Starting from the imperial palace guards, his clones spread all over the world.

Chapter 490: Ancient Clan in the Deep Mountains
Liang Jin was extremely anxious. Without thinking, he pulled Mu Mu up, stepped lightly, and used his light skills to rush towards the direction of the large army in front.

The dense jungle branches and leaves whizzed past them like green phantoms.

Soon, the two of them shot out of the dense forest like sharp arrows, and the view in front of them suddenly opened up.

It turned out that we had reached the edge of a very high cliff.

All the people in the front stood at the edge of the cliff with solemn expressions, and couldn't help but let out bursts of exclamations.

Liang Jin quickly stepped forward and took a closer look.

Not far below the cliff, I saw a mountain range stretching from east to west like a majestic python, crossing the vast land.

What is amazing is that the shape of this mountain is very similar to a dragon, magnificent and majestic, as if it will take off and soar into the sky at any time.

The wonders of nature are fully displayed at this moment. Anyone who sees such a unique terrain will regard it as a sacred existence like a dragon vein, and will be filled with endless shock and awe.

But after Liang Jin carefully examined it for a few times, he felt something strange and couldn't help muttering to himself:
"Why does it look like a... dead dragon?"

Indeed, although the mountain is shaped like a long dragon, it is lifeless, like a giant dragon that is exhausted and lying dead on the ground.

The surrounding mountains and hills are all lush green, full of vitality and vigor.

However, this dragon-like mountain seems out of place. Its rock walls are covered with copper-colored wrinkles, just like the remains of a giant dragon with its scales stripped off, lying miserably upside down in the mountains.

There is hardly any green vegetation on the ridge, and it is dead silent, as if it is a corner forgotten by life.

But what made everyone exclaim in amazement was obviously not just this strange mountain range.

No matter how unique the mountains are, they would not cause these experienced warriors to lose their composure and shout like this.

What really shocked everyone was the dead bodies scattered all over the top of the cliff.

The corpses were severely decayed and emitted a disgusting and strong stench that permeated the air, making people almost nauseous.

At a rough glance, there are at least twenty or thirty of them.

What is even more surprising is that most of the dead bodies were wearing the uniforms of the police station!

Only a few of the dead bodies were wearing civilian clothes.

Everyone's eyes involuntarily focused on Gu Jinfu, their eyes full of confusion and inquiry.

Gu Jinfu looked solemn and waved his hand.

Cao Xian understood what he meant and immediately walked forward with two guards. They squatted down and carefully examined the corpses.

It took a long time for Cao Xian to finish the inspection.

He came to Gu Jinfu but did not speak.

Gu Jinfu glanced at Zhao Xiling beside him and saw that Zhao Xiling's eyes were full of curiosity.

Then Gu Jinfu said to Cao Xian:
"Say!"

After receiving the instruction, Cao Xian immediately spoke:
"Sir, these are indeed people from our investigation department."

"A while ago, the Minister of War disregarded the law and committed crimes, and was impeached by the Imperial Envoy. His crimes were serious. Feeling guilty, he fled the capital, and my investigation team was ordered by the Emperor to capture him."

"When the Minister of War fled to Jinzhou, he was surrounded by officers from our Investigation Bureau. He had no choice but to flee into the Shiwan Mountains. Our officers were brave and fearless, and resolutely entered the mountains to pursue him, but there has been no news since then."

"I didn't expect that everyone on both sides would die here. They must have died of poisoning, but it's hard to find out what the poison was right now."

Everyone then realized that among the dead bodies, those wearing uniforms were from the Criminal Investigation Bureau, while those dressed as civilians were the Minister of War and his men.

After hearing this, everyone closed their lips and chose to remain silent. Obviously, no one wanted to get involved in the internal struggle of the court. After all, this had nothing to do with them, the martial artists.

Even Zhao Xiling, who is usually talkative, wisely remained silent at this moment.

Although she is a princess with a respected status, the power she holds is very limited.

The conflict between the Investigation Bureau and the Ministry of War was so complicated that it was far beyond the ability of a princess like her to easily interfere.

at this time.

Suddenly, a sharp cry erupted from the crowd:

"Look!"

Everyone turned to look when they heard the sound.

I saw that above that strange mountain range, a group of misty gas slowly emerged.

These gases are colorful, and under the sunlight, they constantly change their charming colors, which are gorgeous and dazzling, like a fairyland in a dream.

However, this strange scene did not add any vitality to the mountains. Instead, it added a sense of weirdness to the lifeless atmosphere.

Soon, the colorful gas spread rapidly, covering most of the mountain range.

At this time, Zhao Xiling's face was serious, and she slowly said:
"Those are the poisonous miasma of Dragon Burial Ridge."

"They erupt and dissipate at irregular intervals. Sometimes they disappear completely within a few days, but sometimes they remain shrouded in the mountains for a year or two."

"It's especially important to note that it's extremely toxic."

Having said this, Zhao Xiling deliberately emphasized her tone, making her voice sound more serious and earnest, trying to make everyone deeply aware of the huge threat posed by this poisonous miasma:

"Don't think you can force out the poison with your internal energy, and don't think you can isolate the poison by holding your breath. These are all useless."

"This kind of poisonous miasma has even killed a second-grade warrior!"

When everyone heard this, they all gasped, their hearts filled with shock and fear.

A second-grade warrior is a god-like existence in the world, an unrivaled powerhouse standing at the pinnacle of the martial arts world!
But even though he was so powerful, he still died from this poisonous miasma. It can be seen how terrifying the toxicity of this poisonous miasma is!
At this moment, everyone put away their contempt and no longer dared to underestimate this poisonous miasma.

Watching the poisonous miasma gradually spreading and rising like a surging tide, everyone finally understood the cause of death of those detectives from the police station and the assistant minister of the Ministry of War.

For a moment, panic appeared on everyone's face. If the poisonous miasma rose to the top of the cliff, they would probably lose their lives.

At this time, Zhao Xiling said calmly:
"Everyone, don't panic! This poisonous miasma is the first barrier to entry in Dragon Burial Ridge. If we can't even get past this barrier, we'll have no choice but to return home."

"Although this poisonous miasma is powerful, it can be suppressed by spiritual medicine."

"Doctor Mu, you should be ready, right?"

Having said that, Zhao Xiling turned her gaze to Mu Mu.

Mu Mu patted the medicine basket he brought with him and said confidently:

"Don't worry, Princess. After receiving the medicine you asked me to refine to resist the miasma, I dared not delay for a moment."

"Recently, I've not only read a large number of books on the poisonous miasma found in the Hundred Thousand Mountains of Jinzhou, but I've also taken the trouble to visit many of the mountain dwellers there. I even personally came to the outskirts of the Burial Dragon Ridge to conduct some in-depth research."

"Now, I have successfully refined a new miasma-avoiding pill. With this pill, I can ensure that everyone does not need to worry about the threat of poisonous miasma."

Having said this, he added solemnly:
"After taking my miasma-avoiding pill, you won't be afraid of these poisonous miasma for three days. At most, you will only have a slight effect."

"But remember, it only lasts three days. Even if you take the miasma-avoiding pill again during this time, it will only extend its effectiveness by a few hours. The more times you take it, the weaker its effect will be."

"So after three days, we must leave the poisonous miasma area and recuperate for seven days to eliminate the medicinal properties in our bodies before we can continue to take the miasma-avoiding pills."

Mu Mu was full of confidence in his achievements. After all, his most important mission this time was to help everyone resist the poisonous miasma.

As he spoke, he carefully took out the miasma-repelling pills from his backpack and began distributing them to everyone:

"This medicine needs to be taken half an hour in advance."

"So everyone can take it now. In half an hour, we should be entering the poisonous miasma range."

No one expected that Zhao Xiling had already arranged people to make thorough preparations in advance.

After they took the pills handed out by Mu Mu, they put them into their mouths without hesitation and swallowed them with their heads tilted back.

Liang Jin also got a pill, but he didn't take it immediately after looking at the black pill.

He never liked eating random food, and he possessed the characteristic of being immune to all poisons, so he didn't need to rely on the miasma-avoiding pill to resist the poisonous miasma.

After everyone took the pills, the poisonous miasma had not yet completely spread. Naturally, everyone would not wait foolishly, but continued on their way forward.

They went down the cliff and ran straight towards the Dragon Burial Ridge.

Sure enough, after about half an hour, everyone arrived at the foot of Zanglong Ridge.

From afar, colorful poisonous miasma filled the air over the Zanglong Ridge, as if covering the entire mountain with a mysterious veil.

But when everyone got closer, they found that it was just a visual effect from a distance.

At this moment, everyone only felt that the fog on the Dragon Burial Ridge was a little thicker than ordinary places, but they could still see normally.

Due to the light, the poisonous miasma at the foot of the mountain could not even be seen in colorful colors. Instead, it was like patches of gray mist, heavily covering the mountain.

Mu Mu was full of confidence and took the lead in diving into the fog.

He took a deep breath of the poisonous miasma that was everywhere around him to demonstrate the magical effect of the miasma-avoiding pill he developed.

After everyone saw that Mu Mu was safe and sound after staying in the poisonous miasma for an hour, they all bravely followed him in.

As soon as Liang Jin stepped into the poisonous miasma range, a poisoning message instantly popped up on the panel of [Immune to All Poisons].

Thanks to the powerful system characteristics, Liang Jin was naturally unharmed.

However, many people in the team still experienced some minor problems.

Some people's skin instantly broke out in dense red rashes, itching unbearably; some felt their internal energy begin to become disordered, their breathing becoming sluggish; others simply felt uncomfortable all over, with a particularly stinging pain in their eyes...

Even Zhao Xiling felt that breathing was a little difficult and her chest was stuffy.

Seeing this, Mu Mu hurried to comfort everyone, saying that these were normal reactions.

Although his anti-miasma pills could save everyone's lives, they could not completely eliminate some of the less serious symptoms caused by the poisonous miasma.

Everyone could only grit their teeth and move on.

As the poisonous miasma filled the air and blocked out the sun, the deeper they went into the Dragon Burial Ridge, the darker the sky and earth seemed to become. In the end, it was as dark as night.

At first, when everyone looked at it from a distance, they thought there were no plants on the Dragon Burial Ridge.

But as we went deeper, we were shocked to find that the plants here had undergone strange mutations.

All the plants have sharp barbs growing on their reverse sides, and a light red sap oozes out of their surface. When the sap dries up, it forms a hard shell like a blood scab.

The color of these plants blends seamlessly with the copper-colored rock walls, making them difficult to distinguish from a distance.

suddenly!

A strange and eerie voice rang out faintly in the poisonous miasma that covered the sky and the sun.

“Wuwuwu——!!!”

The sound sounded like a woman crying, and not just one woman, but hundreds of women crying at the same time!

The crying was shrill and mournful, echoing in the dim environment, making people's scalps tingle and their hair stand on end.

Everyone instantly felt like they were facing a great enemy. They quickly became alert, holding their weapons tightly in their hands and looking around vigilantly.

But Zhao Xiling's eyes lit up and she said loudly:

"Go toward the crying!"

With Zhao Xiling's order, although everyone was filled with fear, they had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue to move forward in this poisonous miasma that was like a thick fog.

Soon, they were getting closer and closer to the crying.

For a moment, the crying seemed to come from all directions, penetrating every pore and making everyone's eardrums hurt.

Finally, everyone arrived at a depression.

The rocks here are covered with honeycomb-like holes. Whenever a strong wind blows, the holes will make a whimpering sound like a woman crying, which is creepy.

Zhao Xiling saw these holes, nodded with satisfaction, and said:
"This is the Wind-Eating Rock!"

"At the same time, this is also the outermost entrance to the Jiuyuan Rock Prison."

Upon hearing this, everyone hurriedly looked around carefully.

Sure enough, some traces of human activity were found among the plants and vegetation oozing red liquid.

Some people found some door frames that had not completely decayed on the rocks, some found some severely rotten deer antlers, and some even found some armor and weapons covered with red scabs from the pile of plants.

Zhao Xiling raised her hand and pointed at Tanfengyan, saying:

"There should be a road here, let's follow it!"

Everyone immediately formed a team and continued to move forward.

After all, decades have passed now, and the original road has long been covered by those red, sticky, and extremely strange plants.

But fortunately, as they went deeper, some human traces around them became more and more obvious, which prevented everyone from getting lost.

As Liang Jin followed the team deeper, his brows gradually furrowed, and he thought to himself:

"What a strange feeling..."

He always has an inexplicable sense of familiarity with the atmosphere around him.

This feeling of familiarity was very faint, so faint that Liang Jin couldn't even accurately judge why it was familiar and what aspects were familiar.

It seems that this familiar feeling comes from the depths of distant memory, but I can't grasp it.

Just as he was filled with surprise, the team suddenly slowed down.

It turned out that everyone had come to a large flat rock wall.

There are many rock paintings carved on the rock walls. They are completely different from the rough rock paintings left by mountain people in the deep mountains. The rock paintings here are exquisite.

From above, you can clearly see the scene of many people fighting fiercely with the dragons crawling out of the ground. The characters are lifelike and the battle scenes are thrilling.

Zhao Xiling had no interest in these rock paintings and anxiously urged everyone to move on.

Liang Jin was deeply attracted by these rock paintings and stopped to stare at them for a long time.

Seeing this, Mu Mu on the side took the initiative to explain:
"This should have been left behind by the ancestors of the Youhuan tribe."

Upon hearing this, Liang Jin looked at Mu Mu with a puzzled look on his face.

Youhuan clan?
Mu Mu explained patiently:

"There are many ethnic groups in the Hundred Thousand Mountains. Some ethnic groups have lived in the mountains for a long time and are little known to the public."

"A while ago, in order to gain a deeper understanding of the characteristics of the poisonous miasma, I visited these mountain people and learned that there was a very ancient mountain tribe that once lived in Zanglong Ridge, and that was the Youhuan tribe."

"The Youhuan people are mysterious, brutal, barbaric, and ignorant. They still practice the terrifying custom of headhunting, and are said to be able to communicate with ghosts and gods. Therefore, the surrounding mountain dwellers are extremely afraid of them and never dare to approach Dragon Burial Ridge."

"Later, several decades ago, not long after the establishment of the Daqian Dynasty, Emperor Taizu sent a large army here and wiped out the Youhuan Clan in one fell swoop."

"Not long after that, a poisonous miasma erupted from Dragon Burial Ridge, turning this place into a deadly place."

After hearing this, Liang Jin became more confused.

The Zanglong Ridge is located deep in the mountains, remote and desolate, and does not seem to have any special significance or value.

How could Emperor Taizu of Daqian actually send troops here to wipe out an ancient mountain tribe?
Could it be that this place hides something that even the emperor would be attracted to?

Just when Liang Jin was filled with surprise, the large army in front suddenly burst into exclamations again.

But this time, the exclamation seemed to carry a deep fear:
"What the hell is this?!"

"Be careful! Be careful!!!"

(End of this chapter)