I Can Recognize Everything, But the Information is Wrong

"Swearing an oath before Houtu, is it really okay to be this casual?"

Seeing the official neither prepare an incense table nor take out the contract paper, Tian Lin was somewhat puzzled.

"If it were a peaceful time, naturally we could cut the rooster's head and burn the yellow paper. But considering it's a time of disaster, where can we find rooster heads and yellow paper?"

The fourth leader patted Tian Lin's shoulder and said:

"Don't worry, Old Six. Whether or not we have rooster heads and yellow paper doesn't affect the power of our oath! Heaven's punishment falls only on the beings of this world and doesn't affect Lord Houtu.

As long as we use Lord Houtu's name to swear, we dare not break our promise."

As he spoke, the official bowed to a shabby urn and said, "Old Five, we've recruited Old Six and Old Seven. From now on, they are our brothers, and may you bless us all from the heavens."

After saying this, he knelt down first and said, "I, Leader Fang—"

"Zhou, Second Elder—"

"Xun, Third Elder—"

Each of them knelt on the ground, only chanting their surnames without mentioning their first names.

Tian Lin saw this, and after the fourth leader finished, he followed their example, knelt down, and said, "Tian, Old Six."

"Jiang, Old Seven, wish to become sworn brothers with different surnames, facing adversity together, and sharing fortune equally. If there is any betrayal in the future, let Heaven and Houtu jointly punish the culprit!"

The oath was simple and sincerely spoken.

No one said anything like 'wishing to die on the same day of the same month in the same year';

After all, this kind of oath is bound to come true, and if they swore like that, none of the brothers would survive.

"Alright, do you see that red star in the sky?"

After everyone kowtowed, the official stood up, pointed to a star in the sky, and said, "That red star is Houtu's star palace, which has witnessed our oath."

Tian Lin and Master Tingyu were seeing such a star for the first time.

The two looked at Houtu's star palace, speechless for a moment.

"Do you think, since we are not from this world, if we swear here and break the contract, will Houtu really trouble us?"

In the deep silence of the night, as it was Tian Lin and Master Tingyu's turn for the night shift, Master Tingyu couldn't help but ask Tian Lin a question.

"You'll know if the oath works if you try it, why ask me?"

"Then I'd better not. It's better to believe it than not."

Actually, for Tian Lin and Master Tingyu, taking this oath was more advantageous than disadvantageous.

They currently had no cultivation and needed to band together with others to survive in this world.

Although the official and his group didn't have high cultivation, they were still cultivators. It's quite an acknowledgment that they were willing to let these two join;

Besides, after the oath, Master Tingyu didn't have to worry about Tian Lin killing him. There were also fewer unnecessary suspicions between them.

——

"There's someone ahead!"

Two days had passed since the six swore their oath, during which time they crossed two more mountain peaks.

At this time, it was noon when the fourth leader suddenly halted and pointed to a dense forest on the opposite hillside.

"Those who appear in that dense forest must either be formidable individuals or nearby villagers."

The official waved, and everyone hid behind a rock, all watching the dense forest on the opposite hillside.

The lush branches and leaves of the forest greatly obstructed their view. Especially Master Tingyu, whose eyes were old and dim; he could only see the vague shapes of trees and couldn't see the figures the fourth leader mentioned, so he couldn't help but say:

"Fourth Brother, how many people are there, can you see clearly?"

The fourth leader was just over thirty years old, while Master Tingyu, of considerable age, still called him Fourth Brother.

Yet, the fourth leader was not keen on Master Tingyu calling him Fourth Brother.

In the eyes of the fourth leader, Master Tingyu was a burden. Initially, he only wanted to recruit Tian Lin, not the old man as a brother.

If not for the official's intervention, he hadn't planned on forming a brotherhood with the old man.

"My Thousand-Mile Leaf Viewing Technique cannot see through walls, but judging from the footprints on the forest hillside, there are probably at least twenty people."

The official asked him, "Besides footprints, are there any wheel tracks?"

The fourth leader shook his head, and the official said, "Alright then, pack up your Thousand-Mile Leaf Viewing Technique and don't waste Spiritual Energy."

Although the group had some cultivation and a little medicine powder to restore Spiritual Energy,

There was no Spiritual Energy left between heaven and earth nowadays; every bit used was a bit less. To get more medicine powder, one would have to find an Undead and burn the spiritual energy paper, which was extremely risky.

Unless absolutely necessary, they didn't want to use Spiritual Energy to cast spells.

"More than twenty people, they can't all be cultivators, can they?"

The third leader added, "We don't have enough food to last a few days; we must come up with a plan."

However, the second leader said, "More than twenty people, maybe not all of them are cultivators. But surely, two or three cultivators must be among them—if it comes to a fight, we don't have a great chance of winning!"

"I think there is something strange about that mountain."

At this moment, Master Tingyu spoke.

Everyone looked at him and heard him say, "That mountain's vegetation is too lush, unlike the other peaks."

The fourth leader sneered, "Old Seven, don't try to scare us; so what if the vegetation on that mountain is lush?"

"The peaks we've passed also have lush foliage, but most of it has been stripped of bark—

My old eyes may be dim, but I can clearly see that the foliage there is unnaturally vibrant, something isn't right."

He argued for a long time, seeming to make sense but also seeming to say nothing at all.

Everyone looked at the official, waiting for him to make a decision.

"Actually, if we could join forces with that Huahu Lang team, that would be the most beneficial for us. But I'm afraid they might consider us easy to bully due to our weakness."

The official said, "Aren't they resting on that hillside over there? Let's rest a bit too."

He said to rest, but in reality, he was letting Tian Lin and Master Tingyu stay where they were.

While he and the fourth leader concealed themselves and went down the mountain to gather information.

After an hour, the two of them returned.

The fourth leader, breathing slightly heavily, sat down on the ground and shared the information with Tian Lin and the others:

"Roughly estimated, there are twenty-four or twenty-five people there, certainly not more than thirty; among them are seven women, and the rest are young and strong men.

All these women and strong men are armed and quite vigilant; we almost got discovered by them."

Tian Lin said, "In this way, it seems hard for us to launch a surprise attack and win."

The second leader, who was beside him, looked at the official who hadn't spoken and said, "If we rashly make contact with that Huahu Lang team, it might lead to conflict. Why don't we detour and find another way to Central State?"

The official's face was serious as he shook his head: "I looked at the other mountains, and they are even more lush than the one before; if the first mountain is strange, then the others are even stranger."

Master Tingyu asked the official, "Ordinary poisonous vegetation can't grow beyond several feet. But I see that those plants grow extremely high and large—like the Cannibal Pines, a type of Demon Tree."

Demon Tree?

The official and others had seen Demon Trees before, but never an entire mountain covered with Demon Trees.

If the mountains ahead were indeed full of Demon Trees, how could they possibly pass through?