Chapter 86: Legend

Chapter 86: Chapter 86: Legend

Hearing these words, Qiao Suluo and Chu Moyuan exchanged a glance, a solemn look appearing in both their eyes.

"There are Beastmen here?"

"But that’s not right. What winter? We are in the south, and it’s currently spring."

If Chu Moyuan hadn’t been here with her, she would have suspected she was hallucinating.

Chu Moyuan also realized that something was very wrong. Not only was it snowing, but there were actually people talking about winter. "Let’s observe first," he said.

Qiao Suluo hurriedly got up and walked to the cave entrance. Chu Moyuan held onto her to prevent her from clumsily falling out.

She shifted slightly closer to the opening and peered outside. Through the blizzard, she spotted four Beastmen wearing animal skin clothing. They were carrying a wild beast over their shoulders and walking in a certain direction.

"This isn’t right. Why are the Beastmen here still wearing animal skins?"

Nowadays, the Beast World Continent had achieved a certain level of civilization. The Da Jing Dynasty had ushered the Beast World into a feudal society. Although it was still quite backward, no one wore raw animal skins anymore. Even in the freezing northern regions, Beastmen were accustomed to wearing proper clothes.

As Qiao Suluo watched them, deep confusion and a sense of unease flashed in her eyes.

Chu Moyuan’s expression was grave. "A Secret Realm."

"What did you say?"

He stared outside, his brows furrowing tightly. "We must have accidentally entered a Secret Realm.

"It’s said that the Secret Realms in the Ancient Secret Forest are completely isolated from the outside. They form their own independent worlds."

Qiao Suluo’s eyelashes trembled, and she froze in shock. "So those Beastmen are the native inhabitants of this Secret Realm?"

Chu Moyuan shook his head. "According to the rumors, there are no Beastmen in a Secret Realm, only fortuitous opportunities."

She was full of doubts. "Then what’s the deal with these Beastmen?"

Chu Moyuan focused his gaze. "Wait here in the cave. I’ll go over and investigate. If anything happens to me, find a way to leave on your own."

It was unknown whether those Beastmen were friends or foes, but they couldn’t just wait around doing nothing either. They needed to figure out a lot of things. If this was truly a winter with an abnormal climate, and they couldn’t leave for the time being, their best option would be to enter a tribe to survive the season.

Qiao Suluo grabbed his sleeve tightly. "I’m going with you. I might be able to help."

Chu Moyuan felt it would be dangerous for them to go together, but she was insistent. Left with no choice, he brought her along.

However, when they followed the sound and arrived in front of the four Beastmen, he called out, "Friends..."

He spoke to them, but it was as if they couldn’t see him at all. They simply walked right past them.

"What’s going on?"

Chu Moyuan tried a few more times, but the result was the same. Furthermore, they couldn’t physically touch the four Beastmen at all.

"This isn’t just a Secret Realm. It might also be an illusion."

Looking at the four figures, Qiao Suluo asked, "So they are Beastmen within an illusion?"

Chu Moyuan remained silent, lost in thought.

At this moment, Qiao Suluo grew even more anxious to find Bai Qianluo. Suddenly, a thought struck her. Bai Qianluo had a dark aura on him. If she used her Purification Ability to sense it, she might be able to track him down.

She extended her senses, and the seedling of her Purification Ability reached toward the north.

"Let’s go find Bai Qianluo first. He shouldn’t be far from here."

Because the blizzard was raging, it was indeed difficult for them to distinguish directions and walk. However, with the purification seedling guiding the way, Qiao Suluo found Bai Qianluo in no time.

Bai Qianluo was nearly completely buried in the snow. He lay motionless in the snowdrift, as if frozen into an ice sculpture.

"Bai Qianluo, Bai Qianluo!"

She called out to him, but he didn’t respond. Qiao Suluo hurriedly utilized both her Healing Ability and Purification Ability on him. After using them, his physical condition should have recovered, yet he still remained unresponsive.

Chu Moyuan said, "The snow is getting heavier. Let’s return to the cave first."

With that, Chu Moyuan transformed into his snake form and coiled around Bai Qianluo to carry him.

As soon as Chu Moyuan lifted Bai Qianluo’s body away, some leaves underneath were revealed. When Qiao Suluo saw them, her eyes lit up.

"Wild Jade Bamboo."

"This is real, not an illusion, right?"

She reached out and began to dig, discovering she could actually touch it.

Once she dug it out, the system immediately chimed in. "DING! Detected two catties and six taels of wild Jade Bamboo. At a rate of two points per one tael, does the host wish to sell?"

Hearing the system’s words, Qiao Suluo couldn’t have been more thrilled.

"Sell."

After she confirmed the sale, seventy-six points instantly arrived in her Space Mall account. She was so excited she almost cried.

When Chu Moyuan coiled around her as well to carry them both, he saw her reddened eyes. He assumed she was overwhelmed with grief from worrying about Bai Qianluo. He hesitated for a moment before saying, "Don’t be sad. He should be fine."

Qiao Suluo nodded.

Braving the blizzard to carry them back to the cave was incredibly physically draining for Chu Moyuan. Once they arrived, he slumped against the wall in exhaustion, his face even paler than before.

Qiao Suluo checked on Bai Qianluo’s condition. After taking his pulse, she confirmed that he was fine; he had just fallen into a deep sleep and would be back to normal once he woke up.

Seeing the blizzard growing increasingly fierce outside, Chu Moyuan didn’t dare to rest for long. He stood up and said, "Bai Qianluo should wake up soon. With him here, you’ll be safe. I’ll go hunt some prey."

Qiao Suluo hurriedly took out a small pot, some coal, and food from her space. "Don’t go hunting. It’s too dangerous out there. I have food right here."

Fortunately, she now had seventy-six points in her space. She had exchanged for these items in the Space Mall, and they didn’t cost too many points, so seventy-six points were enough.

Chu Moyuan stared at her in absolute shock. He knew she harbored secrets, but he never expected there to be so many. Just when he thought he had learned enough about her, she always managed to bring another surprise. It left him entirely speechless.

"I’ll cook some noodles for us to eat first."

In the past, Qiao Suluo wouldn’t have dared to expose these things. But now that she and Chu Moyuan had shared life-or-death experiences together, she trusted him.

Actually, what she had taken out was instant noodles. They were cheap, flavorful, and drinking the hot broth would warm their bodies. So, instant noodles it was.

WHOOSH...

Outside, the blizzard raged on, but inside the cave, the burning coal radiated a comforting heat.

While the noodles were boiling, Bai Qianluo woke up.

The moment he opened his eyes, he rushed over to Qiao Suluo, nervously inspecting her from head to toe. "Wife, how are you? Are you hurt? Are you feeling unwell anywhere?"

"Don’t worry, I’m fine," she reassured him.

Confirming that she was unhurt, Bai Qianluo pulled her into a tight embrace. His last memory was of the scene where they were swallowed by the vortex. He blamed himself for failing to protect her. Waking up to see her safe and sound gave him the profound relief of surviving a catastrophe.

Qiao Suluo explained their current situation to him.

Listening to her words, Bai Qianluo’s aloof expression turned grave. "I once heard a legend, and it’s different from the legend of the Ancient Secret Forest we’ve been told.

"What is it?"

"It is said that a thousand years ago, a massive war broke out in the northern Snowfield of the Beast World Continent. Dark Creatures invaded the Beast World Continent, massacring the Beastmen of that era. Just as the Beastmen were on the brink of extinction, a Snow Domain Beastman possessing an Innate Divine Ability used a unique Secret Technique to seal away the Dark Creatures. As for whether that Snow Domain Beastman lived or died, no one knows. Some say he fell into a deep slumber, while others claim he sacrificed himself.

"Perhaps the Beastmen you saw earlier were the native inhabitants of the Snowfield from a thousand years ago. Rumor has it that the Snow Domain Beastman with the Innate Divine Ability also possessed an Ice and Snow Ability."