At night, Lan Yu released the Snow Empress.
In an instant, the entire apartment felt as if it had been plunged into a world of ice and snow. It was wonderfully cool.
Though the Snow Empress had transferred all the authority over the Far North to the Ice Empress, she still retained her own abilities. She simply couldn't use them to their full potential because of the contract.
When Ding Yumian and Mu Nujiao saw the Snow Empress's breathtaking face and perfect figure, they suddenly fell silent.
Was she human or a Contract Beast? Why was she so beautiful?
The two women couldn't help exchanging a glance, and soon realized they were a step behind in both looks and bearing.
A narrow defeat!
The Snow Empress studied Ding Yumian and Mu Nujiao. She sensed the powerful mental fluctuations radiating from the former—very strong!
Even stronger than those of her own contract master.
As for the latter? She seemed rather "ordinary."
Of course, she meant strength, not looks or figure.
"Xiao Yu, tell us—how did you find this Contract Beast?" Ding Yumian asked once she'd recovered.
When it came to that, Lan Yu was quite the storyteller. After spinning a tale about this and that, he had both Ding Yumian and Mu Nujiao convinced.
Only the Snow Empress kept grumbling to herself. You forced the contract on me, yet you make it sound like you won me over with reason and emotion. You're quite the storyteller!
"With the Snow Empress around, it feels like we'll save on air-conditioning all summer," Ding Yumian teased.
Still, that electricity bill was a drop in the bucket for mages like them.
Ding Yumian had only said it to lighten the mood.
"Of course," Lan Yu said with a smile. He even wanted to win over Little Flame Belle, too.
If anyone asked about it later, he'd just say it was a natural gift of his Summoning Element.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Lan Yu.
He remembered there was a top-grade Earth Element Spirit Seed in the Dongting Lake Plain. He'd have to make time to collect it, then turn around and sell it for thirty million.
West Glow Valley, west of Dongting Lake.
This little valley, dotted with hollows, took on strange, shimmering colors as soon as the sun sank in the evening. It was a sight of breathtaking beauty.
Some said a special kind of flower bloomed here at dusk, drawing plenty of explorers to take pictures.
But the truth was quite different.
Once the land had warmed to a certain temperature under the sunlight, the Lizard Skull Giants living there crawled out of the swamps in swarms, blanketing the entire valley. Their skin secreted a special kind of oil.
When the setting sun shone down, the oil on the Lizard Skull Giants' skin made it gleam like scales, reflecting strange rays of light.
For generations, people had passed down this beautiful legend. The elders often said that West Glow Valley must hold countless treasures, waiting for someone to uncover them.
After countless people had died, the veil was finally lifted from the beautiful, mysterious legend—and the truth turned many people's stomachs.
As the Lizard Skull Giant tribe kept expanding its territory, people gradually left the area and moved to safer cities. But tales of West Glow Valley's horrors still circulated to this day.
On a muddy road leading straight to West Glow Valley, Lan Yu and Lingling walked side by side.
With every step Lan Yu took, the muddy road beneath his feet froze over.
It was evening, and West Glow Valley was once again aglow with its captivating, unusual colors.
After entering the valley, Lan Yu looked west from where he stood. The reflected light was dazzlingly brilliant, but when he saw the sheer number of Lizard Skull Giants, even his brow furrowed.
To get his hands on the Earth Element Spirit Seed, Flowing Swamp, Lan Yu had spent this whole time doing his best to butter Lingling up, hoping she'd help him look up the information.
After all, this little brat was a Hunter Master. Her clearance was much higher than his, an ordinary high-level hunter, so she could access far more information.
Sure enough, Lingling had insisted on coming along to look for the Spirit Seed.
Though Lan Yu knew there was a Spirit Seed here, he didn't remember its exact location.
"So many Lizard Skull Giants?!" Lingling exclaimed. She didn't find it magnificent; the sight made her scalp prickle.
If they got trapped in this valley, they'd be finished.
"We'll have to take a detour and go around from the east," Lingling decided after considering the situation.
Most of the Lizard Skull Giants were in the west, while there were very few Demon Beasts in the east. They could circle around West Glow Valley from that direction.
"Little brat, watch your step. Don't accidentally get poisoned," Lan Yu warned.
"Did I ask you?" Lingling shot back, annoyed.
Before they came, they'd prepared all kinds of antidotes, even antidotes for mixed toxins, in case they got poisoned in this kind of swamp.
Night fell, and the two found a cave.
They used fire to clear out the stale air inside before entering and making it their temporary shelter.
"I didn't expect you to be like Mo Fan—a natural-born dual element, you pain in the neck."
Seeing Lan Yu use Fire Element magic, Lingling didn't seem particularly surprised.
"Having more elements means having more options. Sometimes, it can even catch your enemy off guard," Lan Yu said.
Lingling nodded. He had a point. Sometimes it was good to keep your cards close to your chest.
"Let's rest here tonight. I'll go scout things out tomorrow."
The night passed without incident.
The next day, Lan Yu left the Snow Empress to protect Lingling while he took the Elemental Surveyor to test which areas had the strongest Earth Element presence.
He gazed at the raised patch of flat ground in the center of the valley, then carefully sensed his surroundings. There were Demon Beast auras.
"Tsk, this won't be easy," Lan Yu clicked his tongue.
The Elemental Surveyor emitted a special-frequency signal that would surely attract the nearby Demon Beasts.
So Lan Yu summoned the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger.
"Go on. Lure those ugly bastards away."
The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger nodded, then went to provoke the Lizard Skull Giants lurking in the swamp.
Sure enough, after the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger provoked them, the Lizard Skull Giants came swarming out in near-full force.
How had it provoked them? It had simply pissed on their resting place.
That humiliating provocation thoroughly enraged the Lizard Skull Giants.
Though they were lower-level than the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, they could overwhelm it by sheer numbers. It couldn't possibly kill all these Lizard Skull Giants before it ran out of stamina.
Once the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger had lured the Lizard Skull Giants far enough away, Lan Yu stuck the Elemental Surveyor into the ground, adjusted its frequency, and began measuring the elemental concentration within a one-kilometer radius.
Sure enough, the surveyor detected no elemental reactions anywhere in the area.
"Moo—"
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