Chapter 017: Conflict

The Dusk Mountains were not very tall overall, but their width was astonishing! The mountains stretched over two thousand li wide!
Within such a vast range, there were also some plains that weren’t very large.
The reason they were called the Dusk Mountains was due to the yellow stones everywhere in the range. These stones reflected the sunlight, giving the area a yellowish glow even during the day, creating an atmosphere akin to dusk.
The Dusk Mountains before Du Fan and his group were bathed in the midday sun, emitting layers of yellow light. From a distance, it seemed impossible to see the end of the mountains!
The Dusk Mountains were the largest gathering place for the dwarves! Moreover, monstrous beasts abounded there—some creatures that were extremely rare elsewhere could often be seen there.
Even dragons who refused to live on Dragon Island or had rebelled against it mostly chose to settle in the Dusk Mountains.
There was another theory: a fierce war among gods had taken place in the Dusk Mountains long ago. Many gods perished there in that war, which was also known as “The Twilight of the Gods.” Those who supported this theory cited the divine ruins in the Dusk Mountains as evidence.
Facing these vast, yellowish mountains, Du Fan curled the corners of his mouth slightly.
“Is this the Dusk Mountains?” Du Fan asked.
“Yes, this is indeed the Dusk Mountains,” came the reply with a nod.
“It’s really yellow,” Du Fan remarked. After saying that, he quickly turned to see the others’ reactions. Fortunately, none of the elves understood the meaning of “yellow” in Du Fan’s past language.
“It’s the light reflected by those yellow stones on the ground that gives the entire range a layer of yellow glow,” Naixiu explained.
“Let’s go in,” Du Fan said.
Not long after entering the Dusk Mountains, Du Fan realized they were actually very desolate. Yellow stones covered the landscape, with sparse weeds and trees growing here and there. Fierce birds such as eagles and vultures flew across the sky from time to time.
When the antelopes grazing on the sparse weeds saw Du Fan and his group approaching, they quickly jumped away.
The divine ruins were located deep within the Dusk Mountains. To reach them, Du Fan and his group had to head southwest.

Along the way, there were yellow stones everywhere, sparse weeds, and scattered trees. Those agile animals ran away at a distance as soon as they saw Du Fan and his group. Occasionally, some first- or second-level magical beasts could be seen; these beasts were even more sensitive than the animals. With a group of over two thousand people, there were also more than a dozen powerful auras within the group. Although these lower-level magical beasts weren’t very intelligent, they fled at a distance upon seeing such a large group. The group continued on safely until dusk—dusk in the Dusk Mountains, an unbelievably stunning sight! That deep yellow hue painted everything in a rich golden color! Everything appeared so solemn, substantial, and tragic! Occasionally, a sense of mystery arose as well. Seeing that it was getting late, with the sun about to set in just a few minutes, Du Fan ordered them to set up camp for rest. Du Fan pitched the camp at the foot of a small hill, below which flowed a stream, taking advantage of the water resources. The elves always carried tents with them, as it was one of their habits. Living in grasslands and forests all year round, they often had to camp outdoors, so they developed this habit of carrying tents. Another advantage of the elves was their extremely long lifespan, giving them plenty of time to gather materials to create things they liked. Thus, items like storage rings, which were precious among humans, were commonly owned by these elves at the seventh level of cultivation, with large storage capacities! When Du Fan’s order to set up camp was given, it left him utterly astonished! Having stayed in the elf tribe near the Dusk Mountains the previous night, they didn’t need to arrange anything themselves. These over two thousand elves quickly set up their tents, turning the land of the Dusk Mountains into a landscape filled with colorful flowers! Tents of various strange shapes, adorned with peculiar patterns and designs, left Du Fan dazzled. “What creativity,” Du Fan remarked, looking at a tent shaped like a pair of breasts. “Who says elves are all pure? Isn’t the owner of this tent an exception?”

Du Fan climbed to the top of the small hill beside the campsite and scanned the terrain. In the Dusk Mountains, there were countless powerful beings, so Du Fan had to be careful. After reaching the summit, he sent out waves of his mental energy. Eventually, he concluded that there was no powerful being within a few kilometers around.

The area was covered in yellow hues. Du Fan suddenly thought that if this place were on Earth in his past life, it would surely become a very famous scenic spot—just because of the extremely strong atmosphere of dusk!

“Du Fan, don’t you really want to eat meat? I’ve never had the chance to hunt for you before. Now I have the chance—let me go hunt one for you,” Nayi Xiu said after seeing Du Fan climb to the top alone and followed him there.

“If we want to hunt, we might have to go far. The animals around here have already been scared away by us,” Du Fan said with a smile.

After that night, Nayi Xiu became much gentler—of course, only in Du Fan’s presence.

Du Fan wrapped his arms around Nayi Xiu and pulled her close to his chest. She hesitated for a moment before leaning against him.

“What should we hunt now? How about I hunt you instead?” Du Fan whispered in her ear.

Having experienced such things before, Nayi Xiu naturally understood what he meant. Hearing his gentle voice and being held in his arms, her whole body tensed up, and she suddenly felt a moistness between her legs.

Du Fan chuckled inwardly and quickly took out a tent from his ring, then set up a silent barrier…

The next day, the elves got up early and continued their journey. As a group of experts at level seven or above, they moved quickly. After a day’s travel, that afternoon, Du Fan and the elves had ventured deep into the Dusk Mountains.

“Everyone, stop!” Du Fan, who was leading the way, suddenly made a gesture.

Ahead, he sensed strong energy fluctuations! His experience told him that there must be experts fighting there!

“Something’s going on ahead—experts are fighting. Nayi Xiu and I will go check it out. You all stay here. I’ll let you know if anything happens. Remember, don’t act rashly!” Du Fan said seriously.

Leaving the elves behind, Du Fan and Nayi Xiu headed forward to investigate.

Just a few hundred meters away, Moses caught up from behind. “Du Fan, you really are unfair. When things got tough, you left me behind. Are we still brothers?” Moses said angrily.

“Moses, you know I left you behind so that if anything went wrong, you could handle it right away. Besides, you don’t trust my and Naixiu’s abilities. I thought we could handle things ahead, so I left you to hold back the enemy,” Du Fan explained.

“I know there are skilled fighters ahead. How could I be left out of such a fight? I came out here to gain experience. You have such a great opportunity and still don’t take me with you. Remember, we’re brothers! If something happens to you ahead and I can’t help you in time, any accident could make me regret it for life!” Moses reasoned with Du Fan.

“Du Fan, let Moses come with us. Moses is a demon warrior; in many situations, he can handle things much more easily than we can,” Naixiu said to Du Fan.

“Moses, since you really want to come, then come on,” Du Fan said with a smile. “If we don’t hurry, it might be too late. I feel those two energy fluctuations are getting stronger—probably reaching their peak!”

Hearing Du Fan’s words, Moses immediately drew his twin great swords, jumped, and landed in front of Du Fan and Naixiu, rushing toward those intense energy fluctuations!

“Is this guy the legendary fighting maniac? As soon as he hears there’s a fight, he gets excited right away!” Du Fan said.

“Du Fan, let’s follow closely behind. Don’t let anything happen to Moses!” Naixiu said.

A little over two li ahead, there was a bend, and in a valley, those intense energy fluctuations were coming from that valley.

“You wretched dwarf! How dare you challenge me, the Yellow Dragon, Daruxi! Wretched dwarf, your foolish actions will cost you your life!” A yellow giant dragon roared loudly!

It was at that moment that Du Fan and his two companions arrived at the valley.

As soon as they reached the entrance of the valley, they saw a yellow giant dragon fighting with a dwarf.

Seeing this, Du Fan immediately signaled to stop moving. Naixiu and Moses understood his intention right away. Instead of showing themselves immediately, they found a nearby place to hide.

“Daruxi, I’ve come here today to slay you! I want the entire dwarf race to know that I am a dragon-slaying hero!” the dwarf shouted loudly.
“You wretched dwarf! How dare you challenge me? Remember, I belong to the noble Yellow Dragon clan! I am the noble Daruxi!” the yellow giant dragon Daruxi roared in anger.
As soon as he spoke, a massive burst of dragon breath was sent toward the dwarf!
The dwarf quickly jumped aside, moving with great agility to avoid it.
The dragon breath hit the ground, causing the yellow stones to melt instantly!
Seeing Daruxi’s dragon breath, Du Fan thought of Chenchen’s green dragon—this was incomparable!
The dwarf dodged the dragon breath, pushed off the ground, and soared into the air. There, he swung his wrist, and a gleaming axe appeared in his hand. Swinging it, he struck at Daruxi’s head!
Seeing the axe coming toward him, Daruxi stretched out his claw and grabbed the axe right away.
With a “thud,” the dwarf was flung backward, but he performed a graceful flip in midair and landed steadily on the ground.
The axe had sent sparks flying from Daruxi’s claw, and a large dragon scale fell off.
As the yellow dragon scale descended through the air, it clearly emitted strange magical fluctuations. “What a valuable item,” Du Fan thought.
Everything on a dragon’s body was excellent material for making weapons!
Staring at the dragon scale, Du Fan swallowed hard, but he didn’t dare move.
In front of a yellow dragon, he didn’t dare act rashly.
After all, every dragon’s strength was at least at the Saint level—or higher. After all, Chenchen’s little dragon had already been a huge surprise. Who knew what level this dragon actually reached?