CHAPTER 1457: CHAPTER 1458: RACING

Qi Chen scratched his head, puzzled, and looked at Dou Yanlan, asking

"Ah Mu following our pace? It shouldn’t be difficult, right?"

"Are you saying..."

After glancing at Dou Yanlan, Feng Yuan seemed to understand something. The other person nodded and said,

"Look at the arrangement of those fragments ahead. Doesn’t it look a lot like a race track?"

"Huh?! So, does that mean we’re going to run? In that case, Xiao Ji, you should transform into the Eggshell Chicken form."

Feng Yuan patted Xiao Ji on the back and said. There was no other choice; this place forbade flying. Xiao Ji wasn’t particularly fast on the ground, at least not compared to Big Cat. Xiao Ji was clearly not accustomed to running on the ground. As for Big Cat? Feng Yuan somewhat suspected that it had turned itself into a land bird since he hadn’t really seen Big Cat fly much, but that also had to do with Big Cat’s rather poor flying ability.

Hesitating for a moment, Xiao Ji transformed into the Eggshell Chicken form and ran onto Feng Yuan’s head. Little Ice Cream couldn’t help but call out, to which Xiao Ji stared at it and complained with a few cries. Agunas swayed its tail and said,

"I also move on the ground, what are you complaining about?"

Leaning against Big Cat, Little Ice Cream showed a sad expression, but upon seeing Feng Yuan and the others stepping onto a vine bridge, its demeanor instantly changed and it hurriedly chased after them.

Crossing the vine bridge, everyone discovered this place was indeed a race, or perhaps, an escape game.

A quirky mannequin in a comical suit tipped its hat in greeting to Feng Yuan’s group and explained the rules here. The adjacent floating stone pillars formed a small empty island, a place where those who failed the challenge could rest. As long as one person successfully reached the finish line, the challenge was considered successful. If everyone failed, they could only attempt again.

"Are you ready?"

Having listened to the rules, Feng Yuan looked at Qi Chen and the others to ask. As for failing? That was impossible; if nothing else, Feng Yuan believed this place wouldn’t be too challenging for him, not to mention he could also cheat.

Qi Chen nodded and walked to the starting area, saying,

"I wonder if Ah Mu can stay here to help watch over the three little ones while we go."

"Probably not. Ah Mu, you better watch them carefully and make sure they don’t fall off. Then, you’d best keep following us, and if necessary, using vines to assist shouldn’t be much of an issue, right?"

Feng Yuan shook his head and said to Ah Mu. Although it didn’t quite understand why Feng Yuan said so, it could naturally see that Feng Yuan wasn’t joking. With a serious expression, Ah Mu clenched its fist, indicating its understanding.

As the quirky mannequin announced the start, Feng Yuan, with Xiao Ji atop his head, rushed forward quickly. Veronia and Belusir walked leisurely on the vine bridge yet kept right behind Feng Yuan. Before Feng Yuan reached the first platform by crossing the vine bridge, the starting point platform behind him was already trembling and collapsing slowly.

"Just as expected."

Dou Yanlan wasn’t surprised by this, having already suspected it. Surprisingly, Cotton was startled by the commotion and instinctively tried to activate Nether Cross, only to find that this ultimate move was restricted and couldn’t be used.

Picking up Cotton, Dou Yanlan comforted it while saying,

"You should lean on my shoulder, because I might not be able to hold you later."

Najia was sitting on Xiao Hei’s head, directing Xiao Hei’s movements, while Yang Hongzhi was running quickly ahead. Once on the first platform, Feng Yuan swiftly climbed to the highest point, and Yang Hongzhi glanced at Xiao Hei and asked Najia,

"Wall climbing should be fine, right?"

"Treading air isn’t allowed, but with its ability, climbing walls shouldn’t be a problem. Don’t overthink it, infuse attacking energy into its claws, and dig into the wall."

After glancing at Xiao Hei beneath him, Najia said that since energy couldn’t be used to adhere to walls, it would be best to directly create footholds.

Ah Mu’s body grew larger and didn’t use vines as cushions as Feng Yuan suggested, but instead grasped the platform above with its hands, effortlessly lifting itself onto the platform. Agunas tossed the book in its hand, and violent vines instantly carried it to the highest point of the first platform. Kong Qing moved on the vertical wall as if walking on flat ground, unaffected by gravity. Turning to look at Little Ice Cream, it found the latter constantly summoning meteors to elevate itself and stopped paying attention.

Big Cat flapped its wings in an attempt to fly, but unfortunately, this was a no-fly zone. Perhaps realizing this issue, Big Cat’s eyes widened, and with a fierce flap of its wings, a tornado surged from beneath it, carrying it to the highest point of the platform.

With each spirit beast showing off their skills, the first platform became tattered and dilapidated even before the collapse began. Running along a thin line, Feng Yuan glanced back and marveled,

"What tremendous destructive power, huh, why can’t we fly?"

Even though it was a lofty height with an unseen bottom, Feng Yuan wasn’t scared at all. After all, it wasn’t like he hadn’t flown before. However, compared to walking along the thin line, he much preferred flying across this distance.

Reaching the second platform, Feng Yuan noticed there were two highest points and observed for a while in confusion, saying,

"Are there forks in the path?"

"Just pick one at random."

Veronia said while pulling Belusir along, her feet stepping on the rapidly spreading Golden Crystal Rose as they ran toward the high ground on the left. After hesitating, Feng Yuan turned and ran toward the high ground on the right. Climbing to the highest point, Feng Yuan didn’t see a path forward and was puzzled. Xiao Ji, perched atop his head, called out. Glancing down, Feng Yuan said speechlessly,

"Is this... high dive? It’s bound to scare many people, right?"

"So, do you want to change back first?"

Although Xiao Ji wasn’t extremely averse to water at the moment, Feng Yuan knew full well that Xiao Ji wasn’t suited to get wet in the Eggshell Chicken form. After hesitating, Xiao Ji jumped down from Feng Yuan’s head, reverted to its original form beside him, and Feng Yuan gently patted Xiao Ji’s head, smiling as he said,

"So, let’s go together～"

Saying this, Feng Yuan jumped down to the pool below with Xiao Ji. It was then he realized despite feeling weightless, the rate of descent remained unchanging, presumably because the planners took into account that such heights would frighten many people.

Even so, Feng Yuan and Xiao Ji soon landed in the water, quickly swimming toward the shore. Feng Yuan found himself and Xiao Ji seemingly dry, and turning to look at the pool he had come from, Feng Yuan patted Xiao Ji and said,

"Seems like a good way to enjoy the water, let’s go."

Understandingly returning to the Eggshell Chicken form, Xiao Ji hopped back onto Feng Yuan’s head. This time, the way forward wasn’t just a thin line or similar obstacle. Looking at the carpet, Feng Yuan showed a quirky smile and said,

"Has it become a flying carpet? How interesting～"

Behind him, Ah Mu followed Qi Chen to the dive point. Gazing at the pool below, Ah Mu called to Qi Chen. Understanding its intention, Qi Chen hesitated then jumped down first. After a while, seeing Qi Chen reach the shore, Ah Mu reminded the three little ones in its foliage to stay safe before leaping down.

This feeling of slowly floating down was not only astonishing to Ah Mu but also excited its three little charges nestled in its canopy, who squealed loudly with delight.

"Hey～ You all finally arrived～"

Controlling the flying carpet and teasing Hydra until it spun in circles, Feng Yuan waved to Qi Chen and the others catching up from behind. Puzzled, they shouted,

"What do you think you’re doing?!"

"Heh heh～ I was just worried you wouldn’t be able to cross～ considering how big Ah Mu is～"

Seeing Ah Mu cross over, Feng Yuan stopped teasing the Hydra and stuck close to Qi Chen and his team. As for Yang Hongzhi and the others behind? Feng Yuan felt assured they’d find a way to cross.

While maneuvering the flying carpet around the creatures, the group stopped in front of a massive stone gate. Gazing upward at the platforms that continuously ascended and the vaguely visible giant red cartoon clock atop, Feng Yuan seemed to grasp something and said to Veronia,

"Shall we each take one side?"

"I won’t go up."

Veronia said, waving her parasol, and Crystal Rose charged out from the void, quickly piercing the cartoon clock above. Yet, even after the clock shattered, it instantly restored itself. Feng Yuan noticed a red clock pattern appear on the wall, with the hour hand retreating from twelve to eleven, and he said, paused in astonishment,

"Could it be that it’s not about eliminating enemies? But, I don’t want to climb."

Glancing at the platforms on both sides, Feng Yuan hesitated but borrowed strength from Xiao Ji. At this moment, Xiao Ji had already transformed into the form of a mighty eagle sitting next to him, looking at him puzzled. Feng Yuan drew his longbow, a black arrow gathering terrifying energy and smiling coldly. He gently released his grip and said,

"In that case, I choose to skip the stage～"

As the clock pattern crashed along with the wall being shattered, a platform resembling a temple with a finish line appeared in the rear. Smiling gleefully, Feng Yuan looked at Veronia and said,

"Looks like we’ve reached the destination～"