Chapter 280: 272 Snow Mountain

"Yin Niangzi, hehe. Niangzi, eh."

A greasy, fawning laugh disturbed Black Widow from her deep thoughts, and she shot the man a sharp, annoyed glare.

Opposite her was a burly, rough-looking martial artist wearing a headscarf, looking fierce and menacing, yet after receiving Black Widow's eye-roll, he felt no anger at all; instead, he beamed with joy.

"Yin Niangzi, I see you are unhappy. Is it because you have concerns about climbing Jiugao Mountain? Do not worry, just follow me. I am as familiar with this Jiugao Mountain as I am with my own home; I could walk it with my eyes closed and not go wrong."

Black Widow lightly brushed her hair at her temples. Today, she did not wear her usual white robes and Veil Hat, but was dressed as a common martial arts woman in light-colored clothing, her hair combed to the side, wearing only light makeup. Compared to her usual charm, she appeared a bit more fragile, entirely lacking the aura of a sect leader or the female demon feared by the martial arts world. She said, "Very well. Once we reach the mountain, I shall rely on Li Sanye."

That Li Sanye tried hard to resist staring at her and said, "Hehe, leave it to me. Niangzi, to be honest, it wouldn't be right to say there is no risk on the mountain. You are from out of town and not like us locals; you don't know the severity of this Jiugao Mountain. Although it looks lush and green from the outside, like an ordinary green mountain, once you go further in, it is all Snow Mountain. That snow never melts all year round, and it is very cold on the Snow Mountain during this season. Once you go up, your breathing becomes difficult, your heart beats too fast, and in no time you lose your strength—it is miserable. It is hard to lift your feet while stepping on ice and snow, and if you are not careful, even a skilled martial artist will fall into that bottomless abyss—"

Black Widow covered her mouth with her hand and let out a soft cry: "Oh my, is it that scary? Then I won't go."

Li Sanye had overplayed his hand and was momentarily embarrassed. He said, "Niangzi, don't be afraid. No matter how scary it is, don't you have me here..."

As the man and woman postured there, many martial artists nearby watched with cold eyes and sneered.

This place was a dense forest at the foot of Jiugao Mountain, the gathering point for martial arts experts who had accepted the task from Ghost Grinds the Mill to climb Jiugao Mountain and break into Zhuoyu Villa. At this time, there were five days left until the main day of the Sword Casting Conference; setting off now was already considered late, and they could even be considered the last batch. It was only because martial artists travel fast and climbing mountains is easy for them that they could still make it to the conference date with a forced march. Therefore, most of the people in this batch who had not yet set off were from out of town; they had received the news late, joined the mission late, and did not carry much weight within Ghost Grinds the Mill.

However, it would be a mistake to say there were no experts here. Many people here did not have low status in the martial arts world, and their martial arts were not mediocre; it was just that they were not originally involved with Ghost Grinds the Mill and lacked first-hand information. They had only found Ghost Grinds the Mill at the last minute after receiving the news, which was why they ended up at the very end. But among the last group of fifty or sixty people, there was no shortage of martial arts experts from both the righteous and evil paths—lone strongmen, Knights-Errant from the south, and reclusive masters. These rare figures were now temporarily hiding their identities, hanging under the banner of the Ghost Grinds the Mill team, waiting to advance toward Zhuoyu Villa to find what they wanted.

Black Widow had been quite confident at the start. Her martial arts were already top-tier among Knights-Errant, and she had methods involving poison and insect-taming, as well as considerable cunning and skill. She had once run rampant in Yuxia Jun, and in recent years, she had practiced Gang Qi and become a Loose Practitioner, taking her skills a step further. By her experience, she was already a first-class figure in the martial arts world. However, after secretly inquiring through channels over the past few days, she could not help but become cautious. Not to mention the gathering of storms on the mountain, even the team before her was full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers; it was not the same scale as Heiyang County.

Although she had obtained certain intelligence and support in Jichun City, Black Widow's individual strength was ultimately just that of an ordinary member of the team; at most, she could ensure her own safety, but she truly could not do more.

However, this did not mean she was afraid or intended to retreat. She had no intention of giving up; she just needed to be more cautious and use more flexible methods. For example, the other weapon she was skilled in besides spider venom.

Do you know why she is called "Black Widow"?

There are several prerequisite steps to becoming a widow.

According to the intelligence obtained from Ghost Grinds the Mill, she began to seek prey, first winning over a local, Li San, as a bridgehead, and then slowly weaving her web. It was just that time was tight, and with only five days left, she could not take down a second target, so she could only make the best use of this Li San.

Suddenly, the noise slowly died down, and a person walked out from the woods, saying, "Is everyone here?"

The crowd focused their eyes at once. They saw a person of medium build, wearing a cloak and a copper mask on their face, making it impossible to see their appearance, though the voice sounded very young. Even the voice was indistinguishable as male or female, and the accent was extremely pure, clearly having been disguised.

Seeing them cautiously hiding their appearance, the crowd had no objections, as many among them had also dressed to conceal themselves. To put it bluntly, this was not a unified action by disciples of the same sect who knew each other well, but a team connected by the gray platform of Ghost Grinds the Mill. Who could trust the person next to them? Those who did not disguise themselves were not necessarily trusting others; it was likely they were from out of town and no one locally knew them, so it did not matter if they disguised themselves or not.

The copper-masked person just asked that one question and then laughed, saying, "Right, for a pieced-together team, there is no such thing as being all here or not. Once the time comes, those who haven't arrived are considered left behind. Everyone, we are the team going up Jiugao Mountain. Is there anyone who has come to the wrong place?"

The people below let out a low laugh. At this point, could there be anyone who didn't know what they were here for?

The copper-masked person nodded and said, "Very well. Since I am the team leader, let me say a few ugly words first. Although we are going up the mountain together, this chaotic mess won't do. Because the mountain paths are narrow and passage is limited, in some places, if you are not careful, people will be squeezed off. There must be an order. Among you, those who are Loose Practitioners, raise your hands."

The crowd watched them silently, but made no move.

It was not that there were no Loose Practitioners present, but the requirement "Loose Practitioners raise your hands" was very rude. Everyone was doing the mission freely, not joining the army or going to school; who gave them the right to take roll call?

The copper-masked person still did not care and said, "Fine, then don't raise your hands. If you are a Loose Practitioner, release your Gang Qi, just like me." After saying this, a surge of Momentum condensed—

A Gang Qi as bright as fire shot into the sky!

Although it was daytime, they were still like a bright lamp, illuminating the surroundings. The Gang Qi brought a chill and pressure, as if containing the overwhelming power of a flood.

Gang Qi, and it was Heavenly Gang!

This person was young, yet they were actually a Martial Venerable!

And the quality and quantity of that Gang Qi could be called peerless and powerful; it was enough to suppress a prefecture or a commandery!

The atmosphere in the field changed. Under the quiet gaze of those eyes behind the copper mask, some people present released their Gang Qi one by one, though no one released it as wantonly as they did; they all just did it as a gesture, releasing a thin layer to indicate they were Loose Practitioners.

Roughly counting, there were eight Loose Practitioners among the fifty or so people. This was already quite remarkable. Don't look at Tang Zhao and the others being young and skilled with Gang Qi, or talking about Heavenly Gang or Free Gang as if Gang Qi were worthless; back in Heiyang County, among a handful of martial artists, if you didn't count the Land Inspection Department, you might not be able to count many Loose Practitioners among the righteous and evil paths.

Black Widow hesitated for a moment and did not release her Gang Qi. Although she was a genuine Loose Practitioner, her attainment in Gang Qi was only average, and it was better to keep a trump card hidden.

This decision was very appropriate, because Li Sanye did not know Gang Qi either; if he saw "Yin Niangzi" using Gang Qi, he would inevitably be shocked and dare not approach her.

The copper-masked person said calmly, "Not bad. Those with Gang Qi can move freely in the mountains without fear of life-threatening danger at every turn, so stay at the head and tail; leave the middle for those Knights-Errant. Seeing that many of you are from out of town, I will remind you: do not treat the Snow Mountain as a trivial matter. Although this Jiugao Mountain is not as towering as the Kungang plateau, it is also cold and difficult to traverse all year round. Even in this month, wind and snow can blow at the summit. Even if you have deep Inner energy, you cannot block such bitter cold. So do not leave the team or act on your own, otherwise, you are just playing with your own life."

Black Widow was slightly stunned, thinking: Why are you bringing up Kungang for no reason? Jiugao Mountain is not as high as Kungang Mountain; does that need you to say it?

But she heard someone say, "We are just going to Zhuoyu Villa; there are small paths through the mountains, why do we have to walk above the snow line?"

The copper-masked person said, "Since there are small paths and no natural barriers, why don't you walk them yourself?"

That person was speechless. The copper-masked person said, "You understand the logic without me saying it. Zhuoyu Villa is the landlord of Jiugao Mountain. For this Sword Casting Conference, they have long since sealed off all the easy paths. If you want to enter the mountain comfortably, why don't you buy an invitation and have someone pick you up? If you want to sneak in, you can only walk above the snow line, climbing over one snow mountain after another. And there are only four days."

Someone asked, "Isn't it five days?"

This was a thoughtless question, and those with a bit of brains nearby just sneered. The copper-masked person answered patiently, "Five days later is the main day of the Sword Casting Conference. If you sprint through the snow mountains for five consecutive days, what do you want to do when you are at the end of your rope? At that time, even if you cheer along, Zhuoyu Villa will complain that you aren't shouting loud enough. Don't you need a day to rest? It is better to suffer a little earlier and arrive a day early. We have built a base camp on the side of Zhuoyu Villa, where supplies are plentiful, and the colleagues who arrived first are mostly resting and gathering their strength there. Everyone has martial arts; after a day of rest, your physical strength should be recovered, so you can act with full Spirit."

They spoke with certainty, and the crowd could not help but feel at ease and smile—the base camp was built right behind Zhuoyu Villa; could this power be small? Following such a team was the only way to feel at ease.

Even Black Widow, who had her own thoughts, smiled sweetly: A base camp? If you had this, you should have said so earlier. Gathering all the people sneaking up the mountain together? How thoughtful. Is there any stage more suitable for her to perform than a base camp?

While the action here was full of confidence, the grand event over there was also raising its curtain.

"An auction? An auction is about to be held?"