CHAPTER 1331: CHAPTER 1332: THE HAUNTED HOUSE MANOR?

Early the next morning, after breakfast, Feng Yuan and the others passed through the checkpoint directly into the mountains. Before entering, the guard handed Yang Hongzhi a specially-designed signal transmitter and said:

"If you encounter any emergencies, you can use this to call for help. Of course, I hope you won’t have to use it at all."

"Thank you."

Accepting the transmitter, Yang Hongzhi carefully stored it away and thanked them politely. As for whether this thing would be useful? Hmm, if even so many Divine Beasts couldn’t solve the problem, it was unlikely the transmitter would do much good either.

After passing through the checkpoint, Feng Yuan, holding Xiao Ji in his arms, surveyed the surrounding conifer trees and said:

"I wonder what the temperature will be like on the mountain."

Already dressed in their Wolf God’s Robes, Qi Chen and the others glanced at the towering snowy mountain and asked:

"Where do we start climbing?"

"Hmm, follow this path, and there’s a fork in the road that leads to the hot spring resort. Though it’s abandoned, don’t you think exploring a place like that sounds fun?"

Letting Big Cat project a map of the area, Feng Yuan said with a grin. Having studied the area’s records, he already had a clear destination in mind. As Feng Yuan spoke, Agunas flicked its tail and said:

"The hot spring resort? You’re really planning to go there?"

It didn’t think the resort would hold anything particularly interesting—aside from the possible appearance of Ghost Series Spirit Beasts, it was likely nothing but a pile of ruins.

"Of course! A real haunted house adventure—doesn’t that sound fun?"

Petting Xiao Ji’s head, Feng Yuan said this earnestly. Qi Chen glanced at Feng Yuan speechlessly and replied:

"That type of haunted house might not be as fun as you think."

"And won’t there be something strange going on?"

Recalling their last group haunted house activity, Qi Chen couldn’t help but worry whether this time they’d run into something just as bizarre. Feng Yuan hesitated for a moment, then said sheepishly:

"Probably not, right? The place doesn’t seem to have anything unusual."

"By the way, what exactly led to the abandonment of the hot spring resort?"

Taking in his surroundings, Yang Hongzhi asked curiously. Despite the remote location, as long as it maintained accessibility, wouldn’t people still be willing to go there for leisure? After all, the temperature had already started to drop shortly after entering the mountain. In a place like this, soaking in a hot spring seemed like a pleasant treat.

Scratching his head, Feng Yuan explained:

"The hot springs there mysteriously dried up. Without hot springs, the resort naturally had to close down."

"Dried up?"

Looking at Feng Yuan in confusion, Yang Hongzhi started to feel something might be off. Could this place really be hiding some kind of problem? Hanging his head guiltily, Feng Yuan added:

"Something like that, I suppose. I don’t know the details either. How about we explore it? If we manage to find a new hot spring, perhaps..."

"That has nothing to do with you unless you plan on staying here to run the business."

Staring at Feng Yuan in disbelief, Agunas replied. Leaving aside other considerations, this was Drochkar’s territory, and Feng Yuan wasn’t a citizen of Drochkar. Even if they discovered a new hot spring, so what?

Investing here would require Feng Yuan to find someone to manage it. Not to mention all the miscellaneous issues that would inevitably arise—the headaches alone would be enough to deter him. Based on Agunas’s understanding of Feng Yuan, relying on him for such a venture? Better not even think about it. At most, he’d end up selling the information.

However, even that kind of information wouldn’t fetch much value—at least not compared to the rare Spiritual Medicine and Materials Feng Yuan could find in less time in the wilderness.

"I suppose you’re right. Besides, I don’t know anyone familiar with this area. Oh well, the adventure itself is good enough."

Coming to his senses, Feng Yuan said regretfully. Twirling her parasol, Veronia remarked:

"Actually, running a hot spring resort could be an interesting pastime~"

"You want to give it a try?"

"No, Little Crocodile definitely wouldn’t help me set up a semi-permanent teleportation portal."

Glancing at Agunas, Veronia looked wistful as she spoke. At this, Agunas stared at her in exasperation and commented:

"Why would you need me to establish a semi-permanent portal just to run a resort?"

"I just think teaming up to manage a hot spring resort sounds fun—I feel like hot springs are really fascinating~"

Long Boduo joined in enthusiastically, and Agunas glanced sideways at him and said:

"Why don’t you do it yourself?"

"If I knew how, I would consider it. And maybe bring them along too... A Ghost Series hot spring resort sounds pretty thrilling, doesn’t it?"

Upon hearing Long Boduo’s suggestion, Qi Chen and the others shivered at the thought of such a scene—a haunted house with a hot spring attached? Would that kind of place really be fun?

Feng Yuan looked at Long Boduo and said:

"It’s an interesting concept, but surely you’re not planning to have a bunch of Ghost Series Spirit Beasts run the place? That would be too strange."

Currently, human society didn’t seem to have any business establishments entirely operated by Spirit Beasts. If they were serious about the idea, they’d probably need to coordinate with Drochkar’s authorities first.

"Of course that’s the plan~ But it seems like they can’t speak human languages. Hmm, maybe we could summon a few souls from the Netherworld to help?"

"That could add a unique touch~"

Watching Long Boduo muse aloud, Agunas flicked its tail and retorted:

"Are you sure this type of place would attract any human visitors at all?"

"Hmm... Seems unlikely."

After a moment’s reflection, Long Boduo realized that if they went ahead with the idea, it would probably end up being a venue where Ghost Series Spirit Beasts entertained themselves. Humans wouldn’t dare venture into such areas where Ghost-type Divine Beasts congregated. Of course, some might come for adventure, but those human Beastmasters wouldn’t want to casually explore places backed by Ghost-type Divine Beasts.

"So, just give up."

Sighing deeply, Agunas said helplessly. To it, Long Boduo’s idea seemed entirely implausible.

The group continued chatting as they climbed the narrow mountain path, the tree cover thinning as they ascended. Occasionally, faint snowflakes drifted from the sky. Since the Spiritual Medicine and Materials in this area weren’t particularly significant for Xiao Hui and Xiao Hei, Yang Hongzhi didn’t go out of his way to search for them. Instead, he enjoyed this rare chance to stroll leisurely with Xiao Hei and Xiao Hui.

Ever since Xiao Hui evolved, he hadn’t had much opportunity to travel alongside it. Stroking Xiao Hui’s hard fur apologetically, Yang Hongzhi felt a pang of remorse. Xiao Hui turned to glance at him in confusion and huffed a few times, while Najia perched atop Xiao Hui’s head, her spiritual power scanning their surroundings.

Although the snow wasn’t yet thick, the narrow mountain path posed challenges for Xiao Hui’s large frame. It had to stay vigilant to avoid stepping off the trail and tumbling down.

The Flower Leaf Tree Three Spirit Beasts nestled within the Amu tree canopy, curiously observing their surroundings. Due to the drop in temperature, Amu adapted the effects of the Seistal Stele again. Seeing that the modified Seistal Stele now only covered Amu’s canopy, Feng Yuan glanced at Qi Chen enviously and said:

"Amu’s ability to understand and adapt is truly impressive—it’s even managed to find new uses for the Seistal Stele."

Though the updated Seistal Stele didn’t carry much combat utility, the cheerful calls of the Flower Leaf Tree Three Spirit Beasts perched in the canopy made it clear that the stele was excellent for warmth.

Earlier, at the base of the mountain, though the cold wasn’t as severe, Amu had not yet activated the modified Seistal Stele. As a result, the three little creatures clung together shivering atop the Amu tree for warmth.

Scratching his head, Qi Chen remarked:

"I suppose it’s because it often uses this technique—it’s all thanks to you and Drudgeon."

If Feng Yuan hadn’t asked Drudgeon to teach it, Amu wouldn’t have mastered this ultimate move. Grinning, Feng Yuan hugged Xiao Ji and replied:

"Too bad Xiao Ji doesn’t seem to be much into using the Seistal Stele~"

Xiao Ji glanced at Feng Yuan, then wriggled free, flapping its wings with displeasure. Laughing, Feng Yuan patted Xiao Ji’s head and said:

"Alright, I get it—you’ve got your own unique ultimate move. Still, don’t you think it’d be fun if you could modify your existing techniques like Amu does?"

Considering Feng Yuan’s words, Xiao Ji nodded slightly, as if the idea made sense, though something about it felt oddly off. Agunas glanced sideways at Feng Yuan, unwilling to waste words on him. Xiao Ji barely had a handful of ultimate moves it was particularly skilled in—perhaps Crimson Judgement was the most fitting for Xiao Ji. However, the innate characteristics of that technique rendered it nearly impossible to modify significantly.

As for the Seistal Stele? While it was a decent technique for Ordinary Spirit Beasts, Xiao Ji was a Divine Beast, and its dedicated Divine Beast Techniques were far superior.