"The Endpoint" 041. (Shou Ri Forest Chapter) Earthquake

In the quiet valley, a group of six people was riding six fifth-rank magical beasts, mountain brown bears, moving rapidly toward the center of the Tianxing Mountain Range! If ordinary cultivators saw them, they would definitely be stunned!

At this time, they had already been in the Tianxing Mountains for an hour. Although the mountain brown bears were not slow, the long valley still seemed to stretch endlessly. The cliffs on both sides were almost vertical, and from a distance, only some monkey-like magical beasts occasionally appeared on the cliff edges, shouting loudly at Qingyan and his companions, but intimidated by the mountain brown bears' power, they didn't dare to interfere too much.

"Miss Dugu, do you really know the exact location of the Fire Spirit Crystal Vein? The Tianxing Mountain Range is vast, and we've heard about it for years..."

Uncle Tian said respectfully to Dugu Xiaoxuan. After all, he was a clever man and could naturally guess that Dugu Xiaoxuan's background was extraordinary. Besides, their safety now depended entirely on her.

"Uncle Tian, don't be so polite. Except for one person, you can just call me Xiaoxuan."

Dugu Xiaoxuan's temper had not fully relaxed, and she smiled with a side-face expression. But from Qingyan's perspective, this smile carried a hint of devilishness. Dugu Xiaoxuan paused, lightly patted her chest, where her not-yet-full bosom wobbled slightly, and then confidently replied:

"I don't know! But I can feel that we're getting closer to the Fire Spirit Crystal Vein! Oh, yeah!"

As she spoke, Dugu Xiaoxuan smiled brightly, stretched her arms, and made a motion as if flying.

"Feeling?!" the four men exclaimed in unison.

"..." Qingyan was speechless, slammed his forehead with his hand, then opened both hands and covered his eyes.

Dugu Xiaoxuan then laughed awkwardly, saying, "Hehehe, we'll get there, we'll definitely get there..."

"We've been deceived!" Qingyan shouted in his heart, suddenly feeling like a piglet being sold, his gaze toward Dugu Xiaoxuan carrying a sharp edge. If looks could kill, Dugu Xiaoxuan would be dead already! Because the other four men also stared at her with the same eyes, full of sorrow.Du Gu Xiaoxuan 'slapped' down onto the shoulder of the mountain brown bear, motionless, eyes tightly shut, seemingly asleep in an instant.

'Boom... boom...'

At that moment, two loud explosions suddenly came from the front! Less than half a moment later, a violent earthquake struck! This intense tremor was clearly not caused by any magical beast stomping; the only explanation was a natural phenomenon!

For a moment, it seemed as if the mountains and ground were shaking! The powerful seismic waves collided heavily against the steep cliffs on both sides, sending rocks and debris flying, tumbling down the steep cliffs with a 'whooshing' sound!

"It's an earthquake! Run!"

No one knows which man reacted instantly, shouting loudly and fiercely hitting the mountain brown bear beneath him, trying to run forward as fast as possible.

The four men had gone through many storms and hardships, giving them rich experience in adapting to sudden situations. Clearly, young people like Qing Yan and Du Gu Xiaoxuan did not possess this ability. As the saying goes: they have eaten more salt than you have eaten rice, and naturally understand more.

Qing Yan and Du Gu Xiaoxuan were instantly snapped out of their daze by the sound, hurriedly urging the mountain brown bear to dash forward amid the violent shaking.

'Boom! Boom!'

Suddenly, several loud bangs came crashing down from above. Qing Yan glanced up and was shocked to see a massive boulder tumbling down from the sky! At this point, it was only about ten meters above the ground, its tremendous momentum striking down like a powerful cannonball!

Below the huge rock was Du Gu Xiaoxuan! In that moment, she stared wide-eyed at the nearly looming boulder, truly stunned, unable to react!

With a quiet sound from his mouth, but without a hint of hesitation, Qing Yan suddenly grabbed the mountain brown bear's fur. The bear immediately slowed down slightly in pain. Qing Yan stretched out his long arm, snatched the stunned Du Gu Xiaoxuan, and pulled her off the bear's back with a swish of her flowing clothes. Once again, after that earlier mistaken heroic rescue, Du Gu Xiaoxuan landed safely in Qing Yan's arms.Meanwhile, the massive rock, carrying tremendous force, crashed down heavily and struck directly on the mountain brown bear that Dugu Xiaoxuan had been facing!

"Boom! Pff!"

The rock fell like a cannonball, creating intense tremors, and directly knocked Qingyan, Dugu Xiaoxuan, and the beast nearby onto the ground!

However, the mountain brown bear was completely unable to react; it didn't even have time to make a sound, let alone use its mystic power. Its eyes, wide open with mostly visible whites, were the first to be shattered by the rock, accompanied by brain matter, splattering in all directions! Immediately afterward, its body was instantly pulverized by the giant rock, flesh and blood flying everywhere! The blood red color spread across the cliff in a terrifying display, and the stench of blood was pungent and overwhelming!

Qingyan and Dugu Xiaoxuan, eyes bloodshot, stared blankly at the horrifying scene before them, the brutal sight deeply imprinted onto the depths of their hearts!

With the fall of this boulder, the earthquake gradually subsided. In just a matter of seconds, the valley was filled with rubble, and it was unknown how many living beings had instantly vanished within the earthquake's reach.

"Waa!"

Suddenly, Dugu Xiaoxuan beside him burst into tears, her gaze filled with bone-deep fear! She hugged Qingyan tightly, burying herself in his arms, trembling uncontrollably and sobbing almost to the point of losing her voice.

Qingyan, too, was completely paralyzed by the intense fear, instinctively holding Dugu Xiaoxuan close, his eyes devoid of any light.

The horrific death of the mountain brown bear was enough to instill deep fear. Even battle-hardened cultivators could not escape this, let alone teenagers like Qingyan and Dugu Xiaoxuan who had never witnessed such brutality.

At this moment, Uncle Tian, not far away, had already confirmed the safety of the other three men and walked toward Qingyan. As he walked, he turned and pointed in the direction ahead, saying, "Look!"

Ahead, from the peak of the tallest mountain, a thick column of black smoke was rising straight into the sky, piercing the clouds!

At the same time, Dugu Xiaoxuan, also looking at that mountain, shuddered heavily, as if remembering something, instantly stabilizing her mind.Then, in a coquettish rage, she pushed away the still somewhat dazed Qingyan and scolded him in a sulky voice:

"Pervert!"

Little did she know, her angered scolding, which was lowered in volume out of embarrassment, had a hint of flirtatiousness, causing Qingyan, who had basically just returned from his dazed state, to fall into daze once again!