Winds Stir Overseas; Stormwind Mountain

Chapter 602: Winds Stir Overseas; Stormwind Mountain

Stormwind Mountain was a colossal peak piercing the heavens, located at the northeastern corner of the Netherworld Domain. From a distance, only the mountain’s waist was visible; the rest of it plunged straight into the gloomy clouds above, leaving its upper half utterly obscured.

The mountain was made entirely of bare black stone, incapable of sustaining any plant life. Furthermore, beginning at around a thousand zhang in altitude, fierce Netherworld Winds howled across its slopes. An ordinary person could not climb any higher; even stepping into that wind would turn them into a black ice sculpture in an instant.

Such a harsh environment made the area around this mountain even more gloomy and terrifying than the rest of the Domain. Above, arcs of lightning crackled and boomed without cease. Below, a bone-chilling wind howled, kicking up sand and stones, making the entire place feel like a demonic realm.

Such a region of dense Yin energy was a paradise for powerful Yin beasts. In the vicinity lurked several unusually ferocious and sinister creatures.

But on this day, uninvited guests had arrived at Stormwind Mountain.

The corpse of an enormous beast, thirty to forty zhang in size, crashed heavily to the ground amidst a flash of silver light. The carcass quickly shriveled and shrank, its life force utterly extinguished in the blink of an eye. Then, the silver light enveloped a massive ball of black energy and shot away into the distance.

A mighty, earth-shaking roar rang out from afar, vibrating through the heavens.

The heavy thud of landing feet followed. A silver-furred giant ape, ten zhang tall, appeared beside the Yin beast’s corpse after a few bounds. The ape was ferocious and menacing, each movement exuding an indescribably shocking aura. Yet, seated on its shoulders were a man and a woman—Han Li and Mei Ning.

Han Li swept his gaze over the Yin beast’s corpse below. He clapped his hand lightly and drifted down nimbly.

A flash of cold light, and the beast’s skull was split open. But inside, it was empty.

A trace of disappointment flickered in Han Li’s eyes, but his expression quickly returned to normal.

He had already accumulated over a hundred pieces of Yin Beast Crystals in his possession. He knew that even more crystals must still exist within the bodies of the lower-ranked Yin beasts, but he had no time to hunt them all down one by one. He had to climb Stormwind Mountain before the next spatial rift opened.

At that moment, Mei Ning also leaped down from the giant ape’s shoulder.

The giant ape flickered with silver light and instantly shrank down to a tiny form no larger than a palm—the Crying Soul Beast, though its fur remained the same silvery-white color.

Han Li turned to witness the Crying Soul Beast’s transformation and a faint smile appeared on his face.

Some time ago, he had taken this beast with him to hunt powerful Yin beasts everywhere. After it had devoured a large number of their souls, the beast had unexpectedly gained the ability to transform into a giant ape. Not long after, its fur had also shifted to this eye-catching silver hue.

This had surprised even Han Li himself.

According to the jade slip Yuan Yao had given him for refining the Crying Soul Beast, a true, properly refined Crying Soul Beast should not have this transformation ability. Furthermore, upon evolving, its fur should have turned pitch black.

However, this beast had originally been only a half-finished product, never fully refined to completion. Moreover, the souls of the Yin beasts in this Netherworld Domain seemed vastly different from the souls of ordinary worldly creatures. With these two coincidences combining, this unique evolution had occurred.

It was not what was typically called a ‘mutated spirit beast,’ but it was absolutely an unprecedented and unique form of advancement.

Han Li had no idea if this evolutionary path would ultimately make the beast more powerful than a true Crying Soul Beast, but he was very happy to let this change continue.

After all, the method for properly refining a true Crying Soul Beast was far too bloody. Even though Han Li was not a kind-hearted man, he would find it difficult to follow the instructions in the jade slip to complete the subsequent refining process.

Now, with the Crying Soul Beast shrinking, a streak of silver light shot into Han Li’s sleeve. It settled there and immediately began to snore deeply.

Han Li smiled faintly, then raised his head to look at Stormwind Mountain in the distance, his expression turning serious.

The few powerful Yin beasts remaining near Stormwind Mountain were no match for his current Crying Soul Beast. The one that had just died was the last of them here.

Now, they could ascend the mountain without fear.

“Let’s go. We need to reach the summit before the next rift opens, or we’ll have to wait another few months,” Han Li said slowly, casting a deep look at the distant mountain.

“You’re right, Brother Han. Although the rift’s opening periods vary, the people here have grasped their general pattern. The next opening is just over half a month away. If we miss this chance, we might have to wait another six months,” the beautiful woman beside him agreed, shrinking her snow-white neck against the chill as she spoke.

Hearing this, Han Li smiled faintly and led her in large strides toward the giant mountain.

A quarter of an hour later, they stood at the foot of Stormwind Mountain.

It had not seemed so impressive from afar, but now, up close, the mountain was truly incredible.

There were no other peaks. It stood alone, a bare pillar of rock, perfectly sheer, and covering a base of over ten miles.

Han Li did not rush to climb. Instead, he circled the base with Mei Ning for a while before choosing a direction that seemed easier to ascend and began their climb.

Soon, their figures became two black specks on one face of the giant mountain, gradually disappearing into the high rock walls above.

For the first thousand zhang, Han Li and Mei Ning climbed with little difficulty.

But beyond that altitude, a bone-piercing Netherworld Wind began to blow. As they continued upward, the wind grew steadily fiercer.

At this point, Han Li and Mei Ning each put on several layers of flame-attribute demon beast fur coats. Even so, their faces turned pale and their skin stung.

An ordinary mortal caught here would likely be frozen stiff and killed by a single gust of this Yin wind.

After advancing only a few dozen zhang into the wind, Han Li frowned and stopped.

He pondered for a moment with a grave expression, then reached into his robes and pulled out a white orb the size of a fist. The orb emitted a faint, pale light that enveloped both of them.

Strangely enough, the moment the howling wind touched the white light, its force dropped drastically, becoming weak and feeble. It was an incredibly rare Wind-Avoiding Pearl.

Although the Yin wind remained bitterly cold, the two of them could now barely endure it, relying on their layers of demon-beast fur coats.

They continued forward slowly.

After a long while, the rocks around them became covered with a layer of icy frost. The ground beneath their feet grew treacherously slick. Han Li and Mei Ning began to take one step, then pause, moving with extreme caution.

Now, every breath they took produced a plume of white mist, and breathing itself became labored. Mei Ning’s pretty face was flushed, and she was panting heavily.

After trudging on in this manner for an unknown length of time, they found themselves completely surrounded by a landscape of glittering ice. All the rock was encased in a thick layer of black ice. The slope had become dangerously steep; a single misstep could send them tumbling down the mountainside.

They had long since wrapped their feet in rough scaled hide just to keep moving. And even so, they slipped and stumbled constantly, their progress painfully slow.

“Let’s rest for a while under that huge rock. Once we’ve recovered our strength, we can continue,” Han Li said with a sigh, looking up at the distant, glittering ice. He glanced at Mei Ning, whose face had grown pale.

Although she had not said a word, Han Li could tell that her stamina was nearly exhausted. If they pushed on, it would become dangerous.

Mei Ning sighed with relief at his words and managed a weak smile as she nodded.

The huge rock Han Li had mentioned was a slab of angled stone over ten zhang high, forming a perfect windbreak. The two hurriedly made their way toward it.

…

Two days later, they were somewhere on the mountainside of Stormwind Mountain, surrounded by layers of mist and strange, howling sounds. They could not see their own hands in front of their faces. Han Li and Mei Ning walked on unsteady ground, their steps faltering.

Both were extremely cautious. Around each of their wrists was a thumb-sized bead that emitted a faint azure light, shielding them. The gray mist around them seemed alive, as if trying to pounce on their bodies, but whenever it came near the azure glow, it dispersed on its own.

“If not for those Brahmaloka Pearls you had, Brother Han, we might have gotten past the Yin wind, but we would never have made it through this strange mist,” Mei Ning remarked with a light sigh, looking at the gray fog.

Han Li smiled upon hearing this. He was about to say something when his expression suddenly changed, and he stopped in his tracks. He pricked up his ears and listened intently.

Seeing this, Mei Ning was startled. She wisely pressed her lips together and remained silent.

“Be careful. There are other people in the mist. They’re heading this way,” Han Li said calmly.

At the same time, an azure light flashed. Two small azure swords dropped from his sleeve, and he held them tightly in his hands. He then stared fixedly in a certain direction, saying nothing.

Mei Ning was stunned by what Han Li said. But by now, she had complete faith in him. She silently took two steps back, fixed her gaze in the same direction, and a trace of nervousness appeared on her face.

(End of Chapter)