Chapter 2757 - 2754: Merchant

The water demon beast Shui Nian rides isn’t slower than Little Fei, but it’s still not as fast as Song Ruozhao’s ability to walk through the air, as Song Ruozhao relies on his own cultivation to fly, which is undoubtedly much faster than the external aids used by Ling Feng and Shui Nian.

Several times, Song Ruozhao’s speed was so fast that he had to wait for Shui Nian and Ling Feng upfront.

But soon, the trio arrived in front of a large mountain far from the Shui Clan settlement.

This mountain is unlike ordinary peaks; there are no trees, not even a single plant, and no animals.

The entire mountain is black, but the black spreads from the peak, so at the foot of the mountain, it’s as if you can still see the original appearance of the peak, which is brown.

Shui Nian and Ling Feng soared upward directly to the top of the mountain, and Ling Feng felt a chilling aura hitting him.

What came into view was a flat area, resembling a plaza.

"It turns out it’s a flat-topped mountain," Ling Feng casually remarked.

Pointing forward, Shui Nian said, "This is where the passageway between our Water Wave World and the Dark World is located. This mountain is called Dark Mountain. Years ago, the Clan of Darkness and the then Shui Clan leader jointly established this boundary marker,"

"It symbolizes a ceasefire agreement, thus making this the border between us and the Dark World."

Shui Nian jumped off the water demon beast, followed by Ling Feng and Song Ruozhao who also landed on the ground and walked forward.

In the distance, the passageway was very conspicuous, resembling a large gate, which was entirely black but had blue and black chains on it, and black aura emanated from around the gate.

"This gate is the passageway between us and the Dark World. Unlike the passageway with the Huo Clan world that requires both sides to open to be effective, this gate can be opened directly by our Shui Clan to enter the Dark World."

Below the gate were several buildings where a group of troops was stationed. When the leading man in blue armor saw Shui Nian coming over, he immediately approached and knelt on one knee, greeting, "Great Elder!"

"Stand up, I’ve said several times that there’s no need to bow when you see me. Your duty is to guard the passageway. Unless the Clan Leader comes, you don’t need to show face to anyone else who comes by."

"If it weren’t for you saving me back then, I would’ve starved to death in that little house, so it’s only right I kneel to you," the man in blue armor said loudly after standing up.

Shui Nian patted the man’s shoulder, nodding appreciatively, then introduced, "This person is also one of our Shui Clan generals, named Shui Kai. His duty is quite special, requiring him to spend nearly half of his life guarding the safety of this passageway,"

"Aside from members of our Shui Clan, no one else is allowed near the passageway. Similarly, if the passageway is opened by the Clan of Darkness and they come through the gate,"

"Shui Kai and his men are the first line of defense for our Shui Clan. They must fight the Clan of Darkness’ people first, then someone must inform us of the situation here, while the others must hold the Clan of Darkness’ people here as long as possible,"

"Only in this way can we buy more time for our Shui Clan to prepare and better fight against the Clan of Darkness!"

There was a look of compassion and sadness in Shui Nian’s eyes, as if lamenting the fate of Shui Kai and his comrades: "That’s their destiny. The Shui Clan stationed here may not have the strongest combat power or be the most excellent,"

"But I dare say they are the most loyal to our Shui Clan!" Shui Nian said firmly.

Ling Feng was used to hearing such words. Previously, he might have been interested in listening, but now Ling Feng just wanted to find out Ling Yao’s whereabouts; he said coldly, "Enough, Elder Shui Nian, let’s get down to business."

Shui Nian nodded and then asked Shui Kai, "Have you noticed anything suspicious recently? Have any from the Clan of Darkness been here?"

Shui Kai shook his head resolutely: "No abnormalities have been observed. Apart from short sleep periods and shift changes, I’m at the passageway all day,"

"I also frequently patrol the entire Dark Mountain, but nothing suspicious has occurred. I can assure you no one from the Clan of Darkness has come through here recently. I swear it on my life!"

After reflecting for a while, Shui Nian nodded and then turned to Ling Feng, "Since Shui Kai said so, I can ascertain that no one from the Clan of Darkness has come through this passageway,"

"Then where could they have come from?" Ling Feng asked. "Could it be that those from the Clan of Darkness have some other way to get here?"

"This..." Shui Nian hesitated, "I can only confirm that no one has come through. If it’s the Clan of Darkness, they might indeed have other ways into our world, but that would definitely require special methods or devices, not something just anyone can accomplish,"

"In other words, even if those from the Clan of Darkness came over, they’d likely be inserted here as spies and couldn’t easily return, so I can confirm that those who abducted your friend are still in our world,"

"But as to where...we currently can’t trace their whereabouts and will have to wait for our clan’s scouts to find the results, or for those accomplices to reveal themselves."

"You’re saying our lead is completely cut off? What’s the point of your presence? Every moment delayed puts Ling Yao at risk of harm!" Ling Feng shouted angrily.

Shui Nian silently bore Ling Feng’s wrath, but ultimately felt helpless, after all, these were people from another tribe, and truly, the Shui Clan had no means of tracking them, being benched.

Song Ruozhao had been contemplating. After a long pause, he finally spoke, "Ling Feng, since they have kidnapped Ling Yao, they are aware of your existence and are using Ling Yao to coerce you. Now Ling Yao is their hostage, a crucial piece,"

"You needn’t fear Ling Yao will face danger, for they wouldn’t dare harm her, but the issue now is that we can’t find them. This is very troubling..."

Ling Feng was slightly relieved when Song Ruozhao said those from the Clan of Darkness wouldn’t harm Ling Yao, but his words afterward reignited Ling Feng’s anxiety, as they were indeed in a passive position now.

The ones from the Clan of Darkness, not only the proactive party, but also cunningly hidden in the dark, left Ling Feng and his companions exposed and unable to utilize their strategies.

"We can only wait for them to present their terms to us. We surely have something they want; otherwise, they wouldn’t use Ling Yao to threaten you." Song Ruozhao pondered.

As the group fell silent, a black-clad figure suddenly appeared beside Dark Mountain.

Shui Kai, stationed here for years, was highly familiar with the geography and aura, and his keen senses immediately detected the black-clad figure.

"Who goes there!" Shui Kai shouted, then charged with his weapon.

Ling Feng and Shui Nian also noticed the large figure, and the three pursued it simultaneously.

Dark Mountain was a place devoid of sunlight, with minimal visibility, and coupled with the figure being black, making it extremely difficult for Ling Feng and the others to see it clearly from behind.

Ling Feng extended his Divine Sense immediately, discovering the black figure was a man in a black cloak with a bulging bag, fleeing rapidly. Realizing something, he was just about to chase after him.

But Shui Kai, experienced from years on Dark Mountain, reacted more swiftly than Ling Feng, leaping forward as a wave like a Water Dragon emerged from his body.

The wave, with tremendous force, hit the figure precisely on the back, causing him to wail and collapse, with the bag flying into the air.

Shui Kai, quick to react, rushed forward, pinned the figure’s neck with his knee, restricting his movements, and pressed him firmly to the ground.

"Argh! Stop pressing, I won’t run, I won’t run anymore, okay?" the figure wailed.

The others caught up, and finally saw clearly that the figure was a thin man, with black eyes and black skin, resembling greatly the Clan of Darkness individuals Shui Nian had described, and appearing here at Dark Mountain.

Clearly, this guy was from the Clan of Darkness.

Ling Feng walked up, gripped the figure’s head, and shouted angrily, "What are you anyway? Why are you here? Are you from the Clan of Darkness?"

Song Ruozhao approached and restrained Ling Feng’s hand, soothingly saying, "This is our only clue left. This guy is so frail, treat him gently, don’t kill him."

Shui Nian also came over, stating, "Shui Kai, release him. We’re here, he won’t be able to escape."

"Yes!" Upon hearing Shui Nian, Shui Kai let go of the figure, who then managed to catch his breath, taking deep breaths of the mountain air, and muttering while clutching his chest:

"I am not a thing, I am a living person. My name is An Qi, and I am a merchant."