Mountain Taoist Temple

Since Chen Yuanye, a member of the Chen Family Fortress, had already spoken, Lin Yu naturally felt no pity whatsoever.

Although Three Suns, as a mandrill, is not very stable at pulling a cart, a two-legged creature always has the advantage of agility compared to a four-legged animal.

Lin Yu gave the order to Three Suns, and then the Yaomo pulling the cart stood up and pushed it outwards with both hands.

Although the villagers of Chen Family Fortress were manipulated and had bizarre appearances, they did not receive any enhancements; they were still just mortals after all!

Three Suns reached out and pushed, and instantly more than ten villagers either fell to the ground or were knocked away!

Chen Yuanye wasn't idle either; he used his spear like a club, sweeping it left and right to knock away those blocking his way.

Aren't you afraid that your fellow villagers are still alive?

Lin Yu looked at Chen Yuanye, who acted decisively, and couldn't help but ask.

Chen Yuanye said in a low voice, "His arms and legs are bent and he's still moving, how could he possibly be alive... Why would I hold onto such unrealistic fantasies?"

Although Chen Yuanye had previously hidden underground, afraid to show himself, and his heart wavered because of the betrayal by his closest relatives, but...

He was, after all, Martial Artists of this Prison Mountain Realm!

Born and raised here, I learned martial arts here from a young age how cruel and ruthless this world can be.

Despite a brief period of confusion, once Lin Yu encouraged him to move forward, he was determined not to let his weakness and emotions cloud his judgment in the face of this cruel situation.

Chen Yuanye recognized the twisted, puppet-like villagers in front of him at a glance.

They are the aunt who used to give her candy when she was a child, the second uncle who supported her after her father passed away, and the cousin who specially helped her repair the roof during the summer to keep her from getting too hot...

He was the cousin who had gone cave explorations with him; the cousin who encouraged him to learn martial arts after he discovered his great strength; and the cousin who often hid at his house after being beaten up, vowing never to go back to his aunt's house again...

Indeed, Chen Yuanye also had a glimmer of hope: what if they were still alive? After all, their expressions still looked so vibrant!

But...

He knew it was just a fantasy!

"Waaah--!"

The spear swept across, producing a fierce whistling sound, like the homeland beneath their feet Wailing.

Fuck you!

Chen Yuanye unleashed a flurry of spear strikes, working in conjunction with Three Suns Sheng to break through the encirclement!

Before us stood the gate of Chen Family Fortress, its stone gate a deep, dark color washed away by the torrential rain.

Three Suns stepped forward and used both hands to smash open the tightly closed gate. Then, the caravan carrying the twelve people left Chen Family Fortress!

Chen Yuanye gripped his spear tightly and slumped back into the carriage, feeling excruciating pain throughout his body, as if his body was being torn apart inch by inch.

"Hiss..."

He exhaled a breath of stale air, grinned, and looked back into the distance, speaking with a self-deprecating laugh.

"Having roamed the martial world for many years, this is the first time I've ever teamed up with a Yaomo to fight against my own fellow villagers."

At the entrance of Chen Family Fortress, the villagers stood before the damaged gate, like statues, gazing at the departing caravan through the rain.

"Junior sister, where to next?"

Chen Yuanye asked, and Lin Yu casually replied, "You'll have to ask you that, Senior Brother —we're pretending to run, but we can't actually run."

"So you'd better choose a route with seemingly safe places along the way that are still within the Double Saw Mountain range as our base..."

As Lin Yu spoke, Chen Yuanye thought for a moment, and then spoke.

"I do know a place. Heading north to the shady side of Shuangju Mountain, there's a dilapidated Daoist temple. It's said that it was originally built by disciples of the Taiqing Sect after they returned to their hometown. It's been abandoned for a hundred years, but some of the magic arrays inside are still active. But to be honest, against any powerful demons... those hundred-year-old arrays are probably unlikely to be of much use."

Chen Yuanye spoke, Lin Yu nodded.

"Okay, that's it -- Senior Brother, do you know how to get there?"

"Of course, I'm familiar with every stone and grain of sand in Double Saw Mountain. Even after a long time, I'm sure I won't get the general direction wrong!"

"Turn left ahead!"

Chen Yuanye once again acted as the navigator.

Seeing that Chen Yuanye knew the way, Lin Yu once again unleashed his Mental Power to explore the surroundings for any new attacks.

Strangely, once we left Chen Family Fortress, the entire Double Saw Mountain was eerily quiet—logically speaking, such a massive mountain should have some wandering Yaomo.

Especially now that Lin Yu and his group have reached the depths of Double Saw Mountain, and it's Noon when Yaomo are most active.

However... there was only silence throughout Double Saw Mountain.

A deathly silence.

Neither sound nor Mental Power perception detected any Yaomo or humans approaching, nor anything unusual.

This is actually the biggest anomaly.

The heavy rain gradually stopped, and the moisture from the rain-soaked clothes began to evaporate.

Although damp clothes and skin can offer some protection against the heat for a while, it won't last long.

Inside the car, Yue Zhenqiao had already begun distributing his last Heat-repelling talismans —after all, in Yue Zhenqiao's view, Lin Yu had already taken out precious Talismans that could "bring rain," and although his own Talismans also had value, it would be a waste to keep them hidden away and treasured them.

With Yue Zhenqiao's Talismans, Lin Yu looked at Chen Yuanye beside him.

How much further?

"We're almost there," Chen Yuanye said, looking on with a hint of surprise. "But it's really strange. Normally, this journey should take much longer, since there are always some Yaomo or wild beasts blocking the way... How come we haven't encountered a single one, or even seen one!"

Although Double Saw Mountain is rugged and has many strange rocks, most of the mountains in Fire Hell have very little vegetation, so the view is generally quite open.

Even if no Yaomo attack, it's still possible to see some traces of Yaomo activity.

Lin Yu nodded.

"So, perhaps as I predicted... although the anomaly appeared within Chen Family Fortress, it's not just Chen Family Fortress that's experiencing the anomaly!"

The previous livestock incidents have already proven that the scope of these bizarre disappearances may not be limited to humans, nor to Chen Family Fortress.

Three Suns had been wandering in these mountains for a while and had covered some distance, and had not encountered any Yaomo.

Therefore, those Yaomo in Double Saw Mountain outside Chen Family Fortress might also be within the hunting range of the mastermind!

This is why Lin Yu wasn't sure if the mastermind behind it all was Yaomo.

Chen Yuanye nodded again, his expression solemn.

"Something's definitely up to no good; we'd better be very careful."

"However... we're almost there!"

Chen Yuanye pointed in a certain direction ahead, then spoke in a low voice.

Three Suns, pulling the caravan, happened to circle around a huge rock. Following the direction Chen Yuanye pointed, a simple and quiet Daoist temple appeared on a slope.

Lin Yu narrowed his eyes.

"Abandoned for a hundred years? That's quite remarkable."

Surrounding the Daoist temple, he was surprised to see a large expanse of lush green vegetation growing densely, which was completely out of place with the Fire Hell scene.