The information on the sign clearly indicates it was erected by someone from the city of the lost people—yet why doesn't this elder know about it? Did other teams set up signs? Has his lost teammate been separated from the group? Ah, the sign itself is peculiar—it's located in the outer region of the primeval forest, which means the people who erected it are about to emerge from the mountains. This doesn't align with the副本's established setting. The introduction to the spiritual realm explicitly states that the people of the city were trapped, while those who ventured into the mountains encountered a major crisis—by theory, they shouldn't have emerged so quickly; otherwise, this setting would seem rather redundant. Zhang Yuanqing thought it over, speaking continuously: "You mentioned that faces grew on the trees—corresponding to the missing team member. What happened afterward?" The middle-aged man replied: "We were all stunned, never having encountered anything like this before. Ultimately, the team leader proposed that we cut down the trees to see what was really going on." "Are you not just pushing yourselves to the brink?," Zhang Yuanqing muttered, and indeed, the middle-aged man, looking anxious, said, "Things went wrong right away. As soon as the captain struck the first blow, the tree trunk began to bleed—just like a human did. The man's face suddenly opened his eyes, crying out in pain, his voice both heartbreaking and terrifying; I still can't forget it. The captain was terrified and stopped cutting. When we thought we were at a loss, the team members inside the trunk suddenly stared at us with bitter resentment, shouting, 'Eat us up, eat us up!' Then, all at once, the surrounding trees seemed to come alive—though there was no wind, the branches moved as if they were hands, and we all rushed to escape." Zhang Yuanqing asked, "So, you scattered?" The middle-aged man shook his head. "That was later. That night, we dared not set up camp and kept moving all night. When dawn came, we encountered a group of monkeys." "Monkeys?" "Yes—monkeys that could eat people." The middle-aged man's voice was low, filled with both fear and resentment: "One of our team members failed to escape in time and was eaten by the monkeys. I saw it happen firsthand—those beasts surged upon him, like wolves devouring their prey. I lost contact with my companions during our flight." Zhang Yuanqing glanced at the dry branches beneath the elder's feet, carefully extracting information: "Uncle, do you know anything about this forest?" The middle-aged man shook his head: "This forest appeared out of nowhere. All I know is that it's extremely dangerous. Before us, others had tried to cross it and escape from the enclosure." "But none of them made it back. I hope they've found a way out." At this point, the man said: "Young man, I must be going now. I need to find my companions and locate the path out of the forest. I also hope you can leave here as soon as possible. Remember—these trees will eat people. Be cautious. They fear blades and fire. When in danger, protect yourself." "There's one more thing—be careful of the monkeys!" After watching the middle-aged man depart, his figure fading into the deep woods, Zhang Yuanqing turned his attention back, summarizing and refining the conversation. "In the outer zones, the known hazards are trees and monkeys. According to the elder, that team member vanished because he was distracted by the calls, only to end up inside the trees. Does that mean the calls actually originate from the trees?" "Summary: Ignoring the calls can help avoid danger. Trees are vulnerable to fire and cutting tools; when encountering monkeys, one must fight them off head-on." Zhang Yuanqing's eyes suddenly lit up. Could cutting down or burning trees earn him points? If so, given the vast expanse of this primeval forest, he could surely accumulate a substantial score. "Clearly not right—this is far too simple. Maybe not all trees are dangerous; the trees that devour people are hidden within the forest, and only when you eliminate one do you earn points..." Zhang Yuanqing was thinking when suddenly he frowned: "The signage was erected by the people of the City of the Lost, instructing me not to use blades or fire within the forest. Yet the elder from the City of the Lost told me that the trees fear blades and fire, suggesting I should use them when necessary for my own protection—this is contradictory." By his experience, contradiction always meant a hidden plot waiting to be uncovered. With so few clues, his speculation amounted to little more than wandering. Zhang Yuanqing continued deeper into the forest, with the Blood Rose leading the way. Though now, without the use of blades, the path it created had lost its significance. Still, when danger arose, the Blood Rose ahead would take the blows for him. As he pressed forward for half an hour, Zhang Yuanqing heard a steady series of "clicking" sounds coming from his left, accompanied by the rustling of the trees in the wind. He turned toward the sound and saw the forest constantly trembling, with agile monkeys leaping and climbing among the branches, chasing prey below. The prey dashed swiftly through the dense undergrowth and hanging vines, maintaining an unusually fast pace—unaffected by the complex terrain. Though the monkeys were already remarkably nimble, they momentarily failed to catch up. So swift, so agile—must be a wood spirit, Zhang Yuanqing thought, though he hadn't seen a human. Finally, as the rustling grew closer, he spotted a tall, well-dressed woman emerging from the shrubs on his left. In her early thirties, wearing loose black pants and a blue tactical jacket tied at her hair in a neat bun, with running shoes on her feet. She had a graceful, elegant oval face, long legs, a full chest that rose above the jacket, and a slender waist. After the woman emerged from the bushes, she met him face to face, her expression suddenly shifting to one of alarm, halting abruptly and gazing intently at the blood rose and Zhang Yuanqing, adopting a defensive posture. "Hush-hush~" At that moment, the troop of monkeys on the tree branches followed suit, some charging directly toward the woman with the goose-egg face, while others continued leaping across the branches, reaching the heads of Zhang Yuanqing and the blood rose, and descending upon them with fierce momentum. Each monkey stood a full meter tall, covered in coarse, dense black fur, with a solid, sturdy build and muscular arms that bulged prominently. Oh no—unjust misfortune indeed… Zhang Yuanqing half-turned, leaned forward with his upper body, and drove his right foot straight upward. "Thud!" His soles met the chest of the black-furred monkey with a solid impact, feeling the opponent's chest as tough as leather and heavy as a boulder, lacking the satisfying, fluid force he had hoped for. He immediately realized that his kick had not done much damage. Indeed, the monkey tumbled head over heels, then quickly rose, bracing its arms on the ground, and came charging forward Zhang Yuanqing calmly drew out the Blood-Drinking Blade, gripped the tip, and threw it with great force. "Plop!" The blade shimmered, piercing the chest of the black-furred monkey. Thud, thud, thud... Zhang Yuanqing strode forward, leaped into the air, and kicked the hilt of the blade, driving the forty-centimeter-long Blood-Drinking Blade entirely into the monkey's chest. The black-furred monkey collapsed, his legs twitching a few times before he lost all signs of life. Although the notice stated that props could not be used, Zhang Yuanqing believed that as long as no trees or vines were cut with the blade, there would be no issue. 【Ping! You have defeated a mountain monkey and earned 1 point.】 On the other side, Blood-Rosette single-handedly grasped the throat of the monkey charging toward her, slamming it hard to the ground, then knelt on one knee atop its chest, raising her right fist high. She delivered a straight punch. Crackle... the black-furred monkey's head instantly exploded, splattering brain tissue and blood-streaked bone fragments everywhere. 【Ping! You have defeated a mountain monkey and earned The achievements of the shadow corpse are counted under the master's name. The blood rosebush's pupils flare crimson as she takes a gentle breath, and instantly, blood mist rises from the black-haired monkey, filling her nostrils. The shadow corpse's aura surges sharply, as if growing stronger. "Ahhhh!" The monkey troop in the trees seems startled, shrieking incessantly. Several monkeys that had been preparing to attack their prey clutch the branches tightly, barely avoiding falling. Then, amid their cries, they reach a consensus and retreat in the direction they came from, soon disappearing into the distance. The ten-point score slips away like that. I still haven't fully grasped what's happening in this instance—no need to rush into battle just yet. Zhang Yuanqing watches the trembling branches recede, confirming the monkeys won't return, before turning his gaze to the tall, well-proportioned wood spirit woman. Though she appears slightly disheveled, she has sustained no injury. With the agility of a wood spirit, as long as she isn't surrounded by the monkeys, she remains safe. "No need to thank me—I've caused you any trouble at all." The wood spirit woman brushed the dust from her robes and smiled warmly. "A minor matter!" Zhang Yuanqing, holding up Wang Tai's face while adopting Fu Qingyang's cool demeanor, replied calmly and evenly. "I'm from the Five Elements Alliance. My spiritual realm ID is Peony Lady. And you?" She introduced herself. Peony Lady? That ID sounds familiar... Ah, yes—the colleague who kept constantly licking her during the online meetings. Zhang Yuanqing was momentarily startled, then slightly surprised. He hadn't expected the first spiritual realm traveler he'd encountered in the combat quest to be a colleague. However, he thought it would be unwise to reveal too much background too soon—too much would signal excessive caution. On the surface, he remained composed and reserved. "Wang Tai!" "Wang Tai..." The Peony Lady mused over the name, smiling gently. "Ah, you're the Night-Wanderer from Tai Men, aren't you? Wood spirits are particularly sensitive to life energy—I recognize that as a shadow corpse." As an official member and a reserve Saint, she possessed both experience and insight. She thought I was someone from Taiguan Sect, which is why I was introducing myself? Well, then, I retract what I said earlier. Zhang Yuanqing shook his head: "I'm a freelance cultivator." Among the official members participating in this killing mission, there were only thirty-eight in total—few in number. With a little attention paid to their IDs, one would quickly realize Wang Tai wasn't among them. If he admitted to being from Taiguan Sect, it would be like revealing his identity—though, of course, that would be perfectly acceptable as well. The Peony Immortal Princess nodded, not sure whether she believed him. After a brief hesitation, she invited: "The mission is fraught with dangers, and the Order-aligned factions should support one another. If you don't mind, would you like to join me?" Before Zhang Yuanqing could respond, she added another condition: "I plan to visit the Prime Immortal, as well as other colleagues. Should you accompany me, you'll be considered one of our companions." If you knew I was actually the Prime Immortal, what expression would you have? Zhang Yuanqing, who had just thought of this himself, replied: "Certainly!" One of his goals is to gather colleagues, and by doing so as Wang Tai, he can somewhat evade the schemes of the informants. After reaching an agreement, the Peony Fairy hurriedly said, "We'd better leave quickly—otherwise, if those monkeys bring reinforcements, we'll be in trouble." Zhang Yuanqing nodded, maintaining a safe distance from the Peony Fairy as they proceeded together, saying, "Those monkeys aren't particularly strong." The Peony Fairy looked serious: "No, that's not true—you haven't seen the Monkey King yet." "The Monkey King?" Zhang Yuanqing restrained himself from turning his head, gazing at the woman who was nearly ten years older than him. "Yes, it's a white monkey—more like a gibbon, actually. About three meters tall, incredibly imposing. I suspect it has the strength of a weak level 4." The Peony Fairy spoke with evident apprehension. A weak level 4 is stronger than extraordinary but slightly weaker than a Saint. Such ambiguous strength typically appears only in items or副本 bosses—White Lotus, the Ghost Bride, is exactly a weak level 4. The first major boss appeared... Zhang Yuanqing swept aside several thick vines with a wave of his hand and said, "This quest seems a bit unusual—I haven't quite figured out what's going on yet. Why don't we share our observations and see if anything stands out?" The Peony Immortal nodded slightly and replied, "Since I entered the quest, the task prompt instructed me to start from the outer layers and proceed toward the central area, following the posted signs." Zhang Yuanqing added, "It seems everyone has the same side quests. Hmm, what exactly does the sign say?" The Peony Immortal recalled and described the sign's instructions. The first three points matched exactly with what Zhang Yuanqing had seen, but the fourth one differed. "Four: Be cautious of animals, especially monkeys." Zhang Yuanqing raised an eyebrow and asked, "Are you sure?" The Peony Immortal was momentarily surprised and asked, "Then isn't that what you've got?" "Mine reads: If you see other people in the forest, don't make eye contact with them," Zhang Yuanqing said, openly sharing his own observations. He couldn't detect any traces of falsehood in the牡丹仙子's subtle expressions—she hadn't been lying, otherwise she'd be a true movie star. The牡丹仙子 furrowed her brow, asking, "Why has this happened?" The Peony Fairy was filled with astonishment, gazing intently at this young man named Wang Tai. She realized something—she had found a treasure. Given how rudimentary and simple the information was, the ability to extract so much insight was remarkable. As for Wang Tai’s sharp thinking—she had never seen such clarity before. Clearly, this young man was no ordinary player when it came to tackling dungeon quests. He truly showed promise. "Oh, by the way, I was chased by the monkey group because I overheard them talking. I have a device that allows me to understand animal language. They said someone from the human world has entered the forest, and they don't want them to get close..." "Close to what?" "I didn't catch the exact details—I was quickly spotted by the monkeys." Was it because she hadn't heard clearly, or because she didn't want to say it—perhaps they didn't want to be close to the central part of the forest? Zhang Yuanqing didn't press further; instead, he shifted the topic proactively: "There should be a fifth point, right?" His notice board lists five rules. The Peony Immortal nodded, "Fifth point: If you encounter a hiker who claims to be from the 'Lost City,' do not engage in conversation—just keep a safe distance." As soon as she finished speaking, she noticed Wang Tai, five meters away, suddenly freeze in place, his face stiffening. Not to talk to a hiker from the Lost City—just keep a safe distance? In Zhang Yuanqing's mind, the character "艹" kept swirling back and forth! At this moment, he felt a chill run down his spine, a strange sense of dread settling in his heart. Just recently, he had been conversing with an elderly man from the "City of the Lost." The delicate, intelligent young woman, the Peony Immortal, frowned and asked, "Have you encountered any hikers?" They had chatted for about ten minutes. Zhang Yuanqing nodded gravely, recounting his conversation with the middle-aged man. The Peony Immortal's expression immediately changed, and she stepped back a few meters from him. What a woman! Zhang Yuanqing gave a faint chuckle, saying softly, "At least now I'm fine—nothing has happened yet." He didn't believe that failing to follow the guidelines would cause him to stumble unexpectedly. Under information asymmetry, he might make mistakes, and others would too. Based on his understanding of the realm, such common pitfalls typically didn't result in immediate, life-threatening consequences. Either they accumulated over time or required specific conditions to trigger. If this brings about a fatal crisis, then half of the people inside the replica should already be dead by now. Thinking this, Zhang Yuanqing stopped and opened the leaderboard. He first checked the total number of participants and found that only 174 Lingjing practitioners remained—six more deaths since the last update. In just one hour since entering the replica, nearly ten people had already perished, which is quite a high mortality rate. Zhang Yuanqing hadn't grown complacent despite his smooth journey so far. With 174 Lingjing practitioners wandering aimlessly through the primeval forest, they might meet each other at any moment—or, they might encounter the boss at any time. Suddenly, the Peony Immortal paused, listened intently, and after a few seconds, turned to look, speaking in a steady tone, "About fifty meters to our left, there's a Lingjing practitioner engaged in combat." In the forest, the Wood Demons' senses were operating at their peak, offering observation capabilities comparable to scouts. Fifty meters? Zhang Yuanqing paused, saying, "I'll vanish and take a look. You and my shadow body will stay here." Upon hearing the nod from the Peony Immortal, he entered the night journey, carefully stepping over the bushes, dry branches, and vines hanging overhead, moving swiftly toward the left. Half a minute later, Zhang Yuanqing arrived silently at the scene of battle. Before he could fully examine the two combatants, he first heard a cold, eerie laugh: "Ah, the high school girl from Japan—let's take her down now."