Chapter 2369: Chapter 2369 Monstrous Creature
The water serpent immediately lowered its head, avoiding the Dragon Lady’s fiery gaze.
Under her overwhelming pressure, the creature couldn’t even muster twenty per cent of its strength. If it dared to defy her, she would tear it apart in an instant.
The chaotic swarm of water serpents instantly plunged into the depths of the lake with their heads desperately burrowing into the muddy bottom.
"Growl!" Dragon Lady let out a low, rumbling growl.
The serpent king understood her instantly and nodded frantically before diving into the water, too terrified to resurface.
With that, Dragon Lady descended beside Ye Liuyun to lift him and Songstress, effortlessly soaring across the vast lake to the opposite shore.
"I instructed them to intercept any soldiers who came after us," the Dragon Lady said proudly, shifting back into her human form as she spoke.
He nodded and returned her to his Spatial realm before pressing onward with Songstress.
Even from here, the heavy stench of blood filled the air, making both Ye Liuyun and Songstress wonder if the crimson liquid trickling down the cliff surface was truly blood.
The rest of the journey passed without incident, and soon they arrived at the base of the Zestrone Cliff.
The ground beneath the precipice was soaked in a deep, unsettling crimson.
Ye Liuyun and Songstress could now confirm that the intense red beneath their feet was indeed blood.
Strangely, though, it showed no signs of drying.
Ye Liuyun attempted to leap into the air, but he could barely soar freely. The farther he went, the lower he sank, forcing him to retreat immediately.
"Just as I thought. Flight is restricted here," he told Songstress grimly.
"So what do we do? Climb straight up?" Songstress tilted her head back, squinting at the seemingly endless cliff above.
"Growl!"
A bizarre roar suddenly echoed amid the mountain forest.
Ye Liuyun couldn’t pinpoint which cave it came from, but the sound was unmistakable. It belonged to a creature he’d never encountered before.
After a brief consideration, he retrieved a Riftblade from his storage.
"Let’s not risk climbing. We’ll try this!"
"Good idea!" Songstress agreed readily.
She shuddered at the prospect of clambering up that sheer cliff face, much less wading in the blood pool.
They boarded the Riftblade. Before taking off, Ye Liuyun loaded a substantial amount of Spirit Crystas from his Interspatial ring into the vessel’s energy core. With the protective shield activated, they shot upward.
Here, the anti-flight pressure was intense. Despite being far from its spacecraft, the Riftblade ascended slowly due to the resistance. However, it continued to travel at the pace of a typical skyship. Enough to scale the cliff.
As they zoomed past cave openings, Ye Liuyun’s Golden Phantom Eyes flashed as they scanned inside, revealing the horrors within.
Horrors like decaying bodies writhed in blood-filled caverns, absorbing strength from the red pools.
The simian-looking limbs with claws made them ideal climbers.
The Riftblade passing through disturbed the creatures. They emerged from their caves, with some giving chase like frenzied apes scaling the cliffside.
But none could match the Riftblade’s speed. After a brief pursuit, they retreated to their bloody dens.
Ye Liuyun manoeuvered the Riftblade to a halt at a safe distance from a cave entrance before aiming the canon at the entrance of the cave.
Out of the deep cave sprang monstrous beasts. As their shapes were illuminated by the light of day, their silhouettes bore an uncanny resemblance to humans.
Except they were entirely skinless, their raw muscles and sinews exposed to the air. Some even had bones jutting through their flesh, glistening wetly under the sun.
Gathered at the cave mouth, they bared fangs at Ye Liuyun. Their jagged teeth resembled those of feral beasts than humans.
Without hesitation, he fired the energy cannon. A blinding white beam lanced out, striking the grotesque creatures by the cave entrance, reducing them to gory splatters.
Still, the surviving creatures were fearless. Indifferently, they roared ahead but halted before reaching him because they were hesitant to jump the distance. Rather, they mounted the rocky outcrops surrounding the cave, unleashing a cacophony of snarls and hisses at Ye Liuyun.
Ye Liuyun responded with another volley of cannon, blasting them into splatter.
Finally provoked beyond endurance, a few of the creatures hurled themselves at the Riftblade only to be instantly crushed by the oppressive anti-flight force field. Their bodies plummeted into the abyss below, shattering upon impact.
After observing the creatures for some time, Ye Liuyun wasted no more time. He accelerated the Riftblade upward.
The remaining creatures ceased to chase after him and retreated into the cave’s depths.
"What do you think is inside that cave?" Songstress asked, her curiosity piqued.
"The anti-flight field here is too strong. Unless we fly the Riftblade straight into the cave, we’d never reach the destination," Ye Liuyun replied.
Unwilling to take unnecessary risks, he decided to scout the mountaintop first.
The Riftblade continued its ascent steadily.
Suddenly, more creatures lunged from above. They hurled themselves downward, their bodies crashing toward the Riftblade, taking advantage of the gravity.
Fortunately, Ye Liuyun had activated the protective shield in advance, causing the creatures to rebound and tumble back down.
Some of the creatures hurled rocks at Ye Liuyun and his companions, attempting to force him to steer the Riftblade further away from the cliffside.
Hence, Ye Liuyun steered the Riftblade further away from the cliff.
The stones were also instantly spiralled downward by the same anti-flight force.
"Seems like these creatures aren’t mindless after all," Ye Liuyun mused silently.
"Do you think the mountaintop is crawling with these things, too?" Songstress asked nervously.
Ye Liuyun responded, "Let’s hope not," but he couldn’t escape the sinking feeling that she could be right.
As the Riftblade continued to ascend, its speed steadily decreased. It was clear evidence that the anti-flight pressure grew stronger the higher they ascended.
Fortunately, they soon broke through the clouds and caught sight of the summit.
But when they finally reached the peak, their hearts sank. The mountaintop was indeed swarming with the same grotesque creatures.
"You had to say it, don’t you? You jinxed it!"
Ye Liuyun muttered before commanding Riftblade to unleash a barrage of cannon attacks.
This round, he kept a safe distance, well out of range of the creatures’ rock-throwing.
The Riftblade’s assaults, unaffected by the anti-flight pressure, swiftly wiped out the swarming creatures on the summit.
After circling the peak, Ye Liuyun discovered a tunnel leading downward into the core of the mountain.
Songstress spotted the tunnel and asked with concern, "Do you think all these mountain caves are interconnected?"
"Very likely!" Ye Liuyun agreed as he steered the Riftblade to land atop the peak.
After stowing away the Riftblade, Ye Liuyun and Songstress drew their weapons, bracing for potential head-on combat.
"Is Wan Weihou just toying with us? We’ve travelled far but haven’t seen any treasure!" Songstress complained, her voice laced with irritation. "Without the Riftblade, it is impossible to scale these cliffs."
The floor was soaked thick with blood, and her shoes were instantly wet the second she stepped on it.
"Perhaps the real treasure lies within the Zestrone Cliff," Ye Liuyun mused, his mind racing with the possibility that the secret realm’s Power of Origin might be hidden somewhere inside the mountain.
