"They're here for the treasure as well?!" Huang Xiaolong was doubtful.
"If they aren't here for the treasure, who would be so idle till their balls hurt to come to a place where even birds refuse to lay eggs in." Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi retorted, "Don't tell me they're here to for a secret rendezvous?"
Huang Xiaolong sweated profusely at Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi's delectable choice of words. If there were people who came to this Hailstone Forest for a secret rendezvous, they were definitely a man amongst men in Huang Xiaolong's opinion.
Inevitably, an image of the six robust men of the Black Warrior Institute and Azure Dragon Institute having a secret rendezvous appeared in Huang Xiaolong's mind, making him shudder.
'Secret rendezvous' was a term Huang Xiaolong mentioned in passing to Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi, he didn't expect this old dragon actually made a point to remember it.
"In fact, a lot of people heard that a treasure is hidden deep within the Hailstone Forest." Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi explained, "It's not a big secret at all. It's just that, in the tens of thousands of years, no one has ever found it, thus as time went by, people stopped searching for the Hailstone Forest treasure. In the deeper parts of this Hailstone Forest, other than Tenth Order God Realm demonic beasts, there's a high possibility of Highgod Realm demonic beasts appearing, those who come seeking fortune, nine out of ten barely make it out alive by the skin of their teeth."
Huang Xiaolong nodded with a solemn expression.
"Although I got my hands the treasure map during my time and came searching for it several times, at that time, I had just found the treasure, there wasn't time enough time to even go through the dwelling's door when my archenemy and a group of peak late-Tenth Order God Realm lackeys besieged me. Despite having escaped death at that time, alas...!" Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi stopped here, but the implied meaning was evident.
Only at this moment did Huang Xiaolong found out the cause of Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi's physical body destruction and the heavy injury to his soul.
Besieged by a group of peak late-Tenth Order God Realms!
Goddamn!
However, this Old Dragon was a tough one for being able to escape an encirclement by a group of peak late-Tenth Order God Realm masters.
"Who's that archenemy of yours?" The cause and reason roused Huang Xiaolong's curiosity.
Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi said, "Not knowing about this now is better for you. If you can win the Highgod Advancement Tournament's first place, receive Godforce infusion, and break through to Highgod Realm, I'll tell you at that time!"
If Huang Xiaolong was able to do all that he said, he'd be able to break the restrictions on the Dragon Pearl, allowing Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi to be freed from the Dragon Pearl's shackles and leave the Dragon Pearl itself. The first thing Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi wanted to do was to exact revenge on that year's hatred, kill his archenemy of that year!
That archenemy's strength was undeniably high. Even if he was able to regain his freedom from the Dragon Pearl, relying on his lone strength, there was no guarantee he'd be able to kill the enemy, therefore Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi required Huang Xiaolong's help to succeed.
To him, the current Huang Xiaolong was as weak as a chick, even if they found his enemy of that year, nothing could be done at the moment.
Seeing that Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi wasn't willing to mention his archenemy's identity, Huang Xiaolong also did not dog the question. He then continued flying on the Mulberry Sword.
On the other hand, if that those Black Warrior Institute Grand Elders and the Azure Dragon Institute people really came for the same treasure, this indeed posed a huge problem for Huang Xiaolong.
'Forget it, since I'm already here, let's take things step by step.' Huang Xiaolong consoled himself. Converging his aura, he raised his vigilance higher as he flew.
At this point, his current strength allowed him to execute sword flight without generating any outward energy fluctuations. As long as he was cautious, he could still avoid most of the God Realm demonic beasts.
Just like this, Huang Xiaolong survived the day without much suspense.
The forest gradually darkened.
"Tomorrow, you should be able to reach the location of the treasure." Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi's voice continued, "The center area of the Hailstone Forest is extremely dangerous at night, it would better if you rest for the night and continue moving during daytime."
Huang Xiaolong pondered for a moment then nodded in agreement. This was also a good option, after all, they were in no hurry. Furthermore, if that six people really came for the same treasure, it was useless even if he hurried.
Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi's voice sounded again, "I know of an extremely well hidden natural cave around here, you can spend the night there."
Following Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi's directions, Huang Xiaolong found the natural cave shortly. The cave was located midway on a tall precipice, obscured by layers of snow, and had the protective formation placed by Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi many years ago. This natural cave was a good hiding place indeed.
Huang Xiaolong entered. The cave was bigger than it looked from the outside, there was even an ice bed inside, forged by Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi himself long ago. More than sixty thousand years had passed, but the ice bed still existed.
"That year, I forged this bed using Purple Crystal Cold Jade, cultivating on it will be greatly beneficial for you." He added, "In fact, if those six people are here to search for the treasure, it might be a good thing for you"
Huang Xiaolong leaped onto the Purple Crystal Cold Jade bed, sitting in a meditative position with a baffled look on his face, "Why do you say that?"
Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi explained, "Even if they managed to find out how to break the protective formation leading to the Hailstone treasure, it isn't that easy to break it. If the six of them cooperated, it would still take them two to three days' time."
Huang Xiaolong breathed in relief hearing this, fortunately, there was still hope.
"When it comes to the time they break the formation, it will surely generate strong energy fluctuations, which will attract God Realm demonic beasts." Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi continued to explain, "Let them break the formation, let them fight these demonic beasts, you can look for an opportunity to reap a fisherman's benefits without exerting much effort."
Huang Xiaolong was stunned, then again, Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi's analysis wasn't illogical.
Hence, Huang Xiaolong began cultivating as he sat on the ice bed. Although he has been traveling toward the center area of the Hailstone Forest, on the way, he killed quite a few mid and high-levels God Realm demonic beasts and refined their beast cores.
His strength that was already at peak mid-Second Order God Realm grew significantly. Huang Xiaolong had a feeling that in a day or two he would be able to break through to late-Second Order God Realm.
Of course, demonic beasts of Fifth Order God Realm and higher were out of Huang Xiaolong's current ability, during these times, it was Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi who came to the rescue.
Occasionally, the roars of demonic beasts could be heard close to the cave. Other than this, it was dead silence most of the time.
As Huang Xiaolong cultivated on the Purple Crystal Cold Jade, he could feel the movement of a colossal Tenth Order God Realm demonic beast. Because there was Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi helping him conceal his presence, he wasn't worried that these demonic beasts would be able to detect him.
It was a quiet night. As time passed, the morning rays appeared, chasing away the darkness.
Huang Xiaolong walked out from the cave. Taking a second to determine the direction, he continued to travel deeper into the forest on his sword.
Because the White Flame Divine Armor he had on was the color of white snow, blending in with the surroundings, it was difficult to discern Huang Xiaolong's movements from afar. On top of that, the lack of energy fluctuations once again paved a rather smooth passage through the Hailstone Forest for Huang Xiaolong.
As Huang Xiaolong continued flying toward a certain direction, he suddenly sensed powerful energy fluctuations up ahead.
"It came from the treasure's location. It seems like those six people came for the same treasure and attracted the nearby demonic beasts." Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi urged with glee, "Go, let's take a look."
Huang Xiaolong flew forward for a short distance before changing to the Godly Mt. Xumi as a precaution, continuing forward slowly, getting closer to the treasure's location.
The closer he was, the more horrifying the energy shockwaves grew, each wave seemed to surpass the one before. Snow-covered mountain cracked and crumbled one after another.