Chapter 921: A Lone Path

As the group advanced, they gradually climbed higher. It was not until the sun rose on the second day that they ascended along the cliffside to the mid-slope near the summit of the thousand-zhang peak.

The higher they went, the narrower and more treacherous the path became. The scaled beast and the puppet at the forefront were practically carving the way as they moved, so naturally their speed was not fast.

Almost all of the Xuan City people stood on the scaled beast's back, their expressions grave.

“Rumble, rumble…”

A series of muffled sounds like thunder came continuously from the ravines and gullies below the cliff.

The group's hearts pounded with fear as they looked down.

Then, they saw a white mist rising from the valley below at an astonishing speed, accompanied by the unceasing rumbling.

Beneath the white mist, clusters of violent wind blades swept upward, carrying a bone-piercing chill that rolled in.

“Here it comes again, watch out!”

Someone shouted, and the Xuan orifices on everyone's bodies lit up as they struck out.

Duan Tong stood on the back of a black-scaled elephant, raising his right arm, which had been refined with the Arm-Penetrating Divine Ability. His massive fist clenched tightly, he took a slight step back and punched fiercely toward a cluster of white mist hurtling straight at him.

“Boom!” The void trembled violently.

At the tip of Duan Tong's fist, it seemed to be shrouded in a vortex of starlight, pulling the void before him into a sudden forward press, transforming into a colossal force capable of toppling cities and splitting mountains, crashing down.

This force collided violently with the white mist driven by the gale, and both dissipated simultaneously.

On the back of another black-scaled elephant farther away, the pig-faced youth Fang Chan, who looked somewhat simple-minded, held a roasted demon beast leg in his left hand. He tore off a large chunk of meat and chewed heartily.

The beast leg was clearly completely cold, covered in a layer of white greasy fat, which looked somewhat nauseating. Fang Chan, however, didn't mind at all and ate with relish.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a cluster of white mist shooting toward him. His brow furrowed slightly, as if annoyed at being disturbed while eating, and a look of displeasure appeared on his face.

Suddenly, a cold gleam flashed in his eyes. He put away the beast leg, turned toward the white mist, and opened his mouth to emit a sharp, piercing shriek.

A powerful sonic wave, almost visible to the naked eye, expanded continuously and struck the white mist.

Upon collision, the white mist cluster and the whirlwind beneath it burst apart, scattering into a hazy mist that dispersed in all directions.

Han Li, gazing from afar at the mist that had not yet fully dissipated, suddenly saw a strange glint in his eyes and cried out in alarm:

“Watch out…”

Before his voice faded, a dark shadow rushed out from the hazy mist, followed by the sudden emergence of a huge scaled python's head, which opened its gaping maw and lunged down at Fang Chan.

The python's body was hidden in the mist below the cliff, but the size of its head alone was comparable to that of a black-scaled elephant. Its open mouth seemed capable of swallowing an entire black-scaled elephant whole.

Fang Chan, who usually appeared simple-minded, was now extremely alert. At Han Li's warning, he had already leaped into the air, beating the python by a step. His protruding mouth opened wide and he let out another sharp shriek downward.

“Roar…”

As the sound rang out, rings of something like white starlight surged from his mouth, transforming into visible powerful ripples that struck the python's head.

A burst of blood exploded on the python's head, large scales flew off, and its head crashed heavily onto the back of the black-scaled elephant.

“Clatter, clatter…”

The black stone hall on the elephant's back was smashed to pieces, scattering rubble and broken tiles everywhere. The two other White Rock City cultivators who shared the hall with Fang Chan also leaped from the elephant's back and scrambled up the steep cliff.

The cliff beneath the struck black-scaled elephant rumbled loudly, unable to bear the weight and collapsing directly. In panic, the elephant reared its front legs, its massive body staggering backward, crashing into a scaled beast puppet behind it.

The scaled beast puppet lost its footing, and with the cliff collapsing beneath it, it also fell, sliding down the mountain along with the crumbling crystal-blue rocks.

On the puppet's back stood two black-robed women with light veils. Their hands waved continuously in the void, and on their arms were two white bone rings that shimmered with starlight.

The ring-shaped beast core on the chest of the huge bear-like scaled beast puppet flashed wildly. Its four hooves trampled on the constantly sliding rocks as it struggled to climb back up the cliff. But the rocks crumbled and collapsed too quickly; despite the bear beast's frantic efforts, it inevitably slid downward.

Just as the scaled beast puppet was about to be buried by the collapsing rocks, the two black-robed women on it finally decided to abandon it. They leaped lightly and flew toward the cliff.

At that moment, another change occurred.

The scaled python that had been knocked down by Fang Chan suddenly raised its head again, its bloody mouth opening wide as a icy blue light flickered within, and strands of bone-penetrating blue cold air surged out.

A cracking sound echoed in the void, as if the very air was freezing toward the two figures.

The two women from Puppet City had just leaped onto the stone cliff when they saw a sheet of cold air descending upon them. They quickly struck out with both palms toward the blue cold air.

Han Li swept his gaze over and saw that many apertures on their arms were glowing, indicating they had put great effort into body refinement.

However, their strength was ultimately not comparable to Duan Tong and Fang Chan. With one strike, they only scattered a bit of the blue cold air. Before they could pass through, an icy chill pierced their lower bodies, freezing half of them solid.

Thus, the two lost their mobility and involuntarily fell back down the cliff.

Seeing this, Han Li frowned slightly. With a flicker, he vanished from where he stood.

Gu Qianxun wanted to stop him, but it was too late.

A series of booming sounds rang out in the void as Han Li stepped on empty air, chasing straight down.

The apertures on his legs blazed brightly, his speed reaching its peak. In a few flashes, he reached the two black-clad women, grabbed their arms left and right, and with several leaps through the void, returned to the cliff in no time.

At that moment, the handsome young man from Puppet City, who carried twin halberds on his back, also flew over by stepping on the rock face.

After noticing Han Li rescuing the women, a look of surprise flashed in his eyes. He then turned, grabbed a short halberd from his back, and with a sudden bulge of muscles in his arm, hurled it forward.

A whistling sound rang out.

The bone short halberd shot out, tracing a brilliant silver light in the air, like a hanging Milky Way, radiating a strong fluctuation of star power.

As the silver light flashed, the halberd instantly pierced the scaled python's head, silently entering and then bursting out from the back of its skull with a "噗" sound.

The handsome young man curled his lips, raised two fingers together, and gently lifted them.

"Chi..." A sound of flesh tearing rang out.

A white crystalline thread attached to the halberd suddenly sliced through, splitting the python's head like a watermelon.

The young man casually pulled back, and the halberd shot back with a "swoosh." On its crescent-shaped blade hung an intact fist-sized beast core.

As the python's massive body slid down the cliff, the young man returned to the cliff edge, took the two black-clad women from Han Li, and said with a smile, "I am Zhuo Ge. Thank you for your help, friend. May I ask your name?"

"Li Feiyu," Han Li said.

"This earth-rank beast core is a token of thanks. Please accept it," said the handsome young man named Zhuo Ge, tossing the python's beast core over.

Han Li did not refuse. He caught it, clasped his hands in thanks, turned, and flew back toward Gu Qianxun.

"This man... is somewhat interesting," Zhuo Ge said with a smile, then returned with the two women.

Seeing Han Li land on the back of the black-scaled elephant, Gu Qianxun frowned and said, "Brother Li, you were too reckless."

"What's wrong?" Han Li raised an eyebrow and asked.

"We and Puppet City are ultimately mortal enemies. Even if you are unwilling to kill, you should not have helped them. Now, others will likely see you as a traitor," Gu Qianxun transmitted.

Han Li looked around and indeed saw people from Mystic City glaring at him with hostility. Only the pig-faced youth Fang Chan grinned at him, whether out of simple-mindedness or gratitude for Han Li's earlier warning.

Han Li withdrew his gaze, twitched the corner of his mouth, and transmitted back to Gu Qianxun, "The situation here changes rapidly. If the two sides refuse to cooperate, neither will gain anything in the end."

In truth, having found no news of Zi Ling in Mystic City, he recalled the puppet remains discovered in that cave years ago and suspected she might have fallen into the hands of Puppet City.

These days, he had been trying to gather information from Puppet City, but they mostly stayed hidden, and the two teams rarely interacted, leaving him no way to proceed.

Now that he had a chance to connect with Puppet City, he would not let it slip, nor did he care about offending Mystic City.

After this incident, both teams became more cautious, keeping a close watch on the cliff below. Yet despite this, they were attacked hundreds of times by icy-scaled beasts resembling snow leopards, making progress extremely difficult.

Fortunately, their efforts paid off. After crossing this peak and descending along the mountain, they finally arrived before a huge canyon deep in the mountain range.

Han Li and the others from Mystic City, along with the Puppet City group, set up camps on the left and right sides of the canyon entrance.

Inside the canyon, the rock walls were half icy blue and half fiery red, emitting cold and hot air respectively. Through the canyon, one could see that the black abyss ran through the entire canyon, cutting it in half like a black river.

The black abyss was also surrounded by dense spatial rifts, gathering together like a storm.