Blue Phoenix Chapter 44 – Parallel Mountain Ranges

”We are over here!” Zhou Long called out with a great smile on his face as Hui Yue and his friends walked past the final row of houses, officially exiting the mercenary city in which they had resided for a short amount of time.

Zhou Long had not shown up alone. Behind him were five men. All of them fairly familiar as Hui Yue instantly recognized them as the ones who had won the tournament. In spite of winning, none of the present five men seemed to be happy about the fact that they had won. In fact, they all looked rather uncomfortable about the whole ordeal.

Hui Yue was not only coming with his three friends, but he also brought Xu Piao and Xie Lan with him, making his group somewhat bigger than it had been before. Hui Yue felt a lot safer having those two King ranked experts by his side.

The smile on Zhou Long’s face was genuine as he saw how the white-haired boy was walking his way. Looking at the white hair, he was under the impression that this boy was related to the Frozen General. As such he was a young master far more important than any in the underground world.

Hui Yue was completely unaware of what Zhou Long was thinking. Instead, he was filled with vigilance as he observed him, yet on the outside, he seemed casual and comfortable. Behind him, Sha Yun, Deng Wu, and Wang Ju Long all looked around themselves greatly astonished by the vast landscape which spread out in front of them.

There was a forest to the side and even small mountains were visible within this cave. After looking into the horizon, it was impossible for them to see where the cave ended. It was quite similar to being above ground once more.

Birds were singing and flying through the air. Hui Yue chuckled slightly especially as he saw how Sha Yun was gaping at the sights in front of her.

“We will have to travel for a few days before we reach the location of the Demon Dwelling Beast,” Zhou Long said with a serious voice, his eyes no longer smiling.

“The Demon Dwelling Beast started moving a few years back, but so far it has taken three years to awaken. I was personally sent to this cave for the sake of annihilating the beast. But even I alone will not be enough. With me is a team I am sure you all recognize. They are all Grandmaster ranked. They are specialized in formations, a spiritual art which can only be accomplished by certain groups.”

“Within the Dragon Corps, formation specialists are very sought after as they are capable of combining their elements and releasing an attack which is far more powerful than that of their individual cultivation base. However, there are also stringent rules about where and when those formations are allowed to be used.”

Zhou Long ensured that he explained everything as well as he could, not leaving any details out. Which once more made Hui Yue uncomfortable. Why was it that this man needed to explain everything to Hui Yue? He was a young boy born into a poor family. He had never had any ties with the Dungeons of the Divine before. As to why he was treated the way he was, Hui Yue simply had no idea.

“The beast we are going to be hunting is very large,” Zhou Long continued, not noticing the odd expression within Hui Yue’s eyes. “Look at the mountain range over there,” pointing towards a mountain range which could be seen in the distance. Hui Yue squinted his eyes and used qi to increase his sight, only to see two mountain ranges running parallel for some time which seemed like fifty kilometers.

“The beast is living within those dense mountain ranges. Although it is not as long as the entire mountain range, it is still very large. It is a horned snake. It has been living in this cave ever since the creation of these caves, and in all these years it has sucked in the essence of the heavens and the earth refining it within its beast core.”

“This beast is at the very least an Emperor ranked beast and it might even be a Saint. However, it has been sleeping for millennia. Even now while waking up it is impossible for the beast to move its body. We will take full advantage of this.”

“Although it cannot move its body, it is still capable of using the energy it has refined throughout the many years. It has certain attacks which are very dangerous. We have never truly seen it display its full might as we have never truly attacked it before. When that happens be aware that you are responsible for your own safety.”

“The beast’s affinity is towards the wood element. It is a master of healing itself along with giving life to plants that can be even more dangerous than that little flower that is following you,” he continued while sending a glance at Little Poppy.

“All in all, as soon as we arrive we will work in groups. I will work alone, the formation team will work alone, and the six of you will work alone. Make sure that you survive the battle and you will definitely reap great rewards.”

Having said that, Zhou Long spoke no more and instead spent the time running ahead showing everyone the way towards the distant mountain range.

The large party of twelve rushed through the landscape. During the trip, they passed many fields and farms which were sustained by agriculture. Unlike on the surface, these farms were not placed in small family villages but instead placed individually.

Rushing through the constantly changing landscape of fields, roads, open plains, and forests, Zhou Long managed to lead the party a great distance the first day. He stopped as the sun was about to disappear in the far end of the cave.

Looking at the sun, Hui Yue flashed a wry smile as he was reminiscing about Sun. Although her physical body was still in the forest, she was everywhere within the world build by the four divine beasts, even here within the Demon Dwelling Cave.

They set camp up on the outskirts of a small forest. Hui Yue started a fire and collected wood. Sha Yun set up the tents, while Deng Wu and Wang Ju Long cooked food.

The group had been together for such a long time that everyone had their jobs to cater to every time they made camp and they performed like a well-oiled machine.

Their smooth teamwork left everyone close by astonished and before they really noticed what they were doing, Wang Ju Long and Deng Wu called them over as the food was done simmering and looked amazing.

The food consisted of a warm broth with some vegetables and meat, all of which they had purchased before the trip. Smelling the delicious food the group of formation specialists almost drooled. The scent was enticing after rushing through the cave without breaks for a whole day. Wang Ju Long even laughed as the rumbling stomachs betrayed the hesitant cultivators.

“Come and eat,” she said with her gentle voice and poured the broth into bowls for the specialists. “There is plenty for everyone,” she continued. Within moments all twelve experts were seated on the ground happily eating the food that was prepared for them.

Wang Ju Long and Deng Wu ensured that there was enough food for everyone. After finishing the delicious meal, the majority went to sleep leaving Hui Yue and Sha Yun alone, looking around with vigilance in their eyes as they had first watch.

“How long do you think we’ll be stuck underground?” Sha Yun asked curiously, as she looked up at the starry sky. The moon was hanging just beneath the stone ceiling. A sight which no matter how many times they saw it kept looking foreign and different to the four friends.

“I don’t know,” Hui Yue answered honestly. “I am not even certain how long we have been here.” He continued with a sigh, “The time within the tunnels has made it impossible for me to keep track. But I do not think we should expect to leave within a year.”

Sha Yun nodded her head. She had not expected it to be anything less than that either. “This beast we are going to fight,” she continued, looking around her to ensure that everyone was asleep. “There is something else on your mind, is there not?” she asked, her voice worried for her friend.

Hui Yue showed her a wry smile before he nodded his head. With a low voice told her about all the worries he had. Having Sha Yun by his side was one of the things which had indeed made life easier for Hui Yue. She was always there to support him. Even if he tried to hide things from her, she would still notice it from his behavior.

As the night grew darker and the moon rose higher into the sky, Sha Yun was completely aware of what was on Hui Yue’s mind. But even so, she had no way of alleviating him of his worries. Thinking about what Hui Yue had said, she, too, could see that it was odd that someone as prestigious as Zhou Long felt obligated to treat Hui Yue so well. Like her white-haired friend, Sha Yun was completely unaware of why that might be.

She also noted that although Zhou Long was extremely friendly towards Hui Yue, he did not pay any attention whatsoever to her, nor the other friends. It was as though they were utterly non-existent to him, which was one of the reasons that she had not thought about it before. She never had much interaction with him. Before they had gone on this trip, the two times he had spoken to Hui Yue had been during the time when they were training. It was evident that no one else had noticed Zhou Long entering their courtyard.

As the moon rose into the night sky, Deng Wu and Wang Ju Long woke up. Both of them were ready to take over the second watch of the night. With tired nods, Hui Yue and Sha Yun each climbed into their separate tents and within moments fell asleep.

Nothing happened the rest of the night. The following morning Sha Yun managed to wrap up all the tents in the time it took Deng Wu to whip up some congee with meat for breakfast. Seeing that there was yet another hearty meal, everyone was joyful and ate to their heart’s content, especially since they knew there would be no breaks today as well. They were racing against time as they rushed towards the Demon Dwelling Beast, rushing to make it before it fully woke up.

Wrapping up the final things, the entourage of twelve once more set out rushing towards the mountain range which did not seem to be coming any closer. Although the mountain range was not getting closer, the surrounding landscape was changing drastically.

There were no longer open plains, nor were there any farms around. Instead, the terrain started to contain a lot of boulders and stones. The ground began to slope upwards slightly, and the smaller trees and lighter forests turned into pine forests as they headed further and further in the direction of the mountains.

The previous roads they had traveled completely disappeared. Instead, they now made their way through animal trails, or they made paths themselves.

The entourage traveled days on end like this before they finally managed to arrive at the parallel mountain ranges. The excitement was growing within them as they got ready to climb the mountains.