Chapter 79

Leaving the Ice Rock City, Qin Lie gazed into the distance, his expression suddenly turning serious.

On the main street, which was usually bustling with people, not a single living soul could be seen. In the distance, he instead saw a few skeletons.

Some of the bones were larger in size, clearly belonging to spirit beasts, while others were unmistakably human.

The sun had set, and thick clouds covered the sky, casting a gray hue over the land. A few white bones were scattered about, presenting a desolate and lonely scene.

He still remembered when he first came to Ice Rock City, the main street near the city gate was very lively. Many martial artists and ordinary people from vassal forces, like the Ling family, would come to Ice Rock City. Every day, there was a constant flow of people at the city gate, sometimes even causing congestion.

However, now, the city gate was desolate, and not a single soul could be seen on the main street.

"Shh..."

The old servant named Liang Zhong, after leaving the city, suddenly whistled loudly.

The whistle echoed far and wide, the sound lingering and spreading with the wind.

"Whoosh whoosh!" The sound of flapping wings came from the thick clouds above.

Qin Lie looked up and saw about seven or eight bird-like creatures, resembling green cloud clusters, circling above their heads. Due to the distance, he couldn't see their exact appearance, but he guessed they had come because of Liang Zhong's whistle.

Liang Zhong looked up, chuckled, and let out a long howl.

One of the birds suddenly swooped down like a green lightning bolt, landing on Liang Zhong's shoulder and making a strange sound, as if whispering something in his ear.

Qin Lie turned his head, his expression changing slightly, and he softly exclaimed, "What... what kind of bird is this?"

As it came closer, he could see clearly. The bird was about the size of a palm, emitting a faint green glow. Its face... was clearly that of a child!

The green, ghostly bird, with a child's face but a sharp beak and green, rolling eyes, gave him a very eerie and sinister feeling.

"These are tamed ghost birds. They are small beasts from the Nether Battlefield and serve as my eyes," Liang Zhong explained briefly, then listened intently to the bird's chirping. After a while, he nodded, and the ghost bird flew away, reappearing in the sky like a green ghost.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"

The sound of rapid movement came from nearby. As Qin Lie stood solemnly, two spirit beasts covered in green scales, like two gusts of wind, suddenly appeared beside Xie Jingxuan and Liang Zhong.

These two spirit beasts had a similar aura to the ghost birds, cold and eerie. They were covered in green scales and, at first glance, resembled unicorns, but were larger. Their eyes were also green, making them look very unsettling.

"These are Xuanming Beasts, also spirit beasts from the Nether Battlefield, and are very different from those in the Extreme Cold Mountains," Liang Zhong explained casually. "The ghost birds are only first-stage spirit beasts with weak combat abilities, but they are very useful for gathering information and observing the ground from the sky. These two Xuanming Beasts are second-stage, extremely fast, and are excellent for long journeys. With them, traveling thousands of miles is no problem."

As he spoke, Xie Jingxuan moved gracefully, like a dancing willow leaf, and landed steadily on one of the Xuanming Beasts.

Liang Zhong mounted the other Xuanming Beast, nodded at Qin Lie, and said, "Get on, you can sit with me."

Qin Lie complied, holding Liang Zhong's hand and sitting on the Xuanming Beast.

"Hold onto my waist," Liang Zhong said softly.

Qin Lie obediently followed.

"Whoosh whoosh!"

The Xuanming Beast beneath him suddenly shot forward, moving like a cold bolt of lightning, making Qin Lie hear only the whistling wind, his heart racing in surprise.

"The ghost birds and Xuanming Beasts are spirit beasts from the Nether Battlefield. If they appeared in Ice Rock City, they might cause panic, so we left them outside," Liang Zhong explained, his voice not very loud, but Qin Lie could hear him clearly over the wind.

The two Xuanming Beasts moved swiftly, the scenery around them rapidly receding.

Qin Lie gradually adapted to the speed of the Xuanming Beasts and focused on his surroundings. He occasionally saw signs of battle, the remains of a few spirit beasts, but very few martial artist corpses.

"The experts from the Senluo Hall and the Seven Evils Valley, along with the core members of their vassal forces, are active around the edges of the Extreme Cold Mountains. Some of the stronger experts from the Senluo Hall and the Seven Evils Valley have entered the interior of the Extreme Cold Mountains to hunt high-stage spirit beasts. The spirit beasts active around Ice Rock City, Red Flame City, and Water Moon City are mostly low-stage, first and second-stage, and are hunted by lower-ranking disciples," Liang Zhong explained as they traveled.

"Your Star Cloud Pavilion's elders, Du Haitian, Chu Yan, and Wei Xing, are leading their respective hall masters at the edges of the Extreme Cold Mountains, cooperating with the elders of the Red Flame Association and the Water Moon Sect, and working with the Senluo Hall and the Seven Evils Valley..."

Liang Zhong spoke casually, explaining things as they came to mind, not in great detail, but Qin Lie understood the general situation.

The high-stage spirit beasts in the Extreme Cold Mountains were mostly in the interior and the edges. The true experts from the Seven Evils Valley and the Senluo Hall had entered the interior. The spirit beasts at the edges were mostly second-stage, and were hunted by the elders of the Shattered Ice Manor, Star Cloud Pavilion, Red Flame Association, and Water Moon Sect.

Outside the Extreme Cold Mountains, the spirit beasts active around Ice Rock City, Red Flame City, and Water Moon City were mostly first and second-stage.

These low-stage spirit beasts were being hunted by younger disciples like Tu Ze, Zhuo Qian, and Yan Ziqian, each leading a group of Body Refinement Realm companions.

"Why haven't we seen many martial artist corpses?" Qin Lie suddenly asked after a while.

"There are few martial artist corpses, not because we have the upper hand, but because... most of the dead have been completely devoured by the spirit beasts. To the spirit beasts, the bodies of martial artists are like great tonics, refined by the essence of heaven and earth, making them taste extremely delicious and enhancing their strength and stage. To them, our bodies are like spirit pills," Liang Zhong frowned.

"Many people have died, haven't they?" Qin Lie's expression changed.

"Over a hundred from the Star Cloud Pavilion, and about the same from the Shattered Ice Manor and the Water Moon Sect. The Red Flame Association has lost a bit more..." Liang Zhong looked into the distance and said calmly, "A nearly third-stage spirit beast broke through the defenses at the edge of the Extreme Cold Mountains and entered the area around Red Flame City. The Red Flame Association failed to mobilize their true experts in time, leading to the complete annihilation of several hunting teams, resulting in dozens more deaths."

Qin Lie was deeply moved.

"The small forces under Ice Rock City, Red Flame City, and the Water Moon Sect, who did not move into the cities in the early stages, have also lost hundreds of people," Liang Zhong added. "Deaths are normal. Every year, many martial artists from the Senluo Hall die. This is not unusual; it's unusual for no one to die."

The ghost bird's strange chirping suddenly sounded from the sky, and one of the ghost birds flew down and landed on Liang Zhong's shoulder.

The two Xuanming Beasts slowed down.

Liang Zhong listened for a while, looked to the left, and frowned. "Miss, there's a village over there with a second-stage Jin Yan Beast active."

"Are there still people in the village?" Xie Jingxuan asked.

"There are people," Liang Zhong nodded.

"Weren't the people from the vassal forces of Ice Rock City, Red Flame City, and Water Moon City supposed to be moved into the cities? Why are there still people outside?" Xie Jingxuan asked, suppressing her anger.

"Some people are hopeful that their villages won't be invaded by spirit beasts, and some are too old to move. Some might not have had the chance yet," Liang Zhong explained.

"Let's go and see," Xie Jingxuan sighed.

The two Xuanming Beasts changed direction and sped up again. Half an hour later, Qin Lie and the others arrived at a very remote village.

The village had only about twenty households, and it was completely silent, with no sounds at all. The vegetable gardens were long abandoned, overgrown with weeds.

A ghost bird landed on a few households in the southeast.

The Xuanming Beasts rushed over.

A strong smell of blood filled the air, and there were pools of blood on the ground, but no corpses.

With just one glance, Qin Lie understood. Someone must have stayed in these households and been devoured by the Jin Yan Beast, leaving no bodies behind.

"We're too late," Liang Zhong shook his head, summoned the ghost bird, and asked it. "The Jin Yan Beast has left and entered a natural stone forest ahead. The stone forest is roughly in the middle between Ice Rock City, Red Flame City, and Water Moon City, covering several dozen miles. It's the most active area for spirit beasts, and many younger disciples are hunting there, making it quite lively."

"Let's go," Xie Jingxuan's expression was indifferent as she nodded and led the Xuanming Beast away from the desolate village.

"Um, if there are no surprises, the people you're looking for, like Tu Ze, should be in that stone forest," Liang Zhong said after letting the ghost bird go.

Qin Lie's eyebrows twitched, and he subconsciously touched the long knife and dragon bone whip wrapped in oilcloth. "Why did you specifically seek me out? How can I help you?"

"I'm not sure if you can help," Liang Zhong looked at him deeply, thought for a moment, and said, "If you can, like that day, summon the Nine Heavens Thunder to strike down from the stone bridge, then you can help. Otherwise, bringing you along would be a mistake, and you would just be a burden, of no use at all."

Hearing this, Qin Lie's brows furrowed deeply, and he said bluntly, "Then let me tell you, you might be disappointed. I can't summon the thunder again. Last time was just a fluke. You... are overestimating me."

On the stone bridge, in the battle with Feng Kai, he had, under dire circumstances, miraculously summoned the thunder to strike down, severely injuring Feng Kai and Yan Qingsong.

Afterward, he spent several days trying to see if he could summon the lightning again, but to no avail.

So, he attributed that success to a miracle.

Since it was a miracle, it couldn't happen every time, nor could it be summoned at will.

"Oh? Is that so?" Liang Zhong squinted, smiled, and his smile was somewhat strange. "Perhaps, under the threat of death, you might perform beyond your usual level."

Patted Qin Lie's shoulder, ignoring his startled expression, Liang Zhong continued to laugh, "Kid, be prepared to face death."

...

PS: Please subscribe, thank you very much!

Page flip AD starts

Page flip AD ends