The two of them did not wake up completely until noon of the next day. When they went out, they learned that they would gather at the council hall in the evening to distribute the rewards for this mission. During the day, they could move around freely, but they did not go out of the city.
Lin Yu didn't know what they were doing, so he and Wang Hu randomly found a tavern to drink.
When they just sat down, they heard many people talking quietly. Lin Yu used his soul power to investigate carefully, and they almost all discussed the same topic.
There are rare treasures outside the Empty Prison Death Forest!
Seeing the greedy eyes of each mercenary after learning about it, Lin Yu understood Zhang Kang's intention.
I'm afraid this is a rumor deliberately spread by Zhang Kang to encourage the mercenaries to go there on their own initiative to achieve their own goals.
Not only in the tavern, but also on the way back, people in the crowd gathered together to talk.
It was even more the case when they returned to the palace, and the mercenaries talked even more unscrupulously, wishing they could go to the Empty Prison Death Forest to hunt for treasures.
"Is there really a treasure in there?" Wang Hu asked Lin Yu with some doubts after hearing so many people talking about it.
Lin Yu knew that Wang Hu had a simple heart, so how could he know about Zhang Kang's tricks? He just shook his head and said, "I'm afraid everything is just a rumor. It seems that many people will take the initiative to go."
In the evening, they gathered in the meeting hall. As expected, Zhang Kang distributed as many gold bars as he had promised.
Before Zhang Kang could speak, some mercenaries could no longer hold themselves back and actively asked, "Where are you going next?"
"If the mercenaries come to the Prison Forest, we are willing to go together."
"When the time comes, all we need is a little treasure."
…
Sure enough, it was a carefully crafted lie. Lin Yu noticed Zhang Kang's weird smile, which was to trick others into following him to the Empty Prison Death Forest.
Zhang Kang looked troubled, smacked his lips twice and said: "I really want to go to the Empty Prison Death Forest, but you also know that it is very dangerous inside. If you follow me, I'm afraid..."
They had seen Zhang Kang's strength as early as when they were fighting monsters on the road and treated him like a god. Now that they heard that he was going to the Empty Prison and Death Forest, they rushed to sign up to go.
All this was as expected by Zhang Kang. Seeing that the fish had eaten, he began to slowly close the net.
"I'm afraid you have also heard about the treasure. Yes, I know the location of the treasure. Along the way from Tiger Roar City, everyone got along well. I am not a solitary person. If you want to go with me
Just stay, if you don’t want to go, just leave.”
After Zhang Kang finished speaking, he sat down. His eyes kept scanning the crowd, and he paused for three full breaths on Lin Yu and Wang Hu.
After more than a dozen breaths, only one person exited and was about to leave. Lin Yu and Wang Hu naturally stood on the side of the crowd and agreed to go together.
Zhang Kang nodded with satisfaction, waved his hand to signal everyone to quiet down, and then said calmly: "Then everyone will have a good rest tonight, and we will set off tomorrow."
The crowd immediately burst into cheers, and everyone dispersed excitedly, still chatting excitedly on the way back.
When they gathered together the next day, Lin Yu paid special attention to the fact that the person who said he was leaving yesterday had disappeared.
Lin Yu guessed that he must have encountered a poisonous hand, but everyone's attention was on the treasure, and they did not notice that the claws were slowly approaching.
After leaving the city gate, as Lin Yu expected, there was not only Zhang Kang, but also two cultivators, a man and a woman, who also brought many mercenaries.
"There is strength in numbers, and there are countless treasures inside. I guarantee that everyone can get a share of it, and it will be enough for us to have food and clothing for the rest of our lives." Zhang Kang gathered everyone together and shouted loudly.
The charm of money is great. The mercenaries cheered loudly and looked excited.
The three cultivators, apparently headed by Zhang Kang, led the crowd and marched toward the Empty Prison Death Forest.
Behind the team, there were actually ten ordinary people following. They were not Prison Forest mercenaries. They just heard rumors in the city yesterday and some of the more courageous ones went with them.
After walking for half a day, Empty Prison City completely disappeared from sight. A group of hundreds of them were already deep in the mountains.
The temperature in the deep mountains was very strange. In the morning, it made people shiver with cold. The heat at noon came in waves after waves, and everyone's clothes were wet. Many of them could no longer bear it and even
Went forward shirtless.
However, this weird weather still did not dampen their enthusiasm for the treasure hunt. Especially Zhang Kang, whenever he saw everyone dejected, he would take out the treasure and talk about it to boost everyone's morale.
Lin Yu had soul power wandering in his body, and this temperature was nothing to him. It was just that he always felt that there was a pair of eyes watching the team in the dark, and he did not dare to make any move.
The further you go inside, the more humid the air becomes. A gust of wind blows from time to time, which is also mixed with a strong smell of blood.
For two whole days, they didn't know how far they went, and encountered three waves of vicious beasts. With the cooperation of the three cultivators, they easily resisted them.
Seeing their strength, the mercenaries were even more convinced that they had made the right choice this time. It seemed like they could easily get the treasure without exerting any effort.
However, Lin Yu frowned. He knew very well that although he had traveled hundreds of miles, the Empty Prison Death Forest stretched for tens of thousands of miles. He encountered such powerful beasts just on the outside, not to mention what was inside.
It's terrifying.
Zhang Kang and the others took out maps from time to time and compared them with the surrounding environment. Finally, in the early morning of the tenth day, they said to them: "Fifty miles further, we will find the treasure's location, Ziyang Cave. Let's rest here today, and tomorrow
All at once.”
After ten days of traveling under the stars and the moon, they finally heard the news about the treasure. Everyone cheered and took out their wine bottles and started drinking to celebrate.
Lin Yu calculated in his mind that he had traveled nearly two thousand miles deep into the Empty Prison Death Forest. However, he had not encountered any ferocious beasts since the third day. Under such a calm appearance, he felt even more in danger.
A night of silence.
When it was still dark the next day, many mercenaries had already started to make a commotion, packing their bags and getting ready to go.
After about half a stick of incense, Zhang Kang saw that they had all packed up, so he loudly said: "Let's set off now."
Like a general, after he finished speaking, he guided everyone to continue moving along the rugged mountain road.
At this time, Lin Yu saw Wang Hu next to him. After walking in the bush for ten days, he had lost weight. It was not because his body could not bear it, but because he knew in his heart that this was a trap, and he was worried.
I didn't eat much all day.
"We're almost here. You'd better eat something, otherwise you won't be able to resist if you encounter any danger." After Lin Yu said that, he took out the barbecue from his bag and let Wang Hu satisfy his hunger.
It wasn't until three poles in the sun that they climbed over the last mountain peak and reached the place Zhang Kang mentioned.
All around are high mountains towering into the clouds. The mountains are surprisingly abrupt, and there is not even a living creature. Under the impact of the constant rain, the rocks have turned yellow.
They were at the foot of a rugged mountain, with no shelter from the sun. The sun was blazing, and even their feet were scorching hot.
Sweat flowed down their cheeks and began to fall rapidly. They seemed to have just emerged from the water. They surrounded Zhang Kang in the center and obeyed his orders.
"This is it, that's right. Let's search separately to see if there is any word 'Ziyang Cave' carved on it." Zhang Kang put away the map and ordered them.
Seeing that everyone had dispersed, Lin Yu and Wang Hu also walked to the stone wall and began to search.
"Brother Lin Yu, what's the purpose of Zhang Kang gathering us here?" Everything seemed to be true. Wang Hu couldn't tell the difference anymore, so he asked Lin Yu in a low voice.
In fact, Lin Yu didn't know clearly in his heart, but he was certain that there must be some of their people in the Empty Prison Death Forest. Otherwise, it was just three cultivators who would never dare to enter without permission.
"I don't know, it's better not to talk. Their ears are very sensitive. If they are discovered, we will be the first to suffer." Lin Yu responded in a low voice.
Now with them, Lin Yu feels safer. If he wanders alone in the Empty Prison Death Forest, he may face more crises.
He planned to follow this group of people first to see what kind of medicine they were selling in their gourds. He could also take this opportunity to get familiar with the Empty Prison Death Forest and prepare for the future search for the Millennium Ice Chrysanthemum.
All the mercenaries have dispersed, and the three cultivators are also investigating carefully.
After about an hour of burning incense, an excited voice came from the northwest corner: "I found it, I found Ziyang Cave, I found where the treasure is."
Like a thunderclap, everyone heard the sound and immediately swarmed in following the sound. In just a few moments of breathing, the corner was already filled with water.
At this time, Lin Yu also walked over, and following the direction of everyone's fingers, he saw the three characters "Ziyang Cave" written on the broken wall.
It's just that those three characters have become extremely blurry and have been mostly eroded by rain. If you don't look carefully, you won't be able to spot it even if you walk by.
There are only these three words on the wall, there is no hole, let alone treasure.
Zhang Kang and three others also came over at this moment, and everyone consciously made way for a passage. But everyone worked hard, and some of them had already taken out the bags in their bundles and started to prepare.
Lin Yu saw that Zhang Kang had not spoken for a long time, so he scanned it with his immortal sense. He found that there was a restriction placed on the left side of those three words. If it could not be broken, it would be difficult to open.
Zhang Kang took a step back, and the other two cultivators had already started to get lucky. They took out their weapons and started bombarding the stone gate.
"Bang", "Bang", "Bang"...
There were bursts of explosions, rubble flying above the stone door, and they were immediately enveloped in yellow dust.
After coughing a few times, most of the dust fell down, and I saw that the stone door was still intact, with no signs of damage at all.
The man and woman were very angry and were about to take action again, but Zhang Kang stopped them in time.
"This door is barricaded and it's impossible to break through forcefully. Get out of your way and let me come."
After Zhang Kang finished speaking, he motioned for everyone to disperse. After a moment, a huge open space was vacated.
He took out a piece of jade from his sleeve robe and input spiritual energy at the same time. The jade stone immediately flashed a bright light, and dense energy emanated from it.
Colorful lights gathered and surrounded the three words "Ziyang Cave" in the blink of an eye. The originally blurry font slowly lit up, flashing golden light, which was very dazzling.
The mercenaries covered their eyes one after another. They only heard the rumbling sound and had no idea what was happening.
It wasn't until dozens of breaths passed that the golden light slowly receded. The entire stone door appeared in everyone's sight again. The originally closed stone door was now open.【】