120: Chapter 120 The Edge of the Canyon

Dawn was just breaking.

Chen Qingxue was already awake, sitting on an animal hide and taking small sips from a water pouch.

"Awake?" she looked over.

"Yeah." Lin Muchen sat up and stretched his neck. "Slept alright. This place blocks the wind well."

"The wind has died down a bit." Chen Qingxue listened intently. "If we leave now, we can save some energy."

The two did a quick cleanup, packed the animal hide, and crawled out of the rock wall's hollow.

The wind outside was indeed weaker than last night, but it still felt like knives scraping against their faces.

"Let's go."

Lin Muchen circulated his spiritual power and kicked off the ground.

Whoosh—

He shot forward, carried by the wind.

Chen Qingxue followed closely behind.

One after the other, they sped across the grayish-yellow plain.

As Lin Muchen ran, he tried to apply the feeling of "Borrowing Wind to Store Energy" he had gleaned from the Jade Slip yesterday.

As the wind pushed from behind, he no longer resisted it head-on. Instead, he slightly adjusted his body angle, letting the thrust travel down his spine and store it near his Dantian.

Store a bit, run a stretch.

Store a bit more.

Like scooping water into a vat, though it wasn't much each time, after running for over an hour, he felt a warmth near his Dantian, as if he were carrying a small furnace.

"It's working," he thought.

The System's notification sounded in his mind.

[Host continues to comprehend "Borrowing Wind to Store Energy" technique.]

[Wind and Thunder Evasion technique proficiency increased.]

[Feedback Efficiency slightly increased: 15.3% → 15.6%.]

Another 0.3% increase.

Lin Muchen's lips curled up.

This Cracked Wind Plain was truly a great place to grind experience.

"You seem to have gotten a bit faster." Chen Qingxue's voice came from the side.

She had been following and saw it clearly.

"Just some new insights." Lin Muchen didn't go into detail.

Chen Qingxue didn't ask further.

The two traveled in silence.

The grass on the plain grew shorter and shorter until it eventually disappeared, leaving only the bare, grayish-brown ground, polished like a mirror by the wind.

But the wind grew stronger and stronger.

It made their robes flap loudly and their hair fly wildly.

Lin Muchen squinted and looked ahead.

A black line appeared where the sky met the earth.

"We're here," Chen Qingxue said.

The two picked up their pace.

The closer they got, the wider the black line became.

Upon reaching it, Lin Muchen stopped and took a sharp breath.

"Holy crap..."

Before them was a massive canyon, bottomless, with cliffs on both sides as steep as if they had been carved by a blade.

Violent winds howled up from the bottom of the canyon, forming a visible green barrier as they rushed out of the mouth.

wind barrier.

The howling wind sounded like ten thousand wild beasts roaring simultaneously, making their ears numb.

The airflow within the wind barrier visibly twisted and spiraled, occasionally picking up stones and instantly tearing them into powder.

"Is this Gale Canyon?" Lin Muchen shouted, otherwise he wouldn't be heard at all.

"Yes!" Chen Qingxue also shouted. "The entrance! The wind barrier mentioned in the 'record of observations'!"

Lin Muchen stared at the wind barrier.

The System's notification sounded.

[Scanning high-intensity wind-attribute energy field.]

[Analyzing structure...]

[Conclusion: The wind barrier is formed by the collision of rising currents from the canyon floor and cold currents from high altitudes. It contains pure wind-attribute energy, with an energy density over thirty times that of the outside world.]

[Warning: Attempting to cross by force is extremely risky. The Physical Body of a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator has a high probability of being torn apart.]

[Suggestion: Look for weak points in the wind barrier (Eye of the Wind areas) to pass through.]

"We can't force our way through," Lin Muchen shouted to Chen Qingxue. "We need to find a place where the wind is weaker!"

Chen Qingxue nodded and pointed to the edge of the canyon. "Walk along the edge! Let's look!"

Sticking to the cliff wall, they began to walk left.

The wind rushed up from the canyon floor, scraping past the edge of the cliff and forming visible green blades of airflow.

Lin Muchen walked very carefully.

He tried to channel a bit of the Origin Star's Wind and Thunder Power to form a thin protective shield on his body's surface.

Sizzle.

A faint cyan-blue light flashed. As soon as the shield formed, it was struck by an Airflow Blade and instantly shattered.

"So fierce." Lin Muchen's heart tightened.

This wind was more than a level stronger than the wind on the Cracked Wind Plain.

They walked along the edge for about a mile.

The wind showed no sign of weakening.

"Change direction!" Chen Qingxue shouted.

They turned around and walked to the right.

After walking another two miles or so.

A recessed gap appeared in the cliff wall ahead, looking as if a piece had been scooped out with a spoon.

As the wind rushed up from the canyon floor, it clearly bypassed this gap, forming a relatively calm area.

"There!" Lin Muchen's eyes lit up.

They quickened their pace and walked to the gap.

The gap wasn't large, only about two or three zhang wide and over a zhang deep.

Standing in the gap, the sound of the wind outside suddenly lessened significantly.

"An Eye of the Wind?" Chen Qingxue asked.

"Should be." Lin Muchen stared at the wind barrier outside the gap.

The wind barrier here was lighter in color than elsewhere, and the airflow's rotation speed was also slower, but it was still terrifying.

He focused his mind, channeling more of the Origin Star's Wind and Thunder Power to form a solid cyan-blue light membrane over his hands.

Then, he slowly extended his hand toward the wind barrier outside the gap.

Sizzle sizzle—

The moment the light membrane touched the wind barrier, it made a piercing grinding sound.

Wind Blades frantically sliced at the light membrane, which thinned at a visible rate.

Lin Muchen held on for five breaths before quickly pulling his hand back.

The light membrane had become transparently thin.

"It can hold, but only for a very short time." He took a breath. "Ten breaths at most before the shield breaks."

Chen Qingxue frowned. "Ten breaths... is that enough for us to rush across?"

Lin Muchen looked at the wind barrier outside the gap.

Beyond the wind barrier was the bottomless canyon, and the opposite cliff was at least a hundred zhang away.

A hundred zhang in ten breaths?

On flat ground, no problem.

But in this violent wind barrier, every step forward would be against immense resistance.

"It's a stretch," Lin Muchen said truthfully. "And we don't know how thick the wind barrier is. If the shield breaks halfway through, we're done for."

Chen Qingxue was silent for a moment.

"Then what? Go back?"

Lin Muchen didn't speak.

He stared at the wind barrier, his mind racing.

System, is there a way?

[Analyzing wind barrier weak point structure...]

[Detecting periodic lulls in wind intensity.]

[Data: The wind barrier's airflow briefly weakens every thirty breaths, lasting for about three breaths. The reduction in intensity is approximately 40%.]

[Suggestion: Crossing during the lull can significantly reduce the risk.]

"There's a way." Lin Muchen's eyes lit up. "This wind barrier weakens once every thirty breaths, for three breaths each time. We'll rush when it weakens."

Chen Qingxue was taken aback. "How do you know?"

"A feeling." Lin Muchen lied without blinking. "I'm quite sensitive to the wind."

Chen Qingxue glanced at him but didn't ask further.

"Then let's wait."

The two stood in the gap, staring at the wind barrier outside.

Lin Muchen counted silently in his mind.

One, two, three... twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty!

Whoosh—

The wind barrier's airflow visibly slowed for a moment, the rotation speed decreased, and the color grew lighter.

"Now!" Lin Muchen shouted low, and cyan-blue light exploded from his body.

Wind and Thunder Power from the Origin Star surged out, forming a thick protective shield on his body's surface.

Chen Qingxue also immediately circulated her spiritual power to protect her body.

"Go!"

Lin Muchen was the first to rush out of the gap, plunging into the wind barrier.

Chen Qingxue followed closely behind.

As soon as he entered the wind barrier, Lin Muchen felt like he had jumped into a blender.

Violent air currents from all directions frantically tore at the shield.

The cyan-blue light on the shield flickered violently, letting out a sizzling wail.

"Fast!" Lin Muchen gritted his teeth, putting every ounce of strength into his legs as he rushed forward desperately.

Three breaths passed in an instant.

The wind barrier's airflow began to strengthen again.

The rate at which the shield thinned suddenly accelerated.

"Still halfway!" Lin Muchen glanced at the opposite cliff; it was at least fifty zhang away.

The shield wouldn't last that long.

He steeled himself and channeled more Origin Star Wind and Thunder Power, but instead of reinforcing the shield, he funneled it all into his legs.

Wind and Thunder Evasion, burst!

Cyan-blue light exploded between his legs and feet, and he became like a cannonball, forcibly carving a path through the violent airflow.

Chen Qingxue was left behind, but she wasn't much slower, her body protected by sword light as she followed closely.

Twenty zhang.

The shield was already as thin as paper.

Ten zhang.

Cracks began to appear on the shield.

Five zhang.

Crack!

The shield shattered completely.

Violent Wind Blades instantly scraped against his body.

Lin Muchen felt like he had been struck by ten thousand blades simultaneously; his clothes were instantly torn into rags, and countless bloody gashes appeared on his skin.

"Get across!"

With a roar, he used his last bit of strength to lunge forward.

Like a stone, he tumbled out of the wind barrier and crashed heavily onto the ground at the edge of the opposite cliff.

Chen Qingxue tumbled out almost at the same time, landing beside him.

The two lay on the ground, gasping for air.

Their bodies were covered in bloody cuts, and their clothes were as tattered as a beggar's.

But they had made it across.

Lin Muchen looked at the grayish-blue sky above and grinned.

"Intense."