Gunn

Chapter 682: The Floating Land?

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Anyone intended to enter the No. A1 to the No. A10 footholds in Division 3 had to be inspected. Lin Huang had attached the Union Government's invitation letter when he purchased the ticket. With the invitation letter, the purchase inspection was completed in less than ten seconds, and the pre-booking was completed.

Lin Huang arrived at the No. 3A1 foothold in Magical Sky City a day before. He checked into a hotel next to the Magical Sky Plaza.

After checking in, his Emperor's Heart Ring received two messages.

The first notification was from an anonymous number. There was only one sentence in the message: "The Heaven Alliance members who are going to the ruins, please join the chat group so that it'll be more convenient for us to communicate with each other."

The second message was a chat group invitation link from the unknown number.

Lin Huang then clicked on the link. Since the group chat could be muted, it would not affect him much.

Upon joining the group chat, there were more than ten people there, and the number of people was increasing.

Some of them took the initiative to greet him. Since they had just joined the group, they were excited. Lin Huang and a minority of them chose to keep quiet.

In just a short while, there were already 30 of them. Obviously, all those who were going to the ruins had been added to the group chat.

At that moment, the admin of the group chat was online.

He mentioned every one of them in the message.

"Welcome to the group chat. I'm Shen Tao, from the Heaven Alliance headquarters in Division 1. The purpose of gathering everyone here is to talk about our plan for tomorrow. Since many of them are going to the ruins and only 30 members of the Heaven Alliance are allowed to go, the number of people is incomparable to that of the native organization in Division 3. Therefore, it'll be best for you guys to work together. At 8.30 a.m, I'll wait for all of you at an outdoor café situated in the east of the Magical Sky Plaza. I hope that every one of you can attend." Shen Tao sent a photo of himself after his text.

As Lin Huang finished reading the message, he muted the group chat.

Although he had many secrets to hide, he had no comment on meeting up with the rest. Before he thoroughly familiarized himself with the ruins, it would be more convenient to work with the rest of them. He might be able to gleam unknown information from the others.

Nevertheless, after entering the ruins, he could leave the team if there was the need to do so.

The next morning, Lin Huang took out a Disguise Card. As he crushed the card and activated it, he set his look to the current Lin Xie's look. The main reason for using a Disguise Card was to avoid the demigod from finding out that he was wearing a disguise. If that happened, he would not be allowed to enter the ruins.

After putting on a disguise, Lin Huang then left the hotel room and headed towards the café that Shen Tao had shared with them yesterday.

His hotel was situated in the northeast of the Magical Sky Plaza. The straight line distance between them was less than a kilometer. When he arrived at the café, it was not even 8 a.m. yet.

He ordered a set of breakfast and a cup of coffee, and leisurely enjoyed his breakfast under the umbrella.

After having his breakfast, Shen Tao appeared not far away from him.

He was tall at more than 1.9 meters tall. He was not muscular but was rather skinny. He was wearing a black shirt and a pair of grey pants. In a pair of sunglasses, he looked like he was dressed somewhat formally. However, he did not seem serious.

Lin Huang was hesitating if he should greet him first since the both of them were not close to each other. Right at this moment, Shen Tao saw him and walked towards him.

"Are you Lin Xie?" As he approached Lin Huang, Shen Tao stopped, taking off his sunglasses.

Lin Xie was the most famous person in the Genius Union previously. He was still ranked first on the leaderboard, and his photo had been posted on the leaderboard. Of course, Shen Tao could recognize him.

"Nice to meet you." Lin Huang nodded with a smile.

After shaking hands, Shen Tao sat in front of Lin Huang. He then ordered a cup of coffee and started chatting with Lin Huang.

"Lin Xie, you haven't logged into the Genius Union for more than a month."

"Yes."

"Are you busy?"

"Yes, I'm busy with my training."

Shen Tao then noticed that Lin Huang had already leveled up to gold flame-level. "Your abilities are indeed restricted by your combat strength. I hope that you can achieve immortal-level really soon and appear on the 63rd checkpoint of the Stairway Tree."

Even though Shen Tao was an immortal-level rank-9, he was modest, and Lin Huang felt that it was strange.

Everybody in the Genius Union was a genius. Aside from some of them who were envious of the supreme geniuses, most of them did not like each other. However, many of them had to agree that Lin Xie was pretty outstanding as he had managed to climb to the 55th checkpoint at the Stairway Tree as a blue flame-level.The Stairway Tree evaluated their overall abilities instead of just their combat strength. All of them knew very well that when they had still been a blue flame-level, even if they owned a demigod relic that had no restriction on the number of usages, they would not have been able to get to the 55th checkpoint. However, Lin Xie had achieved it! This proved that Lin Xie was stronger than the rest.

Although Lin Huang's combat level was low, Shen Tao was pleased with him because he knew that if Lin Huang did not die, his ability would definitely surpass him and might be on par with the five kings.

After chatting for a while, the rest of the members arrived one after another.

Since Shen Tao had posted his photo in the group, the people could recognize him at first glance. They then saw Lin Huang who was sitting in front of him.

It seemed like most of the Genius Union members could recognize Lin Xie, let alone the people in the Heaven Alliance.

They immediately sat down and surrounded the both of them.

Most of their topics revolved around Lin Xie and they rarely talked about matters related to the ruins.

Lin Huang attempted to change the topic several times and tried to talk about the ruins.

"About the ruins, do you guys have any information about it?"

"I'm unsure of this since I just came from Division 1 yesterday." Shen Tao shook his head. "Do the natives in Division 3 know anything about it?"

"I've got some information from them." An immortal-level rank-9 native girl from Division 3 shared, "It's said that the ruins are 400,000 kilometers away from Division 3. It's located in the sky above the Peaceful Ocean. It's a land lingering in mid-air. The area of the land is a few times larger than the Magical Sky City."

Although it was just a brief description, Lin Huang and the rest were stunned.

400,000 kilometers was the distance between the Earth and the Moon. What made Lin Huang feel incredulous was the statement about the land existing in mid-air. The area of the Magical Sky City was more than 3,200 square kilometers, equivalent to the area of Africa. However, the floating land was a few times larger than the Magical Sky City. Could it be hundreds of millions of square kilometers large?!

The first thought that flashed through his mind was that it must be false information.

The topic had attracted their attention, and they started buzzing about it. They no longer had their focus on Lin Huang.

About 8.50 a.m, 30 of the members had arrived.

The Union Government that was in military uniform had almost completed the decoration in the plaza, and various organizations started entering.

The attire of the Genius Union members was rather casual. However, the people from the formal organizations were in uniform, including those from the Union Government. They were divided into two teams, and there were 300 of them. Next, the people from the various underworld organizations entered. Lin Huang saw that there were people with a cross on their face, the Saint members in white robes, the Purple Crow members in black coats, the Dynasty members in golden armor, and the heretics that were wearing colorful attire with three crosses tattooed on their neck…

Aside from the Union Government, most of them were from the Hunter Association, the Adventurer Paradise, and Dynasty. There were 200 of them in total. The Saint, the Purple Crow, the heretics, and the rest of the organizations had 100 members respectively. The rest of them were native organizations in Division 3. Aside from the Overlord Alliance that was given 50 quotas, the rest of them were the same as the organizations in Divisions 1 and two whereby only 30 quotas were assigned to them.

"It seems like we can only earn a bit from that." Shen Tao laughed, shaking his head.

"It depends on how big the ruins are." Lin Huang was positive.

"Even if we're lucky enough to hunt some relics, the rest of the organizations will definitely grab the relics from us," a girl said softly.

"Grab it from us? Let's see if they're capable of doing so." Lin Huang had no fear at all.

The people from the Heaven Alliance caught a glimpse of him. Facing so many of them who were stronger than him, Lin Huang still had the courage to say so. No wonder he could do things that others could not.

Aside from the Heaven Alliance, the members from the other organizations were chatting about him as well.

Many of them in the Genius Union could recognize Lin Xie, and they shifted their focus to the people from the Heaven Alliance.

At 9 a.m. sharp, a demigod with white hair and a mustache from the Union Government floated in mid-air. As he waved his hand, he muted all the noises in the plaza and started speaking, "Please keep quiet. I'll talk about the condition of the ruins."

As the elder demigod talked, everybody remained quiet and shifted their attention to him.

"The ruins were discovered during our exploration. The ruins are located on the east coast of the Peaceful Ocean. It's about 400,000 kilometers away from the Division 3 safe zone. The ruins are a land floating in mid-air above the Peaceful Ocean. The area of the land is expected to exceed 100 million square kilometers."

Lin Huang was bewildered as he listened to the information from the demigod. He never expected it to be true.

"Since the ruins only allow holy fire-levels and immortal-levels to enter, we've invited people from different organizations to join the exploration. Everything that you obtain in the ruins belongs to you. The Division 3 Union Government will not impose any charges on the items. Therefore, don't worry…"

After giving a brief introduction regarding the rules, the elder demigod left, and a middle-aged imperial-level in a military uniform took over. He started making arrangements for the trip to the ruins.

"Please remain in your original position according to the organizations. The staff will activate the Dimensional Portal later. Since the Peaceful Ocean is a perilous place, the Dimensional Portal will only send you to an island near the ruins. Please stay there when you reach, and we'll make the arrangements to send you to the actual destination by the Emperor's Ship."

Chapter 683: The True Enemy

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Lin Huang followed the Heaven Alliance's team and passed through the Dimensional Portal. They arrived on an island above the Peaceful Ocean, waiting patiently for the rest to come.

The monsters on the island must have been cleared by the Union Government and the Hunter Association earlier. The crowd had been standing over there for about ten minutes, but not a single monster had appeared.

When it was about 9.30 a.m, all of them had arrived.

The elder demigod then summoned the Emperor's Ship.

The Emperor's Ship was apparently much more expensive than the commercial Emperor's Ship that Lin Huang had boarded at the Victoria Harbour. He knew it just by looking at its appearance alone. A famous designer intricately decorated the patterns on the surface of the ship. However, on the surface of the commercial Emperor's Ship, only the logo of the organization was printed on it. The body of the ship was silver in color. The size of the ship was almost similar to the one for commercial use. However, its weapons had been enhanced, and the number of God Crashers was twice of those on the previous ship. Perhaps the manufacturing cost of the ship would be double or more of that of the former spaceship. If it were to be sold at an auction, its starting bid would perhaps be equivalent to 2.5 demigod relics.

Seeing the Emperor's Ship, not only Lin Huang but the rest of them were looking at it with envy.

After summoning the ship, the elder demigod felt proud of himself as he looked at everyone's expression. He grinned but soon, he maintained a neutral expression and commanded, "Quickly get up onto the ship!"

"Please keep in order." The imperial-level man in the military uniform from the Union Government appeared to keep everyone in line.

About 1,000 of them went on board, and the people sized each other up.

Lin Huang noticed that many of its components were much better than that of the commercial Emperor's Ship. They were of a different standard. The difference was like that between low-cost cars and luxury cars. The former could only be used for transportation whereas the latter was a luxury for people could show off their wealth.

After spending more than ten minutes, the people got into the ship one after another. The elder demigod then said, "We're currently more than 6,000 kilometers away from the ruins. At the cruising speed of my ship, we'll reach there in two hours. You're allowed to do anything you like in these two hours, but please don't create trouble. The first floor of the ship is open to the public. I've prepared some food and drinks for all of you. Since we're going to the ruins right after we arrive, we only serve ordinary sweet beverages which are non-alcoholic. Please bring along your trash as you leave. Otherwise, it'll be troublesome for me when I clean up."

After the instructions, the ship was activated.

"You may leave now. Gather here when we're about to get out of the ship." After Shen Tao finished his words, the Heaven Alliance members left.

The members of the rest of the organizations did their own thing. Some of them stood at the side of the ship, looking out at the scenery. There were groups of people sitting on the deck of the ship, talking to each other. Also, some of the people went to the ship's cabin to look for food.

Lin Huang walked towards the cafeteria located on the first floor as well. Although he had had his breakfast, he did not mind trying some of the excellent food there.

After taking a few steps forward, a few people blocked his way.

The leader was a man with yellow hair that resembled the bottom end of a broom. He was dressed in a green singlet and camouflage pants. He was muscular, and he was on immortal-level rank-9. Without considering his hair, he had a height of more than two meters tall. He looked like an iron pagoda.

"Hey fella, are you the Lin Xie who created a stir in the Genius Union?"

Lin Huang raised his head and took a glance at him. He then fixed his gaze on the rest of them. Other than the muscular man who was an immortal-level rank-9, the rest of them were on immortal-level rank-7 or rank-8. They did not have any apparent characteristics on their bodies. Lin Huang could only confirm that they were Genius Union members. However, he was unsure of which organization they belonged to.

"Why are you looking for me?" After sizing them up, Lin Huang asked without any facial expression. As the people had come up to him, he knew that it was not a good thing. Therefore, there was no need for him to be polite.

"You're just a blue flame…" Right when he was about to utter those words, the man in the singlet noticed the change in Lin Huang's combat strength and immediately said, "How can a purple flame-level be so arrogant? I…"

"Gu Li, the people from the Divine Alliance are shameless. How can an immortal-level rank-9 bully a newbie who's only on purple flame-level?" Somebody interrupted the man. Unexpectedly, the person was Shen Tao.Shen Tao, when did I bully him? I'm here to become friends with him as he's Lin Xie who ranks first on the leaderboard. I'm interested to know if he's different from the others." Gu Li, the man in the singlet, chuckled and said to Shen Tao, "However, I've seen him in person now. There's nothing special about him though. He's as weak as a chick. I won't bother to bully him."

"There's only one question that I'd like to ask you. When you were a blue flame-level, which checkpoint of the Stairway Tree were you on?" Lin Huang asked without any expression.

Their facial expressions changed right after they heard what Lin Huang asked. Nobody was willing to answer his question as it was a rhetorical smack in the face.

Lin Huang was on the 55th checkpoint when he was a blue flame-level. He had broken the record on the Stairway Tree. Regardless of how he had managed to achieve that, it remained a fact that he had broken the record.

"Let's go and have some food over there." Seeing that the rest of them were dumbstruck, Lin Huang greeted Shen Tao and walked past Gu Li and the rest.

Their faces looked gloomy, but they did not stop him.

Many people witnessed what had just happened.

To many of the people outside the Genius Union and those who had left the Genius Union, they had no idea who Lin Huang was. Seeing a purple flame-level could be intimidating to an immortal-level rank-9, so they were curious about him.

"Who's the young man in the white t-shirt?" Some of them started asking.

"He's Lin Xie, the supreme genius of the Heaven Alliance. He managed to get to the 55th checkpoint when he was a blue flame-level. He's currently ranked first on the leaderboard," one of them from the Genius Union informed.

As Gu Li from the Divine Alliance attempted to provoke him, soon, Lin Xie's name was on the lips of everyone outside the Genius Union.

Lin Huang did not know the effects brought about by the conflict. He was enjoying the delicious food at the cafeteria on the first floor of the ship.

"What you said has struck Gu Li dumb. I think it's funny, recalling his facial expression as if he was suffering from constipation." Shen Tao laughed although soon, his face turned serious. "However, Gu Li's ability is on par with mine. After entering the ruins, beware of him."

"A barking dog doesn't bite. His stopping me before we enter the ruins is a way to put on airs. He isn't going to threaten me. Since he's an immortal-level rank-9, he won't fight me as it's embarrassing." Lin Huang knew him well. "If he really were to fight me, he won't create trouble for me in public. He'll secretly kill me in the ruins so that no one will suspect him of being the murderer."

"The people from the Divine Alliance aren't dangerous, but the underworld organization is," Lin Huang frowned as he said. He could sense that the gaze of the people from the underworld organization was penetrating through his body. Their abilities were far beyond Shen Tao's. "The people from the underworld organization have no mercy. As long as they are confident that they can do it, they'll probably attack regardless of who the person is."

Chapter 684: Entering the Floating Land for the First Time

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

With the elder demigod there, nobody got them into trouble throughout the voyage.

Although they encountered an imperial-level king sea monster, it was smacked by the elder demigod and fell into the sea. Nobody knew if it was alive or dead. Soon after, no monsters appeared to trouble them.

After two hours into the voyage, when it was reaching noon, the ship started moving towards the sky.

The Emperor's Ship flew from its initial position which was 10,000 meters above sea level to 15,000 meters, 20,000 meters and finally, it was more than 30,000 meters above sea level. It penetrated through the cloud layers, and the crowd could then see the infinitely large floating land above them.

The land was shrouded in a dense fog. A layer of transparent film isolated it. Not even its shadow could be seen on the surface of the sea. If one did not go up to more than 30,000 meters in the sky, nobody would ever be able to discover the ruins that were being enveloped by the dense fog.

Lin Huang guessed that the person who had discovered the ruins might have almost been killed by the king sea monster, which was the reason why he or she would fly to this height. Usually, spaceships and people would fly to a height of about 10,000 meters to 12,000 meters. It was less likely for them to continue flying upwards because the higher they went, the thinner the air. It would be a huge burden to the human body.

"Alright, we're here." The voice of the elder demigod was soon heard.

"After entering the ruins, please remember to save the coordinates through the dimensional relic first. If you can't stay there any longer, you're allowed to travel to the border of the ruins. As long as you manage to get out of the protective layer, you'll be sent back to the safe zone immediately." The imperial-level man in the military uniform then continued, "The Union Government armed forces are going to take over the ruins a month later which will be on the 7th of August. All of you are given three days to leave. It means that you can only stay in the ruins until the 10th of August. You have to bear the consequences if you're still here after the specified date."

They had no comment on what the Union Government had just announced as it was something common in Division 3. Due to the unpredictable nature of the danger in the ruins and the Union Government being afraid of suffering great losses, they had assigned two small teams and people from other organizations to explore the ruins. After the preliminary exploration had been done and the evaluation had been carried out, a big group of people would be assigned to be stationed at the ruins. Large-scale exploitation of the ruins would then begin.

Lin Huang and the rest were the first batches of people to enter. They were the vanguard. How much they could earn would solely depend on one's ability. The Union Government would not bother about it as they were only given a month to stay there. The area of the land was tremendously significant. Even if more than 2,000 people were thrown into it, not a splash of water could be seen.

After the man in the military uniform finished his words, the people then gradually floated into the sky and flew towards the land.

Lin Huang and the rest of the Heaven Alliance members entered the ruins. As they penetrated the transparent protective layer, Lin Huang did not feel hindered by it. He felt like he was passing through a layer of water and the chill ran all the way through his skin.

Upon entering the ruins, the people saw the world behind the protective layer and were shocked.

Outside the layer, what they saw was a thick forest. As soon as they went through, a world of ice and snow appeared before them.

Looking towards the land far away, the world became a vast expanse of whiteness and snow continuously fell from the sky.

The people from the Union Government and the Hunter Association seemed to expect this to happen. It took them a few seconds to get their team in order and soon, they flew far away.

A few of the teams from the underworld organizations left, following their own direction.

The people from the rest of the organizations followed the people from the Union Government and the Hunter Association as a safety measure.

Shen Tao glanced at Lin Huang and the rest and asked, "Which team are we going to follow?"

"Any teams will do as long as we're not following the Dynasty, the Saint, and the few other teams." As the rest of them did not voice out their opinions, Lin Huang answered with a smile.

"Let's follow the Union Government. Regardless of how brave the people from Dynasty are, I supposed they wouldn't fight the army," Shen Tao decided, seeing that the rest had no comment on this.

The Heaven Alliance members left, following one of the army teams.

Lin Huang was at the end of the line. He secretly summoned Bloody so that it could release its invisible Leech Pods to investigate the condition of the ruins.

The people flew for about 20 minutes. They did not encounter any monsters when they were on their way. However, traces of a fight that were left not long ago were discovered.

Observing the traces of the battle, Lin Huang felt that something was amiss. However, he could not figure out what was wrong in such a short period of time, so he did not say anything about it.

They proceeded and flew for another ten minutes. Lin Huang and the rest then saw that few of the teams had stopped at a place not far away from them, one of which was the Divine Alliance team.

"What happened? Where are the people from the Union Government?" Shen Tao asked.

The other teams knew that Lin Huang and the others were members of the Heaven Alliance. Listening to what Shen Tao said, the people explained, "The Union Government has cheated us. The remains of this battle have been fabricated! They actually headed towards another direction."

Lin Huang then realized what was wrong with the battleground. The battleground seemed orchestrated, and it was not messy at all. As he thought of it carefully, only a battlefield that was deliberately fabricated would look like this.

"The people from the Union Government must've explored the ruins a few days ago and discovered something. That's why they are trying to get rid of us," Gu Li from the Divine Alliance grumbled.

"Regardless of what they've discovered, it has nothing to do with me." Shen Tao took a glance at Gu Li. If the people from the Union Government had gone to the ruins a few days ago and discovered something, they must've saved the coordinates in their dimensional relic. The people from the Union Government might be thousands of kilometers away now."

Shen Tao turned back and flew back to the Heaven Alliance camp. He was not going to waste his time there, so he said, "Let's go."

Listening to what Shen Tao said, a particular person obviously wanted to remind him about something. However, Gu Li stared at him, then kept quiet.

Lin Huang watched what had just happened and called out, "Please wait!"

"Lin Xie, what happened?" Shen Tao was startled.

"Bro, can you please tell me why you guys are here? Why aren't you guys proceeding forward?" Lin Huang slowly flew in front of the person who wanted to talk earlier.

The person then looked at Gu Li helplessly. Shen Tao noticed that Gu Li seemed to want to trick them. "Just tell us what you know. If anyone attempts to get you into trouble because of this, I'll settle it."

"The detection relic picked up a group of monsters blocking our way ahead. We've sent two people on immortal-level rank-7 to see what's going on. However, there's been no news from them even after five to six minutes."

After listening to what he said, Lin Huang and the rest shifted their gaze towards Gu Li.

Lin Huang contacted Bloody through his mind. He asked Bloody to help to check what was happening in front of them.

In just a short while, he received the information from Bloody.

"The area in front of them is the territory of the Yeti Maniacs. It'd be rather far if they were to make a detour."

When Lin Huang heard that, he frowned.

The Yeti Maniac came from the Abyss Brink, and it was an ice elemental. It was born to be violent and insane.

According to the monster guide, the monster was less than a meter tall. They preferred living in groups, and they looked like ugly snowmen.

Despite the fact that their combat strength was quite low, most of them were on immortal-level rank-4 to rank-6. They liked to bug people. Since they possessed the characteristics of an elemental monster which had the undying characteristic, as long as the place had sufficient ice energy, if damaged, their bodies would be recreated endlessly.

Aside from that, the monster was skilled at throwing snowballs at their enemies. The snowballs would not only threaten one's body, but it could also freeze one's Life Power to a certain extent as well. Even for those who were on immortal-level rank-8 or rank-9, once about 20 snowballs struck them, their Life Power would be frozen.

After confirming that the Yeti Maniac's territory was in front of them, Lin Huang predicted that two of the immortal-levels that had gone to check out the situation had become ice sculptures.

Chapter 685: Frost Helminth

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Because we've discovered that it's the monster's gathering point, only then did we realize that the Union Government has gotten rid of us. The Union Government must've cleared all the monsters if they were heading towards this direction," the member of a small organization said.

"Do you know what monster it is?" Shen Tao asked.

"I don't know. We've sent two immortal-levels there, but they've not returned yet. I guess that they aren't coming back anymore."

"I know what monster it is." Lin Huang walked out of the crowd. "If I'm not mistaken, it must be the place where the Yeti Maniac gathered."

"The Yeti Maniac?"

It was apparent that all of them had seen the monster before in the monster guide. Their faces turned grave.

It was one of the most troublesome elemental monsters. It spelled bigger havoc than the undying species. The majority of them were reluctant to bump into such a creature.

"Lin Xie, do you have any evidence?" Gu Li from the Divine Alliance asked.

"My vision is slightly stronger than the rest. I can see that about 3,000 kilometers away, there are two ice sculptures made by the Yeti Maniac," Lin Huang explained.

"I thought you saw the Yeti Maniac. Even if you saw the ice sculptures, that doesn't mean that it's the Yeti Maniac that made them, does it? The sculptures might be created by the other monsters, or they might be the remnants from the past," Gu Li teased.

"If they were the remains of the past, do you think that according to the speed of the snow falling, a two- to three-meter tall ice sculpture could maintain its shape for several days without collapsing? Lin Huang asked. "Also, stop bullshitting if you don't even have a solid understanding of the monster's lifestyle. I'm an Imperial Censor, and I can understand the monsters better than you. Among the known monster types, the Yeti Maniac is the only one that's adept at creating ice sculptures. There won't be any monsters that can do so. Of course, we can't exclude the possibility that it might be some other unknown monster. However, I think it's most likely the Yeti Maniac."

"Lin Xie is right. Other than the Yeti Maniac, there are indeed no other monsters that make ice sculptures." Another Imperial Censor from a small organization agreed with Lin Huang.

Most of the Imperial Censors had memorized the whole monster guide. Of course, they knew for a fact that Lin Huang had spoken the truth. Even the rest of them, who had never memorized the monster guide, were willing to believe Lin Huang as well.

Knowing that he was in the wrong, Gu Li did not refute. He stared at Lin Huang and kept quiet.

"If it really is the Yeti Maniac, we're in trouble." Shen Tao frowned, looking at Lin Huang. "Although the Yeti Maniac is only an immortal-level rank-4 to rank-6, this type of monster usually lives in a group. Even an immortal-level rank-9 wouldn't want to offend it."

Shen Tao lifted his head and gazed at the sky. "If we can't defeat them, let's enter from the top although we might encounter a flock of birds."

"We'll definitely encounter them," Lin Huang confirmed, "When there is a Yeti Maniac, the Glacial Phoenix will definitely be there."

"The Glacial Phoenix?" Reminded by Lin Huang, Shen Tao then recalled that the monster was the enemy of the Yeti Maniac. They would appear whenever the Yeti Maniac was around.

The Glacial Phoenix's body possessed the blood of the frost phoenix. However, the concentration of its blood was on par with the dragon's blood in a dragonkin's body. Although it was not a phoenix blood species, it was incredibly strong. Their combat strength was on immortal-level rank-7 to rank-9, and they would typically appear in a group. Their species belonged to the overlord-rank monster in the sky.

This type of monster usually hunted other ice element monsters as food and the Yeti Maniac was their favorite.

"We're now maintaining a low-level flight. Our existence doesn't matter to the Glacial Phoenix. However, when we fly to a certain height, they'll feel that their territory is under threat and they'll definitely swarm out," Lin Huang warned clearly. "There are cliffs everywhere here. It's not strange if the Glacial Phoenix are hiding over there."

"So, do you mean that we have to take a detour?" Shen Tao asked.

"That's one way," Lin Huang said, gazing at the rest of the organizations. "Let's have a brainstorming session and discuss if there's any other better way."

More than 140 of them started discussing.

"What's happening? We've just come in for half an hour, and the monsters are already blocking our way."

"If we can't move forward and we can't fly higher in the sky, taking a detour is the only way."

"If we were to make a detour, we might possibly meet the people from the underworld organization."

"If it doesn't work, let's dig an underground hole and walk through an underground passage," a young man suggested, catching many people's attention.

"It seems like it's not a shabby idea to walk through an underground passage." Shen Tao shifted his gaze to Lin Huang.Theoretically, it works. However, we can't confirm if there are any Frost Helminth or any other monsters." Lin Huang did not reject the suggestion. However, he voiced out some of the issues that had to be taken into consideration.

"Lin Xie, you're saying that everywhere is dangerous. Let's stay here for a month until the exploration ends." Gu Li could no longer stand it as each time they gave a suggestion, Lin Huang would shoot it down.

"What I'm actually trying to say is that it doesn't matter if the Frost Helminth gets into our body. As long as we're not seriously infected, we won't die. There won't be any side effects if the Frost Helminth is forced out of the body using the fire element Life Power. Therefore, most likely it'll work if we were to walk via the underground passage," Lin Huang explained while shooting Gu Li a sidelong glance.

The reason why he had said so was to tease Gu Li. Bloody had informed him that there was a large number of Frost Helminth in the snow.

"So, we're…" Shen Tao was about to act immediately as his Life Power possessed the fire element. He was not afraid of the Frost Helminth getting into his body.

"Don't worry. Boss Gu is excited to try. Let him and the Divine Alliance take the lead." Lin Huang smirked, looking at Gu Li.

"There's no need to goad me since we'll be the first to go underground. We won't die if the Frost Helminth gets into our body. Stay here until the exploration ends if you're so afraid of the Frost Helminth," Gu Li insulted Lin Huang and Shen Tao. He then shouted at the Divine Alliance members, "Please put on your defensive relics and cover your body with Life Power. Let's start digging!"

After he finished his words, a group of people then landed on the ground. They then picked up their relics and started digging an underground passage.

The Heaven Alliance members and the rest remained at their original positions, patiently waiting to see if digging an underground hole would work. They would know after half an hour.

After a short while, Gu Li and the people from the Divine Alliance had dug a large hole in the ground. Since the snow had accumulated for a long time, the snow got thicker and denser as the hole went deeper. However, the thickness meant nothing to a supreme relic or an ancient relic. Soon, the Divine Alliance members managed to dig a hole with a depth of ten meters.

Lin Huang and the rest were floating above the hole, peering down it.

After about two to three minutes, the people in the hole suddenly shouted.

"Damn, there's really Frost Helminth!"

"I'm doomed. I'm being parasitized by the Frost Helminth!"

"Stop screaming! You won't die!" It was Gu Li's voice.

The people from the Divine Alliance kept quiet after listening to what Gu Li said.

Soon after, the people in the hole shouted, "There are too many of them!"

"Many of them have gotten into my left leg. They've frozen it! Whoever who has fire element Life Power, please help me to defrost it!"

"I'm going to die. One of the Frost Helminth has gotten into my brain. Please help me unfreeze it!"

The Divine Alliance members sounded tragic.

"Don't go any deeper! Quickly leave!" Sensing that it was impossible to accomplish the task, Gu Li finally instructed the members to leave.

Chapter 686: Lin Huang's Plan

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Frost Helminth was a parasite and their combat strength was on immortal-level rank-1 to rank-3.

They were diminutive in size and were usually the stature of an ant. However, they could disguise themselves as snowflakes, penetrating the bodies of living beings when they touched the host's body. Isolating Life Power had a weak effect on them and they could easily penetrate through one's body as long as it was not covered by any relics.

This type of monster would not immediately inflict damage. However, after completing its parasitizing, they would absorb the heat energy from the host's body, causing the host to lose its body temperature rapidly.

The parasite was life-threatening to anyone who was below immortal-level. However, for those who were on the immortal-level or higher, only a large number of parasites could threaten them.

The Divine Alliance members had been attacked because there were too many Frost Helminths underground.

One or two Frost Helminths would not affect immortal-levels rank-7 to rank-9. However, being parasitized by tens or hundreds of Frost Helminth, even an immortal-level rank-9 would not be able to bear it.

The parasite was an ice element creature. Apart from being susceptible to some unique flames with extremely high temperature, it could not be killed.

Their reaction was within Lin Huang's expectations as Bloody had informed him earlier that there was a huge number of Frost Helminths beneath the ground.

Seeing Gu Li and the Divine Alliance members escape from the hole clumsily, Lin Huang did not feel at ease though.

30 Divine Alliance members had gone down, but only 28 of them managed to get out of the hole. Two of them did not return and they could not be saved.

They had only entered the ruins for more than half an hour and two people had already died. The ruins were indeed dangerous.

Gu Li gave Lin Huang a deadly stare as soon as he got out of the hole. He did not say anything and immediately instructed the members with fire element Life Power to help those who were severely injured to get rid of the Frost Helminth.

Gu Li and the rest had set a serious example to them. They no longer wanted to walk through the underground passage anymore. They counted their lucky stars that it had not been their team that had gone into the underground hole. Otherwise, the injuries that they might have suffered would have been more severe.

"Let's make a detour. Although it might take more time, it's better than wasting our time here," Shen Tao was about to leave as he told Lin Huang and the rest.

Most of them nodded in agreement.

Lin Huang was the only one who remained silent.

"Lin Xie, please feel free to express your opinion about this." Shen Tao realized that Lin Huang did not agree to the detour.

"Let's wait for a while." Many people were startled when they heard what Lin Huang said.

"Why do we have to wait?" Shen Tao immediately asked as he wanted to know Lin Huang's intention.

"Let's wait for a chance to hunt." Lin Huang gazed at the hills from afar.

"A chance to hunt?" Shen Tao could not understand.

"The Glacial Phoenix will hunt for the Yeti Maniac every afternoon. They'll usually start hunting from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The hunting hours of the monster groups vary accordingly." Lin Huang then suggested, "We can make our way through the Yeti Maniac's territory during their hunting hours since the Glacial Phoenix will hunt for the Yeti Maniac. As long as we don't attack them, they won't be interested to fight us. As for the Yeti Maniac, they won't put extra effort to fight us when they're being hunted. Even if the Yeti Maniac attacks us, there'll be only a small number of them."

"It's already 12.30 p.m. Could the hunting hours have passed?" Shen Tao found that the plan was workable if, and only if, the Glacial Phoenix had not started hunting the Yeti Maniac.

"Yes. Therefore, we'll know if the plan works after waiting for more than half an hour here. If the hunting doesn't start at 1 p.m, we'll have to take a detour," Lin Huang said. In fact, he knew that the Glacial Phoenix had not started hunting the Yeti Maniac yet.

If they already did start doing so, the Yeti Maniac's gathering place must have looked like a battleground. However, according to Bloody's investigation, the Yeti Maniac was prepared for a fight. Obviously, the war had not begun yet.

"What do you think? Wait for another half an hour, or leave now?" Shen Tao turned his body around and asked the rest of them for their opinion.

"Let's wait for another half an hour. We've no idea how long we'd have to wait if we were to make a detour."

"I'm worried that it'll be even troublesome if we encounter monsters that block our way when we make a detour. Let's wait for another half an hour."

"I personally think that Lin Xie's plan is workable and it's less risky."

In the end, most of them agreed to wait for another half an hour.

Lin Huang did not hide his suggestion from the rest of the organizations. The more people agreed to the plan, the more the Yeti Maniac would be afraid of them, and the safer they would be.

If he were to invite the rest to join them, they would assume that he had bad intentions. Therefore, Lin Huang announced it publicly.

Those who wanted to join were welcomed to do so. Lin Huang would not force those who were reluctant to join either.

Many of the organizations were secretly discussing if Lin Huang's plan was feasible.

Many of them asked the other two the Imperial Censors.

"Are the hunting hours that Lin Xie mentioned true?"

"Aren't we going to be attacked by the Yeti Maniac if we were to make our way through their territory when they're being attacked?"

The final reply that they received confirmed that Lin Xie's suggestion was highly feasible.

Aside from the Divine Alliance, the leader of the other three organizations looked for Shen Tao and Lin Huang as they wanted to join them.

Of course, Lin Huang and Shen Tao agreed with them.

The people from the Divine Alliance were unwilling to bow their heads to the Heaven Alliance. However, they were reluctant to take a detour as well, so they struggled to make a decision.

After more than ten minutes, they managed to get rid of the Frost Helminth that parasitized the Divine Alliance members' bodies. Their combat strength had recovered in that short amount of time. Gu Li did not look for Shen Tao and Lin Huang to discuss this, but he did not leave with the members.

"I guess that they're going to follow us shamelessly," Shen Tao told Lin Huang grumpily.

"If they're going to follow us, just let them be." Since Lin Huang had just fooled them and two of their members had been killed, Lin Huang was not going to make a fuss over it. Furthermore, he did not have a real grudge against them.

At about 12.50 p.m, the people were disappointed as the hunting hours were about to pass. Gu Li and the rest even sneered at them.

The sounds of birds chirping echoed from the snow-covered mountain. Soon after, a flock of white birds swarmed out of the mountain, resembling clouds. They headed towards the Yeti Maniac's territory. Lin Huang could hear the birds flapping their wings from afar.

"The Glacial Phoenix has started their hunt!" Shen Tao did not expect things to turn out as Lin Huang hoped.

"Stop daydreaming. Let's move!" Lin Huang yelled and rushed towards the Yeti Maniac's territory.