The night passed without a word.

In fact, that night, quite a few people went to Wang Junze's small courtyard to find him, including Lan Yi and Tang Mo from the Divine Blade Sect. However, since Wang Junze stayed at the inn, everyone ended up going in vain.

As for chasing him to the inn... now that everyone knew Su Yuwei's identity, they didn't have the guts to just come over.

The next day, just as the sky began to brighten, Wang Junze left Jubei City with Su Yuwei and the others, heading towards Ice Wind Gorge.

Lu Qing somehow found a beautifully decorated carriage, pulled by specially trained warhorses that wouldn't be scared by the presence of demon beasts.

Of course, Wang Junze didn't dare to sit in the carriage with Su Yuwei; he could only honestly ride a horse alongside it.

As for Lu Qing, he naturally took on the role of the coachman.

On the other hand, Wang Xin rode in the carriage, occasionally lifting the curtain to chat with Wang Junze. Although Su Yuwei didn't say much, she didn't stop Wang Xin either. Occasionally asked, she would make a remark or two.

This way, the journey wasn't dull at all.

By noon, they had already entered Ice Wind Gorge.

In fact, even before entering the gorge, a thin layer of frost had already spread around, with temperatures noticeably lower than the surroundings. Upon entering the gorge, fine snowflakes began to flutter down from the sky.

As Lin Tong had mentioned, the snow here never melts throughout the year, starkly different from the climate outside. Now, it seems this special environment likely has a lot to do with the ruins.

"Buzz!"

Not long after entering the gorge, Lu Qing suddenly drew his sword. With flashing Sword Qi, a small white snake was sliced into two.

It was at this moment that Wang Junze suddenly realized, his face subtly changing.

Yinfeng Snake!

Although it was a demon beast, the aura of a Yinfeng Snake was extremely weak, and it was white all over, making it hard to detect hidden in the snow.

Just like a moment ago, until Lu Qing made his move, Wang Junze hadn't even sensed the presence of the Yinfeng Snake, which was inherently a dangerous signal.

"Watch the horse."

Casting a glance at Wang Junze, Lu Qing explained, "Martial Artists can sense danger. If the Yinfeng Snake attacks you, you'd naturally sense it, but if it bites the horse, with your strength, it would be hard to notice."

"I see." Nodding, Wang Junze finally understood.

"Before Refining Spirit, your perception is quite weak, and that's difficult to change. However, it's not entirely hopeless." Su Yuwei suddenly spoke, "For instance, in the state of the first stroke of Chess Swordsmanship, you can get quite close to the sensitivity of Refining Spirit."

"This state is difficult to maintain for long..." Wang Junze replied with some headaches.

"Of course, it's tough to sustain." Su Yuwei mocked, glancing at Wang Junze, "Maintaining it for a short time is already good enough, and you want to keep it forever? Just because you're called a prodigy doesn't mean you can float up into the sky, does it?"

"..."

This jab left Wang Junze unable to say a word.

However, she was right. After all, it's only Condensing Truth. Even if one can contend against a Refining Spirit practitioner in battle, it remains two different concepts from Realm.

"To make it simpler, just release your aura, and these little things won't approach easily." Shrugging, Lu Qing continued, "Yinfeng Snakes, though somewhat unique, are ultimately too weak. As long as you emit an aura above Condensing Truth, they will instinctively retreat."

Attacking the weak and avoiding the strong is an instinct for demon beasts, even for the most basic ones and ordinary wild beasts.

"Let's continue towards the center of the gorge, getting closer to the ruins' entrance so we can observe if there are Deserters ambushing."

Waving her hand, Su Yuwei calmly instructed.

"It's strange that we haven't encountered any Deserters on this journey," Wang Junze mentioned with some surprise.

According to Lin Tong, the Deserters also sensed Ice Wind Gorge and theoretically should have placed many Deserters nearby.

"Responding with the unchanging to the ever-changing strategy."

Su Yuwei calmly replied with a slight shake of her head.

On the other side, Luo Qingxuan and others from various sects were also on their way to Ice Wind Gorge.

But unlike Wang Junze's group, Luo Qingxuan and her group encountered Deserter attacks not long into their journey. And it wasn't just a small force but an organized one, numbering over a thousand.

It was evident that this was a premeditated ambush.

However, since there were no Heaven-Stepping Realm powerhouses among the Deserters, Luo Qingxuan made no move and simply watched the skirmish between the others and the Deserters calmly.

But what puzzled Luo Qingxuan was the Deserters' goal in doing this?

Without the involvement of Heaven-Stepping powerhouses, this battle would be hard to conclude decisively. If they were to force a fight, it would likely result in mutual destruction.

Why would the Deserters insist on fighting before even reaching Ice Wind Gorge? What were they trying to achieve?

Surely they don't intend to decide victory or defeat before the ruins activate? That wouldn't make any sense!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.