The weather was hot, and the mountains felt even more oppressive. Huang Laoshi was drenched in sweat and felt miserable. He found a rock to sit on, fanning himself with his sleeve while keeping a vigilant eye on his surroundings.

They were deep in the mountains now, and the last thing he wanted was to encounter a wild beast. He carried a machete for protection, but he knew it would be useless against a real beast.

Lin Mu, on the other hand, looked every bit the pampered city boy. Even though he has decent stamina, if we really ran into danger, he'd probably wet his pants in fright. Huang Laoshi couldn't help but be secretly amused at the thought.

Lin Mu surveyed the mountain range, waiting for Huang Laoshi to rest. With his current Cultivation Level, such a small mountain path was a walk in the park. Even the most treacherous places would be like level ground to him. But Huang Laoshi was a mortal, after all.

"Hey, this is really strange," Huang Laoshi said with a puzzled look, slowly getting up to continue toward their destination. "Usually when I come into the mountains, I might not see any beasts, but I can always hear them. This time, though, it's completely silent."

He held the machete in his hand, his heart feeling heavy. The quieter it was, the more abnormal it seemed.

"Mr. Lin, you'd better stick close. If we run into trouble, I can't guarantee I can save you."

However, there was no response from behind.

Huang Laoshi's whole body tensed, and a cold sweat broke out on his skin.

"Mr. Lin?"

He called out again, but still there was no reply. His body went rigid as he turned, clutching the machete tightly and swallowing hard.

SWISH.

A sudden noise from the woods startled Huang Laoshi so badly that he squeezed his eyes shut and swung his machete wildly several times.

"Stay back! Don't come any closer, or I'll cut you down!"

Someone grabbed the machete.

"What are you doing?"

When Huang Laoshi slowly opened his eyes and saw it was Lin Mu, his entire body went limp with relief, and he almost collapsed to the ground.

"Mr. Lin, where did you go? Didn't I tell you to stick close to me?" Huang Laoshi let out a huge sigh of relief, having been scared half to death. He was just glad Lin Mu was alright. If something had really happened, he wouldn't be able to explain it to his nephew, and he might even face a lawsuit. These city people are so shrewd!

Lin Mu frowned. "I've been right behind you the whole time."

"What?" Huang Laoshi's eyes widened. "But just now I..."

"Don't talk!"

Suddenly, Huang Laoshi saw a blur in front of him as something shot out from Mr. Lin's body, and his face went pale with fright.

Lin Mu stepped in front of Huang Laoshi, his sharp gaze scanning the jungle.

Nothing!

Lin Mu's brows furrowed slightly. My senses shouldn't be wrong.

Huang Laoshi gripped his machete, his eyes darting around nervously. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was very wrong with this mountain.

"Be careful. Let's get what we came for and then head back," Lin Mu said, taking the lead.

"Right, right, right!" Huang Laoshi followed closely, feeling completely on edge.

As Lin Mu walked, his gaze swept the surroundings. His brows were knitted tightly as his Divine Sense continuously scanned the dense forest. Just moments ago, he had clearly sensed something approaching, but even with the power of his Divine Sense, he had been unable to pinpoint it. Coupled with Huang Laoshi's odd reaction earlier, Lin Mu felt something was deeply wrong.

Half an hour later, the two were nearly at their destination. Across a ditch, Lin Mu could see several green fruit trees hanging from the cliff ahead. The trees bore a dozen or so green fruits. On one tree, three of the fruits had already turned a deep, date-red color, looking extremely enticing.

Even from more than ten meters away, Lin Mu could smell a peculiar fragrance wafting over.

Green Spirit Fruit! And they're ripe!

Lin Mu was overjoyed, but he also grew more vigilant. Because amidst the fragrance, he could detect a faint wisp of... Corpse Qi.

Why is there Corpse Qi here? And it's moving. It... it seems to be avoiding my Divine Sense!

"Mr. Lin, look! Hundred Fragrance Fruit!" Huang Laoshi pointed to the trees ahead. "We've finally arrived."

All he had to do was get the Hundred Fragrance Fruit, and then he could go home. He'd already made up his mind never to return to Tiger's Lair Mountain again.

Lin Mu's eyes narrowed slightly. "Be careful!" he warned.

With that, Lin Mu slowly walked forward. Huang Laoshi followed closely, unable to hide the excitement on his face.

Lin Mu stopped at the edge of the ditch. It looked like it had been formed by rainwater runoff and wasn't very wide; a simple leap would be enough to cross it.

"There wasn't a ditch here the last time I came," Huang Laoshi said, confused. However, he quickly rationalized, "The weather in the mountains is unpredictable. It probably stormed here last night."

He laughed. "Mr. Lin, why don't you wait here? I'll go pick those Hundred Fragrance Fruits for you."

Before Lin Mu could speak, Huang Laoshi tucked his machete into his belt and leaped over the ditch.

ROAR!

Just as Huang Laoshi was about to land, an angry roar echoed from within the ditch. A huge, furry hand shot out, reaching for him.

"AH!"

Huang Laoshi cried out, his face turning deathly pale. He felt his body go limp, about to be seized by the massive hand.

"Vile creature, how dare you!"

At that moment, a light glinted in Lin Mu's eyes as he pointed a finger, shooting out a sharp ray. Immense sword intent erupted and shot forward.

PFFT!

A flash of sword-light sliced past, severing the hand that was about to seize Huang Laoshi. At the same time, Lin Mu leaped forward, grabbed Huang Laoshi, and pulled him back to safety on the ground.

ROAR!

A ghastly roar erupted, scaring the already petrified Huang Laoshi so badly that he wet his pants.

"Mr... Mr. Lin, what was that thing?"

Huang Laoshi's face was ashen. He swore to the heavens he had never seen such a terrifying hand in his life. It was like the claw of a beast. A beast?

"It's the Tomb-guarding Divine Beast!" Huang Laoshi suddenly screamed, falling to his knees with a thud and kowtowing toward the ditch. "Oh, great Divine Beast, General of Tiger's Lair, I, Huang Laoshi, didn't mean any harm! I have a family to care for, old and young! Please don't blame me!"

Ignoring Huang Laoshi, who was kowtowing and begging for mercy, Lin Mu narrowed his eyes and focused on the severed hand on the ground. Covered with black fur, it didn't look like a hand at all but a claw. The Corpse Qi he had sensed earlier emanated from the owner of this severed hand.

"To think I'd run into a cultivated Zombie here. What a rarity," Lin Mu mused with a light chuckle, no trace of fear in his eyes.

"A Zombie?" Huang Laoshi froze for a moment, then began to tremble like a leaf. "How can Zombies exist in this world? It's too terrifying! I want to go back! I want to go back!"

Lin Mu said indifferently, "If you're not afraid of dying, you can head down the mountain alone right now."

Huang Laoshi fell silent.

By now, the Zombie had already fled underground, and Lin Mu couldn't be bothered to pursue it. What made him curious was the rule of thumb that Spiritual Objects were always guarded by wild beasts. Yet, around this Green Spirit Fruit, there were no beasts to be found—only a lurking Zombie.

It seems this Tiger's Lair Mountain is more dangerous than I imagined.

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