Stars twinkled in the night sky, and the great moon cast a hazy white glow. The Wasteland wind drove vast clouds slowly across the night sky.

Under the cover of night, a mountain range jutted out from the Wasteland, stretching across the desolate landscape and casting a vast shadow, like a slumbering Giant Beast.

’We’re finally here!’

Within the shadows, points of Soul Fire flickered atop the Undead Fortress. Li Ziyu stood in the Castle Main Tower, gazing at the mountains ahead and letting out a sigh. They hadn’t activated the Skeleton Engine, so the fortress had been moving at low speed. Four days after leaving the Swamp Graveyard, they had finally arrived at the new treasure location.

Li Ziyu wasn’t the only one in the Castle Main Tower. Liu Xingxing, Mumu, and Tas Tuling were all wide awake, standing by his side and gazing at the same mountain range.

For safety’s sake, Liu Xingxing’s treasure-hunting expeditions had a limited range. This mountain range marked the very boundary of his explorations, and it held the highest concentration of resources and treasures—like a true Treasure Basin.

In contrast to the excitement of Li Ziyu and Liu Xingxing, Tas Tuling seemed a bit dazed. Although he had never been here before, he felt a strange sense of familiarity, as if he knew something about it but had forgotten. Something important.

He bowed his head, thinking hard and trying to recall. He was surprised to discover that this sense of familiarity came from his Shamanic heritage—it was knowledge from memories left behind by his Ancestors.

Sensing a strange fluctuation emanating from Tas Tuling, the other three turned their heads in surprise, only to see that he had fallen into a state resembling meditation.

"What’s wrong with Tas Tuling?" Li Ziyu asked Mumu, confused.

The Minotaurs were one of the Native Races and had existed for a very long time. There was too much about them that Li Ziyu didn’t understand. He might not grasp Tas Tuling’s current state, but he could ask Mumu, the Clan Leader.

"It seems... it seems he’s communicating with the Ancestors?" Mumu said uncertainly. A Shaman was a mysterious profession that not everyone could understand. Besides, the Tabu Tribe had never produced a Shaman before, so Mumu could only guess.

With Tas Tuling’s condition unclear, Li Ziyu didn’t rush the Undead Fortress toward the mountains. Instead, he had it stop where it was, deciding to wait for Tas Tuling to return to normal. He had a feeling that Tas Tuling’s current state was somehow related to the mountains ahead.

Tas Tuling grew stranger and stranger. He slowly raised his head, his eyes having turned white and emitting a soft glow. Countless special characters flickered within them. He made no sound, spoke no words, simply staring intently at the mountains in the Darkness. It was incredibly eerie.

After a long moment, his entire body shuddered, like someone suddenly waking from a nightmare. The light in his eyes faded, and he returned to normal, panting heavily.

"What happened to you?" Liu Xingxing asked, looking at Tas Tuling curiously.

"This mountain... isn’t normal!" Tas Tuling said, his lips dry and his voice slightly hoarse.

The three people around him exchanged baffled looks. ’What does he mean, not normal?’

Fortunately, Tas Tuling realized he hadn’t been clear and began to explain. "We can’t go over there. The heritage from my Ancestors tells me this is one of the forbidden lands of the Wasteland. Every Tribe that has tried to occupy this place has perished. Every single one."

’Whoa, it’s that dangerous?’

Li Ziyu jumped, shooting a sideways glance at Liu Xingxing. He couldn’t help but suspect the guy’s special talent had activated again. ’Don’t tell me he’s found another place we can’t develop?’

Liu Xingxing saw Li Ziyu’s look and gave an awkward laugh. He had no intention of taking the fall for this, so he quickly asked Tas Tuling, "What kind of danger is it, exactly? Just spit it out."

Tas Tuling lowered his head. A silence fell, and an air of terror slowly built. A low voice spoke, "This is a cursed mountain range. Its curse doesn’t come from the Wasteland, but was created by Powers like Witchcraft Magic. Any Tribe that draws near will be Cursed. Death will follow them. Its name is the Wraith Mountain Range."

HISS—

Liu Xingxing sucked in a cold breath. ’This is so damn scary,’ he thought. ’How did I find another bizarre... Huh? Wait. What did he call it? The Wraith Mountain Range?’

’Wandering Souls? Terrifying? Death?’

He silently turned his head to look at his boss beside him. ’Isn’t a mountain range like this basically made for the boss? His Race is the bona fide Skeleton Undead Race—Death itself. Could the so-called Wraith Mountain Range really make an Undead die a second time? Isn’t this basically coming home for us?’

Li Ziyu had been tense, wondering what Tas Tuling was about to say. But when he heard the words "Wraith Mountain Range," his brow twitched, and then his eyes narrowed.

’You’ve got to be kidding me...’

After relaying the lore from his Ancestors, Tas Tuling was still immersed in the horror of it all, waiting to hear the suppressed gasps from those around him. But after a moment with no reaction, the atmosphere actually turned strange. He couldn’t help but look up at the others, only to find them all staring intently at him.

"What is it? I’m finished. This is a forbidden land; we shouldn’t go in," Tas Tuling said, thinking they hadn’t understood, and repeated his warning earnestly.

"Tas Tuling, this place is the Wraith Mountain Range?" Mumu couldn’t help but be the first to speak.

"Yes, it’s incredibly dangerous," Tas Tuling nodded, as if it were obvious. He still didn’t quite understand what his Clan Leader was getting at.

Mumu fell silent, looking at Tas Tuling with a sense of helplessness. ’You’re usually so sharp, kid. How have you not figured it out yet, even after I prompted you like that?’

"Getting close gets you Cursed, and then you die?" Liu Xingxing prompted again.

"That’s what the Ancestors’ heritage says." Tas Tuling looked at Liu Xingxing blankly. ’Was I really that unclear just now?’

"Tas Tuling, look at me. Who am I?" Li Ziyu sighed, pointing to himself.

"You’re the one I’m contracted to, the master of the fortress, the Master of the Undead, uh..." Tas Tuling finally understood, freezing in place.

"So, look. I’m the Master of the Undead. This fortress is loaded with Skeleton Undead. And this mountain range is called the Wraith Mountain Range. Surprise, surprise, huh?" Li Ziyu’s face was full of teasing smiles as he poked fun at Tas Tuling.

’How could I have forgotten his identity? Other Tribes probably couldn’t set up camp around these mountains, but it’s no problem for the Master of the Undead! No wonder the Clan Leader and Liu Xingxing were speaking so strangely. They were giving me blatant hints!’

Tas Tuling’s face flushed crimson. He was so embarrassed he could have dug a three-bedroom apartment out of the ground with his hooves. He didn’t know it, but there was a word for this: social death.

Thanks to Tas Tuling’s explanation, not only was Li Ziyu unafraid, he was actually in a fantastic mood. The Wraith Mountain Range was a blessed place, a land of great fortune!

’Think about it. The heritage says that Tribes that get close are Cursed and die. If there’s any truth to that, it means that Tribes really have been completely wiped out here before—and probably not just one or two.’

’And taking that a step further, if a Tribe is wiped out, won’t they leave corpses behind? If everyone in the Tribe is dead, then there’s no one left to move the bodies, right? The corpses must still be around here!’

’Skeletons all around, and buried underground... Heh, doesn’t that mean this place is a giant ’Mine’ for the Undead Race?’

’If this isn’t a blessed land, then what is?’

’I was originally trying to help Liu Xingxing find some resources, but I ended up finding a paradise for myself instead. Sweet.’