Everyone present could tell that this snake wasn't ordinary. It possessed a spiritual nature, a magical creature. Any normal person encountering it would definitely want to keep it for themselves, either to tame it or to study it. It was incredibly valuable.
"This snake is quite strange," Wu Sheng cautioned.
He had no ulterior motive, simply wanting to let Lin Fan know that the snake was exceptional. Keeping it would be beneficial, while releasing it seemed a bit of a pity. He hoped Lin Fan would consider this carefully and not be so kind-hearted.
"Yeah, I feel like this snake is very polite," Lin Fan replied.
He completely missed Wu Sheng's point.
Wu Sheng felt helpless, as if he were playing the lute to a cow. He didn't say anything more, letting Lin Fan do as he pleased.
Lin Fan squatted down, placed the golden snake on the ground, and stroked its head. "Go on, now. Next time you come out, you need to announce yourself first. Otherwise, it's very dangerous, you know?"
He instructed earnestly, like a teacher educating a student.
Without a second thought, the moment the golden snake touched the ground, it shot off like an arrow, vanishing into thin air.
Goodbye…
It ran so fast that no one could react.
Watching the golden snake's hasty retreat, Lin Fan chuckled. So impatient, was it really that scared?
The viewers in the live stream felt a pang of regret. They felt like their idol had missed out on a great treasure. That golden snake, at a glance, was clearly something special.
"Offering a large sum of money for the golden snake just now."
The live stream chat suddenly resembled a marketplace. Those with money but no power could only flex their financial muscles, hoping to hire someone capable to do the work for them.
However, the possibility of obtaining such a creature was extremely low.
Under the current circumstances, who among the powerful individuals living in Changbai Mountain would exert themselves for money?
Even if someone were willing to risk their life for money… given the golden snake's strength, they would likely become the snake's meal.
At this moment, the clan elder felt a slight tinge of regret but didn't say anything. Their goal was the treasures within the ancient ruins. These mutated creatures outside, if they could be easily obtained, they would take them. If not, they would let them go.
As they walked, Lin Fan stopped again, looking towards a cliff in the distance. The cliff face was uneven and didn't appear particularly remarkable, but it captured Lin Fan's attention, holding it for a long time.
"What's wrong?" Wu Sheng asked.
He didn't know what Lin Fan had encountered to make him stop so suddenly.
Lin Fan pointed at the distant cliff. "A powerful being once passed through here. I can sense the residual aura, very strong, the strongest I've ever encountered."
Wu Sheng was a bit bewildered, not understanding what Lin Fan meant. He felt something was odd but couldn't quite put his finger on it.
"How long ago?" the clan elder inquired.
He pondered, recalling certain things. Truly powerful beings, when passing through a place, could sense whether other powerful beings had been there before.
The aura of a powerful being was mysterious, different from ordinary people.
People coming and going was common, but for powerful beings, even after they left, their aura would linger, enduring for a long time.
"A long time ago," Lin Fan replied.
"Oh!" The clan elder considered a possibility: a powerful being from ancient times had passed through this place and stayed for a while, hence the lingering aura.
As for the present… he didn't believe any powerful beings had come here recently. If there were any powerful beings, it would be them, the ones who came from the stars.
"Let's continue moving forward," the one-eyed man urged. He was watching Sun Xiao's live stream and noticed a somewhat serious problem. Many viewers were guessing their location within Changbai Mountain, and some had actually guessed correctly.
At this point, people were probably already heading towards them.
Powerful individuals from various countries! Powerful beings from the stars!
Too many, far too many.
Although those individuals couldn't pose much of a threat to them, they were still a nuisance.
Sun Xiao was already content. Being able to follow his idol's live stream, his safety was naturally guaranteed. Moreover, in such an important location, no one else was allowed to stream, only his idol. He was so moved he almost wanted to cry.
Along the way, Lin Fan chatted with Xiao Bao, pointing out the surrounding scenery, talking and laughing. He didn't treat this place as dangerous at all, lacking the tension Wu Sheng and the others felt.
The bodyguards following Xiao Bao vigilantly observed their surroundings. They were under immense pressure. With this adventure-loving young master, they could only rely on their firearms to confront these beings they dared not provoke.
Fortunately, the young master's friends were reliable, temporarily calming their restless hearts.
In the distance, a group of people in camouflage uniforms moved through the forest. They were fully equipped mercenaries, here to search for treasures – treasures that could instantly allow ordinary people to bypass years of cultivation and become powerful experts. Countless people coveted such treasures.
"Boss, these guys are experts. It'll be difficult for us to gain an advantage in a direct confrontation," one mercenary asked.
The leader of the mercenaries had colorful patterns painted on his face and wore jungle camouflage to blend in with the surroundings.
"Don't worry, we rely on our weapons. Who can we fear with long-range attacks? Before we came here, we reached a cooperation agreement with a certain group. As long as we collect some samples from the ruins, we can exchange them for money. If we obtain extremely valuable items, the price will be even higher."
This mercenary leader wasn't very bright, his mind clouded by greed. In such a dangerous place, could firearms truly be effective?
Encountering any random, sufficiently fast beast could wipe them out completely.
So far, they hadn't grasped the situation. The dangers within Changbai Mountain hadn't spread, giving them the impression that this was like a typical battlefield where caution would guarantee rewards.
At this time, Lin Fan and the others had reached the mountainside.
"Be careful, this is where I arrived earlier," the clan elder warned, recalling the dangers he encountered when he first came here. He still had lingering fears.
Luckily, he was fortunate enough to survive.
Wu Sheng's expression turned serious.
"Brother Lin, please be careful," Wu Sheng said.
He could only place his hopes on Lin Fan. Otherwise, relying on themselves, they would have no chance of proceeding further.
"Yes, I know," Lin Fan replied.
Blocking their path was a stone tablet. Due to its age, the inscription had become illegible, but its presence indicated that someone had been here before.
"Wait for me," Lin Fan said, turning back.
With that, he stepped forward, crossing the threshold.
Rustle!
Although there was no wind, the surrounding vegetation began to tremble slightly.
"It's coming," the clan elder exclaimed.
It was the same feeling he experienced when he entered before. The surrounding vegetation suddenly vibrated. At first, he hadn't paid it much attention, but soon after, he profoundly understood what true terror was.
The pressure, like the might of heaven, pressed down on him. In mere moments, he felt as if his entire body would shatter.
He didn't know if Lin Fan could withstand it.
"Hmm?"
Lin Fan looked around as the immense pressure descended, feeling like mountains were weighing down on him.
"Hey, it feels strange, like someone's touching me," Lin Fan said.
Wu Sheng and the others stood outside the stone tablet's boundary. It was just a single step's difference, but he knew that they were now in different worlds. Outside, it was calm and peaceful, while inside, a storm raged.
Hearing Lin Fan's words, Wu Sheng and the clan elder almost coughed up blood. The clan elder, especially, wanted to find a hole to bury his head in.
Was it necessary for the difference to be so vast?
He hadn't even had time to react before being flung back, completely unconscious. But looking at Lin Fan, puzzledly touching his head, the situation was truly infuriating.
"Clan elder, how much pressure is he enduring right now?" Wu Sheng asked.
The clan elder pointed at Lin Fan's feet. "Look at the ground beneath him."
Wu Sheng looked and was instantly stunned, gasping in shock.
Centered around Lin Fan, ripples formed where his feet touched the ground, spreading outward in concentric circles.
It was as if he were standing on water.
This was a manifestation of pressure reaching an extreme level.
"If it were me, I'd probably be crushed into fragments in an instant." Wu Sheng found Lin Fan's strength increasingly unfathomable. Just how strong was he? Could he get a concrete answer?
Before, he thought Lin Fan was merely a Three Radiance Realm expert, but later he discovered it was far more than that. Far, far more.
"Too powerful." The clan elder looked at the one-eyed man as if asking how Lin Fan cultivated to reach such a level while they remained so weak. The stark contrast was truly unexpected.
The one-eyed man noticed the clan elder's gaze.
"What are you looking at me for?"
The clan elder said, "Nothing."
The one-eyed man felt that the clan elder's gaze was too strange, definitely plotting something unpleasant. He grumbled inwardly, then asked, "How long will this take?"
"Look at his feet," the clan elder pointed at Lin Fan's feet. "When the ripples disappear, it will be over. But be prepared for the possibility that the pressure persists. In that case, no one except him will be able to enter."
As he spoke, the ripples beneath Lin Fan's feet vanished.
The clan elder took a deep breath and slowly stepped inside. As expected, the pressure that had severely injured him was gone.
"It's disappeared."
The one-eyed man asked, "Lin Fan, what happened just now?"
"Nothing much, it felt like someone was lightly brushing against me, a very strange feeling. But I sensed a powerful being's aura, so strong just now, yet it's vanished now. Very strange." Lin Fan looked around, trying to find the source, but after searching for a while, he couldn't find the being he wanted to meet.
The clan elder and the others knew that Lin Fan was searching for someone who didn't exist.
If such a powerful being truly existed, they would have been suppressed the moment they arrived at Changbai Mountain, unable to even lift their heads, their lives possibly forfeit.
Just as they continued on their way…
BOOM!
A violent explosion echoed through the air, startling everyone and causing them to look back.
The one-eyed man frowned.
Someone had found this place.