121: Chapter 121 First Exploration of the Valley

The sound of Chen Qingxue sharply inhaling came from beside him.

She propped herself up to sit, looking down at her body.

Her clothes were torn like a fishing net, and her exposed skin was covered in fine, dense bloody cuts. It looked quite frightening, but they were all superficial injuries.

"I won't die." Chen Qingxue pulled a small porcelain bottle from her Storage Pouch, poured out two Medicinal Pills, swallowed one herself, and handed one to Lin Muchen. "A rejuvenation pill, for healing."

Lin Muchen took it and tossed it into his mouth.

The Medicinal Pill dissolved, and a warm current spread from his stomach. The stinging sensation on his body immediately lessened significantly.

He sat up and checked himself as well.

His situation was similar; his clothes were ruined and he was covered in bloody marks, but his bones and internal organs were fine.

"This wind barrier really isn't something for humans to cross." Lin Muchen took a breath and looked behind him.

That cyan wind barrier was still whirring and spinning. Even from dozens of feet away, he could feel that tearing force.

But they were now inside the wind barrier.

Inside the canyon.

The wind had actually lessened a lot. Although it was still stronger than outside, it at least wouldn't blow a person away.

Lin Muchen looked up.

On both sides were steep cliff walls, so high the tops were invisible. They were currently on a relatively flat patch of ground at the edge of the cliff wall.

"First, adjust your breathing and recover," Chen Qingxue said.

The two of them spoke no more, sat cross-legged, and began to operate their Cultivation Techniques.

Lin Muchen closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into his Dantian.

Origin Star.

His first glance went to the patch of land with the wind spirit grass.

Then he froze.

Holy crap.

The spreading speed of the wind spirit grass was ridiculously fast.

Previously when they were outside on the Cracked Wind Plain, the derivation cycle had shortened to 4 days, which he already thought was very fast.

Now, looking at it, that meadow had expanded by another circle. It was lush green, and the grass blades were swaying slightly as if being blown by an invisible wind.

[Detected continuous injection of pure wind-attribute energy from the outside.]

[Origin Star wind-attribute activity has significantly increased.]

[Wind-attribute derivation cycle shortened to: 2 days.]

[Feedback Efficiency increased: 15.6% → 16.2%.]

It rose by 0.6% directly!

Lin Muchen felt a surge of joy in his heart.

Coming to this Gale Canyon was the right choice!

Just by crossing the wind barrier and staying in the canyon for this short while, the harvest was greater than running around the Cracked Wind Plain for an entire day.

He looked toward the Chen Tribe.

Elder Yan was squatting in the center of the camp, with a new large stone slab placed before him. The slab was covered in crooked symbols.

Whirlwinds, lightning, and a bunch of intersecting lines.

Yan pointed at the stone slab and roared at the watching tribesmen: "Look! Wind, fast! Thunder, fierce! Put them together, even fiercer! Just like... like when there's a strong wind during a thunderstorm!"

"Elder, what is a thunderstorm?" a young man asked.

Yan's eyes bulged with anger: "It's the thing where the sky makes a rumbling sound and then the trees are blown all over the place!"

Lin Muchen felt like laughing as he watched.

He concentrated his mind, taking the vague feeling of invoking the Wind and Thunder Power to protect his body and burst into a sprint from when he crossed the wind barrier, as well as the sense of "sharpness" and "penetration" from when the Wind Blades cut into his shield, and packaged it into a thought.

Then, through the world will, he transmitted it into Yan's dream.

Yan's whole body shuddered, and his eyes glazed over.

"I get it! Wind can become a knife! Thunder can become a hammer! Wind-knife and thunder-hammer, use them together!"

He grabbed a charcoal pen and began to draw frantically on the stone slab.

[Chen Tribe Wind and Thunder Rune research: Proficient (Master) → Master (Entry).]

[Prototypes of Wind and Thunder Runes 'Wind Blade' and 'Lightning Strike' have been born.]

Not bad.

Lin Muchen withdrew his consciousness and opened his eyes.

Chen Qingxue had also just finished her breath adjustment and opened her eyes.

"Recovered?" she asked.

"Mostly." Lin Muchen stood up and moved his limbs. "The wind attribute in the Spiritual Qi here is very dense; recovery is fast."

Chen Qingxue nodded, stood up as well, and looked into the depths of the canyon.

"Which way?"

Lin Muchen looked at both sides.

The canyon was very deep. Looking down, it was a patch of gloom; he didn't know how deep it went.

"Downwards," he said. "The record of observations says that the further down you go in Gale Canyon, the purer the wind-attribute energy becomes. Since we're here, we definitely have to explore the depths."

"Alright."

The two didn't waste any words, walked to the edge of the cliff wall, and looked down.

The cliff wall was very steep, but there were many protruding rocks and cracks they could use for leverage.

"I'll lead," Lin Muchen said.

He grabbed a protruding rock, stepped into a crack, and began to climb down.

Chen Qingxue followed behind him.

They climbed for about a dozen feet.

The System's notification sound suddenly rang out.

[Scanned a weak energy reaction inside the cliff wall.]

[Analysis: Wind-attribute crystal Ore Vein.]

[Grade: Low-grade.]

[Suggested to collect samples.]

Lin Muchen stopped and looked at the nearby cliff wall.

The stone wall was grayish-brown and looked no different from anywhere else.

But he invoked a bit of Source Star Wind and Thunder Power and concentrated it in his eyes. Looking again, he discovered that certain parts of the stone wall were faintly glowing with a dim cyan light.

"There's something here," he said to Chen Qingxue below.

He pulled out his star dagger and carefully pried open a rock.

Behind the rock, several pigeon-egg-sized, semi-transparent cyan crystals were revealed.

Inside the crystals, weak air currents were slowly rotating.

"wind crystal stones." Chen Qingxue took a look. "Low-grade, but the quality is good. There really are Ore Veins in this canyon."

Lin Muchen pried off three pieces and tossed them into the System space.

[Obtained Low-grade wind crystal stone x3.]

[Would you like to invest them into the Origin Star?]

"Yes."

The three wind crystal stones disappeared from the System space and appeared beside the wind spirit grass meadow on the Origin Star.

As soon as the crystals landed, the cyan light on their surfaces brightened slightly, slowly releasing pure wind-attribute energy.

The wind spirit grass grew another small section at a speed visible to the naked eye.

[Origin Star wind and thunder attributes further enhanced.]

[Wind-attribute derivation cycle slightly shortened.]

[Thunder attribute driven by the wind attribute; activity increased to 25%.]

The corners of Lin Muchen's mouth curled up.

He continued to climb down.

The two climbed very slowly. While climbing, Lin Muchen had the System continuously scan the cliff wall.

He found two more places where wind crystal stones were exposed and collected two or three pieces from each.

By the time they reached the valley floor, Lin Muchen's System space had gained eight more low-grade wind crystal stones, all of which he threw into the Origin Star.

The valley floor was much darker than above, as the light was blocked by the towering cliff walls.

But the wind was indeed calmer. Although it was still whirring, it no longer affected their movement.

The ground of the valley floor was made of scattered rocks and sandy soil, feeling soft when stepped on.

"There's the sound of water." Chen Qingxue tilted her head to listen.

Lin Muchen heard it too.

A splashing sound, very faint, but definitely there.

The two followed the sound forward.

Rounding a pile of rocks, an underground river appeared before them.

The river was not wide, about two or three feet across. The water was very clear, and the pebbles at the bottom could be seen.

The water flowed very fast, splashing as it headed downstream.

And in the cracks between the rocks on the riverbank grew several pale cyan small grasses.

The grasses were only a palm high with long, thin leaves, and at the tips hung several bell-shaped pale blue small flowers.

When the wind blew, the small flowers swayed gently, making a faint tinkling sound that was very pleasant to hear.

"Wind Chime Grass." Chen Qingxue's eyes lit up. "A Rank 3 Spiritual Plant, one of the main ingredients for refining wind-attribute Medicinal Pills. It's very rare outside."

"Good stuff." Lin Muchen walked over and squatted down, preparing to collect them.

His hand had just reached toward a stalk of Wind Chime Grass.

From the shadows nearby, a gray shadow suddenly lunged out!

The speed was frighteningly fast, aiming straight for Lin Muchen's wrist!

Lin Muchen reacted extremely quickly, jerking his hand back while simultaneously kicking off the ground and retreating violently!

The gray shadow missed and landed on the ground.

It was a Yao Beast the size of a leopard, entirely grayish-black with smooth fur. Its eyes were cyan, glowing with an eerie light in the gloom.

It was on all fours, body crouched low, a low growl coming from its throat.

"Wind Shadow Leopard." Chen Qingxue drew her sword. "Rank 2 Peak, extremely fast, excels at ambushes. It's the guardian Yao Beast of this Wind Chime Grass."

The Wind Shadow Leopard stared at Lin Muchen, its hind leg muscles tensing.

The next second, it moved!

It truly was like a shadow, pouncing in front of Lin Muchen in an instant, its claws carrying cyan Wind Blades, striking straight for Lin Muchen's face!

Lin Muchen didn't dodge this time.

He invoked the Source Star Wind and Thunder Power, and a cyan-blue light flashed on his right fist.

"Let's try a new move!"

He threw a punch!

Wind Blades and lightning were entwined around his fist as it slammed hard into the Wind Shadow Leopard's claws!

Bang!

The Wind Blades exploded, and lightning sparks flew everywhere!

The Wind Shadow Leopard let out a cry of pain and was knocked back into a somersault. When it landed, its claws were trembling slightly.

It stared at the cyan-blue light on Lin Muchen's fist, its eyes filled with a bit more caution.

"My turn." Chen Qingxue stabbed from the side.

The sword light was like snow, pointing straight at the Wind Shadow Leopard's flank.

The Wind Shadow Leopard nimbly dodged to the side while simultaneously flicking its tail, sending several Wind Blades toward Chen Qingxue.

Chen Qingxue's sword light twisted, shattering the Wind Blades.

Lin Muchen took the opportunity to invoke the Wind and Thunder Power again. This time, instead of concentrating it in his fist, he poured it into his legs.

Wind and Thunder Evasion!

His figure flashed, appearing behind the Wind Shadow Leopard in an instant. His star dagger, carrying the Wind and Thunder Power, stabbed toward its neck!

The Wind Shadow Leopard's senses were keen; it lunged forward abruptly. The dagger grazed its fur, carving out a bloody gash.

In pain, it roared and turned around, wanting to flee.

"Thinking of running?"

Lin Muchen kicked off the ground, erupting with Wind and Thunder Evasion again to block its path.

Chen Qingxue also circled around from the other side.

One in front and one behind, they trapped the Wind Shadow Leopard in the middle.

The Wind Shadow Leopard lunged left and right, but Lin Muchen's Wind and Thunder Evasion was no slower than it was, intercepting it every time.

After several attempts, several more wounds appeared on the Wind Shadow Leopard's body.

Knowing it couldn't win, it suddenly looked up and let out a sharp howl. Then it feinted a claw strike at Lin Muchen and, using the moment Lin Muchen blocked, turned and dashed into the nearby pile of rocks, disappearing in a few leaps.

"It ran away." Chen Qingxue sheathed her sword.

"Forget it, our goal is the Wind Chime Grass, not it." Lin Muchen also put away his dagger.

The two walked back to the riverbank.

This time, no Yao Beasts disturbed them.

Lin Muchen carefully dug up the five stalks of Wind Chime Grass by the roots and put them into the System space.

[Obtained Rank 3 Spiritual Plant Wind Chime Grass x5.]

[Can be exchanged for points or invested into the Origin Star for cultivation.]

Lin Muchen thought for a moment and decided to keep them for now.

"The current in this underground river is quite fast." Chen Qingxue looked at the water. "There might be a source upstream, or another exit."

"Go take a look?" Lin Muchen asked.

"Let's go."

The two walked upstream along the underground river.

The riverbank was hard to traverse, full of scattered rocks that made for uneven footing.

They walked for about a mile.

A dark cave entrance appeared on the cliff wall ahead.

The entrance wasn't large, barely enough for two people to pass through side-by-side.

And at the cave entrance, wind-attribute energy was so dense it was almost visible to the naked eye, forming faint cyan air currents that slowly drifted out of the cave.

"This energy..." Lin Muchen took a deep breath, feeling the Origin Star in his Dantian vibrate slightly.

"It's at least three times denser than outside." Chen Qingxue's expression was solemn. "The inside might lead to the core area of the canyon."

The two walked to the front of the cave entrance.

The inside of the cave was pitch black, but the sound of whirring wind could be heard from deep within, as if something were breathing.

"Are we going in?" Chen Qingxue asked.

Lin Muchen stared at the cave entrance.

The System's notification sound rang out.

[Detected high-intensity wind-attribute energy source.]

[Energy density is more than five times the average value of the valley floor.]

Lin Muchen licked his lips.

"We've come this far."

He looked at Chen Qingxue.

Chen Qingxue gripped her sword and nodded.

"In we go."