Into the Mountains

In a blink of an eye, it was the day for the quartet to embark on their mission.

Qin Yun had left Qin Manor early at dawn on horseback for County Governor Manor.

"Everyone."

In the main hall, the county governor welcomed Yi Xiao, Qin Yun, and Jia Huairen and his servant.

"The thousand-year-old Ice Jade Fruit is of life-and-death importance to me." The county governor said solemnly. "On this expedition, I request all of you to do your best in retrieving the spirit fruit. If it succeeds, I will be indebted to all of you for life."

"Uncle Wen, since we agreed to it, we will naturally do our best." Yi Xiao said.

"Lord County Governor, you just need to await the news of our success." Qin Yun added.

"We will definitely retrieve this spirit fruit for you." Jia Huairen said confidently as well.

There was a servant holding a tray by the side. On it was five bronze goblets, filled with excellent wine.

The county governor took one.

Yi Xiao, Qin Yun, Jia Huairen, and the old demonic servant each took one goblet of wine.

"At Green Tooth Mountain, all of you are to listen to Yi Xiao's instructions. You are not to take matters into your own hands. Tomorrow, I will rush to the foot of Green Tooth Mountain and wait for everyone there." The county governor raised his goblet. "In short, I'm really counting on all of you."

Yi Xiao, Qin Yun, and company raised their goblets as well.

They imbibed the wine in it.

"Uncle Wen, farewell." After saying that, Yi Xiao left the hall. The four of them mounted their horses and quickly left County Governor Manor.

The county governor watched them leave.

"Father, the thousand-year-old Ice Jade Fruit will definitely be obtained." Wen Chong stood beside his father and assured him softly.

…

"Trot. Trot. Trot."

After Qin Yun and company left Grand Dominance City, they headed north along a path on horseback at tremendous speeds.

If it were said that the city had a high population density, a result of the commoners wanting to reside in a safer city, causing the prices of houses to be extremely high, then it could be said that it was sparsely populated outside the city. Frequently, one would not even see a single person. The occasional village that they came across was a large village that had thousands of people in it! As there were enough commoners gathered, it was able to establish enough strength to defend the village. They were equipped with a large number of crossbows to intimidate the lesser demons.

Furthermore, the on-site inspection office could send reinforcements at any time, allowing humans to survive outside the city.

If the city interior was said to be under the absolute control of the imperial government, then city exterior was where both humans and demons split it equally!

"Ahead is Serene Provincial City." At noon, Qin Yun and company reached Serene Provincial City and did not encounter any danger en route. As demons had much fewer numbers than humans, it was not that easy to encounter a demon.

"About ten kilometers west of Serene Provincial City is Green Tooth Mountain." Yi Xiao said, "Let us rest here in Serene Provincial City for the night before we enter the mountains early tomorrow morning."

"I'll follow whatever Miss Yi says," Jia Huairen said immediately.

He was feeling rather helpless. Days ago, when Yi Xiao was in County Governor Manor, he had gone to visit her, hoping to meet her often. However, she had been in seclusion and did not entertain any guests!

After entering the city, they chose an exquisite inn where they stayed for the night.

******

The early summer was cool but there were many mosquitoes.

Qin Yun was sitting on the rooftop of the inn alone as he drank wine. It was a rare break for him to not cultivate his Intrinsic Flying Sword. He was also suffering from insomnia, so he had obtained a flask of wine from the manager to slowly drink it there.

"Phew." A figure gently landed on the rooftop like a descending fairy.

"Brother Qin, why aren't you sleeping when it's already so late?" Yi Xiao sat beside him and asked with a smile. "Are you thinking about tomorrow's expedition?"

"I'm just enjoying the night view. Hey, isn't there a beautiful scenery, good wine, and Miss Yi here to accompany me? If I were to sleep so early, I would have missed out on such a splendid opportunity," said Qin Yun with a smile.

Yi Xiao covered her mouth as she laughed and said, "Don't drink the wine alone. Let me have a taste of it."

"Here you go." Qin Yun threw it casually at her.

Yi Xiao caught it and immediately tilted her head to down the alcohol. After drinking a large mouthful of it, she choked and coughed twice, as she wiped the alcohol from the corner of her lips.

"You don't drink that often?" Qin Yun asked when he saw this.

"My master is rather strict on such matters inside the sect." Yi Xiao gave a simple explanation. Following that, she said, "By the way, Brother Qin, for our trip to Green Tooth Mountain, that demonic servant of Jia Huairen will be of some use. Although he is very loyal to the Jia family, he is, after all, a demon. If you notice anything amiss, either one of us should directly obliterate him."

"Green Tooth Mountain is filled with demons. If he really schemes against us, we naturally have to obliterate him without mercy." Qin Yun nodded. "The county governor has already said that you will be giving the instructions. I'll do as you instruct."

"That's because Uncle Wen trusts me." Yi Xiao said with a smile, "In terms of experience, you have a much richer experience than me. I will also need your advice so that we can have greater confidence at retrieving the spirit fruit."

"There's really nothing much to be said," answered Qin Yun.

"Brother Qin, please say something. I really do not have much confidence on this matter," Yi Xiao urged him.

Therefore, Qin Yun said, "There's nothing to be worried about. To retrieve the spirit fruit, the critical point is to hide our strength from the beginning. It's best if we can reach where the thousand-year-old Ice Jade Fruit is without exposing ourselves. If we are truly exposed, we can only reveal a portion of our strength, so that the demons would not think of us as too much of a threat. We must not make the demons think that they are unable to defend the spirit fruit or they might end up destroying it."

"Once the spirit fruit ripens, it is natural that we immediately grab it." Qin Yun said, "The grabbing of the fruit has to be done quickly. It has also to be done very covertly because there are definitely demons staying guard around the spirit fruit. If they realize that they can't stop us, they might destroy the fruit."

"Once we obtain the fruit, we have to rush down the mountain and flee for our lives." Qin Yun said, "This is because the moment that happens, we will definitely startle the demons. They will unquestionably be enraged."

Yi Xiao listened as she nodded. "I share the same thoughts."

"The process is simple but to do it requires one to be meticulous and brave. Also, one has to be decisive." Qin Yun said, "If we encounter any exigencies, we just need to improvise on the spot. By the way, do the demons know when the spirit fruit will ripen?"

"The last time the Ice Jade Fruit ripened was a hundred years ago. It needs to ripen ten times before it becomes a thousand-year-old Ice Jade Fruit. Due to the long time intervals, the demons are unable to precisely calculate the moment when it ripens, or which day and hour it is." Yi Xiao said, "Uncle Wen had hired an expert adept at clairvoyance to do a comprehensive divination before confirming that the thousand-year-old Ice Jade Fruit would ripen from nine to eleven in the morning tomorrow."

Qin Yun nodded. "That's good. The chances of success will be higher if the demons are only aware that it will be during this one to two months but not the hour or day."

"If the demons know exactly when the spirit fruit ripens, it will be very difficult for us to steal it." Yi Xiao said with a smile, "As for tomorrow, I will need a lot of your help."

"We will be helping each other." Qin Yun said, "I'm good at melee battles and bad at long-range attacks."

"I'm the exact opposite. I'm poor at melee battles." Yi Xiao smiled slightly. Those who cultivated in Dharma spells would typically keep a distance from the demons since demons were stronger at melee fights! A melee cultivator like Qin Yun that vanquished demons was indeed rare.

…

The second day at dawn.

Qin Yun and company immediately left the inn. The moment Serene Provincial City's city gates opened, they left Serene Provincial City and headed for Green Tooth Mountain.

"Green Tooth Mountain."

Ten kilometers was quickly traversed on horseback.

"Grand Dominance County's tallest mountain." Qin Yun looked up. The mountain looked grand and magnificent. Its peak tore through the clouds and it was an unknown how many demons were hiding in it.

The four of them dismounted their horses and tied them in the neighboring woods.

"Everyone."

Yi Xiao looked at Qin Yun, Jia Huairen, as well as the demon servant, Uncle Qian. "I'll be blunt but everything will be done according to the plans we previously discussed. On our entry into the mountain, we must make sure not to alert even a single demon. If anyone were to be overly careless or deliberately startles the demons, don't blame my Five-elemental Divine Lightning for being heartless." With that said, Yi Xiao's eyes flashed with lightning.

Jia Huairen could not help but shirk back in fear. He immediately said, "Don't worry. Don't worry. Miss Yi, we will do whatever you say."

"We will follow whatever Miss Yi says." Uncle Qian added. Even he did not have the confidence to withstand the famous Five-elemental Divine Lightning.

"A top sect's disciple is indeed extraordinary." Qin Yun thought to himself wistfully when he saw that.

"Let's go, into the mountain." Yi Xiao commanded.

The quartet silently scaled the mountain. Even the weakest Jia Huairen had knocked open the gate of immortality, so it was rather easy scaling the mountain.