Chapter 30: Is This Still the Same Country?

Han Yang offered a faint smile and patted the old village chief on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, old man. I'm no ordinary person."

Han Yang bid farewell to the reluctant villagers of Peach Blossom Village, especially the young women whose resentful gazes made him sigh, reflecting that being too charming was, in itself, a burden.

He stroked his chin and pondered, "Back to the sect? Forget it. That old demon is busy plotting against me all day long. I’d better play it safe for now and wait until my cultivation level has improved a few tiers before I head back to stir up trouble."

Finding Zhu Ganglie snorting and huffing in the woods, Han Yang explained his intentions. Upon hearing them, Zhu Ganglie patted his chest and vowed, "Don't you worry, Big Brother! I could walk through the Hundred Thousand Mountains with my eyes closed! Follow me, and I guarantee I’ll lead you straight to the source of that demonic aura!"

And so, one man and one pig set off, marching grandly into the depths of the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

At first, the scenery was pleasant, filled with the songs of birds and the scent of flowers. Rare and exotic beasts frolicked in the woods, and the spiritual energy was so dense it was almost tangible—a stark contrast to the desolate landscape near Peach Blossom Village. Han Yang was in high spirits and couldn't help but exclaim, "Now, this is what immortal cultivation should look like!"

After walking for a while, Han Yang asked curiously, "Old Zhu, what is the name of this continent?"

Zhu Ganglie replied without hesitation, "Big Brother, this continent is called the East Earth Continent."

"East Earth Continent?"

Han Yang froze, a thousand grass-mud horses stampeding through his mind. "What the hell? Wasn't I on the Heavenly Profound Continent? That Earth-Escaping Talisman didn't dump me in some foreign land, did it? Damn it!"

He hurriedly pulled out the used talisman and examined it closely. The residual spiritual energy fluctuations on the paper indeed pointed toward the Heavenly Profound Continent, but now...

"System, come out and explain!" Han Yang roared internally.

The system's icy voice rang out: [Host, a spatial turbulence occurred during the use of the Earth-Escaping Talisman, resulting in a transmission deviation. Please resolve this yourself.]

"Resolve it myself? I’ll resolve your grandfather!" Han Yang couldn't help but curse. "You dumped me in this godforsaken place, and all you have to say is 'resolve it yourself'? Do you have any customer service at all?"

[...] The system remained silent.

Han Yang took a deep breath, struggling to calm his mind. It was useless to complain now. Since he was here, he would have to make the best of it. He needed to figure out the situation first.

"Old Zhu," Han Yang said, forcing himself to appear calm. "Have you ever heard of the Heavenly Profound Continent?"

Zhu Ganglie scratched his pig head, looking bewildered. "Heavenly Profound Continent? Never heard of it. I’ve never once left the Hundred Thousand Mountains in my life."

Han Yang’s heart sank. It seemed he really had ended up in a foreign land.

"Then... do you know how to get back?" Han Yang asked, clutching at a final straw of hope.

Zhu Ganglie shook his head and grunted, "I don't know, Big Brother. However, I have heard that deep within the Hundred Thousand Mountains, there lives a mighty being who knows everything and can do anything! Perhaps he knows how to return."

Han Yang’s eyes lit up, as if he had grabbed a lifeline. "Really? Then let’s go find him immediately!"

Zhu Ganglie looked troubled. "But... that mighty being has a strange temper, and few people ever get to see him. Besides, the road there is extremely dangerous..."

"Dangerous?" Han Yang sneered. "I’ve already survived spatial turbulence; do I look afraid of danger? Let’s go!"

The man and the pig continued deeper. As they ventured further, the surroundings grew increasingly eerie. Ancient, towering trees blotted out the sun. Suddenly, a patch of fog appeared ahead, churning and obscuring everything within.

Zhu Ganglie stopped, trembling all over. "Big Brother... that ahead is the Foggy Swamp. It’s incredibly dangerous; once you go in, you never come out..."

Han Yang narrowed his eyes, staring at the swamp, a cold smirk playing on his lips. "The Foggy Swamp? Interesting... I’d like to see exactly what’s hiding in this mist!"

Without hesitation, he stepped into the fog.

The thick, heavy mist felt like a massive quilt, suffocating and stifling. Han Yang strolled forward leisurely, humming a little tune as if he were taking a walk in his own backyard. Behind him, Zhu Ganglie followed closely, his plump body shivering like a sieve, his pig nose twitching as he sniffed the various strange odors in the air.

"Big Brother... this fog... why does it smell like rot?" Zhu Ganglie’s voice trembled, no louder than a mosquito’s buzz.

Han Yang didn't turn his head, speaking nonchalantly. "Rot? Naturally. This Foggy Swamp is a natural graveyard; who knows how many living things are buried here? What you’re smelling is the scent of their corpses."

"Ah?!" Zhu Ganglie shrieked, his four hooves kicking out as he nearly performed a high jump.

"Big Brother, let's... let's go back! This place is too evil!"

Han Yang scoffed. "Go back? We’re already here, so why would we turn around? Don't worry, with me here, you’ll be fine." He paused, then added, "Of course, provided you don't run off blindly."

*Rustle, rustle, rustle...*

A faint, scratching sound came from the depths of the fog, like something crawling through the grass. Zhu Ganglie was terrified, his fat body pressing tightly against Han Yang as he stammered, "Big Brother... Big Brother, my legs are shaking!"

Han Yang glanced at Zhu Ganglie’s trembling hooves; the frequency of their shaking was almost matching the rhythm of his own humming. He held back a laugh and said with feigned seriousness, "Why are you shaking? It’s just a few little bugs, isn't it? Is that really worth being this scared?"

"L-little bugs?" Zhu Ganglie’s voice went out of tune. "Big Brother, deep in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, there are no little bugs! They’re all man-eating demonic beasts!"

Han Yang didn't commit to an answer and kept walking. The rustling sound grew closer. Suddenly, a black shadow lunged from the fog with startling speed.

Zhu Ganglie shut his eyes tight and let out a shrill pig-squeal: "Oh, Mother!"

The expected attack did not come. Zhu Ganglie cautiously opened one eye and discovered that the shadow hadn't attacked them but had stopped right in front of Han Yang.

It was a giant python, pitch-black from head to tail, as thick as a water barrel, covered in hard scales that shimmered with a metallic luster. A pair of scarlet eyes stared fixedly at Han Yang. The python flicked its red tongue, its cold, slit-like pupils locked onto Han Yang, seemingly evaluating the threat level of this two-legged creature.

Han Yang also examined the giant python with great interest, clicking his tongue in wonder. The beast’s exterior was quite impressive; its scales were dark, oily, and glossy, emitting a faint glow in the mist. It was just that its gaze was rather unfriendly, radiating a sense of cruelty.

Suddenly, Han Yang’s gaze sharpened, settling on an inconspicuous lump on top of the python’s head. It was only as big as a thumb, yet it radiated a faint, golden light.

Han Yang activated his Eye of Truth. The golden light instantly became dazzling, and the immense energy contained within it made even him feel a slight shock.