The Immortal Cultivation World of Male Inferiority and Female Supremacy

There are two paths to Fran Fortress, one is to walk on the ground, through Cold Valley, to reach the fortress gates.

The other is to walk underground, along the underground tunnels to pass through the mountain and enter the depths of Fran Fortress.

Night Mouse's suggestion to Fang Zhou is to walk on the ground. Although it is dangerous, the monsters in Cold Valley are predictable, and as long as one is careful, there won't be big issues.

The underground tunnels, however, are different—countless tunnels crisscross more densely than a spider's web, a haphazard rush would definitely lead to getting lost, and even Night Mouse doesn't know how many types of monsters are in those underground mines; the Maggot People encountered earlier were just the most ordinary and common kind.

Fang Zhou was quite agreeable, choosing to heed Night Mouse's advice and travel on the ground.

After descending from the Lorric City Wall, below was a muddy field of weeds extending into the distance, merging with the black forest.

A fairly clear path extended across the weed field, like a long winding serpent.

After walking a section, Fang Zhou turned and waved to Night Mouse standing on the city wall, then took flight, soaring forward.

Originally, Fang Zhou intended to fly directly over, but Night Mouse reminded him that many powerful flying monsters lived in Cold Valley, and once discovered, they would swarm, making escape impossible.

This reminded Fang Zhou of the six-legged monster birds on the Black Plain; if there were so many of them, it would indeed be inescapable to get entangled.

However, since there were no anti-aircraft guns in the valley, flying close to the ground was still possible, saving Fang Zhou a lot of time and effort.

Flying forward along the weed field, Fang Zhou noticed many scattered skeletons, rusty armor, swords, and so on below on the grassland.

When viewed from afar, the whole weed field was like a mass grave, burying countless corpses.

Undoubtedly, this was once a battlefield, and the entire Cold Valley was likely the main battlefield—Fang Zhou could almost envision countless soldiers in almost forgotten history, battling fiercely with monsters across this hill-covered terrain.

Flying was much faster than walking on two legs; Fang Zhou quickly traversed the weed field and entered the black forest.

The trees in the forest were all dead and decaying, leaving not a trace of green, just blackened trunks and branches reaching skyward like grotesquely shaped ghostly claws.

Fang Zhou thought corpses on the ground would be fewer after entering the forest, but instead found even more.

Skeletal remains were half-buried all around, locked in their final positions, still tangled with their enemies.

The enemies included not only other humans but also numerous grotesquely shaped monsters; some so bizarre that it was impossible to imagine what they looked like when alive, just from their remains.

Shortly after Fang Zhou flew into the forest, he heard a disturbance behind him.

Turning back, he found Night Mouse had somehow caught up.

"Wait… wait!"

Night Mouse was panting, though having just replenished himself with Sword Lake Water, he now looked pale and malnourished again.

Fang Zhou handed him an Xuanyuan Sword to support him, curiously asking, "Did you forget to tell me some crucial info?"

"No!"

Night Mouse shook his head and said to Fang Zhou, "I want to go with you."

Fang Zhou looked surprised; if they hadn't both been men, he would have suspected Night Mouse had fallen for him at first sight.

No, he now wore the title of macho leader, with the Walking Hormone effect that attracted females and some males with special tastes—could Night Mouse be one...

Still, no, Fang Zhou had kept his hood on the entire time, and the Mirage Dragon Robe's effect prevented Night Mouse from seeing his face.

Unless Walking Hormone worked without needing to see someone's face.

Anyway, Night Mouse catching up suddenly puzzled Fang Zhou: "You don't have to do this..."

"It's not because of you!"

Night Mouse interrupted Fang Zhou, looking towards the top of Black Soul Mountain with a determined gaze: "It's for myself. I originally intended to spend my remaining days in Lorric City, but your courage made me ashamed, making me realize I've been running away. If I continue, I'll forget everything and truly become a memoryless living corpse. So, while I'm still a person, I want to end it for myself!"

After saying this, he revealed a somewhat embarrassed expression: "Of course, I am also relying on your strength, otherwise on my own, I probably wouldn't reach Fran Fortress."

What else could Fang Zhou say but agree? If Night Mouse followed to help, Fang Zhou could have asked him to return for safety reasons.

But Night Mouse was doing it for himself, leaving Fang Zhou no grounds to stop him from making that choice.

"Then let's go."

Fang Zhou didn't retrieve the Xuanyuan Sword, continuing to support Night Mouse in flight, fearing he might fall halfway on his own.

Seeing Fang Zhou didn't refuse, Night Mouse was quite pleased: "Thank you!"

"No need to thank me. I should be the one thanking you. Without your help, I'd still be wandering around Lorric City."

The two set off together once more, heading through the forest toward Fran Fortress.

From Lorric City to Fran Fortress, this mountain path is a sunken canyon terrain.

Steep mountains flank both sides, filled with numerous monsters; only the canyon's center allows passage.

Fang Zhou carried Night Mouse into the canyon, where the terrain began to slope, but the scenery remained unchanged—black dead trees and ground covered with remains.

Occasionally, some monsters and Living Corpse Soldiers roamed the forest, giving chase when Fang Zhou and Night Mouse flew by, but the rugged mountain road soon outpaced them, preventing them from forming the swarming scale seen in Lorric City.

Fang Zhou noticed there were far fewer monsters in the forest than the city; flying quite far only to encounter a few, and they were only lesser minions.

Night Mouse, however, wore a solemn expression: "That's why I suggested traveling by day; the truly dangerous things only come out at night."

Fang Zhou shrugged: "Then I have bad news for you. At this pace, we have to spend the night in Cold Valley unless we fly higher."

Night Mouse quickly replied: "I have a way to stay safe overnight. Do not fly higher; the monsters on both sides of the valley patrol constantly. Without the cover of the forest, we would surely be discovered."

Fang Zhou followed his advice, refraining from taking greater risks to hasten their journey.

Apparently, day-night cycles seemed rather quick in this world. When not paying attention, night could fall quietly.

During the day, traversing the canyon was perfectly safe until night fell when the atmosphere dramatically shifted.

The temperature sharply dropped, frost forming on the black dead trees, with ever more creatures emerging.

And at last, Fang Zhou saw the Heroic Spirits, as mentioned by Night Mouse.