Chapter 285 - 217: Plateau Hunt

Words : 2112 Updated : Oct 15th, 2025

Chapter 285: Chapter 217: Plateau HuntJi Xinghuo calmed his emotions. The magnificent and vast scenery was just superficial; beneath it lurked countless dangers, bizarre natural environments, and numerous monsters, alien races, and extraterrestrial beings, all seemingly choosing their targets to devour. A moment’s carelessness could cost a life. Otherwise, this plateau wouldn’t have been crowned with the name "Bloody." He continued to advance for another day. Finally, Ji Xinghuo set foot on the Bloody Plateau. The climate on the aleatory moon wasn’t too cold and was relatively comfortable, but the plateau was noticeably colder than the Thousand Peak Abyss Forest, probably just a few degrees above zero. Ji Xinghuo had prepared well before setting out, adding a cold-resistant suit inside his ceramic steel armor. It was extremely light, made from aerogel material, and although thin, it provided excellent warmth, sufficient to resist temperatures below minus one hundred degrees. It also had great breathability and didn’t hinder movement at all. He also applied a layer of nano cold-proof wax on his face to completely withstand the chilly wind. Soon after stepping onto the plateau, Ji Xinghuo sensed an anomaly. He looked up at the sky. A crimson moon hung above, clearly visible even during the daytime. This was "Red Flame Star," one of the four "moons" of the Star Realm. They were called moons, but it was possible that they were planets. Normally, the Red Flame Star appeared and disappeared unpredictably; even the scientists of Earth had yet to understand its patterns and orbits, contrasting sharply with the planets of the Galaxy. At this moment, Ji Xinghuo spotted something strange. The Red Flame Star had grown larger! He was sure it wasn’t an illusion, but on the Bloody Plateau, the crimson moon seemed about ten percent bigger, as if it were closer. Ji Xinghuo stared at it subconsciously. With his Wanxiang Star Pupil, he could see very far. The Red Flame Star zoomed in his vision, and gradually, he faintly made out crisscrossed black lines on it. These black lines were not actually black, but areas of lower brightness that contrasted with the brighter parts, appearing as shadows. This was the same principle as sunspots. Ji Xinghuo carefully observed these lines. As the Red Flame Star enlarged further in his view, he saw the shadows more clearly. In an instant, his eyes widened! "Those aren’t shadows!" "They’re man-made structures!" Ji Xinghuo cried out in his heart, as if he saw an endless sprawl of black and red buildings before him, towering like mountains and stretching continuously, with countless fortresses and palaces filled with terrifying and fierce monsters, slaughtering each other, fighting bloodily. In the center of the Red Flame Star sat a huge, hazy figure on a black throne of unknown height and size. Ji Xinghuo couldn’t see clearly, but in that instant, he envisioned mountains of corpses and seas of blood. And the sky was filled with crimson flames! "Ah..." Ji Xinghuo felt a sharp pain in his eyes and cried out in pain, the terrible visions in his sight suddenly vanishing. He finally came back to his senses and found his heart pounding furiously, like a drum, with his blood boiling, coursing rapidly through his body. His Holy Scale Armor had been triggered unconsciously, emitting steam as if Blood Burning had been activated. "Terrifying!" Ji Xinghuo took a deep breath and it took him a long time to return to normal. He looked up quickly with a lingering fear, and the Red Flame Star was still suspended in the sky, with no changes. The scene just now seemed to be nothing but his own illusion. "It wasn’t an illusion." Ji Xinghuo immediately guessed a possibility. The Red Emperor! One of the most powerful of the four Star Gods in the Star Realm, also referred to as the Star Realm God, the foremost of the four Supreme Lords, "Slaughter Flame Red Emperor"! His heart was immensely shocked. Could it be that the Red Emperor was on the Red Flame Star? This shouldn’t be a secret in the Star Realm; it’s just that the Earth Star Gate had been open for less than two hundred years. The Thousand Peak Abyss Forest was a more remote area in the Star Realm, not in touch with the upper echelons, so the secrets of the four moons were not known. By this conjecture, did the other three planets also host Star Gods, the other three among the Supreme Lords? "Star Gods..." Ji Xinghuo shook his head. Legends said that Star Gods were born from the nature of the Star Realm or evolved from living creatures, representing the ultimate goal of all life evolution. But that was too far-fetched for him. Dwelling on it was of no use. However, the chaotic order on the Bloody Plateau was closely related to the Star Gods. Before his arrival, he had gathered information online, and many Mutants who had been to the Bloody Plateau mentioned that most of the alien races on the plateau were devotees of the Star Gods. Among these devotees, those of the Red Emperor made up more than eighty percent! The Red Emperor advocated for blood and combat, and even his followers never ceased slaughtering each other. They had an insatiable desire for killing. Every inch of this plateau had been soaked in blood. Hence the name, Bloody Plateau! Qing Hong sprinted all the way, entering the plateau where vegetation wasn’t as dense as in the Thousand Peak Abyss Forest, mostly lower in height, and there were vast grasslands, so progress was much faster. However, many mountain ranges still harbored large forests, nurturing countless wild beasts and monsters. One such creature was known as the "Gale Beast" and was adept at hiding and running at extreme speeds. This carnivorous monster wasn’t large and was difficult to track. But their hearts were a kind of expansion wonder. If one could kill and consume the heart before the body cooled down, it would allow the integration of an additional Alien Species. Therefore, many people were attracted to hunt the Gale Beasts. Ji Xinghuo recalled in his mind the appearance and habits of the Gale Beasts. They usually lived near the snowline of the mountains and liked to eat various types of herbivorous ungulates. To locate them, one must climb the mountains. The plateau was all mountains! To be precise, the plateau was made up of countless mountain ranges that together lifted the land, with peaks continuous in every direction as far as the eye could see. Ji Xinghuo opened a simple map, determined his direction, and arbitrarily selected a peak to the west. Qing Hong started sprinting. Soon, Ji Xinghuo arrived at the foot of the mountain, which had an elevation drop of about three thousand meters. He had Qing Hong circle the base while scanning the surroundings with electromagnetic induction. After integrating an electrostatic field, the radius of electromagnetic induction expanded to three thousand meters, and he let Qing Hong slow down slightly for a more detailed sensing. The Gale Beast resembled a cheetah in appearance but had six legs and skin that could change color and was smooth. They had invisible wings on their backs, allowing them to fly short distances at high speeds. This form was easily recognizable. Electromagnetic induction detected many wild beasts and birds, but no Gale Beasts. Just as he was about to have Qing Hong move up the mountain slope, where the electromagnetic induction was just short of scanning the summit, several shadows suddenly flew up from above. "Winged Dragons?" Ji Xinghuo looked up to observe. They weren’t Winged Dragons, but a type of flying monster he had never seen before, with a wingspan of about ten meters. Its trunk was shaped like a lizard, while its wings were covered in black feathers. It had huge claws hanging from its bald belly, and atop its long neck was an ugly head that looked like a vulture’s. Ji Xinghuo thought hard and then remembered—these were "Vile Vultures." These monsters were tyrants of the plateau, eating almost everything—living or dead, meat or plants, wild beasts or humans. They were completely indiscriminate eaters. Vile Vultures lived in groups and were extremely fierce and hard to tame. Even though they could fly quickly and had good stamina, they were unsuitable as flying mounts and preferred to build nests high up. "Just arrived and already encountered them." Ji Xinghuo watched as more and more Vile Vultures appeared in the sky—quickly exceeding ten. They circled above, not diving down, but he knew these bullies of the plateau had already set their sights on him and Qing Hong. "Run that way." Ji Xinghuo pointed towards the flat grasslands on the western side of the mountain base. There, with no obstructions, was the favored hunting ground of raptors, and he could draw all the Vile Vultures down. Qing Hong complied immediately. Turning, it sprinted toward the grassland, its speed ever increasing, in a frenzy as if its life depended on it. Indeed, the Vile Vultures in the sky promptly followed suit. "Continue." Ji Xinghuo said. Qing Hong further accelerated, and the Vile Vultures picked up their flying speed. A few of the smaller ones looked back and gave up the chase, leaving seven larger Vile Vultures. Ji Xinghuo occasionally looked back; they had now entered the range of electromagnetic induction. Judging by the intensity of the magnetic field, two of the seven Vile Vultures were superior monsters. They were very large, with wingspans of about twelve meters, while the remaining five elites had wingspans of ten meters each, which to humans were massive creatures. Had it been a Mutant of average strength encountering this group of Vile Vultures and without special life-saving abilities, they would likely end up as their prey. Qing Hong ran faster and faster, covering seven to eight kilometers in a few minutes. The Vile Vultures were still in pursuit high above. Finally, one of the superior Vile Vultures could not hold back any longer. With a flap of its wings, it accelerated and dived towards Qing Hong, resembling a fighter jet. The other Vile Vultures followed, their wide wings stirring up fierce winds. seaʀᴄh thё novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Keep running, don’t stop." Ji Xinghuo instructed Qing Hong as he took the Invisible Stab into his hands, with his right hand holding a titanium alloy arrow; these were ordinary arrows. In the previous encounter in the canyon against the Stone Scythe Demon, he had used many Capacitor Arrows. Although he retrieved most of them, the majority were overloaded and damaged beyond repair. This time, he only brought two hundred Capacitor Arrows and needed to use them sparingly. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to buy more; there was simply no stock. A few seconds later. A gust of wind howled overhead, and the airflow was wild. The largest Vile Vulture had already dived down within fifty meters. The remaining Vile Vultures lagged slightly behind, competing eagerly and entering the killing range of the Invisible Stab, veiling a portion of the sky and casting shadows below. On Qing Hong’s back, Ji Xinghuo turned to face the flock, raising the Invisible Stab with an arrow already nocked. The nearest Vile Vulture was already upon them. "Chi!" It let out a sharp cry, causing an invisible shock, and launched a mental assault on Ji Xinghuo. Simultaneously, its huge claws reached forward, aiming to grab both Ji Xinghuo and Qing Hong, to lift them into the sky. Almost at the same second, Ji Xinghuo released the arrow. The bowstring vibrated. Amid the howling wind and screeches, the sound of the twang was inaudible, and the refraction effect hid the arrow from sight. However, the effect of the arrow was immediate. The head of the Vile Vulture diving in front of him suddenly jerked back as if smacked by an invisible giant force, its eyes burst open, and an arrow pierced through its skull, flying out the other side. Amidst wailing, the huge body immediately lost control, tumbling to the ground, feathers gone wild, and nearly pulverized. Qing Hong abruptly accelerated to avoid being struck by the Vile Vulture’s body and widened the gap. The Vile Vultures behind witnessed the scene and emitted alarmed cries. The furthest one immediately slowed down, intending to soar away and escape. But it was already too late. Ji Xinghuo stood up on Qing Hong’s back, turned to face his target, and balanced as if standing on solid ground. His hands moved like shadows, and he shot a second arrow.

Chapter 285 - 217: Plateau Hunt

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