Martial Arts: I Have a Wilderness World-Chapter 63: Exploration

Tianduan Mountain, also known as the Celestial Break Mountain Range.

Spanning the Land of Four Mansions, the Celestial Break Mountain Range boasted a unique topography of overlapping peaks, clustered summits, and deep, profound gorges.

Within this entire mountain range, there was a special river channel.

If one were to look down upon it from high in the sky, they would discover that this river channel, like a moat, divided Tianduan Mountain.

The countless villagers living near Tianduan Mountain had spontaneously, in the simplest and most memorable way, divided it into the Outer Mountain and the Inner Mountain.

Everything beyond the river channel was the Outer Mountain. Everything within it was the Inner Mountain.

However, over the past two years, the water in the river channel had gradually dried up. This caused many creatures from the Outer Mountain to enter the Inner Mountain. With the resources of the Outer Mountain dwindling, starving villagers were forced to risk venturing into the Inner Mountain.

In the past, however, the common folk rarely set foot in the Inner Mountain. This was because the mountains held not only ordinary wild animals, Fierce Beasts, and venomous creatures, but also elusive Fierce Beasts!

With all these dangers present, anyone who entered faced almost certain death.

It’s just that no one had ever seen one of these Fierce Beasts—or perhaps, those who had were already buried in the mountains.

Likewise, due to the water shortage, no large wild beasts had appeared in the Outer Mountain, save for a few small creatures.

This was also why, two years into the drought, people dared to venture a short way into the Inner Mountain.

Cheng Zongyang took a winding path, eventually arriving at the region of Tianduan Mountain that bordered both Golden Bridge Village and Hechi Village.

He pushed deeper, crossed a mountain, and came to the long-dry riverbed—a place that remained a formidable barrier in the minds of countless people, a line they dared not carelessly cross.

The riverbed was now overgrown with weeds, but large quantities of river stones were still exposed.

The channel was about fifty or sixty feet wide. Standing on a massive boulder at the border between the Inner and Outer Mountains, Cheng Zongyang observed both sides.

He finally headed downstream, in the direction he remembered led toward Golden Bridge Village.

After walking for about an hour along the rugged mountain path, he finally reached a bend in the river.

The terrain here was relatively flat compared to the rest of the mountains, forming a point bar on the inner side of the river’s curve.

Cheng Zongyang had inspected the area on his first visit and determined it had been formed by a landslide.

The shape of the slope behind it was still visible.

Now, however, the area was completely overtaken by trees and bamboo groves.

Cheng Zongyang carefully made his way to the top of the slope and looked down to survey the scene.

He grew increasingly satisfied with the location.

’If I clear it all, this plot of land is at least ten to fifteen acres. That’s enough not just for living, but for farming too.’

’If that’s not enough, I can expand further up the mountainside and create terraced fields.’

’A guardrail several meters high could keep out ordinary Fierce Beasts, though probably not the elusive ones. But those Fierce Beasts usually don’t come to the Outer Mountain anyway.’

Not wanting to waste time, Cheng Zongyang went to the area near the riverbed and took a hoe and shovel from his Wilderness World.

The groundwater in the villages outside was almost gone; the situation was grim.

If this continued, he estimated even the County Town would be in trouble.

Therefore, he had to confirm whether there was groundwater here as quickly as possible.

He was very strong, so digging was naturally easy for him.

However, when he had dug three or four meters down and still hadn’t found water, his expression soured. It was, however, what he had expected.

Not a drop of rain had fallen in two years. Water was only being used up, not replenished. The fact that the trees here were still alive probably meant their root systems were frantically pushing ever deeper.

After digging five meters deep, a sweat-drenched Cheng Zongyang grabbed a handful of dirt from the hole. He squeezed, and it crumbled completely.

Seeing that the dirt was still bone-dry with almost no moisture, Cheng Zongyang gave up and climbed out of the pit.

’The environment is good, and it’s suitable for living, but it’s no good for farming.’

’Where is the water...?’ Cheng Zongyang frowned, staring blankly at the dry riverbed.

’Then again... a river this long, said to stretch through the entire Celestial Break Mountain Range... did it really dry up just because of the drought? If it had been diverted, there should be some trace of it. And where is the source?’

Cheng Zongyang stared at the riverbed, his thoughts swirling. Slowly, he shifted his gaze to the opposite bank.

That was the Inner Mountain.

The place the elders always warned him never to enter.

’Looking at it, the environment doesn’t seem much different from the Outer Mountain’s. But it can’t be as simple as it looks, can it?’

In his years as a Hunter, he had learned a great deal about the legends of Tianduan Mountain.

Besides the ordinary wild animals and Fierce Beasts, there were also the other Fierce Beasts.

These Fierce Beasts were said to differ from common animals in their size, appearance, and Power. Most importantly, they were rumored to possess special Abilities.

Some elders even occasionally spoke of legends about Exotic Beasts.

Of course, he had never encountered one, and they might have just been stories.

But all the tales agreed on one thing: Fierce Beasts existed. That was why a Ninth Grade Constable had entered the Inner Mountain and never been seen again.

Cheng Zongyang stared at his surroundings, noting the difference in vegetation between the two sides of the riverbed.

Despite a two-year drought with no rain anywhere in the mountains, the plants here were still lush and verdant. That had to mean there was moisture underground.

However, the groundwater outside the mountains had dried up, so the Inner Mountain should have been affected too, even if the subterranean water channels were different.

’No!’

Suddenly, as if remembering something, Cheng Zongyang snapped his gaze toward the Inner Mountain.

’The ground’s surface is dry, so the plants’ roots just grow deeper to find moisture. But... what about the animals?’

There were hardly any animals left in the Outer Mountain, just a few scattered snakes, insects, rats, and ants. But they all needed water! So most of them must have gone into the Inner Mountain.

Of that, there was no doubt.

Which raised a question.

Where were they getting their water?

At this thought, Cheng Zongyang’s eyes swept rapidly across the opposite bank.

He hesitated no longer. After packing his basket, he used his knife to cut down a three-meter-long bamboo stalk and started across toward the Inner Mountain.

’If I just follow some animals, I should be able to find a source of surface water.’

’Unless every large creature in the Inner Mountain has either died or fled to a place without a drought.’

Stepping into the Inner Mountain, Cheng Zongyang proceeded with extreme caution, using the bamboo pole to clear the path ahead and check for hidden vipers and venomous insects. He also tried to avoid large trees, keeping to the open spaces between them.

And a good thing he did, because the result was shocking!

As his bamboo pole disturbed the ground, countless insects scurried out from the piles of rotting leaves and clumps of weeds.

Centipedes, scorpions, spiders...

Unknown flying insects, moths...

Camouflaged beetles, brightly-colored caterpillars, triangular-headed snakes...

He even saw an insect land on a purplish-black vine, only to instantly lose all momentum and drop from a plant that was clearly carnivorous...

The sight of it all made Cheng Zongyang’s blood run cold.

’If I couldn’t rely on the Wilderness World, I really wouldn’t have dared to come in here!’

’Damn it, how is this place even more dangerous than the Wilderness World?’

’No wonder a few of the villagers died after just two trips into the Inner Mountain. There are lethal threats everywhere!’

Cheng Zongyang grew even more vigilant, taking his time. He advanced slowly, sweeping the path before him with the bamboo pole. He cleared away all the rotting leaves and vines to make his passage safer.

Any snakes he encountered, he either beat to death on the spot or sent flying with a flick of his pole.

And so, Cheng Zongyang gradually pushed deeper into the Inner Mountain.

As the sky began to darken, Cheng Zongyang dared not linger. He cleared a small patch of open ground to minimize any immediate threats, then took his basket and entered the Wilderness World.

"Haaaah..."

Cheng Zongyang sat down on the floor of the market hut and let out a huge sigh of relief.

His nerves had been stretched taut the entire time; only now could he finally relax.

’So damn dangerous. If I had a protective suit, I wouldn’t have to worry,’ Cheng Zongyang muttered, scratching furiously at an itch.

At one point, he’d stumbled upon a snake’s nest, and a dozen vipers had lunged at him. If he hadn’t ducked into the Wilderness World in the nick of time, he would have been bitten for sure.

’If I can find water and we end up living here, I’ll have to thoroughly clear out that opposite bank. Otherwise, all those venomous things will be a huge threat to my family.’

’The mosquitos in these mountains are vicious. They can even bite through my skin, and it’s been tempered by Body Forging.’

Looking at the mosquito bite on his arm, Cheng Zongyang pressed a cross into it with his fingernail—a classic "seal."

The relief was instantaneous.

After resting for a while, he began to cook a meal for himself. He still had to brew a medicinal soup for his Body Forging later.

He took the game from his basket and started a fire to cook.

It was mostly snake meat. He had caught seven or eight of them, but they were nowhere near as plump as the snakes in the Wilderness World.

An hour later, his belly full, Cheng Zongyang began building a warehouse next to the market hut while his medicinal soup simmered.