When he reached the 700th step, Lu Ban felt that the surroundings were getting a little colder.

The fog was getting thicker and thicker, and it was almost impossible to see the surrounding scenery.

Lu Ban felt like he was walking in the clouds, and only the steps under his feet could prove that he was moving forward.

In this absolute silence, Lu Ban saw that the mist was like spreading pollution, penetrating into his body little by little. If it were an ordinary person, then after inhaling the mist, he would probably fall into mild mental disorder, and have symptoms such as hallucinations, mania, and depression.

As for those who have been contaminated to a certain extent...

Such fog might actually make their extraordinary abilities brought about by pollution stronger, creating an illusion.

Continuing to walk forward, Lu Ban suddenly saw a person standing just two or three steps away from him.

The man was bloated, as if his body was poisoned by alcohol and meat. He stood there, feeling light and floating, as if he was about to fall down.

From the back, Lu Ban quickly recognized that this was Qi Ye.

"Seventh Master?"

The other party seemed to be unaware of Lu Ban's approach. Lu Ban took two steps at a time, came to the step behind him, and called out.

Nothing happens.

Lu Ban took a look and found that the Seventh Master was in a daze, as if he had not woken up yet, or as if his mind was disturbed by something and he had lost consciousness. He stood there like a puppet.

He poked Master Qi.

Contrary to the first impression, Qi Ye's body was very stiff, like a dead person.

Lu Ban took another step forward.

He turned his head and saw that the Seventh Master's face was ashen, with a hint of black in the paleness, and his eyes were red, as if he had suddenly held his breath and the blood was rushing to his head.

This situation is chilling.

"Seventh Master?"

Lu Ban patted the other person's shoulder.

In an instant, fine white hairs grew on Qi Ye's face, his nails grew longer, his skin turned blue and black, and his eyes turned red.

A strange sound came out of his throat, and Qi Ye pounced towards Lu Ban.

He was so strong that he even made cracks on the steps.

The sharp nails seemed to be stained with some toxin, and any scratches or touches would cause serious injuries.

The Seventh Master seemed to have turned into one of the giant zombies in the rumors, looking ferocious and vicious.

But who is Lu Ban? He has been traveling in foreign lands for so many years and has been through hundreds of battles. He has seen all kinds of storms.

Facing the attack from Zombie Master Qi, Lu Ban raised his right hand and started fighting with his fists.

Puff——

However, a strong collision did not occur. When Lu Ban's palm touched Zombie Seventh Master, it immediately melted and turned into dark mud, tightly wrapping Zombie Seventh Master's hand.

The dark purple poison immediately spread as the two came into contact. If it were an ordinary person, he would have lost his ability to fight in this situation. The corpse poison would flow along with the blood, from the wound to the heart, and then from the heart to the whole body, and eventually he would quickly fall down and become a zombie.

But for Lu Ban, this level of pollution is nothing.

Through the toxins that flowed into his body, he gained some slight knowledge.

The so-called zombies and corpse transformations are essentially alienation caused by pollution. The original knowledge of creating zombies or mummies already has a certain degree of pollution, and the zombies created by this means are naturally an aggregate of pollution.

However, this one in front of me...

The melted land quickly spread and bound the zombie tightly.

Even though the opponent possessed strength beyond human limits, it was like a fist hitting the water. He was soon completely tied up by Lu Ban, and then turned into a thick black mist and disappeared with the wind.

The stairs in front of Lu Ban suddenly became clear.

"Pollution creates certain illusions by taking over the mind. Because this is the era, it is assumed that what I saw was the Seventh Master who had transformed into a corpse?"

Perhaps it was because among these people, Lu Ban only had a certain impression of people like Qi Ye who were screen thieves, and this impression mostly came from various film and television and game works, so the scene just now happened.

He looked forward and could already see a platform, which seemed to be the end.

Lu Ban climbed up the stairs and reached the thousandth step.

This seemed to be a pavilion for resting, and the wooden structure gave off a rotten smell in the damp fog.

The pavilion was empty, not a single person was to be seen.

Lu Ban still didn't look back. He stood there and waited for a while.

Behind him, there seemed to be whispering sounds, and the murmur of a ballad sounded in Lu Ban's ears, but Lu Ban just stood there motionless.

As for whether there are one thousand steps or two thousand steps, Lu Ban would rather believe that there are one thousand steps, because according to the principle of simplicity, believing He Chong is the easiest. There are too many contradictions in the information obtained on the road.

After standing there for about five minutes, Lu Ban felt that the thick fog around him had completely dissipated.

He saw that a road appeared around the pavilion, leading to a building in the forest not far away.

"Looks like this is it."

Lu Ban strode forward and came to a courtyard. It looked like a Taoist temple or a temple, with an ancient quality. At least in almost a hundred years, Lu Ban had not seen a similar building on Jiangcheng Mountain.

At the same time, he looked back with his melted self, and nothing happened, so it looked like he had indeed reached the finish line.

And it’s the first one.

Lu Ban walked into the house and saw an ink painting hanging in the hallway. Between mountains and rivers, several people were fighting a monster in the mountains. The monster seemed to have several eyes and its body was made up of tentacles. Although it was an ink painting, it could reveal the monster's distortion and madness.

There are nine chairs in the hallway, apparently corresponding to nine classes of people.

“I don’t know if there’s anything to eat.”

Lu Ban looked back and saw several rooms for people to stay in. He then found the kitchen and saw many fresh ingredients prepared there, including vegetables and meat. In those chaotic years, it was considered luxurious and abundant.

After thinking about it, Lu Ban picked up the kitchen knife and started cooking according to his own level.

Ten minutes later, the processed chicken was thrown into the pot and simmered. After waiting for a while, Lu Ban heard a noisy sound coming from outside.

He took a look and it seemed that other people had arrived and were making a noise.

“…It seems that’s all.”

Lu Ban heard Dai Yuanyang's voice first.

He was standing some distance away from the others and looked a bit dusty, but he was closest to the house.

"Are you really the first one to arrive?"

The pot-bellied Seventh Master asked hesitantly, but looking at the others, no one could stand up to refute Dai Yuanyang.

"I have said that I, who have developed my potential with the help of foreign advanced technology, am the direction that Jiuliu should truly develop. Ladies and gentlemen, this is irrefutable evidence."

Dai Yuanyang seemed quite proud of what he said.

Hearing this, Lu Ban lifted the lid and looked at the stewed chicken in the pot.

"Almost."

He walked out of the kitchen and shouted at the people from the Nine Stories who were arguing with each other.

"Stop arguing and come eat."