Chapter 227: Three Routes

"I've also considered the Snow Camel Mountain route, and even though it's quite short, it's several times more likely to encounter powerful demon beasts on this route than the other two routes, so it really is quite dangerous," Bai Suyuan said as her brows furrowed slightly.

"Rest assured, Junior Martial Sister Bai. With me by your side, you won't be in any danger!" Qi Huanyu hurriedly guaranteed as he gave himself a pat on the chest.

Before Bai Suyuan had a chance to reply, they were approached by Tang Chuan, who scoffed with a disdainful expression, "You sure like to make bold promises that you can't keep, Young Master Qi! You think you have what it takes to ensure Junior Martial Sister Bai's safety?"

"Don't say that, Senior Martial Brother Tang. Senior Martial Brother Qi is only looking out for me," Bai Suyuan said with a smile.

A hint of warmth instantly welled up in Qi Huanyu's heart upon hearing this, and he turned to Tang Chuan with a cold expression as he retorted, "What does this have to do with you? Leave us alone!"

Tang Chuan paid no heed to Qi Huanyu as he said, "Junior Martial Sister Bai, Junior Martial Brother Chen and I are planning to take the White Fox Valley route. The rewards reaped along the way won't be any lesser than the Snow Camel Mountain route, and it'll be a bit safer. Our ultimate goal is to hunt down Dark Snow Bears, so there's no need to take any unnecessary risks along the way. Why don't you come with us, Junior Martial Sister Bai?"

A hesitant look appeared on Bai Suyuan's face upon hearing this.

Qi Huanyu and Tang Chuan were just about to say something further when she suddenly decided, "I'll take the Pine Fruit Mountain route with Senior Martial Brother Sun Ke and the others."

Qi Huanyu and Tang Chuan both faltered slightly upon hearing this, and Sun Ke and the others were also quite taken aback by this decision.

The itinerant immortals accompanying Sun Ke were very pleased to see this. There weren't many female cultivators on this trip, and the vast majority of them had chosen to join Qi Huanyu or Tang Chuan's group on the flying boat, so it was naturally a massively pleasant surprise for them that the most beautiful female cultivator of the bunch had chosen to accompany them.

However, Sun Ke was not so pleased.

All he wanted was to be able to safely complete this trial, and he didn't want to get involved in these conflicts at all. However, seeing as Bai Suyuan had expressly chosen him, he couldn't just ignore her, so he had no choice but to turn in her direction.

At the same time, Qi Huanyu and Tang Chuan were also looking back at him with fiery contempt in their eyes, and both of them were considering whether they should change the route that they were taking so that they could accompany Bai Suyuan.

"With my lackluster abilities, I'll only be dragging you two down, so it's best for me to take the safest route. You are among the cream of the crop of all inner sect disciples, and I admire both of you greatly. I can't accompany either of you on this mission, but I'll be cheering for both of you. I'm sure one of you will be able to claim the top spot for this trial," Bai Suyuan said.

The egos of Qi Huanyu and Tang Chuan were greatly inflated by Bai Suyuan's glowing praise, and both of them gave up on the idea of changing routes.

Neither of them were looking at Sun Ke anymore, and they exchanged a vicious glare instead, then bade farewell to Bai Suyuan before leading their groups down the two most perilous paths.

Following their departure, Bai Suyuan approached Sun Ke with a bright smile and asked, "You're not opposed to me accompanying you, are you, Senior Martial Brother Sun?"

"Not at all!" Sun Ke replied with a polite smile, and all of the itinerant disciples eagerly welcomed her with open arms as they began to introduce themselves.

Meanwhile, Han Li and Su Tongxiao were hovering in mid-air above a snowy mountain close to 100 kilometers away. Both of them had concealed their auras, and in front of them was a thin screen of water that was depicting Bai Suyuan and the others.

"That Bai Suyuan really is something. The trial has barely started, and she's already managed to goad her two fiercest competitors into going down the most dangerous routes. Her strategy and manipulation are both top-notch," Su Tongxiao praised.

Han Li was already accustomed to Bai Suyuan's wiles, so he wasn't surprised by this at all, and he smiled as he replied, "I would say the foolishness of those two have played a bigger role in this."

"I agree, Brother Li. With such high expectations set on them by Bai Suyuan, those two will be sure to fight tooth and nail over the top spot for the trial," Su Tongxiao chuckled.

Han Li didn't want to dwell on this topic any longer, so he changed the subject. "By the way, I heard that Bai Suyuan has an ancestor who seemed to have been quite an important inner sect elder of our Blaze Dragon Dao. Do you know him, Brother Su?"

"The elder that you're referring to is Elder Bai Fengyi, who disappeared several thousand years ago. He's more familiar with Elder Qi Liang. I don't know him very well, but I did meet him a few times before his disappearance," Su Tongxiao replied with a nod.

"Do you know what happened to Elder Bai?" Han Li asked as an intrigued look appeared on his face.

"There are all types of theories about what happened to him going around in the sect. Some say that he perished while carrying out a mission for the sect, others say that he was killed by certain sworn enemies of his.

“If you ask me, I think he went somewhere to go into seclusion in order to make a breakthrough to the Golden Immortal Stage. Also, according to some obscure sources in the sect, the Origin Soul Lamp left behind by Elder Bai in the sect has never been snuffed out," Su Tongxiao replied.

It seemed to Han Li that there was more to this matter than met the eye, but he didn't ponder the subject any further.

Meanwhile, Bai Suyuan and the others were gradually vanishing out of sight on the screen of water, and Su Tongxiao erased the screen with a sweep of his sleeve as he said, "Let's go, Brother Li. We have to catch up."

Han Li nodded in response, and as opposed to flying beyond this point, they descended into the forest and began to follow Bai Suyuan and the others on foot while keeping tabs on the three groups with their spiritual sense.

After following the disciples for a while, Han Li's brows furrowed slightly as if he had detected something, but his expression then quickly returned to normal.

……

Sun Ke's group consisted of six disciples, and they were flying at a low altitude deeper into the Profound Ice Mountain Range over a mountain path with a rather gentle slope.

The area appeared to have been quite peaceful, but there were many demon beasts in the mountain range that were very proficient at concealing themselves in the snow. Hence, anyone who dared to fly along recklessly at a high altitude could easily end up falling prey to those lurking demon beasts.

It seemed that everyone had already been assigned roles in advance, and Sun Ke had been tasked with leading the way.

At this moment, there was a jade bowl treasure hovering above his head, and rays of white light were shining down from the bowl, enveloping his entire body. At the same time, there were four glittering and translucent azure flying daggers slowly revolving around him.

This still didn't seem to have put him at ease, and he was also holding a small yellow shield with a surface that was as smooth as a mirror in his hand.

Behind him, the other four male cultivators had all adopted protective measures as well and were scouring their surroundings with wary expressions.

Bai Suyuan was bringing up the rear with a white jade bracelet in her hand, forming a white halo around her. At the same time, she had also put on a white veil garment that was giving off specks of silver light.

The group was flying ahead in a slow and cautious manner, and they didn't encounter any danger aside from some sneak attacks from a few reckless demon beasts, all of which were easily dealt with.

As they ventured deeper and deeper into the mountain range, the air temperature also plummeted further and further.

A bone-chilling aura was rising up from beneath the earth, and gusts of frosty wind were also sweeping through the air. Even with the Spatial Tempering Stage cultivation bases of Sun Ke and the others, they were beginning to shiver from the cold. Bai Suyuan was still able to ward off the cold relatively well, but everyone else was clearly beginning to struggle.

All of them activated their cultivation arts to keep themselves insulated, but the temperature continued to plummet, and they were beginning to sorely regret not preparing any treasures that enhanced their resistance to cold conditions.

After all, constantly using their cultivation arts to ward off the cold was very taxing on their magic power, which was detrimental to the battles to come, but they had no choice in the matter.

Right at this moment, Sun Ke suddenly stopped in his tracks, then turned around and produced an intricate red wine flagon as he said, "I have some spirit wine here that's brewed using fire-attribute spirit ingredients and can help ward off the cold. Please have some if you'd like."

Everyone exchanged a few hesitant glances upon hearing this.

Meanwhile, Sun Ke flipped a hand over to produce a cup, which he filled with the spirit wine from the flagon.

The wine had a bright red hue, and it was giving off a fiery red glow. It was as if the wine were burning, and the surrounding air temperature was significantly elevated in its presence.

At the same time, a peculiar fragrance was spreading through the air, and even Bai Suyuan's eyes lit up slightly as she was struck by the urge to give the wine a taste.

One of the young men in the group seemed to have been an avid wine enthusiast as well, and he immediately praised, "This is certainly a fine wine!"

"Do you drink as well, Brother Lin? Please give this a taste if you don't mind. It'll be very helpful for warding off the cold," Sun Ke said as he offered the young man his cup.

"Don't mind if I do!" The young man eagerly accepted the cup before downing its contents in one go.

The wine flowed down into his belly, leaving a scorching trail in its wake, then transformed into a burst of fiery heat that enveloped all of his internal organs.

The burst of heat then split up into several bursts that flowed to all parts of his body as if they had a mind of their own, and he was left feeling extremely light and airy, as if he were about to drift away with the wind.

His entire body stiffened as if he had been struck by lightning, following which an intoxicated look appeared on his face, and it took a long while before he returned to his senses, upon which he praised once again, "This wine is exceptional! May I ask its name, Brother Sun?"

"This wine is called Fire Drop Wine," Sun Ke replied with a smile.

"A fitting name for an exceptional wine! I was fortunate enough to have tasted one of the top 10 immortal brews, the Green Pear Immortal Wine, and I'd say its flavor is slightly lacking compared with this Fire Drop Wine," the young man said in an excited manner.

Not only was this wine extremely delectable, just as Sun Ke said, it was very effective in warding off the cold.

At this moment, his entire body felt as if it were being basked under the warm glow of the sun, and a hint of redness had appeared on his cheeks, while all of the biting chill in his body had been expelled.

The other three male cultivators had no further reservations upon seeing this, and each of them had a cup of the spirit wine as well, following which elated looks appeared on their faces.

They weren't avid drinkers, so they didn't care about the taste of the wine, but they were very pleased with its effects.

Furthermore, the warmth released by the Fire Drop Wine was lingering in their bodies and didn't appear as if it were going to dissipate anytime soon. Hence, they wouldn't have to continue to use their cultivation arts to keep themselves insulated.

"The warmth released by the Fire Drop Wine will linger for around half a day before slowly fading. You should have a cup as well, Junior Martial Sister Bai," Sun Ke said with a smile.

"Thank you, Senior Martial Brother Sun," Bai Suyuan replied with a nod.