Chapter 12: Black Wind Ridge

After hearing Song Qingshi's words, Jiu Shixiong's expression turned somewhat solemn; he pinched his chin and remained silent for a long time.

Song Qingshi anxiously cupped his hands and said, "If the situation were not urgent, this Daoist would not dare to easily trouble the three Daoist Friends from the Taiyuan Sect, but the matter cannot be delayed. If it is too late, I fear the other three Daoist Friends will all suffer."

Zhao Xuan frowned at the side and said, "Valley Master Song's cultivation is already not weak, and we are not familiar with Black Wind Ridge. If even you cannot contend with it, we will have no way to help even if we go."

Xu Chen felt the same trepidation. Since his Senior Brother and Senior Sister did not want to get involved in this trouble, he, a piece of trash with a combat power of five, was even less capable of helping to save people. For now, it was best to be a silent gourd; otherwise, he would just be asking for trouble.

Seeing that the three of them truly had no intention of helping, Song Qingshi could only let out a long sigh in the end, cupped his hands slightly, and said, "It was indeed this Daoist who was abrupt. I shall go elsewhere to seek aid for this matter."

Jiu Shixiong, however, suddenly said, "In these tens of thousands of miles around Nanyang Prefecture, besides the Five Thunder Sect and the Taiyuan Sect, who else can Valley Master Song find to help?"

Song Qingshi was stunned for a moment, his strength seemingly drained from his body, and he stood there dejectedly, at a loss.

Jiu Shixiong then said earnestly, "How about this: Valley Master Ouyang, go to the Taiyuan Sect quickly and see if you can invite the Third Elder. We three will accompany Valley Master Song to Black Wind Ridge to see the situation. If we can help, we will strike; if we are truly powerless, then you can only rely on yourselves. Or, if the Third Martial Uncle is willing to descend the mountain to assist, there might still be a turning point."

Upon hearing this, Song Qingshi was overjoyed and hurriedly cupped his hands repeatedly, saying, "Then many thanks! There is no time to lose; let us set off separately!"

Soon, after the few exchanged a few words, the Second Valley Master Ouyang Ping released his Flying Sword first and headed toward the Taiyuan Sect.

Jiu Shixiong released his Flying Sword and said, "Junior Brother, come with me; this way we can also conserve some energy!"

"Alright!" Xu Chen did not decline, jumped onto Jiu Shixiong's Flying Sword, and grabbed his Daoist robe tightly.

"Let's go!" Jiu Shixiong waved his sleeve, and a surge of vital energy firmly protected Xu Chen. Then, the four of them turned into three streaks of Escape Light and tore through the air toward the southeast.

Beneath their feet were vast mountain ranges and primeval dense forests; one could hear the roars of beasts rising and falling everywhere, which seemed indeed very restless.

"Jiu Shixiong, why did you suddenly agree to help?" Xu Chen asked via Divine Sense Transmission.

"Idle is idle, just going to take a look. When the time comes, don't make a move; just act according to the situation."

"Understood!"

"Mainly because Black Wind Ridge is not far from the Taiyuan Sect. Besides, although Wild Wolf Valley is all composed of folk rogue cultivators, they are still considered an outer force of our Taiyuan Sect and often have exchanges with us. It would be somewhat unreasonable to ignore it completely. Recently, the mountain gate has not been peaceful either; that Third-Tier Demon Wolf even scurried near the mountain gate. Perhaps it has some connection to Black Wind Ridge, so going to take a look might also allow us to scout the situation."

Speaking of this, Jiu Shixiong turned his head and smiled at Xu Chen, saying, "Junior Brother, this is your first time descending the mountain for training; experiencing more things is beneficial. After all, you will often encounter such matters in the future. For us cultivators, it is not a good thing to only look out for ourselves. Helping the common folk slay demons and eliminate evil is both doing good deeds and cultivation. Besides, this might also be an opportunity to make a fortune."

"Make what fortune?" Xu Chen was completely confused.

Jiu Shixiong chuckled dryly, "Our Taiyuan Sect is so poor now that we don't even have a Medicine Garden. In the future, we will probably have to find ways to get pills ourselves. If we can really rescue those two fellows from the Five Thunder Sect, there will certainly be no problem extorting some Magic Treasures and pills."

Xu Chen's face twitched slightly, and he transmitted, "What if we can't save them? Wouldn't it be a wasted trip?"

Jiu Shixiong said, "Wealth is sought in danger; how can there be gains without taking some risks? When Junior Brother has more training in the future, you will naturally understand. Besides, although Song Qingshi's cultivation looks decent, his Magic Treasures and Magic Spells are actually trash. If he could escape unscathed, there shouldn't be any great danger inside."

Xu Chen was puzzled and asked, "Then why did Senior Brother ask them to go find the Third Martial Uncle?"

"Just in case. What if we get trapped in there too? Therefore, one must not be reckless in all things. Even if taking a risk, one still needs to leave a way out for oneself. One only has one life; never be careless. Junior Brother, remember this!"

"Yes, thank you for the instruction, Senior Brother!"

Although Xu Chen did not have much affection for Jiu Shixiong and had always held a grudge about being dumped with the manure-collecting job, in reality, this matter had nothing to do with Jiu Shixiong; it was mainly the sect's arrangement, plus the suggestion of the Seventh Senior Sister, and his own unreliable master. Ultimately, he was simply the most suitable person in the entire mountain gate for the job of collecting manure and tending the Medicine Garden; he could blame no one.

The four of them sped along, not stopping at all on the way.

Jiu Shixiong and Zhao Xuan had abundant vital energy and could fly over a hundred miles in one breath without any problems. However, Song Qingshi had consumed quite a bit, so his vital energy was somewhat insufficient, but to save people, he gritted his teeth and supported himself with all his might, even going so far as to take a Qi Replenishing Pill.

Soon, more than half an hour passed, and a black mist appeared in the southeast, rising into the sky like a black wind swirling over the mountain ridge. That was Black Wind Ridge.

Sure enough, after the four of them flew another ten-plus miles forward, the black mist became increasingly clear and distinct. They saw a black mist, resembling a demon wind, permeating dozens of miles in radius, shrouding several mountain peaks. In the very center, a bare, steep mountain ridge appeared and disappeared, as if it were another world, completely out of place with the lush mountains surrounding it, and looking at it gave one a feeling of trepidation.

In the surrounding mountains and wilderness, the sounds of various beasts roaring and howling were intertwined everywhere, making one's back feel cold.

"Three Daoist Friends, let us land not far from the crevice on the right!" Song Qingshi's Divine Sense Transmission came into their ears.

"Alright, Daoist Friend Song, lead the way!" Jiu Shixiong responded with a nod.

Soon, Song Qingshi steered his sword and landed on the right side of Black Wind Ridge, and the three followed closely. Before long, the four of them retracted their swords and landed on a desolate, hard rock. All around were black winds like flowing black mist. Being in the midst of it, although there was no discomfort in breathing, the Divine Sense was indeed affected to some extent.

Xu Chen felt that his Divine Sense, which could normally extend clearly for ten zhang, was now very blurry. The range of perception had not shrunk, but the clarity was much worse, as if it had been covered by this black mist.

In fact, even without using Divine Sense, one could vaguely see a range of several dozen zhang around. Right now, twenty zhang away from the four, there was a rift that appeared out of thin air on the bare, steep cliff. It was over a hundred zhang long, like the wide-open mouth of a terrifying Demon Beast, continuously spewing black mist outward.

This was the true cause of the formation of Black Wind Ridge.

However, no one knew why this rift would spew black mist. It was said to have been spewing for ten thousand years. Previously, many cultivators had gone down to investigate, but the result was that there was no explanation. It was only known that the terrain inside was very complex; the entire mountain was almost in a hollow state, dense and thick like a spider web rolled into a ball, with crevices and holes everywhere. The deeper one went, the denser it became, and some who went down never came out again.

There was danger, and there were no treasures, so this place became an Evil Land that all cultivators avoided, and almost no one came to visit.

The four of them walked slowly to the front of the rift.

At this time, it could be seen more clearly. The entire rift presented an inclined state following the mountain terrain, over ten zhang high. Because the cave entrance had been eroded by the spewing black wind for years, the rocks appeared smooth and clean, as if licked by a dog, and no place to grasp could be found.

"Daoist Friend Song, how long has it been since you went down, and how deep did you go?"

Looking at the pitch-black cave entrance continuously spewing black mist, Jiu Shixiong's expression became very grave.

"About three hours. The four of us went down together, and after traveling about a mile, we got separated. I did not continue to go deeper. Later, I encountered an unknown Demon Beast, and after fighting two rounds, I relied on luck to escape," Song Qingshi explained hurriedly.

Zhao Xuan held her Flying Sword and frowned, "I have been to Black Wind Ridge once before, but the black mist was not this violent, and the coverage area was much smaller than it is now, almost only thirty percent of what it is. Why has it suddenly become like this?"

Song Qingshi smiled bitterly, "I am also puzzled by this matter. I came here once two years ago, and it was not like this."

Jiu Shixiong pinched his chin and nodded, "It seems that some change must have occurred below the rift, which caused the black wind to grow larger. This might also be the reason for the restlessness of the beasts and Demon Beasts."

Song Qingshi nodded hurriedly, "That is also my judgment, so I attributed the cause of the restlessness of the beasts and Demon Beasts to this place. I thought there would be no danger, but I didn't expect to trap the three Daoist Friends."

Jiu Shixiong stared into the depths of the rift for a long time and said, "It doesn't look like there is too much danger right now. Since we are here, we must go in and scout. Junior Brother, stay outside; I will go in with Junior Sister Zhao and Daoist Friend Song."

"Alright!" Both had no objections, and Xu Chen was even more relieved.

This pitch-black rift made his hair stand on end just looking at it. He would rather face a Second-Tier Beast alone than take the risk of entering such an unknown place.

"Remember, after going in, stay together. Once you discover that the Divine Sense interference is severe, you must retreat."

Jiu Shixiong instructed Zhao Xuan and Song Qingshi, then turned to instruct Xu Chen, "If we haven't come out after an hour, Junior Brother, hurry back to the mountain gate to invite the Third Elder; do not go in to search."

"Alright, Senior Brother, Senior Sister, and Daoist Friend Song, be careful. By the way, Senior Brother, take this Spirit Talisman for self-defense!"

Xu Chen nodded in agreement and took out the only remaining Attack Spirit Talisman to hand to Jiu Shixiong.

Jiu Shixiong grinned and grabbed it without ceremony, laughing, "Junior Brother is thoughtful. Rest assured, Senior Brother will be fine."

"By the way, take a few more Great Origin Pills for backup!"

Xu Chen thought that since he had already given away the treasure, he simply took out the Jade Bottle again and poured out three Great Origin Pills. Jiu Shixiong was stunned for a moment, then tucked them into his pocket, said with a smile that it was good, and then turned around and left, leaving Xu Chen with the back of his head.

Xu Chen was baffled, and Zhao Xuan glared at him hard, but she didn't say anything and followed along.

Song Qingshi only then came to his senses, his Adam's apple bobbing as he cupped his hands to Xu Chen and said, "The Taiyuan Sect is indeed powerful, unlike us miserable rogue cultivators. Many thanks to Daoist Friend Xu this time; if we can rescue the three Daoist Friends, I will certainly go to your mountain gate in the future to thank you in person!"

Xu Chen hurriedly waved his hands and said, "I dare not accept such thanks, I only hope we can rescue the people!"

"Then Daoist Friend Xu, please be careful out there."

After speaking, Song Qingshi also hurriedly followed, and in an instant, the figures of the three vanished into the black mist of the fissure.

Xu Chen did not dare to go far either, so he found a rock, sat down cross-legged behind it, and simultaneously released a wisp of his Divine Sense to monitor the situation in the surroundings.