Becoming a saint begins with the infinite accumulation of destiny.

The tall wooden frame was lifted by dozens of strong men with great effort, while below, countless people surged and struggled all around, like a swarm of rats passing through.

On the high platform stood a large bronze cauldron, filled with countless incense sticks that emitted an unpleasant odor, and below it was a huge flag made of two tattered hemp cloths pieced together.

The flag has a large, fleshy worm embroidered on the front and back with different colored silk threads. Its body twists and turns, and its entire body is a strange purplish-black color. Just looking at it makes people feel suffocated and inexplicably panicked.

It turned out to be an enlarged earthworm!

The crowd continued to flow, with people being pulled in one after another, like being swept up in a whirlpool, disappearing in the blink of an eye, as if swallowed by a giant earthworm.

Chen Shisheng narrowed his eyes and moved to the side, avoiding the strange, wooden crowd that kept pushing and pulling people around.

He stayed in the outer city for a long time, and when he finally came out, he saw this terrifying scene.

On both sides of the procession, several men dressed in uniform with a purple-black earthworm embroidered on their chests were constantly urging the crowd to move further away.

The entire flow of people resembled a pack of wolves, surging and converging into an even larger torrent.

Chen Shisheng gazed into the distance, lost in thought.

Suddenly he spotted a pharmacy by the roadside and immediately slipped inside.

The pharmacy owner was a small old man with a white beard. He was carefully moving the wooden board blocking the door, preparing to reopen the shop for business.

"Boss, do you have any remedies for pain relief and wound treatment?"

He glanced at the pharmacy; the shop assistants were still shaken, hiding to the side, timid and afraid to speak.

"Does the customer need a prescription for knife wounds or sprains and bruises?"

The old man turned around and glared at the men, then quickly asked what the purpose was.

"I want them both."

Chen Shisheng said in a deep voice.

Since he had decided to go up the mountain, he naturally needed to prepare some wound medicine in case he got injured and infected and couldn't treat it, which would be too troublesome.

"I'd like several servings."

"Okay, please wait a moment."

Seeing that it was a big business opportunity, the old man quickly put down the door panel that he had moved halfway.

He turned around and quietly told a few of his men to prepare the medicine, while he brought Chen Shisheng a cup of tea and asked him to wait a moment.

"Boss, do you know what that was just now?"

Chen Shisheng suddenly asked.

The situation in the outer city has been getting worse lately. Several times when he passed through and returned, he saw stray dogs with red eyes.

Many people also staked out the roadside, intending to hunt stray dogs.

The situation seems to have deteriorated... starting with the burning of the farmland by Guijianchou.

"The guest mentioned those people earlier? They're from the Earth Dragon Cult. They've suddenly become popular outside the city recently, and then gradually spread into the city. They've attracted many refugees by recruiting people and distributing food to them."

"Sigh, now they're wandering around everywhere, taking advantage of the large crowds. When they see a shop open, they just scramble to grab the goods, and many people in the neighborhood are in trouble."

The old man sighed, clearly worried about the safety of his shop.

"Aren't the gang members going to do anything about it?"

Chen Shisheng asked again.

The outer city is now entirely maintained by gangs, and the Earth Dragon Cult's rampant looting is clearly undermining the very foundation of the gangs.

"How can we possibly manage them all! There are so many of them, they come out in huge groups, a whole swarm of them."

The old man said with a worried expression.

"We've had a few clashes with the Heavenly Fiend Gang before. Come to think of it, those guys are really strange..."

"How so?"

Chen Shisheng asked again out of curiosity.

"Hmm... they seem impervious to pain. They bumped into things and got covered in blood while running through the alleys, but no one cried out in pain? They just kept laughing. The Heavenly Fiend Gang killed people to establish their authority, but not a single one of them retreated; instead, they all charged forward. Guest, isn't that strange..."

The old man said helplessly.

He is a doctor and observes many situations very carefully.

The fact that so many people were injured, yet the sales of his small shop's healing medicine didn't increase at all, speaks volumes.

Chen Shisheng looked thoughtfully into the distance again. The group of people had already gone far away and disappeared, but there were still faint sounds of noisy footsteps in the air, as if they were still there.

Soon, the pharmacy clerk brought over a large bag of medicine, all of which were packaged in small packets according to his request for easy use.

Chen Shisheng paid the money and turned to head out of the city.

Let the three starter families worry about the Earth Dragon Cult.

Anyway, he moved into the inner city with his sister-in-law, so they are safe for now.

However, the attack on the grain-producing area did give Chen Shisheng some pause for thought.

Wuhe City can still survive thanks to its previous grain reserves.

But what about next year?

Large areas of farmland were destroyed, leading to a food shortage.

The outer city is likely to face a new round of food crisis, and there will probably be even more people fleeing the city.

It is estimated that for a long time to come, large numbers of floating corpses may appear in the Wuhe River.

He sighed, pulled himself together, and strode across the city gate toward Yinshan Mountain.

For several days in a row, Chen Shisheng was completely immersed in exploring the Yinshan Mountains.

He prepared many necessities, such as medicine, food, and clothes, outside to be ready for the future.

As Chen Shisheng continued to explore the Yinshan Mountains, he gradually discovered just how dangerous the wilderness at night really was.

This explains why the three main clans, even as their grain fields were attacked, were unwilling to send troops to garrison outside.

......

......

......

a few days later.

On Yinshan Mountain.

The faint light of the setting sun shines through the dense forest canopy, creating patches of dappled light and shadow.

A faint white mist hung in the air.

A leech the size of a thumb was perched on a leaf by the pond, enjoying the moist air.

Splat!

A large shoe sole stomped heavily on the leaves.

The leech was instantly crushed, bursting out a large amount of thick pus.

Chen Shisheng moved swiftly through the forest with light steps, his body occasionally creating a tiny gust of wind that stirred the surrounding weeds.

He was dressed entirely in green, with a matching headscarf on his head, a gauze covering his face that revealed only his bright eyes, and a homemade mask over his mouth.

He ventured a little deeper today, exploring the terrain further out, and ended up losing track of time, which prevented him from descending the mountain before dark. He had no choice but to spend the night at the outpost.

He took out the dry rations he had prepared, took out his water bag, and swallowed a few pieces of dried meat whole to replenish his strength.

He never took off his clothes and headscarf.

suddenly.

Chen Shisheng's eyes flickered as he looked towards a distant location. He quickly darted into the cave, simultaneously donning the [Lizard Shadow Poison Body (Blue)].

The next instant, a creature resembling a giant mantis swept past, creating a gust of wind that whipped up fallen leaves that danced in the air.

It emitted a strange squeaking sound from its sharp mouthparts, and its pair of scythe-like forelimbs gleamed with a cold luster.

Its enormous eyes scanned its surroundings constantly, and its two antenna-like antennae on its head twitched as if it were probing the location of its prey.

Chen Shisheng remained motionless, squatting quietly inside the cave, holding his breath, his expression calm.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at the bluish phantom above the mantis's head.

[Shadow Mantis: Moves like thunder, its blade strikes without return. Swift Shadow Slashes]

It's a blue-green destiny!

This mantis is called the Shadow Mantis, a unique monster found on Yin Mountain. It is incredibly fast, prefers to hunt at night, and its strength is equivalent to that of a martial artist at the Cultivation level.

Especially the pair of mantis knives, which are extremely sharp and bloody; a single slash can cut a tree trunk as thick as a thigh in half.

Before long, they seemed to smell something unpleasant.

The mantis let out a screeching roar, its hind legs moved quickly, and after stepping on the fallen leaves with a series of dense, cracking sounds, it disappeared into the distance.

"The dangers of Yinshan are indeed well-deserved!"

Chen Shisheng breathed a slight sigh of relief and carefully put the flesh-piercing device away from his body.

Without this thing, he would never have stayed on the mountain alone at night; it would have been far too dangerous.

After waiting a while and confirming that there was no movement outside, Chen Shisheng was about to go out to check the situation when...

But they ran right into a burly man in hemp clothing who was crawling into the cave entrance.

The two locked eyes.

The atmosphere froze for a moment.