At daybreak, the group rested, hastily ate some prepared dry rations and drank water, then quickly set out, following the route Gan Mingfeng had indicated deeper into Lishou Mountain.
Compared with their cautious probing at night, traveling by day was indeed far more efficient. After roughly two hours of walking, they left the Guardian Forest and truly entered Lishou Mountain itself.
Before their eyes stood towering ancient trees, sprawling thickets, all manner of rare flowers and herbs, and mountain peaks and stone forests looming hazily amid clouds and mist. A primordial, vast desolation rushed toward them.
Perhaps because of last night's great earthquake and the ensuing Beast Tide, their journey had been relatively smooth. Apart from encountering a few scattered minor vicious beasts, they had not suffered any serious attacks.
Yet the smoother things went, the more cautious they became. Gan Mingfeng's memories ended here; his greatest usefulness had been completely exhausted.
Once they entered the depths of Lishou Mountain, Gan Mingfeng no longer knew where they should go, what they should do, or what they might encounter.
Now that they had left the Guardian Forest, three paths lay before them, representing three possible routes.
One led straight from outside the Guardian Forest toward a cloud-shrouded peak. It appeared quite distant, and they would likely need to take a detour.
Another led south after leaving the Guardian Forest. Beyond an earthen slope lay another forest, unrelated to the Guardian Forest, though none knew what they might encounter there.
The final path headed northwest, where the terrain became increasingly barren. Compared to the distant cloud peak and the dense southern forest, it was utterly lifeless, and everyone could clearly sense an ominous aura.
The three paths plunged everyone into thought. However, Gan Mingfeng and Xu Tingyun immediately rejected the northwest passage,