"The Exorcist Leaving the Plant Habitat is Heading to Coal Mountain Town"

The Tree People are escorting Lu Li to the nearest Spirit Town that has old sewers.

This morning, the Earth Dwellers' Business Daily once again exposed Lu Li's journey. He had no intention of changing his route anymore, as it was pointless—the newspaper would still publish his revised route the next morning.

Furthermore, the path is no longer safe—the route from the Plant Habitat to the town is not like a trade route that gets cleared repeatedly. Strange creatures roam and nest in the barren land, and anything along the way could potentially become their prey.

This place is entirely different from the Hillevig Mountain Range; Lu Li cannot survive alone in this vast, open wilderness. He can only rely on the Tree People to drive away petty threats. If they encounter something too difficult for the Tree People to handle, Lu Li will seize the opportunity to capture it into a dreamscape, easily resolving the situation.

As evening approached, making it hard to see, the wounded Tree People arrived at a series of rolling hills.

Coal Mountain Town sits at the center of these hills, and Lu Li was getting very close to his destination.

"Stop here."

The Tree People's gnarled branches lowered, and Lu Li stepped onto the ground.

He placed his palm on the gnarled roots of one of the Tree People, bestowing all the humanity he had gathered along the way.

The limbs of the Tree People, torn apart by strange creatures, and the old wounds began to bloom with new branches, the sound of tearing wood accompanying the growth from within the trunks.

A nearby alien creature, attracted by the leaked human scent, launched a charge at Lu Li.

It resembled a near relative of the Six-legged Monster, with four arms clutching crude weapons. The newly grown branches of the Tree People extended six to seven meters, entangling the alien. As they strangled it, its swollen abdomen suddenly exploded, its body shattering.

The alien's "self-destruction" caused negligible damage to the growing Tree People, with broken branches instantaneously regrowing.

An arm attached to a shoulder flew to Lu Li's feet, the charred stump emitted a pungent smoke like burning coal. Considering the journey ahead, Lu Li drew a dagger to cut off the shoulder, then used adhesive to attach the entire arm under his armpit, donning a cloak.

Now, Lu Li looked like an alien with three arms.

He also picked up the weapons scattered by the self-destruction: a broken iron shovel, a sharp wooden handle, discarded tools used as weapons by the aliens.

Lu Li bid farewell to the Tree People and stepped into the bounds of Coal Mountain Town. The gravel and stones under his feet gradually turned coal-black as he entered the hills. Along the way, Lu Li encountered some wandering aliens, many exhibiting the same mutations: a third or fourth limb grown from the armpit or chest.

The same contamination indicated the Spirit of Coal Mountain Town had already converted the town into its territory.

As he approached Coal Mountain Town, mines and mining pits began to appear around him. Small hills of coal piled up in the wilderness, the sound of endless coal mining echoing in the night sky.

The church here seemed to be excavating something.

Coal Mountain Town was not a trade point for merchants, and Lu Li knew little about the place—only that it sat on Coal Mountain.

Lu Li could already see the light emanating from Coal Mountain Town. The Mist of Strangeness, which arrives at night, was kept outside the territory.

The scattered stone house clusters emitted bright firelight. Considering the vast coal resources, it's no surprise the residents of Coal Mountain Town were extravagant in their use of fuel.

This extravagance also made Coal Mountain Town feel like a furnace; the town was as warm as summer, though the pungent smoke never dissipated.

Lu Li, with his three arms, easily blended into the town. Walking on coal-cinder roads, while searching for an inn, Lu Li observed the behavior of the local deities' followers—the actions of the followers depended on their divinity. Generally, followers of evil deities become extreme, while those of gentle ones become lazy.

But even as Lu Li reached the noisy tavern's entrance, he hadn't encountered any local followers.

Stepping into the tavern, he unobtrusively asked the bartender for a room and a rye beer, sitting by the counter to listen to the tavern's conversations. He spotted an Information Hunter sitting in a corner.

The hunter showed no signs of the Coal Mountain Town's mutations, wearing linen under leather armor; no local would dress like that in the hot Coal Mountain Town.

When the guests at that table left, Lu Li picked up his rye beer and sat across from the Information Hunter, pushing a glass towards him.

"Do you know anything about Coal Mountain Town?"

"What do you want to know?"

The Information Hunter's gaze swept over Lu Li's third arm.

"Where does the coal from here get sold?"

"That's part of the answer... consider it beer money." The Information Hunter raised his glass to Lu Li in acknowledgment, drinking more than half of the frothy brown beer, "Almost nowhere."

The Dark Era forced all Spirit Towns to close. Who would expend vast resources and manpower to build trade routes just to transport coal, which can only be used for heating, albeit barely?

"How can one buy coal?"

The Information Hunter looked puzzled, "Why buy? There's coal everywhere here. The town itself stands atop a mountain of coal; you can take it freely."

"What if I need a large quantity?"

The Information Hunter smiled at the prospect of business, "It depends on how much you're willing to pay me. The more you pay, the more I know."

Lu Li took out one hundred Shillings.

"Any goods could be exchanged for coal here."

Another hundred Shillings were placed on the grimy round table.

"The church would even accept Shillings, despite their ongoing devaluation."

A third one hundred Shillings joined the others.

"A pound of sand could be exchanged for a pound of coal. If you bring enough, you'll even earn the Coal Mountain Church's friendship."

Coal holds no value or meaning in Coal Mountain Town, akin to sand and stone in other places, possibly worse—after all, sand and stone won't burn for hundreds of years due to a simple fire.

Coal Mountain Town would cease to exist by then.

The Information Hunter's dirty hands pressed the three Shillings, pulling them back to his chest, then he returned one to Lu Li.

"I don't want to get killed right after receiving a hefty reward; a moderate greed is the key to an Information Hunter's survival." The pleased Hunter spoke in response to Lu Li's gaze.

Lu Li did not take back the Shilling, but continued to ask, "Where are the local followers?"

The Information Hunter joyfully accepted the Shilling, stomping the floor with his boot under the table, "Working in the mines. No one likes sleeping on a heap of fuel, not even a divinity."

"Because of your generosity, here's a piece of extra information: Coal Mountain Town hasn't initiated trade with any other town. If you wish to trade, the Coal Mountain Church will be extraordinarily eager to engage."

Because of Lu Li's generosity and subtle, obscure aura, the hunter perceived him as a follower of another Spirit Town's divinity.

Lu Li concluded the inquiry, resisted the advances of a three-armed lady, and returned to his room upstairs.

Ensuring no eavesdroppers were present, Lu Li summoned Merchant Anthony: "Have the Tree People from the Plant Habitat escort you here, and negotiate with the local church to purchase coal."

For the Land of Light, coal would find uses as fuel for smelting or to stave off the cold in the incoming rainy season and the impending winter.

And since the merchant lacked combat abilities, having guards was essential to avoid unexpected troubles—it would also help drive the price down appropriately.

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