Undying Life

Chapter 23: Chapter 23: Encountering the Cold Crow Again

"Zhongshan, did you practice early in the morning?" Tianlinger called out as soon as she saw Zhongshan wake up, and she leaped from the hammock.

"Bring out my bag and let's have something to eat," Zhongshan said.

"Okay," Tianlinger nodded and then took out Zhongshan's bag.

From inside, Zhongshan took out a small box and handed it to Tianlinger, while he himself took out some dried meat he had prepared earlier.

Inside the small box were Tianlinger's pastries, specifically her favorite osmanthus cakes.

Grabbing a piece of osmanthus cake, Tianlinger happily ate it. After finishing it, she even licked the crumbs off her fingers, looking completely satisfied. Last time in the mountains, Zhongshan had made a little something for himself to taste, and Tianlinger happened to try it. Once she tasted it, she couldn't stop.

"It's so delicious, Zhongshan. Are all ordinary people from the outside world as skilled as you? Can they make osmanthus cakes and hammocks like you?" Tianlinger asked while eating.

Zhongshan smiled and shook his head without answering.

"Oh, by the way, let's do a direction test now since this is your first time coming out like this. I'll ask you, where is the Kaiyang Sect?" Zhongshan looked at Tianlinger and asked.

"That way," Tianlinger licked her index finger and, somewhat reluctantly, pointed in a direction with the finger she had just licked.

After pointing, Tianlinger went back to grab some more osmanthus cakes.

"Okay," Zhongshan nodded. Tianlinger's sense of direction was indeed quite good.

Zhongshan ate quickly, finishing his breakfast in no time. After seeing Tianlinger still eating osmanthus cakes, Zhongshan quickly packed up and got ready to hit the road.

Once Tianlinger finished eating, Zhongshan was ready to go too.

"Let's go, hit the road," Zhongshan said, carrying his big knife ahead.

"Okay," Tianlinger stepped on the red silk and flew up into the air.

The two of them raced towards Zhongshan's estate at a rapid pace.

Along the way, they also killed some demon beasts, and Zhongshan collected their demon cores.

On the thirteenth day, after killing a giant leopard demon beast at the top of a mountain peak, Zhongshan once again dug out its demon core.

"Zhongshan, these demon cores are useless. Except for high-level demon beasts, these cores, even when made into pills, are not as good as some herbs that have been aged for three hundred years. Why do you still collect them?" Tianlinger asked.

"Maybe they'll be useful in the future," Zhongshan shook his head.

For such mysterious things, even though he didn't know how to use them, it was better to keep them than to discard them. Perhaps they would be useful in the future.

After digging out the demon core and tidying up a bit, Zhongshan looked around.

They were back in that cursed area again, where there was a gloomy spring and a demonic body tempering pool. It was where he had obtained the Night Pearl he had buried not far from the valley. Looking at Tianlinger, Zhongshan decided not to take it out for now. He would deal with it later.

With one or two more days of travel, they would completely enter his territory.

"Let's go, we're almost out of the mountains," Zhongshan said.

"Really? Are we about to enter the mortal realm?" Tianlinger exclaimed excitedly.

"Be careful, there are Cold Crows here. Last time, I almost suffered a loss. Let's make a concerted effort and run out of this area first," Zhongshan nodded solemnly as he reminded Tianlinger.

"Okay," Tianlinger nodded.

Then, the two of them dashed through the mountains again at a rapid pace. Zhongshan descended and ascended the mountains at the fastest speed, after all, he was only wearing his Wind Chasing Boots and couldn't fly between the gorges like Tianlinger.

"I'll fly ahead first, catch up quickly," Tianlinger smiled and then flew horizontally on the red silk.

Zhongshan hurried along, just reaching the foot of the mountain.

"Wow~"

"Wow~"

Two wails of Cold Crows echoed, and Zhongshan quickly looked up. With a glance, he realized something was wrong.

Because, on the mountain, Tianlinger was riding on the red silk, and at the other end of the silk, she swung it, knocking down two Cold Crows from the sky.

"Wow~"

"Wow~"

...

...

On the mountain, more than a dozen Cold Crows flew over to Tianlinger from all directions. Each Cold Crow spewed cold air and continuously charged towards Tianlinger. Tianlinger swung the red silk, knocking down two at a time, and then another two.

These Cold Crows were insignificant to Tianlinger, and she fought with them extremely happily. But at this moment, Zhongshan was sweating with fear.

Because Zhongshan noticed that more and more Cold Crows were gathering around Tianlinger. Moreover, as the number of Cold Crows increased, their strength also increased. Even more formidable Cold Crows appeared one after another.

Their cold breath was much stronger than before, and the Cold Crows in the air kept summoning their companions.

Tianlinger, who had been quite happy before, suddenly became anxious because she also saw that there were more and more Cold Crows, and slowly, it seemed like she couldn't handle them all. Moreover, there were even more Cold Crows flying in from the south.

"Come to me!" Zhongshan shouted loudly at Tianlinger and dashed towards her.

Tianlinger could fly, but the Cold Crows could fly even better. After killing so many Cold Crows, did they want to leave?

"Wow~"

"Wow~"

...

A large number of Cold Crows quickly rushed towards Tianlinger. How could they let her just leave? The cold air kept spewing out, making it seem like Tianlinger was being obstructed from descending the mountain.

The Cold Crows weren't powerful, as their cold air couldn't harm Tianlinger. But unfortunately, there were too many of them, and they were getting more and more numerous.

As a result, Tianlinger found it difficult to descend the mountain. She was surrounded by a large amount of cold air, making it seem like she was quickly turning into ice and snow.

However, around Tianlinger, it was truly a world of ice and snow. Countless Cold Crows spewed cold air, freezing the path down the mountain.

"Why are there so many?" Tianlinger said, her voice carrying a hint of panic, clearly encountering this situation for the first time.

In a hurry, Tianlinger's swing with the red silk became more and more chaotic, and a large amount of cold air rushed towards her.

Gradually, Tianlinger was surrounded by countless Cold Crows, unable to see anything outside. She only felt that she was surrounded by Cold Crows on all sides, above, below, left, and right.

"Wow~"

"Wow~"

...

As the Cold Crows continued to spew cold air and scream, Tianlinger became increasingly annoyed and agitated. Frost covered her entire body, and more and more cold air surged onto her, even causing a numbness in her feet. At that moment, Tianlinger suddenly felt like she was isolated from the world, overwhelmed with helplessness and fear. Her eyes turned red, as if she was about to burst into tears at any moment.

"Roar~"

In her despair, Tianlinger suddenly heard Zhongshan's angry roar. This roar acted like a tonic, causing Tianlinger's whole body to tremble. The previous sense of helplessness seemed to vanish instantly, replaced by excitement. Zhongshan, Zhongshan was coming to rescue her.

With tears streaming down her face, Tianlinger turned her head towards the direction of Zhongshan's voice. Zhongshan had managed to create an opening in the tightly sealed space enveloped by the Cold Crows.

With his mighty blade, Zhongshan swiftly slew three Cold Crows. His eyes were bloodshot, and his body was covered in frost, much like Tianlinger. Zhongshan had been practicing the Demonic Body Tempering Technique, which thickened his skin considerably. Even so, he seemed to struggle against the freezing cold.

Seeing Tianlinger's tearful and excited eyes upon seeing him, Zhongshan felt a sense of relief. Despite enduring the onslaught of cold air from the Cold Crows, it was all worth it.

Tianlinger was already frozen in several places by now. Zhongshan rushed forward and embraced Tianlinger, along with the red silk, holding her tightly in his arms as they faced the onslaught of cold air together.

The path Zhongshan had opened earlier was now filled with new Cold Crows, turning the dilemma Tianlinger faced alone into a challenge they both had to confront.