Cultivators are not only a symbol of power, but also a mark of status.

In Dingfang City, even if a cultivator does nothing at all, they can still receive an annual stipend of three hundred taels of gold from the city’s yamen.

Although to cultivators, three hundred taels of gold is nothing, to ordinary people, it is an astronomical sum.

Many people see becoming a cultivator as a leap akin to a carp jumping over the dragon gate.

Liam Foster looked at the burly man’s somewhat brutal face, and his worry deepened. This person was by no means a good man; he definitely had no good intentions in dragging him along.

In such a remote mountain forest, with only the two of them, it was truly the perfect place for murder and burial...

“Everyone, make the most of your time. I wish you all smooth sailing.” Mr. Bolton stood beside the passage, speaking in a deep voice.

Just moments ago, everyone had been chatting and laughing, but now, seeing the passage door open, no one was in the mood to talk.

After all, this was a path of nine deaths and one life. Even those with great skill could not be one hundred percent sure they would make it out alive.

They filed through the door one after another, and the mountain appeared before them. Although the shape of this La Mountain secret realm was the same as the La Mountain Liam Foster had toured, inside it was desolate—nothing but wild grass and rocks. There wasn’t even a stone-paved path, nor any trace of people having passed through.

“Brothers, I hope we meet again here in five days.” The man called Skinny Monkey clasped his fists to everyone as he spoke.

Everyone nodded, then, with tacit understanding, paired up and headed up the mountain along different paths.

They each chose a different route.

“Kid, let’s go too. You walk in front!” The fierce-looking burly man stood beside Liam Foster, looking at him with a cat-playing-with-a-mouse expression, grinning.

Walking in front was, of course, the most dangerous!

“Ah!”

A shrill scream suddenly rang out.

Liam Foster turned his head and saw, about twenty zhang away, a burly man’s body bizarrely split in two in midair.

Blood flowed, but with that scream, the man had already collapsed silently.

Many people were staring at the fallen man, their faces just as pale, as if they themselves had died.

Liam Foster didn’t know how many among these people were friends with the dead man. He only knew that just moments ago, that man had clasped his fists and said they’d meet again in five days.

But now, the man had died inexplicably!

His words of farewell still echoed in Liam Foster’s ears!

Most of the herbs in this La Mountain secret realm are used by cultivators, but few cultivators come to pick them.

Because for cultivators, this place is also extremely dangerous.

Just now, the spatial rift that killed the burly man would have left even Master Harris, who was at the seventh level of Qi Refining, with no chance to resist.

Therefore, no cultivator is willing to come here personally. They use money to drive ordinary mortals to risk their lives here, exchanging these mortals’ lives for what they need.

Heaven and earth are heartless, treating all things as straw dogs!

For this phrase, which is almost a cliché, Liam Foster now had a new understanding.

“Big brother, big brother...”

The man who had been paired with the burly man called out in grief, but he didn’t dare move an inch toward the man’s body.

“What’s there to be sad about? Since you’ve become a picker, you have to be ready to risk your head at any moment!” The burly man with the ferocious face gave Liam Foster a hard shove on the shoulder and said, “Move it!”

If it had been earlier, Liam Foster might have boldly walked ahead, but now, he didn’t dare move recklessly.

After a brief moment of thought, Liam Foster finally decided to follow the route on the travel map in his mind.

Since nothing is certain, he might as well take a chance and follow the map’s route.

When the burly man saw Liam Foster hesitating to move forward, he reached out to grab him and said, “Kid, what are you playing at?”

Liam Foster stared coldly at the man and said calmly, “I’ll go my way, you go yours. We’re not on the same path, so we’re not a team!”

The burly man looked at Liam Foster’s stubborn face, stunned for a moment, then a trace of brutality flashed in his eyes. But as if he was wary of something, he suddenly laughed and said, “Kid, I’m looking out for you. Don’t fail to appreciate it—hurry up and go.”

Liam Foster said nothing more, but his heart grew cold. Although he was sure this was his first time meeting the man, from the man’s words just now, he had a feeling: this man was here for him!

The reason Liam Foster spoke as he did just now was not only out of stubbornness, but also to test the man’s reaction.

If the man truly didn’t care about him, he would have made a move by now, instead of acting so cautious.

The more cautious he was, the more suspicious it seemed.

When the red dot overlapped with the mountain entry route, Liam Foster began to move forward. He walked very slowly, almost stopping to observe his surroundings with every step.

According to the travel map, the place that should have been a plank path was now no different from anywhere else, filled with rocks and all kinds of plants.