Chapter 25: The Dark Wind Gorge

  The next morning, Su Che and Lei Xiao walked out of the inn, ready to enter the Valley of the Dark Wind.

  Lei Xiao didn't ask about the so-called refining artifact, this kind of thing belongs to personal privacy, others shouldn't casually pry if they aren't actively told.

  Lei Xiao's last reminder was not annoying: "Su Shidi, when entering the Yin Wind Gorge, it is inevitable to fight against monsters or other cultivators. Are you sure that you have made all necessary preparations and do not need to supplement any other items?"

  "It's all ready." Su Che patted the Qiankun bag hanging from his waist.

  At the current stage of cultivating one layer of Qi, only the lowest level of magical tools or low-grade talismans can be used for combat. Su Che's Qiankun bag contains three flying swords, over a dozen talismans, and several bottles of medicinal pellets, so it is indeed unnecessary to waste spiritual stones buying other items.

  "Go!"

  Lei Xiaoyi waved his hand and the two of them walked towards the exit at the southern end of the town.

  But just as they were about to leave the town, a clear voice called out from behind: "Xiao Xiao!"

  Only hearing the sound, Su Che didn't know what 'Xiao Xiao' was, anyway it wasn't calling him, so he didn't pay attention; but Lei Xiao beside him stopped in his tracks and immediately turned around.

  Su Che finally turned his head to look, and saw a young girl walking towards him with a fluttering pace, wearing the same white Taoist robe as an outer disciple of Tianxuan Sect, with a jade card hanging from her waist that vaguely showed the words "Tian Hua".

  Su Che had already made a judgment: only the disciples of the top ten main peaks could wear this type of jade pendant. It seemed that this girl should be a disciple of Tianhua Peak, with a cultivation level of Qi Refining Third Layer...

  "Third sister." Lei Xiao had already walked over.

  "Ha ha, are you going to the Valley of the Shadowy Wind?" the girl asked directly.

  "Yes, I accepted the 'Dun Di Du Teng' mission a few days ago." Lei Xiao replied and then introduced both parties: "Third sister, this is my new junior brother from Xuan Ji Peak, 'Su Che'; Su Che, this is my older cousin 'Lei Qing Xue', a disciple of Tian Hua Peak."

  "Seen Senior Sister." Su Che was young and of low cultivation, so he had to proactively pay respects whenever he saw any fellow disciple.

  "Hello, Su Che." Lei Qingxue nodded with a hint of a smile, her attitude quite friendly.

  The young girl was only sixteen or seventeen years old, with skin as white as snow and a clear spirit like jade, which is worthy of the name "Qingxue".

  "Third sister, how did you end up here?" Lei Xiao asked with a smile: "I heard that just the other day, you had already been through the Valley of Yin Wind once before, hadn't you?"

  "The last task has been completed, and this time's collection of Fengling grass is a special task assigned by the outer gate master sister......" Lei Qingxue said softly: "I came here yesterday, wanting to find one or two fellow disciples to enter the valley together, and coincidentally met you."

  "Then let's do it together!" Lei Xian smiled and responded, politely asking Su Che for his opinion: "Su Shidi, what do you think?"

  "Of course, with Shizi here, I feel even more at ease." Having one more person means an additional guarantee of safety, and considering the other party's cultivation is at the third layer of Qi Refining, how could Su Che not agree?

  Lei Qing smiled and beckoned lightly: "Let's go."

  Lei Xiao walked in the middle, and the three of them walked shoulder to shoulder out of the town. A few hundred feet ahead was the northern entrance of the Yin Wind Gorge.

  At the entrance of the canyon, there were not a few monks coming and going, with many scattered cultivators and relatively few disciples of the Tianxuan Sect. Among them was an ordinary-looking monk hiding in the crowd, quietly crushing a message token, which turned into a faint light flying deep into the canyon.

  Soon, the 'birthmark man' in the canyon received a message and after reading it, his face changed slightly. He said to the other three people: "Things have changed a bit, my brother's message says that a third-layer cultivator girl with the surname Lei, who is also a fellow disciple of Tianxuan Sect, has entered the canyon with those two kids."

  "Three layers of Qi refinement?" Lao Da Lu's eyebrows furrowed.

  After a brief silence, Mr. He said with a sigh: "It's just that there is an additional Qi-practicing three-layered girl, which is not worth worrying about. Ying Hong, what do you think?"

  His wife, 'Ying Hong', was a woman who didn't yield to men, with a bolder temperament than ordinary men. She smiled lightly and said: "Don't worry, let me take care of the little girl first, I'll tie her up, you four old masters can deal with those two young ones first, then come help me."

  The other three nodded together, all of whom were cultivators of the third layer of Qi Refining. In theory, dealing with those three Tianxuan Sect disciples should be a cinch, and even if things took an unexpected turn and the other side had one more person, it shouldn't make much difference.

  On the other hand, Su Che and his three men had already entered the Yin Wind Gorge. The terrain inside the gorge was vast and expansive, with hundreds of people walking shoulder to shoulder without any issues. The stone walls on both sides were over a hundred meters high, dotted with countless large and small caves.

  Lei Xiao continued to explain, "The caves near the entrance have long been devoid of demonic beasts. They were all captured by humans hundreds of years ago. Demonic beasts also possess wisdom and will only settle and survive in the depths of the canyon."

  Su Che nodded and asked: "The Tuo Di Du (Toxic Vine) that Master Lei wants to collect, is it also in the depths of the canyon?"

  "That's right. Whether it's the poisonous vine or the wind spirit grass, any spiritual herb with some value will only be found after entering a depth of over 300 miles." Lei Xiao replied.

  Su Chao silently calculated that according to the speed of the three people's advance, it would take at least two hours to penetrate three hundred miles...

  After walking for a moment, the figures in the valley gradually decreased. From here on out, everyone had to be on high alert, constantly guarding against sneak attacks from demonic beasts or fellow cultivators. Lei Qingxue and Lei Xiao each took out their magical instruments, flying swords hung at their waists. Su Che's Sword Controlling Technique was only superficially understood, and he hadn't had time to practice it thoroughly, so he took out two talismans, one for offense and one for defense, hiding them in his hands.

  After walking for a while, Su Che saw a kind of vine-like plant on the stone wall in front of him. The leaves were emerald green and the flowers were delicate and beautiful, which was more in line with his aesthetic taste. He wanted to collect some seeds to plant in the prison space on the first floor of the Black Tower, but he didn't want to delay the journey of the Lei siblings because of this small matter...

  Just as I was about to erase this thought, I heard 'Lao Hei's' hoarse voice echoing in my mind.

  "Master, I sense that someone is following you."

  "What?" Su Che asked in surprise: "Can you feel the outside situation?"

  I thought that Lao Hei, being in the prison space on the first floor of the Black Tower and also deep within his own mind, shouldn't be able to sense the outside world. But unexpectedly, I greatly underestimated his abilities...

  "Yes, master, I can not only see the outside world through your vision, but also perceive subtle changes within a hundred feet radius through my own detection ability." Old Black replied proudly: "To put it this way, master, my detection ability is similar to that of a high-level cultivator's divine sense, and can penetrate earth, stone or metal to help you discover hidden enemies underground or on the other side of walls... And, what's more, even tiny cellular organisms, I, Old Black, can see clearly."

  "What's a cellular organism?" Su Che had never heard of such a term before and asked in confusion: "What is a cellular organism?"

  "Huh?" This question seemed to have stumped Lao Hei.

  The prison space on the first floor of the Black Tower, Old Hei sat on the ground with his two thick and fluffy legs spread out, scratching his forehead and muttering: "Right, what is cell biology? Why do I, Old Hei, know this term? It seems like I was born knowing it..."

  "After a while, he said: "Master, for example, some harmful little bugs that parasitize in your body will affect your health, but you can't see them... Hmm, they are also a kind of cellular organism."

  Parasites, Su Che was familiar with them and also knew that the higher one's cultivation, the less harmful substances in the body. After the foundation-building period, human cultivators' bodies basically couldn't tolerate the existence of these harmful substances either.

  However, it's not the time to talk about these things now. Su Che hastily asked: "You just said that you sensed someone was following us, are you sure you didn't see wrongly?"

  "It's absolutely not wrong!" Old Black replied, "That guy has been wearing a fake mask and hiding behind you for a long time, staring at you with his eyes... I also found out that he seems to be very interested in the jade pendant hanging from your waist. Every time he sees that jade pendant, his eyes become very different."

  "Great!" Su Che nodded in his heart: "Unexpectedly, Old Black, you look rough and clumsy, but you're actually so meticulous."

  Having received praise, Old Black chuckled and said: "Master, although I may not look good, my true abilities are absolutely there. With time, you'll know."

  Su Che smiled to himself, not saying anything else. He pretended to be carefree, looking around casually, seemingly curious about the surroundings in the canyon. In reality, his eyes were keeping an eye on the followers behind him out of the corner of his vision.

  The tracker was very cautious, and Su Che had been paying attention for a long time before he vaguely sensed that there was a blurry figure flashing quickly behind him dozens of feet away. However, the more furtive the other party was, the more it proved his ill intentions.

  Su Che coldly snorted in his heart: "Lei Xiao once said that the Yin Wind Gorge is a place where dragons and snakes are mixed together, and there are many reckless people who dare to plot against the Tianxuan Sect's disciples. I didn't expect to encounter one so soon!"

  (Today's second update, coffee just finished eating birthday cake at home... brothers and sisters, can there be a few more recommendation votes?)