Chapter 173: Chapter 170: Heading to the Core Floating Island

Su Yue’s fingers moved so fast over the Memory Crystal Plate that they left afterimages.

Line after line of complex data and esoteric patterns, incomprehensible to any Mortal, were rapidly recorded.

One of them spoke, the other recorded.

It was as if they had rehearsed it a thousand times, their coordination shockingly perfect.

Zhang Hao and the others stood to the side, completely clueless about the intricacies of what was happening.

But just by looking at Su Yue’s entranced, almost frenzied expression, they knew the two were replicating a truly incredible miracle.

The only sounds in the cave were Han Feng’s steady callouts and the soft SCRAPE of Su Yue’s fingers across the crystal plate.

Time ticked by, second by second.

Ten minutes later.

Han Feng withdrew his Sword Essence.

The interwoven web of light inside the wall slowly dimmed.

And finally went out completely.

The ancient Enchanting Array fell silent once more.

"Hooo..."

Han Feng let out a long breath.

He rubbed his throbbing temples.

This kind of delicate operation, which required him to focus his spirit into a fine needle to observe the flow of Energy Particles, was more mentally taxing than blowing a Demon Beast’s head off with a gun.

"How did it go?"

Zhang Hao asked in a low voice.

Su Yue stared rapturously at the crystal plate in her hands.

The dense data covering it seemed like the most beautiful scroll in the world.

Her cheeks were flushed with extreme excitement.

"Perfect!"

"It’s a work of art!"

She was so excited she almost jumped for joy.

Her gaze toward Han Feng was filled with reverence, as if she were looking at a miracle worker.

"This set of Rune logic... if you give me time to fully digest it, I can reduce the energy consumption of our current portable camouflage arrays by at least thirty percent!"

"And increase their effectiveness by fifty percent!"

Su Yue looked at Han Feng, her voice trembling.

"Han Feng, you’re terrifying!"

"That energy spiral-pressurization structure you just described... it’s a concept that’s simply beyond this era!"

Seeing Su Yue’s nearly fanatical expression, Han Feng simply smiled without saying much.

’The genius isn’t me.’

’It’s the Array master who fell countless years ago.’

’I’m just a tracer with a cheat code, at best.’

"Since we got what we came for, let’s pull out."

Han Feng’s gaze swept over the human-shaped pile of ash on the ground.

It was the last trace the Blazing Fire Mercenary Corps had left in this world.

"And this place doesn’t smell very good."

No one had any objections.

The group quickly withdrew from the underground ruins.

Zhang Hao stood at the cave entrance, his expression stern as he commanded Wang Meng and Fan Jian.

"Destroy this place completely."

"Don’t leave a single trace that could be excavated."

BOOM!

With a deafening explosion, the Lying Bull Stone, weighing several tons, was blasted into smithereens by a furious burst of Inner Qi.

Countless shards of rock mixed with earth tumbled down.

Completely burying the dark cave entrance.

From now on, this was just an unremarkable, small landslide.

After all this was done, Zhang Hao took out the old parchment map.

He spread it out on a relatively flat rock.

"Our current position: G-13 Floating Island."

Zhang Hao’s finger tapped the edge of the map.

Then, it traced a long arc.

It finally landed on a skull marker just left of the map’s center.

"Our destination is the Wind Eye Market."

"It’s on the border between the core and outer zones."

"Straight-line distance: sixty kilometers."

Zhang Hao’s brow furrowed.

"Outside, that’s just a quick step on the gas."

"But in here, we can only rely on our Wingsuits to glide and use the islands as relays."

His finger connected the scattered Floating Islands on the map with a winding, dotted line.

"This is the safe route left behind by the upperclassmen three years ago."

"We have to pass through seven Floating Islands."

"The problem is, the positions of the Floating Islands in the Secret Realm aren’t fixed."

"Three years have passed, so the coordinates on the map are bound to be off."

At this, Zhang Hao looked up, his gaze sweeping over everyone.

It finally settled on Han Feng.

"The path ahead will be the real test."

"We’ll need to correct our route in real-time as we go."

"If we get lost, we could fall into the Blood Sea below and be doomed forever."

"What’s more, the closer we get to the core zone, the more numerous and powerful the Flying Demon Beasts in the sky become."

"Han Feng."

Zhang Hao’s tone was more serious than ever before.

"Your eyes and your flying skills are our only guarantee of making it to the market alive."

Han Feng’s gaze lifted from the winding path of death on the map.

He looked up at the sky.

The wind was blowing.

"Don’t worry, Captain."

His voice was calm, yet it carried an innate confidence.

"As long as the wind is blowing, I can fly you there."

This wasn’t arrogance.

It was the simple, unadorned statement of a Sword Cultivator who viewed a ten-thousand-ton fighter jet as nothing more than a Flying Sword in his palm.

"Good!"

Zhang Hao folded the map and waved his hand.

"Rest for five minutes! Check your Wingsuits!"

"Destination: Wind Eye Market!"

Everyone responded in unison, their morale soaring.

...

"Wind is southeast. Correct course by three degrees."

"Prepare to jump."

Han Feng’s calm voice rang out over the team channel.

Like the most precise navigational command.

The edge of G-13 Floating Island was a jagged cliff that jutted outward.

Below was a bottomless expanse of churning clouds and mist.

When the clouds occasionally tore open, one could glimpse a heart-stopping flash of crimson.

That was the Netherworld Blood Sea, considered an absolute forbidden zone by all Martial Artists.

Zhang Hao was the first to leap from the cliff, without a hint of hesitation.

Wang Meng, Fan Jian, and the others followed close behind.

"Deploy!"

At the command, nine custom-made Wingsuits unfurled in mid-air.

Like nine agile Falcons, they rode the strong currents and dove fearlessly into the endless void.

This was only the beginning.

The journey from G-13 to the Wind Eye Market was more like a death-defying relay race, a dance on a knife’s edge.

They hadn’t even landed on the first relay island when Han Feng’s warning came through.

"Abandon the Red Leaf Forest area to the left."

"There’s a colony of blood-sucking vines underground. Dense Energy readings."

"Everyone, divert thirty meters to the right. Land on that gravel beach."

The order was given, and no one questioned it.

Less than two minutes after landing, everyone watched as a foolish steel-skinned wild boar charged into the Red Leaf Forest.

It couldn’t even let out half a scream before it was ensnared by hundreds of blood-red vines that shot up from the ground.

It visibly shriveled.

In an instant, it was reduced to a desiccated, skin-and-bones corpse.

Wang Meng swallowed hard.

When he looked at Han Feng’s back again, his eyes were like those of someone gazing upon a walking, humanoid Deity.

But this was just an appetizer.

While crossing the second island, Han Feng suddenly raised a hand.

He pointed toward a seemingly peaceful and serene meadow ahead.

"We’re going around."

"What’s up?"

Gu Yun was a bit confused.

He had just gotten a new paint job and wanted to test out his "new wife’s" performance.

"Isn’t that just a patch of ordinary Wind Spirit Grass?"

"The grass is fine."

Han Feng didn’t look back, leading the team toward a rugged slope to the side.

"The ground is the problem."

"It’s a swampy terrain camouflage. There’s quicksand underneath."

"Something’s moving. Most likely a Tier Two Sand Worm."

Gu Yun subconsciously picked up a head-sized rock and hurled it over.

The moment the rock landed, the flat meadow suddenly liquefied.

It roiled like boiling water.

A giant maw filled with concentric rings of sharp teeth shot up from the ground.

It swallowed the rock in one gulp before quickly retracting back into the earth.

The color instantly drained from Gu Yun’s face.

He obediently shut his mouth and stuck close to the rear of the team.

The third island, the fourth...

The route marked as "safe" on the old map was, in reality, fraught with mortal danger at every step.

One moment it was a scenic valley, but inside hid a spore-filled miasma that could induce deadly illusions.

The next, it was a narrow, unavoidable passage, but around the corner lay a slumbering flock of Tier Two Wind-Split Vultures.

If it had been any other team, the trial-and-error alone would have cost them dearly in casualties.

But for the Sharp Sword Club, everything went unnervingly smoothly.

Han Feng was like a tour guide with a god’s-eye view of the entire map.

He could always nonchalantly lead the team to safety just minutes before danger struck.

"I’m starting to get a strange feeling."

Su Yue’s voice, tinged with a dreamlike quality, came over the comms channel as they flew past the fourth island.

"It doesn’t feel like we’re exploring some perilous and unpredictable Tier Two Secret Realm."

"It’s more like we’re on an armed picnic in someone’s backyard."

"Don’t jinx it."

Zhang Hao’s voice was terse.

"Stay focused."

Although the process seemed easy, everyone’s nerves were stretched taut.

They were advancing at a stunning pace.

In just two hours, they had already crossed five Floating Islands.

Only two final natural barriers remained between them and the Wind Eye Market in the core zone.

They just had to cross the vast expanse of open sky before them and then pass over the final island, known as the "Wind Wall."

Then they would reach the way station for all explorers.

However, when they reached the edge of the fifth island, they were forced to stop.

By the cliff’s edge, a dense crowd of seven or eight teams had gathered.

Totaling nearly a hundred people.

An atmosphere of despair and anxiety hung over everyone’s head like a dark cloud.

It was so oppressive it was hard to breathe.

You could even hear someone in the wind, quietly cursing the heavens.

"What’s going on?"

Wang Meng slammed his door-panel-sized Giant Axe onto the ground.

he asked in a booming voice.

"Why are so many people gathered here? Is there a festival going on?"