Chapter 466: Chapter 32: The Female Sniper
After numerous expeditions into the mountains, and countless injuries, coupled with Yue Jinghua’s vivid narrative and demonstration, Jin Nuo’s expression softened.
As a newly promoted leader of the Imperial Dragon Rider Team, Jin Nuo was well aware of the difficulties faced by an average, small squad in its operations.
The members of the July Mercenary Team had peculiar expressions on their faces, and when they looked at the food in their hands, it was clearly the Dark Beasts that had been casually hunted when they accepted the mission earlier.
Seeing that Jin Nuo was still hesitant, some of his subordinates behind him grew impatient.
These people, who managed to join and were at the lower to middle ranks of the Imperial Dragon Riders, could now join under Little Jinuo’s command and had also secured the lucrative job of accompanying the Imperial Tax Officer on trips, clearly having some backgrounds.
Among them, there were even those from modest Imperial noble families, for whom Spiritual Food had a tremendous effect on enhancing their physical qualities.
The Spiritual Food prepared by a Four-star Level Spiritual Food Master would cost a fortune, even in the Imperial City, let alone in the remote Xuan Beast Ridge.
A few soldiers exchanged glances and whispered something into Jin Nuo’s ear.
Jin Nuo nodded and said, "Little Brother Yue, I understand your difficulties. Since that’s the case, name your price, and we will pay for it."
Yue Jinghua was overjoyed inside, for the ingredients she stored in the Desire Gourd were enough to last her several months. After a long sigh, she calculated the price of the Spiritual Food, which astonishingly reached five hundred Fourth-level Dark Pills.
After selling the Spiritual Food at an exorbitant price, Jin Nuo ordered everyone to rest on the spot for the night and set out again after adjusting their condition the next day.
After nightfall, Jin Nuo left two people to keep watch, while Yue Jinghua and the others rested for the time being.
After pretending to sleep for a short while, Yue Jinghua quietly released her Second Primordial Spirit.
At the entrance of the Four Seasons Path, she hesitated for a moment, then chose the Fiery Fire Path and strode in.
Upon entering the Sky Dragon Palace, Yue Jinghua attempted to explore the mysteries of the four paths with her Spiritual Sense.
With her current Cultivation, her spiritual power was sufficient to detect the surroundings within ten miles, but to her disappointment, she found that her Spiritual Power was interfered with inside the Dragon Palace, intermittent and erratic. It seemed that when Dragon Slayer Hero Mo Kang constructed the Dragon Palace, he had set up special restrictions.
The reason Yue Jinghua chose the Fiery Fire Path among the four paths was that she had been to Dark Hell before, where the conditions of the Red Flowing Sand resembled those of the Fiery Fire Path.
With similar terrain, and because Yue Jinghua was in the form of her Second Primordial Spirit, even if she was to pass through the Fiery Fire Path, she believed she would have the power to protect herself.
When passing by the two Imperial Soldiers, they were completely unaware of her presence.
The Fiery Fire Path is one of the pathways within the Four Seasons Path. Even though Yue Jinghua entered in the state of her Second Primordial Spirit, she still felt the path under her feet was exceedingly hot.
The vegetation in this region could not survive under such high temperatures, and flames would occasionally erupt from the cracked ground unexpectedly, creating an environment where one must always be on guard.
While walking on such a path, the traveler could only hope to reach the destination quickly, because it was impossible to stop and rest in that area. If any of the two powers that entered earlier had chosen the Fiery Fire Path, it wouldn’t be long before they could be pursued.
Yue Jinghua’s goal was straightforward; if she encountered those from the Divine Court, she only needed to covertly observe their actions.
If she came across Luo Rui and his group, Yue Jinghua smirked sinisterly; she could not avoid meddling with them.
After a few steps, Yue Jinghua let out a "huh" in surprise.
She had thought that on the Fiery Fire Path, neither humans nor Xuan Beasts could survive, yet just moments ago, she intermittently caught a whiff of a Xuan Beast’s presence.
Following a root-shaped wall to the left, Yue Jinghua discovered that the faint scent came from within the crevices of the wall.
Upon closer inspection, Yue Jinghua was startled.
What she had mistaken for cracks in the wall turned out to be a Xuan Beast.
"Ao ao, it’s a Molten Python, a type of python that lives in hot rocky environments. These snakes are incredibly lazy by nature and will remain in a state of sleep for years unless they encounter an enemy attack. Look at them, not moving for half the day, even their breathing and heartbeats have ceased," the Gold Eater Worm called out ao ao.
Reminded by its words, Yue Jinghua noticed that there were dozens of Molten Pythons lying dormant along the Fiery Fire Path, just in the area where she was standing.
Molten Pythons, this kind of Xuan Beast, can sleep for hundreds or even thousands of years without eating if left undisturbed.
The Sky Dragon Palace has been sealed for more than a thousand years, and these Molten Pythons have been asleep for about a millennium as well.
A thought crossed Yue Jinghua’s mind; Molten Pythons that hadn’t eaten in a thousand years, if they encountered an attack from an enemy, the consequences would be...
This Fiery Fire Path seemed safe, yet upon reflection, it’s a trail fraught with dangers. It would be better to choose another path in the early morning.
While Yue Jinghua was deep in thought, she heard some human voices coming from ahead.
Walking a few steps further, a smile appeared on the corner of Yue Jinghua’s mouth.
She saw several figures ahead on the road, and among them were the Five-star Mercenaries from the Mercenary Branch, including Li Rui.
With Li Rui were two other Five-star Mercenaries from the Mercenary Branch.
"Nothing on the whole journey, what a shitty Heroic Graveyard. This damn path is unbearably hot all the way, with flames spurting out intermittently. How can anyone rest in such a place? I said it from the start, we should have collaborated with the Divine Court and taken the Autumn Path together," complained Li Rui, the youngest and most hot-tempered among them.
Only then did Yue Jinghua learn that the Divine Court chose the third path to enter the Dragon Court.
Li Rui and the others had already reached the Heavenly Dark Realm in cultivation, and they had ascended to the Sky Dragon Palace using the Sky Ascending Technique.
Although they started early, compared to the Divine Court’s array transmission, the timing was not much different.
Li Rui was keen on currying favor with the Divine Court, wanting to follow them into the Dragon Court. Unfortunately, the other two mercenaries he was with strongly disagreed, and so, reluctantly, they chose the Fiery Fire Path.
This path was exceedingly hot, and since they didn’t possess a storage device like the Desire Gourd, their food spoiled quickly. They could barely sustain themselves on clear water, and Li Rui had quite a bit of pent-up frustration from the journey, inevitably leading to some grumbling.
The other two mercenaries with Li Rui, one about fifty years old, and the other caught Yue Jinghua’s eye – he was dressed like an Ascetic Monk.
"Li Rui, no more complaints. The Divine Court has many people, we are but three. Plus, after using the Sky Ascending Technique all this way, our Dark Power has depleted significantly. Even with Spirit Pills for replenishment, we are still at a disadvantage. We three are scouting ahead, and I have already marked our trail. Once the rest of our people from the Branch catch up, we will regroup in the Dragon Court," the middle-aged man among them, who seemed to be the leader, reprimanded Li Rui.
Li Rui murmured something under his breath, but due to the middle-aged man’s authority, he found a spot to sit down and rest for a moment, planning to continue forward later.