Little Cloud Mountain

An hour later, night fell.

The moon hung above the willow branches, and the surroundings were quite still, broken only by the occasional birdcall.

Lu Changsheng lay on his bed. With a thought, he summoned the pangolin.

A round, plump Exotic Beast lay sprawled across the open space in the room. A faint gleam shone in its eyes, giving it an unusually mystical air.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak..."

After emerging, the pangolin cried out excitedly a few times. It had long been stifled in the system space.

Lu Changsheng immediately split off a thread of his consciousness and controlled the pangolin as it headed outside.

It soon reached the center of the courtyard.

He silently invoked the Burrowing skill. The pangolin's two claws spun like wind-fire wheels, rapidly digging through the earth.

The soil in the courtyard was soft, frequently soaked by rain and extremely loose.

The pangolin quickly dug out a deep little pit, scattering large amounts of brown earth around it.

Lu Changsheng controlled the pangolin and swiftly burrowed into the hole, then began digging toward the outskirts of Changping County.

Although Changping County lay on the dynasty's frontier, it still had a sizable population—several hundred thousand people.

Even throughout Great Zhou, it counted as a populous county.

Several dozen li south of the city walls stood some small hills. Farther south lay the renowned Cangyun Mountain Range.

Some of the smaller peaks formed connected stretches of terrain, easy to defend and hard to attack. Bandits of all sizes occupied them, leaving even the authorities with a terrible headache.

Especially in recent years, with the dynasty's situation in turmoil, the county yamen no longer had much spare strength to suppress bandits.

Lu Changsheng's destination this time was a mountain known as Little Cloud Mountain.

This mountain was closest to the county seat. Neither too large nor too small, it was perfect for his first exploration.

At that moment, five or six meters underground beyond the southwestern city wall.

I dig. I keep digging...

Lu Changsheng tirelessly dug through the earth, showing no sign of fatigue.

All around him was darkness, and waves of earthy stench assailed his nose.

He did not choose to dig any deeper. At five or six meters down, the soil had already become rather hard.

But if he stayed too close to the surface, it would be easy to make a disturbance and expose his position.

If a martial arts expert intervened, it would likely be extremely dangerous.

A depth of around five or six meters was also the optimal depth he had determined through testing.

While the people of Changping County sank into deep sleep, Lu Changsheng continued pressing forward with all his might.

Whenever he grew tired, he stopped to rest briefly. Whenever he grew hungry, he gnawed on wild vegetable roots.

It was not until the early hours of the second day after setting out that he reached the foot of a mountain.

The night was still, and all sounds had fallen silent.

Bright moonlight spilled across the surrounding forest.

Countless black tree shadows intertwined, making the place seem particularly eerie.

"Rustle, rustle..."

Just then, a long, narrow beast's head suddenly broke through the soil, pushing aside the surrounding clumps of weeds.

A pangolin abruptly appeared in the grass. Its back was covered in armor-like scales that gave off a faint glow beneath the moonlight.

"So this is Little Cloud Mountain?"

Lu Changsheng looked toward the forest ahead, his gaze stirring slightly.

He had never left the county seat and had only heard of this mountain from others.

But judging by his own digging speed, this had to be the place.

He then put aside his thoughts and swiftly burrowed into the dense forest ahead.

The surrounding weeds were thick and lush, brushing against Lu Changsheng with a steady rustling sound.

Lu Changsheng expanded his senses and charged swiftly up the mountain.

After activating the Attribute Modifier, as long as he focused his mind on sensing, he could vaguely perceive everything within a twenty-meter radius.

Relying on this ability, he directly avoided several large wild beasts nearby.

Since martial artists often came and went at the foot of the mountain, it would probably be difficult to find anything good there.

His target was the mountaintop.

He traveled onward until, more than half an hour later, he reached the mountainside.

He still had not found anything of value.

"Could this mountain have already been picked clean?"

Lu Changsheng's heart gradually sank.

This mountain was the closest to the county seat, so it was not impossible.

Some impoverished mountain folk likely came here to gather mountain goods and medicinal herbs as well.

Thinking of this, he began considering other plans.

If there was still no harvest at the summit, he could only venture deeper into the Cangyun Mountain Range.

This was what he least wished to encounter. This Exotic Beast was far too weak; the closer it got to the Cangyun Mountain Range, the more dangerous it became.

He did not want to recklessly lose this Exotic Beast body.

As Lu Changsheng gradually approached the summit.

More and more fierce beasts appeared, and the air everywhere was thick with the rank smell of urine left by powerful animals.

"Roar, roar, roar..."

At that moment, an ear-splitting roar echoed through the mountain forest, tyrannical and imposing.

"There's a tiger in the mountain!"

Sensing the might of the Beast King, Lu Changsheng's body tensed, as though he had encountered a natural predator.

As the king of all beasts, nourished by the spiritual energy in the mountains, it possessed terrifying strength. Even some low-rank martial artists could not threaten it.

With this Exotic Beast body, he could only avoid it for now.

Lu Changsheng became even more cautious, and his crawling speed slowed considerably.

He made every effort to keep his movements as concealed as possible.

After stealthily advancing for half an hour, he arrived not far from a cliff.

Just then, a flash of yellow emerged amid the weeds ahead.

"Could there be a harvest?"

Joy appeared on Lu Changsheng's face, but instead of rushing over recklessly, he carefully sensed the surroundings.

An invisible ripple instantly spread outward, enveloping the forest within a twenty-meter radius.

As though from a god's-eye view, the entire space appeared suffused with a blue radiance.

This was the first time he had fully activated the system's sensing ability, and it was quite practical.

If his strength increased in the future, perhaps its exploration range would increase as well.

After sweeping the area and finding no danger, Lu Changsheng rushed forward.

He soon arrived before the yellow plant.

The plant was only a little over a foot tall. At its top bloomed a vivid yellow flower with nine petals.

A fragrant scent drifted through the air.

He immediately extended a claw toward it.

The instant he touched the flower, a prompt sounded.

"Dragon's Roar Grass, thirty years old."

"Treats tendon and bone injuries. Non-toxic. Long-term consumption can strengthen the body."

"Collect?"

"Collect."

Lu Changsheng answered silently. The medicinal herb immediately vanished into thin air, leaving behind a small pit.

Though he knew nothing about medicinal herbs, this thirty-year-old Dragon's Roar Grass surely had to be worth some money.

With his first modest harvest in hand, his confidence immediately soared.

He climbed toward the summit once more.

Time slowly passed.

Relying on the powerful senses granted by the Modifier, along with the Exotic Beast's instincts, he found several more medicinal herbs along the way.

They were all around twenty years old.

Before long, Lu Changsheng reached the area near the mountaintop.

The surroundings grew increasingly quiet, while an invisible oppressive feeling shrouded the summit.

"This place is probably extremely dangerous."

Lu Changsheng was on high alert. Just as he prepared to head down the mountain, his eyes swept to the side.

A flash of blood-red suddenly appeared beneath a large tree ahead.

"This is...?"

With only one glance, he knew this medicinal herb was far more precious than the Dragon's Roar Grass.

Even from a great distance, he could smell its fragrance, making even his blood seem to boil.

Seeing no danger within twenty meters, Lu Changsheng rushed forward.

He quickly arrived before the herb and extended his foreclaw.

"Ginseng, ninety years old."

"Greatly replenishes qi and blood. Non-toxic. Long-term consumption prolongs life..."

Joy filled Lu Changsheng's face. This was good stuff.

It was nearly a hundred years old, not the slightest bit inferior to the Solomon's Seal his father had left behind.

Just as he prepared to collect it immediately, a sudden change occurred.

"Roar, roar, roar..."

A tiger's roar shook the mountain forest, frightening every animal on Little Cloud Mountain into prostrating itself on the ground, trembling in fear.

Even the surrounding dense forest swayed as though moved by wind where none blew.

A powerful tiger several meters long, its eyes wide and round, emerged from the woods.

It stared at Lu Changsheng with killing intent all over its face.

A thief actually dared to steal its spiritual herb, filling it with boundless fury.

It had waited several years for this spiritual herb to mature.

The tiger pounced forward. After only a few leaps, it arrived not far behind Lu Changsheng.

Clouds followed dragons; tigers rode the wind.

For the first time, the king of the mountain forest displayed its full might before Lu Changsheng.

"Damn it, this spiritual herb has an owner."

Feeling the incomparably powerful pressure behind him, Lu Changsheng's expression tightened.

Every muscle in his body tensed as though facing a great enemy.

"Collect, collect..."

He shouted desperately in his heart.

But every collection took several breaths, and that was truly fatal.

"Collection successful."

At the very instant the tiger closed in, Lu Changsheng finally succeeded in collecting it.

Yet he still did not dare relax.

The tiger was close enough that even the foul stench from its mouth assaulted his nose.

Lu Changsheng had no time to think. He darted swiftly toward the dense forest ahead.

The two were too close. Even if he burrowed into the ground now, it would already be too late.