Chapter 920: Collaboration

Time flew by, and more than half a year had passed.

In the evening, the afterglow of the setting sun spilled across the land, bathing the entire plain in a dim yellow light.

The two teams of scaled beasts on the plain still maintained a moderate distance, slowly advancing along the gradually rising terrain toward a strange, massive mountain range in the distance.

In the scaled beast team at the rear, Han Li, dressed in a black robe, sat cross-legged on the roof of a black hall, gazing into the distance.

He saw that half of the distant mountain range, illuminated by the sunset, appeared a golden red, while the other half, dimly lit, showed a strange, deep blue color.

After watching for a moment, Han Li's brow furrowed slightly as he detected some peculiar fluctuations from the mountain range. As they drew closer, the strange fluctuations became more pronounced, and a biting cold began to sweep over them overwhelmingly.

More and more people noticed the strangeness and emerged from their stone halls to investigate outside.

Though the distance seemed short, the two teams still took a full seven days to reach the foot of the mountain range, arriving only at dawn on the eighth day.

This time, the Puppet City team did not proceed ahead but stopped at the mountain pass, waiting for the Mystic City group to catch up.

Han Li and Gu Qianxun stood side by side on the back of the black-scaled elephant, gazing at the mountain range ahead. They saw the black abyss, stretching for who knows how many tens of thousands of miles, extending all the way into the mountain range, seemingly running through the entire range.

Half of the mountain range before them was crystal blue, and the other half was fiery red, each emitting strange auras.

“This place is truly bizarre. Even with our physiques, we can still feel a bone-chilling cold,” Gu Qianxun said, gently rubbing her arms.

“The rocks on this half of the mountain are as cold as frost, looking like ice crystals. This wispy cold air seeps out from the mountain body. The rocks on the other half, however, are blazing hot. Such a wonderland of ice and fire is rare in the Scale Accumulation Void,” Xuan Yuanxing said, pointing to the other side of the mountain.

Han Li remained silent, his brows tightly knit.

At that moment, the sound of a horn and a bell rang out simultaneously.

Han Li and the other two exchanged glances, then leaped into the air and flew swiftly toward the front of the two teams.

Soon, the others also arrived and gathered at the front.

A dozen or so paces away, the people of Puppet City had also gathered together.

Han Li swept his gaze over and saw the handsome young man carrying a short halberd, who had been controlling the winged-scaled bird hovering in the air that day, standing at the very front of the group.

To his left stood a burly man over two zhang tall, half-bald, with a topknot sticking straight up from his crown, looking rather comical. His upper body was bare, revealing muscles like carved steel bulging with twisted, protruding blue veins, yet exuding explosive power.

To the right of the handsome young man stood a dwarf man less than four chi tall, with a rather handsome face no less than that of the halberd-bearing youth. He wore a set of snow-white bone armor and stood straight, giving him some presence.

The dozen or so people behind those three were mostly women with curvaceous figures, their attire much more uniform—mostly black robes and gauze garments, with a layer of light veil covering their faces.

Han Li’s gaze swept over them and finally settled on the three people at the back of the group.

Although those three also wore black robes, they gave him a very different feeling from the others.

Just as Han Li was about to examine them more closely, two figures descended from the sky and landed in front of the two groups.

One of them was of medium build with ordinary features—it was none other than E Kuai, the lord of Xuan City.

The other, however, was clad in a white gauze dress, a light veil covering her face. Her figure was graceful and delicate, and as she descended, she was as light as a falling feather. Every subtle movement of her gestures was enchanting.

Even Gu Qianxun, a woman, could not help but be somewhat entranced.

"She has clearly not used any charm technique, yet there is a natural, unaffected allure flowing from her..." Han Li murmured, but in his heart, the image of Zi Ling surfaced unbidden.

He knew full well that the woman before him could not possibly be Zi Ling, for she was Sha Xin, the City Lord of the Puppet City.

"Everyone, the 'Great Ruin' sacred land we have painstakingly sought lies on the other side of the Black Abyss, and the path through the Black Abyss is within this mountain range of interwoven ice and fire. I know that in the past, too many conflicts have erupted between our Xuan and Wei cities, and both sides have had loved ones die at each other's hands," Sha Xin spoke first, her voice slow.

Upon hearing this, the people from both cities looked somewhat uncomfortable, and when they glanced at each other, there was still clear hatred in their eyes.

"This hatred... cannot be erased, nor does it need to be erased."

As soon as Sha Xin said this, both teams erupted in uproar. Many people turned their wrists and reached for the star weapons at their waists, their eyes growing increasingly murderous.

"Everyone, calm down." E Kuai, still with his usual gentle demeanor, said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, the people of Xuancheng finally withdrew their hands, but the wariness in their eyes did not diminish in the slightest.

"No matter how deep your grudges are, I only hope that for now, here in the Extreme Ice and Fire Vein, you can set them aside temporarily." Sha Xin swept his gaze calmly over the crowd and continued.

"The dangers of the Extreme Ice and Fire Vein far exceed your imagination—there is no doubt about that. Within these mountains, we cannot spread out and act separately as before; we must gather together and proceed with caution. So, everyone must temporarily put aside personal grievances and cooperate with and support each other." E Kuai took over the conversation and said.

After a moment of silence, Sun Tu was the first to speak: "We respectfully obey the City Lord's command."

Thus, with one voice, the crowd shouted in unison.

"Next, we will enter the mountain from the side of the Cold Ice Mountain Range. To prevent accidents, after entering the mountain pass, the teams from the two cities will be intermingled and proceed at intervals." Sha Xin frowned slightly and said.

"As you command." The crowd no longer hesitated and shouted in response.

"Move out." At E Kuai's command, the crowd returned to the Scaled Beast Mountain and began advancing toward the mountain pass.

When Han Li turned back to look at the three people at the end of the Puppet City team, they had already disappeared from sight.

E Kuai and the scaled beast of Sha Xin walked side by side at the very front, entering the mountain pass valley first.

Close behind, a scaled beast puppet carrying the people of Gui City entered, followed by another scaled beast carrying the people of Xuan City. The two groups intermingled, entering the valley one after another.

As soon as they entered the valley, a mountain wind that sounded like a woman sobbing began to blow all around them.

Although there was no ice or snow in the valley, a chill permeated the air, making everyone feel uncomfortable.

Han Li frowned slightly, gazing at the rugged mountain path within the valley. After pondering for a moment, he returned to his room and resumed his secluded cultivation.

After several days of arduous travel, as the group delved deeper, the crystalline blue rocks in the mountains grew darker in color, and the chill emanating from them became more intense.

At first, Han Li could still cultivate undisturbed, but in the past few days, even he found it impossible to maintain peace of mind due to the pervasive icy cold, frequently waking up from his meditation. Naturally, he could no longer continue his secluded practice.

One night, he woke up again from his meditative cultivation and rose to leave the stone hall.

It was late at night, with a bright moon and sparse stars. The rocks in the valley reflected the cold, clear light of the moon, illuminating the mountain path clearly, but combined with the valley's temperature, it made the surroundings feel even colder.

Han Li was gazing up at the moon when Gu Qianxun stepped out from behind him.

He turned to look and found that in just a few days, Gu Qianxun had changed into a brand-new set of clothes, with a rather thick beast-fur coat draped over her shoulders, making her look slightly bulky but also adding a touch of endearing clumsiness.

"Fellow Daoist Li, what are you looking at?" Gu Qianxun asked, finding Han Li's gaze a bit strange.

"Where did you get that beast-fur coat?" Han Li said somewhat awkwardly.

"The day before yesterday, our group was ambushed by a pack of scaleless but hairy demon beasts. I killed a few and skinned one to make this coat. What, you don't know about what happened the day before yesterday?" Gu Qianxun glanced at Han Li and asked.

"I heard the commotion, but I was in the middle of a crucial cultivation session and didn't pay it any mind," Han Li said after a slight hesitation.

At that time, he was just on the verge of opening a mysterious acupoint, so even though he knew there was an enemy attack, he still didn't intervene.

"No wonder... But I must say, Fellow Daoist Li, your composure is truly remarkable. The temperature in the mountains has dropped so low recently that several people in the group have had their skin frostbitten and cracked, unable to stay still, yet you can still sit alone in seclusion. Impressive..." Gu Qianxun praised.

"Fellow Daoist Gu flatters me. By the way, how strong were the demon beasts that attacked the day before yesterday?" Han Li deliberately changed the subject and asked.

"Very powerful... more than ten times stronger than those we encountered on the way here. The weakest among them were Profound-tier demon beasts, and there were a great many of them. One cultivator from Profound City, caught off guard, was bitten on the calf by the leading Celestial-tier demon beast, dragged off the back of the Black Scale Elephant, and devoured." Gu Qianxun said after a moment of contemplation.

"I didn't expect such a thing to happen..." Han Li frowned slightly.

"So recently everyone has been on high alert, fearing these demon beasts might attack again." Gu Qianxun nodded.

Han Li frowned and looked into the distance, seeing that the front of the group had already ascended a steep slope and was beginning to climb along the cliff face, seemingly about to cross a towering ridge ahead.

"The road ahead is getting harder to traverse." Han Li withdrew his gaze and couldn't help sighing.

"No matter how difficult the road, we must continue. Having come this far, we naturally have to see it through and find out what rare treasures lie hidden in this legendary 'Great Ruins.'" Gu Qianxun's eyes flickered as she spoke.

"Let's hope it doesn't disappoint us. Let's just hope it's not truly a ruin, as its name suggests." Han Li said with a smile.

"Don't jinx it!" Gu Qianxun shot Han Li a glare and turned back toward the stone hall.

Han Li's smile faded as he gazed into the deep darkness ahead, his eyes flickering several times, lost in thought.