“We couldn’t see them.” Wang Baoguo let out a wry smile.
“The blizzard had blocked our view. It was night as well, so we only saw shadows that moved faster than anything I had ever seen. Every time a dark shadow passed us, one of my men would disappear into the darkness. In the end, the vice-captain had to sacrifice himself so that I could get out of there with those pictures we took.”
The memory brought a pained expression on to Wang Baoguo’s face. He clenched his fists tightly and pounded his thighs with a great measure of remorse.
“I am a coward. Big Xun had charged at those monsters with a pocket knife while I spun my tail and ran away. I can’t… I can’t go back. I am so sorry… I am so sorry…”
Seeing Wang Baoguo breaking down into tears, Chen Fan shook his head.
Chen Fan realized that it wasn’t the expedition that had taken a toll on his health, it was the unshakable guilt on his conscience.
Yang Qinhu finally broke the silence and put in: “Senior Master Chen, I have talked to Baoguo in detail about the monsters. He told me that although he couldn’t make out their shape, he knows they are extremely fast, has a wolf-like howl and they seemed to walk on their hind legs as apes do. He said he also caught a glimpse of their eyes, and they were bloody red.”
“Fast, wolf-like call, Ape-like shape, and bloody eyes?”
Chen Fan furrowed his brows and pondered.
It wasn’t any beast that he could remember off the top of his head, but he had seen way too many strange beasts to remember all of them. The earth used to be brimming with Spirit Qi and all kinds of wild and unimaginable beasts roamed the land. It was likely that one of those Spirit Beasts had survived the deprivation of Spirit Qi.
“That’s not enough information. But it doesn’t matter. I can squash any monster.”
Chen Fan said lightly
As the reincarnation of a Grand Cultivator on the verge of Tribulation Transcendence, Chen Fan was brimming with conviction and confidence. He had battled countless battles and was never defeated, what did a few puny monsters mean to him?
“That’s what I have been waiting to hear!” Yang Qinhu guffawed.
He had long since figured out the exact location where the pictures were taken but didn’t want to venture out there fearing the deadly monsters. Although he was a Martial arts Grandmaster, he feared the unknown as much as any ordinary human would. However, Chen Fan was anything but an ordinary human so he was not at all afraid.
However, powerful the monsters were, they would be a far cry from the might of a modern army and F-15 fighter jets.
The two of them found a place to spend the night and headed toward their destination first thing in the morning. Since Yang Qinhu knew where the valley was, he had charted a safe and fast course on a map so that they could pack light and move fast.
They were both powerful martial artists and therefore even the knee-deep snow didn’t slow them down. On the other hand, an ordinary human such as Wang Baoguo would at the most make a few dozen miles in a day if he were lucky.
“I have a contact in Russia who will pick us up with a helicopter and drop us off at the city closest to the valley. From there, we will travel on foot again.”
Yang Qinhu had a huge influence up north so it wasn’t difficult for him to get a forged border pass for Chen Fan. Chen Fan was considered the most powerful man in the Dark World, so it was impossible for him to cross the border without a disguise. If the Rusian government got a whiff of his whereabouts, they might not hesitate to take up extreme measures.
The helicopter ride took them to the City of Yakutsk.
Yakutsk was located in the middle of Northern Siberia and was the coldest city in the world. It was the capital city of the State of Yakutsk had a population of two hundred thousand which consisted mainly of the Yakuts, also known as the Sakha people. The city was entirely built on permafrost and was therefore called the Permafrost City.
“This is as close as we can get to the valley without going on foot. We have to trek a thousand kilometers on the tundra to reach there.” Yang Qinhu held out a map and pointed the dotted line on the map.
Even a powerful Grandmaster such as Yang Qinhu couldn’t withstand the freezing temperature. He had layered himself with parkas and sweaters.
Unlike Lei Qianjue, he had not yet mastered the Diamond Body and therefore could not live on the frozen tundra with only a thin shirt.
“A few thousand kilometers? How did the expedition team get this far?” Chen Fan asked with furrowed brows.
Yakutsk was tucked deep in the Heartland of Siberia, but the site was even a few kilometers further. This meant that the expedition team would have to venture into the lifeless expanse of Siberia tundra without any source of fresh supplies.
“The expedition team had a dozen local Yakuts guides with snowmobiles. They stumbled upon the valley after they changed course in order to avoid a blizzard. That valley would have already been discovered if it wasn’t so well hidden.”
Chen Fan nodded.
“Senior Master Chen, should we hire some local guides?” Yang Qinhu hazarded. “The land will be covered by snow and without the knowledge of the land, we wouldn’t find the way even if we have our course charted on the map.”
“Fine, let’s hire some local then.” Chen Fan nodded.
“Great!”
Yang Qinhu replied.
He was a powerful Grandmaster with huge influences in the north. He had already talked to one of his friends here and made some arrangements. He led Chen Fan through the streets to find the man called Paul.
Paul happened to live in an opulent mansion that stood out among the modest houses around it.
The mansion was decorated in an interesting and unique style. From the rough-hewn stone mantle of the fireplace, the hard leather sofa covered with furs of some gigantic animal, the dimly lit murals to the impressive trophies hanging on the war—grizzly bears and tigers—everything reminded its visitor the wild and untamed nature of the land.
“Hey, Paul! My dear friend. Long-time no see! You must be bored to death by staying in the middle of nowhere.” Yang Qinhu greeted his friend with a solid punch to Paul’s chest.
As a Grandmaster, Yang Qinhu’s punch packed an impact. However, Paul barely felt it.
Chen Fan glanced at Paul and noticed the Russian man’s incredible hulking frame. He had a head of unruly hair and a bushy beard that hid his expression. Although His burly body was ripped, Chen Fan didn’t sense any Internal Force inside of him, but there was an unmistakable pulse of energy that came from an Awakened Bloodline, making him as powerful as a tank.
“Senior Master Chen Fan, Paul used to be a top ten mercenary in the Dark world. His nickname is ‘War Bear.’ He had run into a powerful Overlord on the Dark Roll and this son of a gun was able to escape unharmed. But after that, he retired back home and lived here since then. We knew each other when I was a mercenary myself.” Yang Qinhu said. Then he introduced Chen Fan to the big man.
“This is Senior Master Chen Beixuan.”
“Beeshang Chung? I have never heard of him.” Paul said with a thick Russian accent.
“Tiger, you know how dangerous this god-forsaken place can get so why do you come here? I am retired now, and I don’t care about the Dark World anymore. That little guy there, why do you act like a chicken in front of him? What’s so special about him?”
Paul grumbled as he gave Chen Fan a glance. Seeing Chen Fan’s thin arms and legs, he turned around and started talking to Yang Qinhu.
Paul was a man of physical strength and he would scarcely consider Chen Fan a mighty man.
“Paul, be respectful. The man standing before you is the most powerful man in the Dark World, a living legend, Chen Beixuan!”
Yang Qinhu pulled a solemn face and announced.
“Him? The most powerful man in the Dark World? A living legend?”
Paul rounded his eyes in contempt and gave Chen Fan a derisive glance. He guffawed and then started speaking Russian.
“Since when did Adam let a little China man take his top spot on the Dark Roll?”
Adam was the most powerful Overlord for decades before Chen Fan replaced him recently.
Yang Qinhu thought Chen Fan did not understand Russian so all was well. To his utter surprise, Chen Fan narrowed his eyes and flipped his palm downward to summon a giant azure hand out of thin air. The large palm pressed onto Paul and pinned him to the ground.
“Kacha, Kacha.”
The Russian bodyguards who had been standing in the corner quickly trained their guns at Chen Fan.
“Pathetic.”
Chen Fan sneered and flicked a finger, sending out a ray of white light. The light traced a circle in the air and severed the gun barrels. The development scared these Russian bodyguards and sent a chill down their spines.
The light could cut through steel, what would it do to their head?
The thought had made the Russians think better of their actions.
Meanwhile, Paul started screaming painfully as he charged up his energy. The muscles on his body burgeoned as if molten iron were being pumped into it. Blue veins streaked across his stretched skin as his enlarged body ripped his shirt open at the seams.
However, try as he might, he couldn’t set himself free; the grip of the azure hand was iron.
Chen Fan pressed his hand down and the azure hand also moved in the same direction, pressing into the floor, lodging Paul’s body in a depression perfected fitted around his body.
“If not because of Yang Qinhu, I would have already killed you, you stupid Mudak!” Chen Fan sat down on a sofa and helped himself with some vodka as he said in perfect Russian.
After Paul struggled to dislodge himself from the caved-in-floor around him, he grew silent.
“I have already told you not to mess with him. He is the most powerful man in the Dark World, a living legend.” Yang Qinhu said with a smirk.
Paul gave Chen Fan a furtive glance, and then murmured to Yang Qinhu: “Is he really that powerful?”
“Just recently, Senior Mater Chen had defeated an entire Brigade and struck down three F-15s. So you tell me if he is strong.” Yang Qinhu said almost giddily.
Paul was stunned by the revelation and was rendered speechless. His gaping mouth was big enough to swallow down a Nareznoy Baton