C223 Chilly Wind Valley!

Chen Qingyan had a sudden epiphany; she couldn't fathom him in the slightest.

Back when Chilly Wind Valley was yet to undergo its drastic transformation and remained a haven of relative peace, he had always lingered outside with caution, reluctant to venture too deep. He had even earnestly convinced the man with a dragon's body and a human head of the valley's lurking perils.

Now, amidst the chaos of a great calamity, with numerous formidable individuals ensnared and a swath of lives extinguished, he knew full well that a horrific event was imminent—yet he resolutely chose to proceed.

From what she could tell, he was no merciful hero destined to save the world. If he were, he wouldn't have condemned the Hu family to their doom over a few scornful taunts.

What was driving him this time?

"Odd fellow," she muttered to herself, ultimately shaking her head in bewilderment.

Her statuesque frame began to levitate effortlessly, supported by a snakeskin scabbard beneath her feet. The scabbard was just that—a scabbard, devoid of any sword. Yet, standing upon it, her hair dancing in the breeze, her piercing gaze fixed on Chilly Wind Valley, she embodied the very essence of an unsheathed, razor-sharp blade.

"Yu Yuan!" she called out in a gentle yet firm tone.

The young man, darting through the woods, halted abruptly and looked back.

With a swift whoosh, a streak of sword light closed the distance and came to a steady halt above his head.

"Let me give you a lift," Chen Qingyan offered, extending her hand.

Yu Yuan looked up, his eyes first meeting the snakeskin scabbard. He admired the intricate serpent design and sensed the potent sword aura within. After a brief silence, he gave a nod of agreement.

He rose on his toes and clasped Chen Qingyan's jade-like hand, pulling himself up into the air with a strong tug.

Seconds later, he too stood on the snakeskin scabbard, positioned just behind her. The narrow scabbard, no wider than a toddler's arm, seemed to expand under his weight, its beautiful snake pattern undulating as if stirred by ripples on water.

Yu Yuan, his demeanor unaltered, gazed at the nape of her neck and urged, "Make it quick."

"Hold on to..." Chen Qingyan began, but she halted, taking a brief pause before continuing, "Hold on to my shoulder, and keep it steady. We don't want to fall if we go too fast."

Yu Yuan's lips curled into a smile. "Alright."

He placed his hands on Chen Qingyan's shoulders, feeling their warmth.

Before he could further explore the sensation, the snakeskin scabbard beneath his feet shot through the air like a streak of lightning.

The landscape around him rapidly receded into a blur.

Standing atop the snakeskin scabbard, Yu Yuan felt a sense of disorientation wash over him. Memories flooded back of years past, when he had ridden this very scabbard, soaring over the renowned mountains and rivers of the Heavenly Source and Quietus Continents.

Back then, the person before him was Chen Qingyan's master, and his hands had not rested on her shoulders but were wrapped around her slender, boneless waist. He would tighten his embrace as they dashed through the wind and ease his hold during moments of calm flight, sharing laughter and conversation with her, who had since risen to prominence within the Sword Sect.

He let out a wistful sigh.

"Miss Chen!"

Below, Hu Hann and Lau Zaihe were frantically waving their arms and shouting.

The flight of the scabbard began to decelerate.

Peering down, Yu Yuan saw that only four remained of the Hu family party; Hu Yue and Hu Yang were no longer among them.

Hu Hann, Lau Zaihe, and two other Hu family retainers appeared disheveled, with traces of blood at their mouths. Clearly, they had pushed themselves to the brink, depleting their vital essence in a desperate escape, sustaining injuries to their hearts and lungs in the process.

"Chilly Wind Valley is treacherous!"

Hu Hann's face was ashen, his eyes brimming with sorrow. "My sister, my uncle, and our Hu family kin—they perished the instant they set foot in Chilly Wind Valley! The Medicine Sect, revered as the holy ground for all alchemists on the Profound Sky Continent, harbors such dreadfully poisonous creatures within Chilly Wind Valley and has deliberately led us to our doom!"

"The Medicine Sect is nothing less than a blight upon the continent, harboring vile ambitions!" one of the retainers exclaimed indignantly.

Lau Zaihe's lips quivered as he spoke, "It's unthinkable that the Medicine Sect would commit such atrocities against practitioners from across the continent within Chilly Wind Valley. A place deemed off-limits, hiding such monstrous beings—I fear it's a secret to all!"

"Miss Chen, please, turn back at once and make haste away from the Jade Peak Mountain Range!" Hu Hann implored once more.

"Thank you for the warning," Chen Qingyan stated calmly.

With those words, the snakeskin scabbard took flight once more.

Moments later, the notorious Chilly Wind Valley, the most perilous region of the Jade Peak Mountain Range, came into Yu Yuan's view.

The valley was engulfed in a kaleidoscope of miasmic clouds, resembling the haphazard brushstrokes of a mischievous child playing with ink across the landscape.

Eerie howls, akin to the cries of ghosts and the howling of wolves, emanated from within the miasma.

At Yu Yuan's command, the snakeskin scabbard halted midair, dozens of meters from the valley's mouth. Yu Yuan inhaled deeply, releasing his grip on Chen Qingyan's shoulders, and leaped down.

He landed just outside the valley and looked up, "I appreciate the ride. You're free to head back now, regroup with Hu Hann and Lau Zaihe, and keep as much distance from this valley as possible."

"I've suddenly lost the urge to leave," Chen Qingyan declared.

Yu Yuan regarded her in silence, "Don't be fooled into thinking that scabbard will keep you unharmed, that it will prevent your death."

Chen Qingyan's gaze sharpened, "How do you know my scabbard can protect me?"

"It's a guess," Yu Yuan replied, giving his sleeves a shake.

An astonishing number of dust particles, far finer than grains of sand, burst from his sleeves, swirling around him in a protective cloud.

Remarkably, the dust never settled but remained suspended in the air.

Yu Yuan advanced towards the Chilly Wind Valley, the cloud of dust faithfully orbiting him, neither dispersing nor becoming chaotic.

Chen Qingyan watched intently, then huffed, "So it is you!"

"Chilly Wind Valley!"

A cold snort echoed within Yu Yuan, his pupils blazing with a rekindled zeal.

After more than three centuries, he was stepping into the Chilly Wind Valley again, entering the once-familiar sanctuary he had crafted with his own intent, approaching the array formation he knew all too well.

"Stainless Crystal Dust."

With a mere thought, he flicked his sleeve, and a finer mist of dust, invisible even to Chen Qingyan, surged towards the Chilly Wind Valley like a shower of micro-droplets.

The caverns beneath the valley, reminiscent of the deepest pits of hell, issued a chilling scream that seemed to fracture the soul.

Billowing smoke poured from the cave, mingling indistinguishably with the toxic miasma clouds in the valley. The miasma seemed to draw special nutrients from the cave's smoke, rapidly gaining strength.

"Chi! Chi! Chi! Chi!"

An invisible barrier materialized as Yu Yuan's sleeve released a cloud of dust. A vast, egg-shaped barrier of bright yellow light stretched from the heavens to the earth, enveloping Chilly Wind Valley completely. The barrier, with its faint, intricate patterns, became increasingly distinct.

The miasma that smothered the valley, along with the cave's fog, acted like a unique energy. It permeated the patterns like colorful ink, making the light barrier shimmer with intensity.

Chen Qingyan observed closely and had an epiphany; the so-called "colored ink" was none other than the various deadly poisons from the natural world. These toxins were refined from the miasma and the cave's smoke, transforming into a potent essence and infusing the bright yellow barrier, fueling the array with their power.

Without a second thought, one could tell that this barrier was none other than a formidable Poisonous Killing Array.

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