Chapter 68: On Black Wind Cliff

Dongbo Xueying swiftly arrived at the foot of the mountain and immediately surged upward at high speed. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! His body blurred into a trail of afterimages, leaping higher and higher, and in the blink of an eye, he had climbed two or three hundred meters. Xiang Pangyun, without hesitation, pursued closely behind. The two of them raced forward, one chasing the other, continuously approaching the mountain peak. This seemingly towering mountain was as flat and open to them as level ground.

“Again, rushing straight up the mountain?” Xiang Pangyun had already crossed many mountains before and hadn’t thought much of it at first. However, as the wind around them grew increasingly fierce, his expression changed. “This place… is it Heifeng Cliff?”

“This Dongbo Xueying actually heads straight for Heifeng Cliff?” Xiang Pangyun immediately understood his opponent’s intentions.

Truthfully, Heifeng Cliff itself wasn’t particularly dangerous.

But the abyss beside Heifeng Cliff was the famous death zone known as Heifeng Abyss.

One must understand that the Destroyed Mountains were the largest gathering place for magical beasts across the entire continent. The clashes between humanity’s and magical beasts’ most elite transcendent lives had continued for countless eons. Even across many eras, despite the emergence of extraordinary figures like Emperor Longshan, none had truly managed to eradicate the magical beasts. Magical beasts preyed upon humans, and humans hunted magical beasts.

Mundane armies repeatedly swept through the surrounding areas, and occasional life-or-death battles between transcendent beings of both sides were inevitable.

Thus, within the Destroyed Mountains, some terrifying zones born from ancient battles remained. Some of these zones even posed dangers to transcendent beings. Most of these zones lay deep within the Destroyed Mountains, but dozens were also located outside its borders. Among them, Heifeng Abyss was one of the death zones located hundreds of miles beyond the Destroyed Mountains.

Long, long ago, Heifeng Abyss had already taken this form, a place rightly called a death zone.

“You’re heading for Heifeng Cliff?” Xiang Pangyun’s expression turned fierce as he furiously pursued.

“That’s exactly where I’m going. Are you scared?” Dongbo Xueying darted ahead.

“Damn it!”

Xiang Pangyun continued his furious chase.

At about halfway up the mountain, after climbing over two thousand meters, they clashed again! This time, Xiang Pangyun truly wished to kill Dongbo Xueying. Though he held the advantage, the gap between them wasn’t insurmountable. Moreover, sensing hope, Dongbo Xueying fought with even greater determination and ferocity.

After a fierce exchange of blows and a momentary boost from the recoil, Dongbo Xueying continued his upward dash.

Whoosh! Whoosh! The wind around them grew stronger and stronger, turning gray, and the higher they climbed, the darker the wind became.

“Almost there.” Dongbo Xueying had never been here before, but he knew of this place’s terrifying reputation.

“I can’t catch up.” Xiang Pangyun wanted to confront Dongbo Xueying again before he reached Heifeng Cliff, but judging by the distance between them, it was clearly too late.

Whoosh!

Dongbo Xueying leaped continuously and finally arrived at the summit of this great mountain. It was a barren peak spanning two to three hundred meters, lifeless and desolate. Around it, black winds howled violently.

“Heifeng Cliff.” Standing atop the peak, Dongbo Xueying realized this barren summit was indeed Heifeng Cliff!

Beside Heifeng Cliff, a massive vortex of black winds raged. The vortex spanned thousands of meters, seemingly engulfing everything in heaven and earth. The scene was extremely awe-inspiring; even champions would feel their own frailty before it.

This black vortex led deep into the heart of the mountain.

“Such powerful winds.” Even standing atop Heifeng Cliff, Dongbo Xueying could feel the force of thousands of pounds constantly pressing against his body. As he approached the cliff’s edge, the wind grew even stronger, exceeding ten thousand pounds of force. Only champions could stand steadily on Heifeng Cliff. Even silver moon knights, though their strength far exceeded ten thousand pounds, would struggle to maintain their footing under such winds, and might even be swept into the Heifeng Abyss.

“Haha, Xiang Pangyun, dare you face me in a life-and-death battle on Heifeng Cliff?” Dongbo Xueying, holding his Feixue Divine Spear, stared at Xiang Pangyun, who had also reached the summit.

Xiang Pangyun’s expression darkened as he surveyed the surroundings.

Both of them could stand steadily on Heifeng Cliff. However, during a life-and-death duel, with their high-speed movements and the recoil from weapon clashes, one misstep might send them tumbling off the cliff. Once airborne, the thousand-pound force of the winds would be utterly powerless against the vortex of Heifeng Abyss, and they would be swept into its depths.

“You know the dangers of Heifeng Abyss, right? It’s a death zone with a history of over two hundred thousand years. Once trapped inside, transcendent beings might survive, but champions below the transcendent level! Though many champions have explored it over two hundred thousand years, none who ventured deep have ever returned alive,” Dongbo Xueying said.

All below the transcendent level who dared to venture deep had perished!

Of course, there might be unknown survivors, but at least according to public records, no one had ever emerged alive. This alone illustrated its terrifying danger.

“Transcendent beings have also warned: Heifeng Abyss and its vortex possess boundless power. Once caught within, one falls endlessly, accelerating faster and faster, until even champions are crushed to death upon impact!” Dongbo Xueying continued, emphasizing the terrifying dangers, hoping to instill fear in Xiang Pangyun.

Indeed, under normal circumstances, champions could not die from a fall! But within Heifeng Abyss, once caught in the vortex, the winds were so powerful that the falling speed would rapidly exceed the speed of sound, reaching terrifying velocities. Champions would be unable to slow their descent; their meager mastery of the forces of heaven and earth would be utterly useless deep within the vortex. Upon impact with the abyss’s bottom, champions would be instantly killed!

Thus, not even surviving the first stage was possible. Those who had explored before usually descended slowly along the cliff walls. Unless they gave up midway, those who dared to venture deep met the same fate: death. Clearly, the danger of Heifeng Abyss extended far beyond just the winds.

“You’re quite something,” Xiang Pangyun’s blood-red eyes brimming with killing intent. “Very impressive. It’s been a very, very long time since I’ve been forced into such a situation. It was only when I was younger and weaker that I faced such danger.”

“But I’ve lived over a hundred years. What does it matter if I die? Haha…”

“Besides, as an assassin, I’ve never feared death! Today, I’ll fight you, Dongbo Xueying, on Heifeng Cliff. Let’s see who will die!” Xiang Pangyun started walking toward Dongbo Xueying. He began slowly, gradually accelerating, clearly adapting to the effects of the fierce wind.

Their mastery of the forces of heaven and earth still clashed.

But in the face of the howling winds, such mastery seemed pitifully weak.

“Brave indeed,” Dongbo Xueying’s eyes burned with fighting spirit. “Then let’s see who will live and who will die!”

This place was the only chance he could think of.

Even if he fled, he couldn’t escape far. Xiang Pangyun had been relentlessly pursuing and attacking him. He could only run a distance of one or two hundred li. Could he flee toward Yishui City? To Xiang Pangyun and Dongbo Xueying, Yishui City posed no threat at all. Could he flee deeper into the Destroyed Mountains? But the Snowstone Castle was nearly a thousand li from the outer edges of the Destroyed Mountains, even farther from its depths. His bloodline power couldn’t sustain him that long!

Heifeng Cliff was the only place he could think of, and it was extremely dangerous.

If Xiang Pangyun backed down, unwilling to risk his life, that would be best.

But if Xiang Pangyun truly decided to fight, during their battle, one of them might accidentally be swept into Heifeng Abyss!

With such external factors at play, he had a chance!

“Die!” Xiang Pangyun lunged forward, crouching low as his great blade slashed horizontally at Dongbo Xueying’s legs.

“Clang!”

The spear blocked immediately while attempting to retreat and dissipate the force.

The impact of the weapons was especially powerful, compounded by the swirling winds, causing him to instinctively retreat rapidly. He nearly lifted both feet off the ground, losing his footing, and was on the verge of being swept into Heifeng Abyss. However, Dongbo Xueying quickly thrust his spear into the ground, using the rebound force to dodge away into the distance.

“Fighting on Heifeng Cliff is indeed completely different,” Dongbo Xueying thought to himself, surprised. He had known of its dangers and had mentally prepared himself, but he had never fought here before.

“Dongbo Xueying, when it comes to combat experience, I far surpass you,” Xiang Pangyun sneered and continued his assault.

On the mountaintop of Heifeng Cliff, amidst the howling winds, the two began their fierce battle.

Boom!

Xiang Pangyun was pushed backward by the force. He slashed his blade into the rocks to gain leverage and then charged furiously at Dongbo Xueying once more.

Dongbo Xueying thrust his spear upward, attempting to send Xiang Pangyun airborne, leaving him unable to find footing and swept into the abyss. But Xiang Pangyun completely avoided the attack, maintaining his advantage and control over the battle.

Both desperately tried to kill the other. Cracks and gullies appeared across the mountaintop of Heifeng Cliff, with countless rocks flung into the air and swept into the depths of Heifeng Abyss by the endless winds.