Chapter 348: The Wind Cave Paradise, the Return of the Extinct Soul Beast

Seeing Feng Xiaotian wavering slightly, Chen Huayu and Oscar exchanged a glance and simultaneously grabbed his left and right arms.

"What are you hesitating for? This is an opportunity that won't come again!"

With that, everyone rushed toward the deepest part of the gorge.

After some thought, Feng Xiaotian decided to investigate further.

The wind pressure around them had been continuously decreasing, and even as they ventured deeper, they still hadn't felt the terrifying force of the hurricane.

It seemed that this time, they might actually reach the deepest part of Hurricane Gorge.

Soon, the endpoint of the canyon came into view ahead of them.

"There's the end!"

Everyone quickened their pace and arrived in just a few breaths at the deepest part of the gorge—right in front of a cliff wall.

Looking up, it appeared to be just an ordinary cliff with nothing special about it. Even the source of the hurricane remained a mystery.

The hurricanes within Hurricane Gorge seemed to appear out of nowhere.

For a moment, everyone's doubts deepened.

Wind appearing out of thin air was unheard of on the continent, let alone producing such intense and suffocating wind pressure.

Chen Huayu frowned in disappointment. "What is this? There's nothing here."

Zhu Zhuqing casually pulled a tissue from her pocket. Surprisingly, the tissue wasn't torn apart by the strong winds but instead swayed gently in her hand.

"The wind is still weakening."

Logically, this should have been the source of the wind pressure, so the wind shouldn't be this weak.

Feng Xiaotian felt a bit disappointed by the situation, but he couldn't figure out why the wind pressure had decreased.

If the wind pressure was generated by a spirit-guided device, it might have deteriorated over time due to lack of maintenance, causing the wind to weaken until it disappeared completely.

But did a spirit-guided device really exist within these rock walls?

Driven by curiosity, Feng Xiaotian began searching the area.

The last time they visited the Endless Abyss, the situation had been similar. Ancient ruins were hidden beneath layers of rock, revealing a hidden world inside.

Thinking of this, Feng Xiaotian condensed a wind blade in his palm and cut through the surface layer of the rock wall.

The result left him utterly disappointed. Beneath the rock was still just more rock—no hidden ruins.

Seeing his actions, Yu Die said regretfully, "It seems there are no ruins here."

Zhu Zhuqing suddenly spoke up, "The wind has completely disappeared."

Hearing this, everyone else also noticed the change in their surroundings.

Feng Xiaotian forced a bitter smile. "It seems we overthought things. There's truly nothing here. Since the wind is gone, why don't we head back?"

"That's the only option," Oscar shrugged.

They had barely turned around and taken a few steps when suddenly, a few pieces of broken rock flew toward them.

Dodging quickly, Chen Huayu couldn't help but ask, "The place we came from wasn't the source of the hurricane. Where did these rocks come from?"

Before anyone could figure it out, a massive boulder came flying toward them, forcing them to dodge again.

Feng Xiaotian, who was extremely sensitive to wind-attribute energy, clearly felt that the wind was coming from the direction they had come from.

The hurricane had reversed its flow!

This was unheard of!

"The wind direction has reversed. Everyone, be careful. Let's try to fly out from above."

As he spoke, he summoned his spirit and activated his third soul skill, growing a pair of wings on his back.

Oscar, who had consumed a copy mirror sausage infused with Feng Xiaotian's blood, also gained the ability to fly.

However, when Yu Die and Cai Die tried to summon their butterfly wings, the powerful winds made it impossible for them to stabilize their bodies.

The wind speed rapidly increased, faster and fiercer than anyone had anticipated.

The sisters struggled to resist the raging winds, unable to take off immediately.

Without hesitation, Oscar deactivated his sixth soul skill and used the third soul skill of his sausage spirit to provide everyone with flying mushroom sausages.

The wings generated by the flying mushroom sausages were made of soul power and not physical objects, so they wouldn't create additional resistance.

Zhu Zhuqing quickly distributed the sausages to everyone. After consuming them, they immediately took off, attempting to escape the gorge.

They had barely ascended when they felt the wind pressure increase even further. Feng Xiaotian's expression changed drastically as he shouted, "Quick, land!"

The wind speed surged again, making it impossible to stabilize their bodies while airborne.

Oscar and Chen Huayu reacted too slowly and were pinned against the cliff wall behind them by the overwhelming wind pressure.

Suddenly, a massive boulder came crashing down.

The boulder smashed into the cliff wall beside them, narrowly missing the two.

The impact shattered the boulder and tore off a large chunk of the cliff wall.

Struggling to get up, Oscar tried to break free from the wind pressure. When he turned his head, he unexpectedly discovered a bottomless cave where the boulder had struck.

Seeing this, he shouted loudly, "Everyone, look! There's a cave here!"

Those still struggling against the hurricane had no interest in listening to him.

Feng Xiaotian reacted quickly, finding cover after landing to temporarily avoid the threat.

Once he was safe, he looked toward Oscar's direction and suddenly relaxed his furrowed brows.

Indeed, as Oscar had said, there was a cave in the cliff wall.

At that moment, the slanting sunlight illuminated the entrance of the cave. However, when Feng Xiaotian tried to peer inside, he found it pitch black.

This proved that the cave was very deep.

There was no telling what opportunities might lie within.

Calmly, he shouted, "Everyone, retreat into the cave behind us! The wind here is too strong—we can't get out. Let's take shelter inside!"

Zhu Zhuqing used her soul skill to flash to Feng Xiaotian's side. "What cave?"

Feng Xiaotian pointed behind him, and she finally noticed it.

He continued, "Perhaps we were looking in the wrong place earlier. The true core might be here."

Just moments ago, if not for the falling boulder, they might never have found this cave even with more time.

"Zhuqing, find a way to bring Xiao Ao and Fatty down here, then enter the cave to take shelter. I'll go fetch Yu Die and Cai Die."

Zhu Zhuqing nodded and quickly sprang into action.

Her sixth soul skill allowed her body to become intangible, avoiding the effects of the hurricane.

But the wind pressure here was extremely penetrating. Even in her intangible state, she could still feel the terrifying force of the wind.

She swiftly reached the two men.

Chen Huayu, with his greater strength, was freed first. He then helped pull Oscar along, and the three of them entered the cave together.

From deep within the cave came a fierce wind, matching the speed of the wind outside. The two forces canceled each other out at the entrance, reducing the pressure on the trio significantly.

After a moment of thought, Oscar suddenly said, "Could it be that this is the source of the hurricane?"

"It's impossible."

The speaker was Feng Xiaotian, who had just arrived with the sisters.

"This place was sealed by rock walls earlier. If this were the source of the wind, it would have blown away the blocking rocks long ago."

As for the true origin of the hurricane, they no longer had the luxury to care.

The hurricane had reversed its flow, and the wind speed was incredibly strong. They had no idea whether the wind ahead might be even stronger, so returning the way they came was out of the question.

Even if the hurricane returned to its previous state, they were now at the deepest point. The immense wind pressure and speed could easily tear them apart.

Though reluctant to admit it, they were now completely trapped here.

"It's all my fault for being too hasty. Otherwise, we wouldn't have ended up in this situation," Yu Die said, full of self-blame.

If they had followed Feng Xiaotian's suggestion to retreat earlier, they likely wouldn't have encountered this predicament.

Feng Xiaotian gently patted her shoulder and consoled her, "Exploring the depths was a decision we all made. You don't have to take all the blame."

Pausing for a moment, he smiled. "Besides, we're not completely out of options. We've just entered this wind cave. If we explore further, we might find a way out."

"Maybe there's a path leading upward that could take us directly out of the canyon."

Chen Huayu felt a strange excitement. "Who knows? Maybe there's an ancient ruin deep inside the cave. If we find a few soul bones, wouldn't we hit the jackpot?"

Oscar sneered, "Have you forgotten what happened last time in the Endless Abyss?"

"Hurricane Gorge has existed far longer than those ruins. The soul bones in those ruins were already decayed, so even if there are soul bones here, they're definitely useless too."

Zhu Zhuqing chimed in, "Regardless, we have no other choice right now. We can only venture deeper and search for a way out."

This was no ordinary cave—it was a wind cave.

Gale-force winds continuously surged from the depths of the cave, making it nearly impossible to light a torch.

Venturing deeper into the cave without any source of light meant that if there were any dangers lurking within, they would suffer heavy losses.

Cai Die whispered, "Rongrong once gave me a gemstone that might glow."

Among the group, Ning Rongrong was by far the wealthiest. Many times, she had gifted small presents to everyone.

This gemstone was something Ning Rongrong had given her not long ago.

The moment the gemstone was taken out, the cave was instantly illuminated.

Feng Xiaotian chuckled, "With this, at least we won't be stumbling around in the dark."

The light from the gemstone was limited, so Feng Xiaotian took the gem and walked ahead to scout the path.

The others followed closely behind him, still on high alert.

---

After walking for an unknown amount of time, everyone felt utterly exhausted.

Inside the wind cave, even eating was difficult. Apart from Feng Xiaotian, the others had rested multiple times just to muster some energy.

Oscar, his mind clouded with fatigue, asked, "Xiaotian, how long have we been walking?"

As a wind-attribute soul master, this environment suited Feng Xiaotian perfectly, so he remained energetic and focused.

"We've only been walking for an hour. It seems this wind cave extends deep underground. If we keep moving forward, we might find an exit."

Fortunately, the wind cave had no forks or branches, sparing them the risk of getting lost.

After walking for about the length of time it takes to burn a stick of incense, Feng Xiaotian stopped, put the gemstone back into his pocket, and the surroundings plunged back into darkness.

"Xiaotian, what's wrong?" Yu Die asked.

Feng Xiaotian pointed ahead and shifted slightly to the side. "There's a light up ahead—it might be the exit."

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately perked up.

After walking for so long, they had finally reached the end.

Without hesitation, they quickened their pace and ran toward the light.

The glowing point grew larger and larger until it filled everyone's field of vision.

Bursting out of the wind cave, they were greeted by a vast, circular valley.

At the bottom of the valley stood several towering structures.

Their architectural style was unlike the mainstream designs of Douluo Continent.

Strong winds still blew through the valley, but compared to the narrow confines of the cave, the environment here was much more bearable.

The group found a nearby tree to sit under and began eating food to replenish their strength.

"We're finally out," sighed Chen Huayu as he leaned against the tree trunk, devouring dried meat with relish.

Oscar scanned the surrounding area and said, "Could this be Sunset Forest? I never expected such scenery to exist within a forest."

Sunset Forest was only dozens of miles away from Hurricane Gorge.

They had traveled a great distance inside the wind cave, covering roughly dozens of miles, so it wasn't surprising that he thought this way.

However, Feng Xiaotian remained vigilant as he surveyed the surroundings.

Hearing Oscar's comment, he immediately refuted it. "No, this is definitely not Sunset Forest."

Before entering the cave, Feng Xiaotian had deliberately noted the direction.

Sunset Forest was to their southeast, while the cave entrance was to the west.

They had walked for a long time inside the cave with very few turns, so their general direction should still be westward.

Keep in mind that to the west of Hurricane Gorge lay Tiandou City.

They had lived in Tiandou City for a long time, yet they had never seen this place before.

Chen Huayu quickly stood up, checked behind him to confirm that the cave entrance was still there, and sighed in relief. "Good, we're not trapped here. The cave is still there—we can return the way we came."

"It's no different from being trapped here," Yu Die muttered.

If they returned the way they came, they'd have to face the violent hurricane deep within Hurricane Gorge.

As for where they currently were, they had no idea. They weren't even sure if they could find their way back to Tiandou City.

For a moment, the group slumped down like frostbitten eggplants, sitting helplessly on the ground.

Feng Xiaotian looked around and noticed a massive soul beast near the foot of the mountain.

He quickly crouched down and warned, "Not far below us, there seems to be a Wind God Pterosaur!"

"A Wind God Pterosaur? Isn't that an extinct soul beast?" Chen Huayu asked, perplexed.

From a young age, he had received elite education from the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and had memorized the classifications of soul beasts with remarkable clarity.

Especially those ferocious beasts that had gone extinct—he remembered them vividly.

The extinction of soul beasts was largely due to human factors.

For soul masters to grow stronger, choosing the right soul rings was crucial.

In the past, many influential families would select powerful soul beasts as soul rings for their disciples to enhance the overall strength of their sects.

Over time, certain soul beasts became extinct.

The Wind God Pterosaur, in particular, had disappeared from the continent for 50,000 years—it shouldn't exist anymore.

Feng Xiaotian was equally baffled, but the Wind God Pterosaur was not something to be trifled with.

Since this soul beast had long been extinct, no one knew how to determine its age. For safety's sake, they needed to relocate immediately.

"Leave a marker and let's move," Feng Xiaotian reminded them. "First, explore the area and try to find a way out of this valley. If we can't find an exit, we'll retreat the way we came."

Without hesitation, the group quickly fled in the opposite direction of the Wind God Pterosaur.

"This place is really strange," Chen Huayu muttered under his breath.

He couldn't shake the feeling that they wouldn't be able to leave this valley.

Moreover, many of the trees around them were varieties they had never seen before.

They didn't know whether the fruits growing on these trees were edible.

At this point, finding a way out and locating a water source became their top priorities.

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