Chapter 25: Valley of the Gusty Wind

Early the next morning, Su Che and Lei Xiao left the inn, ready to enter the Valley of the Gusty Wind.
Lei Xiao did not ask about the so-called ritual artifacts—such matters were personal privacy, and it was inappropriate to inquire unless someone volunteered to share them.
Lei Xiao repeatedly reminded him, “Junior Su, once you enter the Valley of the Gusty Wind, you’ll likely have to fight against monsters or other cultivators. Are you sure you’re fully prepared and don’t need any additional items?”
“I’m well-prepared,” Su Che said, patting the Qiankun Bag hanging at his waist.
At the current level of Qi Cultivation, one could only use the lowest-grade artifacts or simple talismans in battle. Su Che’s Qiankun Bag contained three flying swords as artifacts, over a dozen various talismans, and several bottles of medicinal pills. There was indeed no need to waste spirit stones on more items.
“Let’s go!”
Lei Xiao waved his hand, and the two headed toward the exit at the southern end of the town.
However, before they could leave the town, they heard a clear voice call out from behind, “Xiaoxiao!”
Judging from the pronunciation, Su Che had no idea what “Xiaoxiao” meant. Since it wasn’t addressed to him, he paid no attention. But Lei Xiao stopped in his tracks and immediately turned around.
Su Che then glanced back and saw a young girl approaching gracefully. She was also dressed in the white robes of a Tianxuan Sect outer disciple, with a jade plaque around her waist bearing the faint inscription “Tianhua.”
Su Che guessed that only disciples from the ten main peaks could wear such jade plaques. It seemed this girl was a disciple of Tianhua Peak, at the third level of Qi Cultivation…
“Third Sister,” Lei Xiao went to greet her.
“Xiaoxiao, are you going to the Valley of the Gusty Wind?” the girl asked directly.
“Yes, I received a mission involving the ‘Earth-Stealing Poison Vines’ a few days ago,” Lei Xiao replied, then introduced them to each other: “Third Sister, this is my new junior disciple from Xuanji Peak, Su Che; Su Che, this is my cousin, Lei Qingxue, a disciple of Tianhua Peak.”
“Nice to meet you, senior sister,” Su Che said, as he was young and at a lower cultivation level, he always bowed politely to any fellow disciple.
“Hello, Su Che,” Lei Qingxue nodded with a smile, her attitude very friendly.
The girl was only about sixteen or seventeen years old, with skin as fair as snow and a delicate appearance, truly living up to her name “Qingxue.”
“Third Sister, how did you end up here?” Lei Xiao asked. “I heard you already entered the Valley of the Gusty Wind once a while back, right?”

“The last task has been completed. This time, collecting Wind Spirit Grass is a task specifically assigned by the senior sister of the outer sect…” Lei Qingxue said gently, “I came here yesterday, hoping to find one or two fellow disciples to enter the valley with, and happened to meet you guys.”
“Then let’s go together!” Lei Xiaoxiao agreed cheerfully. Out of courtesy, she also asked Su Che for his opinion, “What do you think, junior Su?”
“Of course, it’s fine. With a senior sister around, I feel more at ease.” Having an extra person meant more safety, especially since she was at the third level of Qi Cultivation. How could Su Che disagree?
Lei Qingxue smiled gracefully and waved lightly, “Let’s go.”
Lei Xiaoxiao walked in the middle, and the three of them left the town side by side. A few hundred feet further ahead was the northern entrance to the Yinwind Gorge.
At the entrance of the gorge, there were quite a few cultivators coming in and out, mostly independent cultivators with few disciples from the Tianxuan Sect. Among them, a cultivator with an ordinary appearance hid in the crowd and quietly crushed a message token. The paper token turned into a faint light and flew deep into the gorge.
Soon, the “birthmark man” inside the gorge received the message. After reading it, his expression changed slightly, and he said to the other three, “Things have changed a bit. My brother reported that a girl at the third level of Qi Cultivation entered the gorge with those two boys. She’s also a disciple of the Tianxuan Sect, seemingly the cousin of the Lei surname boy.”
“Third level of Qi Cultivation?” Lu, the bearded leader, frowned.
After a brief silence, the man surnamed He pondered, “It’s just one more girl at the third level of Qi Cultivation. It’s not a big deal. Yinghong, what do you think?”
His wife, Yinghong, was a fierce woman whose courage surpassed that of ordinary men. She still smiled casually and said, “It’s okay. Leave that girl to me. I’ll keep her busy while you four guys take care of those two boys first. Then you can come help me.”
The other three nodded in agreement. They were all at the third level of Qi Cultivation. Logically, dealing with those three disciples from the Tianxuan Sect should be easy. Even if things changed and there was one more person, it wouldn’t make much of a difference.
Meanwhile, Su Che and the others had already entered the Yinwind Gorge. The terrain inside was spacious, allowing hundreds of people to walk side by side without issue. The stone walls on both sides were hundreds of feet high, with countless caves of various sizes.
Lei Xiaoxiao took the initiative to explain, “The caves near the entrance no longer have any monsters. They were all captured centuries ago. Monsters are intelligent and only settle and live deep in the gorge.”
Su Che nodded and asked, “The Underground Poison Vine that Senior Lei wants to collect is also found deep in the gorge, right?”

“That’s right. Whether it’s the Underground Poison Vine or the Wind Spirit Grass, any spiritually valuable herbs can only be found more than three hundred li deep,” Lei Xiao replied.
Su Che silently calculated that at the three of them’s pace, it would take at least two hours to travel three hundred li…
After walking for fifteen minutes, there were fewer people in the valley. From here on, everyone had to be on high alert, constantly wary of attacks from monsters or fellow cultivators. Lei Qingxue and Lei Xiao each took out their flying swords and hung them at their waists. Su Che only had a basic understanding of sword control and hadn’t had time to refine it, so he took out two talismans—one for offense and one for defense—and hid them in his hands.
After walking for a while, Su Che saw a type of vine on the rock wall ahead. Its leaves were green, and its flowers were bright, which suited his aesthetic. He wanted to collect some seeds to plant in the prison space on the first floor of the Black Tower, but he didn’t want to delay the Lei siblings’ journey over such a trivial matter…
Just as he dismissed this thought, he heard the deep voice of “Lao Hei” in his mind.
“Master, I sense that someone is following you.”
“What?” Su Che asked in surprise. “Can you sense what’s going on outside?”
He had thought that since Lao Hei was in the prison space on the first floor of the Black Tower and deep within his mind, he shouldn’t be able to sense the outside world. But it turned out he had greatly underestimated Lao Hei’s abilities…
“Yes, Master. I can use your vision to see the outside world, and through my own detection ability, I can observe every subtle change within a hundred zhang radius,” Lao Hei replied proudly. “Let me put it this way, Master—my detection ability is similar to that of a high-level cultivator’s divine sense. It can penetrate soil, stone, or metal, helping you detect enemies hidden underground or on the other side of walls… And even tiny cellular organisms, I, Lao Hei, can see clearly.”
“Cellular organisms?” Su Che had never heard of such a term and asked in confusion, “What are cellular organisms?”
“Huh?” This question seemed to stump Lao Hei.
In the prison space on the first floor of the Black Tower, Lao Hei sat on the ground with his two furry legs spread out, scratching his forehead and muttering, “Right, what are cellular organisms? Why would I, Lao Hei, know that term? I guess I just know it by birth…”
After a while, he said, “Master, for example, some harmful little bugs that live inside your body can affect your health, but you can’t see them… Well, yes, they’re a type of cellular organism.”

Su Che knew quite a bit about parasites and also understood that the higher one’s cultivation level, the fewer harmful substances there would be in the body. After reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, human cultivators’ bodies basically could no longer tolerate such harmful substances.
However, this wasn’t the time to discuss these matters. Su Che quickly asked, “You said you sensed someone following us. Are you sure you weren’t mistaken?”
“Absolutely not!” replied Lao Hei. “That guy wore a fake mask and has been hiding behind you for a long time, staring at you nonstop… I also noticed he seems very interested in the jade plaque you wear around your waist. Every time he sees it, his expression changes significantly.”
“Good!” Su Che nodded inwardly. “I didn’t expect that you, Lao Hei, who seem so rough-looking, could be so observant.”
Pleased with the praise, Lao Hei chuckled. “Master, though I may not look good, I definitely have real skills. You’ll realize that over time.”
Su Che smiled inwardly and said nothing more. He pretended to look around casually, as if curiously observing the environment in the canyon, but in reality, he was keeping an eye on his pursuer with the corner of his eye.
The pursuer was extremely cautious. It took Su Che some time to faintly detect a blurry figure moving swiftly dozens of feet behind him. But the more sneaky the opponent was, the more it proved his ill intentions.
Su Che snorted coldly. “Lei Xiao said that the Yinfeng Canyon is full of all kinds of people, including many bold ones who dare to scheme against the disciples of Tianxuan Sect. I didn’t expect to encounter one so soon!”