Chapter 920: Collaboration

Over half a year flew by in a flash.

On this day, the rays of the setting sun were spilling down onto the ground, basking the entire plain in a dim, yellow glow.

The two groups of scaled beasts were still trundling along with some distance between them, traveling toward a giant mountain range in the distance over the gradually rising terrain.

Han Li was seated on the rooftop of a black palace on one of the scaled beasts, looking into the distance.

Half of the mountain range on the horizon was basked in the light of the setting sun, giving it a rosy, golden glow, while the other half was completely dim and had a strange, blue coloration.

After observing the mountain range for a while, Han Li's brows began to furrow slightly. He could sense some strange energy fluctuations from the mountain range, and as they drew closer and closer, the energy fluctuations became more and more pronounced, while a glacial aura also began to sweep over the area.

More and more people were beginning to detect these abnormalities, and they emerged from their stone palaces to investigate.

It didn't seem like they were very far away from the mountain range, but only on the eighth morning of travel did they finally arrive at the foot of the mountain range.

This time, the Puppet City camp stopped at the foot of the mountain range to wait for the Profound City camp to catch up.

Han Li and Gu Qianxun were standing beside each other on the back of their Black Scaled Elephant, looking at the mountain range from afar. They could see that the black abyss had extended all the way here, and it seemed to have passed through the entire mountain range.

One half of the mountain range was a crystalline blue, while the other half was bright red, and each half was giving off a different peculiar aura.

"This is a very strange place. I don't know about you two, but even with my physical constitution, it feels really cold here," Gu Qianxun said as she rubbed her own arms for warmth.

"This half of the mountain range is as cold as ice, releasing a glacial aura, while the other half is as scorching as fire. It's indeed quite a miraculous sight to behold," Xuanyuan Xing remarked.

Han Li remained silent with his brows tightly furrowed.

Right at this moment, the sound of a blowing horn and a gong being struck rang out in unison, and the three of them exchanged a glance with each other before descending from their Black Scaled Elephant.

Before long, everyone else had also arrived, while the cultivators of Puppet City also gathered around twenty meters away.

Han Li cast his gaze toward the Puppet City camp to discover that they were led by the handsome young man controlling the scaled bird puppet.

To his left was a giant of a man who was over twenty feet tall. Half of his head was bald, and there was a braid on the top of his head that pointed directly up at the heavens, giving him a rather comical appearance. However, what was far less comical were the thick bands of muscle all over his body and the thick veins that were bulging beneath his skin.

On the handsome young man's right stood a diminutive man who was less than four feet tall. He was just as handsome as the young man, and he was clad in a suit of white bone armor. Despite his tiny stature, there was an air of confidence and authority about him.

The dozen or so people behind those three were mostly women with alluring bodies, and all of them were dressed in the same attire, consisting of thin black robes with light veils over their faces.

Han Li's gaze swept over them before settling on the three people at the very back of the Puppet City camp.

Those three were also wearing the same black robes, but they somehow felt very different from their companions.

Right as Han Li was about to take a closer look, two figures descended out of the sky before landing in front of the two camps.

One of them was none other than E Kuai, and he was accompanied by a breathtakingly elegant woman who radiated seduction from every single pore of her body.

Even Gu Qianxun couldn't help but be momentarily entranced by her.

She's not using any seductive or illusory abilities, but there's a natural air of innate allure about her...

Han Li thought to himself, and the image of Violet Spirit sprang into his mind.

However, this woman wasn't Violet Spirit. Instead, it was the lord of Puppet City, Sha Xin.

"Everyone, the Great Ruins that we've been searching so arduously for are on the other side of the black abyss, and the path to cross the abyss is in this mountain range of fire and ice. I'm aware that there have been many past conflicts between our two cities, and many of you have had loved ones perish at the hands of cultivators from the other city," Sha Xin declared.

The cultivators from the two cities exchanged a glance with one another upon hearing this, and there was clear resentment and animosity in their eyes.

"The resentment between our two cities is not something that can be stifled, and there's no need to stifle it," Sha Xin continued, and both camps erupted into a frenzy upon hearing this, with many of them reaching for their weapons with fierce killing intent in their eyes.

"Hold on a second, everyone," E Kuai said with a warm smile, and everyone stopped what they were doing, but the wariness in their eyes hadn't waned in the slightest.

"Regardless of how much all of you resent one another, I hope that you can set your differences aside while we pass through this mountain range," Sha Xin continued.

"The Bipolar Extreme Mountain Range is far more perilous than all of you can imagine, so we must all band together and proceed with caution. As City Lord Sha Xin just said, we must set aside our personal differences for now and work together," E Kuai said.

Following a brief silence, everyone reluctantly accepted this arrangement.

"We're going to enter the Bipolar Extreme Mountain Range from here. In order to avoid any mishaps, all of us will enter the mountain range in an alternating fashion," Sha Xin said.

Everyone gave a collective affirmative response before returning to their scaled beasts in preparation to continue onward.

By the time Han Li turned back to look at the three figures at the back of the Puppet City camp, they were already nowhere to be seen.

E Kuai and Sha Xin's scaled beasts entered the mountain range at the forefront, immediately followed by a scaled beast puppet from Puppet City, then a scaled beast from Profound City.

All of the scaled beasts and puppets entered the mountain range one after another in this alternating pattern, and upon venturing into the valley up ahead, everyone was immediately greeted by the sound of wailing winds that resembled a woman's sobs.

Even though there was no ice or snow to be seen, the entire valley was filled with a very uncomfortable glacial aura.

Han Li's brows were slightly furrowed as he inspected the landscape up ahead momentarily, then returned to his room to continue cultivating.

As the scaled beasts ventured deeper and deeper into the mountain range, the surrounding crystalline blue rocks became darker and darker in color, and the glacial aura in the air also became more and more pronounced.

Initially, Han Li was able to focus on his cultivation without being disrupted, but over the past few days, even he was occasionally being roused from his meditative state by the pervasive chill in the air, thereby rendering him unable to continue cultivating.

One night, as he was once again awoken from his meditation, he stood up and made his way out of the stone palace.

It was very late at night, and the rocks in the valley were reflecting the cold light of the moon and the stars up above. As a result, the path ahead was brightly illuminated, but it was only becoming colder and colder.

As Han Li was looking up at the moon, Gu Qianxun also made her way out of the stone palace.

He turned to her to discover that she had changed into a set of new clothes, and there was also a thick beast hide coat draped over her shoulders. The coat was slightly too large for her, giving her an adorable, childlike appearance.

Gu Qianxun was rather perplexed by Han Li's gaze, and she asked, "What are you looking at, Fellow Daoist Li?"

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"Where did you get that coat from?" Han Li asked in a slightly awkward manner.

"We were recently attacked by a pack of demon beasts with coats of fur as opposed to scales. I slew a few of them, and I skinned one to make this coat. This only happened two days ago, how do you not know about this?" Gu Qianxun asked.

"I heard the commotion, but I was at an important point in my cultivation at the time, so I didn't come out to investigate," Han Li explained.

At the time, he was on the verge of opening a profound acupoint, so he chose to remain in his room even though he could hear the attack taking place.

"I see. Your mental fortitude is truly remarkable, Fellow Daoist Li. Under these freezing temperatures, several of our fellow daoists are already experiencing cracking in their skin, so they don't dare to sit still for any length of time, yet you're still able to cultivate. That's truly impressive," Gu Qianxun praised.

"You're far too kind, Fellow Daoist Gu. By the way, how powerful were the demon beasts that attacked us two days ago?" Han Li asked.

"Very powerful, far more so than the ones that we've encountered along the journey up to this point. Even the weakest ones among them were still C tier demon beasts, and they have massive numbers as well. One of the cultivators of our Profound City was dragged down the back of his Black Scaled Elephant in a moment of complacency, and he was quickly dismembered and devoured," Gu Qianxun replied.

Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this.

"That's why all of us have been particularly vigilant in case those demon beasts attack again," Gu Qianxun continued.

Han Li cast his gaze into the distance to find that a steep slope had appeared up ahead, leading up to a tall mountain ridge.

"It looks like the terrain up ahead is also becoming more unforgiving," Han Li sighed.

"No matter how difficult the terrain is to traverse, we have to keep going. We've come way too far to turn back now, no one would be willing to turn around so close to the Great Ruins," Gu Qianxun said.

"Hopefully, it's not actually just a set of ruins with nothing in it," Han Li chuckled.

"Don't say that!" Gu Qianxun exclaimed with a displeased pout before returning to the stone palace.

Following her departure, Han Li's smile faded as he cast his gaze into the distance with a contemplative look on his face.