Xie Yuchen had no intention of bringing many people on this trip.
He had originally planned to bring a few reliable and skilled men from his household, but since Wu Tianzhen and the others had volunteered to join the plan, he conveniently saved himself the trouble of selecting personnel.
He had personally witnessed Zhang Qiling's combat prowess, which he could only describe as inhumanly powerful.
As for Wu Tianzhen and Fatty, if they could rescue a heavily wounded Zhang Qiling from the perilous Zhang family sacred land, they must possess extraordinary capabilities.
Therefore, Xie Yuchen decisively abandoned the cumbersome teams, prepared only a sturdy vehicle, and with Wu Tianzhen, Fatty, and Zhang Qiling, they traveled light, heading straight into the Emei Forbidden Land.
Before Mount Emei became a forbidden land, it was once a famous tourist attraction. However, this area was now completely enveloped by clouds as thick as cotton. These gray clouds defied basic physics, rising tightly from the ground, making it appear as if a giant cotton cover had been placed over the entire region.
As the vehicle passed through the cloud layer, visibility was extremely low, forcing them to inch forward slowly.
Wu Tianzhen curiously reached out and grabbed a handful of the cloud. It felt exceptionally cold, like grasping shapeless snow.
He recoiled his hand with a shiver, only to see his entire hand become damp. It also carried a strange, fishy odor.
"This cloud cover is only at the outermost layer of the forbidden land; we'll break through it soon," Xie Yuchen said while driving.
Although the Emei Forbidden Land was ever-changing, the outermost structure had not significantly altered in the previous two expeditions. Thus, only he, who had meticulously memorized the details of each exploration, could navigate the vehicle's path.
Just then, Zhang Qiling, who had been silent with his eyes closed in the back seat, suddenly opened them and placed a hand on Xie Yuchen's shoulder.
"Stop."
A curt command, devoid of any preamble.
Xie Yuchen knew Zhang Qiling was not one to speak idly. Without further questions, he immediately applied the brakes.
"Screech—"
The vehicle halted instantly within the white expanse of clouds. A suffocating silence spread. The group held their breath for a long time, but no sudden event occurred.
"What's going on, Little Brother?" Fatty couldn't help but ask. In fact, he had just been about to reach for Wu Tianzhen in the front seat when Zhang Qiling's warning froze him in place, too afraid to move.
He had been holding this contorted posture, with his buttocks off the seat, for several minutes and was nearing his limit.
Zhang Qiling did not reply. The moment Fatty's voice faded—
A violent collision sound came from the windshield, as if something had slammed into the glass!
The car made a creaking noise, but perhaps the creature's claws were not sharp enough, or the vehicle Xie Yuchen had prepared was too sturdy; the glass withstood the assault.
Through the mist, they only saw a pair of scarlet eyes flash by before quickly disappearing back into the clouds.
"Holy hell, what the hell was that?!"
Fatty was startled. The thing had appeared out of nowhere, making no sound as it moved through the fog, only to smash directly onto the glass.
Startled, he lost his balance and tumbled onto the back of the front seat. He hit his chin, letting out a yelp of pain that nearly deafened Wu Tianzhen in front.
"...I'm guessing it was a monkey," Xie Yuchen suddenly said.
His tone was grave. "The last time I entered, I noticed there were many more monkeys on Mount Emei, but at that time, they were still normal."
"It's likely that over the years, the monkey population within the forbidden land has undergone an unknown mutation."
Zhang Qiling did not object. He listened intently for a moment longer, discerning information from the subtle sound of the wind.
"We can go."
Having reached his conclusion, he leaned back into his seat, entering his usual dormant, power-saving mode.
"As expected of our Great Clan Leader Zhang," Xie Yuchen quipped, feeling a strange sense of being carried along.
In countless previous expeditions, he had been the leader, bearing a heavy responsibility. But this time, he inexplicably felt a sense of ease.
With a light chuckle, he expertly started the vehicle.
The car advanced again through the white mist. The rest of the journey was uneventful. After about ten minutes, the view before them suddenly cleared—
They were faced with a gray mountainside. Dead trees, like grotesque corpses, were planted on the mountain, densely covering the slopes. The dark tree trunks, along with the exposed rock fragments, appeared utterly lifeless, as if no life existed there anymore.
"Whoa... how did this place become like this?" Wu Tianzhen had searched online for past Emei scenery before coming. Comparing it to the current desolate state, he shivered.
Zhang Qiling looked out the window. The lifeless scene reflected in his clear eyes. This was not something that concerned him, yet a thought suddenly arose in his mind—
(It's getting worse, we must hurry...)
...Hurry with what?
The end of his thoughts dissolved into a blankness, as if something had violently severed all his thoughts in his brain.
This feeling of forced interruption was unpleasant. Zhang Qiling closed his eyes, feeling a sharp pain on the side of his head.
The sound of brakes, accompanied by a faint buzzing in his head, made Zhang Qiling focus. He realized Xie Yuchen had stopped the car.
"We can't drive any further; we have to climb," Xie Yuchen said, taking out a map and quickly crossing out several changed markers. He then carefully identified the terrain. "Our progress has always stalled at the bronze statue of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva at the summit, but I always felt something was off there."
"This time, we're going directly to the statue."
"Samantabhadra Bodhisattva?" Fatty muttered as he got out of the car, slinging his backpack. "Good heavens, he's here. And the place has become like this? It seems he wasn't very effective."
"This won't do. If anything happens to us after we go in, I can't worship him anymore. Wouldn't that be a waste of my efforts?"
"Hey Fatty, can you please watch your mouth!" Wu Tianzhen felt Fatty's blasphemy would only make their adventure more ominous. He instinctively made a gesture of prayer in the air, as if apologizing to the Samantabhadra Bodhisattva on Fatty's behalf.
"Are you praying?" Fatty, however, didn't understand his intention at all and immediately said, "Your prayers are useless, Tianzhen. Who can withstand your ominous nature? Forget Samantabhadra Bodhisattva; even if it were the Buddha, he'd be overwhelmed!"
While the two bantered, Xie Yuchen beside them clearly felt puzzled.
Zhang Qiling watched silently. In his mind, he suddenly recalled the video he had seen of Wu Tianzhen, who, by falling on flat ground in Changbai Mountain, had summoned countless ominous entities.
Zhang Qiling: ...
Although he had lost his memory, at this very moment, he seemed to have suddenly realized something that could only be understood and not expressed in words.