Chapter 16: Trekking (2)
Xin Zhou Lun spoke, “It would be nice if it could be bought, I wouldn’t need to dig for it so painstakingly, this thing……is like a priceless treasure for those that need it, while those that don’t need it couldn’t care less.”
Though XinFeng tried his best to learn, compared to these people who had studied for dozens of years, or even hundreds, he was too young, he was too ignorant of the world, he didn’t know how to handle difficult situations. So not knowing how important this thing is was rather normal.
“So what is it……seriously…….wu, I don’t care anymore, if I can collect it, I want to collect more of it.”
XinFeng mumbled to himself, he was lucky to have such a high leveled companion to collect materials with him at such a young age, if he did not have a master, he probably would never have entered this place even as a ninth ringed master.
Xin Zhou Lun laughed, “Sure, anyone who goes can collect some for themselves, en, just give me a portion.”
XinFeng nodded, “I understand, don’t worry, senior.” He knew this clearly, even if it’s his senior, he would still receive compensations for obligatory help.
Chui Tou and Kuang Fu both moved next to the pot, if it wasn’t for Feng Ying holding on to their necks, the two fellows would’ve probably stuck their head in. That was fine, but what was unbearable was that the two of them drooled nonstop, forcing Feng Ying to hold them back.
Jin Daya kept laughing, he didn’t speaking much, yet he chose to speak now, “Grab them……the two of them, both are gluttons, fellows who will never feel full.”
Taking out a pot lid, XinFeng covered the pot, instantly reducing the smell of food in the air.
Chui Tou kept swallowing his drool as he stared at the pot, he could not help but say, “Just open it, it’ll be warmer.”
Everyone stared at him instantly, causing him to speak bitterly, “Alright, I know……don’t look at me, I’m just hungry……”
XinFeng spoke gently, “Don’t be impatient, it’ll be done soon, hehe.”
In the wild, especially in cold weather, food was vital for survival. This was the natives’ instinct, nothing could replace it. This was why Chui Tou and Kuang Fu were so excited over the cooking pot, they couldn’t help but want to reach out to grab some, even if it wasn’t cooked properly.
“It’s done!”
Chui Tou immediately cheered as he looked at XinFeng pitifully with his plate in his hand. Such a big muscled fellow actually looked like a pug wagging his tail right now, his two eyes shining.
Shivering, XinFeng spoke, “Hold it, don’t move.” Using the large copper spoon in his hands, he scooped a few spoonfuls of chowder and poured it into the plate, “Go eat.”
(l3lacksheep: I seriously get the image of him trying to use dog commands here)
After giving everyone a plateful each, the pot was already nearly empty. XinFeng kept throwing in all sorts of ingredients, continuing to cook. The seven of them ate at least two pots, this was far from enough.
With the hard bread in their hands, everyone started eating. Eating chowder in this weather was absolutely heavenly and their stiff bodies started to warm up as beads of sweat appeared on their foreheads.
XinFeng ate madly as well, he knew clearly that he needed to eat his fill, and practitioners were all people with large appetites. His appetite was at least ten times more than his appetite from his past world, sometimes even more.
When they were done eating, the skies already dark as the light that entered the ice hall faded, but thanks to the fire, they could still see each other.
Storing the pot, XinFeng threw a few pieces of Oil wood onto the fire, and placed a bottle of water on the frame before he started cultivating.
Everyone also sat down to cultivate, except for Chui Tou and Kuang Fu, who went to guard the entrance.
XinFeng had just started cultivating before he was surprised, the effects here were better than Hanya castle, nearing the effect of cultivating in a lighting storm. This was shocking for him, and after testing it, the results were the same. Stopping, he thought for a while.
Feng Ying also stopped cultivating and opened his eyes to see XinFeng staring into space, he could not help but ask softly, “What’s wrong?”
XinFeng hesitated before asking, “Cultivating here……do you feel that something’s different?”
Feng Ying sighed, “Yes, there’s a difference……”
XinFeng asked, “Is the effects better?”
Feng Ying shook his head, “Just the opposite, the effects seem to be lacking a lot compared to Hanya castle.”
XinFeng felt shocked, “Yi, how strange, I feel that it’s better.”
Shi Hu also opened his eyes and shook his head, “Not good, the effects are not good.”
Jin Daya laughed, “It’s normal, if we go out, it’ll be better, we’re in the middle of a glacier, how good could it be.” It was rare he spoke so much.
Xin Zhou Lun spoke, “The purpose of cultivating here is to recover your body, how much can you wish for in an ice cave?”
Though XinFeng did not understand, he knew this was a good chance and he didn’t let go of it. Closing his eyes, he continued cultivating while the others chose to sleep instead.
………………………………
It was a night of silence until the skies became bright.
XinFeng cultivated till midnight. He had taken out a thick beastskin to place on the ground and a beastskin sleeping bag to sleep for a few hours.
They had a simple breakfast of hot water and dry rations before leaving the ice cave.
Smashing open a big hole in the ice walls with his hammer, Chui Tou spoke, “Let’s go out!” and at the moment the hole was opened, the sound of howling wind could be heard again.
Everyone followed Chui Tou out. In the ice cave, they had already tied themselves to each other with the rope, it was still snowing madly outside, the temperature lower than yesterday.
Stepping out of the ice cave, XinFeng felt cold piercing into his bones even as he was dressed in bull hide armor, he spoke, “How cold!”
Today’s temperature was extremely low, though XinFeng could not measure how low it was, he found out that he couldn’t even open his eyes properly, he had to squint, but even so, the cold winds were still painful for his eyes, forcing him to cover his head with his Lun Yin Li.
With their heads hung low, everyone tried their best to move forwards. XinFeng held the steel shield as well today, blocking the snowflakes coming his way.
This journey was tiring and painful, resting a few times throughout, they finally found a place to rest after the sky darkened. The resting spot this time was extremely far from the ice hall, and they barely got though a night. XinFeng felt that he was about to became an ice block and could only circulate his defenses from time to time to block the cold all the way to the next morning. According to Xin Zhou Lun, they only had half a day’s journey left.
After walking until noon, Xin Zhou Lun finally spoke, “Alright, we’re almost there……fuck, every trip is grueling, just persevere for a bit more.”
There were large pieces of ice accumulating on the rope, tripping XinFeng along the way. He wasn’t like the others, Chui Tou and Kuang Fu were natives who were used to this, while the others were all sixth ringed or above experts and could fly, even if they couldn’t take to the skies, they could still walk in the air without their feet touching the ground.
XinFeng didn’t have such an ability, some of his steps even fell through the snow burying his leg, pulling down the speed of the entire group. Feng Ying wanted to carry him but XinFeng had refused, this trip was too difficult, even a True Master with his eighth True Ring Body suffered, XinFeng had chosen to suffer as well.
The seven of them quickly came to the mountain’s foot and Xin Zhou Lun signaled for them to slow down as he started to inspect the mountain cliffs.
XinFeng spoke, “We’re almost there?”
Feng Ying nodded, “We should be.”
A little while later, Xin Zhou Lun spoke, “We’re here……”
There was a crack in the mountain cliff, icicles hung from the entire cliff, even the crack had icicles hanging from the top, and without careful inspection, it was impossible to detect.
Xin Zhou Lun spoke, “Smash it open!”
Chui Tou and Kuang Fu moved forwards together and lifted their weapons to smash away the icicles blocking the cave.
In a while, they quickly smashed an opening.
XinFeng laughed, “Ai, finally a place to avoid the wind, I’m already scared of the winds here.” He wanted to dig a hole just to escape, the cold winds were too unbearable, it pierced one’s body torturously. XinFeng couldn’t even count how many times he had used his electricity to warm himself.
Jin Daya suddenly spoke from behind, “I’m scared of the wind here too!”
Xin Zhou Lun spoke, “Come in quickly……the wind here, hey hey, it has a name, called the Head Piercing Wind or the Bone Chilling Wind, or also the Murderous Wind!”
The crack was empty, but it was just that they had yet to find a place to rest. The space became narrower, and without caution, one’s feet would be caught. They had to fly or use their hands to push themselves up to move forwards, of course, Feng Ying simply picked up XinFeng while Chui Tou and Kuang Fu had Xin Zhou Lun and Jin Daya to move forwards without setting their feet down.
And in a while, they entered the belly of the mountain, where they could finally walk normally.
A bundle of fire floated in front of them, livening up the four directions. On their way down, they walked for at least ten minutes, accompanied by the sounds of falling water as the temperature increased gradually.
Xin Zhou Lun laughed, “We’re finally here.”
Turning once, a gust of warm air rushed at them with a faint red glow, accompanied by a deep roar.
XinFeng spoke, “I, I have a bad premonition……e, hot!”
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I cry when I see Pokémon Sun and Moon being played everywhere. I want to play it too, okay!?
No, actually, any Pokémon version is fine, I just want to play it!