230: Chapter 230 Success Doesn't Have to Be Mine

"Sister, why won't you let me go to the battlefield?"

Inside a temporary dwelling built from stone bricks.

The white-haired, snake-eyed youth asked the woman in a red dress beside him.

"Mingyue, you don't know how cunning humans are."

As Youyue walked, the hem of her skirt swayed, faintly outlining the contours of her slender legs. Through the side slit, her fair skin flickered amidst the red silk, resembling a rose fallen upon snow.

Mingyue pouted. "That human is right inside the city. We might get to see him during the next siege."

He was talking about the scoundrel who had "insulted" his sister. His name was Shen Xingchen, and he was rumored to be highly regarded by the upper echelons of Snowfield Dragon City.

Youyue's skirt, like blood and flames, rippled slightly. "When we arrived at the battlefield last time, the battle had already ended. Who would have thought that the one surnamed Shen actually accomplished something extraordinary."

She only found out later that Shen Xingchen not only helped Snowfield Dragon City give birth to a king-tier powerhouse wielding the Time Authority, but also accommodated the Time Authority with his Tier 6 strength.

Now Shen Xingchen was heavily protected by Snowfield Dragon City, making it extremely difficult to get to him.

Even with Youyue being a magic general of the Xiang Realm, she still found it a massive headache.

Mingyue said, "I'll kill that person for Sister and present the Time Authority to you. By then, even the king tiers won't dare look down on Sister."

He heard that fellow was currently only Tier 6! ?

What a joke, being so feeble yet still called a human prodigy.

Youyue just chuckled softly.

Her younger brother's thoughts were too naive. How could authorities be obtained so easily?

A major event had occurred recently, however. Youji of the Sun-Moon God-Demon Clan actually devoured the veteran king-tier Xuanshen.

Although currently still in the "digestion" phase, advancing to the king tier was already a certainty.

Once Youji came out of seclusion, he would be a king wielding the Divine Oracle Authority...

Mingyue said, "Since you won't let me go to the battlefield, I won't guard this lousy place anymore either. I'm going back to the Snake Demon Palace!"

Dark Moon Valley was truly desolate and boring, offering none of the comfort of the palace.

Youyue patted her younger brother's head. "The new high-tier magic guards will arrive soon. Wait another three days."

...

The next day.

Because the sky was shrouded in a layer of demonic Qi, even during the day, the territory of the demons remained gloomy and dark.

Shen Xingchen and the others continued advancing toward the mission location.

After taking the spirit nourishing ganoderma last night, Qiyuan's soul had become even more solid. Although she was still in a deep sleep, she could wake up at any time.

Proceeding up to this point, this mission could already be considered well worth the trip.

"We aren't far from Dark Moon Valley now. Everyone, maintain strict vigilance." Chen Meier continued to emphasize discipline.

The flowing light lotus was not only useful to humans, but also held considerable benefits for demons. Therefore, over the years, high-bloodline demons always guarded this place.

Shen Xingchen asked, "On the road here just now, what was that formation used for?"

There were also quite a few demons guarding that place, ranging from Tier 6 to Tier 8, and they seemed to pay extraordinary attention to that formation.

Chen Meier explained, "That is a one-way teleportation array capable of directly transmitting demons around Dark Moon Valley to the edge of the Northern Frontier."

Shen Xingchen: "No wonder when the demons attacked the city, it felt like the demons in the rear were endless."

Chen Meier nodded. "Sometimes, hunting squads are assigned tasks to destroy demon teleportation arrays just to cut off the supplies of the demon army."

Shen Xingchen's expression shifted. "Then... can they still come back?"

Chen Meier only smiled calmly.

In fact, the squad that received that mission knew from the moment they set out that there was absolutely no possibility of survival, yet there was precisely such a group of people willing to do such a thing.

She finally said earnestly, "Success does not need to be achieved through me, and efforts are never in vain!"

Shen Xingchen's body trembled slightly.

Seeing his father, Shen Zhennan, injured from defending against the demons only to end up in destitute poverty, Shen Xingchen had harbored grievances.

His old man had never complained all these years; instead, he often talked about how heroic his comrades were and how important the Northern Frontier's defense line was...

Shen Xingchen hadn't understood at first.

He agreed to go to the Land of Miracles mostly because of Jiang Qingyao's father.

Until this moment, Shen Xingchen understood his father just a little bit more.

The warriors of Snowfield Dragon City... truly were the loveliest people in this world.

"Team Leader Chen, there is movement ahead."

At this moment, Xie Yunshan at the very front spoke with a solemn tone.

Shen Xingchen looked toward the sound.

Dark Moon Valley had arrived!

That was a pitch-black valley. Outside the valley, multiple groups of demon soldiers were tightly guarding it.

A Double-winged Demon leader shouted, "There have been human attacks recently, everyone concentrate your attention!"

Those Double-winged Demons stood in neat rows, chest out and heads held high, looking much more spirited than ordinary magic guards.

At the narrow pass of the valley.

A deep emerald-green giant snake was coiled there, its eyes closed as if it were taking a nap.

A Tuitian Demon Snake!

Shen Xingchen had seen quite a few Tuitian Demon Snakes. The first one was in the memories of Senior Sword Saint Cui Ping, followed by Youyue, and then Zong Yuan.

This Tuitian Demon Snake in Dark Moon Valley was the smallest one Shen Xingchen had ever seen, though its size could still be considered massive.

Chen Meier frowned and said, "The Cursing Inscription Squad once had a mission in Dark Moon Valley, which caused the guards here to be even more heavily fortified."

Xie Yunshan's gaze also grew solemn. "If Little Brother Shen starts the Time Pause from here, I'm afraid he won't be able to smoothly pass through the Instant Annihilation Barrier."

The most ideal situation would be for Shen Xingchen to walk right to the edge of the barrier.

Before the Cursing Inscription Squad executed their mission, this was considered a relatively simple matter. Back then, there were only those two Double-winged Demons, and they could just wait for the magic guards to change shifts before taking action.

But now... the surroundings of Dark Moon Valley were entirely filled with Double-winged Demons, and a single move affecting the whole body would trigger everything.

Shen Xingchen asked abruptly, "Is that Tuitian Demon Snake an imperial breed?"

Chen Meier didn't understand why, but she still looked at the giant snake and said, "An imperial breed of the Tuitian Demon Snake will have a crimson red line on its body, extending from its head all the way to its tail."

Shen Xingchen was pleasantly surprised. "That's it then."

The Tuitian Demon Snake at the narrow pass really did have an extremely clear crimson line on its body.

Chen Meier was puzzled. "Is this very important to you?"

She suddenly recalled something.

The archives stated that Shen Xingchen's father was severely injured by an imperial breed Tuitian Demon Snake, leading him to fall into dejection for many years. So Shen Xingchen was... determined to slay all imperial breed Tuitian Demon Snakes?

Shen Xingchen felt a bit regretful. "Let's figure out a way to get the flowing light lotus first."

That Tuitian Demon Snake was actually only at Tier 8. If he went all out, he should have a chance to kill it.

Unfortunately, there were simply too many Double-winged Demons around, leaving completely no opportunity to strike.

Chen Meier asked, "Do you have a way?"

Shen Xingchen said, "Yeah, Sister Meier, you should be able to think of it too, you just don't want me to take such a risk... But I think it's feasible."