I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

Tang Que asked again. She and Lu Ban walked forward side by side. Through the corner of her eye, she could catch a glimpse of Lu Ban's expression, which was very calm.

"Correct."

Lu Ban nodded, and at the same time, a few drops of murky sweat dripped from his hand.

Sweat had been dripping from Lu Ban's body since the beginning, making him look drenched in sweat.

In reality, all that sweat was a stumbling block.

Lu Ban used [Melting] to drip a part of himself onto the mountain path.

Behind him, a bead of sweat appeared on Lu Ban's face as he looked ahead.

Tang Que was nowhere to be seen beside Lu Ban!

Lu Ban felt as if he were walking forward side by side with the air.

He thought for a moment, then turned a drop of sweat back to his head.

The next moment, the sweat evaporated instantly and disappeared.

A moment later, the drop of sweat appeared at the foot of the mountain, and quickly dried under the sun.

"If you turn back, you'll be sent down the mountain?"

Lu Ban asked softly.

"This is the most ordinary one."

Tang Que seemed to find Lu Ban quite interesting and offered an explanation.

"In reality, what happens after turning back is never certain. Some people go straight back down the mountain and start over, while others disappear without a trace and never reappear in the human world."

Is it that dangerous?

Lu Ban's point was that including such a dangerous project in the Xuanjun Competition seemed a bit excessive.

For example, in sports meets, events that are likely to cause death are usually not included; it would be purely detrimental to internal competition.

"There's no need to worry about it. The position of Xuanjun is not one that ordinary people can hold. Those who are not steadfast in their character should go back sooner rather than later."

Tang Que remained calm.

"Why does Miss Tang want to become a Mystic Lord?"

Lu Ban asked again.

He heard the woman beside him take a soft breath.

Chapter 556 Don't Trust Anyone

"I?"

Tang Que then replied in a flippant tone.

"My father was a coroner, or as we say now, a forensic doctor. I've seen all sorts of corpses since I was little, and I learned the craft of mortician's sewing with my father. A few years ago, my father passed away, and it was only from his belongings that I discovered his shady dealings. Before that, I always thought that only my family was different..."

"Now it seems there are many people in this world just like us. Isn't that interesting?"

Hearing her words, Lu Ban felt that this young lady was really unscrupulous.

And he's also a fun person.

"However, why didn't your father tell you about the lowly classes?"

Lu Ban was curious again.

Other families or sects value the status of being a disciple of the Nine Streams, but the Tang family doesn't even allow their daughter to know about it.

If Tang Que hadn't searched through the relics himself, the Corpse Stitcher might have been absent from this Xuanjun competition as well.

Well, it's not certain whether this Tang Que is actually himself, and what he says might not be true.

Lu Ban's sweat dripped continuously as he watched what was behind him.

He did not get an answer from Tang Que.

Because Lu Ban sensed that the presence around him had disappeared.

He glanced at her, but the figure in the cheongsam had already disappeared. He didn't know if she had been sent down the mountain or if the illusion, which was originally meant to deceive Lu Ban, had left because it couldn't get what it wanted.

After taking two more steps, Lu Ban saw another figure emerge from the thick fog ahead.

That was Shi Buwen, whose hair was white but whose body was still strong and robust.

Lu Ban thought for a moment, but ultimately decided not to call out to the other person rashly. Instead, he approached little by little.

After taking a few steps, just as Lu Ban came up behind the other person, he suddenly had a sense of déjà vu.

Was Tang Que just now also like this, slowly approaching from behind me?

"Mr. Shi, you don't need to turn around."

Lu Ban then spoke up.

He saw that Shi Buwen had placed his hand on the holster, as if he could draw his gun at any moment.

"I meant no harm; I just saw Mr. Shi on this road."

Lu Ban took two steps forward and came to Shi Buwen's side.

The old man wasn't sweating at all; the damp, sticky mist seemed to have avoided him, leaving no trace.

Lu Ban, who was left behind, looked ahead and immediately noticed a problem.

On this road, there are only stones that don't hear you, and no obstacles that can stop you!

Oh no, the problem is actually with myself.

"This path is very simple. Just follow the rules. Two thousand steps are not a long path."

Shi Buwen said quietly, still wary of Lu Ban.

"Level 2000? Isn't it level 1000?"

Lu Ban immediately asked.

Shi Buwen stopped in his tracks.

He looked at Lu Ban with a somewhat strange expression.

"Who told you that?"

"Mr. He Chong."

Lu Ban answered truthfully.

"Hehe, I was just following tradition and came to visit a friend. I didn't expect that some people would actually deceive their juniors for the position of Xuanjun."

Shi Buwen chuckled twice.

"There are exactly two thousand steps on this mountain trail. If you don't reach it within half an hour, you will be sent back down the mountain. If you stop and wait halfway, you may not be able to get a ranking."

"Then why are you telling me all this?"

Lu Ban was curious again.

“You younger generation may not understand, but we are all brothers from the same sect in the Nine Streams. It is only because of various changes that we are separated. It is normal for brothers to support each other. Moreover, compared to the position of Xuanjun, I value benevolence and integrity more. Asking me to lie and deceive people is harder than climbing to heaven.”

Shi Buwen said this as if it were a matter of course, and continued upwards.

Lu Ban followed in silence.

A moment later, Shi Buwen also disappeared.

"Is it level 1000 or level 2000?"

Lu Ban murmured.

According to He Chong, one should not trust anyone encountered on the mountain trail, so Shi Buwen must be lying.

But what if we look at it from a different angle: what if He Chong was lying from the beginning?

There were originally two thousand steps, but He Chong fabricated the story that Lu Ban shouldn't believe people on the road to prevent Lu Ban from being misled.

This leads to a classic cycle.

Using the land stumps dripping with sweat, he observed the mountain path, but there wasn't a soul in sight.

Lu Ban was the only one on this long mountain path.

After walking through five hundred steps, Lu Ban suddenly heard a different sound.

It wasn't the sound of breathing or footsteps, but rather the rustling sound of something touching the grass, causing it to shake.

Lu Ban looked into the woods on his left.

There, something seemed to be hiding under the bushes.

A voice came.

"...Help, help me..."

It was a cry for help.

Lu Ban took two steps closer and glanced over with his [True Vision].

He saw a person lying there.

"Old Zhang?"

That was none other than Zhang, the blind paper cutter.

The elderly man, nearing seventy, was lying half-reclined in the grass. He appeared to have been shot; there were several bullet holes in his jacket, from which blood was gushing out. He looked seriously injured.

"Don't come any closer."

Blind Zhang noticed Lu Ban and immediately called out.

"Don't leave this mountain path, or you might encounter some misfortune."

He offered a reminder.

"Old Zhang, what are you doing here? Who injured you?"

After sizing up Blind Zhang, based on his current understanding, [True Vision] judged that the other party was a human.