Edited by Aelryinth

Jiang Shaoxu was not an outsider. Mo Fan promptly told her about their plan to exterminate the Giant Purple Linden.

"I never thought that thing was such an evil demon!" Jiang Shaoxu was shocked. She had tried to climb the Giant Purple Linden, too. She had assumed the sacred-looking tree was a safer option, yet it was just a disguise the demon was wearing!

"Naturally, the beautiful things are usually more dangerous," Mo Fan said.

"That's true, it's the same with our society. The prettier women are deadlier, like me! Many men are terrified of me!" Jiang Shaoxu burst out laughing.

"...Miss, do you know that you are no different from a little ape that has fallen into a latrine pit?" Mo Fan was left speechless by Jiang Shaoxu's narcissism.

"I will be back to my gorgeous self after taking a shower… Huh, who's the little beauty behind you?" Jiang Shaoxu suddenly noticed Apas.

For some reason, Jiang Shaoxu felt uneasy describing herself as gorgeous around the little beauty.

"Miss Jiang, you should leave with us. The great commander is still awaiting your return," Li Dexin said respectfully.

"Li Dexin, what do you mean by that!?" Zhao Manyan snapped.

"What do I mean? I never gave you my promise. I do not want to stay here a second more!" Li Dexin answered coldly.

"General Li, isn't that inappropriate? They risked their lives to save us!" The tanned soldier almost burst into tears. He had already given Mo Fan his promise, yet his superior did not agree. He was extremely troubled!

"You can go back if you want. I'm going to the Ashwood Wind Layer with Mo Fan," Jiang Shaoxu said.

"Please don't make things difficult for us!" Li Dexin said hurriedly.

"I'm not making things difficult for you. You did come and save my life. Mission accomplished. It's my choice to bring doom upon myself. It has nothing to do with the Violet Imperial Battalion. You should go, stop being a nuisance around here!" Jiang Shaoxu was as unrestrained as usual.

She had spent so much time exploring the winged beasts' paradise because she was trying to climb higher and find traces of the Totem Beast. Even though the Violet Imperial Battalion had come, she had never planned to go back with them!

"It's true that we have done our job, but if the great commander learns we didn't bring you back in one piece, he's going to skin us alive. Miss Jiang, please come back with us. This place is too dangerous!" Li Dexin said urgently.

Li Dexin had been acting disdainfully since he first set foot into the Qinling Mountains, like a noble dragon entering a desolate valley. However, he had completely lost his proud demeanor. The many winged beasts were driving him crazy!

"It's fine. I'll explain it to him in person, if I'm able to make it back alive," Jiang Shaoxu said.

He glared at Mo Fan. He was highly suspicious of Mo Fan, thinking he had put Jiang Shaoxu under a spell that had convinced her to follow them to the Ashwood Wind Layer recklessly.

How ridiculous! The Vine Canopy Layer of Mount Baiba was already so terrifying, despite being the lowest level. If they reached the next layer, not only did they have to face more powerful winged beasts, they would be constantly tortured by the Wind of Sorrow, too!

Li Dexin wanted to advise against it, but Jiang Shaoxu raised her hand and said impatiently, "That's enough, I've never seen such a garrulous soldier before. Off you go, I'll be fine staying with Mo Fan."

Mo Fan nodded with a smile, "Yeah, we'll protect her. You guys didn't really do much apart from bringing us trouble along the journey. Just go back the way you came. The Qinling Mountains aren't suitable for young soldiers like you."

"Humph, what are you trying to say?! Are you humiliating the Violet Imperial Battalion!?" Li Dexin was enraged.

"I'm just speaking the truth. Just leave, we have a real business to attend to, later… oh, be careful not to stumble into any trouble again on your way back. We won't be able to lend you a hand again after we reach the next layer," Mo Fan added.

"Enough with your nonsense! Miss Jiang, we were told to keep you safe. We didn't just come to accomplish our mission half-heartedly. We won't leave before escorting you safely back to the Violet Imperial Battalion's camp!" Li Dexin said sternly.

"Then stop talking and follow me," Jiang Shaoxu said.

"We are just worried about..."

"Worried about what? It's just the Ashwood Wind Layer, so what if we are trespassing? Not only am I going to climb to the Ashwood Wind Layer, I'll make it to the highest point and witness the legendary Sacred Waterfall with my own eyes!" Jiang Shaoxu said proudly.

"..." Li Dexin did not dare to say a word further.

---

Things were a lot simpler after Jiang Shaoxu convinced the stubborn Li Dexin with just a few sentences.

"By the way, why isn't Zhang Xiaohou back yet?" Zhao Manyan blurted out after a thought suddenly crossed his mind.

"That's right, I almost forgot about him. Is he alright?" Mo Fan only realized Zhang Xiaohou was not back yet.

"And you call yourself his bro?" Lingling rolled her eyes at Mo Fan. He had completely forgotten about Zhang Xiaohou, who was risking his life for them after seeing Jiang Shaoxu.

---

---

A mountain covered in dense vines and ancient trees poked through the clouds. The Wind of Sorrow swept fiercely, but the mountain remained firm!

A man in a gray-blue military outfit sprinted across the leaves, spreading them like a ripple on the surface of the ocean and leaving a strong gust of wind behind.

A huge beast with an icy transparent appearance circled in the air, scanning the leaves below with a sharp gaze.

The leader of the Skyice Beasts was trying to track down Zhang Xiaohou by observing the movement of the leaves. However, Zhang Xiaohou had used his Wind Element to stir up the leaves and scatter them across the place, blocking the Skyice Beasts' view.

The leaves fell to the ground after some time. A strong flow of air was heading toward the woods of the Moon Mulberry Trees in the distance.

The leader of the Skyice Beasts eventually noticed the trail left by the human. It immediately led the flock of Skyice Beasts and followed the trail.

Their icy-white wings beat rapidly, leaving a trail of frost behind them. The Skyice Beasts, bringing a disastrous storm with them, soon headed to the woods of the Moon Mulberry Trees.

Somewhere below the area where the leaves were scattering, a head silently poked out from under a pile of leaves. It was none other than Zhang Xiaohou, who was on the run.

Zhang Xiaohou glanced in the direction the Skyice Winged Beasts were flying towards, and let out a relieved sigh.

"These creatures are indeed picking up the trail of their prey by following the flow of air. No wonder they were able to track me down when I was so far away," Zhang Xiaohou mumbled to himself.

It was easy to shake off the Skyice Beasts after figuring out how they were tracking him down. Li Dexin and his men ended up being surrounded because they had no idea how the Skyice Beasts stayed constantly on their trail. The harder they ran, the more obvious the trail was, hence the Skyice Winged Beasts could pursue them effortlessly.

"Frosty birds, see you later. Time for me to go back," Zhang Xiaohou climbed to his feet and waved at the Skyice Winged Beasts to bid them farewell.

Zhang Xiaohou was rather mischievous. He had plucked all the feathers off the leader of the Skyice Winged Beasts' crown while it was resting alone.

The crown feathers were useless to many winged beasts, but they were the pride of the male birds, since the colorful feathers symbolized their manliness to the crowd, and attracted the female birds!

If Zhang Xiaohou had not taken such a step, he could not guarantee the Skyice Winged Beasts would chase him!

"Mm, these feathers are quite pretty. I should use them as decorations," Zhang Xiaohou casually attached the feathers to his peaked cap. He looked slightly taller with the feathers on. "I think this is the way back..."

------

It was a lot easier to find the way back after shaking off the Skyice Winged Beasts. He had been leaving marks along the trail. Many Wind Mages would make the careless mistake of not blazing their trail to help them identify the way back. They would end up being separated from the team and lose their way in the wild.

Zhang Xiaohou had lost his way once, and almost died in the wild. He did not repeat the mistake.

He heard a noise not long after he began to make his way back.

Zhang Xiaohou had developed the habit of concealing his presence right away. He immediately jumped into a shrub nearby to avoid exposing himself to some powerful creatures. To his surprise, the bottom of the shrub was actually hollow. Zhang Xiaohou almost fell into a hole!

If it was somewhere else, Zhang Xiaohou could easily recover from the fall by using his Wind Wings, but it would be suicide to use the Wind Wings in the winged beasts' paradise. He quickly grabbed onto a thick vine nearby, hoping that it was firm enough to hold his weight.

Zhang Xiaohou started falling as he grabbed onto the vine tightly. It was wrapped around a tree, and barely held his weight.

"Lucky..." Zhang Xiaohou hung onto the dangling vine and let out a relieved sigh.

Every moment was a great thrill in a place like this!

More noises began to approach. Zhang Xiaohou quickly scanned his surroundings in a panic.

Feathers!

Feathers as dense as the stars in the night sky! Zhang Xiaohou noticed the sky was full of colorful feathers when he looked around him. More precisely, he was looking at the wings of different winged beasts soaring into the sky!

They had filled up the sky before he realized it, stretching from the Qinling Mountains to the Vine Canopy Layer Zhang Xiaohou was currently at. He was dumbfounded by the breathtaking sight. He remained hanging onto the vine as he totally forgot to climb back up!