Xu Wei suddenly stepped forward, causing the scene to fall silent.

Although the mercenaries didn't know what was going on, seeing their boss draw his gun, they all followed suit and aimed their weapons at Master Zheng.

In the world of Martial Artists, Xu Wei might not be notable, but in Africa's mercenary world, he was undoubtedly at the top of the pyramid.

Whether Africa was chaotic or not, Ratel had the final say.

And that wasn't just talk.

Looking at Xu Wei, Master Zheng's face was full of confusion as he asked with a tremor in his voice, "Ratel... what do you mean by this? I paid a great deal for your services, yet you're siding with someone else!"

Xu Wei suddenly holstered his gun and grinned. "Relax, relax, I'm just kidding."

"However, I'm well aware of Dr. Chen's capabilities. He will surely be of help on our journey to the Land of Lawlessness."

"If Master Zheng really doesn't want to pay his fee, then just deduct it from mine."

He glanced at Xia Chan, then squinted slightly. "As for this pretty little thing, I wonder what skills she has?"

Master Zheng looked helplessly at Xia Chan.

In fact, it was Xia Chan who had persuaded Master Zheng to get rid of Luo Xiu and his companions earlier.

Master Zheng said, "To be honest, Miss Chu is the sponsor of this operation. I'm penniless. Even if I spent my entire life's savings, it wouldn't be enough to support this expedition."

Xu Wei was astonished. "I didn't realize she was the financier. My apologies, my apologies."

"Enough!" Master Zheng gestured dismissively. "Since even Ratel has spoken up, I'll take back what I just said."

Xu Wei laughed heartily, then signaled his men to pour drinks.

"Then, let's toast in advance to a successful journey!"

After spending a full day organizing their various supplies, the expedition team, led by Master Zheng, left the Zhadala Tribe's territory early the next morning. Under Zhanghai's guidance, they ventured deep into the Congo Rainforest.

The Congo Basin rainforest is one of the world's three largest tropical rainforests. Located near the Equator, it is known as "Earth's Second Lung."

At the same time, the depths of the rainforest are also known as the "Forbidden Zone of Life."

Legend has it that long, long ago, there was a secret realm called the "Land of Lawlessness" within this so-called Forbidden Zone of Life. It was home to a powerful and mysterious tribe known as the Ancient Lawless Tribe.

The Ancient Lawless Tribe had never made contact with the outside world. They lived in seclusion with an independent and comprehensive social system, and their existence was only discovered after adventurers found them.

However, very few people today are aware of this tribe, as there are no records of them in official historical documents, only brief mentions in some unofficial histories.

The Zhadala Tribe, which settled on the periphery of the rainforest, is said to be descended from the Ancient Lawless Tribe.

Although Master Zheng had never been here personally, he had spent his life searching for the Land of Lawlessness. His extensive research made him very familiar with it, and he even knew the exact location of the King of Law's Tomb within it. But in the end, everything he knew could only be considered armchair strategy.

Therefore, he needed Zhanghai, an Elder of the Zhadala Tribe, to lead the way. He would guide the expedition through the perilous rainforest and across the Congo River to find the entrance to the Land of Lawlessness.

For this operation, Master Zheng had spent his entire life's savings, truly putting everything on the line.

The dangers of the rainforest were really only a threat to ordinary people. For these Martial Artists and the well-equipped mercenaries, they were hardly worth mentioning.

Under Zhanghai's lead, the expedition moved smoothly through the dense rainforest without taking a single wrong turn.

「About four days later.」

The expedition crossed the Congo River and continued deeper for another half a day before finally finding the place Master Zheng was looking for.

Blocking their path was a towering cliff that, from a distance, resembled a huge, lifelike human face, as if a giant stood there watching over the world.

"We've found it! This is the Visage of the Law King!"

"The entrance to the Land of Lawlessness is right here!"

"Thank you, Brother Zhanghai. If it weren't for your guidance, I never could have found the Visage of the Law King so easily!"

Master Zheng seemed incredibly excited, sitting on a stone and staring at the map he had spent years creating.

Zhanghai waved his hand and laughed heartily. "You're too kind, Master Zheng. I'm just doing a job for a reward. As long as we get into the Land of Lawlessness, I'll just grab a few things, and the trip will have been worth it."

Master Zheng laughed. "You can rest assured about that. The Land of Lawlessness holds countless, inexhaustible treasures."

Zhanghai suddenly remembered something. "I heard the chief say once that there's a gemstone in the Land of Lawlessness that can bring the dead back to life. I think it's called the 'Eye of the Reaper.' Master Zheng, do you think such a miraculous gemstone really exists?"

Upon hearing this, Master Zheng's heart sank, but he didn't let it show on his face.

In fact, the entire reason he had spent his life searching for the King of Law's Tomb was for the very gemstone Zhanghai mentioned—the Eye of the Reaper.

"Hah, that's just an exaggeration from the superstitious people of ancient times. Where in the world would you find a gemstone that can resurrect the dead?" He then looked at Xu Wei, hurriedly changing the subject. "Ratel, I need some time to make calculations and figure out the correct path through the formation. It's getting dark anyway, so let's all get some good rest here tonight."

Xu Wei gestured to his men.

"Brothers, set up camp and stay alert!"

"Yes, sir!"

The well-trained mercenaries quickly set up tents and started a campfire.

Luo Xiu sat in his tent, quietly absorbing the medicinal herbs he had gathered along the way, preparing to try breaking the shackles on his dantian. Dou Dou lay beside him, her little head resting on his thigh as she played a single-player game on his phone, completely engrossed.

At that moment, Lin Tong's voice echoed in Luo Xiu's mind, "Big Brother, it looks like we really came to the right place!"

How so? Luo Xiu asked internally.

"I can faintly sense a familiar aura," Lin Tong replied. "The other half of the Spirit-Communicating Staff must be in this so-called Land of Lawlessness. What's more, that gemstone the kid mentioned earlier—the one that can bring the dead back to life—it has to be the gemstone from the staff, the Eye of the Reaper.

"I've also thought it through. This so-called Ancient Lawless Tribe must be a faction that one of my retainers established after arriving in this world.

"Big Brother, here's my idea: once we enter the Land of Lawlessness, we find a way to split off from these people. Then we can search for the other half of the Spirit-Communicating Staff and the Sea Oracle Map on our own. We should try our best to avoid getting entangled with the Holy Boi Religion."

Luo Xiu nodded in agreement. That's my thinking as well. Since I've lost my cultivation, we should lie low whenever we can.

Before long, night fell. After several attempts to break the shackles on his dantian, Luo Xiu had not only failed but was also drenched in sweat from the effort.

After telling Dou Dou to stay put and not wander off, Luo Xiu stepped out of the tent, planning to bathe in the creek he had seen earlier. He fumbled his way through the darkness to the creek, followed it downstream, and found a relatively large pool.

Just as he was about to undress, he heard the sound of splashing water up ahead.

Parting the bushes, he peered through and his eyes widened.

Under the moonlight, a beautiful body moved gently in the water, stirring up sparkling waves like an exquisite piece of jade being washed clean.

"Who's there?!"

The next instant, a cold shout rang out.

The lovely figure in the water vanished as if she had evaporated. Almost simultaneously, Luo Xiu felt a chill on his neck.

A hand, still dripping with water, reached out from behind him, pressing the sharp blade of a sword against his throat.

Luo Xiu recognized the voice and couldn't help but groan internally.

It was Yang Zhilu.

"Er... Miss Yang, I swear I didn't mean to. I didn't see a thing," Luo Xiu said sheepishly, slowly raising his hands.

Yang Zhilu stood behind him, her expression dangerously dark.

"I'll be taking those prying eyes of yours tonight!

"You have only yourself to blame for seeing what you shouldn't have!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.