Chapter 1739: Cold Rain, Slanting Wind, Pan Peak

Ming Qi let out a soft laugh.

‘We are in the same boat. Why else would I take a mission like this? If we win this gamble and complete the task smoothly, we will all make a small fortune.’

She spoke with a smile, but her Divine Sense never stopped scanning their surroundings.

‘I hope so. But with your alchemical talent, shouldn’t you be challenging the Pill Emperor Tower instead? That would be better than a mission like this,’ Li Yan remarked. He was also alert, his expression curious. The sisters were highly skilled; if they weren’t as desperate for points as he was, the tower would be a much better place to sharpen their skills and earn rewards.

Ming Qi gave him a profound look. ‘Senior Brother, your alchemy is far superior to ours. I wonder, which floor have you reached?’

‘I’m not good enough. You saw how poorly I did in the final stage of the internal selection. My foundation is weak. I relied on luck for certain parts, but the first few floors of the Pill Emperor Tower test pure foundation. I was stuck at the fourth floor long ago.’

Li Yan didn’t hide the truth. As long as it wasn’t a secret or something that made him look too prominent, he didn’t care about looking bad.

Ming Qi didn’t press him further. She believed his performance in the first two stages of the internal selection reflected his true skill, while the third was likely a deliberate attempt to drop out of the top rankings.

‘It is embarrassing to admit, but my sister and I have tried many times, only to fail miserably. We needn’t speak of it. However, I heard Yan Qingchen broke through the sixth floor recently. He earned a staggering amount of points and caught the attention of the Elders. He might even be taken as a direct disciple soon.’

Ming Qi downplayed her own abilities, refusing to mention which floor she had reached, and steered the conversation toward others.

‘Broke through the sixth floor? Doesn’t that mean his alchemy has reached the Grandmaster level?’

Li Yan was genuinely surprised. He hadn’t visited the tower in years and hadn’t expected someone who entered at the same time as him to reach the sixth floor. Alchemy and cultivation were similar; the higher you went, the harder the breakthrough. Yan Qingchen’s talent was undeniable.

The group continued their flight. Their destination, Xianhe Manor, was located in a remote area. Their maps showed only a few short-distance teleportation arrays in that direction, none of which were convenient. Factoring in the time to find the arrays, handle the paperwork, and wait for them to activate, it was faster to simply fly.

Xie Xingzhi had cursed several times about Xianhe Manor choosing such a god-forsaken place to build their sect. Everyone shared the sentiment, but they knew that if a simple teleportation route existed, the mission wouldn’t have been posted.

Night fell as they flew over a range of desolate mountains. The number of cultivators in the area dropped significantly. In the vast and sparsely populated immortal realm, the six of them didn’t fly at full speed, instead keeping their Divine Senses active to ensure they could react to any threat.

They were all veterans of the path and didn’t need to be reminded of what to do. Initially, their Divine Senses overlapped, but they quickly partitioned the surrounding areas among themselves. This ensured an optimal state of readiness and a solid team defense. Naturally, they didn’t fully trust one another, so they still kept a secondary watch on all directions without fully extending their senses.

Yang Zun was somewhat satisfied with this arrangement. He had no desire to lead a group of liabilities or protect dead weight. They traveled through the night into the dawn without incident. Despite their abundant energy, they stopped twice to recover their magical power and maintain their peak condition. No one suggested using a shared flying treasure; they simply didn’t trust each other enough for that.

On the evening of the second day, a torrential downpour began. The rain was so fierce that visibility was reduced to less than a foot. Heavy droplets pounded against their spiritual shields, creating a constant spray that was immediately swallowed by the rising mist and the sheet of falling water.

The six of them streaked through the storm like arrows, cutting through the rain at high speed. As they cleared a stretch of open wasteland, several floating peaks appeared in the distance. In the immortal realm, such peaks were common in certain regions, resembling asteroids drifting in space, though they were far from dead. These peaks were teeming with life—vibrant vegetation and lush forests shrouded in mist.

However, these peaks were often the territories of fierce demon beasts, primarily avian species that nested in colonies. Most cultivators preferred to avoid them. As the rain continued, the number of floating peaks increased, looking as though they were suspended from the heavens by invisible threads.

The group was forced to slow down. Some peaks were separated by only narrow gaps, while others were wide enough for several people to pass. However, with mountains in every direction, they couldn’t pick up speed. Li Yan sensed several powerful auras from the peaks; some were not inferior to their own. They made no effort to hide their presence, using their combined auras to warn off predators while carefully navigating around the most dangerous territories.

The sky was a heavy, oppressive grey. Li Yan watched as dark shadows loomed through the rain. Ahead of them lay a chaotic cluster of mountains that seemed to stretch from the earth to the vault of the sky. Directly in their path were two mountains that formed a man-shaped pass—resembling a skeletal giant standing with legs spread wide.

Though the peaks were covered in grass and tall trees, the torrential rain had stripped some areas bare, revealing the black rock beneath. Streams of water cascaded down the slopes, turning the grass into long, swaying weeds in the current. The water gathered at the base of the peaks, forming massive waterfalls that plunged into the sky below. The roar of the water joined the wind and rain, filling their senses.

To proceed, they had to pass through the gap in the man-shaped formation. Otherwise, they would have to detour hundreds of miles around the massive cluster. As they approached the pass, Li Yan suddenly came to a dead halt.

His abrupt movement caused Ming Qi and Xu Yihua, who were behind him, to stop as well. The three in front flew a short distance further before realizing the rear had stopped.

“What is it, Junior Brother Li?” Xie Xingzhi asked, sounding perplexed. To his senses, the area was safe; the strongest beasts nearby were only at the third rank, posing no threat to them.

Ming Qi and Xu Yihua also looked at Li Yan with confusion, having sensed nothing out of the ordinary.

‘I feel that something is wrong ahead,’ Li Yan sent a private transmission. His Divine Sense was now scanning the two mountains with even greater intensity.

‘What did you find, Senior Brother?’ Ming Qi asked.

Li Yan didn’t answer immediately, focusing on his probe. His behavior caused the others to tense up, and they all extended their senses to the surrounding area. However, after ten breaths, they found nothing but the howling wind and the relentless rain.

“Fellow Daoist Li, what exactly have you discovered?” Yang Zun asked, hovering in the downpour. He had found nothing and was growing impatient. He didn’t use a transmission; his voice cut through the rain, reaching everyone clearly.

“I simply feel a sense of unease. I haven’t pinpointed the exact problem yet,” Li Yan replied, his voice also carrying through the storm.

His answer, which provided no concrete evidence, didn’t draw ridicule. Instead, it was met with silence. A cultivator’s instincts were mysterious—often sharper than Divine Sense. Despite their different motives, everyone here was a veteran, and they took such warnings seriously.

For a time, the only sounds were the wind and the rain.

The storm grew more intense until they could barely see one another through the wall of water. Night was falling once again. After a while, Yang Zun spoke again.

“I sense nothing. Does anyone else see a problem?”

“Nothing abnormal here,” Xie Xingzhi replied, sounding skeptical.

“Nothing.”

“Nothing.”

The others spoke in turn.

“Then we proceed!” Yang Zun announced, his irritation clear. He wanted to finish the mission and get his points. He shot forward, followed immediately by Xie Xingzhi and Jiang Tingye.

They knew this mission wouldn’t be easy; if everything was smooth, that would be truly suspicious. They appreciated Li Yan’s caution, but since they found nothing, they felt they had to move. However, as the three of them flew forward, they looked back to see that the other three hadn’t moved.