CREAK... CREAK... CREAK...

The bone wheels creaked as they rolled over the ground. The Undead Fortress slowly approached the mountain range and came to a stop at its base. Skeleton Undead swarmed out from the fortress to scout the surroundings. Although he had called this place an auspicious land, the necessary reconnaissance couldn’t be skipped. Who knew what might be lurking here? Reports were continuously sent back to Li Ziyu in the main tower.

As more and more reports came in, a strange expression slowly formed on Li Ziyu’s face.

The intelligence from the Skeleton Undead indicated the presence of many living creatures’ auras in the vicinity, all of them Wild Beasts. The higher up the mountain they went, the stronger the auras became. They even faintly detected the existence of Magical Beasts and Demonized Creatures. However, they found no trace of life auras from any Native Tribes.

’There are life auras from Wild Beasts, but not from Natives... Does that mean there really aren’t any Natives around here, or is our scouting range not wide enough?’

Li Ziyu was puzzled. If what Tas Tuling said was true, could these Wild Beasts be even stronger than the Natives? Otherwise, why could they survive around the Wraith Mountain Range when the Natives couldn’t? It just didn’t add up.

’This is a little strange. I’ll have to run an experiment to see what’s really going on. I’ll start by hunting a common Wild Beast to see if there’s any difference.’

Before long, a few Skeleton Undead walked in carrying a wild boar. They tossed the boar onto the ground, and after the Undead left, the group gathered around to examine it.

"Boss, this looks like an ordinary wild boar. I don’t see anything strange about it." Liu Xingxing touched the boar’s corpse and even used his Bone Saber to make an incision. Watching the blood flow out, he finally confirmed that it was just a regular, and not particularly large, wild boar.

Mumu nodded from the side in agreement.

Li Ziyu didn’t notice anything unusual either. He tried having the system decompose it, but there were no issues. It was broken down normally, and there was nothing special among the resulting materials. He sat back down on his White Bone Throne, his brow furrowed in silence.

"Boss, what’s going on? You’ve been acting weird for a while now." Liu Xingxing was completely baffled and leaned in to ask.

"Xingxing, don’t you think the fact that there are no problems—that everything is completely normal—is the biggest problem of all?" Li Ziyu said, his brow still knitted tightly.

"Boss, what’s wrong with you? Are you sick? Confused? What do you mean ’no problems is the biggest problem’? You’re making my head spin," Liu Xingxing said with a wry smile.

"Tas Tuling said this is the Wraith Mountain Range, and that nearby Tribes are afflicted by a Curse. So why are the animals fine? They aren’t dead; in fact, they seem to be living quite well."

"The animals are fine, but the Tribes are not. Why is that?"

"Does the Curse only affect certain Tribes, or does it only target intelligent life? We have plenty of animals around us right now, and it seems there are even Magical Beasts and Demonized Creatures up on the mountain."

Li Ziyu rubbed his temples as he voiced his speculations and concerns.

The Undead themselves had nothing to fear. After all, they were different from normal living beings. So long as their Soul Fire burned, an Undead could not be extinguished. A Curse should have no effect on them. But what about the Minotaur, the Catman, himself, and Liu Xingxing? They weren’t Undead!

At Li Ziyu’s words, it dawned on Liu Xingxing. His expression changed, and he began to worry. ’The Boss really is on another level,’ he thought. ’He thinks of everything. It makes sense.’

"So what do we do now?" Liu Xingxing asked tentatively, his courage wavering.

"How about we send the Undead out to explore while the rest of us stay a bit farther away?" Tas Tuling suggested after a moment of thought.

’Hmm, that’s a good suggestion. Let the Undead be the vanguards and scout for danger. The rest of us will keep our distance, focus on finding resources first, and take our time with our plans.’

After a brief moment of consideration, Li Ziyu accepted Tas Tuling’s suggestion. They still had no idea what this so-called Curse was really about.

In his previous life, most people would have just laughed off the idea of a curse. They were skeptical of the supernatural, and so-called curses could always be explained away by science, stripping them of their mysterious veil and making them seem less terrifying.

But this was the Otherworld. Supernatural Power was real, and Curses were real. They could kill you without a trace. There was nothing wrong with being cautious.

They had to be even more careful, especially since they didn’t know if the Curse was fast-acting or a slow poison.

The Skeleton Undead fanned out and entered the mountains, spreading out like a great net to search for any possible clues.

They worked until just before dawn. The Undead returned one after another, but everything was normal; they had found nothing. Li Ziyu had no choice but to enter Hibernation Mode first and wait for nightfall. He specifically instructed Liu Xingxing and Mumu that if anything happened, they should run immediately. They were not to stay here under any circumstances—saving their own lives came first.

Neither of them had any objections and nodded in agreement. If even the Boss was saying this, what else could they do?

After the Undead Architecture retracted underground, the morning sun rose, heralding the arrival of a new day.

Liu Xingxing, Mumu, and Tas Tuling stood on the Bone Plate Platform, gazing at their surroundings. Only then did they realize the scenery was completely different from the previous night, making them wonder if this place was even part of the Wasteland.

They were at the foot of the Wraith Mountain Range, where trees were far more numerous than elsewhere. Looking up at the range, they saw it was shaded by lush green trees and dense, flourishing vegetation. It was a sea of green, nothing like the desolation of the Wasteland. The chirping of insects and birds filled their ears, pulsating with the rhythm of life.

"Tas Tuling, are you sure your ancestral knowledge is correct? You call *this* the Wraith Mountain Range?" Liu Xingxing asked, suddenly turning his head and pointing at the mountains after staring for a long time.

Tas Tuling was also bewildered and uncertain. In his inherited knowledge, the Wraith Mountain Range was a land of death—craggy, littered with Corpse Remains, bizarre and gloomy, a place where all life faced Annihilation. It was the complete opposite of what lay before them.

The Wraith Mountain Range before them seemed to have gathered all the most beautiful aspects of the entire Wasteland. It made one want to live here. The endless green, the cheers of life in the air, the smell of moisture in the air... ’Those tender green blades of grass must taste delicious,’ Tas Tuling thought. He had never seen such a sight. He could only imagine how comfortable it would be to live here.

’But how could the teachings of my Ancestor be wrong?’

’This place is definitely the Wraith Mountain Range mentioned in the teachings!’

’If this wasn’t the Wraith Mountain Range, why would there be no Tribes around such a beautiful place? It makes no sense.’

"Alright, let’s not get caught up in that. Since the Ancestor’s teachings exist, we just need to be extra careful. We shouldn’t be deceived by appearances. Perhaps a great terror lies hidden here," Mumu said like a peacemaker, stepping between the two of them.

A new day had begun, and they had much to do. They needed to be more cautious and vigilant than ever to prevent any unexpected incidents. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Liu Xingxing hadn’t actually wanted to argue with Tas Tuling; he was just venting. After all, the scene before him was impossible to reconcile with the name "Wraith Mountain Range."

He had his own plans as well. He hadn’t slept at all the previous night, so he was going to catch some sleep first. Once he had his energy back, he would take the fortress out to patrol the area and explore what was around them.

The last time he was here, he hadn’t dared to get this close. Back then, this area was quite far from their stronghold at the Swamp Graveyard. Now, he had to investigate it thoroughly.

After saying goodbye to Mumu and Tas Tuling, Liu Xingxing returned to his own fortress, yawning, to get some sleep.

The Minotaur had their own tasks to attend to. They needed to wait for their kinsmen to wake up and inform them of the situation here.