Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Snow Cloud Beast
Since the female cultivator was so direct, Lu Sangjiu didn’t hide her intentions.
She took out a Xuanjin Fruit and handed it to her, saying, "Indeed. We originally had two other companions, but we were separated, and I don’t know when they’ll be able to join us."
"The Thousand-year-old Cold Iron Ore isn’t easy to get. I could tell you’re very skilled, and I had a good feeling about you, so I decided to take a chance and invite you."
By offering the Xuanjin Fruit upfront, Lu Sangjiu made her intentions clear. She wasn’t using the fruit as leverage; whether the woman agreed was entirely up to her.
This gesture earned her some goodwill from the female cultivator, who, after a moment’s thought, nodded in agreement. "Alright."
With the team successfully formed, Lu Sangjiu and Chi Yan learned the female cultivator’s name was Feng Lin, a cultivator from Lingyin Pavilion.
And so, the group wasted no more time and continued toward the summit.
Along the way, they came across several other groups fighting over treasures, but while the items were valuable, none of them were particularly interested.
Besides, it grew colder the closer they got to the summit. They had to divert a significant amount of their Spiritual Power just to maintain their body heat, so they had been careful to avoid any new conflicts.
Just as they were about to reach the summit, they were suddenly ambushed by a pack of Snow Cloud Beasts!
Snow Cloud Beasts looked just like fluffy snowballs. They had no hands or feet, only a pair of black-bean-like eyes set in a white ball of fur, which made them look quite cute and harmless.
In reality, however, Snow Cloud Beasts were extremely aggressive, and the snowy mountain was their home turf.
Now, a pack of the little creatures had suddenly appeared and launched an attack without a moment’s hesitation.
In an instant, a volley of snowballs, conjured by their spells, flew toward the trio. They carried an overwhelming chill, as if intending to freeze them solid.
The three of them hurriedly conjured Protective Shields, but there were too many snowballs, and the shields shattered in no time.
If they kept this up, it would not only drain their Spiritual Power, but also leave them with practically no opportunity to fight back. It simply wasn’t worth it.
So, with a shared understanding, the three of them stopped conjuring Protective Shields. Instead, they began to dodge while simultaneously casting their own spells to counter the Snow Cloud Beasts.
Lu Sangjiu’s movement technique was nimble. As she counterattacked, the Snow Cloud Beasts targeting her were thrown into disarray, and the pressure on her quickly eased.
But soon, she heard Feng Lin’s voice. "Something’s wrong... The cold from these Snow Cloud Beasts is abnormally strong!"
She had been hit on her side, and for a moment, the area felt like it had been frozen solid by an immense chill, almost completely numb.
She immediately circulated her Spiritual Energy to disperse the chill, but she realized it would take at least one or two hours to completely purge it from her body.
Snow Cloud Beasts weren’t a rare type of demon beast; they were common on snowy mountains.
Feng Lin had encountered them before on her travels, but she had never met any whose chill was this potent.
Hearing Feng Lin, Lu Sangjiu immediately spared some of her focus to sense the energy around them and quickly realized something was wrong as well.
’It would be one thing if one or two were a bit stronger, but how could all of the dozen-plus Snow Cloud Beasts here be this powerful?’
Narrowing her eyes, she couldn’t help but think of a certain possibility.
So she discreetly left a grain of Devouring Spirit Sand on each Snow Cloud Beast.
She had just finished when she saw Feng Lin find an opening and pull out her Suona. The sight startled Lu Sangjiu, who quickly shouted, "Feng Dao You, don’t use an area-of-effect attack yet!"
Feng Lin froze. Though they hadn’t been a team for long, she trusted Lu Sangjiu. Without asking any questions, she put her Suona away.
Seeing this, Lu Sangjiu and Chi Yan both couldn’t help but let out a silent sigh of relief.
’Ahem... even if the Sound Attack wasn’t aimed at them, just being caught in the periphery of that Suona’s blast was excruciating. Best not to use it if it can be helped!’
After stopping Feng Lin, Lu Sangjiu used the Earth Attribute of her Six-sided Exquisite Dice to blast open the ground right under the pack of Snow Cloud Beasts.
The Snow Cloud Beasts had been clustered together, and the blast scattered them in every direction, their SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK cries filling the air.
"Chi Yan, now!"
Chi Yan had fought alongside Lu Sangjiu many times and had developed a fair amount of battlefield chemistry with her.
He didn’t need a detailed explanation from Lu Sangjiu to know she wanted him to press the advantage with close-quarters combat, preventing the beasts from casting their Snowball Technique.
At the same time, Lu Sangjiu didn’t stand on ceremony with Feng Lin. "Feng Dao You, use your Golden Cymbals!"
Feng Lin acknowledged the order, took out a pair of Golden Cymbals, and began striking the Snow Cloud Beasts that had been sent flying her way.
Lu Sangjiu, of course, wasn’t idle herself. She drew a Flying Sword and charged into the pack, also engaging in close-quarters combat.
These Snow Cloud Beasts weren’t actually that powerful; the Snowball Technique was their greatest strength.
When they ganged up for a group attack, they could put their opponents under considerable pressure.
But that spell was impossible to cast at close range, leaving them open to being pummeled.
The beasts had started this fight, and the three cultivators weren’t about to go easy on them just because of their cute appearance.
In just a few moments, the pack of Snow Cloud Beasts had suffered heavy casualties, with only a few left to flee at top speed.
Since this was their home turf, escaping was easy even if they couldn’t win. They just had to blend into the snow, and all trace of them would quickly disappear.
Seeing the beasts flee, Feng Lin and Chi Yan had no intention of giving chase. They immediately sat down to meditate and restore their energy.
Once they had recovered, they were about to continue toward the summit, but Lu Sangjiu suddenly said, "Follow me."
They watched as Lu Sangjiu turned and headed in the direction the Snow Cloud Beasts had just fled.
Chi Yan was baffled. "You’re only deciding to chase them now? There’s no way we can catch up."
Feng Lin, however, reacted quickly. "...Mr. Lu, do you think there’s something unusual about their cold energy and want to investigate?"
Lu Sangjiu nodded. "I planted something on them earlier, so I can track them directly. Let’s go have a look."
She was, of course, referring to the Devouring Spirit Sand she had planted.
She could follow the aura of the sand, which was exceptionally discreet.
Chi Yan had no objections, but Feng Lin hesitated. "Mr. Lu, do you already have a guess as to what’s going on?"
They were already spending Spiritual Power just to stay warm, and they still had to mine the Thousand-year-old Cold Iron Ore after reaching the summit. If this wasn’t about something valuable, wasting their energy on a detour would be a poor trade-off.
Lu Sangjiu hadn’t wanted to say anything prematurely, in case it turned out to be a wild goose chase.
But since Feng Lin asked, she told her. "I suspect there might be an aged Cold Ice Crystal Stone... but it’s just a guess. I’m not certain."
"So if you don’t want to waste time on this, Feng Dao You, you can go on ahead without us."
Her tone was sincere, holding no trace of anger. She was genuinely giving Feng Lin a choice.
Feng Lin appeared to be considering it and didn’t answer right away.
Chi Yan, on the other hand, was very excited. "A Cold Ice Crystal Stone? If it’s over a hundred years old, that’s a real treasure!"
Of course, one that was less than a hundred years old was just a common, cheap item. Getting even a single Mid-grade Spirit Stone for it would be considered a high price.
But he clearly wasn’t considering that possibility, nor did he seem to notice that Lu Sangjiu had only said it was a guess.
He just rubbed his hands together eagerly, looking as if the hundred-year-old Cold Ice Crystal Stone was already within his grasp.
Feng Lin weighed her options for a moment. Then, whether it was because she was infected by Chi Yan’s optimism or because she felt it would be disloyal to leave on her own, she finally nodded in agreement.
"Let’s go check it out together, then!"
