Absolute Destiny Game
Chapter 575 - 7: Above the 9th Heaven

Chapter 575: Chapter 7: Above the 9th Heaven

A fearsome tiger was lurking between the trees, ready to ambush any prey passing by.

Suddenly, a rush of urgent hoofbeats caused it to raise its head, looking towards the forest ahead, only to see a troop of knights galloping along swiftly, their hooves crunching over the frozen snow. Snow-caked branches snapped under the hooves, and in the blink of an eye, more than twenty knights raced past, the tiger watching from a distance as they swept by, and without hesitation, it gave chase.

However, it didn’t pursue them for long, abandoning the chase upon exceeding the range of its aggression territory and returned to its original ambush spot.

The knights, on the other hand, didn’t notice what had just happened at all. Their eyes were focused on one goal—Luoxue Valley.

Bursting out of the sparse forest, the scene suddenly opened up before them.

Ahead lay the azure sky and an expansive valley.

Neighing in unison, the twenty-plus knights reined in their steeds.

"We’re here—this is it, Luoxue Valley!" Longteng Sihai declared solemnly, the commander of this operation.

At this moment, the group stood at the edge of a cliff, looking down at the vast Snow Valley below. Not far away, a snowy slope led straight down into the depths of the valley.

This was a huge basin-shaped valley with steep cliffs on both sides, accessible only by a gentle slope at the front and back.

In the center of the valley lay a huge, long-frozen Ice Lake. Through the gaps in the snow, one could see the thick ice layer, and right in the middle of the lake, there was a substantial Crack, with broken chunks of ice piled up on either side, as if something had violently forced its way through the lake,

Snow Spirits and Frost Ghosts aimlessly roamed about the icy plain.

Small mounds of snow, barely noticeable, dotted the snowy ground, seemingly inconsequential to the uninformed. However, armed with intelligence provided by the reconnaissance team, Xiao Jie knew that within those mounds lay Frozen Zombies on standby. Should anyone approach, they would spring out, attempting to ensnare players, rendering them immobile while inflicting continuous frozen damage—a highly perilous threat.

Xiao Jie silently reviewed the Monster Levels indicated in the data.

Snow Spirits: Level 23-26.

Frost Ghosts: Level 24-27.

Frozen Zombies: Level 18-28.

Xiao Jie looked out over the valley, thinking to himself that it was indeed a perfect battlefield, and the White Dragon must certainly be hiding deep within the glacier.

He didn’t let his guard down because of the lower Monster Levels; every monster in this game possessed various unique abilities, and encounters with unfamiliar monsters in unfamiliar maps usually spelled danger on the first meeting.

Yet, what truly concerned him were the players from the Azure Dragon Association, for this time it wasn’t a minor skirmish, but a true life-and-death battle.

He gazed into the distance.

Sorcery—Eagle Eye Skill!

Objects in the distance were instantly pulled closer.

After a quick sweep, he found no trace of the enemy.

It seemed they hadn’t arrived yet.

By now, Longteng Sihai had started giving out mission instructions.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this time we are facing an extremely dangerous enemy. Everyone needs to be mentally prepared for killing, and even being killed. No mercy, no negligence.

"The standby team will wait here, observing the surroundings. With a good vantage point here, if Azure Dragon Association players come over, they will definitely come down from the opposite snowy slope, which can be clearly seen from here.

"Scout team, it all depends on you this time. Maintain stealth, ensure your safety, scout the terrain, confirm the White Dragon’s location, then return immediately and keep in touch."

Xiao Jie could hear the gravity in Longteng Sihai’s voice.

"Don’t worry, Brother Sihai, I may not be great at fighting, but no one can beat me when it comes to fleeing," Little Dragon Shrimp said.

With that, his form vanished—Invisibility Technique!

He seemed to blend into the surroundings, his attire as white as the snow, appearing almost like wearing optical camouflage. Although unable to become completely invisible, when motionless, one could indeed avoid detection.

"Don’t worry, Sihai, I’ll look after Little Dragon Shrimp. If I run into those ants from the Azure Dragon Association, it will be a good opportunity to score some points."

As Dragon’s Illusion spoke, his figure too vanished, completely disappearing into thin air, a high-level ability unique to an Assassin Master—Shadow Stealth.

This provided true invisibility, reducing one’s presence significantly, such that even beasts with anti-invisibility capabilities would have difficulty detecting.

Xiao Jie had no invisibility capabilities of his own and had to rely on a teammate for help, "Bai Ze, cast an Invisibility Technique on me."

"Got it."

With a wave of his hand, Bai Ze cast the Invisibility Technique, a flash of white mist, and Xiao Jie’s figure also vanished.

[Invisibility Technique: Makes you invisible. Any attack or casting will remove this effect, lasts for 30 minutes.]

Nice, this was much more effective than the Invisibility Talisman.

The three moved silently down into the Snow Valley, An Ran transforming into a massive Snowy Owl, taking to the skies.

As a flying unit, scouting was much more convenient.

Not only could they detect the enemy in advance, but they could also thoroughly survey the map of the Snow Valley, taking photos while observing, which the strategist team would use for tomorrow’s battlefield arrangements.

The trio continued towards the depths of Luoxue Valley. Using Qinggong, they left not a single footprint, and after some time, Little Dragon Shrimp suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"What’s wrong?" Dragon’s Illusion asked in a low voice.

"Someone is watching us!" said Little Dragon Shrimp, his voice noticeably tense.

Xiao Jie scanned the surroundings, but there was no sign of any enemies.

He did see a few monsters, but they were far away.

Their current position was quite hidden, and with their invisibility active, it was improbable for the enemy to detect them.

"Are you sure?"

Little Dragon Shrimp whispered back, "Absolutely certain. It’s my Professional Specialization—[Guilty Conscience]. If someone clicks my icon with their mouse, the system will notify me, and right now there’s someone who’s not with our group clicking on my icon."

Xiao Jie became alert in his heart, and his gaze once again swept around the surroundings, but still no one was to be found.

Sound Recognition!

The radar scanned around, and the enemy was not nearby.

Xiao Jie suddenly looked up at the sky.

Could it be in the sky?

However, there was nothing in the sky except for a few white clouds and the snow owl that was changing smoothly.

Xiao Jie’s heart did not relax because of this; they were now in an invisible state.

Could the observer be someone from the Azure Dragon Association? They actually have such an expert who has gained the upper hand by spotting us?

He looked towards the cliffs surrounding the valley but still found nothing.

Xiao Jie did not use the Qi Observation Skill; Sound Recognition is a Mystical Skill that does not require casting gestures, so using it would not break invisibility.

The Qi Observation Skill, however, is a magic spell; once it’s used, the effect of invisibility disappears. Besides, this skill is only useful at a close range where it can detect a general outline. Due to the thin spiritual energy on players, it’s not useful if they are too far away unless there’s a large scale gathering of spiritual energy.

"But you’re invisible, though." Dragon’s Illusion was still puzzled.

"That’s exactly why I’m nervous," said Little Dragon Shrimp, his voice inadvertently rising a few pitches—"Eh, the warning has disappeared, could it have been a false alarm?"

Xiao Jie didn’t let his guard down and asked in YY: "An Ran, have you spotted the enemy?"

"No, but there are plenty of monsters."

"Keep observing, don’t follow us down. Just keep watch over the rift from above."

The voice of Longteng Sihai also came through YY: "What’s the situation with you guys, why aren’t you moving?"

"Someone is watching us."

There was silence in YY for a moment.

"We’re covering you from the mountain. If there’s danger, we’ll rush down to back you up immediately, but if it’s not possible, just retreat."

Xiao Jie thought for a moment, yet he said in a deep voice: "No, we must confirm whether the White Dragon exists, we’ll continue ahead. Just be ready to support us at any time."

If they retreat now, this expedition would be in vain.

He guessed that the observer was not watching from a close range, it’s very likely they used a skill like Eagle Eye Skill to observe them from a distance.

The Azure Dragon Association is a theme park mode, and most players are of average power, but the core members are surely experts, perhaps it was the effect of some kind of high-level magic.

At this moment, he could not be paranoid or cowardly; instead, he wanted to see if the opponent dared to show themselves.

The three of them continued forward, bypassing the Little Monsters along the way, and soon arrived at the entrance to the Ice Lake rift, a dark and deep crevasse forming a passage downwards, growing darker as it went, as if leading to the Netherworld.

"Down!" Xiao Jie said, leaping down, with Dragon’s Illusion and Little Dragon Shrimp following closely behind.

At this moment, high in the sky, amid the white clouds, standing atop of a cloud bank, were unexpectedly two people.

Both were dressed in Daoist robes, one white and one gray, with the appearance of Taoists, and with their feet stepping on clouds, they looked just like immortals.

Tree Under the Cicada: "Brother Tianmo, what’s going on below?"

Divine Calculation Sky Demon: "The three of them have already gone down."

Tree Under the Cicada: "Earlier you said they stopped and even looked up at the sky? They couldn’t have discovered us, right?"

"Hehe, they’re just on alert, probably due to some kind of anti-surveillance skill or specialty. It’s easy for thieves to develop such specialties, but for these mundane beings to discover us—they don’t have the capability. How does it feel—to stand high above the nine days, looking down upon all living beings?"

Tree Under the Cicada sincerely said: "Thrilling, indeed very thrilling. This Cloud Soaring Skill truly lives up to the name of Immortal Technique, really cool. When can I learn it?"

"What’s the rush? You are currently only at True Man; to advance to Immortal Master, you must reach Level 40. Since you’ve joined the Pantheon, as long as you pass the trials, you can naturally get the resources of the Pantheon. Although reaching Level 40 is tough, it just takes a bit more time.

Even though you can’t learn the Cloud Soaring Skill in a short time, I’ll get you a book on Wind Control Skill, flying should be no problem, just that you won’t fly as high and lack the white cloud effect."

The Wind Control Skill is a Grandmaster-level Daoist Skill, Tree Under the Cicada knew this and would have been thrilled to learn such a Daoist Skill in the past, but having seen the Immortal Technique of Cloud Soaring, he somewhat looked down on common Daoist Skills.

Wind Control is not as impressive as Cloud Soaring.

"Speaking of which, Brother Tianmo, how can you see them even though they’re invisible?"

"Hehe, it’s merely a mere Invisibility Technique. In the face of my Heavenly Eye Skill, of course, there’s nowhere they can hide."

Saying this, he turned to look at Tree Under the Cicada; in the brows of Divine Calculation Sky Demon emerged a golden eye, and the three invisible people below were clearly visible in his sight.

With both Cloud Soaring and Heavenly Eye, Tree Under the Cicada was itching with envy, thinking that he must pass the trial of Pantheon.

"So, what exactly should we do?"

"Just watch and wait. That White Emperor’s Son, if he is a True Dragon after all, managed to break through the formation we set up; luring and killing him won’t be so easy this time.

We’ve drawn both the Dragon Soaring Knights and the Azure Dragon Association here this time. If we can find a weakness while they’re slaying the dragon, it wouldn’t be too late for us to make our move then."

"Brother Tianmo, why doesn’t the Hall Master take action? If the Hall Master took action, surely killing a White Dragon would be effortless, right?"

Divine Calculation Sky Demon suddenly looked at Tree Under the Cicada, the Heavenly Eye between his brows instantly turning blood-red, startling Tree Under the Cicada.

After a moment, the Heavenly Eye finally returned to its original color.

Divine Calculation Sky Demon indifferently said: "You can’t speculate on the Hall Master’s thoughts; such words are fine to say in front of me, but if you say them at the gathering, you’re probably courting death."

Tree Under the Cicada felt a chill in his heart, thinking it didn’t need to be so scary.

"Yes, I will be careful in the future."

"Let’s just watch the show. Look, aren’t the people from the Azure Dragon Association coming?"