Chapter 2806 — The Five Fierce Mountains
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
The whole way, Wei Zhao walked with his heart in his throat. After all, even facing a Heaven-rank expert, he might not be afraid now—if he could not beat them, could he not run? But spirit beasts were different. Some spirit beasts were frightfully fast, and Wei Zhao simply could not outrun them. That black bat earlier, for instance—its speed was comparable to an airplane's; it was before his eyes in the blink of an eye. Against such speed, Wei Zhao had no way to contend at all.
Yet for some reason, though Wei Zhao had walked and stopped and encountered no few spirit beasts before, on this final stretch there were none at all. What puzzled Wei Zhao was that there was not even a single spirit beast—it was simply incomprehensible!
"Why are there no spirit beasts around here anymore?" Wei Zhao gave the Heavenly Thunder Pig a strange look.
"Oink, oink..." The Heavenly Thunder Pig shook its head, indicating there truly were none.
"All right..." Wei Zhao pressed on, but his heart was full of vigilance. After all, when something is out of the ordinary, there is sure to be something sinister behind it. What lay ahead, there was really no telling!
Otherwise, why had there been so many spirit beasts before, and none at all once they reached this area?
After another stretch of travel, the way ahead came to an end. Before them stood a range of rolling green mountains, stretching far into the distance—where they ended, none could say—but they barred Wei Zhao's path.
"There's no road ahead. Where exactly is the treasure?" Wei Zhao stood at the foot of the mountain, gazing at the vast mountain range, and asked the Heavenly Thunder Pig.
"Oink, oink..." The Heavenly Thunder Pig pointed a claw toward the mountains above.
"You mean the treasure is up on the mountain?" Wei Zhao asked.
The Heavenly Thunder Pig nodded.
"Up on the mountain... let me first make certain what this place is." As he spoke, Wei Zhao took the trial map from his pocket. He had walked so much of the way already that he had some understanding of the general terrain, and the rolling green mountain range before him was all the more a landmark.
Quickly, Wei Zhao located his own position and the mountain range before him on the map!
"The Five Fierce Mountains?" Wei Zhao was startled, and his expression changed at once—for this Five Fierce Mountains range was marked on the map as a place of extreme danger!
Yet the jade pendant had given no warning, which proved the danger was not nearby. This map was a miniature version; the places marked on it might well be dangers several kilometers, dozens of kilometers, or even hundreds of kilometers away—not necessarily right before his eyes.
"Heavenly Thunder Pig, I've confirmed where we are now, but the map says this place is extremely dangerous. What do you make of it?" As he spoke, Wei Zhao held the map up before the Heavenly Thunder Pig's eyes.
The Heavenly Thunder Pig looked at the map Wei Zhao held out, then at the vast mountain range, and seemed somewhat at a loss. Clearly it sensed no danger either. But then, the Heavenly Thunder Pig's peculiar gift lay in seeking treasure across a thousand li; its sense for danger was far weaker. At most it could sense the presence of its own kind, and only at close range—at a distance, it could not.
To go or not to go? Wei Zhao was caught in indecision. The map clearly marked this as a place of extreme danger, but if he did not go, he would not be reconciled. He had come all this way; the treasure the Heavenly Thunder Pig spoke of was useful to him; to turn back empty-handed like this would be too much of a regret. (To be continued.)