Crossing the boundless plains, the orange tabby lay curled up in Bai Qiu’s crossed legs.
Its tiny paws clutched at his cloak as it buried its head beneath the fabric, letting out a soft, rumbling purr.
It disliked moving around because the Skyward Battle Armor Bai Qiu wore was icy cold.
After painstakingly warming up a small patch, even the slightest shift would expose it to the chill again, so it would immediately curl back into the same spot.
After spending the entire morning leveling up, by noon both A Yuan and A Yan had gained a level as well, reaching Level 31 and Level 32 respectively.
The orange tabby had fared even better, climbing five levels in one go to reach Level 16.
It couldn’t help but wonder why it had suddenly become so full of strength.
By this time, A Yan, who had remained in its Crystal Armored Qilin Tortoise form the entire journey, was beginning to tire.
Bai Qiu decided it was time to stop and prepare lunch.
A Yan reverted from its Crystal Armored Qilin Tortoise form, retracting the hooked claws attached beneath its feet.
Returning to its Elephant Tortoise form, the ground beneath its four feet slowly began to sink…
Little by little, it pressed another enormous crater into the earth.
However, since it hadn’t fallen from the Contract Space Card this time, only half of its body sank into the ground before the soil was completely compacted beneath its tremendous weight.
After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, A Yuan settled beside A Yan while Bai Qiu leaned comfortably against A Yuan.
The orange tabby perched atop A Yan’s pitch-black head.
The warm midday sunlight bathed them all, leaving none of them eager to return to the Contract Space Card.
Instead, they simply wanted to rest after their meal and bask in the sunshine.
Although Bai Qiu remained vigilant, he didn’t want to spoil their good mood with unnecessary strictness, so he let them enjoy themselves.
A Yuan, A Yan, and the orange tabby were all animals that loved sunbathing.
Bai Qiu, on the other hand, didn’t particularly care.
His current physique was already immune to both heat and cold, making little difference whether the temperature rose or fell.
Looking ahead, they had already crossed the boundless plains.
Beyond the earthen slopes and stretches of shrubland lay a moss-covered expanse of soil where several towering trees rose from the ground.
Past those trees stood a cluster of mountains thrusting straight into the sky.
Beyond those peaks, another fifty kilometers of travel would bring him to the Water Capital.
This region bore a remarkably fitting name:
Cloud-Severing Heights.
Nature’s craftsmanship had shaped a truly spectacular landscape.
Relative to Bai Qiu’s current elevation, every single peak rose more than two thousand meters into the sky.
Some climbed even higher, approaching four thousand meters.
Most of the mountains were pillar-like in shape.
Some featured sheer, smooth cliffs that looked almost impossibly steep, while others were layered with countless bulging ridges resembling the warty back of a giant toad.
The summits of nearly every peak were veiled by drifting clouds.
Ordinary people could hardly glimpse what lay beneath that mysterious curtain, but Bai Qiu could see every detail with perfect clarity.
The breathtaking scenery left even him momentarily spellbound.
If nothing unexpected happened, a place like this was exactly where he would choose to live.
Of course, for an ordinary person, living somewhere like this would be no different from being completely isolated from the outside world.
One would likely spend an entire lifetime without ever exploring the countless beautiful places beyond these mountains.
A Yuan lay comfortably on the ground, thoroughly content that it could bask in the warm sunshine while remaining by its master’s side.
A Yan sprawled lazily across the earth with its limbs stretched out, its head extended into the sunlight.
Its closed eyes, steady breathing, and peaceful posture all made it obvious that it had already fallen asleep.
As for the orange tabby, it sat atop A Yan’s head with its hind legs tucked beneath its body.
From behind, only its perfectly round back and its two plump orange haunches were visible.
Its tail curved to one side, draping across its belly.
Its front paws were neatly tucked against its chest, making the entire cat look wonderfully round.
Bathed in the gentle warmth of the midday sun, it likewise narrowed its eyes in blissful contentment.
Time passed little by little.
Two and a half hours later, Bai Qiu finally woke the still-snoring animals and, despite their obvious reluctance, returned them to the Contract Space Card.
After readjusting the distribution of experience points among them, Bai Qiu once again set out alone.
Taking out the Wind Spirit Hoverboard, he flew toward Cloud-Severing Heights.
One thing worth mentioning was that the peaks of Cloud-Severing Heights were actually far taller than they first appeared.
It wasn’t until Bai Qiu had passed through the shrubs and forest that he realized the area he had been traveling through was already considered a high plateau.
The mountains of Cloud-Severing Heights stretched several thousand meters upward into the clouds, while their bases descended well over a thousand meters into deep basins below, where several mighty rivers surged through the valleys.
Beneath the rushing rivers swam countless plump fish, including quite a few exceptionally powerful ones.
The water was deep, but it was also remarkably clear, allowing Bai Qiu to use his ocular technique to see everything beneath the surface.
“…Whew. The concentration of mana is incredible.”
Bai Qiu muttered in astonishment.
The moment he entered Cloud-Severing Heights, he discovered that the density of mana had increased dramatically, as though he had crossed an invisible boundary.
He figured that if he stayed here for a while, his affinity with the elements would improve tremendously.
The thought only made him even more interested in this place, and he couldn’t help wanting to explore it thoroughly.
Although he possessed both the Aminos Archipelago Bestiary and the Item Compendium, Bai Qiu had originally intended to treat them like a novel or comic book—something to flip through whenever he had spare time.
However, while admiring the scenery earlier, he had casually opened the Bestiary and happened to learn what creatures inhabited this region.
It was the nesting grounds of the same monsters he had encountered before but failed to kill—the Skyvault Silver Falcons.
According to the records, a Skyvault Silver Falcon could only lay a single egg each breeding season, making the species extremely rare.
As a result, they were exceptionally protective of their offspring.
Bai Qiu guessed that the reason he had been attacked that day was because the falcon had mistaken him for a convenient snack to feed its chick.
Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t even bother paying attention to a human.
The mountains were extraordinarily tall.
By the time Bai Qiu reached one of the summits, the temperature had dropped by nearly eighteen degrees Celsius.
He took out the Heaven-Earth Shattering Bow, already fully prepared to retaliate.
With A Yan’s outstanding defensive abilities and the overwhelming firepower of the Heaven-Earth Shattering Bow, Bai Qiu was now completely confident that he could kill a fragile creature like a Skyvault Silver Falcon without suffering so much as a scratch.
He slowly closed his eyes.
Several seconds later, he suddenly opened them again.
His Sevenfold Arcane Crystallized Eyes swept across the surroundings, ensuring that not even the slightest movement could escape his notice.
Yet, quite by accident, he sensed the mana signatures of three humanoid figures not far away.
His heart skipped a beat as he shouted,
“Who’s there?!”
He nocked a Crystal Silver Arrow onto his bowstring and stared warily into the distance.
He hadn’t expected someone else to arrive here before him.
The monsters along the way had already reached an average level of over 40.
Anyone capable of making it this far was certainly no ordinary person.
“Xiaoyi, didn’t you say that cloth could conceal our presence so nobody would notice us?”
A girl’s voice drifted over from the distance.
For some reason, both the tone and the voice sounded strangely familiar to Bai Qiu.
“How should I know? It must be because A Qian was making too much noise and got us exposed…”
“Huh? Don’t you think that voice sounded just like Big Brother Uncle?”
“Hey! A Qian, come back!”
Rustle… rustle…
Thanks to his extraordinary hearing, Bai Qiu caught every single word of their conversation without missing a syllable.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
His mind practically froze.
Only when a silver-haired little girl suddenly burst out from the bushes did Bai Qiu have no choice but to believe what both his eyes and ears were telling him.
— The end of the Chapter–
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