Chapter 265 Shocking Change—Sneaking into the Ravine (4k)
Amidst the swirling snow and wind in the air, Su Jiu and the other were forced to descend slowly. Looking up, they saw figures swiftly moving through the forest, frequently brushing past passersby, all maintaining a tacit silence.
They soon arrived at the entrance of Yunbai Ravine. A massive formation blocked the snow and wind. The entrance was situated between two towering, frost-white boulders that resembled blades. A few zhang wide path led to it, covered in frost, but around the entrance, numerous green figures were patrolling – members of the Lin family.
“Follow me. I’ll have a word with the Lin family steward, and they should let you pass.”
As they landed, the Senior Du headed directly towards the entrance. Su Jiu, observing the Lin family disciples glancing at her from the corner of their eyes, inwardly became vigilant.
These Lin family disciples seemed to pay special attention to Senior Du. Was it because of the black scale armor?
On the frost-covered ground not far from the entrance, at the edge of the huge crack, at least twenty to thirty green-clad figures were constantly moving. Sharp, eagle-like eyes scanned the crowd in the passage below, as if guarding against anyone sneaking into the water ravine’s depths.
Among them, an old man in blue sat cross-legged, with clusters of blue wind constantly emanating from his body, causing the surrounding frost and snow to also swirl and drift, exuding a hidden aura.
This old man in blue had his eyes closed the entire time. However, as Su Jiu and the other entered, he seemed to sense their presence and opened his eyes, looking down at Senior Du. Upon seeing her black scale armor, he appeared surprised, then narrowed his eyes, a hint of chill appearing.
According to the requirements of the mysterious force, they were sent to prevent anyone from going deeper into the ravine. To prevent accidents, they had specially arranged for him and several Lin family guest elders to suppress these battle-general level experts who valued money over their lives.
In reality, not many big shots were truly attracted. After all, Yunpu City was vast and sparsely populated, bordering a forest. No strong expert would willingly travel to such a place where even transportation was underdeveloped.
Moreover, those two birds were not true descendants of War God level monsters. Their bloodline was merely that of a relatively high-level Battle King descendant. Normally, ordinary Battle King level experts would not even bother—unless, like the Lin family, they intended to sell the birds…
The most crucial thing was to be wary of the Huang family, who opposed the Lin family. Including Mr. Li Wu, who had recently been promoted, Yunpu City had two monarchs. One was the former patriarch of the Lin family, Mr. Lin Heng, and the other was a member of the Huang family, who opposed the Lin family.
It was precisely because of this that the old man in blue was surprised to see Senior Du. Many people had come in the past few days, but few possessed the aura of a high-rank Battle General. And this was a Dragon Hunter wearing black scale armor.
What was going on? Was the Huang family sending someone to get a piece of the pie? But didn’t Priest probably not contact the Huang family?
In fact, not many Lin family members had actually seen Su Jiu, and this group including the old man had definitely not. He clearly mistook Su Jiu for an attendant and didn’t think much of it.
However, he did not get up to ask anything. After a glance, he withdrew his gaze. As long as the other party did not rashly enter the ravine, they could do whatever they pleased… two mid-rank Battle Generals were easily annihilated with the current setup.
“Esteemed officer… please do not approach Yunbai Ravine. My Lin family has paid a considerable sum to the local government for a month’s temporary usage rights. This area is now under the management of my Lin family.”
Under the watchful eyes of the Lin family members and the passersby, Su Jiu and the other slowly approached the entrance of the ravine. Just as they were about to enter, the old man suddenly opened his eyes again, staring intently at Senior Du. His somewhat hoarse voice slowly echoed, clearly in a tone of expulsion.
“Purchased usage rights? For a month?” Senior Du slowly stopped, her gaze directly meeting that of the old man in blue. Such a land sale was likely a favor, and without a search warrant, she couldn’t arbitrarily enter another person’s legal residence.
The atmosphere instantly turned cold. The onlookers wanted to see how Su Jiu and the other would react, while the Lin family disciples summoned their Beast Armaments, their surfaces glinting with cold light.
Sensing the shift in atmosphere, Su Jiu saw that Senior Du seemed intent on saying more. He cupped his hands in thanks and shook his head with a light smile, “Thank you, Senior Sister, for your help. I won’t trouble you with the area ahead.”
Later, he could transform into a little bat and sneak in, and no one would know. He could slip away unnoticed. Wasn’t that better than forcing his way through?
Glancing at Su Jiu, she surveyed the Lin family members guarding the ravine’s edge and then turned to the old man. She tilted her head and asked tentatively, “The Lin family bought this land for a month; are you not doing anything illegal within? You know, while Dragon Country doesn’t prohibit hunting, mass capture of species is illegal.”
“Miss Dragon Hunter, aren’t you overstepping your bounds? If you take another step forward, don’t blame me for being impolite!”
Hearing this, the old man’s expression stiffened slightly, and he then let out a cold snort, speaking faintly, his tone carrying an air of expulsion.
As the old man’s voice fell, the weapons in the hands of the surrounding Lin family disciples began to glow with different elemental-attribute lights, and the airflow pressed towards Su Jiu and the other, clearly preparing to physically expel them.
“What exactly is hidden beneath this place that warrants such treatment from the Lin family?”
Sensing the icy intent emanating from the Lin family, Senior Du’s expression slightly sank. She looked towards the bottom of the cliff again, feeling somewhat puzzled, and quietly instructed Su Jiu beside her, “The Lin family has a major problem. You follow me, and we’ll leave first. We can’t get into the ravine from here… I need to report to my superiors.”
“Boom!”
Hearing the sound, Su Jiu was about to say something when a loud bang erupted on the defensive shield. She abruptly looked over. A massive hole several meters wide had appeared on the shield. A tall figure with a pale yellow energy shield emerged, and a hearty laugh echoed from outside the barrier:
“Haha… Old Ghost Lin, are you trying to hoard all the Coldstream Crows for yourself? Did you ask for my opinion, Huang Ling?”
The old man, who had just been about to expel Su Jiu and the others, suddenly widened his eyes, his gaze filled with displeasure as he slowly uttered the other’s identity, word by word: “Patriarch of the Huang family…”
“Haha, old Ghost Lin isn’t even here to guard it himself. But there are three hidden high-rank Battle Generals. I don’t recall your Lin family having so many high-rank Battle Generals. However, high-rank Battle Generals are merely stronger ants to a Battle King.”
“Huang family brats, charge! Whoever catches a Coldstream Crow in this ravine gets it!”
Huang Ling scanned the surroundings, letting out a laugh like an owl. His imposing Battle King level aura surged towards the sky. He glanced at the passersby, hesitated for a moment, and then transformed into a projectile of earth and yellow, shooting out from the sky and slamming heavily towards the old man. Behind him, similar “small projectiles” rained down.
The old man’s heart trembled, and he quickly dodged to the side, his feet treading on a whirlwind. The massive impact kicked up waves of air, and the wind carrying the earthy scent blew his sleeves flappily.
Huang Ling’s yellowish eyes, filled with disdain, swept over the surrounding Lin family disciples. He stomped his foot, unleashing a surge of yellow external energy that sent the disciples who hadn’t reached Battle General level flying.
“Clang clang—”
The smaller projectiles, the so-called Huang family members, immediately engaged the Lin family disciples in a battle, with flashing blades and swords amidst rising dust.
Soon, due to the pressure of Huang Ling’s aura field, the Huang family members began to push back the Lin family disciples. The defensive perimeter was exposed, and the entrance to the Frost Ravine also slightly revealed itself.
The passersby who had been watching the show saw their eyes gleam with unusual thoughts, but they dared not entertain them further due to the presence of Huang Ling, who was fighting like he was on an unstoppable rampage.
“Huang Ling, are you insane? Do you want to start a full-blown war with my Lin family?”
Seeing Huang Ling charging at him, the old man’s face changed drastically, and he shouted sternly but with a hint of fear in his voice.
“Haha, a war is unlikely, but if your Lin family suddenly occupies this Yunbai Ravine, I’m afraid you won’t even see a shadow of a Coldstream Crow after a month.” Huang Ling chuckled, another punch wind approaching. However, amidst his smile, there was an undisguised dominance.
“Are you all still watching? This is what that Master instructed my Lin family to do! If we fail, aren’t you afraid of that Master’s punishment?! Hurry up and help me!”
Hearing Huang Ling’s intention to enter the ravine, the old man’s heart sank, knowing there was no room for negotiation. Without further hesitation, he roared towards the surroundings.
Then, he stomped on the air and pushed himself back, rushing towards the two blade-like colossal stones at the entrance. He could only rely on his wind attribute and special skills to restrain the opponent.
“Heh heh… your Lin family is really useless. You can’t even guard a gate properly.”
Soon, accompanied by the Lin family elder’s angry roar, three chilling auras suddenly erupted from amidst the green-clad Lin family disciples. Three Lin family disciples with grim expressions soared into the sky. Their gray external energy, like chains, gripped Huang Ling’s limbs, and they began to tangle with him. For a time, various skill lights struck the surroundings…
“Hurry up! There are Coldstream Crows down there, each worth millions!”
“If this pays off, I’ll treat you all to good food and drinks.”
The scavengers, seeing this, could no longer suppress their emotions. Calling out to friends and acquaintances, they prepared to rush down. As they had to fight the Huang family members, the Lin family members could only watch as nearly a hundred people rushed towards the ravine below.
“We have to leave quickly. It’s too dangerous here! At this level of combat, even if we are Battle Generals, we could still be seriously injured!”
Senior Du quickly withdrew her gaze and prepared to lead Su Jiu away from the area. However, when she looked into Su Jiu’s eyes, she saw a look of solemnity for the first time.
“Senior Sister, you should go back first.”
Su Jiu’s gaze met Senior Du’s. After a slight pause, she gently shook her head and, without looking back, rushed towards the crack—she was too familiar with the aura of those three men. A chilling death qi…
The Ancient God Sect!
She had initially thought they were after the Fiery Crows, but the Lin family was blocking Yunbai Ravine for the Ancient God Sect, and three Shadow-level cultists had appeared. With a Bishop-level commander behind them, it was clearly not just about catching birds.
Whether it was for the feathers or to expose the Ancient God’s conspiracy, she had to go down!
“Are you trying to die? In this desolate wilderness, even if they kill you, others will turn a blind eye… Sigh, forget it, wait for me!”
Seeing this, Senior Du quickly spoke. With a movement, she transformed into a black shadow and followed. She was actually quite curious about what kind of environment was in the ravine that the Lin family would go to such lengths to guard.
The old man retreated from the battle, wiping the blood from his mouth. His gaze was fixed on the unharmed Huang Ling in front of him, watching him wrestle with the three Shadows. He then shouted, “Fighting us, aren’t you just making wedding clothes for those people? They have already entered Yunbai Ravine to search for treasure.”
“Wedding clothes?! Anything they bring out will be my Huang family’s.” Huang Ling’s arms emitted golden light. He crossed them, laughing heartily as he pulled back the gray chains, dragging two Shadows at the other end of the chains out of their positions.
…
On a distant hillside, Sun Wukong, the boy, and others huddled together in a fighting stance, surrounded by several corpses of cloaked figures. Blood flowed from their seven orifices, a grim sight… But soon, new shadows filled their places, emitting auras ranging from low-rank Battle General to mid-rank.
“The power behind the Lin family is actually the Ancient God Sect…” the big man said with a deep tone. He frantically formed seals with his hands, as if an invisible mental power was forming a barrier to ward off their surroundings.
“Two little Dragon Hunter girls, I haven’t played with a Dragon Hunter before… Heh heh.”
Opposite the frost mist stood a cloaked figure, gently stroking a green dagger. He didn’t seem in a hurry to attack, as if he were simply enjoying the show, occasionally unleashing green blade attacks.
Just as Sun Wukong, the boy, was preparing to use a signal flare, the big man beside him glanced at the symbol on it and was stunned. He then said in a low voice, “Are you sure they’re really Night Watchers? Do you know what this inverted cross means? Don’t use it unless it’s absolutely necessary!”
This was an enemy signal flare!
Then, his gaze turned to the girl with the rimless glasses who was fiddling with an alchemy ball, and he continued asking, “How much longer for this Battle General level defensive formation…”
“Almost ready! With this defensive formation, we should be able to hold out until Little Du arrives…” The girl with rimless glasses replied without looking up, constantly glancing at the Ancient God Sect Shadow who was enjoying the show, and then added in a low voice,
“However, this formation can only withstand this level of attack for three hours.”
