It was a lush mountain forest, so green it seemed to drip with oil. Thousand-year-old pines, thousand-year-old cypresses, and palm trees over a hundred meters tall could be seen everywhere.
After buying a Yellow Steed in the western market, Hun Han set off on his journey. Following the directions of the owner of the zhajiang noodle shop, he crossed three mountains and arrived at a three-way fork. He took the path leading toward the highest peak.
Mountains could look close enough to kill a horse running toward them!
A cloud-shrouded peak stood in the distance, seemingly right before him. Yet Hun Han rode at full gallop for three whole hours before finally reaching the foot of the giant mountain.
The mountain here was exceptionally strange. Other places were filled with spiritual energy and lush trees. Only this giant peak was different. Within a thousand meters of its base, there was no trace of life. Beyond that thousand-meter radius, every blade of grass had withered yellow, presenting a desolate scene.
"Is this the Exploding Heaven Gang?"
Hun Han secretly clicked his tongue. Everything before him completely overturned his imagination.
Not only was this gang unknown in the Black Corner Region, but even the steps leading to the mountain summit had been weathered by time and were covered in countless cracks.
Beside the steps stood a stone stele. It seemed quite old, but three large words could still vaguely be made out upon it: Exploding Heaven Gang!
As he stepped onto the stairs, an icy chill somehow seeped into his body from the soles of his feet. Though that chill was extremely faint, Hun Han's soul perception was exceptionally strong, allowing him to catch that subtle sensation. (This is important. It will be on the test.)
Walking up the crumbling stone steps, Hun Han finally arrived at a shabby straw temple.
Calling it a straw temple was no insult at all. The entire structure was built from yellow earth and roofed with thatch. A plaque hung crookedly above the entrance. When the breeze passed through, it swayed gently, producing repeated creaking sounds.
"Is anyone inside? This junior, Han Hun, has come to pay a visit!"
Out of courtesy, Hun Han clasped his hands and bowed toward the inside. Ancient temples hid treasured swords, and deep mountains concealed crouching dragons. Things could not be judged by their appearance; Hun Han understood that much.
After his words fell, only the faint sound of the wind answered him.
"Is anyone inside? This junior, Han Hun, has come to pay a visit!"
Seeing that no one responded, Hun Han once again cupped his fists toward the straw temple and spoke.
Apart from the wind, only the crows perched upon a dead tree answered Hun Han's greeting.
"Since no one is answering, I'm coming in!"
Hun Han pushed open the gates, and a desolate courtyard came into view.
The courtyard was not small, covering more than a thousand mu. Broken stones were piled haphazardly everywhere, covered in cobwebs. At the center of the courtyard stood an ancient-looking building. Its walls were red and its tiles yellow, rising over fifty meters high with a quaint, classical air. Its doors and windows were riddled with holes, while most of the red paint on the walls and stone pillars had peeled away under the erosion of time.
"That should be the Sacred Hall of the Exploding Heaven Gang!"
Hun Han was overjoyed. The third Location Sign-in mission was a little too easy.
"Ah, a skull!"
As Hun Han moved through the abandoned courtyard, his foot suddenly stepped on something round. Looking down, he found that it was a skull.
As he continued forward, he found not only skulls but also human hands, feet, torsos, and other bones throughout the courtyard. Some were scattered across the ground. Others lay in complete sets, twisted awkwardly on the ground, or hung from a dead tree trunk as though they had been hanged.
Whenever one passed through this desolate courtyard, one would inevitably stumble upon a few skeletons without warning. Together with the cries of crows, they added several layers of eerie gloom to the place.
There was one thing that left Hun Han utterly speechless: beneath those bones, someone had actually scattered phosphorus powder.
"Child's play. You think this stuff can scare me?"
Hun Han chuckled twice. Since arriving in this world, he had already taken more than a dozen lives. He was not afraid of the living, so why would he fear skeletons that had become dry bones?
Perhaps it might have been possible in his previous life. But in this life, it was absolutely impossible. How could Hun Han be frightened away by mere bones?
"This sign-in mission doesn't seem difficult at all!" A faint curve formed at Hun Han's lips as he leisurely approached the ancient hall.
"Eh, why isn't there a system notification?"
Hun Han secretly clicked his tongue, feeling puzzled. He had arrived before the Sacred Hall, yet no system voice sounded in his mind.
"Young brother, are you here to join our Exploding Heaven Gang?"
The sudden voice gave Hun Han quite a fright. Only then did he notice that, at some point, a living person had been lying beside him.
That living person had disheveled hair and held a wine gourd in his hand. Beside him were a broken bowl and a wooden stick. He lay on a straw mat spread across the ground.
"Stinking beggar, why is it you?" Hun Han stared at him in surprise and could not help cursing. The man was none other than the beggar who had tried to swindle him in Twilight City.
"Stinking beggar?"
The beggar glanced at Hun Han, surprise clearly filling his eyes. He apparently had not expected Hun Han to come knocking on his door. He corrected him, "You're wrong about that. I don't stink. If a beggar reeked all over, how could he get any alms? Besides, this old man is no ordinary beggar!"
Hun Han smiled faintly. "Don't tell me you're also the leader of the Exploding Heaven Gang?"
The beggar sat up, shook his utterly messy hair, and said with a smile, "Young brother, you truly are gifted and intelligent. That's right, I am the leader of the Exploding Heaven Gang!"
Hun Han laughed. He truly could not hold it in any longer. A flash of inspiration struck him, and he said, "Grandpa, I gave you one Gold Coin during the day. Now that it's late, I'd like to stay here for the night. You won't mind, will you?"
The beggar nodded. "Mm, of course I won't mind."
"Good. Thank you, Grandpa!"
Hun Han clasped his fists and bowed to the beggar, then walked to the ancient hall's gates. Excitedly, he stretched out his hand. At last, he could enter this ancient hall and complete his third sign-in mission.
The system's first sign-in mission had been to sign in at the Dark Soul Stone Tablet of the Hun Clan. Through that sign-in, Hun Han had obtained the Saint Grade Bloodline, an even higher-grade bloodline than the Divine Grade Bloodline!
The system's second sign-in mission had been to sign in at the Library Pavilion of the Hun Clan. Through that sign-in, Hun Han had obtained the Heaven-tier Advanced Body Refining Technique—the Creation Ascending Dragon Art!
For both the first and second Location Sign-in missions, Hun Han had obtained extraordinary treasures. Now that he was about to complete the system's third sign-in mission, what rare treasure would he obtain through signing in this time?
Hun Han was incomparably excited. There was only this one ancient building on the giant mountain. Clearly, the ancient hall before him was the Exploding Heaven Gang's Sacred Hall described in the sign-in mission.
As long as he entered, Hun Han would be able to complete the third Location Sign-in mission!
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