CHAPTER 655: CHAPTER 112: TREK THROUGH THE POISON MOUNTAIN

"Array setup is different from ordinary things; even an extra bit can be cumbersome. Those tiny holes are only the size of needle eyes, seemingly insignificant, yet they likely lead to additional consumption of Dark Power," among this Southern Expedition Army, all kinds of people were present, except an Array Master.

Long Jiuzun and others repeatedly examined the Dark Array but found nothing unusual. However, in the eyes of the genius Array Master Qian Luo, he noticed a slight difference.

"Are you saying that because of those small holes, the Transmission Array is consuming a massive amount of Dark Power excessively? But how would you explain the Dark Array on the Supply Ship, which stayed at Dawo Village for just one night without any needle-like holes nearby," Yue Jinghua asked Chi Xi, she could confirm that those Dark Arrays were the same as when they were originally set up.

The situation worsened the next day.

Neither the Supply Ship of the commerce nor the Transmission Array of Dawo Village had any findings.

For two consecutive nights, there were no results. Not only the villagers of Dawo Village were affected, but rumors also started spreading within the Southern Expedition Army about a Mountain Demon lurking in the area.

There were even rumors that someone had seen a ghostly shadow flash by when they went out of the camp at midnight to relieve themselves.

This caused everyone in the camp to become panic-stricken, and some even suggested leaving Dawo Village immediately.

Long Jiuzun singled out the rumor-mongers and harshly reprimanded them, only then did people give up the idea of leaving the squad.

Long Jiuzun and Yue Min guarded both places tirelessly for several days, but still without any results.

The Dark Power within the Dark Pill was still completely exhausted overnight.

They felt it was essential yet impossible to stay, and the rice and grain on the Supply Ship were diminishing day by day.

Seeing her elder brother worried and deep in thought all day, Yue Jinghua felt helpless.

After receiving a tip from Qian Luo, she took advantage of the night and disappeared again next to Dawo Village’s Transmission Array.

Qian Luo mentioned holes the size of a needle eye, and she saw them too but after careful inspection, those holes were empty, and nothing seemed unusual.

When she asked the old village chief, the elderly chief with dim eyes only said that it might be due to the Transmission Array being too ancient and erosion of the Array Stones.

In this way, even the last clue broke off.

Time passed like sand between the fingers, and unknowingly, the Southern Expedition Army had been trapped in Dawo Village for five days already.

That day, bored Yue Jinghua wandered around the village.

At the edge of the village, Mu Hu was having a conflict with people from the Supply Ship.

"We’re not stealing or robbing, just borrowing, and it’s not like we won’t return it. When the harvest comes in autumn, we will have cassava and sorghum to repay you," Mu Hu said with a flushed face, his impression of the Southern Expedition Army was not good, and he would not come to them unless absolutely necessary.

It was late summer and the autumn grain was not yet ripe. Due to the presence of the Southern Expedition Army, the surrounding game and firewood had also been cleared out.

The village ran out of surplus grain and fresh meat. While adults might manage, the elderly and children could not survive without rice and grain.

Mu Hu, seeing the abundance of rice and grain on the Supply Ship, intended to borrow some, but he was stopped by a few soldiers from the Southern Expedition Army guarding the ship.

Yue Jinghua noticed, among them was the playboy who had troubled her earlier on the training ground.

Hearing Mu Hu’s explanation, the soldiers scoffed, "Country bumpkin, get lost. What borrow? The ship is full of delicacies like abalone and shark fin. Could you afford to exchange anything with those lousy things from your village? Get as far away as you can, keep nagging, and this young master will set fire to your village."

"Indeed, that’s unfortunate. Why do we have to stop in such a godforsaken place," the others echoed in agreement.

"They are too despicable," Mu Hu rolled up his sleeves, wanting to go forward and argue but was dissuaded by the accompanying elderly villagers.

Unsuccessful in his plea for food and unable to defeat the wolf-like Southern Expedition Army, he could only walk away with a mournful face, accompanied by the elderly villagers.

Yue Jinghua saw this and let out two cold snorts, summoning several Giant Winged Mosquito Kings, and called out to those clueless young dandies.

Soon after, panicked cries could be heard from behind her; she flashed back, and followed the direction where Mu Hu had left.

After a few steps, she heard the elderly village chief of Dawo Village earnestly advising Mu Hu: "Ah Hu, don’t go up the mountain, there are many poisonous insects on the mountain, you forgot, last year you were bitten and nearly lost your life."

"Grandpa, I won’t go up the mountain, I’ll just go outside the village to gather some bitter mustard, and grind it for them to eat," Mu Hu’s eyes shrank as he spoke, his honest demeanor clearly revealing he was lying.

Only the aged village chief, with his dim sight, would believe his words.

Mu Hu carried a medicine basket half his height on his back, pinned up the wood chopping knife, and wore coarse cloth clothes and torn straw shoes, bringing no detoxification medicine with him as he went towards the back mountain.

On his way, he encountered several Southern Expedition soldiers and even spat on them.

Dawo Village is situated between several high mountains, mostly surrounded by barren mountains because of quarrying.

But the mountain behind the village, where too many villagers had died from early quarrying activities, and where bodies were disposed of all over the mountain, became a nesting ground for a large number of flesh-eating poisonous insects over time; hence, it was also called Poison Insect Mountain by the locals.

Other mountain peaks were bare, but only Poison Insect Mountain was lush with vegetation during the summer, and due to the multitude of poisonous insects, even mercenaries with considerable cultivation would have to take a detour.

After leaving the village, Mu Hu headed straight for Poison Insect Mountain.

After hearing the conversation between Mu Hu and the village chief clear, Yue Jinghua, worried that the naive lad might encounter danger, took a Unicorn and followed him to Poison Insect Mountain.

As they entered Poison Mountain, Yue Jinghua encountered the dangers of the mountain.

Not only were there poisonous Poisonous Spirit Woods everywhere, but the ground was also crawling with various insects and the poisonous vapors swelled people’s heads.

Centipedes as thick as thumbs crawled out from the crevices of stones, mosquitoes with poison needles buzzed ceaselessly, and snakes hung down from the bushes. The worst part was, since the mountain was rarely traversed, the vegetation had grown over a meter deep.

A careless step could likely bury someone completely.

With the Miracle Technique she possessed and the detoxification medicine formulated by Feng Chuo, Yue Jinghua managed to progress with effort.

Yet to her surprise, Mu Hu, who was walking ahead of her, seemed completely normal, showing no discomfort at all.

His large feet in straw shoes stepped over the poison thorns and crushed the crawling insects beneath him.

Sometimes, his body would be torn by thorns, but it would heal immediately.

"Isn’t this kid’s physique too freakish?" Yue Jinghua inwardly felt alarmed, thinking that Mu Hu had exceptional talent.

Just then, the Mu Hu walking ahead suddenly stopped.

The place where he stopped was a bare forest, and strangely, the poisonous insects that were rampant everywhere avoided this place as if there were some powerful Dark Beast here.