Chapter 155: The Path of Growth

“Don’t worry, let’s just head into the mountains directly.”

“We’re going in just like this? Miss Vilyric, what about the magic formation that Lulu mentioned?”

Upon hearing this, the Priestess smiled slightly.

“Xiao Lan, don’t be fooled by my appearance; I’ve actually done some research on barriers and formations. If I can’t even break through with my full strength, then the Spirit Butterfly Peak would basically be safe, so relax.”

“Uh, really…?”

Since the Priestess had made up her mind as the decision-maker, even if Xiao Lan or Lulu had doubts, they could only follow her lead at this point.

Thus, the three of them, led by Vilyric, stepped boldly into the snow-covered mountains of the Spirit Butterfly Clan, following the traces left by the invaders.

Snow and mist—these two weather phenomena should never appear together. But no matter how the snowflakes fluttered down, the ethereal mist swirled around the Spirit Butterfly Peak above, a magical spectacle without a doubt.

As they reached the foot of the Spirit Butterfly Peak, the surroundings changed dramatically. Thick fog rolled in from all directions, reducing visibility significantly compared to the outside. Although snowflakes still drifted through the mist to the ground, the area took on an ethereal, surreal quality.

“Exactly as I said, Miss Vilyric. As we go further up in this fog, the surroundings will become increasingly blurry, making it hard to discern directions. Until we can’t even see our companions up close, once the fog disperses again, we’ll find ourselves back at the foot of the mountain.”

Xiao Lan spoke steadily, but Vilyric didn’t look at her or Lulu; instead, she looked up and muttered to herself.

“What if we… go directly into the Spirit Butterfly Peak from the sky? Although the clouds above are thicker, they shouldn’t be able to truly block us, right?”

“No, no! Absolutely not!”

As soon as she finished speaking, Lulu hurriedly interrupted the Priestess’s plans in a panic.

“Miss Vilyric, we can’t enter Spirit Butterfly Peak from above, especially when the defense formation is activated! There are restrictions in the air nearby; before we even get close to the mountain, we’d fall straight down and end up shattered!”

“Wow… you guys from the Spirit Butterfly Clan really know a lot…”

Curious about the restrictions Lulu mentioned, Vilyric felt it was unnecessary to foolishly attempt to fly up when aware of such dangers. Now was not the time for such tricks; perhaps Tiyelu had indeed made preparations, but these invaders were undoubtedly scheming for a long time and were determined to succeed.

The outcome was still uncertain.

“Alright, stay close. I want to see what special mountain-defending techniques the Spirit Butterfly Clan has. Lulu, you don’t need to worry too much; think about it, as long as the influence of the magic formation is still present, it means that Spirit Butterfly Peak hasn’t been completely breached, right?”

“Um, you have a point there…”

After lightly reassuring her companion, Vilyric wasted no more time and led the way up the mountain.

The path to Spirit Butterfly Peak was clearly well-maintained; the stone steps were smooth and regular, crafted better than most of what the Priestess had seen in the mountainous regions on her way here, and the scale of the path was quite suited for humanoid creatures, indicating it was specifically built for the Spirit Butterfly Clan’s use.

There wasn’t much snow accumulated on the stone steps, with traces of footprints scattered about; even though new snow had covered them, it didn’t completely hide the evidence. Clearly, a large group had left just recently.

As they ascended, the dim fog began to blur their surroundings; in the distance, the path stretched out into a gray haze, as if terrifying monstrous claws could suddenly emerge from within to attack, inducing a sense of dread.

“Miss Vilyric, the fog is getting denser; should we really keep going up like this?”

Xiao Lan, following closely, warned the Priestess again. After spending some time together, Vilyric had come to understand the nature of this Slime, who had made a three-year contract with her.

She was assertive, quick-thinking, and action-oriented. While she highly respected and trusted Vilyric, she wouldn’t hesitate to voice her concerns if something seemed unreasonable. In a normal team, this kid would quickly become a reliable core member.

It was said that Xiao Lan had previously survived alone amidst the dangerous mountains, so her personality was likely shaped by that experience.

Very good; as long as her loyalty could be ensured, Vilyric felt comfortable entrusting matters to her.

“Don’t worry, I haven’t just been walking aimlessly; I’ve made some preliminary judgments about the magic formation’s principles. We haven’t yet reached the point of triggering any traps, so there shouldn’t be any problems for now.”

“Point?”

“Exactly… it’s the situation where the mist is so thick you can’t even see the person beside you. I’ve faced a foe once before who used mist as an attack, but the reality was that the mist was merely a facade, containing the truly terrifying power called [Law].”

While casually walking along the mountain path, Vilyric turned back slowly, looking at Xiao Lan’s confused face.

“Xiao Lan, you mentioned that after evolving, you couldn’t use any abilities, which could be due to my peculiarities. After consideration, I’ve decided to offer you two options, or rather… two paths.”

“Uh, please wait a moment, Miss Vilyric. Is it really appropriate to discuss this now? We don’t know the situation at Spirit Butterfly Peak, and we’re unsure of the enemy’s movements. Maybe we could wait until we’re safe to discuss training?”

The Priestess just shook her head gently with a smile.

“No, on the contrary, I think this is the perfect time. Listen carefully.”

“I can, through some methods, directly enable you to grasp all the abilities available at this stage, enough for you to possess the power of a Great Demon Commander, or even surpass that. But to be frank, this path has a foreseeable end; for certain reasons, you won’t be able to continue climbing higher, and I can tell you this clearly now.”

“In addition, I’ve thought of another way for you to gain power, but I haven’t tried it myself yet, so I can’t guarantee what results it will yield. It might make you far stronger than the first method, or it might achieve nothing at all. You can only choose one of these two paths.”

With a slightly provocative and expectant glance at Xiao Lan’s light blue form, Vilyric’s smile became more pronounced.

“So, what’s your answer? Or do you need more time to think?”

Xiao Lan didn’t answer immediately; instead, she paused thoughtfully.

“Miss Vilyric, are you… planning to let me break the mist formation here?”

“Bingo!”

The black-haired girl cheerfully snapped her fingers.

“What’s wrong? This is killing three birds with one stone!”

   

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