Chapter 823: Azure Wolf Mountain
Two hours of cautious travel later, Max finally emerged from the thick black fog, his boots touching solid ground once more. He turned back to look at the suffocating darkness behind him. The swamp remained as silent and deadly as ever. He wondered, just how many geniuses and members of the elite forces had lost their lives in that place?
The secret domain was vast, but time was limited. Only three months. There were more than a dozen unique trial zones to explore, and each one held secrets, treasures, and brutal tests. Max knew he had no time to waste.
Another hour of steady travel brought him to a new location, and the landscape transformed dramatically. In the distance stood a towering mountain, its form fierce and majestic—Azure Wolf Mountain.
According to the map given to him by the elders, this was one of the important sites in the outer ring of the domain. From afar, the mountain resembled a massive wolf howling toward the heavens, which explained its name.
Oddly enough, while the surrounding lands showed no signs of snowfall, Azure Wolf Mountain was entirely coated in snow. Not just any snow—it was crystalline, shimmering faintly with a silver-blue light under the sun, giving the entire mountain a surreal, sacred aura. It almost looked like a frozen wolf god standing vigilant over the land.
As Max reached the foot of the mountain, a biting cold swept over him. The drop in temperature was so extreme it felt like he had stepped into a different world altogether. Without hesitation, he activated his black flames, letting the black flames wrap around him in a protective shell, driving away the frost that tried to invade his bones.
With each step, the mountain welcomed him with harsher wind and deeper snow, yet he pressed on, undeterred. The terrain was barren of any small plants or shrubs, but the land wasn’t empty. All across the slopes stood towering trees, each as wide as a round table and stretching hundreds of feet into the sky.
Coated with layers of ice and glistening snow, these frozen sentinels looked like giants molded from winter itself—silent guardians of Azure Wolf Mountain. Max moved carefully. His every sense was alert, and his pace deliberate. The map had a warning: this mountain was home to a terrifying beast—the Snow Bear.
Unlike ordinary creatures, the Snow Bear was known to possess high intelligence, immense strength, and could manipulate the ice element to a terrifying degree.
"Okay, let’s go there," Max muttered to himself after studying the map again, his eyes narrowing in determination. He had already conquered the Black Mist Swamp and crossed Azure Wolf Mountain’s lower ridges, but time was ticking.
According to the markings, there were hidden treasures somewhere to the west of the mountain range—potentially rare elixirs or herbs that could aid his strength.
Without wasting another second, he made his move. In a flash, Max’s figure blurred, then vanished into a streak of blue lightning as he shot westward, leaping effortlessly between frozen rocks and ancient icy trees.
The terrain changed quickly under his feet. The further west he went, the steeper and more unforgiving Azure Wolf Mountain became. The giant trees that dotted the snowy slopes only grew larger, their frosted trunks wide as fortress walls, their snow-laden branches groaning under the weight of decades of winter.