Mountains and giant beasts, cabins in the woods

In mid-August, the mountains and forests have shed the heat of midsummer, yet they remain vibrant with life.

The damp scent of decaying leaves mingled with the faint fragrance of pine needles, and dewdrops clung to the fern fronds, refracting the dappled sunlight filtering through the tree canopy.

The trees covering the mountains and fields are beginning to show a pale yellow tinge at their edges, intertwining with the still dominant dark green. The yellow and green trees are mixed together, like an overturned palette.

"Buzzing..."

A large green beetle, half a meter long, flapped its broad, thin membranous wings and flew among the hundred-meter-tall giant trees.

A squirrel followed it, leaping and bounding through the trees, occasionally stopping to look around before continuing its darting sprint.

The squirrel wandered for a long time on the mountain three thousand meters high, finally stopping in a warm tree hole. The beetle also folded its wings and perched on the treetop.

The squirrel sat in the tree hole, rubbing its furry face with its nimble paws, then peeled off the fur with its ears and nose, revealing the young man's face.

Liu Xingmo took off his squirrel fur coat, took out a fried peanut from his storage bag, and wolfed it down.

At the same time, consciousness connects with the green and black guards through the soul imprint, remaining vigilant against any disturbance.

Good, they didn't encounter any large wild beasts; they were probably all driven away by Tyrannosaurus Rex.

The book says that once an organism reaches the top of the food chain, the next evolutionary direction is to increase its size.

The method is simple: in the culture of this species—that is, in their aesthetic sense—tall people are considered beautiful, and short people are despised. Taller people have more mates and more offspring, thus achieving evolution.

Thus, super-giant beasts like the Tyrannosaurus Rex and the Blue Whale came into being.

The Tyrannosaurus Rex, the king of dragons, is extremely arrogant, looks down on other dragons and beasts, and does not cooperate.

Therefore, on this land—the North American continent—there are only absolute kings and insignificant creatures like snakes, insects, and rodents.

This is where Liu Xingmo's opportunity lies.

After eating their fill, they put on their squirrel fur coats as camouflage and continued on their journey.

Tree branches, as thick as several people could hug, intertwine to form a complex network of roads beneath our feet.

Run, keep running.

Clumps of pale yellow or dark green leaves swiftly swept past me, the path beneath my feet grew narrower and narrower, and a new path appeared in the distance.

With a leap, he jumped from one branch to another.

The rough bark was covered with slippery moss, wriggling caterpillars, and other squirrels that had stopped there.

Liu Xingmo breathed in the morning misty wind and sped through the mountains and forests of a foreign land.

Beneath the deep green leaves of the oak tree, plump acorns hang in abundance.

Red squirrels dart among the branches, busily hiding fruit in tree holes to store food for autumn and winter.

Golden sunlight filters through the branches and leaves, bringing warmth to the world in the trees.

More and more squirrels emerged, their nimble red figures filling the treetops, trunks, and even roots.

There is also the squirrel running wildly on all fours, chasing the brown squirrel that runs upright on two paws, which is Liu Xingmo.

Something's wrong; there are too many squirrels here. They should be dealt with by their natural predators, owls and lynxes. However, this is a squirrel paradise.

Liu Xingmo was well aware of what this situation meant.

A relatively powerful squirrel colony has taken over the nearby mountains and forests.

Wild-born mythical beasts, after acquiring a rudimentary form of wisdom, will instinctively lead their kind, educate their offspring, and even cultivate acquired mythical beasts.

This phenomenon occurs every moment in every corner of the world.

After investigating the situation and rejecting the red-skinned squirrel that came to court him, Liu Xingmo began his journey home.

The sun is in the southern sky, so the location is in the Northern Hemisphere; the day and night cycles are reversed compared to Heilongzhai, so it is in eastern North America.

According to hazy memories from my past life, in the eastern part of the United States and the Maple Leaf Country, there is a mountain range called Abashimao. This mountain range has a low average elevation, but it stretches extremely long from north to south, covering a vast area of ​​land.

Perhaps the Tai Sui fungus is right; this land is full of opportunities.

Liu Xingmo returned to the cave he had come from.

It is a narrow crevice that splits vertically in the middle of the mountain, about seven or eight meters wide, extremely deep, with the Tai Sui stuck in it in a position that is neither high nor low.

It was named Peach Blossom Spring.

Liu Xingmo first took out the blood-dripping guillotine, used its five-fingered claws to secure it to the rock, and tied a chain to his body as a safety rope. Then he took out a pickaxe and began chiseling into the rock in the mountain crevice.

A surge of powerful blood energy circulated throughout his body, and the heavy alchemical pickaxe struck relentlessly, sending sparks flying. Gravel fell in a flurry, and a foothold was carved out.

With a place to stand, things became much easier. Drawing on his experience as a miner, he tapped along the grain of the stone and quickly carved out a large hole.

Liu Xingmo walked to the side of Tai Sui and said, "Can you move? Change your position and come into the hole I just dug."

The enormous mass of flesh slowly wriggled, its tentacles emerging from deep within the rock, groping their way forward and crawling into the newly dug hole.

Liu Xingmo noticed a trickle of water seeping from the rock wall.

He then dug a trench to guide the water flow into the large hole and pour it into the stone pit where the Tai Sui was located.

He piled up pebbles at the entrance of the cave, leaving only a small opening for ventilation, which improved its concealment significantly.

A considerable amount of time had passed; it was probably getting dark outside.

Liu Xingmo tidied up his tools and returned to the mushroom cultivation greenhouse via the Tai Sui.

As soon as the dragon's head emerged, the two women who had been waiting there immediately perked up.

"Xingmo, how is it?"

"Yes, is it dangerous?"

"Don't come any closer! Even if this Tai Sui is under control, it's still not someone to be trifled with. You all stay away."

Liu Xingmo dragged his weary body out of the cellar. The morning sun was so bright that he couldn't open his eyes.

"Is it just dawn here? My head is spinning."

Black Dragon Village remains the same as always, a peaceful and tranquil human town.

For the next month, Liu Xingmo stayed at home and rarely went out.

He spent most of his time in Peach Blossom Spring, building an advance base and scouting the surrounding environment.

At the same time, the fungal strains from the Rat-Bat Kingdom were put into use, and the four newly cultivated Tai Sui fungi absorbed power to advance to the second stage.

The production of the disease-curing herb has further increased, and its quality has also steadily improved.

With ample logistical support, the soldiers on the front lines of the Xing'an Mountains fought with increasing ferocity, making several incursions into the grasslands and destroying several vital strongholds of the Jialong tribe—the Qimiao Garden.

Finally, in mid-September, as the weather grew colder, the war ended.

The battle between the grasslands and the mountains has come to an end. The barren peaks will sprout saplings next year.

Liu Xingmo breathed a sigh of relief.

Just then, an unexpected invitation arrived.

One late night, in the lobby of Mushroom Castle, incandescent lights shone brightly.

The tall skunk, gesturing wildly, said, "That's the situation. The Silver Frost Birch Tree of Shanzhugou wants to see you, and also needs a batch of disease-curing herbs."

"Shanzhu Gully... should be safe, right?" Liu Xingmo pondered. "The Shanzhu warriors seem very sincere to me; they don't seem like the type to play tricks on me."

"Safety is not a problem, but you can't be careless. Whether it's a person, a pig, or a tree, as long as they live long enough, they're all cunning."