“That’s terrifying!”
“I definitely need to learn from the little ice princess!”
Luo Yunxi muttered under her breath before quickly retreating to a corner of the room. She took out a crystal core and began absorbing its energy, constantly chanting to herself.
“Strength… I need more strength. I can’t let a little kid intimidate me. That’s way too embarrassing.”
The little girl remained crouched silently in another corner.
However, this corner was noticeably closer to Feng Moxi.
Feng Moxi sighed inwardly.
This can’t go on forever.
Using her divine sense, she contacted Xiaoying.
“Is there a cultivation method suitable for Wind abilities?”
“Of course there is!”
A jade slip immediately floated toward her.
Feng Moxi caught it and examined the nearly transparent jade tablet, which was carved with a delicate butterfly flower. Curious, she asked,
“You keep pulling out jade slips one after another. Where have you been hiding them all?”
“In the storage room, of course. I just moved this one out for you.”
Now that she thought about it, she had indeed seen an entire box of strange jade slips inside the storage room before.
So they were all cultivation manuals?
Unfortunately, she didn’t have the time to inspect them all right now.
“Thank you, Xiaoying. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Xiaoying immediately became delighted. Following Feng Moxi’s divine sense, the tiny spirit fluttered happily around her.
“I think that little girl’s talent is excellent. She’s actually quite similar to me. Wind spiritual roots focus on speed, and this cultivation technique suits her perfectly.”
Feng Moxi gently stroked Xiaoying’s tiny wings with her little finger before withdrawing her divine sense.
She looked toward the little girl, who was still staring quietly at her.
“Even though you’re still young, I don’t raise freeloaders. If you want to survive in the apocalypse, you need strength. I have a cultivation technique. Do you want to learn it?”
The little girl’s expression remained blank.
Only after a long silence did she blink ever so slightly.
Feng Moxi wasn’t worried about Luo Yunxi becoming jealous.
Everything had to be done gradually.
Luo Yunxi was cheerful, straightforward, and somewhat impulsive. Right now, it was enough for her to strengthen her Water ability with crystal cores until she could protect herself.
Besides, Feng Moxi didn’t have enough time to personally teach everyone.
This little girl was different.
It was as though she had already experienced countless hardships that had completely sealed her heart away from the outside world.
If she truly was the same person from her previous life…
Then Feng Moxi was willing to trust her.
Moreover, she was still young and attracted very little attention.
With enough time to cultivate, she would undoubtedly become Feng Moxi’s strongest and fastest ally.
“Your name is Ling Yusi, isn’t it?”
A flicker passed through the little girl’s eyes.
She immediately lowered her head again, remaining completely silent.
But that tiny reaction was enough to confirm Feng Moxi’s suspicion.
She walked over and patiently explained the cultivation method to her, carefully going through each step and every important precaution.
Like ordinary cultivation techniques, it consisted of two stages.
First, cultivate Qi by sensing the spiritual energy between heaven and earth and transforming it into internal energy.
Second, train movement techniques relentlessly, becoming as fast as possible.
When these two aspects were combined…
They would become the perfect foundation.
Ling Yusi never spoke a word.
She simply listened with complete concentration.
The moment Feng Moxi finished explaining, the little girl crossed her legs, closed her eyes, and immediately entered cultivation.
She adapted so quickly that even Feng Moxi felt a trace of envy.
The night passed peacefully.
Early the next morning, everyone gathered outside the entrance of the large courtyard after breakfast.
Before Chaoyang could speak, Wan Wanxin gently stepped forward first.
“He Ping,” she said softly, “we’ve decided to change our route.”
She pointed toward the mountain nearby before continuing,
“It may not actually be any more dangerous than staying in the town. What do you think…?”
Feng Moxi’s face remained expressionless.
She had expected this.
No matter the situation, her dear cousin never missed an opportunity to demonstrate her capabilities.
Chaoyang had never been someone who enjoyed explaining things.
The rest of his team were equally taciturn.
Since Feng Moxi had already explained everything clearly yesterday, no one bothered repeating it.
With someone else speaking on their behalf, they all remained silent.
Meanwhile, He Ping and his companions had debated the matter throughout the entire night without reaching a satisfactory conclusion.
Wan Wanxin stopped speaking at exactly the right moment, looking at them expectantly with bright, hopeful eyes.
Feng Moxi, however, knew that although He Ping was intelligent, he was also overly cautious.
Their group possessed only two supernatural users, one with an ability and one enhanced mutation. Their combat strength was average at best.
On top of that, they had elderly people and children traveling with them.
She didn’t believe someone as careful as He Ping would willingly take such a gamble.
More importantly…
No one knew what dangers were hidden within that mountain.
Sure enough, He Ping asked cautiously,
“Can we really guarantee we’ll cross the mountain safely?”
“Pfft.”
Chaoyang chuckled before answering with complete seriousness,
“Not even a little.”
He Ping was left speechless.
He looked at the calm Feng Moxi…
Then at the emotionless Sima Yue…
Then at the anxious teammates waiting inside the vehicles…
Finally, he glanced toward Baiyang Town, where hundreds of thousands of monsters might surge over at any moment.
After a long sigh, he finally nodded.
“Then… we’ll have to trouble everyone. We’ll go together.”
Chaoyang nodded casually.
“I won’t be much help anyway. More people just make me feel a little braver. Let’s move.”
The convoy quickly set off.
After about ten minutes of driving over rough roads, they finally arrived at the foot of the mountain.
The pickup truck that had caused them trouble a few days earlier was still parked there.
The moment Wan Yong saw it, fury blazed in his eyes.
Its occupants had clearly disappeared long ago.
Sima Yue lowered his voice.
“Everyone, be careful.”
He pointed toward a narrow mountain trail.
“They’re probably locals. Looks like they escaped along this path.”
To climb the mountain…
They would have to abandon both their vehicles and most of their supplies.
He Ping had gathered a tremendous amount of provisions yesterday, filling three entire vehicles.
Now he hesitated again.
“What about all our supplies?”
There were still eleven people in his group.
Their daily consumption was enormous.
And food would only become harder to obtain as time went on.
Giving up the vehicles was easy.
Giving up food…
That was another matter entirely.
Chaoyang simply shrugged.
“There isn’t much choice.”
Feng Moxi had already stored everything inside her spatial storage.
Although Luo Yunxi’s backpack looked enormous, it was mostly stuffed with chips and other puffed snacks, hardly anything truly essential.
Wan Wanxin’s group, on the other hand, each carried a sturdy backpack.
Their preparations were thorough without being excessive.
“Fifth Brother!”
At that moment, the bearded Wan Yong hurried over, his face filled with anger.
“Don’t let them fool you! Let’s stay at the courtyard and wait for the main rescue force. I refuse to believe nobody can get through Baiyang Town!”
The young man with the Metal ability also stepped forward.
“That’s right, Fifth Brother. This mountain feels too strange. There’s no guarantee we’ll even make it out alive. We should stay and wait.”
Clearly…
No one wanted to abandon their food supplies.
He Ping looked toward the frightened middle-aged woman.
Then toward the pale-faced teenage boy.
He no longer knew whether his hesitation was right or wrong.
The group standing before him was obviously very powerful.
Following them would greatly increase their chances of survival.
But…
There were simply too many things he couldn’t bear to leave behind.
Finally, he took a deep breath.
“I’m… I’m sorry.”
“We’ll stay here and wait a little longer.”
After watching He Ping’s convoy turn around and disappear into the distance…
Sima Yue calmly waved his hand.
His own vehicle instantly vanished into storage.