Chapter 169: Snow Leopard

The wind is cold in Kunlun; the mountains are high, and the road is long.

The scenery is infinitely beautiful!

On the plateau, the wind is light and the clouds are thin; leopards run and eagles fly.

Where heaven and earth meet in a single line, a Flame Car is racing wildly.

This Flame Car has two wheels, front and back; the body of the car gleams with a metallic luster, and as the wheels spin, flames flow, looking like two Wind Fire Wheels.

"Whoo—speeding like the wind and lightning!"

A long whistle echoed across the mountain peak.

"Speeding like the wind and lightning... my foot! You have to consider your elder!"

Behind the Flame Car, a seat was installed, and a basket was tied to it. Inside the basket sat a fierce-looking turtle, currently pulling its head in to hide behind the basket, its front claws gripping the rim, with only two round, rolling eyes peeking out to look into the wind—the only passenger besides the rider.

"What kind of contraption have you cobbled together? You call it a Six-Dragon Chariot, but there isn't a single dragon, and there's no windshield either. Crude, absolutely crude!"

The rider turned his head slightly, the two black crystal lenses on his face reflecting the brilliant Sunlight: "It can block the wind, but then there would be no feeling of flying through the wind. What I want is this passion! Isn't going for a ride great?"

"Great..." The turtle opened its mouth and took a big gulp of wind, "Great my foot! I can't even open my eyes! What is that thing on your eyes? Is it for blocking wind?"

"It's Glasses! The sunlight on the plateau is too blinding!" Tang Zhao pushed up his Glasses.

He had wanted to go for a ride like this for a long time; since this Flame Car was built, he had at most run it around Jiugao Mountain, but the mountain was covered in marshes and the roads were narrow, and he had to be considerate of his fellow sect members—how could that compare to the exhilaration of speeding on the plateau?

The world was vast and empty, with no people in sight; it was the perfect time for him to be completely free and let himself go.

The Glasses on his face were not made in a rush; he had been conceiving them along the way and only finished them before heading to Kungang.

Previously, when he fought the Great Chief of Jiming Mountain, he used a Sun Explosion, but the opponent was not disturbed and used a similar move, causing him to be hit instead. It was clear that many people knew similar blinding moves. Tang Zhao realized he had been "dark under the lamp" before; just because he knew this move, did that mean he could stop guarding against sudden bright light? So, he modeled these Glasses after his own.

He hadn't expected to use them for a ride before using them in battle.

This was truly... wonderful!

It is said that the sun rides the Six-Dragon Chariot to patrol the sky every day and sleeps at Fusang at night; today he drives a Six-Dragon Bicycle, treads on Kungang, with flying fire beneath his feet, whistling at the wind—does he not deserve the title of 'Sun Child'?

High mountains, glaciers, and leisurely white clouds were silent and lonely, letting this self-proclaimed "Sun Child" gallop and roam.

"I say, you brat, you didn't ride such an eye-catching car all the way to Kungang, did you?"

"Of course not! I came with my Senior Brother; you don't know my Senior Brother's temperament. If I dared to ride the car, he would have flown into the sky long ago. Even if you had a Somersault Cloud, you couldn't catch up to him. That reminds me, I should make a Somersault Cloud; one somersault for a hundred thousand miles, how cool would that be..."

"Co... cool..."

"Hmm?"

"Cliff!"

The turtle shrieked. Tang Zhao turned his head and saw the mountain rocks ahead suddenly cut off, forming a cliff several fathoms high.

Seeing this, Tang Zhao was startled at first, then his gaze sharpened—serious, yet tinged with excitement!

"Hold on tight!"

He gripped the handlebars tightly, and the Flame Car soared into the air from the cliff, rushing toward the high sky as if to charge into the sun.

An arc traced across the firmament, then it dove toward the ground.

Boom!

The front wheel of the Flame Car hit the ground, the body shook violently, the rider and passenger swayed wildly, and the turtle clung to the bamboo basket for dear life, letting out a series of miserable screams.

Finally, the Flame Car successfully adjusted its posture and sped forward again, kicking up thick dust.

"How was that?"

"Stop... stop the car! I need a break!"

Tang Zhao laughed, stopped the car, and the flames automatically extinguished, leaving only two plain, unremarkable tires.

He pushed up the Glasses on the bridge of his nose and looked back. The turtle was hanging half its body out of the bamboo basket, panting continuously, looking as if it might vomit its gall at any moment.

"You... as a Talisman Sword Master, can't you fly? Why must you keep the wheels on the ground? Have you ever considered the feelings of an old man like me?"

Tang Zhao laughed: "Sorry, sorry, but riding a car is like this. If you can't dive, how can you call it riding a car? Besides... on Kungang, everyone is like this." He pointed forward.

There, on top of the cliff, appeared a furry head with white and black spots. Immediately after, the animal leaped down the almost vertical cliff face several times in succession, its movements light and nimble as it scrambled down, finally landing gracefully on the ground.

Up close, the animal looked like a cat yet not a cat, like a leopard yet not a leopard, with a long, fluffy tail almost as long as its body.

Seeing this, the turtle became even more indignant and said: "You're comparing yourself to a snow leopard? Are you that beast?"

Tang Zhao stared for a moment and said: "So that's a snow leopard?"

Seeing that fluffy tail, he felt an itch in his heart and wanted to touch it, but he immediately stopped the thought; after all, it was a wild beast born of nature, not a pet at home, so it was better to watch from afar and not play with it.

The snow leopard was also very cautious when it saw them; it slowly retreated and ran away along the other side of the cliff.

Tang Zhao watched it leave, turned to the turtle, and said: "Gui Ye, you always say you are an old man, I'd like to know, just how old are you?"

The turtle stretched out its head and said: "Older than you can imagine. Let me put it this way: I have seen more sunrises than you have seen stars."

Tang Zhao was skeptical; he had met people who bragged about their age, claiming to be from a previous dynasty, sleeping for a hundred years, but in reality, they were just hiding in a Time Jar and bragging.

I'm not talking about you, Ping Xiansheng.

He asked again: "Are the other Spirit Fish as old as you?"

The turtle panted and said: "Ha, ptooey! How can those stupid things compare to me? I am ten thousand years old; they are from this year. In the whole pond, only a few of my descendants can be mentioned in the same breath as me, but I am the ancestor, and they are the grandchildren. My seniority is the highest." It added resentfully, "Although you brat don't know how to respect the old, your attainments in Rune Formula are not bad, otherwise this old man wouldn't look favorably upon you. Work hard, I look forward to you winning fame on the golden list before the seat."

Tang Zhao asked curiously: "So you are more powerful than Golden Scale? Aren't you on the same level?"

The turtle said: "Same level my foot! It is a wooden puppet, while Gui Ye is a Spirit Race born of heaven. It only knows how to find the most complex Rune Formula according to the standard answer, while Gui Ye can see the spirituality behind the writing of the Rune Formula. The person Gui Ye takes a liking to may not have the deepest foundation in Rune Formula now, but their future prospects are the broadest... ptooey, why am I bragging about you to your face? I'm dying of thirst, give me some water."

Tang Zhao smiled and accepted it, handing it tea, but he was still a bit puzzled: Gui Ye ate and drank, it really was a living Spirit Race that could speak human language, which was very rare—why mix in with the Talisman Puppets? It was like decorating one's home with a hundred silk roses for the sake of uniformity and eternal bloom, why put in one eye-catching fresh peony?

After resting for a while, the turtle climbed into the basket, and the two continued on their way. This time the speed was neither fast nor slow, without the feeling of the wind from before. But the two wheels were still blazing with flames, and the style was not lost in the slightest.

Halfway there, they suddenly heard someone calling: "Bao... Bao..."

Tang Zhao was startled, thinking: Who is calling Bao Bao? This name is quite childlike. Is it the snow leopard?

He saw a person holding a large, white, fluffy thing running over from around the corner, and they were about to crash into the car—

"Screech—"

The tires rubbed against the ground, and the vehicle stopped.

Within a short distance, Tang Zhao swung the vehicle body sideways, coming face-to-face with the other party.

The person who arrived was a youth of about sixteen or seventeen, similar to Tang Zhao, with a proper and gentle appearance; he wore a coarse cloth outer robe, his attire was not unusual, but the robe was wrapped tightly as if he were very cold, and he carried a long package on his back.

Tang Zhao asked, "Are you alright? You..."

His gaze was drawn to the object in the youth's arms; it was actually a large lump of snow.

The snow was naturally pure white, but a streak of black had stained the bottom of this lump, and black water droplets like ink were dripping down.

The youth also stood still and looked at Tang Zhao, startled slightly by Tang Zhao's appearance, then stared straight at the vehicle behind him, his eyes bright: "What kind of treasure is that? Where did you buy it?"

Tang Zhao felt his eagerness, felt proud in his heart, and laughed: "I made it myself, there is only this one in the world!" Seeing the regret in the youth's eyes, he asked: "What's wrong? Did you just call for a snow leopard? This is..."

The youth came back to his senses, pointed to the lump of snow he was holding, and said: "This is a snow leopard. It was polluted by the Fierce Evil Qi entangled with a Fierce Trace. I am preserving it first, then I will think of a way to treat it." The lump of snow became increasingly transparent under the Sunlight, and a furry beast shape could be faintly seen inside the snow mass.

Tang Zhao felt a chill and said: "Has the Fierce Evil Qi entered its body? What is a Fierce Trace?"

Once a beast is polluted by the Fierce Evil Qi of a Yin Calamity, it becomes a Fierce Beast and a scourge that must be killed without mercy; Tang Zhao truly did not want a snow leopard as spiritual as this to suffer such a fate. But looking at the black water flowing under the snow block, it seemed this Fierce Evil was not light.

As for the snow block, it might be a special Art Tool, or it might be a Sword Art—the long package on the youth's back was very likely a sword. So he was most likely a Sword Student—only a Sword Student would carry a sword like that.

The youth pointed behind him and said: "The Fierce Trace is over there. Be careful not to get close, I will handle it in a while."

Tang Zhao pushed the vehicle around a corner and let out an "Eh."

On the cliff, there was a fierce and ugly head.

Tang Zhao originally thought it was a Fierce Beast, but immediately discovered that it was just a head.

This head resembled a lizard, only several times more ferocious and ugly than a lizard; its neck was connected to a giant rock, its mouth half-open, revealing dense teeth, and wisps of black smoke emerged from its mouth.

It looked like the giant head was similar to a stone carving, or perhaps like a faucet used to spread black smoke. But the head's eyes were bright red, both fierce and vivid; it was hard to believe it was a dead object.

Tang Zhao had been in the Inspection Division for many years and had seen many living Fierce Beasts, but he had never seen such a bizarre thing; he could not tell if this was a Natural Disaster or a man-made calamity, but regardless, it counted as a Yin Calamity.

Sweeping away a Yin Calamity was the duty of the Inspection Division.

Tang Zhao pondered for a moment, turned his head, and asked the youth who had followed: "Is this the Fierce Trace?"

The youth said: "Yes. You also find it strange, right? Things like this are neither demon nor phantom; I don't know when they started appearing, but in recent years they have become increasingly common in Kungang. They take many forms, relying on environments that would not normally be polluted, such as mountain rocks and trees, as a base to form various bizarre and unpredictable landscapes. Wherever they go, they pollute the land, create Fierce Beasts, and even directly trigger Yin Calamities. Because the source cannot be found for the time being, they can only be called Fierce Traces."

Tang Zhao's heart sank, thinking: It sounds like a man-made calamity. He asked casually: "You know so clearly, did you come to investigate the Fierce Trace?"

The youth was stunned for a moment, then laughed: "No, not at all, haha. I... I am an ordinary Talisman Sword Master. My name is Wang Fei."

Tang Zhao found it amusing; are Talisman Sword Masters not ordinary, but rare? He followed his lead and said: "I am also an ordinary Talisman Sword Master, Tang Zhao."

He felt that Wang Fei might not be his real name, but he still gave his real name; he was a truly ordinary nobody, there was no need to make up a fake name for a journey of just a few days.

He asked again: "Is the snow leopard alright?"

Wang Fei sighed: "My Pure Snow can extract Fierce Evil Qi. It was just injured, and the evil qi has not eroded deeply, so it can naturally be saved. However, it will take a few hours to slowly extract it. Brother Tang, please go ahead. I will wait for it to recover and then handle it."

The snow leopard was indeed lovable, but Wang Fei was willing to guard it for several hours without leaving; his heart was quite good. And speaking of handling the Fierce Trace so matter-of-factly, was he a bit like a peer?

Tang Zhao thought for a moment and asked: "Are there any secrets to handling this kind of Fierce Trace? Will it shatter and splash poison everywhere, spreading the poison even further?"

Wang Fei said: "That wouldn't happen, it's just very sturdy and not easy to destroy. Using techniques that break evil will be a bit better. Do you want to try? Then try giving it your strongest blow."

Tang Zhao said solemnly: "Then I will try."

Great Sun Thousand Needles—

With a flick of his fingers, a cluster of white-gold needles flew out, each carrying the radiance of flowing crowns, piercing the ugly head like a rain of flowers across the sky.

Pfft!

White-gold flames rose into the air. The black smoke was the best fuel for the flames, and in an instant, it turned into a fireball.

In the blink of an eye, the black gas burned out, Tang Zhao flicked his finger again, the gold needles exploded with a boom, mountain rocks flew everywhere, the small hill collapsed instantly, completely burying the Fierce Trace.

Unexpectedly... it wasn't strong?

Tang Zhao's Qi originally carried the attributes of the sun and was the greatest nemesis of evil spirits; it was far stronger against Yin Calamities than against people. Since he mastered it, he had always shot and exploded Fierce Beasts with a single needle. Today, seeing the Fierce Trace was bizarre, he used several more needles and added plenty of refined Qi, causing the mountain to collapse all at once, so he couldn't figure out how strong it was.

Fortunately, it was something he could deal with empty-handed, without needing to use a Dharma Artifact.

Wang Fei stared at the collapsed mountain rocks, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly, and said: "Good—"

He stared at Tang Zhao and said: "Your Qi can drive away evil? Can it treat it? My Pure Snow is still too slow at extracting poison."

Tang Zhao thought about it; his Qi certainly had the effect of driving away evil, but he hadn't developed any moves for treatment; after all, Qi couldn't be forced like a Sword Art. However, treatment wasn't difficult; after all, he was a person who ran a shop.

Tang Zhao let Wang Fei pull away the snow block to reveal the snow leopard with black gas permeating its abdomen, took a lamp tube from a jar, turned on the switch, and a beam of warm Sunlight shone on it.

The black gas suddenly dissipated.

If Pure Snow attracting black gas was like absorbent paper soaking up water, permeating bit by bit, then under the irradiation of the Sunlight beam, the black gas was like snow under the sun, melting rapidly.

"Ah—my snow!"

The black gas was like accumulated snow, and Pure Snow was accumulated snow.

When the Sunlight shone on it, the accumulated snow would melt.

Wang Fei hurriedly picked up the remaining Pure Snow and hugged it in his arms, but after hugging it for only a moment, the snow had already melted away, making his outer robe completely wet. He wanted to take off his outer robe, but as soon as his hand unfastened half a button, he suddenly remembered something, quickly fastened it again, and looked up at the sky, pretending he hadn't wanted to take it off.

Tang Zhao smiled apologetically but didn't turn off the Lamp; this Light Beam was truly easy to use, not only did the black gas dissipate in an instant, but the wounds also healed rapidly; the snow leopard kicked its legs in the light beam but didn't get up, instead squinting its eyes as if basking in the sun.

Wang Fei hummed and said: "You... what is this Art Tool? It's so easy to use?"

Tang Zhao showed a kind smile and said: "External Injury Hand Flashlight, luxury model. In addition to the treatment Rune Formula, it adds Rune Formulas for warding off evil, removing poison, and protection; complex wounds are fixed in one shine. It only costs five hundred taels of gold, does Brother Wang want one?"

Wang Fei pondered: "Five hundred taels? That... wait? I can't afford it, I am an ordinary Talisman Sword Master! I come from a very ordinary background..." He shouted a few times, then saw Tang Zhao looking at him with a smile, and couldn't help but sigh: "How did you see that I... have money?"

Tang Zhao laughed: "I don't know if Brother Wang has seen ordinary people, but people who generally don't have money, when they see a strange object like my vehicle, won't ask where to buy it. Even if they want it in their hearts, they don't dare to ask. They don't even dare to think about it."

Wang Fei looked embarrassed: "Is that so... so that's it, then I won't pretend. Brother Tang, is this vehicle for sale?"