My Pretty Campus Queen

Chapter 1310: Chapter 1309: Entering the West Suburb Mountains

Soon, the three of them took the map and set off. Before leaving, Tan Xianglan retrieved the Alchemy Furnace and placed it back in her backpack. It wasn’t very heavy, only seven or eight pounds, which was quite manageable for someone like her, a fifth-stage cultivator, so she didn’t pay much attention to it.

The mountain range on the West Suburb of the Dong Race is a stretch of undulating peaks which not only holds the oldest customs, but also mysterious powers unknown to most.

It is said that in this mountain range, there is a Divine Beast that frequently appears, known to the locals as the Swift Phoenix.

Simply put, it is a Spirit Beast Phoenix, but one that flies very fast, even more formidable than that giant eagle Chen Tianlong encountered at the snow-capped summit the other day. After all, the eagle was not a Spirit Beast and also tires at times.

But the Swift Phoenix is different. It can travel a thousand miles in a day and still maintain its strength. When it transforms, its body can bear a maximum weight of two thousand pounds. What does that even mean?

Ordinarily, a girl weighs about a hundred pounds, which means it could carry twenty girls, though it doesn’t actually have space for that many.

Of course, this Spirit Beast is not just for carrying girls, so having ten spots is already quite impressive.

However, the Swift Phoenix still hasn’t been conquered; it continues to search for its master.

The three of them walked for two to three hours as the sky gradually darkened, now all three were like grasshoppers tied to the same string.

There was no need for Chen Tianlong to worry about Xu Ke causing any trouble. However, he suspected that Xu Ke would certainly try to secretly search for the antidote when he was unprepared.

It’s just that Chen Tianlong didn’t have the antidote on him, and Xiao He wasn’t poisoned, so there was no need for an antidote. He would recover as soon as Chen Tianlong tapped him a few times.

"Mr. Chen, we better stay overnight at the village ahead. It’s getting late and it’ll take us about three more hours to reach the Ice Flame Cave.

The Ice Flame Cave, as the name suggests, is both cold and hot, isn’t that complicated? Yes, it is in this very place where the intense mix of cold and heat occurs that the Pure Energy Stone appears.

But Master Xu Ke had no idea what Chen Tianlong wanted with such things. Even though these items seemed rare, there was no market value for them currently, so for common folk they were trash, absolutely useless if obtained.

It’s understandable as only Chen Tianlong could possibly make use of such material. Although rarity usually brings value, if you’re only selling to one person, it’s either worthless or astronomically priced.

Yet, Xu Ke didn’t know what purpose these things served for Chen Tianlong nor did he suspect any reason to wonder.

Regardless, once Chen Tianlong got his hands on these things, Xu Ke would report back to the mountain stronghold, and after completing his mission, they would part ways for good.

"Alright, let’s stay at the village ahead then." Chen Tianlong looked at the setting sun, guessing that in another half an hour, the sun would fully set. It would not only be dangerous but also pitch black on the mountain at that time, making it hard to find anything.

So the three of them quickly arrived at a small village.

This place is called Phoenix Village, where the villagers raise a significant number of chickens and ducks, especially chickens.

According to legend, some of their chickens have been raised for more than a decade without dying, and these chickens gradually evolve over time and suddenly transform into a Phoenix ascending skyward.

Nonetheless, this is just a legend; few have actually raised chickens for over ten years, as most perish along the way.

One year, during a drought when not a drop of rain fell for five months, a chicken had been raised for ten years. However, no one witnessed its transformation, but the next day it was nowhere to be found. As people saw a Phoenix flying about in the sky, they claimed that their chicken had turned into the Phoenix, and everyone came to worship it.

Indeed, after the worship the next day, rain finally came, so everyone began to regard it as divine. The villagers even contributed to build a round altar on the mountain, and every three to five days, someone would place a great deal of food to entice the Phoenix to come eat.

From then on, the weather was favorable, and to this day, the peace remains.

Once entering the village, they sought a household to inquire where they might rent a room. A kind-hearted old man led the group to a widower’s courtyard.

Here stood a tile-roofed house, constructed on a Four Directions plan with two reception halls. At that moment, a woman aged in her late thirties emerged. When she saw Chen Tianlong and his companions, she was initially stunned, not having seen such young and handsome, as well as beautiful, people for a long time.

The widow was named Zhang Li. Originally a city dweller, she was abducted by human traffickers during an outing with a group and sold here more than twenty years ago. Her husband later died of illness.

Unable to find her way back home, she contentedly stayed here to recuperate.

Seeing the two youths now, looking fair-skinned, she knew they were from the city, and hope flared in her heart—if she could follow them out this time, perhaps she could finally see her family again.

Yet, it had been twenty years. How had her family fared? Had they driven themselves mad searching for her?

In any case, in one word, she wanted out, to leave this mountain range.

This stretch of undulating mountains would be impossible to navigate without someone like Xu Ke who knew the way. Without him, they would long be lost, not knowing where they’d end up. The mountain is filled with wild beasts, and getting lost when night falls is extremely dangerous.

Thus, Zhang Li once attempted to escape, but each time within ten minutes she lost her courage. This is like a Peach Blossom Spring; where could she possibly run? Her phone had no signal, so she was essentially cut off from the outside world.

"Zhang Li, there’s some folks outside who need lodging, and your home has the most rooms in the village. Could you arrange something?" the kind old man said.

"Hmm, sure, but the beds need tidying up; haven’t bothered in a while." Zhang Li couldn’t refuse, eager to inquire if these people could take her out of the mountains.

"Haha, it’s no trouble, as long as there are rooms to stay in." Zhang Li continued, "So, how many rooms do the three of you need? One room per person?"

"Two rooms!"

"Three rooms!"

Chen Tianlong said two rooms, while Tan Xianglan opted for three, reversing their earlier hotel arrangement. Tan Xianglan shot a glare at Chen Tianlong; having clarified their relationship, naturally, they wouldn’t share a room.

"Haha, I understand. Let’s go with three rooms then."

In reality, Widow Zhang Li wished they’d choose three rooms, making her move easier.

Regarding the girl, Zhang Li didn’t have much interest since they were both women. Her strategy was more about persuading the men, hopefully charming them into taking her away.

Though Zhang Li was thirty-six, she remained charming, plus her husband died early before she could conceive, leaving her a widow for over a decade. It’s been frustratingly hard.

Yet this turned out to be a good thing. Otherwise, who knows how many times she would have been ruined by this point, possibly even burdened with children if she were to leave.

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