Chapter 269: No, It's an Avalanche!

To see a field of Ice Nether Flowers growing on such a towering peak was truly breathtaking.

"This is a sunken basin where the wind is relatively light, which is why such a unique landscape exists,"

Ning Fei marveled.

Bizarre natural wonders were often the result of uniquely favorable geographic conditions.

Just like the cluster of Ice Nether Flowers before them.

Although they were in the middle of a high-altitude snow mountain, the unique sunken geological structure allowed them to grow here in peace.

"Truly wonderful,"

Ning Fei praised.

The viewers were also wide-eyed at the sight.

"So these are the legendary Ice Nether Flowers. They look exactly like the ones in Ning Guan master's courtyard."

"I'm new here. Are you guys saying the streamer also has these flowers planted in his courtyard?"

"Yeah, right in Qingfeng Temple."

"These flowers have incredibly strict environmental requirements. Generally speaking, they only exist high up on snowy mountains."

"It's the Ice Nether Flower! It's actually the Ice Nether Flower, my god!"

At that exact moment, deep within a certain monastery in Xizang, a young man saw the flowers and fell to his knees in worship.

In their faith, the Ice Nether Flower was the flower of the heavenly gods, planted by the divine in the place closest to the sky.

Ice Nether Flowers were beautiful, but their fragrance was extremely faint, almost imperceptible.

They possessed a miraculous effect: they could prolong life, making them a top-tier supplement.

Whether the petals were eaten raw or steeped in water, they provided this benefit.

However, Ning Fei was not going to mention this trait.

Human nature was greedy. If people heard there was something that could extend their lifespans, this place would likely be swept completely clean in no time.

Ning Fei stopped to appreciate the view.

The scene was truly beautiful.

After a while, he turned his gaze back toward the peak of the snow mountain.

"The summit is just ahead!"

"It's not far now."

"Since I've come this far, I naturally have to go take a look at the snowy peak."

Ning Fei stated.

Then, he continued walking toward the distance.

The group of climbing enthusiasts watching the stream were vibrating with excitement.

"This Daoist is really bold!"

"This is what a climber should be—conquering the high mountains without looking back!"

"We're witnessing a true master today."

"Badass!"

"That's the Kunlun Snowy Domain, known as the forbidden zone of life. And this is the highest peak. Can someone really climb up to a place like that?"

When ordinary people saw the scene of Ning Fei climbing, they might not think much of it.

But the climbing enthusiasts knew exactly what it felt like to scale a mountain at such a high altitude.

The air was thin, the temperature dropped, and even more terrifyingly, the wind on the mountain was incredibly strong.

Furthermore, Ning Fei had now entered the glacier region.

Looking around, there was nothing but gleaming white snow. And beneath that snow lay a layer of ice frozen for who knew how many years.

Ning Fei took out his Ice Axe again.

The slope of the snow mountain was only about forty-five degrees, but because the surface was quite slippery, he still needed to use the Ice Axe.

Looking up, he could see patches of grayish-black rock exposed through the snow.

With the Little falcon in tow, Ning Fei climbed up little by little.

The wind was growing stronger.

Several times, Ning Fei's body was blown sideways by the wind. It wasn't because he lacked strength, but simply because his body weight wasn't enough to generate sufficient friction to hold his ground.

Each time, he quickly drove the Ice Axe into the ice layer to stabilize his footing.

Further up was the towering peak thrusting straight into the clouds.

A thick layer of white snow had accumulated on the high mountain. Looking closely, the snow appeared to be over a meter deep, a truly frightening sight.

Now that they were closer, the viewers could better appreciate the terror of the snow mountain.

"My god, is the snow on the mountain really that thick?"

"You only realize it when looking up close. I always thought it was just a thin layer."

"Who knows how many years that snow has been piling up."

"Yeah, it looks like it could collapse at any moment."

"Don't jinx it! That snow has been piling up to this state for ages; it's completely stable by now."

"No, the person before has a point. In reality, because that snow can't melt, it just keeps piling up more and more. It's just waiting for the straw that breaks the camel's back to cause a total collapse."

"Stop talking, that's too scary."

Ning Fei drove his Ice Axe deep into the ice.

Gradually, he realized something wasn't quite right.

The wind was too strong.

"There's another terrifying thing about the snowy mountain peaks, and that's how unpredictable the weather is,"

Ning Fei paused to explain to the viewers.

"The weather here is impossible to predict. It might be clear and sunny year-round, but sometimes, a blizzard will suddenly descend."

"Additionally, because the air is so dry, it's very easy for ionization to occur when walking here. You can literally be electrocuted to death by the unstable movement of electric charges within your own body."

"There's a story that went around before. A man lost his flock of sheep and entered the Valley of Death to find them, only to never return."

"People later found his remains. The man was dead, but there were no signs of injury on his body, and his physical state didn't suggest he had starved or died of thirst."

"In the end, experts researched it and discovered that because he was sprinting at such a high altitude, he triggered an ionization phenomenon and ended up electrocuting himself to death."

Ning Fei continued to gaze at the summit.

When he was observing the stars last night, he had specifically checked the weather for the snowy peak.

But the stars were too chaotic, so he couldn't obtain any accurate information.

The weather in some places was simply unpredictable.

Still, the summit of the snow mountain was sunny year-round. Ning Fei figured he wouldn't be so unlucky as to run into severe weather the one time he came up.

But now, Ning Fei noticed the wind was gradually picking up, to the point where he could barely keep his eyes open.

The biting wind was far more terrifying than he had imagined. Even though his body was kept warm by his Daoist Robe, his face could still feel the freezing temperature of the gale.

Ning Fei reached out a hand, as if trying to touch the wind.

The viewers were captivated by his sudden action.

"What is Ning Guan master doing?"

Questions sprouted in their minds.

Ning Fei held his hand in the wind for about five seconds before pulling it back and examining it closely.

There were traces of moisture on his palm.

If it were just plain wind, his hand would have remained dry.

But now his palm was wet, which meant the wind was carrying snow or ice.

"This is bad!"

Seeing the water in his palm, Ning Fei furrowed his brows and spoke.

"This is the precursor to a blizzard!"

"My luck today is absolutely terrible. There's actually a blizzard at the summit!"

The drone gave a close-up shot of Ning Fei's palm, allowing the viewers to clearly see the droplets of water.

"Isn't it normal for the wind on a snow mountain to carry snow?"

Someone asked in confusion.

"No, look closely at Ning Guan master's clothes. The intensity of this wind isn't normal, and it's irregular, as if it's blowing from all directions."

A knowledgeable viewer explained.

"Logically speaking, the wind at the top of a snow mountain should be intermittent gales blowing from the same direction."

"Wind this chaotic means the current weather conditions are highly unstable."

At this moment, Ning Fei also sighed.

He wanted to reach the summit, true, but trying to climb the snow mountain in the middle of a blizzard was no different from seeking a sky burial in the snow.

"Luck isn't on my side today."

"I'll just have to spend another night under the cliff."

"When the weather clears up tomorrow, I'll climb to the top of the snowy peak."

Ning Fei cast one last look back and shook his head, preparing to leave.

Then, just as he took two steps down, a scene occurred that no one could have anticipated.

Rumble!

At the peak of the snow mountain, a massive swathe of snow over a meter thick plummeted down, crashing onto the ground with a deafening roar.

In that split second, everyone froze in shock.

Even Ning Fei stood staring into the distance, a flash of utter astonishment rising in his expression.

Because a massive layer of snow falling meant one thing:

An avalanche had arrived!