Siheyuan: The Temptation of the Mountains

Lin Ze looked at the hostile squirrel and felt helpless. He slowly took out a crystal clear, jade-like flute from his arms, gently placed it on his lips, and began to play a soft and soothing tune. The beautiful notes flowed out like a gurgling stream, melodious and lingering, as if they could soothe the deep wounds in people's hearts.

The squirrel's originally tense body gradually relaxed, and its erect tail slowly drooped down. The hostility flashing in its round eyes gradually dissipated, replaced by a look of curiosity and doubt. As the flute continued to play, the squirrel even slowly approached Lin Ze, quietly listening to the moving melody.

Seeing that the squirrel had calmed down, Lin Ze stopped playing and explained to it with a smile: "Little squirrel, we are just passing by here and want to find some fairy grass to resist the cold. We have absolutely no ill intentions. Please believe us." The squirrel seemed to understand what Lin Ze said, blinked, and then quickly ran to the side, picked up a few fairy grasses with a faint fragrance in its mouth, walked carefully to Lin Ze, and gently placed the herbs in his hand. After doing all this, the squirrel looked back at Lin Ze and others, then turned around and jumped into the grass next to it, and soon disappeared in the thick fog.

Everyone took the Lingxu grass from Lin Ze's hand and swallowed it. Not long after, a warm air flow rose from their abdomen and quickly spread throughout their bodies, making them feel that the coldness had disappeared and their whole bodies were warm and comfortable.

After a short rest, we continued to walk forward along the road. As we walked, the fog around us began to become thinner and thinner, and an ancient stone bridge appeared faintly not far ahead. The stone bridge looked very old, and the bridge body was a little shabby, covered with traces of time. Under the bridge was a huge abyss with no bottom, pitch black, and daunting.

When everyone came to the bridge, they couldn't help but stop and look at each other, wondering whether they should take the risk of crossing this shaky old bridge. At this moment, a mysterious old man in a black robe suddenly appeared on the other side of the bridge. The old man was hunched over, with an old face and wrinkles all over his face. His cloudy eyes revealed a subtle brilliance. His voice was extremely hoarse, like the cry of a night owl, and he said coldly: "If you want to pass through here, you must accept my test!" After that, he folded his hands across his chest, stood there quietly, and stared at Lin Ze and his group motionlessly.

Faced with this sudden situation, everyone's heart tightened. However, Lin Ze was not afraid at all. He held the jade flute tightly in his hand, looked at the black-robed old man with a firm gaze, and responded loudly: "Okay! Then please ask the questions, senior!"

The old man in black robe raised his hand slightly, and pointed his dry finger at a huge rock beside the bridge. "You need to work together to move the rock away, and after the object under the rock is revealed, you must accurately state its origin and purpose before you can cross the bridge."

Everyone rushed to the boulder after hearing this. Lin Ze directed everyone to work together and finally moved the boulder away with great effort. Under the boulder was a bead emitting a faint glow.

Lin Ze narrowed his eyes slightly, held the bead emitting mysterious light in his palm, and examined it carefully. The bead was round and smooth, with a faint blue light flowing on the surface, as if it contained endless mysteries.

At this moment, a strange feeling came over him. Lin Ze felt that he seemed to have some subtle connection with the bead. He took a deep breath and said aloud, "This is the Soul Gathering Bead. It was born in a place with extremely heavy Yin energy. It can absorb wandering souls and warm damaged souls!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the old man in black robe standing beside him suddenly had a hint of surprise in his eyes, but soon regained his composure. He nodded gently and said slowly: "Not bad, you have some knowledge. However, this is only the first level." After that, he suddenly waved his wide sleeves, and in an instant, countless illusory shadows appeared on the empty bridge surface, like a maze of overlapping layers, dazzling the eyes.

"Next, you need to pass through these phantom traps to reach me. Remember, if someone accidentally touches the phantom more than three times, then the challenge will be considered a failure." The old man in black robe looked at the group of people in front of him expressionlessly and spoke lightly.

When everyone heard this, they all looked up at the dense and intricate phantom traps, and couldn't help but look embarrassed. However, Lin Ze seemed to be extremely calm at this time. He slowly raised his hand, put the jade flute in his hand to his lips, and then played it softly.

Suddenly, a strange and melodious flute sounded, like a clear spring flowing in people's hearts. As the flute sound spread, visible sound waves spread out from Lin Ze as the center. When these sound waves touched the phantoms, a miracle happened - the phantoms gradually dissipated in the air like smoke!

Seeing this scene, everyone was excited. Taking this opportunity, they quickly stepped forward and ran towards the direction of the black-robed old man. The black-robed old man couldn't help laughing when he saw Lin Ze crack the first level he set so easily: "Hahahaha, good boy, you really have some skills! In this case, you can cross the bridge."

Just like that, under the leadership of Lin Ze, the group calmly stepped onto the bridge and continued to move towards the unknown road ahead.

After walking across the stone bridge, everyone found themselves in a dense forest. The trees here were towering into the sky, with branches and leaves covering the sky, exuding a gloomy feeling. Lin Ze became alert and held the jade flute tightly. Suddenly, the ground shook, and a huge pangolin broke out of the ground, covered with hard scales and with red eyes.

"This is a strange beast guarding this area. As long as we defeat it or get its recognition, we can leave safely." An old man in a black robe appeared behind them at some point and said softly.

Lin Ze took a step forward and blew the jade flute again. The soft melody tried to calm the pangolin's temper. But the pangolin was unmoved and swung its tail to attack. Lin Ze dodged flexibly and directed his companions to disperse and attack the pangolin's weak points.

After a hard fight, Lin Ze saw the right moment, leaped into the air, and played the jade flute against the pangolin's forehead. The violent beast gradually calmed down, and the red light in its eyes faded. It hummed softly and turned to burrow into the ground.

The old man in black robe nodded with satisfaction and said, "You can continue to move forward. Your destination is ahead, but there are still many challenges waiting for you along the way." Lin Ze thanked the old man and resolutely walked forward with everyone.