Yaoshan of Lingjia Town is merely a branch of the Extreme Cold Mountain Range, located at the very edge of the range.

The true Extreme Cold Mountain Range is vast, stretching for thousands of miles. Many of its peripheral areas are not cold at all; some special valleys are even like spring all year round, making them ideal for cultivating spirit herbs and medicines.

However, the deeper one goes into the Extreme Cold Mountain Range, the more gloomy and chilling it becomes.

This is because deep within the mountains, there are several towering snow peaks and glaciers that reach into the clouds. These snow peaks and glaciers never melt throughout the year, eternally releasing a harsh, icy cold air. As the cold spreads, it causes the surrounding mountains to become frigid and gloomy as well.

The snow peaks and glaciers in the deepest parts are among the forbidden zones of the world. It is rumored that many rare spirit herbs and cold crystals are produced there—peerless treasures that martial artists dream of obtaining for cultivation.

Since ancient times, wherever rare spirit herbs grow, there are often fierce creatures guarding them. The snow peaks and ice peaks are no exception, inhabited by many high-level, ferocious spirit beasts. Even powerful martial artists rarely venture there; when they travel through the Extreme Cold Mountain Range, they always choose to avoid provoking those powerful spirit beasts above.

The peripheral and outer regions of the Extreme Cold Mountain Range also nurture many spirit herbs and have spirit beasts roaming about, but their ranks are not very high and their distribution is quite scattered. Searching for spirit herbs and hunting spirit beasts requires considerable effort and also depends on one’s luck.

Those areas are where martial artists most frequently operate. Martial artists from Xingyun Pavilion, as well as many small forces nearby that rely on Xingyun Pavilion, such as the Ling family, almost always conduct their activities in regions far from the snow peaks and glaciers every year.

After the heavy rain, the mountain paths were muddy and slippery, and the air was exceptionally fresh.

After leaving Yaoshan, Ryan Carter headed deeper into the mountains, his pant legs covered in mud, but his young face was filled with excitement.

Over the years, he had devoted all his time to cultivating the Heavenly Thunder Annihilation, never breaking his routine, living a very reclusive life.

After all, he was only a fifteen-year-old boy. After years of monotonous cultivation, being able to leap through the forest for once filled him with joy, as if all his fatigue had been swept away.

“Quiet Ridge should be close. The first-rank Shadow Lightning Eagle—I hope it won’t disappoint me…”

Surveying the mountain path along the way and recalling the map in his mind, as he drew closer to Quiet Ridge where the Shadow Lightning Eagles were active, Ryan Carter gradually suppressed his excitement, focused his attention, and began to proceed with caution.

The Shadow Lightning Eagle was only a first-rank spirit beast, equivalent to a martial artist at the Body Tempering Realm. Depending on the size and strength of the beast, there could be some variation in power, but even the strongest Shadow Lightning Eagle could not reach the power level of an Opening Realm martial artist.

In Ryan Carter’s view, the Shadow Lightning Eagle, whose trump card was its lightning power, could not threaten him no matter how strong it was.

After years of bitter cultivation in Heavenly Thunder Annihilation, and with a body capable of channeling the power of heavenly thunder, how could he fear the lightning released by a first-rank spirit beast?

His caution was due to the fear of encountering other types of spirit beasts.

Half an hour later, a ridge covered in ancient trees slowly came into view. The trees were over ten meters tall, with dense foliage that blocked out the sky, making the ridge seem deep and secluded.

This was Quiet Ridge.

“Whoosh whoosh whoosh!”

The shrill cries of birds darting through the forest came from deep within the ridge, occasionally accompanied by the startled shouts and curses of young men.

Ryan Carter’s eyebrows rose as he immediately realized that martial artists were fighting with Shadow Lightning Eagles deep within Quiet Ridge. Without further thought, he sped up sharply and rushed straight toward the high slope of the ridge.

Beneath a dozen towering ancient trees, a group of seven young martial artists stood back to back, wielding weapons such as sabers, swords, bows, and silver hammers. Their clothes were torn, and their arms and chests were stained with blood. They raised their heads, brandishing their weapons in a desperate struggle against the Shadow Lightning Eagles circling above.

Among the seven martial artists, there were both men and women, all at the Body Tempering Realm and all quite young. Their clothes were exquisite and luxurious, and the weapons in their hands pulsed with spiritual energy, clearly indicating that they were all graded spirit artifacts—obviously of extraordinary background.

The leader was a burly young man with a tiger-like back and a bear-like waist, wielding a crimson long saber. His long black hair flew wildly as he swung the saber, sending dazzling arcs of red light through the air, exuding an impressive aura.

More than thirty Shadow Lightning Eagles, each over two meters long, with gray-brown feathers, hooked beaks, short wedge-shaped tails, and talons like anchors, circled above. On their foreheads was a blue rhombus-shaped crystal, crackling with electricity as they continuously released blue-green lightning.

The Shadow Lightning Eagles circled in the air, moving swiftly and nimbly. First, they attacked the martial artists below with lightning from the beast core on their foreheads. Once the martial artists were numbed by the electric shocks, the eagles would immediately swoop down, tearing into their prey with hook-like beaks and anchor-like talons, causing their victims to scream in agony as flesh was ripped from bone.

Beside the seven martial artists, five Shadow Lightning Eagles had already been pierced by sharp weapons and fallen to the ground, their feathers and blood scattered everywhere. The seven were also covered in wounds from the eagles’ attacks, indicating that the battle had been going on for some time.

The seven worked together as one. Whenever one of them was struck by lightning, the other six would immediately do their utmost to protect their companion, risking injury themselves to defend each other.

Because of this, the Shadow Lightning Eagles could not quickly kill any one of them in a single assault, so the battle was likely to continue for some time.