Chapter 176: Chapter 65: Journey Through the Blizzard

After finishing his call with Shao Qiming, Su Zhou hung up and carefully placed his phone inside a sealed metal box on the rooftop.

"The snow is really coming down." Fully armed and ready, Su Zhou exhaled a puff of white breath. He stood on the snow-covered rooftop, raised his hand, and watched a few snowflakes land in his palm, melt, and then evaporate into wisps of white steam.

In the darkness of the deep night, Su Zhou looked out at the hazy glow of Hongcheng’s neon lights. The frigid wind and blizzard from high above formed a pure white curtain, draping a veil over the entire city.

In Su Zhou’s eyes, the entire city’s Spiritual Light formed the foundation of a massive, strangely harmonious Array. Its brilliant glow was like quantum encryption, constantly maintaining a dynamic stability. It shifted its form and altered its details with every person’s movement and state, making it incredibly difficult to analyze.

This was the Order Array. A Sheltering Array that perhaps had been passed down from the Spiritual Energy Era before the "severing of heaven and earth," derived from the very foundations of human bloodlines and souls.

Since the Spiritual Energy Revival, the Great Array had suppressed countless potential Demon Fiends and Evil Spirits. Even now, Su Zhou could see the Array’s brilliant light rise and fall, pulsing and surging. It would even occasionally coalesce briefly into the hazy humanoid form of a Heroic Spirit, slashing away at things he couldn’t yet see. This was clear proof that the Great Array was at work, preventing the birth of Evil Demons.

’But the heavier the snow, the better.’

Today, however, Su Zhou would leave the area covered by the Order Array. He was taking advantage of the recent heavy snow to travel to Hengcheng City, nearly four hundred kilometers away as the crow flies, to carry out a "thousand-li raid"!

Honestly, this was a godsent opportunity. Not only Zhengguo, but the entire southern region of Southeast Asia was being ravaged by blizzards due to the abnormal climate caused by the Spiritual Energy Revival. Moreover, the threads of fate were in chaos, and Spiritual Qi was turbulent.

Even with Su Zhou’s advanced Spiritual Vision, it was difficult to clearly see the trajectories of Spiritual Qi under the current weather conditions. And this blizzard was expected to last until late December before it gradually subsided.

By then, all traces of Spiritual Qi would have dissipated. Not even Gods or Immortals would be able to find any clues. If he struck now, no one would be able to detect him.

To avoid being tracked, Su Zhou didn’t plan on bringing his phone or any other electronic devices for this raid. In Zhengguo, where the artificial intelligence industry was advancing by the day, the government might not be able to monitor every single call record like in a cyberpunk story, but tracking a signal was not difficult.

Two weapons and a few miscellaneous small tools were all the equipment Su Zhou carried. As for the weapons, the Dragon Horn Long Spear and the Blade of Annihilation, he would absolutely not use them unless it was truly necessary. And even if he did, he would only use one of them selectively to avoid leaving behind an overly distinct personal trace.

As for the distance... four hundred kilometers was indeed a long way. Even driving on the highway would normally take about four to five hours.

But, Su Zhou had Qinggong!

In the Divine Wood World, when Su Zhou was only at High-level Awakening, he could reach speeds of nearly 35 meters per second just by starting to learn Qinggong. And with the support of the Celestial Human Cycle, he could maintain a continuous sprint for over an hour.

After he advanced to Awakening Peak, his speed increased to 60 meters per second. He could leap over a hundred meters in a single breath, and his normal cruising speed reached a terrifying two hundred kilometers per hour, comparable to a sports car! His endurance was also greatly enhanced; running at full speed for half a day was not an issue at all.

If he burst forward at full power over a short distance, Su Zhou’s speed was even faster than an arrow shot by an ordinary Martial Artist—though, of course, not as fast as an arrow he shot himself.

Four hundred kilometers, to Su Zhou, was a journey of just over an hour, perhaps even less. This was because he had a tailwind going from Hongcheng to Hengcheng City, and with the boost from Wind Aid, his speed would be even faster.

’Time to go.’

Without hesitation, after confirming he hadn’t forgotten any equipment, Su Zhou leaped directly into the air. Propelled by the power of Wind Aid, he soared high and glided rapidly towards the outskirts of the city. Like a great white bird, he flashed through the dark, snowy curtain of the night sky.

He was like a Ghost, drifting silently through the snowy night. Even if by some extreme coincidence someone saw something fly past in mid-air, they would only assume it was a trick of the eye, because they wouldn’t see anything when they focused and looked closely.

Soon, he left the city and began to race across the pathless wastelands and mountain ridges. Occasionally, when a Gale propelled his jump more than two hundred meters into the air, Su Zhou could faintly see a highway in the distance.

There weren’t many vehicles on the highway at this time. Only massive transport trucks, whose wheels alone were as tall as two people, were still traveling between the cities.

The blizzard sweeping across the south had obstructed traffic, leaving all the people on vacation unable to go out. They could only stay home and browse the internet. The only good news was perhaps that the Spiritual Qi was abundant during this time, and the tranquility of the snow and ice allowed people to focus on their Cultivation.

There was nothing of note along the way. All he could see was an endless expanse of snow. It was a good thing Su Zhou had grown accustomed to this kind of weather on Taibai Mountain in the Divine Wood World; otherwise, he definitely wouldn’t have been able to adapt and would have lost his way.

However, the farther he got from the city, the more "abnormal creatures" he encountered.

As he left the borders of Hongzhou, Su Zhou could faintly see many Spiritual Creatures in the mountain ridges.

For example, there were the ’Frost Slimes’ lying prone in the snow, slowly squirming. This species, a product of Spiritual Qi found all over the world, had pale blue bodies as solid as Ice Crystals, which they used to gather and store icy Spiritual Qi. Their life form was completely different from their relatives living in humid regions. Not only were they not wet and slightly disgusting, but they instead looked like sparkling, ice-blue Gemstones in the snow.

In addition, many ’Ice Spirits’ were leaping and dancing amidst the Gales in the sky, following the falling snowflakes. These little sprites, born from the surging of Spiritual Qi, came into existence with the snow and vanished with the clear skies. They looked like small, pure-white orbs of light with Ice Crystal wings. Their swarms gathered beneath the blizzard-laden clouds, wandering about while shining with a light that resembled an aurora.

Of course, the mountain ridges weren’t just home to these little cuties.

Su Zhou’s keen Spiritual Energy Perception could detect the fluctuations of battle coming from the snow-covered mountain ridges not far away, along with the distinct sound of gunfire.

RAT-TAT-TAT, BOOM! KABOOM!

The sounds of battle, mostly muffled by the Gale, could not escape Su Zhou’s ears. He could even perceive that five Awakeners, likely from the government, were fighting an unknown beast that was also at the Awakened Level but possessed an enormous amount of Spiritual Energy.

—It was probably a Demon Beast that had recently gone through its Awakening, or perhaps an Evil Demon.

Su Zhou wasn’t surprised by this. The heavy snow in the south was, in essence, an abnormal weather event caused by a large-scale Spiritual Qi Burst. In the wild, where there was no Order Array, it was no wonder that Evil Demons and Demon Beasts would awaken and be born. After all, it was said that an awakened Giant Whale and an awakened seal had appeared over in the Mediterranean Sea and Britain. It was precisely these few awakened Magical Beasts, migrating with their kin, that had exacerbated the drastic weather changes over there.

’Judging by the sound, it seems to be a large bear? I’m not sure of the specifics, but it’s already completely suppressed by gunfire. Even an Extraordinary Tier being has to be wary of the power of modern weaponry, let alone one at the Awakening level.’

Su Zhou had no intention of getting involved to help—mainly because there was no need. The government’s forces were very strong and already had a plan. They didn’t need his assistance.

Soon, after more than an hour of rapid travel, Su Zhou arrived on the outskirts of Hengcheng City.

He could already see it: the corporate headquarters of the Tang-surnamed Ghost Witch Family, located in a suburban development zone.