Chapter Sixty-Seven: A Sudden Turn at the Summit

Under the oppressive weight of everyone’s gaze, Chen Qi clasped his hands before Yun Tianxin and said, word by word, “We are close to the summit. In case the situation changes, I beg Senior Sister Yun to make full preparations. If possible, please keep an escape route in reserve. Better safe than sorry.”

Before he had even finished, the round-faced girl beside them teased, “Junior Brother Chen, are you being this suspicious because you’ve been frightened by the savage beasts? With Senior Sister Yun here, a mere beast of the fourth rank is nothing.”

Chen Qi did not answer. He stubbornly lifted his head and met Yun Tianxin’s bright eyes, a hint of pleading in his own.

“Anyway, even if nothing happens, I’ll be leaving this world soon enough. Better to be timid than dead. At worst I’ll run for it; no need to die of embarrassment.”

He silently steeled himself, his gaze growing even firmer, his pupils glimmering beneath the thick fog.

Yun Tianxin also said nothing. After holding Chen Qi’s gaze for several breaths, she slowly nodded.

“Very well. Then I shall lay down the Celestial Cloud Veil Grand Array here. Wait here for a moment.”

No sooner had she spoken than the round-faced girl hurriedly interjected, “Senior Sister Yun, this array isn’t meant specifically for the Thousand-Eyed Miasma Demon. How can you use it here?”

By then, Yun Tianxin had already produced a smoke-blue array disc. She slowly activated it, watching as the disc vanished into the mist. Hearing the objection, she only smiled.

“I came into these mountains for one purpose: to find a worthy enemy and break through my bottleneck. If I must rely on every outside aid, what kind of cultivation would that be?”

The smoke-blue array disc gradually faded into nothingness, as though it had never existed at all.

Yet Chen Qi could vaguely feel that something indescribable had begun to spread within the surrounding fog.

It was as if the mist itself had come alive.

Before he could fully sense the subtle mysteries of the clouds, the familiar, soft, magnetic voice of Yun Tianxin reached his ear.

“All right, the array is in place. This formation is called Celestial Cloud Veil. It can bind clouds to strike foes when advancing, or conceal one’s form within the fog when retreating. Junior Brother, you can rest easy now.”

Seeing the worry between Chen Qi’s brows ease, Yun Tianxin smiled and stepped closer. With her left hand she gave his shoulder a solid slap, and with her right she drew out a small flag.

“Keep this flag as well. If danger comes, you can activate it. It might save your life.”

Chen Qi accepted it solemnly and carefully tucked it close to his body. Once again, the round-faced girl laughed and said, “Junior Brother, you can truly relax. Even I, a girl, am not afraid.”

Looking at the round-faced girl’s plump, baby-soft cheeks and the somewhat altered expressions of the disciples around them, Chen Qi felt a little awkward and lowered his head.

Fortunately, no one made things too difficult for him. The group soon began climbing toward the final summit.

As he watched the steep mountain path, Chen Qi also directed his attention toward the flag.

It was a small smoke-blue banner, its surface smooth and flat, faintly traced with mysterious patterns.

Under Chen Qi’s gaze, it was even glowing with a pale violet light, prompting him to inspect its attributes at once.

Celestial Cloud Veil Array Flag: Escape

Origin: Azure Star Continent

Quality: Violet

Type: Special Equipment

Durability: 25/25

Requirements: Agility 8, Intelligence 8, Constitution 14

Effect 1: Cloud Escape Art
Cloud Escape Art: Connects with the Celestial Cloud Veil Grand Array, shifting the user and a small surrounding area toward the direction of the array.
This skill consumes 10 points of equipment durability.

Effect 2: Swift Step
Swift Step: Activates a rapid movement rune, increasing the holder’s movement speed by 20%. Within the range of the Celestial Cloud Veil Grand Array, the movement bonus is doubled.
While active, this effect consumes 1 point of durability per minute.

Effect 3: Cloud Gathering
Cloud Gathering: Before the item is completely destroyed, it can slowly restore durability by absorbing the cloud energy of heaven and earth. The recovery rate depends on the strength of the clouds and mist.

Warning: When durability falls below 0, the item will be destroyed automatically.

Rating: 278

Description: One of the companion array flags used by the Cloud Sea Sect to construct the Celestial Cloud Veil Grand Array. It can exert its full power only within the array’s range; otherwise, it is no more than an ordinary blue-quality item.

Price: 2000 universal points

Tip: This equipment is only on loan from the native of this world, Yun Tianxin. The selected one has no authority to dispose of it without her permission.

After stealing a few glances at the flag’s attributes, Chen Qi could not help swallowing hard.

“Senior Sister Yun really is loaded. Anything she pulls out is violet-quality.”

To be favored by such a wealthy woman—what more could one possibly ask for...

Chen Qi quickly reined in his wandering thoughts and turned his attention back to his surroundings.

On this ever-steeper climb, he did not want to slip and tumble over the edge, especially with a hundred-zhang precipice right beside the path.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Sun Ruohai keeping exactly two steps behind him, neither close nor far. Curious, Chen Qi moved slightly nearer, and the keen hearing of a martial artist quickly caught Sun Ruohai’s faint mutter.

“Always running off to ask Senior Sister Yun for things. Are men like us not ashamed?”

Chen Qi was speechless. A little embarrassed, he lowered his head and muttered to himself.

“Sir Lu Xun once said: soft rice is good, soft rice is fragrant, and once you’ve eaten it, every meal is peaceful...”

As they drew ever closer to the summit, the steep slope grew to nearly seventy-five degrees. The black vegetation on the ground had nearly vanished, replaced by gray-black soil that seemed ready to slide away at any moment.

Fortunately, none of them were ordinary people. Lowering their centers of gravity and stabilizing their forms with vital energy, they were not troubled by the ascent and eventually reached the highest point.

Beyond lay a sharply descending incline. Layers of fog wrapped the area so tightly that nothing inside could be seen.

Their objective had long been set. Without hesitation, they slid downward one after another.

Chen Qi drew a deep breath, preparing himself for whatever poisonous miasma might await within.

As a Thousand-Eyed Miasma Demon, far stronger than the Hundred-Eyed Miasma Demon, he believed the concentration of poison mist inside would not be low, even without the advantage of the toxic marsh.

“Strange. Why is there no poisonous miasma?”

At that moment, Yun Tianxin, who led the way, could not help showing a puzzled expression. She withdrew the motion she had prepared to draw in fresh air and scanned the area warily.

Hearing this, Chen Qi released the breath he had been holding and cautiously tested the air. He reached the same conclusion.

“Whatever the case, that is still good news.”

The round-faced girl also relaxed and smiled with delight.

Soon, with the restriction of poison miasma gone, the group quickened their pace and reached the center of the hollow basin beneath the summit.

Even without the miasma, the mountain mist here had condensed almost into a solid substance, as though it had sealed this place away from the outside world. There was even a faint, otherworldly feeling to it.

“Hm? There’s a faint smell of blood, coming from that cave.”

Yun Tianxin, who led the group, parted her red lips and spoke before anyone else, revealing her discovery first and displaying the strength of the team’s foremost expert.

Only then did Chen Qi notice that there was in fact a sizable cave here. A faint smell of blood drifted from the ring-shaped entrance, along with a dense sense of danger.

The others exchanged glances, restrained their footsteps, and slowly made their way into the cave. If the savage beast could be disturbed as little as possible, so much the better.

Just as the cave’s far end came into view, the scene before Chen Qi made his jaw drop.

A miasma demon shaped like an elephant, far larger than the Hundred-Eyed Miasma Demon Chen Qi had seen before, lay sprawled upon the ground. Dark red, foul-smelling blood stained the earth everywhere, pooling into a gruesome lake.

It had eight tentacles, though five of them had already been severed from its body. All over its flesh were countless tiny eyes, packed together in dense clusters. Their black pupils set against blood-red sclerae were enough to send Chen Qi’s sanity plummeting in an instant, a chill rising all over his skin.

Only now did those densely packed eyes seem devoid of life, frozen forever in that half-open, half-closed moment.

Around the cave, remnants of poisonous miasma still lingered in the air. The ground was riddled with pits of varying sizes, proof that a fierce battle had taken place here.

“Who goes there!”

Before Chen Qi could regain his senses, a sharp and ringing cry suddenly burst into his ears.

He had never heard Yun Tianxin’s voice so stern before.