Qian Jin watched the momentum of the avalanche, and the image of the Spirit Rice suddenly flashed through his mind. He muttered that if there were anyone in the world who could match the spirit of such an avalanche, who could fight them?

"Be it the Warrior's Eight Tree Felling Strikes, or any Beast Combat Skill, or even the Qian and Kun Twin Skills of the Qian family, they are all derived from insights gained from nature. I wonder if I can learn something from this avalanche?"

Qian Jin mumbled softly, his eyes unconsciously narrowing to thin slits. He quietly stared at the massive avalanche collapsing in the distance, as if the heavens themselves were falling, trying hard to glean some understanding from it, only to find he learned nothing—save that the scene of world-shattering destruction was deeply imprinted upon his mind.

The three stood silently before the booming sounds of the avalanche, which resembled exploding thunder. Anyone who had just survived a life-or-death race against an avalanche would need some time for their minds to recalibrate; experiencing two such avalanches in succession would naturally leave their minds in a state of chaos. The second avalanche lasted even longer than the first, and a good deal of snow, whipped up by the powerful winds generated during the collapse, blew directly into the Valley of Four Seasons. The icy wind and snow gradually brought the three back to their senses.

Where were they? The Valley of Four Seasons! Books recorded it as a place frequented by ferocious magical beasts and savage wild animals—an environment even Demon-Slaying Warriors would hesitate to enter.

Qian Jin turned, searching and probing the surroundings, discovering that besides the roaring sound of the massive avalanche and the splattering snow, there was no other sign of life.

"Perhaps the sheer magnitude of the avalanche scared away the magical beasts and wild animals that originally inhabited the vicinity?" Qian Jin used his Zanbato to prop himself up, quickly surveying the area.

His experience entering the mountains to search for iron ore in the Endless World had instilled in Qian Jin the habit of immediately seeking defensible, attackable, and hidden locations in any unfamiliar environment.

A cave? Qian Jin looked towards the base of the nearby mountain wall, where there was an opening barely large enough for one person to squeeze through. It was a highly concealed entrance; one would easily miss its existence without a thorough search. Perhaps it had even been blocked by snow before, and the shockwave of the avalanche had finally exposed the opening. Even so, without extensive wilderness survival experience, finding it would not have been easy.

Qian Jin hobbled forward a couple of steps, using the Zanbato as a makeshift crutch, secretly relieved that although the recent avalanche had already vastly diminished in power, even with the protection of Ninth-Grade Dou Jin, being crushed could still easily reduce his bones to dust.

"Bones are fine, but what about my hat…" Qian Jin quickly reached back to touch the magical hat tightly secured on his back, finding it still there, apparently without the slightest bit of damage. Only then did his worry completely subside.

Biluo and Shui Lianying’er followed Qian Jin cautiously. In the Valley of Four Seasons, where savage beasts and ferocious animals could emerge at any moment, after witnessing Qian Jin’s successive battles and displays of power, the two instinctively regarded him as their temporary reliance.

Qian Jin approached the cave entrance, readjusted the Dou Jin within his body, and gripped his Zanbato tightly as he cautiously drew near. Within the Valley of Four Seasons, no one could guarantee that the cave was safe, free from vicious or powerful beasts or magical creatures.

"A cave?" Shui Lianying’er looked at the opening Qian Jin had found with some disbelief. During the last expedition led by Xiao Changleiming, when everyone risked their lives entering this valley, they had searched meticulously and failed to discover any cave here.

Qian Jin drew closer inch by inch. Even though he couldn't sense any danger emanating from the cave, he approached cautiously, afraid of encountering any beast or predator that could conceal its aura and launch a sudden attack.

"Does anyone have a fire-stick?" Qian Jin looked back at the two women. Shui Lianying’er carefully pulled a finger-thick, finger-long wooden stick from her bosom, then twisted open the tip. After gently blowing twice, a small flame, about the size of a little finger, immediately sprang up from the wood's end.

"Find some dry kindling," Qian Jin commanded cautiously while staring at the cave. Shui Lianying’er immediately understood his intent: light dry kindling and throw it into the cave to smoke out any living creatures inside.

Although many parts of the Valley of Four Seasons were covered in snow, finding some dry grass was not difficult. Relying on an adventurer's wilderness survival skills, Shui Lianying’er quickly gathered some dry grass and kindling, which Qian Jin then lit and tossed into the cave.

The flames crackled merrily inside the cave, with thick smoke occasionally billowing out, much of which rushed into the opening. After the fire died down, Qian Jin waited for about half an hour until most of the dense smoke had dissipated from the entrance. He then carefully squeezed into the cave, discovering that the interior space was far more expansive than the narrow opening suggested—it was large enough to fit a carriage with enough room left for two people to walk side-by-side.

The cavern extended deep into the mountain wall. Holding the fire-stick aloft, Qian Jin advanced about ten meters guided by the faint light, only to reach the dead end. This looked like a decent shelter; the ground was fairly dry, and there was no foul odor of beast droppings or hair.

"Come in. It's reasonably safe inside."

The two outside heard Qian Jin’s words and cautiously squeezed into the cave, instantly startled by its spaciousness.

"You two wait here. I'll go take another look outside."

Qian Jin, carrying his Zanbato, squeezed back out of the cave, glancing at the avalanche which had still not ceased. He shook his head lightly: "Looking at the situation, even when the avalanche stops, leaving will likely be difficult, unless the snow melts."

Qian Jin turned away from the avalanche and re-examined the surrounding conditions of the Valley of Four Seasons. Patches of dry grass and twigs poked through the vast expanse of white snow. A bit further away lay a grove of green pine trees, their branches heavy with accumulated snow, adding to the wintry atmosphere.

Qian Jin pulled his neck in and shrugged his shoulders. In the outer regions of the Valley of Four Seasons, one only needed to wear light shirts and trousers; he had never anticipated being trapped inside the valley by an avalanche, temporarily unable to leave. Staying here for even a short while made his body gradually feel a chill.

"If only I had brought a few furs inside," Qian Jin muttered. He plunged the Zanbato into the ground beside him, rubbing his hands together vigorously and blowing warm air onto them, stamping his feet repeatedly to increase his body heat. He surveyed the surroundings hoping to find some cotton clothing, but saw only trees and white snow everywhere. "Forget it!"

Qian Jin gritted his teeth, stamped his feet hard a few times, then, carrying his Zanbato, quickly gathered up the dry grass scattered on the snow. He then crouched down, cautiously approaching the small grove of trees three to five hundred meters away. He used his Zanbato to cut down a small pine, then trimmed its trunk down to about human height, shouldered the wood, and returned to the cave carrying the wood and the bundle of dry grass.

"The chances of leaving today are slim," Qian Jin said, using the Zanbato like an axe to chop the pine trunk into pieces. "We'll probably have to stay here for at least one night. To avoid freezing to death, you two go gather some more dry branches. Remember, don't go too close to the small woods to avoid danger."

Shui Lianying’er watched Qian Jin’s actions blankly, unable for a moment to guess what he was planning. Was he going to start a fire in the cave for warmth? If so, they might freeze to death from the smoke before they got any warmth.

Biluo used both hands and feet to scramble over the cave entrance. While mages do run for fitness, they generally exercise less than physical fighters, and the cave entrance was genuinely tricky, making her movements slightly awkward.

In the vast, white expanse of the Valley of Four Seasons, Biluo walked towards the cave wearing her oversized mage robes, hugging a modest pile of firewood.

Qian Jin used a small amount of firewood to melt some accumulated snow. He then used the Zanbato to gradually turn the frozen earth into mud, moving all the mud back into the cave. Soon, he fashioned a simple stove setup using the mud, then mixed the mud with wood and grass to create a rudimentary, not-too-thick chimney that led out of the cave entrance.

Shui Lianying’er stared fixedly at Qian Jin's methods—not magical, yet utterly unexpected. A sudden flush of heat rose to her cheeks. She, a female swordswoman with three years of adventuring experience, was proving less resourceful in this situation than a first-year warrior cadet? How had he thought of this? Many experienced adventurers would never have considered such a solution.

He placed the kindling, then added smaller pieces of wood, followed by larger ones.

Watching Qian Jin’s sequence of actions, Shui Lianying’er quietly asked, "How do you know how to do these things?"

Qian Jin grabbed a handful of snow he had brought into the cave earlier to wash his hands, and replied with a smile, "Read more books. Then you'll know everything."

"Read more books?" Shui Lianying’er looked at Qian Jin with even greater incomprehension. Were things like this recorded in books?

Qian Jin placed the clay lid he had fashioned over the fire pit, feeling the faint warmth emanating from the stove. The fear of freezing to death vanished instantly. He secretly congratulated himself that when he was still a member of the Qian family, he had spent boring hours in the outer sect library earning pocket money, where he had read a notebook left behind by some adventurer detailing a similar technique.

After a period of activity, the cave fell silent again, broken only by the crackling sound of the burning firewood. Suddenly, a rumbling sound reached the ears of the three inside.

Qian Jin rubbed his stomach and offered a wry smile. Some of the rabbit meat they had hunted and grilled in the Sunset Mountain Range days ago had been eaten, and much of the remainder was stored in the large bundle they had discarded. He regretted throwing the bundle away. With his strength depleted and his Dou Jin not fully recovered, hunting for food in this Valley of Four Seasons, home to magical and savage beasts, was almost the same as committing suicide.

I woke up at a little past 8 AM this morning and have been messing with the website for Qidian; perhaps it’s a server issue? The Author’s Zone simply won't display, which is agonizing for me. After wrestling with it for nearly an hour, I can finally update.

The plot in the Valley of Four Seasons is a crucial point for this book, The One Who Commands the Winds.

I humbly beg for monthly votes next month. Please offer lots of support. Thank you very much.