222: Chapter 222 Stone-Scaled Cloud Badger

After experiencing several teleports and transfers, and flying on their own for more than half a day, Senior Sister Tao Tao and Lin Qing finally arrived at the edge of the Cangyun Mountains.

Looking out, everything within sight was a vast expanse of white; it was the mist rising from the mountains, drifting up into the sky to an unknown height.

Vaguely, one could see some giant dark shadows; those were the pillars reaching for the sky that stood tall within the sea of clouds. Apart from that, the entire area was filled only with endless murderous intent.

"Junior Brother, from here on out, do not stray too far from me."

Senior Sister Tao Tao's expression became serious as she earnestly warned Lin Qing.

The suppression of Divine Thought by these clouds and mists was far more severe than imagined; primarily, it was the suppression of the range of Divine Thought.

Before entering the Kunxu Secret Realm, Lin Qing's Divine Thought range was approximately five million li. Later, after his Breakthrough to the God Realm and some time spent to Cultivate, his Divine Thought range had reached nearly ten million li. Yet, here, he could barely see things within five hundred thousand li.

Senior Sister Tao Tao was even worse off; her Divine Thought range was originally less than one million li, and within these Cangyun Mountains, it was suppressed to only a few tens of thousands.

Secondly, the clouds and mists here would blur one's Divine Thought perception. If they were to encounter enemies adept at hiding, it was quite possible for the opponent to launch an ambush on the two of them at close range.

Just as Senior Sister Tao Tao was focusing her attention and staying alert, Lin Qing was thinking about something else.

The characteristics of the clouds and mists here reminded him of a type of Materials he was currently collecting. It was one of the main Materials required to set up a Level 12 Formation, named Yintian Mist Marrow.

A Level 12 Formation was far too Advanced for this continent, so the required main Materials were naturally extremely rare. To ensure he could successfully set it up, Sun Shaoping not only provided two sets of Formations for Lin Qing to choose from but also introduced the characteristics of each material to Lin Qing one by one.

It was thanks to Sun Shaoping's thoughtfulness that Lin Qing did not miss out on these treasures. If he had only been given a name and told to collect them, he feared that even after eight or ten years, he wouldn't have been able to gather them all, because the names of some Materials had never even been heard of by the people on this continent.

The two slowed their pace, carefully weaving through the sea of clouds, occasionally detouring to avoid giant stone pillars, and sometimes stopping to harvest rare spiritual plants.

Lin Qing's Divine Thought coverage was much wider than Senior Sister Tao Tao's. When the two traveled, it appeared as though Senior Sister Tao Tao was leading the way, but in reality, their route was entirely guided by Lin Qing.

"Senior Sister, let's go and take a look over here."

"Alright."

To lure Lin Qing into rescuing the people of the Li family, Zhou Rulong had specifically stated his exact location, so Lin Qing guided Senior Sister Tao Tao to approach Zhou Rulong's position.

In order not to be discovered by Zhou Rulong, Lin Qing suppressed his Divine Thought fluctuations to the extreme. Soon, his Divine Thought covered the mountain stream where Zhou Rulong was located.

He saw Zhou Rulong sitting cross-legged on the ground, and he also saw the Li family members inside the cave behind Zhou Rulong.

"Senior Sister, let's go and take a look over here."

"Alright."

After Senior Sister Tao Tao nodded, she continued to lead the way in front of Lin Qing.

After Zhou Rulong entered his Divine Thought range, Lin Qing did not intend to get any closer; instead, he took Senior Sister Tao Tao to explore the entire area around the mountain stream.

Two hours later, Lin Qing confirmed that there was no one else there besides Zhou Rulong, so he guided Senior Sister Tao Tao toward the mission Yao Beast he had already detected.

The target Yao Beast for his mission was not a rare type; he had already found one during their journey earlier.

Lin Qing had quite a few things to do in these Cangyun Mountains: he needed to rescue the Li family members, bring them out, and also search for Yintian Mist Marrow.

Now that the reconnaissance was finished, Senior Sister Tao Tao was no longer needed for that purpose. He planned to complete the mission first, and after returning to the Sect with Senior Sister Tao Tao, he would come out again on his own.

"Junior Brother, I've found the Stone-Scaled Cloud Badger, hurry and keep up."

The Stone-Scaled Cloud Badger was exactly Lin Qing's mission target. After the two of them came within fifty thousand li of it, Senior Sister Tao Tao finally spotted it.

"Oh no, it wants to run."

When the two came within ten thousand li of the Stone-Scaled Cloud Badger, it also discovered them. Seeing that it wanted to flee, Senior Sister Tao Tao hurriedly grabbed Lin Qing's hand and gave chase.

A Stone-Scaled Cloud Badger that was only at the Level 8 Early Stage naturally could not escape Senior Sister Tao Tao's pursuit. Before long, it was cornered by the two, one in front and one behind, within a mountain stream.

This Cloud Badger did not belong to the type of massive Yao Beast; its shoulder height was only ten zhang, and its body was covered in thick, grayish-brown fur. It was short, fat, and sturdy, and at this moment, it was baring its fangs and hissing at the two.

"Junior Brother, go ahead, Senior Sister will cover you."

Senior Sister Tao Tao stood in mid-air with her hands behind her back, looking quite like an expert. Lin Qing nodded and approached the Stone-Scaled Cloud Badger; the battle was ready to erupt at any moment.

The Cloud Badger opened its mouth and spat out a cloud of gray mist, lunging straight at Lin Qing's face. Lin Qing stepped back rapidly, his right hand tracing a cyan Wind Blade in the air that slashed toward the gray mist. Under the impact of the Wind Blade, the gray mist exploded with a roar.

Taking advantage of the moment Lin Qing released the Wind Blade, the Cloud Badger used the lingering gray mist to circle to Lin Qing's side, its sharp claws wrapped in chilling Evil Qi, swiping fiercely at Lin Qing.

Lin Qing hurriedly released a spiritual power shield. The Cloud Badger's sharp claws struck the shield, sending ripples through it, and Lin Qing was sent flying backward under the tremendous impact.

Before Lin Qing could adjust his posture, the Cloud Badger let out a long howl toward the sky, instantly condensing over a dozen gray mist bombs in the air and hurling them in the direction Lin Qing was flying.

Lin Qing leaned his back against a stone pillar, waving his hands continuously forward. Fireballs flew out from his hands, constantly colliding and exploding with the mist bombs in the air.

The Cloud Badger charged out from the exploded gray mist, slamming straight toward Lin Qing. Lin Qing planted his feet on the stone pillar and sprang violently diagonally upward.

The Cloud Badger collided head-first into the stone pillar, and the pillar, which was several hundred zhang in diameter, was instantly shattered by more than half. Lin Qing spun his body in the air, condensing a giant sword over ten zhang long between his hands, and slashed it fiercely onto the Cloud Badger's back.

The Cloud Badger let out a shrill hiss, rolled on the ground a few times, and then completely lost its breath.

Lin Qing, meanwhile, was panting heavily in the air; acting was truly exhausting.

Clap, clap, clap—!

Senior Sister Tao Tao approached while clapping, praising him at the same time: "Junior Brother, well done. Although the process was slightly messy, being able to kill a Yao Beast of the same level so easily is already considered very good."

Lin Qing's expression shifted slightly. He first cupped his hands to acknowledge Senior Sister Tao Tao's praise, then stepped forward to collect the corpse of the Stone-Scaled Cloud Badger.

"Senior Sister, since the mission is already complete, let's leave here."

It was no wonder Lin Qing was so anxious, because his Divine Thought sensed that five hundred thousand li away, a serpent-like Yao Beast with a body length of over ten li was heading straight toward their direction.