Mortal Mirror

Outside Tiangou Town, more than fifty miles to the west, there is a mountain called Mantou Mountain. It's called Mantou Mountain because it's round, like a big steamed bun.

This mountain isn't very high, only about a hundred zhang, but it covers a vast area. The strangest thing is that the soil on this mountain is fertile, but no trees grow. There's only one type of plant on the entire mountain: a grass that's about the height of a person and as thick as an arm.

This grass is blood-red in color and is called Blood Spear Grass by the locals, because it's tall, hard, and resembles a sharp spear.

Although this grass is very hard, once you break open its tough outer shell, the stems and leaves inside are incredibly sweet, and many animals love to eat it.

However, the locals rarely go to this mountain. Why? Because legend has it that this mountain isn't a real mountain, but a huge tomb. Buried beneath it is a very evil person, a person who has been cursed for thousands of years.

But who exactly it is remains unknown because the era is too distant.

The most terrifying thing is that the sound of horses' hooves always echoes on the mountain. Some say that's because there are ghost soldiers guarding this mountain. They drive away the living creatures that come up the mountain, preventing them from getting close.

The night is dark and the wind is high, and a crescent moon hangs in the sky. The moon is hazy, but it illuminates the entire Mantou Mountain brightly.

Strangely enough, once it reaches midnight, a layer of fog rises over the entire Mantou Mountain. In the hazy mist, sounds of ghosts crying and wolves howling can be heard, making people's scalps tingle and their hearts tremble.

Huang Batian ran wildly, stumbling along. He didn't know how far he had run before he turned his head back with lingering fear.

Immediately, he saw Mantou Mountain in front of him.

He looked at the mountain for a long time, feeling as if there was something special attracting him to it. He didn't know what it was, perhaps just a feeling.

Roar…!

A roar startled him. He looked at the mountain and saw a black shadow rushing down: a huge tiger with black stripes.

Huang Batian was terrified and was about to run, but he immediately realized that he was a cultivator, so why should he be afraid of ordinary beasts?

He immediately mustered his courage and looked at the approaching tiger.

Just as the tiger was about to pounce on him, he suddenly reached out his hand and shouted, "Beast, taste the power of my corrosive poison!"

As he spoke, a stream of green liquid sprayed from his palm and hit the tiger.

This green liquid was incredibly stinky and carried a strong corrosive power. As soon as it touched the tiger, the tiger let out a miserable cry. The tiger's fur and flesh were corroded by the green liquid.

The green liquid was like a flame, turning the tiger's body into green blood.

Huang Batian revealed a manic expression. Suddenly, he sensed something and waved his hand again. A piece of rotten flesh the size of a fist flew out from his palm.

The rotten flesh enveloped the tiger's remains in mid-air. The rotten flesh kept squirming, getting smaller and smaller until it completely disappeared. Soon, the rotten flesh emitted an indescribable fragrance.

Huang Batian's face lit up with joy. He sucked with his palm, and the lump of rotten flesh was sucked into his hand. Immediately, the rotten flesh melted and burrowed into his palm.

He took a deep breath, with an extremely comfortable look on his face.

At that moment, he chuckled and said, "Great, my cultivation has improved again. It won't be long before I can achieve Foundation Establishment. When that time comes, Li Ergou, I'll make you wish you were dead!"

Croak…

From within the Blood Spear Grass in front of him came the sound of a toad croaking. The croaking was loud and clear. Huang Batian was curious and ran forward. He saw a toad the size of a millstone lying in a small pool of water within the Blood Spear Grass.

The toad was strange, covered in warts, blood-red in color, and possessed a very hot aura.

"Demon beast!"

Huang Batian was extremely excited when he saw this thing. He had been searching for demon beasts because they carried even greater energy.

His eyes filled with greed as he walked towards the mountain.

Mantou Mountain wasn't high, but it was a bit gloomy. But was Huang Batian still afraid? Of course not. All he felt was greed.

He climbed up the mountain step by step, his eyes shining with excitement.

Mantou Mountain has a gentle slope, and he reached the mountainside in no time.

"Croak!"

The sound of the toad came out again.

Pushing aside the Blood Spear Grass, he saw a cloud of mist in the distance. Soon, he saw a small pond. To his surprise, what flowed in the pond wasn't water, but thick, extremely hot lava.

The pond wasn't large, only about ten feet in diameter. In the lava, a toad that was blood-red all over was lying there, croaking twice.

Crimson Blood Toad King, that voice rang in Huang Batian's mind.

He knew that it was the voice of the rotten flesh.

He didn't know why this rotten flesh would tell him things he didn't know from time to time, but it didn't matter to him at all.

Having been reborn after death, he only wanted to live as wildly as possible. He wanted to become strong. He didn't want to be humiliated by anyone again. He wanted revenge. He wanted to kill all the people of the Liu family. Most importantly, he had to kill Li Ergou.

It was all because of him, because of him that he had become what he was today. That mud-legged man, that humble ant-like existence from his past, he wouldn't allow this guy to climb on top of him. He couldn't accept it.

At this moment, Huang Batian's face was somewhat distorted.

His face became even more ferocious as he looked at the Crimson Blood Toad King. Then, he suddenly attacked the Crimson Blood Toad King. A black spiritual light shot out from his hand and struck the Toad King.

How could the Crimson Blood Toad King have imagined that it would attract such a disaster? After all, it was just taking a hot bath there, truly a toad sitting in water, disaster falling from the sky.

The Crimson Blood Toad King didn't expect anyone to attack it and didn't have time to dodge. It was hit by the black light. It screamed, and Huang Batian rushed out from behind the Blood Spear Grass.

What kind of existence was this Crimson Blood Toad King? It was a fire-attribute creature, a very violent fellow.

Seeing Huang Batian sneak attack it, its eyes instantly turned red. It opened its mouth and pounced on Huang Batian.

Only then did the toad in mid-air reveal its true form. Huang Batian didn't expect that this thing, despite having a small head, had a body as big as a huge millstone.

He was slightly shocked, but became even more excited. After all, how much flesh and blood would this be? He had to eat his fill.

Without thinking, he wanted to repeat his old trick. He waved his palm at the toad in mid-air, and a stream of green corrosive liquid shot towards the toad.

In his mind, as long as the toad was contaminated with this, hehe, even if you have heaven-defying abilities, you'll have to die.