The group continued rushing toward the coordinates of the next distress signal.
Usually, when a team entered the canyon, they would scout the route beforehand and only take action once they were sure they could deal with the target. If they were trapped under those circumstances, it meant they had likely encountered elemental beasts that possessed special powers or excelled at concealment.
Huo Yin was highly experienced and cautious. He cleared out numerous hazards along the way, but when they located the second distress signal, everyone found themselves facing a dilemma.
It was a narrow, winding ravine several hundred meters deep. The rock walls were steep and rugged, and undercurrents surged along the valley floor, a terrain extremely unfavorable for battle.
The beasts residing here mainly included Cloud-Pattern Python Lizards, Earth-Lurking Dragons, Xuanji Butterflies, Flashbones, and Zen Spiders.
During mating season, these beasts staked out their own territories with clear boundaries, seemingly at peace with one another while secretly harboring lethal intentions.
Huo Yin and the others stood at the top of the ravine and looked down, seeing only a wall covered in stunted trees and vines. Chilly currents of air spiraled upward, whipping their hair into a frenzy.
The source of the signal was right in the middle of the cliff face. Tali released the spirit ghost she had refined to scout the situation below. Unbelievably, although the spirit ghost went down in one piece, it came scurrying back ragged and broken within mere seconds, its spiritual body flickering as if it might dissipate at any moment.
"They ran into an elemental beast that can devour spirit ghosts?" Huo Yin’s gaze turned sharp.
"Not sure." Tali replied. Her spirit ghost hadn't even clearly seen what it was before being chewed to shreds.
Huo Yin guessed that it might be Earth-Lurking Dragons or Flashbones down below, as both species were natural nemeses of spirit ghosts. The former were covered in armored scales that made them immune to water and fire, and they could spray a paralyzing toxic mist.
The latter resembled bone arrows, moved at extreme speeds capable of piercing reinforced steel, and possessed inherent mental disruption soundwaves.
Just then, Huo Yin’s handheld communicator suddenly vibrated. He pulled it out and saw a message from Whistle. They had exchanged contact info earlier to stay in touch.
Huo Yin opened it: [Big Boss Huo! Hurry and save us, we're right below you guys!!!]
Huo Yin was wondering how Whistle knew they had arrived when he caught a glimpse of a blinking point of light on the opposite cliff out of the corner of his eye. Looking closely, he realized it was Whistle's live-stream camera drone.
[What's the situation down there?] Huo Yin texted back.
[There are 4 of us, currently hiding in a temporarily carved cave. There are at least a thousand Flashbones outside.]
Huo Yin frowned. Compared to Flashbones, he would rather deal with Earth-Lurking Dragons.
"Flashbones?" Feng Chenxiu whispered.
"With just the few of us, I'm afraid there's no way to deal with that many Flashbones. Looking at them, it seems like they can still hold out for a few days. Why don't we wait until the mating season passes?"
Flashbones were small and fast, generating disruptive audio effects in flight that killed invisibly. Not even iron bones or steel frames could withstand them, let alone flesh and blood.
"They probably can't wait that long." There were still at least ten days left in the mating season; even if they weren't discovered by the Flashbones, hunger and thirst would kill them first.
At that moment, Whistle sent another message: [Big Boss, you have to save us! Hanging-Silk Vines are growing on this cliff face, and at their growth rate, they'll overrun the place in less than two days.]
Huo Yin was rendered speechless. Hanging-Silk Vines fed on flesh and blood and were parasitic. Under normal circumstances, they weren't hard to deal with, but in a narrow, enclosed space, Whistle and his team were sitting ducks.
Flashbones in front, Hanging-Silk Vines behind, how were they supposed to save them?
While Huo Yin was contemplating, Whistle's live-stream chatroom was also in an uproar.
💬I think they could dig a shaft from the top leading straight to the cave.
💬Impossible. A huge cluster of Hanging-Silk Vines is growing on the cliff, and those vines nurture massive amounts of parasites. It'd be disastrous if parasites invaded their bodies. More importantly, disturbing the parasites is the same as disturbing the Flashbones, Flashbones love eating those parasites.
💬Can they lure the Flashbones away?
💬Are you kidding me? Over a thousand Flashbones, how are you gonna lure them? Who's gonna lure them? You'd get shot into a sieve in a split second, alright?
💬Is there really no good way?
💬Poor Whistle, looks like he's done for.
"Captain Huo, I think we should forget about it." Gao Fei and Wente from the Knights of the Full Moon both voiced their opposition to taking the risk.
Su Mo and the others offered no opinion, leaving everything to Huo Yin's arrangement. Although they hadn't known each other long, they had built up complete trust in Huo Yin. Furthermore, he had the inscrutable Yuan Chu by his side.
Huo Yin pondered for a moment before saying, "Flashbones aren't a combative species of elemental beast."
Everyone: So?
"As long as we restrain our aura and coat ourselves in Stone-Water, we can walk right through the Flashbone swarm."
Everyone: !
Are you serious? Walk right through a swarm of Flashbones???
Stone-Water was the substance Flashbones were most familiar with; coating oneself in it allowed one to easily blend into their swarm. In theory, that was the case, but actual implementation was exceptionally difficult. Facing thousands of elemental beasts that could shoot you into a sieve, no amount of mental fortitude could keep a person calm.
Evolvers who fought year-round had long developed an instinctual reaction to avoid danger. Even if their logic told them it was fine, their subconscious would still react.
"That's just a theory put forward by some people, no one has ever verified it." Gao Fei shook his head in objection.
Huo Yin said with a calm face, "I believe him."
This theory originally came from a dear friend of his, a brilliant man who loved studying the habits of all kinds of creatures. Unfortunately, heaven envied geniuses, and he didn't manage to survive. Huo Yin's vast biological knowledge today was also thanks to him.
"So you really intend to do this?" Gao Fei and the others looked at him in disbelief.
Huo Yin remained silent, but a look of determination flashed in his eyes. Outsiders believed Flashbones possessed no source cores, but according to his friend's research, the eggs of Flashbones were actually their source cores, and very rare, all-purpose source cores at that, capable of boosting any attribute of elemental ability.
Huo Yin's decision to take the risk wasn't just to save people, more importantly, it was to prove his friend's theory. Regarded as a lunatic by the world back then, his friend had been unable to receive the glory he deserved before he died.
"Chuchu, aren't you going to talk your boss out of it?" Feng Chenxiu leaned in next to Yuan Chu, nudging her arm.
"No need." Yuan Chu's eyes sparkled with tiny specks of starlight as she sensed a shift in the providence surrounding Huo Yin. The moment he made this decision, the fate arranged by the Heavenly Dao split into several different branches.
Whether he could break through the shackles of destiny depended on his courage, his willpower, and his luck.
Huo Yin turned his head to look at Yuan Chu.
"Go ahead." Two simple words represented her absolute, unreserved trust.
The corners of Huo Yin's lips curled up slightly, hesitation vanishing completely. He sent the others to collect Stone-Water nearby, then coated his entire body in it.
His actions left everyone in the live stream utterly shocked.
💬Holy crap, am I seeing things? He really plans to walk through the Flashbone swarm???
💬This move is way too insane!
💬A true hero, daring to face a guaranteed death.
💬Big Boss, if you succeed, I'll sell myself to you at a bargain price!
💬Big Boss, if you succeed, I'll craft six personal aircraft for your team free of charge!
💬Big Boss, if you succeed, I'll provide free clothing for your whole team for three years!
💬Big Boss, if you succeed, I'll assassinate my own boss!
The chatroom audience set up a whole field of ambitious flags, watching with eager anticipation to see the fancy ways Huo Yin would court death.
Once fully prepared, Huo Yin reached the edge of the ravine, pushed hard on the armrests of his wheelchair, and flipped over the side, jumping down.
Everyone immediately crowded around, poking their heads out to watch.
The Earth elements gathered under his hands, constructing a downward staircase for him.
After climbing down several dozen meters, a few scattered Flashbones began to appear. They brushed past Huo Yin without attacking him.
The further down he went, the denser the Flashbone population grew. From time to time, Flashbones crawled over Huo Yin's body, a few even landing on his head and face.
The onlookers watched with heart-stopping tension, feeling even more nervous than Huo Yin himself. What shocked them even more was that applying Stone-Water genuinely prevented attacks from the Flashbones, a fact that completely shattered their understanding of the world.
By the time Huo Yin reached the front of the cave where Whistle and his group were hiding, his entire body was covered in crawling Flashbones, rendering his outline barely visible. Flashbones were sharp enough to shoot through steel plates, yet at this moment, they were crawling all over him like docile pets.
💬I don't yield to anyone except this Big Boss!
💬My trypophobia is acting up!
💬My god, isn't he scared at all?
💬You just want my knees, don't you? Fine, take 'em, take 'em all!
💬Actually, these Flashbones look kinda cute...
💬Sending a "Heh" to the guy next door.
"Chuchu, Boss is going to be okay, right?" Cold sweat poured from Feng Chenxiu's palms.
Yuan Chu: "Emmm..." He's fine for now.
Huo Yin relaxed as much as possible, projecting no trace of hostility as he let the Flashbones play all over him.
He pressed a palm against the rock wall and carved a wrist-sized shaft through it using Earth elements, reaching straight into the cave where Whistle was. He then pushed a bottle of Stone-Water he carried with him through the tunnel, sending it right into Whistle's hands.
His meaning was crystal clear: He wanted Whistle and the others to coat themselves in Stone-Water as well, carve out their own exit route, and climb up with him.
While waiting to assist them, Huo Yin quietly gathered a good number of Flashbone eggs.
Five or six minutes later, a muffled thud echoed from within the rock wall, letting Huo Yin know immediately that the people inside had taken action. Thus, he moved his body slowly, climbing upward along the path he had come.
The sound of falling rubble echoed behind him. Whistle and his team timidly poked their heads out from the newly cracked open cave. Catching sight of the sky filled with flying Flashbones, their faces turned deathly pale, and they quickly yanked their heads back in.
Huo Yin paused his movements, turned around, and looked down.
💬Whistle, don't wimp out, get up there!
💬Relax, the Big Boss already tested it himself, nothing bad will happen.
💬Brother, the time to test your courage has come, beauties around the world are watching you!
The audience in the live stream continuously cheered him on.
Whistle spent a few minutes building up his mental strength before finally crawling out of the cave. Grabbing onto the earthen steps left by Huo Yin, his legs shaking uncontrollably, he began climbing up step by step.
Flashbones landed on him one after another. The cold, slippery sensation against his skin gave him goosebumps, making him instinctively want to swat them away.
That instinctual resistance instantly set the Flashbones off into a frenzy, causing them to fly frantically around Whistle.
Whistle froze on the spot, clinging to the rock wall without daring to make a single move. Seeing Huo Yin pass through so easily made it seem simple, but doing it himself proved just how terrifying it really was. Any tiny anomaly would be noticed by the Flashbones.
Looking up at the height of over a hundred meters, Whistle felt there was no way he was going to make it out alive.
In the midst of his despair, a blood-curdling scream suddenly erupted from behind him. Looking down, he saw the guy behind him being pierced clean through by several Flashbones.
Beams of blood sprayed out before the man plummeted toward the bottom of the ravine. As he fell, countless Flashbones shot back and forth through him, spraying clouds of blood into the mid-air.
Whistle: ...
Live-stream Chatroom: ...
Oh my god, scared the living daylight out of me!
The guy who had called the Flashbones cute earlier practically wet his pants.
With that man's death, the remaining survivors panicked completely, unable to maintain their composure any longer. Their chaotic aura provoked the Flashbones, transforming the once relatively peaceful swarm into a wild rage, and plunging Huo Yin right into danger alongside them.
-----
Yuan Chu: Heavenly Dao is trying to strike at my Child of Luck again.
Huo Yin: Flamboyantly stepping between life and death every single day.
Heavenly Dao: I refuse to believe you won't die.
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