Chapter 360 – Western Desolate Territory
White clouds fluttered around the azure horizon, appearing exceedingly languid. Sunlight pierced through the cloud layers, illuminating the earth, leaving behind dim gigantic shadows all around.
Whoosh!
On the horizon totally devoid of sound, hurried whooshing sounds suddenly resounded. In the next moment, ten streaks of light explosively shot over from the far side of the sky. Their speed was extremely fast. Howling over in a split second. Due to the wind pressure created by such high-speed movements, huge scars were ripped apart from the layers of clouds in the sky.
This group of people was, naturally, Lin Zheng, Mu Chen and the rest that had come from the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy.
Due to the urgency of the situation, they had seemingly not taken any sort of breaks, traveling at their utmost speed for the entire journey.
“Senior Brother Lin Zheng, how much further do we have left?” Mu Chen asked while following closely behind Lin Zheng. Looking in front of him, his voice, wrapped in Spiritual Energy, rang within the latter’s ear.
“From the fluctuations radiating from the Blood Toll Bell, they should be at the Western Desolate Territory, towards the northwest of the Northern Heavens Continent. With our speed, we would need a day and a night of time, at the very least, to reach there,” replied Lin Zheng.
“That long, huh…?” muttered Mu Chen as his forehead started to faintly wrinkle. A day and a night. He was just afraid that there might be some unforeseen changes. After all, since the beginning, Shen Cangsheng and Li Xuantong’s situation was not that good.
“Relax. Shen Cangsheng and Li Xuantong aren’t people that can be easily pinched to death. Even with Mo Longzi and his lineup, wanting to kill the two of them won’t be an easy thing to do.” Lin Zheng understood Mu Chen’s worry, and thus, said some consoling words.
“I hope so.”
Mu Chen nodded his head. Looking at the distance, the skies over there seemed to be covered in black clouds. This mission wouldn’t be easy at all.
…
Western Desolate Territory
When Mu Chen and the rest had rushed over, it was already a day later.
Mu Chen and the group descended towards the edge of the Western Desolate Territory. Looking at the region before them, it was in a state of complete disorder. Gigantic deep gulches akin to being created from meteors descending from the sky were present, with gigantic cracks tens of thousands of metres long extending from them.
There were a few mountains originally present here. As of now, all of them had completely collapsed, with gigantic stones scattered everywhere across the area.
Obviously, an extremely intense battle had taken place at this territory.
Staring at the totally chaotic and disordered region, Lin Zheng slowly said, “Shen Cangsheng and Li Xuantong had met an ambush at this place.”
The group swept their gazes across the region, before their expressions slowly turned slightly grave. Shen Cangsheng and Li Xuantong had fought against nine vicious people from the top ten ranks on the bounty list. It was hard to imagine exactly how bitter and desperate this battle was.
“After this fight, Shen Cangsheng and Li Xuantong should have already suffered injuries. After fleeing deep into the Western Desolate Territory, Mo Longzi and his group should’ve been relentlessly pursuing them, with no thoughts of giving up.”
Lin Zheng’s eyes turned frosty as he looked towards the depths of the Western Desolate Territory while saying, “We should get closer to them as fast as possible.”
“Everyone, be more careful. Our enemies this time aren’t simple people.” Lin Zheng reminded. In the next moment, with a wave of his hand, he shot towards the depth of the Western Desolate Territory, with Mu Chen and the rest immediately following closely behind.
However, this time, everyone had tensed their bodies up. They knew that not too long from now, they would land in a head-on confrontation with a luxurious lineup fully comprised of vicious people.
The depths of the Western Desolate Territory. This place was covered all year-round by thick Spiritual Mist. The Spiritual Mist hadn’t dissipated nor scattered for many, many years, causing any senses to be greatly reduced within it.
Living within the Spiritual Mist were numerous kinds of special and unique Spiritual Beasts. These Spiritual Beasts relied on the cover of the Spiritual Mist to appear and disappear like ghosts. This made them extremely hard to deal with. Therefore, there would be very little experts from the Northern Heavens Continent who would come over here in search of treasure.
At this moment, at the stone peak within the depths, were ten figures. A thick baleful aura covered the bodies of these ten figures. From a single look, people would be able to know that they weren’t any kind-hearted or good-natured folks.
At the very front of the group was a male dressed in black robes. A longsword strapped across his back, while the malevolent marking of a black dragon was present on his forehead, displaying his identity. He was the target that Lin Zheng, Mu Chen and their group was looking for, Mo Longzi.
“Tsk, tsk, Mo Longzi, we’ve already investigated. That Shen Cangsheng and Li Xuantong are treating their injuries while hiding in that misty valley. This time, they’ll definitely have nowhere left to go!” A male in grey robes standing behind Mo Longzi gave a high-pitched laugh before speaking out. Those deep pair of eyes were sparkling with an ominous and cunning glint, while dark and extremely tyrannical Spiritual Energy fluctuations radiated from his body, causing the Spiritual Mist to be unable to enter a radius of ten metres around him.
This vicious person was the 7th Rank on the Bounty Board, Wang Yingui. His strength had reached Heavenly Completion Stage Initial Phase.
Upon hearing his, Mo Longzi gave a faint smile and replied, “I think that the rescue squad from the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy should be arriving very soon.”
“To be in such a hurry, their manpower shouldn’t be much. However, it can be assumed that they would be their best ones. The three Great Generals of the Punishment Hall will definitely come,” said a person dressed in greyish-white robes. The body of this person appeared to be as thin as a matchstick, with only a layer of skin covering his bones, making him look akin to a skeleton. At this moment, a thick fog appeared within his skeleton-like eyes as he spoke out with an indifferent voice.
“Hehe, what’s the matter? Could it be that you, Mu Gu are afraid?” said a male whose physique was sturdy and strong, like a bear, with a giant blood-red axe on his back, making a droning laugh.
“Gui Xiong, caution is the parent of safety. That time, your head was almost obtained by Lin Zheng. Could it be that you’ve still not learnt your lesson?” replied Mu Gu indifferently.
“Previously, I’ve only been too complacent. If I see that Lin Zheng today, I, your father, will cleave him into two halves!” roared Gui Xiong, his eyes opened wide as a baleful aura gushed from him.
“That’s enough. Don’t argue at this place.”
Mo Longzi spoke out while wrinkling his forehead. Waving his hand, he looked towards a male in green who had yet to speak. The latter’s eyes appeared normal. However, chilling rays of light erupted and sparkled from within, as if a poisonous snake was lurking within their depths.
“Wu Jia, are the preparations complete?”
This person was, unexpectedly, Wu Jia, 5th Rank of the Bounty Board, and was the only 5th Grade Spiritual Array Master amongst their ranks.
Hearing Mo Longzi’s words, that Wu Jia smiled, and nodded his head while replying, “I’ve long completed my preparations, with the only thing left is for the fish to enter the net.”
An extremely sinister smile appeared at the corner of Mo Longzi’s mouth as he said, “That’s good.”
“Why don’t we just capture Shen Cangsheng and Li Xuantong first?” asked Mu Gu with a frown.
“Just relax. They’re unable to run away,” replied Mo Longzi with a gentle and chilling smile. Looking towards the deepest part of the thick mist, he replied, “Do you think that I was truly unable to capture them over these last few days?”
Mu Gu’s eyes narrowed before saying, “Are you purposefully luring the rescue squad from the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy over here?”
The smile at the corner of Mo Longzi’s mouth grew even more bloodthirsty and crazy. Licking his lips, he replied, “Do you think that just a Shen Cangsheng and Li Xuantong would be enough to satisfy me?”
“Haha, they aren’t enough…”
“I also want to eat this rescue squad!”
“Haha. I truly don’t know how big of an upheaval this would cause within the Northern Heavens Continent. I think that the face of the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy should be very nice to watch then, right? I’m truly anticipating it…”
Mu Gu and the rest shot a look at each other as a faint tremble shook their hearts. This Mo Longzi was truly very vicious and merciless. If this elite rescue squad was to be completely defeated, the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy might truly explode.
…
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Ten figures shot across the desolated plains at lightning speed. Spiritual Energy erupted from their bodies, with some people even clenching Spiritual Weapons in their hands. Their bodies were taut and tense, ready to enter their combat states at any time.
This group of people was, naturally, Lin Zheng, Mu Chen and their group who had entered the depths of the Western Desolate Territory.
Along the way, they had increased their speed, and had also tried their utmost to restrain their Spiritual Energy fluctuations to avoid being detected. Any Spiritual Beasts met along the way by them would be avoided to their greatest possible extent.
Under this full speed, it took them only a measly half an hour to enter the depths of the Western Desolate Territory.
Mu Chen’s gaze swept across his surroundings, before faintly narrowing his eyes. This stretch of the world seemed to be permeated by a thick mist, of which Spiritual Energy fluctuations could be felt within.
“The depths of the Western Desolate Territory are covered by a Spiritual Mist throughout the year. Once one enters it, one’s senses would drop. Shen Cangsheng and Li Xuantong must have known about this, and have, therefore, fled towards this direction.” Lin Zheng spoke out.
Mu Chen faintly nodded his head before saying in a soft voice. “However, it’s extremely easy to get lost in such an environment.”
Lin Zheng nodded his head in approval. After gently making a hand sigh, everyone nodded their heads slightly, before increasingly their vigilance.
Moving close to Luo Li, Mu Chen said in a low voice. “ Follow me tightly at all times. Regardless of the situation, don’t ever leave my sight.”
As they entered the depths, he was faintly able to sense some slight unease, but was unable to put them into words. However, regardless of that, being more careful was a must.
Luo Li nodded her small head.
Just as Mu Chen was talking to her, the surrounding Spiritual Mist grew increasingly thick. At that moment, their vision had become extremely impaired, so had their senses.
Ten figures skimmed over the land as they shot over, furiously rushing into the thick Spiritual Mist.
However, a split second when they rushed into the Spiritual Mist, Mu Chen’s expression furiously changed. He could feel strange fluctuations radiating from within the Spiritual Mist that appeared to be similar to Spiritual Arrays.
“Careful!”
Mu Chen’s eyes faintly narrowed. With an explosive roar, he wrapped Luo Li within his bosom.
At the same time, the Spiritual Mist started to crazily squirm about, causing distortions to seemingly form in the surrounding space. Transforming into something akin to giant mouths of evil demons, they devoured Mu Chen and their group completely. As the Spiritual Mist pervaded over, everyone had disappeared without a trace.
Within the extreme depths, on the top of the stone peak, Wu Jia’s eyes sprung open as a malevolent smile flashed across his eyes.
“The fish have entered the net.”
A smile surfaced at the corner of Mo Longzi’s mouth. Taking a step forward, he disappeared within the thick mist.
“It’s time.”
As he disappeared, a sinister voice brimming with cruel killing intent rang out within the thick mist.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
On the stone peak, eight figures stood up. Laughing malevolently, they shot out simultaneously.
The most elite rescue lineup from the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy?
This time, we’ll kill every single one of your people! Let’s see if there’s anyone else that dares to offer a bounty for us!
