Chapter 479: Chapter 476: Desperate Mountain Range
The Demon Spirit Battlefield was about to open.
The Halls of Envoys in the five major districts—East, West, South, North, and Central—all grew busy.
The Holy Ancestors had personally given the order, demanding everyone’s full cooperation to select the most outstanding talents.
This was a grand spectacle for the entire continent, and for many, it was the best chance to rise above the rest.
As long as they could survive the trials of the Demon Spirit Battlefield, their futures in the Immortal Realm would be limitless.
The Desperate Mountain Range—a mysterious region that everyone yearned for, yet also feared.
It was located at the border between the East and North Districts of the Hall of Envoys.
The East District’s hall was affiliated with the Immortal Realm’s Holy Land, the Demon Sea, while the North District’s hall was affiliated with the Holy Land, Divine Master Valley.
The two sides often came to blows over the ownership of the Desperate Mountain Range.
Although the Palace Guard Armies of both halls had mediated and declared joint governance and development of the mountain range, a vicious battle was inevitable whenever they met.
On this day, a three-person team arrived at the Desperate Mountain Range.
Two men and one woman, all young, no older than twenty.
They wore similar attire: green robes, white shirts, and black boots.
The difference was in their cuffs: the two men had emblems of a flame and a hammer, while the woman’s cuff depicted a small, exquisite Jade Tripod Cauldron.
"Xue Yun, a golden light descended upon the Desperate Mountain Range last night. Though many are spreading rumors about a rare treasure appearing, we don’t know if it’s a blessing or a curse. In my opinion, we should reconsider and plan this out more carefully." The one speaking was the younger of the two men, the one with thicker eyebrows. His name was Gu Peng.
Gu Peng had a square-shaped face, and his expression was etched with deep worry.
Hearing this, Qin Xueyun’s elegant brows furrowed slightly. Her eyes flickered with uncertainty; it was clear her resolve for this mission was not so firm.
Seeing this, Gu Peng quickly pressed his advantage. "The Demon Spirit Battlefield is about to open, and we all want to fight for a spot. But this is the Desperate Mountain Range we’re talking about!"
"Setting aside its inherent dangers, we weren’t the only ones who saw last night’s golden light. People from the other Sub-Palaces, even those thugs and monsters from the East District’s Demon Sea Sub-Palace, must have seen it too."
"You think they’ll just ignore it? If we run into them in the Desperate Mountain Range, I’m afraid we won’t be coming back."
Qin Xueyun was completely shaken.
Just then, the other man let out a cold laugh. "Gu Peng, you’re building up their morale at the expense of our own. So what if they’re from the East District’s Demon Sea? We are cultivators! We should charge headfirst into the torrent and face any hardship that comes our way. That is the only path to success."
Gu Peng retorted, "He Jinbo, even if you charge headfirst, you have to know your own limits!"
He Jinbo continued, "Last night’s golden light was a clear sign that a rare treasure has appeared. Opportunities like this are rare and shouldn’t be missed. If we’re always hesitating, afraid of this and that, how can we even call this cultivation?"
"Besides..."
At this point, He Jinbo turned to Qin Xueyun with a smile. "With me here, nothing will go wrong."
Gu Peng grew anxious. "You? You’re just at the Mid-stage Vajra Realm. In the Desperate Mountain Range, that bit of cultivation isn’t even enough to pick someone’s teeth with."
"Oh? Is that so? What if I add this to the equation?"
He Jinbo smiled faintly and opened his palm. An orange-red flame slowly rose from it.
"The Void Spirit Flash Flame!" Gu Peng and Qin Xueyun exclaimed in unison.
"You... You actually stole it?" Gu Peng looked as if he had seen a ghost. "Aren’t you afraid your family’s ancestor will beat you to death?"
The North District Envoy Hall was affiliated with the Immortal Realm Divine Master Valley.
Divine Master Valley was a Holy Land founded by a coalition of Grandmasters from various professions, with Artifact Refiners, Alchemy Masters, and Array Masters being the most numerous.
Artifact Refiners and Alchemy Masters, in particular, made up over seventy percent of Divine Master Valley’s population.
He Jinbo and Gu Peng belonged to Artifact Refining families, while Qin Xueyun came from an Alchemy family.
For families dedicated to Alchemy and Artifact Refining, what was most important? Fire, of course!
The Void Spirit Flash Flame was a companion flame to the Void Spirit Flame, one of the seventy-two Earth-level Fire Seeds. It was classified as a pseudo-Earth-level Fire Seed.
Even though it was a pseudo-Earth-level Fire Seed, anything even remotely associated with the term "Fire Seed" was no ordinary item.
Take this Void Spirit Flash Flame, for example. It could travel through space at will, even carrying several people along with it.
It was not only excellent for Artifact Refining but also incredibly powerful for other purposes.
It was the very foundation of the He Family’s standing in the North District Envoy Hall.
Gu Peng and Qin Xueyun never imagined that He Jinbo would actually bring this item out of the He Family’s home.
And how had he even managed it?
’Logically, the He Family’s security and supervision over the Void Spirit Flash Flame should be impenetrable.’
The corners of He Jinbo’s mouth curved upward as he shot Gu Peng an arrogant glance.
"I am the future Patriarch of the He Family. This Void Spirit Flash Flame will be mine sooner or later. How can you call it ’stealing’?"
Gu Peng’s expression froze.
’Future Patriarch?’
’What good is that!’
’Even the current Patriarch probably doesn’t have the right to carry the Void Spirit Flash Flame around with him!’
He was about to say something, but He Jinbo didn’t give him the chance.
"Xue Yun, don’t worry. With me here, I can definitely protect you. I’ll help you find the newly emerged treasure, and we’ll grow stronger together. Then we’ll go to the Demon Spirit Battlefield and dominate!"
Qin Xueyun’s expression showed that she was tempted. Then, she steeled herself, bit her lip, and gave He Jinbo a slight bow.
"Then, thank you, Brother He."
He Jinbo hurriedly helped Qin Xueyun up. Feeling the softness from the touch of her hands and catching the sweet fragrance of a young woman, his face bloomed into a wide smile.
Qin Xueyun subconsciously took half a step back, pulling her hands away as a blush crept up half her face.
Seeing this, He Jinbo’s smile grew even wider. With a grand wave of his hand, he declared, "Let’s go! When it comes to treasure hunting, the sooner the better!"
With that, he took the lead and was the first to enter the Desperate Mountain Range.
Qin Xueyun hesitated for a moment before following him.
Gu Peng’s brows were tightly furrowed. With the Void Spirit Flash Flame, they truly didn’t have to worry about their safety, as long as no Immortal was ruthless enough to strike a killing blow.
But he still felt that something was very wrong about this, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was.
In the end, he could only sigh and chase after them.
...
Deep within the Desperate Mountain Range, a massive, bottomless pit, a hundred meters in diameter, was emitting wisps of green smoke.
For a hundred li around the crater, the ground was scorched black. The massive impact had formed a ring of earthen mounds dozens of zhang high.
At the bottom of the crater, an arm suddenly shot out from a pile of rubble.
"Pig Emperor, can you be a little more damn reliable?!"
The arm pressed against the ground and pushed with great force.
BOOM!
The rubble exploded outward, and a figure leaped out from within. It was Mo Qi.
"This Emperor told you that Secret Technique wouldn’t last long. You were the one who was too slow." The Pig Emperor, standing on Mo Qi’s shoulder, quickly shook the dust off itself, its face full of contempt.
Mo Qi rolled his eyes. ’You call that not lasting long?’
’The words had barely left your mouth before the Golden Armor Defense disappeared!’
’If I hadn’t been fast, I would have died in the Void Gate!’
Because of the Pig Emperor’s unreliability, Mo Qi had barely any time to weigh the pros and cons. He had been forced to create his External Incarnation, separating it from his main body. Each followed one of his mother’s clues, flying out of the Void Gate toward two different locations.
