Chapter 65: Crane Obstacle Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios The way most of them looked at the haughty man had changed. While everyone else was scared to death and wanted to back off, he was the only one who looked raring to go without a single bit of fear. “Ah!” “Ah...!” Yet another chain of shrieks as the Qi Refinement Warriors who had moved ahead first fell from the clouds one after another, disappearing into the abyss on either side of the mountain path. Finally, there were people who could take it no longer as they started backtracking. The little fatty held his tongue and exclaimed, “Even a Level 9 Qi Refinement Warrior fell down. Just what did they encounter in the clouds?” Su Zimo saw everything even clearer. There were a total of 23 Qi Refinement Warriors who soared into the skies. In the blink of an eye, every single one of them had fallen! That was a little horrifying. Many mortals started climbing down the walls, looking terrified with trembling feet. Without even turning back, they dashed down the mountain path. There were more than 80 people who had passed the second stage. Now, all the 23 Qi Refinement Warriors have already failed. Coupled with the mortals who had left, there were only 17 people left at the base of the peak. All of the 17 were resolute warriors who did not show the slightest look of fear in their eyes even at the sight of all those Qi Refinement Warriors falling over. Even the little fatty who was chattering the entire way merrily had gone silent, his beady eyes fluttering about as he was deep in thoughts. Su Zimo had always felt something unusual about this stage as everything seemed suspicious. However, he could not point out just what exactly was wrong. At almost the same time, both the haughty man and white bloused woman summoned a flying sword and soared to the skies. However, their speed was clearly slower – it was clear that both of them were being wary about the situation as well. “Bro, remember to be careful. I’ll scout the way for you first,” The little fatty was also a Qi Refinement Warrior as he retrieved a small shield from his storage bag. The shield expanded with the wind and carried his rotund body into the skies slowly. The remaining 14 people inclusive of Su Zimo were mortals who had no spirit qi within them. If they wanted to ascend the peak, they would have to climb the peak step by step physically. Su Zimo hesitated no more as he approached the base of the peak. With a nimble leap, he hung onto the walls and started climbing up swiftly. That shocked the remaining 13 people as they almost mistook him for a monkey instead of a human climbing the peak. By now, Su Zimo had almost perfected his Tendons Transformation. He was nimble like a python and agile like an ape. Moving with ease, the peak posed no challenge to him at all. Apes were natural born climbers. If Su Zimo had given it his all, even Qi Refinement Warriors who could soar through the skies may not even be able to match his speed. Previously at the Cang Lang Mountain Range, even when Elder Qian of Joyful Clan soared through the skies, Su Zimo’s speed while climbing the towering old tree matched his! Of course, Su Zimo had used his Sanguine Ape Transformation at that time and Elder Qian was only a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Even without using all his strength, Su Zimo had left the 13 remaining mortals far behind his tail. “Caw, caw!” Right then, Su Zimo vaguely picked up on some birds crying out. Even though he had lived a year in Cang Lang Mountain Range, he still could not understand the language of beasts. However, he could tell of how they felt through their sounds. Those birds clearly sounded happy and mocking. “Why are there spirit beasts here?” He frowned as he continued climbing without slowing down at all. “Bastard, how dare you!” Before long, the voice of the haughty man hollered out above. Su Zimo raised his head and gazed over, squinting his eyes. Far beyond the clouds, a gigantic bird was extending its wings while cawing out with a raised head. Su Zimo could faintly make out the bird assaulting the haughty man, white bloused woman and little fatty in midair. Every single gentle flap of its wings brought about a hurricane as all three of them swayed back and forth midair, looking as though they could fall anytime. “A spirit demon?” Su Zimo was stunned. The bird exuded an aura that was the same as spirit demons. It looked as though it had just become a spirit demon, equivalent to a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Even then, its strength was enough to hold out against the three of them. It was clear that the bird had not used its full strength. Instead, it was running circles around the three of them like a cat circling a rat, flapping its wings from time to time so that none of them could ascend further. The haughty man had a Wind spirit root to begin with and thus was barely able to maintain his balance despite swaying in the wind. The white bloused woman had a frozen expression. She was encased by a transparent ice barrier – it was clear that she had already used a talisman. As for the little fatty, his shield was steady and spacious. He sprawled on it, gripping onto its edges tightly with sweat pouring down his puffy face, looking all nervous. “So, this is the obstacle of the Life and Death Stage. One would be able to reach the peak if they could get through this bird.” Now that he understood the reason, Su Zimo was prepared to continue climbing. Right then, the little fatty shrieked. Perhaps because the bird saw that Su Zimo and the others were approaching as well, it seemed as though it no longer wanted to waste time as it flapped its wings furiously. The little fatty was the first one to lose control as he fell from midair with his shield blown into oblivion. “AHHHHHHH!” His face was pale as a sheet as he flailed his arms, crying out loudly. When he caught sight of Su Zimo above him, he called, “Bro, run! There’s a fierce bird up there!” The place where the little fatty fell was not too far away from Su Zimo. Su Zimo had a decent impression of the little fatty and was not about to leave the latter in the lurch. With a swift motion, he strode horizontally across the wall and grabbed the little fatty from midair. By then, the little fatty’s eyes were rolled over while he drooled all over, seemingly passed out of fear. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺 Su Zimo frowned. He was already halfway through the climb. If he were to put the little fatty down, he would have to repeat an entire journey once more. Even though the little fatty was heavy, he was nothing compared to the Cold Moon Saber and Sanguine Crystal Bow hanging on his waist. At that thought, Su Zimo grabbed the little fatty with one arm while continuing to climb with another without slowing down at all. It was only after he got closer that he managed to make things out clearly. It was a crane that looked to be in its infancy stage, its eyes filled with merry excitement. It was as though making the climbers fall was the most fun game it ever played. Swooping down, the crane extended its claws and landed on the white bloused woman’s talisman ice barrier. Crack! Crack! The barrier began cracking as the crane clawed at it with ease. With a strong gust of wind, the woman then fell from her sword. Even though her gaze looked slightly dim, she did not make a single peep of disgruntlement as she disappeared into the abyss. The haughty man followed soon after, holding out for not much longer under the attacks of the crane as he fell through the skies looking indignant. “Caw, caw!” Rearing its head, the crane looked extremely gleeful.