Chapter 264 Cloud White Ravine (3k)
Cloud White Ravine, a forbidden zone for low-level martial artists, is located deep in the southern part of Luoyun Mountain. The terrain there is extremely complex, with the entire land appearing as if countless chasms were cleaved by a sky-splitting axe. Each chasm is nearly several hundred meters long, and these mountain ravines are unfathomably deep, with a giant gully over a thousand meters forming. Cold air surges from within, and visibility is very poor. Ice-attribute monsters appear and dart out in large numbers, making the environment extremely unsuitable for humans to enter, which is why Yunpu City has designated it a forbidden zone.
Generally, Cloud White Ravine is rarely visited except by those who need to cultivate special frost-related powers. However, recent rumors about the Crimson Flame Sparrow have caused this once remote and desolate ravine to become bustling. Nearby, some people, though they didn’t find a Crimson Flame Sparrow, discovered Coldstream Crows of similar rarity, and even found many ice-attribute War General level medicinal herbs. This led to an influx of adventurers seeking treasure. Even with the fierce attacks of the Coldstream Crows and the obstruction from the Lin Family, those who live by licking blood off knife tips were not deterred. Instead, it made them more certain that there was treasure within Cloud White Ravine, and they flocked there by various means, overcoming obstacles.
Since they were all War Generals, in just about ten minutes of flashing and darting, several people quickly arrived at a towering mountainside. Su Jiu lightly stepped onto the ground covered with thin frost and looked out. Her gaze traversed to a vast and boundless flat mountainous area. The yellow earth was covered with various cracks resembling shattered ice, as if a War God had struck down a sword from the heavens. The largest central crack spread out like branches, and beneath these cracks seemed to be another world.
“We’re already in the depths, and the cold air is unexpectedly heavy. The outside temperature has already reached zero. We’re using external Qi to resist the cold. This way is Cloud White Ravine…” Senior Du said to the group, her words accompanied by wisps of white mist. Instead of immediately using her external Qi, she looked at Su Jiu on the large rock and smiled faintly, “Since this young lady has reached her destination, should we part ways? We have official business to attend to. Please leave soon as well.”
Hearing Senior Du’s voice, Su Jiu slowly withdrew her gaze from the distance, looked down at the ground not far ahead, where countless figures were moving. These figures were all moving in groups into Cloud White Ravine. Some held giant nets with flowing light appearing on them, which must be closely related to capturing bird-like monsters.
After taking a good look at the people behind her, Su Jiu’s gaze swept over the somewhat embarrassed Sun Wukong Boy and the other, finally settling on Senior Du. She clasped her hands into a fist and smiled, “Thank you for leading the way…” Then, red flowing light appeared at her fingertips, and with a slight point forward, a blood-colored aura surged from Su Jiu’s toes. As her skirt swayed, her feet slowly lifted off the ground, and a blood-colored long sword appeared at her toes, ready to charge forward as soon as Su Jiu lifted two fingers.
Seeming to sense Su Jiu’s relatively gentle attitude, Senior Du’s expression softened slightly. She sighed and said coldly, “Wait a moment. There are many adventurers grouped below, and the ravines are guarded by people from the Lin Family. If you really need to go in, I can take you there… With my identity as a deterrent, those Lin Family members won’t bully you for being few in number.”
“Won’t this be too much trouble…” Su Jiu looked at Senior Du with surprise. She didn’t refuse, as having someone lead her to the entrance was indeed much easier than exploring alone.
“It’ll only take about ten minutes… And don’t misunderstand, I’m only taking you there for the sake of Xiao Feng and the other two. If anything happens to you, it has nothing to do with me.” Senior Du glanced at Su Jiu and closed her eyes slightly. When she opened them again, a Qi sword condensed from cold air also appeared beneath her feet.
“Then thank you for your kindness, Senior Sister.” Hearing her tone, Su Jiu smiled, understanding that she was a tough exterior but soft heart. She prepared to dart down. Her mission was to find the Feather as soon as possible. Since she had found that the Feather was very likely in the river ravine below, she couldn’t delay any longer. The Beast Pets were secondary; only by obtaining the Feather could she fully unleash the accumulated energy within her.
“Wait…” Just as Su Jiu was about to rise with her sword, Senior Du called out again from behind. Her gaze then shifted to the four people behind her, and she instructed, “You few stay here and monitor the Lin Family’s actions. They should have discovered us long ago, otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many people guarding the ravine only a few days ago… I can even sense several strong auras below, possibly High-Rank Battle Generals. Be careful of them making a move.”
After speaking, she looked up at the vast sky, her brows furrowed slightly, and her eyes seemed to hold a hint of solemnity. She slowly said, “Moreover, for the past few days, I’ve felt someone watching us. But Xiao Mo said it was people from the Lin Family, so I didn’t pay much attention. After all, the local power is our main target for investigation, and it’s normal to be spied on in return…”
“They wouldn’t dare to attack Enforcement Officers, so don’t worry about it… You two take this young lady and come back quickly. With your combat strength, you can contend with High-Rank Battle Generals.” Mr. Strongman chuckled, then found a large rock to sit on and said loudly.
Hearing Mr. Strongman’s words, Senior Du, standing on her flying sword, thought for a moment and nodded slightly. She had a similar idea. Even local powers wouldn’t attack outside Enforcement Officers like them – otherwise, it would be a blatant admission of guilt.
“But what if the mysterious force behind the Lin Family makes a move? We should still be cautious. What if those Lin Family High-Rank Battle Generals suddenly attack us?” Sun Wukong Boy reminded them. He had been following his father since he was young and was different from others, always being cautious in everything he did.
“That’s true. One must guard against others… Here’s a signal flare. If you encounter danger, set it off immediately.” Pausing, Su Jiu turned her head to look at Sun Wukong Boy. Seeing his serious expression, she pondered for a moment, then reached into her Storage Bag. In her hand, she took out a red, baton-like object inscribed with an inverted cross symbol and a long pull rope below. This was left by the original owner of the storage bag, and Su Jiu kept it because she thought it useful. She actually had a few more in her storage bag…
“Take this! If you encounter danger, just set it off… I’ll be there as soon as possible to protect you.” Smiling, Su Jiu threw it to Sun Wukong Boy. While he looked bewildered, she continued to instruct, her tone filled with an ethereal calmness.
“Thank you, Boss…” Hearing Su Jiu’s words, Sun Wukong hurriedly took the long tube and nodded vigorously, sighing in relief. He exchanged glances with the Blue Hairpin Girl, seeing the joy in her eyes… They knew that with Su Jiu’s serious personality, she would never joke about such matters. If she said she would protect them, she would. They had a hunch that this “boss” at work might actually be a High-Rank Battle General! Otherwise, she wouldn’t have such a calm tone. After all, Senior Du had already mentioned the Lin Family’s combat strength… Su Jiu’s composure proved her combat prowess to a large extent.
Unlike the two, Senior Du looked at Su Jiu’s seemingly boastful demeanor, her gaze falling on the signal flare in Sun Wukong Boy’s hand, and then at his happy expression. Her long, slender eyebrows slightly raised, and she said to Su Jiu in a neutral tone, “Young lady, thank you for your kindness, but we Dragon Hunters cannot involve ordinary citizens in this mission… Moreover, in Yunpu City, if the Lin Family Patriarch doesn’t make a move, Xiao Mo and A Meng are enough to handle any problems. Even High-Rank Battle Generals are no match for the four of them… Besides, I’ll be back in just over ten minutes.”
“It’s just in case.” Waving her hand, Su Jiu was unwilling to dwell on this matter. She chuckled lightly, her gaze shifting to the giant crack in the distance. Seeing that some people in green clothes were indeed gathered by the crack, she narrowed her eyes and smiled, “Let’s go quickly. I don’t want to disrupt the completion of your mission…” Two High-Rank Battle Generals are hidden among those people. What are the Lin Family’s intentions… If they plan to betray and kill, this doesn’t make sense, or are they guarding something?
“Follow!” With a soft hum, Senior Du transformed into a stream of light and rushed out first. Su Jiu glanced at her, then lifted two fingers upwards, also transforming into a dark red stream of light and following.
Watching the backs of the two in the sky disappear completely, the four withdrew their gazes. Mr. Strongman looked at the signal flare in Sun Wukong Boy’s hand and laughed loudly, “Junior, you won’t need this thing at all. Stop being so jumpy.”
“Whoosh—” Just as Mr. Strongman was speaking, a huge snow mist suddenly surged in the sky. Under the weak sunlight, the surroundings began to turn white, and the massive snow mist then transformed into a tornado and rushed towards the mountainous terrain, even uprooting the surrounding pine trees.
“Those ice-attribute monsters are attacking. Will Xiao Du and the others be alright? I’ll make a call to ask…” The woman wearing frameless glasses said solemnly, slowly taking out her phone from her pocket. She wanted to see how her teacher replied. As she looked… Battery: 2. The phone displayed extremely cold temperatures, requiring power to maintain. She glanced at the message received and lightly swiped it away… Signal: ! (Red). She opened her QQ account again, her expression changed slightly, and she suddenly looked into the distance. However, she could only see a vast expanse of white. At this moment, the phone had completely fulfilled its task and turned off.
“What? Why do you have that expression?” Mr. Strongman saw the blank look on the frameless girl’s face and raised his eyebrows, supporting himself with his hand. He asked, “What happened?” The frameless girl gently adjusted her glasses frame, then breathed into her hands and looked around. She shook her head, her expression so solemn that it seemed water could drip from it. She said in a deep voice, “We’re in big trouble this time… When Sister Du returns, we need to leave here immediately and wait in town for Professor Mo to arrive.”
“Big trouble? Even if the Lin Family’s High-Rank Battle Generals make a move, we shouldn’t be so panicked, right?” Mr. Strongman’s expression stiffened for a moment, then he swallowed hard and said. The frameless girl said nothing. Her gaze turned to Sun Wukong Boy, staring intently at him without caring about the strange look from his girlfriend beside him. After a moment of silence, she asked word by word, “Junior, tell me honestly… Is your boss a Night Watcher?”
