Chapter 29: The Place Where Bones Are Buried and the Mountain Path [Seeking Collections and Recommendations]

After his job change, Tie Zhu had clearly become much more robust.

At times, he would climb up the large trees along the way to scout the surroundings; at other times, he would land agilely on the ground and dash through the shadows.

He was not much slower than Zong Shen, who was jogging on his old traveling horse.

During this time, Zong Shen did not rest either.

Along the way, he used the Strategy Module to scavenge like a scavenger.

Digging here and peeking there.

He actually managed to pick up a few things.

Most of them were various kinds of coin pouches and copper coins; in total, he had gathered about eight or nine hundred.

With this skill, Zong Shen could completely make a fortune just by picking up money.

Additionally, following the prompts from the Strategy Module, he unearthed two more corpses, though unfortunately, they held little value.

They were merely the remains of passing wandering merchants who had died not long ago.

From these corpses, Zong Shen only obtained some common-quality white-tier weapons.

Better than nothing, I suppose.

He continued this pattern of walking and stopping along the way.

An hour later, Zong Shen spotted Colby resting under a large tree to the north.

At the same time, Colby also spotted Zong Shen.

"Colby, is there anything unusual?"

Zong Shen nudged his horse's flank and approached Colby's side.

"Lord, everything is normal!"

"Please guide my direction," Colby said with a bow.

"Let's go. We're heading northwest. Take me to see that forest temple ruin you discovered yesterday."

Zong Shen's goal was very clear.

According to what Colby had said earlier, he had discovered an abandoned temple in the dense forest beside the mountain path, northwest of the territory.

There seemed to be two treasure chests inside.

Nothing was more pleasing to the heart than opening treasure chests.

"Lord, please follow me."

Colby was clearly a qualified warrior.

After yesterday's exploration, he was already intimately familiar with all the routes.

He led Zong Shen and Tie Zhu directly toward the northwest.

From this position, Zong Shen could vaguely see a mountain range at the edge of the vast grassland.

It looked like a thick, dark green line, dividing the grassland in half.

As they continued northwest, the grass became increasingly lush.

It was almost knee-high to the old traveling horse.

No one knew what exactly was hidden within the thick grass.

However, with Colby leading the way, Zong Shen felt quite at ease.

It was just that the speed of progress slowed down considerably.

Especially for Tie Zhu; without a mount, trekking through this environment became very difficult.

His black tight-fitting clothes were covered in grass debris.

After advancing for another hour, the three of them finally completely crossed the grassland.

Along the way, Zong Shen had thought they might encounter beast attacks, but he found he had overthought it.

Those beasts seemed to only become frenzied at night.

What Zong Shen didn't know was that those beasts could also sense danger.

Whether it was Luna or Colby, they were extremely dangerous existences to those beasts.

The animals would not proactively provoke them.

Of course, that was only one reason.

Just imagine: in an area of forty thousand square kilometers, the sudden appearance of ten thousand "Lords" and thirty thousand foolish farmers would be like a buffet opening for the local wildlife—suddenly, forty thousand portions of moving food had appeared.

The fact that these Lords could generate an attraction that drew the beasts toward them would only make the beasts more scattered.

This left Zong Shen, who had intended to slaughter a few beasts along the way, feeling a bit disappointed.

What were beasts?

They were mobile rewards!

Not only could they drop items, but they could also be processed for fresh meat and fur materials.

After crossing the grassland, the three of them entered a somewhat desolate area.

The soil on the ground displayed white, web-like patterns.

Furthermore, wisps of mist drifted up from the ground.

This area should have been the junction between the mountain forest and the grassland, yet it had turned into such a godforsaken place.

Most bizarrely, looking as far as the eye could see across this strange land, some of the undulating terrain revealed skeletal remains.

These bones possessed a jade-like quality; it was unknown how long they had been buried here.

Much like the Elven skeleton Zong Shen had dug up before, they had not decayed.

"Stop, Tie Zhu, Colby!"

Zong Shen waved his hand to signal them to stop.

He began to focus his mind and observe this land.

(The Withered Burial Ground)

(The Blood-Burning Legion buried the corpses of slaughtered Elven civilians and soldiers here as a sacrifice to the Lord of Blood-Burning, creating a Burial Ground. Here, the Elven War Trees will be unable to take root.)

The golden Strategy Module prompt immediately surfaced, answering the doubts in Zong Shen's mind.

Zong Shen raised an eyebrow.

As a "dirt digger," he instinctively felt that this Burial Ground must hold some significance.

"Is there any treasure here?"

(Here lie buried 170,000 civilians of Azshara, 57,000 Elven city defenders, and over 100,000 Alliance soldiers and mercenaries. The corpses have soaked the land, stretching for 179 kilometers. This was laid out by the Blood-Burning Legion to blockade Azshara. If you dig carelessly, you may very well disturb the undead sleeping beneath the earth.)

(Unless you possess a Necromancer, do not seek trouble here.)

Seeing the prompt, Zong Shen immediately abandoned the idea.

This Burial Ground was undoubtedly an extremely ominous place.

If some massive monster popped out and finished him off, it wouldn't be worth the risk.

"Let's keep moving, Colby."

Colby nodded.

As he led the way on his giant wolf, he said, "Lord, this kind of Burial Ground is loathed by almost all living creatures."

Zong Shen remained silent and said nothing more.

This Burial Ground was very long, but its width was only about ten miles.

The three of them quickly crossed the Burial Ground and saw a very conspicuous mountain path at the edge of the forest.

The trees in the forest were very lush, appearing dark green.

As soon as they entered, the surrounding light suddenly dimmed.

As a Nord Shadow Scout, Tie Zhu actually felt quite at home in this shadow-filled dense forest.

The roadside was also filled with thick jungle.

Emerald green vines and moss-covered boulders.

Among them, Zong Shen also saw many architectural ruins.

In a place like this, it was indeed very likely that ruins existed.

Zong Shen followed Colby, hacking through the brush.

After advancing along the path for about ten minutes, Colby stopped.

"Lord, it is here."

He pointed to a spot by the roadside covered in shrubs and vines.

Zong Shen looked inside, but there seemed to be no sign of any ruins.

Colby drew his twin blades and pushed aside a patch of shrubs, revealing a narrow path barely wide enough for one person to pass.

This was a path he had cleared during his exploration yesterday.

He had covered it back up when he left.

"Lord, please follow me. The ruins are just ahead!"

Colby said with meticulous precision.

He entered the path first, his battle blades constantly slashing at both sides to cut down the thorns, widening the way for Zong Shen.