Alone and Infinite

Chapter 323 Strange Land

Li Xia walked along the path carved into the mountainside at a steady pace.

Although it is called a path, given the size of the stone figure, the so-called path is actually a 'mountain path' that is nearly two meters wide.

This winding mountain path is far longer than the mountain itself.

Even at Li Xia's pace, after walking for half an hour, he had only just reached the halfway point.

The surroundings were empty, with only the crisp sound of heels stepping on the stone steps.

Suddenly, their steps came to a halt.

Following them, Aowu, Heitan, and even Mimi, who was already immersed in the feeling of being the 'first Griggan to ever set foot in Tianbi Mountain,' all looked up at Li Xia.

"Some things are not quite right."

Li Xia frowned, looked up at the sky, then glanced around, and sniffed:

"Have you noticed a change in the smell of the air?"

Does the air smell?

The two little ones quickly realized what Li Xia meant, and they also sniffed, greatly surprised.

"It really is! Let me see!"

Mimi, however, stared wide-eyed, helpless. He was extremely afraid of death, which was why he chose to merge with the sacred object.

Although they live a long time, their normal five senses are long gone, so how can they breathe?

Mimi could only watch them longingly, hoping to hear some information.

Aowu pulled out a brick-like device directly from his spatial storage.

Shortly after the computer was turned on, a regular beeping sound began to play.

Mimi glanced at it sideways and saw that the thing was quite peculiar. She felt a chill in her heart. This must be something from another world. It did look very strange.

"Boss, the results are in. The air composition here is indeed different from outside, the difference is huge, exceeding the normal regional differences."

Aowu put away the instruments; no one expected that the air composition inside Tianbi Mountain was different from that outside.

and

Li Xia looked around at the lush forest. Most of the plants on Stan Star were ferns with large leaves and grew very tall.

But the forest here is full of trees!

Logically, environmental differences could also be a factor, but the results of Aowu's measurements showed that the air composition here had a few more and a few fewer components.

This is unlikely.

The hypothesis of alien spaceships, which they had previously rejected, resurfaced in everyone's minds.

Li Xia remained silent. Although the air was different, it did not affect him, and his normal breathing was unaffected.

Instead, it made him loosen up and stop climbing down the steps one by one.

A figure moved along the rocky path as if riding the wind, and with a light step, the person seemed to lose weight and floated forward.

The round trip takes no more than ten minutes.

Li Xia's feet were already on solid ground.

The sun had already risen, but its rays were blocked by the cliffs, casting large shadows on the ground.

Looking up at the sky, I felt like I was looking at the sky from the bottom of a well.

Li Xia suddenly understood why the stone man had left so resolutely.

"Hiss, this feels a bit like being in prison."

It whimpered softly.

Indeed, the encirclement of the entire Tianbi Mountain gave him the feeling of being in prison, even if it was a safe place.

I just looked at the high rock walls and the sky above.

The yearning for freedom grows day by day, eventually turning into a raging flood powerful enough to overwhelm everything.

This led the stone people to abandon their peaceful lives and resolutely leave Tianbi Mountain.

The vast world of Stan unfolded before their eyes.

If it weren't for the sudden arrival of the Griggans, who happened to find those stone figures useful to them...

The world of Stan should have been a gift to these brave stone men.

Proceed along the direction of the thin beam of light emitted from the Heart of Stone in your hand.

The mystery surrounding Tianbi Mountain was gradually unveiled.

This is undoubtedly a safety net; a huge waterfall cascades down the rock face, striking the ground to form a lake of moderate size.

The river also speaks from here, meandering through the entire valley, its waters gurgling, clear and cold.

The land on both sides was covered with lush grass, a vibrant green.

But there was no sign of life.

Yes, as Li Xia ventured deeper into the valley, the strangeness of this place gradually became apparent.

The absence of life was the second strange thing they discovered, besides the different composition of the air.

Logically speaking, this place should be a paradise on earth, a secluded haven.

Without human interference, it should definitely have a relatively mature ecosystem.

But along the way, there was no birdsong or fragrant flowers, and not even a small fish or shrimp in the clear river.

Everywhere we went was deathly silent, with only the tinkling sound of flowing water.

Black Charcoal warily surveyed its surroundings, its ears standing straight up.

"So oppressive."

Awoo shook its head uncomfortably and said uneasily:

"If I were a stone man, I'd run away too!"

I wonder if it was this desolate before the stone figure left. But why are the plants still able to grow?

After saying that, he looked at the plant-like dead head mound around Li Xia's waist:

"Old man, you're a plant too, you should know something, right?"

Mimi blinked rapidly, first letting out a disdainful sneer before speaking:

"do not know!"

"Then what use are you?"

"Then let me go!"

"Leave? You think you can just leave after offending the boss?"

Ignoring the howling that was deliberately trying to break the dead silence by making jokes, Li Xia squatted down and reached out to stroke the grass on the ground.

Then he pinched a blade-like leaf and gently applied pressure with his fingertips.

With a snapping sound, Li Xia raised his eyebrows. With his strength and body, he actually felt a slight resistance when he snapped the grass.

Its resilience alone far surpasses that of any grass he has ever seen.

When he held the blade of grass in front of him, he finally confirmed his feeling.

Yet there was a sense of absurdity, so he simply drew the Murakumo sword from his waist and tossed it into the air.

The blade moved nimbly, slicing along the ground, sending blades of grass flying.

Li Xia waved his hand, stirring up a gust of wind, and picked up a handful of grass leaves, placing them in front of him again.

"Ah"

He tossed aside the blades of grass in his hand and, under the wide eyes of Aowu, Heitan, and Mimi, whispered:

"It's fake. These grasses aren't real; they're more like plastic grass. They're definitely man-made."

"in this case."

Awoo paused for a moment, then raised its paw and pointed to the forest not far away and the endless vegetation in the distance.

I was also quite shocked by this amazing discovery:

"Is this whole thing fake?"

"Nine times out of ten!"

Li Xia suddenly left the ground and flew rapidly towards the forest, drawing his sword and cutting down a large number of trees.

Looking at the stone-like texture of the cross-section, Aowu and Heitan finally realized where the deathly silence came from.

So, even the lawns and forests here are made of stone?

No wonder it's lifeless; how can there be life in a place like this?

The 20,000-meter-high rock wall and the strange force field already kept all birds of prey away.

Even seeds spread by the wind cannot take root and sprout on rocks.

Looking at the Stone Heart in his palm, still emitting a faint glow and indicating the direction.

There was a strange sense of unease that made me feel uneasy.

No wonder it was an S+ level mission; I knew it wouldn't be that simple!

Only the Stone People, who feed on stones, could survive in such a place.

Perhaps this place is paradise for the stone man.

Once Li Xia confirmed that there were no living creatures around and that everything was made of stone, he lost all interest in exploring further.

Instead, they rallied their spirits and decided to move straight ahead in the direction indicated by the Heart of Stone.

He was eager to know what secrets were hidden here!

"Get on, I'm going to speed up!"

Aowu and Heitan jumped onto Li Xia's shoulders. After looking around again, Li Xia activated his Flying Technique and sped away, skimming several meters above the ground.

They left for several minutes, seemingly to confirm that there was no one left there.

The cut grass and trees suddenly swayed, and a yellowish-brown light slowly rose from the ground, covering the bare grassland and forest.

In the blink of an eye, the cut grass and trees returned to their original state, as if nothing had changed, like an illusion.

This valley, surrounded by Tianbi Mountain, is extremely large, stretching at least several hundred kilometers from one end to the other.

Li Xia flew close to the ground for a while, and the scenery around him kept changing.

The meadow transformed into a lush forest, and beyond the forest lay a beautiful sea of ​​blooming flowers.

Such a beautiful scene, even to Li Xia and others who already knew that everything here was fake, just simple rocks, carried an inexplicable chill and a sense of falsehood.

The feeling was somewhat like walking in an extremely large tomb, surrounded by meticulously carved stone decorations.

After traveling for a while longer, the scenery before us finally changed again.

"Is this the stone man's house?"

Li Xia stopped in front of a rather tall stone house and looked at it again and again.

"Absolutely right, these stone men are all single-minded."

The mitten cloak at his waist nodded solemnly, as if it were an authority figure:

“Since I first came into contact with the stone men, their houses have been in this form for hundreds of years, and they have not changed much, remaining largely the same.”

Li Xia pushed open the door and went inside. The furnishings inside were just like the stone figures outside, quite simple, or rather, rudimentary.

Stone bed, stone table, stone chairs; the only thing that could be called decoration was a rough stone vase near the window filled with flowers of various colors.

These stone flowers naturally cannot wither or fade, and there isn't even much dust on them.

It looked as if it had just bloomed, with a kind of false beauty, adding a splash of color to the room.

Although the house was simple, it was well-organized and clearly had been tidied up before leaving, not left in a hurry.