Chapter Fifty-Five: The Valley of Elephants

In less than an hour, the flying vessel had reached the outer edge of the Celestial Dragon Mountains. The speed of this flying treasure was truly extraordinary, saving both time and effort. If Chen Yi and his companions had traveled on foot, it would have taken them at least half a day.

Upon arrival, Chen Yi and Fu Aoxuan disembarked from the flying vessel. Fu Aoxuan then gathered his spiritual power, extended his right hand, and with a gesture, retrieved the hovering vessel. They dared not continue deeper into the mountains by air, for the Celestial Dragon Mountains were rife with terrifying beings. To fly further would be to court death, as any one of those monsters could crush them as easily as squashing an ant.

After trekking for over an hour through the shadowy and perilous mountains, they finally reached their destination: the gathering place of the Elephant Clan. From the summit of a nearby peak, they overlooked the clan’s territory.

The Elephant Clan dwelt within a beautiful valley thick with spiritual energy, surrounded on three sides by mountains. Only a single, narrow gorge led in or out, just wide enough for one person to pass freely. If enemies were to attack, the Elephant Clan could defend or counterattack with ease, thanks to this advantageous terrain.

In the center of the valley, on a grassy plain, a group of young elephant calves in the Qi Refinement stage played and frolicked. They chased and tumbled together, while around the meadow, several humanoid guardians with elephant heads watched over them. These guardians were the defenders of the Elephant Clan.

Each of these defenders possessed at least Foundation Establishment cultivation, and there were several hundred in total—some at the Golden Core stage, some even at Nascent Soul. The strongest among them was their leader, who had reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. The defensive power of the Elephant Clan was formidable indeed.

The stronger the defenders, the more anxious Chen Yi and his companions became. Their mission required them to infiltrate the valley, hunt a young elephant, and harvest its ivory. To succeed, they would have to contend with the clan’s guardians—a hopeless endeavor, given their strength.

Since force was out of the question, Chen Yi and the others resolved to rely on cunning. They carefully reviewed all available information about the Elephant Clan. In doing so, Chen Yi discovered a hidden detail: the clan maintained a tradition.

Whenever an elder elephant died, the clan would inter the corpse deep within the valley, in a place called the Elephant Mound. Chen Yi reasoned that if the remains of their kin lay within the mound, then surely there would be ivory to be found there as well.

He shared his idea with Fu Aoxuan and the others, and excitement lit their faces. Fu Aoxuan, frustrated by the strength of the defenders, had not expected the task to be nearly impossible—hundreds of Foundation Establishment guardians made a direct assault futile. Yet now, amid despair, a new path had appeared; Chen Yi’s clue might be their salvation.

With this lead, they quickly discussed how best to evade the Elephant Clan’s defenders and enter the Elephant Mound to obtain ivory.

After careful planning, they decided Chen Yi would sneak into the valley alone and infiltrate the mound. His cultivation was low enough not to arouse the guardians’ suspicion, yet his actual combat strength rivaled that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. If discovered, he might still break free with a sudden burst of power and escape the valley.

To ensure his safety, Fu Aoxuan gave him a talisman—a Concealing Talisman. Its effects were marvelous: once activated, it would cloak all of the user’s aura and render them invisible. Under normal circumstances, no one would detect its use unless they possessed cultivation at the Spirit Division or Divine Transformation stages. In the valley, only the clan chief had such power, and it was impossible for the chief to monitor the entire area with spiritual sense at all times. The valley was simply too vast; even a Spirit Division expert would tire from the effort. Therefore, Chen Yi’s chances of success were considerable.

However, the Concealing Talisman could only be used once. After that, its power was spent. That was to be expected—a treasure so wondrous could not be used without limit, or Fu Aoxuan would never have been willing to part with it.

Chen Yi had hesitated to accept such a precious talisman. He and Fu Aoxuan were little more than acquaintances, having known each other for less than a day. Accepting such a rare item felt improper. Yet Fu Aoxuan insisted, saying that Chen Yi was risking his life on behalf of all four of them. If Chen Yi refused, Fu Aoxuan would feel uneasy. With Fu Aoxuan’s insistence, and knowing he truly needed the talisman, Chen Yi finally accepted it.

Activating the Concealing Talisman, Chen Yi summoned his movement technique and swiftly made for the valley. His speed was astonishing—within the blink of an eye, he reached the entrance to the gorge. There, two Elephant Clan guardians at the Golden Core stage stood watch, their sole purpose to prevent intruders like Chen Yi from sneaking into the valley.

The two guardians stared intently ahead, their faces expressionless, as still as stone statues. With such seriousness, Chen Yi thought even a mosquito would not sneak past them—fortunately, he had already used the Concealing Talisman. His aura withdrawn, his figure hidden, he need not fear detection.

Relaxing, Chen Yi walked boldly and unhurriedly toward the entrance. The talisman’s magic worked perfectly—when he reached the mouth of the gorge, the two guardians seemed not to notice him at all, their eyes seeing nothing but empty space. Seeing this, Chen Yi finally let go of the anxiety that had been clutching at his heart. He had never used a Concealing Talisman before and had not known if it would truly work.

But from the current situation, the talisman was as miraculous as promised. Yet as he passed by, one of the guardians seemed to sense something and immediately swept the area with his spiritual sense.

Chen Yi’s heart, which had just calmed, leaped back into his throat.