Full-Time Mage: Starting from Obtaining the Mysterious Ancient Tree

Chapter 437 The Wind
"Là~~!!"

"Là~~~~~~!!!!"

As we walked, several cries suddenly came from two high cliffs above us. The sound was so high that it was difficult to find its original location after it echoed through the mountains many times.

Hearing the sound, the group looked up.

They wanted to find the creatures that were making the calls, but there were still many places to hide on the high mountain walls, trees, and rocks, making it difficult to pinpoint the location of the calls.

“They are patrolling winged demons; their cries can be heard all over the Qinling Mountains,” Zhang Xiaohou said, looking at the group.

As a frequent visitor to the Qinling Mountains, he clearly knew this place better than others.

"Did they spot us? I've heard that these patrolling winged demons are extremely troublesome. Once they know someone has trespassed into their territory, they immediately gather a large number of patrolling winged demons to come over. They don't attack directly; they just hover around to the left, right, and high up until they've gathered enough numbers and are absolutely certain of success before swarming in and devouring the intruders." Female officer Ling Fei tilted her head back, revealing her slender neck.

...

...

Zhang Xiaohou glanced at the female officer named Ling Fei, not expecting that she knew something about the Qinling Feather Demon.

“Indeed, it’s easy to hide from the great demons in the Qinling Mountains, but the lesser ones are hard to deal with. These patrolling winged demons are very cunning. They will constantly use their cries to summon other patrolling winged demons or attract even more powerful demons,” Zhang Xiaohou explained.

As they were talking, several more piercing cries came from above, and this time it felt like the patrolling winged demon was right above them.

"Have we been discovered?" Mo Fan asked.

"Probably not. The patrolling winged demons like to cry out randomly in various places when they have nothing to do," Zhang Xiaohou said.

"They're just minor demons, there's no need to make a fuss about them. We don't have much time, let's hurry on our way!" Li Dexin said impatiently.

"Young General, this is the Qinling Mountains, we should still show some respect," said the short staff officer, Xu.

“Respect? If we have to pay attention to these patrolling little demons, that’s not respect, that’s making a mountain out of a molehill. Keep going, and if they dare to cause trouble, I’ll deal with them!” Li Dexin said.

“It was already agreed beforehand that we would be in charge of the team,” Zhang Xiaohou frowned.

"At your pace, when will we ever reach our destination?" Li Dexin said, dissatisfied.

Fang Yu stepped forward, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "It's good to teach them a lesson."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiaohou did not stop him.

Li Dexin paid no attention to the cries from the sky and strode forward, but more of those sharp cries came from the steep mountain walls on both sides.

Every now and then, one or two feathered demons with gray feathers could be seen flying from one side of the mountain wall to the other, glancing at the uninvited guests as they flew over the heads of the group.

“There are definitely more and more of them,” Ling Fei said.

"That's a bit of an ear-piercing remark," Zhao Manyan chimed in at just the right moment after Ling Fei finished speaking.

Unfortunately, the haughty woman with the ponytail didn't even glance at Zhao Manyan, maintaining her indifferent expression.

“They’re always like this, disturbing our peace of mind and preventing us from resting and rejuvenating,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“The cries of these patrolling winged demons have a demonic quality to them; they’re not ordinary shouts,” Apas said.

Apas is very familiar with mental attack methods.

"Little sister, you know a lot!" the short staff officer praised.
Apas remained silent; she had no intention of revealing herself.

Seeing this, Li Dexin did not stop. He used the power of the dragon to kill several feathered demons and intimidate them.

He continued leading the group forward, clearly not taking the patrolling mountain demons and the Qinling Mountains seriously.

However, during the journey, they encountered several waves of winged demons crying out, but the dragons scared them away, which made Li Dexin even more smug.

"Waaaaah~~~~~~~~~!"

As time passed and they ventured deeper into the mountains, the wind howled like a mournful cry, sounding particularly eerie. The group had originally planned to set up camp under a cliff, but the wind grew stronger and stronger, and the mournful sound echoed throughout the entire mountain range.

Li Dexin walked to the edge and stretched out his hand to feel the force of the wind.

“It’s not scary,” Li Dexin said.

“This is just a sign. We can’t camp here. We must find the Curtain Tree as soon as possible, or we’ll deplete most of our magical energy,” Zhang Xiaohou said, frowning. Li Dexin wanted to say it was making a mountain out of a molehill, but the short staff officer beside him pulled him back, so he had no choice but to follow.

The dark, steep mountain ridge was battered by a fierce wind. The group moved quickly through a winding, turbulent mountain stream. The biting wind began to change dramatically. It not only made it difficult to walk, but also carried a strong erosive force, causing their skin to crack inexplicably.

Such whistling winds blow everywhere in the Qinling Mountains, leaving nowhere to hide; these winds are truly ubiquitous.

Even the Earth Dragon showed signs of cracked scales, with some areas not covered by scales being covered with fine, dense cracks in its skin.

This scene made Li Dexin realize the terrifying power of the Soofeng, and he rushed to retrieve the Earth Dragon.

Fortunately, thanks to Zhao Manyan's tortoise shell magic, everyone traveled safely along the way.

It was at this moment that Zhao Manyan was expending a lot of magical energy, but he was secretly delighted.

Thanks to the defensive support they had built up along the way, the ponytail-wearing woman, Ling Fei, finally looked at him with respect!
Zhao Manyan's defenses are indeed incredibly strong. Any other defensive mage would have succumbed long ago after such a long journey. But Zhao Manyan remained remarkably stable, demonstrating just how powerful his defenses are!

Even the most powerful mages in the Forbidden Army are somewhat lacking in the strength of the tortoise shell.

After walking for a while, Zhang Xiaohou suddenly sped up and arrived at the foot of a large mountain wall in front of him as quickly as a whirlwind.

The mountain walls are majestic, looking as if a mountain has been cleaved in two by a sword.

On the mountainside near the ground, there is a peculiar ancient tree. Its trunk leans towards the night sky, and in the center, it splits into two large branches.

This is the place where the curtain tree shelters from the swaying wind!
"found it!"

"Monkey, you're awesome!"

"As expected of a Qinling expert, he was able to find this place even in the dark."

Upon arriving here, the group praised Zhang Xiaohou.

Zhang Xiaohou smiled and continued, "It's all thanks to Brother Zhao's solid defenses; otherwise, getting here wouldn't have been an easy task."

"We haven't even fought yet, but we've already used up a third of our magic energy." Zhao Manyan said, feeling distressed.

"Then you should get some rest," Fang Yu said.

……

In the middle of the night, sounds came from outside the curtained curtains.

“Lili…”

As everyone awoke from their daze, they immediately heard a disturbing, eerie sound!

Gradually, these calls became more frequent, and it seemed that more and more mountain-patrolling winged demons were circling around the mountain wall and calling to their companions.

"What's going on?" Li Dexin asked impatiently after waking up.

"They don't seem to have any intention of letting us go; this time, there are even more of them gathered," Mo Fan said.

"These ignorant little demons have repeatedly come to invade our territory. This time, it won't be as simple as just scaring them away!" Li Dexin said fiercely.

Just as Li Dexin was about to go out and summon his dragon to deal with the group of patrolling feathered demons, he lifted the leaf curtain and a strong gust of wind swept over, catching the people inside off guard and causing them to stagger.

"Damn it, how come the Wind Demon is even stronger... What's going on with the patrolling feathered demons outside?" Li Dexin cursed.

"The Soothing Wind is the protective shield of the Feathered Demon Clan. The Feathered Demons have lived in the Qinling Mountains for a long time, and the feathers covering their bodies have a special protective curve. When the Soothing Wind blows on their bodies, it actually helps to make their feathers smoother and sharper," Zhang Xiaohou explained.

Then, Zhang Xiaohou continued, "If you hadn't disturbed the Feathered Demons, they wouldn't have been chasing us so relentlessly."

Upon hearing this, Li Dexin felt aggrieved and remained speechless.

The next moment, a narrow gap appeared in the leaf curtain, and a gust of cold wind rushed in.

“Swish, swish, swish!!”

Immediately afterwards, several more cuts appeared, making the originally airtight leaf curtains suddenly unusable. The cold wind that had been blowing inside the leaf curtains woke everyone up.

"Hmph, a bunch of scum, just taking advantage of the wind to act tough. I'll go and slaughter them all!" Although Li Dexin was unhappy with what Zhang Xiaohou said, he did have some responsibility along the way, so he braved the strong wind and led the team out.

(End of this chapter)