I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

"Who else could it be? The only person with a gun is Shi Buwen."

Blind Zhang sighed, seemingly regretting that he had trusted the wrong person.

“I thought he was like me, just here to witness, but I didn’t expect that this guy had already betrayed the Nine Schools. He pushed me out of the mountain path and even ambushed me with a gun.”

"He came with Dai Yuanyang, the two of them working together, one in the open and one in the shadows. Dai Yuanyang couldn't persuade us, so they had Shi Buwen do it, but unfortunately..."

He was barely breathing, and his voice was weak.

"Mr. Zhang, I have a question."

Lu Ban asked.

"How many steps are there on this mountain trail?"

Upon hearing Lu Ban's words, Blind Zhang remained silent for a moment.

"At level 1500, when you get there, you'll see a platform. That's the finish line. Once you reach the finish line, find Seventh Master to save me. Don't trust anyone else."

"I see."

Lu Ban nodded, then suddenly said.

"Old Zhang, why didn't you turn back? If you had, you would have been taken down the mountain and could have gone out to find rescue, right?"

Hearing Lu Ban's words, Blind Zhang was taken aback.

"Young man, you're very smart."

Blind Zhang smiled, and the bullet holes in his body seemed to have suddenly healed. His complexion faded, and he transformed into the appearance of a paper figure burned during a grave-sweeping ceremony.

Is this real or fake?

Lu Ban made a self-deprecating remark and continued climbing.

Chapter 557 Zombies

When Lu Ban reached the 700th step, he felt the surroundings become a little colder.

The fog grew thicker and thicker, making it almost impossible to see the surrounding scenery.

Lu Ban felt as if he were walking on clouds, with only the steps beneath his feet proving that he was moving forward.

In this absolute silence, Lu Ban saw that the mist was like spreading pollution, slowly seeping into his body. If it were an ordinary person, inhaling this mist would probably cause mild mental instability, hallucinations, mania, depression and other symptoms.

But for those who have been exposed to some level of pollution...

Such fog might actually amplify their supernatural abilities resulting from pollution, creating an illusion.

As Lu Ban continued walking forward, he suddenly saw a person standing just two or three steps away from him.

The man was obese, as if his body had been poisoned by wine and meat. He stood there, light and airy, as if he was about to collapse.

Judging from his back, Lu Ban quickly recognized him as Seventh Master.

"Seventh Master?"

The other party seemed completely unaware of Lu Ban's approach. Lu Ban took three steps at a time and came to the step behind him, calling out.

Nothing happens.

Lu Ban glanced at him and found that Seventh Master was in a daze, as if he hadn't woken up yet, or as if something had disturbed his mind and made him lose consciousness, standing in place like a puppet on a string.

He poked Seventh Master.

Contrary to the initial impression, Seventh Master's body was extremely stiff, like that of a dead man.

Lu Ban took another step forward.

He turned his head and saw that Seventh Master's face was ashen, pale with a hint of black, and his eyes were red, as if he had suddenly held his breath and all the blood was rushing to his head.

This situation is chilling.

"Seventh Master?"

Lu Ban patted the other person on the shoulder.

In an instant, fine white downy hairs grew on Seventh Master's face, his nails grew longer, his skin turned bluish-black, and his eyes became bloodshot.

A strange cry escaped his throat, and Seventh Master lunged at Lu Ban.

He was so strong that he even cracked the steps.

The sharp nails seemed to be contaminated with some kind of toxin, and any scratch or contact with them could cause serious damage.

Seventh Master had transformed into one of those legendary giant zombies, looking ferocious and menacing.

But who is Lu Ban? He has been traveling in foreign lands for so many years, and has experienced countless battles. He has seen all kinds of storms and waves.

Faced with the attack from Zombie Master Seven, Lu Ban raised his right hand and met the attack head-on.

*Pfft*

However, the clash between the two forces did not occur. When Lu Ban's palm touched Zombie Master Seven, it immediately melted, turning into dark mud that tightly enveloped Zombie Master Seven's hand.

The dark purple poison immediately spread upon contact between the two. If it were an ordinary person, they would have already lost the ability to fight under such circumstances. The corpse poison would flow with the blood, from the wound to the heart, and then from the heart to the whole body, eventually causing them to collapse quickly and become zombies.

But for Lu Ban, this level of pollution was nothing.

He gained some basic knowledge through the toxins that flowed into his body.

The so-called zombies and corpse transformations are essentially alienations caused by pollution. The knowledge of creating zombies or mummies is inherently polluting, and zombies made through such methods are naturally aggregates of pollution.

However, what's in front of us...

The melting landslide spread rapidly, binding the zombie tightly.

Even though the opponent possessed power beyond human limits, it was as if a fist had hit water. He was quickly and completely bound by Lu Ban, and then turned into a thick black mist, disappearing with the wind.

The steps in front of Lu Ban suddenly opened up into a bright and spacious area.

"The pollution creates illusions by absorbing the mind. Because it's in this era, it's assumed that what I saw was Seventh Master, who had undergone a zombie transformation?"

It was probably because, among these people, Lu Ban only had a certain impression of Seventh Master, who was involved in piracy, and this impression mostly came from various film and television works and games, which led to the scene just now.

He looked ahead and could already see a platform, which looked like the finish line.

Lu Ban climbed the steps and arrived at the thousandth step.

This appears to be a pavilion for resting, its wooden structure exuding a musty smell in the damp, thick fog.

The pavilion was empty; not a single person could be seen.

Lu Ban still didn't turn around; he stood there and waited for a while.

Behind him, there seemed to be whispering sounds, like a lullaby, in Lu Ban's ears, but Lu Ban remained motionless, standing there.

Whether it's a thousand or two thousand steps, Lu Ban prefers to believe it's a thousand, because according to the principle of simplicity, He Chong's is the simplest, and there are too many contradictions in the intelligence along the way.

After standing there for about five minutes, Lu Ban felt the thick fog around him completely dissipate.

He saw that a path appeared around the pavilion, leading to a building in the forest not far away.

"Looks like this is the place."

Lu Ban strode forward and came to a courtyard. It looked like a Taoist temple or a Taoist temple, with an ancient and rustic feel. At least for nearly a hundred years, Lu Ban had not seen a similar building on Jiangcheng Mountain.

At the same time, he looked back with his melting body and saw that nothing had happened, so it seemed that he had indeed reached the end.

And he was the first one.

Lu Ban walked into the house and saw a traditional Chinese ink painting hanging in the foyer. In the landscape, several people were fighting against a monster in the mountains. The monster looked like it had several eyes and its body was made up of tentacles. Although it was a freehand ink painting, it could still reveal the monster's twisted and crazy nature.

There were nine chairs in the foyer, apparently representing the different social classes.

"I wonder if there's anything to eat."

Lu Ban looked around and saw several houses for people to stay in. He then found the kitchen and saw that it was stocked with a lot of fresh ingredients, including vegetables and meat. In these chaotic times, it was considered a luxury and abundance.

After thinking for a moment, Lu Ban picked up a kitchen knife and started cooking according to his own skill level.

A dozen minutes later, after preparing the chicken, he put it into the pot to simmer. After waiting a while, Lu Ban heard a commotion outside.

He glanced around and saw that others had arrived and were making a fuss.

"...It seems it's nothing special after all."

Lu Ban heard Dai Yuanyang's voice first.

He stood some distance away from the others, looking somewhat covered in mud, but closest to the house.

"Are you really the first one to arrive?"

The portly Seventh Master asked hesitantly, but looking at the others, no one could stand up to refute Dai Yuanyang.

"I have said that by leveraging advanced foreign technology and developing my own potential, I am the true direction that Jiuliu should be developing in. Everyone, this is irrefutable proof."

Dai Yuanyang said, seemingly quite pleased with himself.

Hearing this, Lu Ban lifted the lid and looked at the stewed chicken in the pot.

"almost."

He walked out of the kitchen and shouted at the arguing Jiuliu people.

"Stop arguing, let's eat."

Chapter 558 Am I the First?

Seeing Lu Ban's appearance, the Nine Streams members looked at each other in bewilderment.

"???"

Seventh Master was filled with question marks.

He had assumed that Dai Yuanyang would be the first to arrive.

Relying on his knowledge of geomancy and feng shui, he found the correct way up the mountain and avoided danger. He thought he should be the first to arrive, but he found Dai Yuanyang already standing in the courtyard.

It should be noted that in the field of pathfinding, the Nine Schools of Moving Mountains and Seeking Dragons should be the strongest. They are able to find the right way out when facing those strange things, and can be called the eyes of the team.

But Dai Yuanyang was even faster than him!

Could it be that foreigners' technology has truly enabled them to systematically enhance and strengthen even the most low-level superpowers?