Entering the Mountains

The Shuofeng Mountain Range lay a hundred li south of Shuofeng City. At Lu Ming's current speed, it would take at least several hours to reach it.

Going there and back would take almost an entire day, so he had to consider the matter of spending the night in the mountains.

Without a doubt, the forest would be even more dangerous at night, so he had to make every possible preparation.

Fortunately, he had thought of this long ago. Thus, when he had been reading in Old Man Zhao's home, he had mainly looked through material related to various demonic beasts, medicinal herbs, ores, and the like.

That way, he would not miss any treasures when the time came.

Besides that, he had specifically read quite a few books describing the terrain, scenery, and other aspects of the Shuofeng Mountain Range.

So now, all he needed to prepare was some insect-repelling powder and similar items.

It took him most of the day to get everything ready.

"You must remember this: in the wilderness, the most terrifying thing isn't demonic beasts, but the human heart. Don't trust others too easily."

Old Man Zhao naturally knew about Lu Ming's plans and was not surprised by his choice. He merely gave him a few reminders before his departure.

Lu Ming was not really a child. After all the ups and downs of his previous life, he naturally understood that the human heart was difficult to fathom.

Besides, he had grown up steeped in all kinds of martial arts novels and had seen quite a bit.

Even so, his heart warmed. He could feel that Old Man Zhao truly cared about him. "Don't worry, Old Man. I'll bring you some fresh venison when I come back."

Without getting caught up in sentimental farewells, he finished speaking, slung his long saber over his shoulder, and strode away in style.

"A fledgling eagle spreads its wings. Whether it soars through the skies or withers away, everything depends on you taking each step yourself."

Watching Lu Ming's figure cross the single-plank bridge, Old Man Zhao suddenly murmured those words before lying back down.

After spending this period of time with Lu Ming, he knew that Lu Ming's mind was far beyond that of ordinary people.

Thus, he was not too worried.

Of course, there was still danger—and a great deal of it at that. But as he had said, whether Lu Ming soared or withered would depend on Lu Ming facing it himself.

At this moment, Lu Ming had already reached the street. He was not walking very quickly because he was wondering whether he should first retrieve the two books hidden outside the northern city.

But after thinking it over, he gave up on the idea.

For one thing, he should not carry too many things with him on this trip into the mountains.

For another, he was afraid someone might be lying in wait nearby.

After so much time, Old Man Heavenly Saber's tomb had probably already been discovered. Once the discoverers saw the remaining treasures, there was a high chance they would lie in wait nearby for him to return.

Moreover, the place where he had hidden the books was not far from the tomb.

He did not want to walk straight into a trap.

Thus, he stopped hesitating, picked up the pace, and headed directly for the southern city gate.

The northern part of Shuofeng City was not entirely flatland. There were also woods and hills, though they were very small, more like a little mound.

Deep in the woods where Lu Ming had awakened last time, the fully opened Stone Coffin lay there in isolation, with silence all around it.

There was not even the sound of insects.

But after only a short while, a rustling sound suddenly came from the distance. It turned out to be the sound of feet treading across the sand.

Around a dozen people approached. At their head was a burly, bearded man.

They went straight to the Stone Coffin.

"Leader, we've been lying in wait for more than half a month. It looks like the person who left those footprints isn't coming back."

A young man spoke.

The bearded man frowned at the Stone Coffin before him without saying a word. After a moment, he turned and asked an old man wearing a hat, "Advisor Liu, what do you think?"

Advisor Liu shook his folding fan and replied confidently, "In answer to you, Leader, it's as I said before. Aside from that person's footprints, there are also the tracks of a fierce tiger here. Combined with the small box of gold and silver left inside the tomb, we can infer that the man only had time to loot the things inside the Stone Coffin before being frightened away by that tiger."

"So if he isn't dead, he'll definitely come back for the treasure."

The bearded man neither agreed nor disagreed. He turned to ask another person, "Have you found that fierce tiger?"

The man hurriedly replied, "In answer to you, Leader, not yet. That tiger probably doesn't live in this forest. We haven't found its den."

"But we've already had people expand the search area." Perhaps because he had nothing to show for his efforts, he hurriedly added that sentence.

"Have the people lying in wait near the official road outside seen anything suspicious lately?"

"In answer to you, Leader, they haven't either." The man hesitated.

"In other words, neither the man nor the tiger has been found, and we can't even determine whether that man was eaten?"

The bearded man's voice was somewhat cold.

Everyone around him hurriedly lowered their heads, not daring to answer. Even the previously confident advisor stopped shaking his fan.

"Hmph!"

Seeing that no one could give him a definite answer, the bearded man snorted coldly. He seized the edge of the Stone Coffin, and a chunk was effortlessly torn away as though it were tofu. He then crushed it into powder.

His face was filled with unwillingness. Anyone could imagine that the truly valuable treasures were inside the Stone Coffin.

But now, only a few scattered skeletons remained inside.

"Keep watch for a few more days. Continue searching for the man's whereabouts as well. We must determine whether he's dead!"

"Yes!"

On the other side, Lu Ming naturally had no idea that he had inadvertently avoided an encounter. He was currently using the [Soaring Cloud Skill] to race along the official road.

He was exhilarated.

He found that using lightness skills in an open area felt completely different from using them in a narrow place. It gave him the feeling of breaking free from restraints, of roaming wherever he pleased beneath heaven and earth.

What a thrill.

"Now I finally feel a little like the heroes from martial arts novels."

Holding his long saber, Lu Ming glanced back at the city left far behind him and sighed with emotion. Then he gathered his thoughts and focused on hurrying along.

The southern city gate had always been bustling, but the farther one went from the city gate, the fewer people there were. After turning onto the small path leading into the Shuofeng Mountain Range, people became even scarcer.

He basically encountered no one.

But Lu Ming instead became even more cautious, because the surroundings were no longer open. Strictly speaking, he had more or less entered the outer reaches of the Shuofeng Mountain Range.

It was only because Martial Artists entered and left the area so frequently year-round that the range of the mountains' outskirts had continually shrunk inward.

After walking for another half an hour or so, Lu Ming no longer saw any roads. At the same time, the woods grew denser. In other words, he had finally arrived.

He drew a deep breath and prepared to step inside.

But at that moment, a series of heavy footsteps suddenly came from ahead, as if someone were about to emerge.

He hurriedly placed a hand on his saber hilt and prepared himself. Almost in the next second, the owner of the footsteps appeared—a man carrying a wild boar on his back.

The man was clearly somewhat surprised to see Lu Ming, but after giving him a few cold glances, he simply continued walking outward on his own.

"As expected of someone who dares enter the mountains. Even a random person has reached the seventh layer of Inner Qi."

Only after the man's figure vanished did Lu Ming remove his hand from the saber hilt. He was not surprised that the other party had not said a single word.

In the wilderness, slaughter was everywhere: man against beast, man against man. Not provoking someone already counted as the greatest kindness.

As for Lu Ming himself, so long as others did not provoke him, he would not take the initiative to start a conflict.

Without thinking any more about it, Lu Ming continued into the mountains. With no road, every step was difficult. On top of that, the trees were tall and the woods dense, making visibility poor.

Thus, he advanced very slowly.

It was not until more than a quarter of an hour later that he encountered his first opponent.