As we set out and went to the side of the mountain we hadn't explored, the terrain changed greatly. What was once a rocky, grassy side became a loose, gravelly mountainside with little vegetation. The only living beasts we encountered were small rodents that were capable of sending silent signals to one another to avoid predators.
It made me more alert to my surroundings, though. Since these beasts evolved to do so, that means they have predators. I used echolocation often, and it alerted me that there were indeed beings in the sky. However, I could not see them, so I had Bolin keep an eye on the sky.
I also had to be ready at any time to attack or defend against any attack coming from underneath us. Echolocation couldn't investigate underground, so that left me blind in that regard, leaving me feeling uneasy the whole time.
As we walked, I heard a high-pitched sound that sounded like when a bomb was dropped from high above in the sky. I looked up to see nothing, but that was not good enough, so I activated echolocation, letting me see that a group of seven large flying beasts were nose-diving towards us.
Now that I knew their location, I used Sound Bash and aimed for the three that were targeting us. With a popping sound, the sound of flesh being smacked was heard as the other four flew up and away. The three that were hit were no longer falling fast, but they were nonreactive.
I grabbed Bolin and Hioshi and activated Sound Steps to avoid the flying beasts from hitting us. Within seconds, the flying beasts crashed into the ground. As the dust settled, they began to squirm, showing that they were still alive.
Getting a good look at them, they looked similar to pterodactyls but with sharp edges along the front parts of their bodies. That must be how they get their prey. They dive and chop up their targets. Before they could get their bearings, I used Hell Screech directly on them, causing them great pain but also subduing them.
These beasts had great durability. They took my Sound Bash, crashed into the ground, and then endured Hell Screech before finally being stopped from attacking again. I walked up and threw them into my aperture as I used echolocation again.
"How cold-blooded. They just left their comrades."
"What the hell were those things? They looked like pterodactyls," Bolin said.
"I don't know, but they're mine now."
Bolin looked at Hioshi to see if he had anything to add, but he just shrugged his shoulders. So, we continued walking.
"There's not really much here," Hioshi said, and he was right. This place seemed pretty desolate. The valley had much more to offer, and since I've seen no signs of other players, I can only guess that they were spawned in on the other mountain.
"We'll keep looking for now, but if not much else is found, then we'll head back to the cave." If I can't find anything good, I'll leave them in the cave with my masked will to protect them as I go back to the valley to go to the other mountain. Worst-case scenario, I fight the mutated Beast King.
Unfortunately, I might end up killing the Immortal Gu on it if I do. Most Gu are as fragile as bugs, with so few exceptions. That's why Gu Immortals don't go around slaying strong beasts with Immortal Gu. Plans have to be made to target them and capture the Immortal Gu without damaging it. All of which take time, effort, and the right Gu and killer moves.
As we made our way deeper, echolocation showed me a large level spot. That was our new destination, as in the center of the spot was a lake, and where there was water, a large amount of life would be as well.
As we neared our new destination, the cries of insects and small animals were heard. From crickets to toads and buzzing insects.
"This feels like a jungle now," Bolin said as a swarm of mosquitoes came toward us. But before I did anything, Hioshi let out a screech—the very same one Panic Gu let out—causing all of these insects to fly away.
"Wait, what if there were Gu in that swarm?" Bolin complained.
"It doesn't matter. Even if they did have a useful Gu in them, it would have activated during the screech," I told him.
But he still looked regretfully toward the swarm. He most likely wanted to capture them just like the last swarm, but I didn't care.
"I'm glad I can copy the Panic Gu's sound, but it's not exactly the same. Is it because of the rank?" Hioshi asked me.
"That's a part of the reason, yes, but the main reason is that Mimic Sound Gu at the mortal level can't 100% copy the effects of Sound Path Gu. Right now, you probably let out 20% of the effect of a Rank 1 Panic Gu. Just enough to scare off normal insects and weak Gu."
Hioshi nodded his head in understanding. Only an Immortal-level Mimic Sound Gu could copy the full effects of mortal sound-based attacks. As for Immortal ones, it could probably copy 70% of the effect, which is still a high percentage, but I decided not to tell him that as there was no point.
As we approached the lake, we could see that the lake had two living creatures in it that were breathing air from the surface and above it. In the water, we could see many turtles that did not stand out, but what did was a couple of frogs. These frogs were actually Gu, and they were levitating above the lake.
They were giving off a low humming sound and were levitating.
"Whoa, what kind of Gu is that?" Hioshi asked.
"I'm not sure, but it looks like these might just be Mount Gu since they can levitate."
I began to observe these Gu more closely. From their aura, the Rank 1 versions were two feet long, and the Rank 2 versions were four feet long.
A person could stand on a Rank 1 version and sit on a Rank 2 one. In the water, surrounded by many eggs, was a six-foot frog that was Rank 3, the highest rank among them.
"If they're Mount-type Gu, I could make a killing selling them," Bolin said, and he was right. Mount-type Gu were expensive depending on their food requirements and speed.
But as interesting as they were, it only made me look at the turtles with more interest. These two species didn't seem aggressive and were even sharing a space together. I wondered why.
"Do you think we could ride them to the other mountain?" Hioshi asked.
"No. Heat travels up, even in the sky. Unless there's something blocking the heat, you'd be air-fried," Bolin added.
"It normally does, but in this world, it's the Dao Marks that decide where the heat goes. But it is a good chance that it's too hot up above," I said.
As I finished saying so, something caught my eye near the lake. A turtle emerged from the ground near the lake, but what caught my eye was that a Gu had been activated.
The turtle wasn't a Gu, but it had one instead. As it came out of the ground, a small stream of water flowed into the lake before stopping.
I went up to the turtle and picked it up. It couldn't escape, as turtles outside of water were incredibly slow. It stuck its head out, trying to bite me, but failed.
I looked around it, and on its undershell was a small barnacle the size of a dime. This was the Gu that had previously been activated. Putting the turtle inside my aperture was no issue. This was just a normal beast with no way to resist. It didn't take long for me to refine the Gu on it.
Activating the new Gu, the ground beneath my feet began to move as if it were made of soft mud. Bolin and Hioshi came over to me, but they were unable to move the dirt like I could. Looks like this Gu allows the user to move the dirt it's touching as if it were soft mud.
These turtles are the perfect carriers for these Gu, and using them, they must be able to find scarce water underground and pool it up into this lake. That's probably why they can live here without others messing with them, as they are heavily needed here.
"What's wrong?" Bolin asked me.
"Nothing. Looks like I found your way to the other side."
I told them about the Gu and my plan. I would need a large number of these Gu and preferably higher-ranked ones. With a certain Gu combination, I could make a tunnel, letting all of us cross to the other side. Although I'll probably have a masked will make it and then have it escort them as I pillage the valley for more resources.
"I'll leave my will here to protect you two and get what's needed here. I have to go back to the valley to get other Gu to help make the tunnel."
My plan was to use many of the mud-turning Gu, Sound Bash to make the tunnel, and the mortal versions of that Fire Sizzle sound Gu to dry it out.