Versatile Mage c1-2021, page 211
She did not ask further about the Little Loach Pendant. Her understanding was that Mo Fan would tell her if he wanted to, thus it would be meaningless to ask about it.
The others might assume that Xinxia's thinking was rather old-fashioned, yet they forgot that Mo Fan had been brainwashing her since she was young. Therefore, Mo Fan with the great vision was no doubt the one benefiting the most from his 'cultivation project'!
It did not mean that Xinxia was lacking in her own thinking. Her outstanding results and reputation in her school were proof that she was extremely intelligent, but whenever she was with her Brother Mo Fan, she would instinctively become obedient, and find herself at the mercy of the man.
For example, when the jerk decided to abuse the fact that everyone was resting and slowly moved his hand along the girl's waist toward her round bottom, Xinxia had ten thousand different ways of escaping from the shameless act, yet when she realized that the hand was her Brother Mo Fan's claw, she immediately blushed. She wanted to slap the hand away, but she lacked the courage to do so, thus she could only look around with her panicking eyes, afraid that someone would see it...
However, the baddie Mo Fan was staring sternly into the sky, like an educated young man pondering the laws of nature, about life; but he was in fact doing an infuriating l.e.w.d act by abusing the blind spot in everyone's field of vision!
Luckily, Xinxia never showed any temper when she was with Mo Fan. If she were Mu Ningxue or Tangyue, she would have blasted Mo Fan into the sky with Ice or Fire!
Mo Fan showed no intention of repenting his deeds. He was enjoying the soft touch, the shocking bounce. His hand continued to slide downward, almost covering half of her buttock.
Xinxia's face was so red that steam was on the verge of rising from the boiling temperature. She wanted to stand up...
However, standing up was quite a challenge for her. Besides, if she rose to her feet now, the others would see Mo Fan's hand on her body, and it would be even more embarrassing... The baddie Mo Fan was using her to block the others' vision!
Feeling extremely uncomfortable and the heat rising up in her body, Xinxia was not even in the mood to roll her eyes at Mo Fan. She tried very hard to calm her thoughts, pretending that nothing was happening.
More frustratingly, Mo Fan was simply discussing some normal topics with her like nothing was happening, perfectly disguising his shameless act under the beautiful night sky!
Chapter 475 - Fire Calamity (Part One)
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
----
The party crossed the Drifting Sand River safely, and was welcomed by a barren land which felt like it had been scorched by flames.
This was the North Burning Valley, a unique place with lots of mysteries, yet to be fully explored by humans.
The Hunters were spread across many places in the country, and had repeatedly explored most of the relatively famous demon beasts' territories, thus it was quite difficult to find any resources or treasures there.
In comparison, the North Burning Valley was split up into a corner by the giant Drifting Sand River, so not many Magicians managed to arrive in one piece. It was considered a fertile land, with many resources that the Magicians were willing to risk their lives to secure.
The surface area of the North Burning Valley was unknown for now. According to the information Mo Fan had gathered after spending nine million RMB, the Flame Belle was residing in the north area of the North Burning Valley.
The North Burning Valley had the shape of a basin. The land looked flat in the distance, but someone had already inspected the place before. It turned out that the elevation kept on decreasing when heading toward the middle of the North Burning Valley. The whole place was like a fire pit, the soil around the party was brown-red, and according to the rumors, the area in the center was a burning land.
Flames were sprouting out from the surface, looking like red stalks of grass scattered across the place in lumps. Those without any fire resistance would not be able to travel on it.
The North Burning Valley was also known as the Brazier of China, as there was a high-quality Fire Seed hidden somewhere under the valley.
Even if the area was not produced by the Tiandi Fire Seed as the rumors mentioned, such a place with an abnormal level of Elemental energy would have nurtured lots of Soul Seeds, even those of Soul-grade.
Mo Fan knew that the Tiandi-grade Soul Seed was not something to be found easily. Many powerful Magicians had explored the place, yet none of them had found the legendary Tiandi-grade Soul Seed. How could an Intermediate Magician like him possibly find it?
{TL Note: Tiandi here means Heaven and Earth}
It was wiser to focus on searching for the Flame Belle. Being able to get himself a Flame Belle would be a huge win!
Now that the party had arrived at the North Burning Valley, it was all up to Lingling to decide what everyone would be doing. She flipped through some information in her notebook and did some strange calculations.
"Hey runners, bury these things in the ground," Lingling took out four cone-shaped devices from her bag.
The devices looked like spinning tops, yet their surfaces were coated in some kind of metal, giving them an advanced look.
"Aren't these Element Sensors? Are we trying to figure out the Elemental densities in this area?" Zhang Xiaohou quickly identified the device with his army experience.
"I've learned the behavior of creatures like Flame Belle from the books. They prefer to stay in places where the density of Fire Element is five times higher than the normal level. However, when they are producing offspring, in order to let the new child experience a strong Fire Awakening, the mother of the Flame Belle will live close to a Fire Element Soul Seed. Therefore, if we can find the Soul Seed, we won't be far away from the Flame Belle," said Lingling.
Mo Fan nodded in agreement. The huge sum of money he had spent was not in vain. It actually helped them to target specific locations, as the Flame Belle had fairly consistent living habits. They did not like to move their lairs for no reason.
A Soul Seed was somewhat unique too, as each area could only have one at a time. Therefore, if they managed to locate the Fire Element Soul Seed in the area, they would most likely find the Flame Belle, too. It was the simplest, yet most effective way.
The Element Sensors were the perfect tools to locate Soul Seed or Soul Seed Pieces, as they were able to determine if a Soul Seed were nearby by analyzing the Elemental Densities in the area.
At Lingling's request, everyone placed the Element Sensors at certain locations.
These Element Sensors were quite handy, but it was risky to use them, too. Similar to analyzing the density of demon beasts in Jinlin City, the devices would serve as GPS transmitters when buried under the ground, exposing their locations to the demon beasts nearby. The signal would easily attract the demon beasts that were dying of boredom in the area.
As such, every time they used the Element Sensors, it would be a battle of defending Athena, lasting for as much time the devices needed. Many Hunters ended up being wiped out by the demon beasts, as they did not control their time well, or estimate the difficulty of fighting the local demon beasts accurately.
Luckily, the devices for analyzing the densities of Elements did not need a huge amount of time. The party could easily withdraw before the demon beasts swarmed at them like a nest of bees, so they would not find themselves in danger.
The inspection they were conducting was just to probe the reaction of the demon beasts. However, if they were planning to locate the Soul Seed accurately, a 'Device Defense' battle was inevitable.
After all, the longer the devices were buried in the ground, the wider the area they could analyze, which would help them to locate the Soul Seed that was hidden under the ground. Without using the devices, it would be the same as finding a needle in a haystack.
"We'll go this way; hurry up, some of the demon beasts have already been attracted here!" exclaimed Lingling.
The party retrieved the devices and set out immediately. When Mo Fan saw Chen Yi packing up the Element Sensor at a rather slow pace, he could not help but feel confused.
Chen Yi was Zhao Manyan's cousin. The fact that Zhao Manyan had brought her along was enough to prove that she was reliable and trustworthy. However, there was one thing that Mo Fan did not understand. Lingling, Xinxia, Zhang Xiaohou, and Zhao Manyan were close to him, and they were willing to risk their lives and come along just to help him secure a Flame Belle, even if they would most likely end up empty-handed themselves.
On the other hand, this Chen Yi had agreed to tag along without asking for anything in return. No one would waste their time on something strenuous and unrewarding, and since she was a student of the Imperial College, the competition was surely intense there. It was unconvincing that she would want to waste her precious time on an adventure that would not bring any good to her in return.
However, Mo Fan did not ask about the details, as he assumed that she would not tell him the truth. He had no choice but to wait and see if she were up to something else, or maybe she did have her target here, but she found it difficult to share with the others.
"Look, something is burning ahead, and the fire is extremely high!" said Zhang Xiaohou, who was pointing ahead of them.
The crew followed his gaze and did see the tall fire that he was mentioning...
The problem was, why did it feel like the fire was spreading continuously. When they first saw it, they assumed it to be a fire very far away, but it was undulating like mountains, and suddenly grew bigger!
"Does...does anyone feel like it has grown bigger again? It feels like it's burning all the way into the sky..." said someone in the party.
Mo Fan took a closer look, and as the rolling flames grew bigger, his face was filled with an astounded look as he suddenly realized something!
"It's not growing bigger, it's moving in our direction! Run!" screamed Mo Fan.
The fire was absolutely terrifying. It started on the horizon in the distance, and seemed like a flickering glow at first. However, as it consumed the horizon and spread toward the party at a crazy pace, everyone finally realized how shocking the fire was!
Chapter 476 - Fire Calamity, Part Two
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
Despite not knowing how far away the fire was, the party could already feel its extreme heat wave as it was still approaching them, making their skin dry and throats parched.
Mo Fan knew that when something was far away, yet its size already covered most of their vision, it implied that the actual size of the thing was ten times bigger than what they were currently seeing.
The rolling flames on the horizon were now as big as mountains, and once they arrived, it would be a terrifying Fire Calamity!
"Let's be real; when that thing gets close, does anyone think we can possibly hide from it? This is a barren land, with nowhere to hide," Zhao Manyan stared at the rolling waves of fire in astonishment.
The same as everyone else, his eyes were blazing red from the reflection of the fire, and also filled with the fear toward the unknown coming from deep inside his heart.
"So let's run in the opposite direction. Anything is better than standing here and getting devoured. The force is pure destruction; it feels like the punishment that nature is giving to living things, like the wrath of God to mankind!" said Chen Yi, her voice trembling.
The party did not hesitate any further. Even though they had no idea where the fire came from, their instinctive fear and instinct to survive completely overwhelmed their curiosity!
The group began to run in the opposite direction, and confirmed that the raging fire was approaching in their direction. Luckily for them, the Fire Calamity was still a great distance away.
----
After running for a few kilometers, the ground began to shake. The party immediately saw clouds of dust rising into the air behind them; a huge pack of creatures was sprinting their way!
Within the clouds of dust, the party vaguely saw figures like bulls, with most of their body parts, including their heads, limbs, and some of their joints, covered in strong armor plates. The armor was brown-red overall, most likely due to the occasional tempering by fire.
Their numbers were shocking, and their stomping iron hooves made the ground quake violently!
"What are those? Don't tell me they are chasing after us," Zhao Manyan was startled when he turned around to take a glance.
The creatures with brown armor had a frightening, majestic temperament; it was clear that they were no ordinary creatures.
"Those must be the Killing Armor Beasts; they are well-known for their outstanding defense among the Warrior-level creatures. Unlike the Warrior-level creatures that are capable of leading one or two nests, or are solitary, these Killing Armor Beasts prefer to stay in herds. Their armor is very suitable for making magic armor, but you will find yourself facing an entire herd if you try killing one of them!" Lingling quickly identified the running creatures.
Mo Fan could feel his heart racing after hearing her explanation. A herd of Warrior-level creatures; its fighting capacity must be comparable to an army of soldiers! Despite that, they were fleeing like a pack of terrified birds. Didn't that mean the Fire Calamity in the distance was even more terrifying?
If these Killing Armor Beasts were trampling over groups of demon beasts, it would be a massacre. Mo Fan never thought such creatures would be running so cowardly from something else.
------
Mo Fan and his crew were running too. They finally approached the Drifting Sand River. They initially thought they had overcome the biggest threat after crossing the Drifting Sand River. Little did they know the North Burning Valley was even less welcoming than the Drifting Sand River, straightaway summoning the fury of Heaven to descend from the sky!
They had rested up before heading into the North Burning Valley, so Xinxia's energy had been replenished. Therefore, it was perfectly safe for them to flee into the Drifting Sand River.
Meanwhile, the herd of Killing Armor Beasts which was absolutely terrified by the Fire Calamity was also aware that the Drifting Sand River was a death zone. They began to panic when they arrived at the shore, not daring to move forward.
"When the creatures trespassing into the Drifting Sand River have a stronger presence or higher numbers, it will awaken more and stronger White Sand Demons in the Drifting Sand River, too. As such, we should stay a certain distance away from the Killing Armor Beasts. Their presence and numbers should wake the Warrior-level Skeletal Generals. Those creatures are not something we stand a chance against," advised Xinxia.
Everyone nodded. No one dared to follow the panicking Killing Armor Beasts into the Drifting Sand River.
As the party returned to the Drifting Sand River, since they only had a few members, and their aura was a lot weaker than the Killing Armor Beasts, their safety was guaranteed in the Drifting Sand River with Xinxia's Psychic Element.
On the other hand, the Killing Armor Beasts were not as lucky. They were forced to make a decision; should they fled into the Drifting Sand River toward the west, or try facing the Fire Calamity?
Mo Fan and the others had no time to figure it out, as they continued to run toward the west after crossing the Drifting Sand River's boundary.
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As they arrived deep into the Drifting Sand River, the Fire Calamity at the horizon finally showed some sign of dissipating. However, everyone was confident that the shocking flames were fully spread across the already-scorched land. The Drifting Sand River was most likely the only place that was not affected.
Hot wind continued to blow in from the distance. Everyone was having a hard time in the heat.
They managed to escape from the horrifying flames, but even the remaining heat from the hot wind was unbearable.
Looking in the direction of the North Burning Valley, the whole place was blazing red, like a kingdom of fire, burning in an ocean of flames!
"I was told that the Drifting Sand River is a river of the dead. The number of White Sand Demons correlates to the number of creatures that have died here. I was confused about how the huge river has such a high density of White Sand Demons, as it needs the same amount of lives dying here..." Lingling glanced at the North Burning Valley and spoke in a thrilled tone. "I believe one of the most important factors is the Fire Calamity we have just seen, which forces the creatures to jump into the Drifting Sand River like a death sentence. As time goes by, the Drifting Sand River becomes ever more terrifying."
"Why don't we leave this place? The Fire Calamity is seriously too scary. If we happened to go deeper into the North Burning Valley, doesn't that mean we won't have a chance of getting out alive?" Zhao Manyan was the first to suggest.
No one had expected the Fire Calamity to occur, as none of them had any information about it. Someone else who had experienced it before should have recorded it down in the books...
Chapter 477 - The Feast in the Burning Valley
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
Dunhuang City...
To the north of the city was the Dunhuang City's military headquarters. As a strange heat wave surged across the place, the higher-ups in the headquarters immediately held an emergency meeting.
The authorities immediately gathered at the round table. A tanned man with a huge army cap stood in the middle, holding some fresh information he had just received.
"According to my men's report, a huge Fire Calamity has just occurred in the North Burning Valley, eliminating countless creatures residing in the valley..." said the tanned Commander.
Upon hearing this, the rest of the Commanders in the meeting were filled with joy.
How could they possibly not know about the North Burning Valley, after spending such a long time at Dunhuang? Although the biggest threat to Dunhuang City was the Dunhuang Demon Tigers, even the Hunters who were not stationed here for a long time knew that the North Burning Valley separated by the Drifting Sand River was a mysterious barren land, with countless unimaginable resources and treasure.
