan rubbed the dragon-shaped jade Gui and frowned: "This object has the energy of the earth's veins, but it is as stable as Mount Tai and difficult to draw out. Looking at the shape, it is before the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. Judging from the color, it is not an object from a tomb, but has been soaked in water for many years..."

Sha Sha Li Fei's eyes lit up, "It wouldn't be from the Dragon Palace Water Mansion, would it?"

Wang Wang Daoxuan laughed dumbly when he heard this, "A flood dragon has a form, but a dragon can be large or small, hiding its form, and it is not something ordinary people can see. Why would it need a water mansion?"

"Then the Dragon Lady gave the jade, does it have another meaning?"

Li Yan shook his head, "I don't know. The Dragon Lady was sealed, and the God-Communication Technique couldn't communicate, and the dream was also blurry."

"Brother Lu San, how is it on your side?"

Lu San said in a muffled voice: "I wandered around the lakeside this morning. The animals here don't know about it; they are all ordinary things and can't feel the existence of the Dragon Lady."

Li Yan shook his head helplessly and put away the jade Gui, "Let's go first. If we find that Daoist Priest Yun on the road, maybe we can figure out the reason."

After some preparations, everyone finally set off.

The villagers of Longtan Village all came out to see them off, men, women, old and young, all with solemn expressions. Although Village Head Zhou didn't say anything, some things that happened last night had already spread by word of mouth and were known to everyone.

Plus Village Head Zhou suddenly summoned all the hunters.

Everyone knew that something must have happened...

"Go back, all of you, do what you need to do!"

Village Head Zhou waved his hand impatiently. He looked rough and careless, but in reality, he was stabilizing the hearts of the people. Before leaving, he also gave a look to several elders without a trace.

His entering the mountains this time was also a risk.

Some things had already been explained. If he couldn't come back this time, the elders in the village would make the decisions and prepare to leave their hometown.

In addition to Li Yan's group, Village Head Zhou also brought more than a dozen hunters, all of whom were good hands at entering the mountains.

Under the worried gazes of the crowd, the group left quickly, heading toward the back mountain, and disappeared into the thick fog...

…………

"We're here, it's the cave ahead."

Not long after entering the back mountain, Village Head Zhou pointed ahead.

Li Yan looked up and saw that the high mountains were blocking the way ahead. At the end of the rugged mountain path, there was a cave. It looked like a karst cave, but there were obvious traces of swords and axes at the entrance, which were ancient and covered with moss.

Gong Xun said: "Little Hero Li, it's right here."

"Many years ago, I was ordered to disguise myself and mix into the mountain village. The investigation in Zhushan, Yunyang was tight, so I thought about entering from Inside Shennongjia, and that's how I found out about this place."

Wang Wang Daoxuan became interested, stepped forward to observe the traces carefully, stroked his beard and said: "It's indeed been a long time. Maybe it was really opened up by the ancestors of the Chu State."

Sha Sha Li Fei laughed, "The ancient Chu ancestors were really good at finding things. Why did they open up a mountain path in such a remote place?"

Wang Wang Daoxuan shook his head, "The ancient Chu ancestors, through hardships and difficulties, from King Wuding of Shang to King Cheng of Zhou, repeatedly attacked Chu. I guess they also wanted to find a retreat in this Inside Shennongjia."

"The Daoist Priest is indeed knowledgeable."

Village Head Zhou, who was leading the way, hurriedly flattered him, "This mountain path, our ancestors didn't know who built it either. It was only when the Medicine Saint entered the mountains from here and found the ancient Chu ruins on the opposite side that it was confirmed."

"Hey, settling in Inside Shennongjia, isn't that asking for trouble?"

Li Yan was thoughtful and asked: "Inside Shennongjia is indeed extraordinary. Village Head Zhou, have you heard of any strange things?"

"There are plenty of those."

Village Head Zhou said in a deep voice: "Exactly, before entering the mountains, I'll tell you all about some taboos first."

"In Inside Shennongjia, it is mostly shrouded in clouds and mist, making it extremely easy to get lost, and there are all kinds of strange beasts, which are extremely dangerous."

"Just the ones passed down from generation to generation in the village, there are several kinds."

"One is called the Donkey-Headed Wolf, which we call the 'Donkey-Headed Hunzi.' It has a huge body, a head like a donkey, and often comes out of the mountains to cause trouble. There was a village nearby where children and women were eaten..."

"The water pools and ponds in Inside Shennongjia should also not be approached. I have seen a kind of giant toad with my own eyes, its skin was gray and white like a dead person, and it could spray water and mist..."

"According to the elders' legends, there are also Coffin Beasts and Mountain-Crossing Yellows, each more fierce than the last, but unfortunately, we haven't seen them."

As he spoke, he carefully looked at Wu Ba, "In addition, the most terrifying thing is the wild man. I heard that many years ago, they even came out of Inside Shennongjia in groups and abducted women."

"Go to your mother!"

Wu Ba cracked his big mouth and giggled foolishly.

Village Head Zhou: "..."

Sha Sha Li Fei hurriedly changed the subject, "Don't blame Old Brother Zhou, this silly boy only knows this one sentence. What taboos are there when entering the mountains?"

Village Head Zhou replied: "It's about the same as other places."

"First, you cannot speak loudly. After entering the mountains, you cannot call some wild beasts by their names. When you hit prey, don't say it's dead, but say it's asleep..."

"Second, don't talk about dreams in the morning, don't talk about killing at noon, and don't talk about ghosts and gods in the evening. When you hit something, worship the mountain god first..."

"Third, you cannot run around, deviate from the hunting path, and be careful of traps set by hunters in the past..."

While Village Head Zhou was explaining, the hunters in the village were holding a ceremony for entering the mountains, rubbing soil into an altar, burning ingots, incense, and candles, and killing a chicken, sprinkling the chicken blood at the cave entrance.

Not only that, they each tore a red cloth strip from their bodies and tied it to an old tree nearby.

The tree was densely packed with red ribbons, but some were ancient, weathered by wind, sun, and rain, and had already faded.

Village Head Zhou then explained: "This is a ceremony for entering the mountains. One is to sacrifice to the mountain god and inform him that we are entering the mountains, and the second is to tie a red rope so that even if something happens in the mountains, the soul can return to its hometown. Everyone..."

"The rules must naturally be followed."

Li Yan didn't waste any words, took a red cloth strip, and tied it to the tree.

Wang Wang Daoxuan and the others followed suit without the slightest impatience.

Although they were practitioners, they didn't have that kind of unnecessary arrogance. The taboos and customs of various places have been passed down for thousands of years and naturally have their reasons.

Even if it's just a ceremony, if it's not followed, the hunters who follow them into the mountains will inevitably have doubts in their hearts, creating hidden dangers.

Seeing them like this, Village Head Zhou was also relieved. After burning incense and kowtowing, he took out a small suona from his bosom and started playing.

The sound of this suona was not high-pitched, but rather dark and strange, making a wailing sound when played, like weeping and complaining.

Sha Sha Li Fei felt it was a bit creepy and was about to speak, but was waved off by Wang Wang Daoxuan, who whispered: "This is the sound of the Ju River, the ancient Chu legacy. It is played to sacrifice to the distant ancestor Zhurong. Don't disturb it..."

When everyone heard this, they stood honestly on the side.

The wind whistled, the clouds and mist swirled, and the ancient Chu music drifted. Looking at the mottled cave walls, Li Yan also seemed to feel the difficulty of the ancient Chu ancestors breaking through thorns and thistles in the wilderness...

After the ceremony, everyone immediately entered the mountain cave.

The mountain cave was dark and deep. They held torches and moved forward, and could vaguely hear the sound of dripping water. Not long after walking, they knew the reason. It turned out to be a karst cave with complex roads and many forks. The ancient Chu ancestors only needed to chisel the rock walls to penetrate the mountain range.

On some stalactites, there were still extinguished torches, and lime had been swept in areas leading to other cave regions.

Seeing Li Yan's confusion, Village Head Zhou explained: "According to the elders' legends, there is a kind of strange insect in the mountain cave called the 'Brittle Snake,' which can reach a hundred meters in length. When it touches a person, it will disperse and turn into many insects that swarm up, which is extremely poisonous, so lime is spread all year round to block them."

Li Yan pinched the formula, took a deep breath, his face calm, and didn't say anything more.

There was no strange smell in the cave, so he couldn't be bothered to pay attention.

On the way, they didn't encounter any danger. In less than the time it takes to burn three sticks of incense, everyone left the mountain cave and arrived at the other end of the mountain range.

He saw overlapping mountains ahead, shrouded in clouds and mist, with countless giant trees towering, blocking the sky and the sun, and he couldn't see the end from afar.

The mountain wind whistled, as if an invisible giant hand was pushing the clouds and mist to move forward, but the sun was never seen.

"Is this Inside Shennongjia?"

Sha Sha Li Fei saw this and couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

!.

Just standing here, he inexplicably felt a bit cold in his heart.

And Li Yan was also solemn.

He had also been to Inside Shennongjia in his previous life, but there was no such scene, and the energy of the gang and evil was lingering, not losing to a blessed land at all, but it was scattered and formless, without forming a spiritual aperture.

No wonder it could become one of the forbidden areas of the Divine Land.

"Everyone, let's go, be careful."

Village Head Zhou greeted, and then took the lead in front.

Li Yan was calm and followed behind him.

Compared to the hunter's experience, he still trusted his own supernatural powers more. If something happened, he could handle it in the first instance.

Of course, Lu San was their true confidence in entering the mountains!

He saw Lu San pinching the formula, listening while walking.

In the dense fog and forest, there were occasional howls of unknown wild beasts, and birds flew past between the mottled trees.

For ordinary people, these sounds only added to the terrifying atmosphere of Inside Shennongjia, but to Lu San, it was the animals in the forest chatting.

This information was extremely chaotic, and Lu San had to distinguish it carefully.

And in front, Village Head Zhou also explained while walking: "There are many divisions of territory in Inside Shennongjia, and the hunters of our Longtan Village only dare to walk a few hunting paths from ancient times, and no one dares to go deeper."

"Those who leave the hunting paths have never been able to come out alive. Daoist Priest Yun also often enters the mountains with us to collect herbs. We should be able to find clues on these hunting paths."

Gong Xun on the side asked in a deep voice: "Old Brother Zhou, you also know why I came this time, do you have any clues?"

"Of course."

When Village Head Zhou heard this, he hurriedly took out a leather map from his bosom, pointed to a place and said: "The source of the Ju River I came from is right here. The terrain there is high, the trees are dense, and the wind blows and the trees move all year round, making a loud sound, so it is called Xianglingou."

"Originally, I wanted to take you all to search from there, but that area has been occupied by the Lord Tian Sheng Sect rebel army, so I had to take a detour."

"Also, we are in this place now."

Seeing what the map showed, Li Yan nodded: "It's exactly as I guessed. The Donkey-Headed Wolves are also migrating from this direction toward us. They must be afraid of the trapped flood dragon and left."

"Let's go from this side!"

With a goal, everyone set off immediately.

However, not long after walking, problems arose again.

All around were dense mountain forests, towering trees, dense vegetation, plus the clouds and mist, and even the road back was not easy to find.

Taking out the Luo Pan, it was even more chaotic, sometimes spinning, sometimes still, completely unable to point the direction.

"Brother Lu San, release the falcon!"

Li Yan was not flustered and gave the order directly.

When Lu San heard this, he immediately raised his hand and waved. The falcon standing on Wu Ba's luggage suddenly flapped its wings and rushed into the sky, disappearing into the thick fog.

The falcon Lidong on his chest chirped loudly, and the little fox Chuyi beside him also chirped and circled around.

Lu San hurriedly comforted them, which made Li Yan and the others giggle. These little things liked to compete for favor on weekdays, but once there were outsiders, they immediately acted in unison, for example, the falcon borrowed from the Capital Guard was forced to follow Wu Ba.

By now, they could also see the emotions of the animals.

The falcon Lidong was clearly dissatisfied because its job had been snatched, but its injuries hadn't healed properly, so it couldn't fly.

And the little fox Chuyi was mocking it.

The emotions of animals are just that simple and straightforward.

Not long after, the falcon fell from the sky. Gong Xun took out the map, Lu San pointed here and there on it, until the falcon chirped, and then the orientation was determined.

This method of determining the orientation according to the terrain was a bit troublesome, but at least it allowed them not to get lost.

In this way, everyone moved forward along the outskirts of Inside Shennongjia.

Not long after, they discovered some wild beast corpses, gnawed into a mess and covered with maggots.

Lu San weighed the bite marks and nodded: "It was done by those Donkey-Headed Wolves, our direction is correct!"

Having found the right path, everyone's speed was faster.

!.

This is the outskirts of Inside Shennongjia after all, relatively safe. Along the way, even if there were bears or wild boars, they would quickly leave when they sensed that they were not easy to mess with.

Unknowingly, they walked for several hours.

The scenery in Inside Shennongjia was excellent, magnificent and quiet. Looking around, there were all kinds of plants, and the air was so fresh that it made people sweat on their backs.

However, after looking at it for a long time, it was just boring.

Sha Sha Li Fei couldn't help but take out his pocket watch and look at it, "It's past noon, let's find a place to rest for a while before talking."

"Fine."

Li Yan agreed.

Inside Shennongjia is dangerous in the first place, and there are demon people lurking, so they must maintain their combat power at all times and cannot be too exhausted.

But just at this moment, Wu Ba looked around, suddenly became excited, pointed to the west and shouted: "Home! Home!"

"Don't be excited, speak slowly."

Lu San hurriedly comforted him, and Wu Ba stabilized his mind, pointed to the north, "Home, that side, here... hunting!"

Although he stuttered, everyone understood what he meant.

Li Yan looked to the west thoughtfully and said in a deep voice: "Wu Ba's tribe has been destroyed by the Lord Tian Sheng Sect. Everyone be careful, maybe the demon people are lurking in that area."

"Brother Lu San, let the falcon check it out."

With an order, the falcon flapped its wings and flew into the high sky again.

Inside Shennongjia is shrouded in clouds and mist. Although it is past noon, they are in a dense forest, and they can't see the sky at all.

Chirp—!

Suddenly, a shrill falcon cry rang out in the distance.

It only cried once, and then there was no movement at all.

Lu San's face changed drastically when he heard this, "Not good! There is something in the sky that attacked the falcon."

"Quick, hide!"

Li Yan's brows furrowed, and he hurriedly gave the order.

There was no doubt that the other party also had aerial predators.

At this time, he couldn't care about being sad. Maybe they had already entered the territory of the Lord Tian Sheng Sect, and once discovered, they would be besieged.