Chapter 137: The Land of Buried Corpses

The Peak of Punishment!
As of now, it’s likely no one in the entire Shaolin Sect knows its location. Even if someone occasionally approaches the jagged, treacherous peaks at the summit, they will be blocked by thorny bushes, venomous snakes, and fierce beasts.
Even if a player who has reached the realm of Creation manages to overcome these obstacles, there are hundred-meter-long chains spanning between two thousand-meter-high peaks. Whenever strong winds blow, the crude iron chain bridge sways violently, emitting terrifying noises. Not even the bravest would dare to take risks. Moreover, on the other side of the bridge, there are countless monks who have broken their vows—NPCs at the Profound Realm level. Having trained in Shaolin for years, their skills are far beyond those of ordinary bandits.
In short…
The Peak of Punishment is a truly deadly place that devours people without leaving any trace, offering no benefits at all!
Even Happy wasn’t feeling easy.
“Bang!”
The ground shook as a giant python, half a meter in diameter, with its terrifyingly bare belly, fell from the trunk of a tree wide enough for two people to hold arms around. Its smooth, bulky body struggled desperately, seemingly trying to get rid of the dozens of flying knives embedded in it. But the more it struggled, the more blood it lost due to the continuous damage from the knives, accelerating its death.
Finally!
After convulsing violently on the ground for a while, the eight-meter-long green python’s eyes grew dull, signaling its death.
Huh.
The sound of fabric rustling filled the air as a young man in a light blue robe gracefully landed from a nearby tree. Staring at the python’s corpse, he exhaled deeply.
“Good thing it was just an ordinary python…”
Muttering to himself, Happy crouched down beside the python’s body, frowned slightly, then took out a willow-leaf flying knife. Channeling his internal energy into the blade, he easily sliced through the python’s skin and skillfully cut out the toughest and most intact piece of skin.
This part of the python’s skin was the strongest and most suitable for making armor, gauntlets, and other equipment. In terms of strength, it was likely a whole level higher than that of a wolf’s fur.
This was because the pythons in the deep mountains hunted in harsh conditions for a long time, making them as strong as martial artists in the mid-Creation Realm. With their powerful physiques and agile movement, they were even more elusive in the forests than wolves. If not for his early mastery of the Cloud-Stepping technique, which allowed him to return easily to the trees in the forest and continuously attack the python with his willow-leaf flying knives, it was uncertain who would have won this battle.

Although Happy was extremely wealthy, throwing away tens of thousands of taels of silver along the way was certainly not a good habit. He immediately took out the giant python’s fangs and gallbladder, glanced back at the path he had come from, frowned, and set off again!

Less than half a minute after Happy left, a group of people gradually emerged from the silent forest. It was Li Heng’s group, followed by a dozen members of the Tianyin Gang. The group walked silently and solemnly toward the corpse of the giant python, from which its most valuable parts had been taken. They looked at the massive yet lifeless body and then at the direction Happy had gone, their expressions growing more complex.

“Deputy leader,” someone spoke up. “Why didn’t you intervene earlier to keep him here? With our sixteen of us, we could have robbed and killed him right here without anyone knowing.”

Li Heng didn’t answer. Instead, he stepped forward and walked silently over twenty meters. The forest suddenly disappeared, replaced by cold winds and misty fog. After scanning the surroundings, Li Heng’s expression grew even more serious. It was clear that the forest ended here, with rugged mountains ahead. If that young man in blue was so familiar with this place, why would he fight so fiercely with the giant python just before leaving the forest? Once outside, the python would never risk getting its body pierced by rocks in pursuit.

Or perhaps…

His gaze flickered briefly as he took a deep breath. “…It’s indeed a perfect place to commit murder and bury the body.”

His expression and the implied meaning in his words made the gang members realize he was hiding something. One of them frowned and spoke up, “Deputy leader… Now that he’s far away, should we chase after him right away or wait for the main force to arrive?”

As soon as he finished speaking, someone retorted coldly, “Why wait for the main force? It’s just a guy with decent lightness skills and some flying knives skills. Can’t we even handle him? Do we want those guys to laugh at us?” Staring in disdain at the direction Happy had gone, the speaker continued, “Deputy Leader Li, it’s getting late. A few more hours, and it will be time… I think we shouldn’t waste everyone’s time. Let’s deal with him quickly, get the chest, and leave before any more accidents happen.”

“Don’t rush,” Li Heng replied. Instead of acting, he lifted his robe and sat down calmly.

The group exchanged puzzled looks. “Don’t you find it strange?”

“What is it?” The group was once again confused by Li Heng’s abrupt statement.

Li Heng ignored the strange looks from the crowd and continued, “Actually, I found it strange when those people from Blood Knife Sect stole the brocade box…” His slow, solemn tone and serious expression quickly drew everyone’s thoughts back an hour earlier…
“Hm?”
A few impatient players also sensed something and looked thoughtful.
“That monk suddenly disappeared, and then there was only the brocade box in the room—no sign of the player who stole it… When we chased after them, I deduced that the person had mixed in among us during the chaos.”
The members of Tianyin Gang, whose attention had been focused on the brocade box, finally remembered the most bizarre and unexpected part of the recent events. They had all overlooked it!
The most crucial figure in this treasure-heist incident was missing.
“Ah!”
A soft gasp of shock and surprise went through the crowd.
After all, having a player with the strength to kill a bandit leader at the Mysterious Realm hiding among them was extremely dangerous!!
At that moment, they finally realized what was going on and stared at Li Heng, exclaiming in shock, “So that’s why, when the vice leader of Blood Knife Sect was attacked by tigers, you deliberately got involved with the people fromCanghai Sword Sect—just to force that person hiding among us to reveal themselves?”
“That’s right,” Li Heng nodded firmly. “That person must be among those idle players. Their goal is to wait for us to fight each other so they can take back the brocade box… They’re powerful and very familiar with the terrain around Shaolin. If they succeed, they can easily escape and hide. That’s why I decided to keep all of you here and send only one brother to follow them secretly—so as to find out who they are and force them to expose themselves!”
Hearing this, the crowd suddenly remembered following that person to such a remote place. It clearly matched Li Heng’s speculation, and their voices tightened with concern. “Vice leader, do you mean it’s him…?”
Li Heng’s expression became grave as he nodded slowly. “If we had acted rashly earlier, I’m not sure whether he or we would have died.”
The crowd exchanged terrified looks.