Hell Creek Family

2024-08-14

Chapter 410 The Hell Creek Family

The Federation, central Montaigne State.

Surrounded by vast primeval forests, a towering mountain peak rises into the clouds.

From a distance, about a third of the mountaintop was covered in snow, surrounded by thick clouds.

"Look everyone, that's Mount Dynaso. It's the highest peak in the Federation, at 6,435 meters, and the only High Mountain in the Federation that hasn't been conquered by humans yet."

On the outskirts of the primeval jungle, a group of tourists, led by a guide, gaze at the towering Mount Dynaso in the distance.

"Why?" a tourist asked curiously. "Is it because it's too high?"

The tour guide shook his head. "It has nothing to do with altitude. Many mountains in the world are higher Mount Dynaso, yet they haven't stopped mountaineering teams. The reason this place has never been conquered is because it belongs to the private property of a Great Family."

"Private property?" many tourists exclaimed in surprise. "The entire mountain is..."

"To be precise, the primeval jungle starting from here, including Mount Dynaso, is all of that!" the guide said with a smile, pointing to a warning sign not far away. "Our tour ends here; any further on is private property."

The tourists looked at the warning sign, which read, "This is now the private territory of the Hell Creek Family. Trespassers will be held responsible for any consequences."

"The Hell Creek Family?" A young man curled his lip, somewhat unconvinced, and said, "Such a grand display?"

The girl next to him looked around and said, "I don't see any fences or anything. What would happen if someone didn't notice the warning signs and went in?"

"Please don't try it out of curiosity," the tour guide warned. "I don't know what the Hell Creek Family's relationship is with the Montaigne State government, but I can tell you with certainty that they have the right to dispose of any intruders at will on their private property. As far as I know, more than a thousand people go missing every year after wandering into this jungle, and I don't want any of you to become one of those thousand."

"Alright, everyone, come over here. We're going to the next spot where we can see Mount Dynaso even better..."

Led by the tour guide, the tourists turned and walked towards the tour bus, except for the couple who seemed somewhat reluctant, looking back at the deep jungle.

The young man, in particular, seemed to sense some unknown entity stirring within the jungle, piquing his curiosity.

"Joe, let's go, the bus is about to start. What's there to see in this lousy forest!"

"Oh..." Faced with his girlfriend's call, the young man finally came to his senses, glancing back as he followed the group away.

After the tour group left, a huge monster slowly emerged from the depths of the jungle.

This monster was four or five meters tall and more than ten meters long. It was covered with hard scales, had a huge mouth, two thin arms tucked in front of its chest, and a thick, long tail that stretched straight back, maintaining balance with the front half of its body. It looked like a carnivorous dinosaur that had traveled from ancient times.

"Seriously, that guy almost walked in..."

The enormous carnivorous dinosaur moved its lips and actually spoke in human language, its tone tinged with regret.

Just then, a somewhat muffled cell phone rang. The giant dinosaur paused, looked down, and then its form changed, shedding its dinosaur appearance to reveal a tall, unshaven, blond man who looked to be in his forties. As he transformed back into human form, the cell phone rang more clearly.

The man reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, answered it somewhat impatiently, and held it to his ear.

"Hello? I'm taking a walk? What's up...? What?!" The man's tone was initially lazy and impatient, but halfway through his sentence, his blue eyes suddenly widened, his face filled with shock.

"Charles is dead?!"

"Yes..." A cold female voice came from the other end of the phone. "Your useless brother who was sent to Zhendan on a mission, his life signal just disappeared."

"Even if he's a piece of trash, he's still my brother!" The man's face darkened with anger. "Who did this?"

"We don't know yet..." the woman said, "Elder Leisade wants to see you and discuss this matter with you."

The man turned his head to glance at the mist-shrouded Mount Dynaso in the distance, and snorted coldly, "I'm going there now."

After hanging up the phone, the man leaped into the air, transforming into a pterosaur with a wingspan of over eight meters. He flapped his wings and flew towards the mountaintop.

From a distance, the summit of Mount Dynaso is covered in snow all year round, appearing and disappearing in the clouds. But as the pterosaurs approached and passed through the clouds, a lush green paradise was revealed amidst the vast white snow!

Yes, at an altitude of over 6,000 meters, unlike the perpetual snow below, the climate here seems to have been altered by some mysterious force, becoming warm and humid, supporting the growth of various rare plants and forming a vast and beautiful garden. Within this garden, one can see a large castle built against the mountainside, with various towers, houses, and statues scattered in a well-organized manner, resembling an ancient city in the sky.

The pterosaur flew directly to one of the towering towers, transformed back into human form in mid-air, and landed on the tower's windowsill.

"You never use the door again." A sophisticated woman with long blonde hair and glasses stood on the windowsill. Although her words were reproachful, her expression suggested that she was prepared for the man's unconventional approach.

"I only care about my brother's safety." The man sneered. The woman sighed, turned her head, waved her hand, opened the French doors of the balcony, and led him inside.

On the top floor of the tower was a circular hall. Facing the balcony was a huge desk where an White-bearded Old Man and glasses was writing. When he noticed the man, he raised his eyelids and glanced at him through his reading glasses.

"Elder Leisade!" The man walked straight to the desk and slammed his hands on it. "What happened to my brother?"

Instead of answering his question directly, Leisade frowned and said, "You've reached your Peak, yet you're still so impetuous..."

As he spoke, he tidied up what he had just written, "Nikolai, don't forget, you're dealing with a guy who's over a hundred years old. My heart can't take your sudden outbursts." "Don't play dumb with me..." Nikolai sneered, "I don't think an old monster who reached his Peak more than half a century ago is the same as an ordinary centenarian."

"It's just the Peak, not the final Feather Transformation..." Elder Leisade sighed. "Our lifespans are longer than ordinary people, but ultimately we cannot escape the ravages of time..."

As he spoke, he took off his reading glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "These past few years, I've clearly felt my eyesight getting worse, and my bodily functions have started to decline uncontrollably... Listen to me, kid, your talent is stronger than mine. While your body still allows, stop being so lazy and find a way to achieve Feather Transformation. That's the true destiny of Cultivators."

"I'm not here to listen to your lecture!" Nikolai gritted his teeth. "I just want to know how my brother is doing."

Elder Leisade shook his head. "I don't know..."

"Don't know?" Nikolai frowned. "What do you mean?"

"His vital signs have disappeared," the Eyeglasses Woman beside him said. "Apart from that, no other information has been transmitted."

"He has the Rebirth Cross!" Nikolai gritted his teeth. "Could it be that the life monitoring system has misidentified him?"

The Eyeglasses Woman shook her head. "The system shows that his life signal disappeared twice. The first time it only disappeared briefly and returned instantly. Then, a minute later, his signal disappeared again..."

"The Ghost State after the cross is activated lasts for exactly one minute..." Nikolai realized something, but his eyes widened in disbelief.

"This means... even the cross couldn't save him from his opponent's grasp. After Ghost State, he was instantly killed again." Leisade looked at Nikolai and said, word by word, "His opponent was a master against whom he had no chance!"

"To be able to kill Charles instantly..." Nikolai gritted his teeth and said, "Although he's not that strong, he shouldn't be killed so easily. Could the opponent be a Peak expert?"

"Very likely." Leisade nodded.

"Could it be Yuan Cultivation Society's doing?" Nikolai scoffed. "Those guys have always been unwilling to cooperate with us..."

"Impossible." The Eyeglasses Woman immediately retorted, "The Yuan Cultivation Society of Zhendan has always been very measured in its actions. Even if Charles violated their rules, at most they would detain him and negotiate a solution with us, not kill him so decisively."

"Moreover, it's not just Charles; all the other clansmen who were with him in Zhendan have also lost contact. We have reason to believe that they have all died in Zhendan, died in Ningdong! The Yuan Cultivation Society would never do something so outrageous."

"Ningdong ..." Nikolai frowned. "I request to investigate Charles's death!"

Elder Leisade chuckled, "Then what do you think is the purpose of my summoning you here?"

As he spoke, he handed the document he had just written to Nikolai, "I know you've never been to Zhendan and don't know much about Ningdong. This is information I've compiled about the local Cultivators forces in Ningdong, including deductions about Charles's cause of death. It should be useful to you."

Elder Leisade's initiative surprised Nikolai, who took the materials somewhat blankly. "Didn't the Clan Leader always forbid me from leaving here? I thought I needed his permission..."

"That's because your personality is too prone to causing trouble," Leisade laughed. "Now that you've reached your Peak, after several years of consolidation, your realm is firmly established. In the Main World, the number of people who can reliably defeat you, apart from those few Feather Transformation, can be counted on one hand. I've already spoken with the Clan Leader; it's time for you to come out of seclusion."

"Of course, more importantly, because you haven't shown your face in public for years, the Yuan Cultivation Society doesn't have any information about you. It's much easier for someone who's unknown to anyone to take action."

"You want me to act covertly?" Nikolai frowned. "Isn't that representing the Hell Creek Family?"

"Given this incident, the Hell Creek Family will definitely send someone to Zhendan Dan to Yuan Cultivation Society. However, official personnel will be closely monitored, and their actions in Zhendan will be severely restricted. In comparison, we need a covert operation that can coordinate with the overt operation while also allowing for more freedom of movement."

"But correspondingly, you must also remember that under no circumstances should you reveal your identity as a Hell Creek Family. Similarly, if anything happens to you, the Hell Creek Family will not acknowledge your identity, and you will have to solve the problem on your own. This means that by accepting this mission, you will be removed from the Hell Creek Family."

"That's for the best, it saves us from being too constrained." Nikolai nodded upon hearing this, flipping through the documents in his hand. "There are so many Peak in Ningdong?"

In the information Elder Leisade gave him, there was a list specifically marked with names of people capable of killing Charles. Besides Su Manchen, who was confirmed to be at her Peak, there was also Yuan Shouzhen, whose strength was no less than that of someone at her Peak. In addition to these two people, two other names were also marked: Ling Xin and Xing Yang.

"Yuan Shouzhen shouldn't be in Ningdong right now, but you'll likely come into contact with him when you're active Ningdong, so I provided him with his information. As for the remaining two, they're not at their Peak yet, but because of their special abilities, they possess the capacity to rival those at their Peak and can even instantly kill Charles."

The Eyeglasses Woman explained, "Besides these people, there's another important clue: Charles was investigating the whereabouts of the Eternal Star. He regularly reported his progress to the elders, and this document records the direction and progress of his investigation. If you follow his lead, you might discover some clues."

"Understood." Nikolai closed the file and nodded. "When do I leave?"

"Now, immediately," Leisade said. "The helicopter is ready and will take you to the nearest airport. I've already booked your ticket to Ningdong. I hope you can uncover the truth behind Charles ' death and give your brother in Paradise some closure."

"I will!" With that, Nikolai walked straight to the windowsill, transformed into a pterosaur again, and took off, flying towards the helipad.

After glancing at Nikolai's departing figure, the Eyeglasses Woman returned to Elder Leisade's side. "Was it really appropriate to let this guy out?"

Leisade sighed. "Charles ' death isn't important; our real goal is the Eternal Star. But we've tried every method imaginable to find it, and all to no avail. It's time for a more drastic measure."

"Nikolai is a madman. He doesn't care about the Eternal Star, but Charles ' death will definitely unleash his most insane side," Leisade laughed. "A Peak of madness will be enough to give those Zhendan a little shock!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the old man suddenly began to cough violently. The Eyeglasses Woman beside him hurriedly grabbed a handkerchief. Leisade covered his mouth and coughed a few times. When he took the handkerchief away, he saw a purplish-black bloodstain inside.

"My time is probably running out..." Leisade gritted his teeth and said, "Hopefully that matter... can be resolved in time..."

(End of this chapter)