Shao Xuan remembered that the animals living in this mountain were not very powerful. Because of the existence of the King Beast, other powerful ferocious beasts were not allowed to live in this mountain. The weaker animals were no threat to the King Beast, so it could ignore them.
It was like a lion could ignore an ant, but it would not ignore a wolf that entered its territory.
The Yanjiao tribe had lived here for nearly a thousand years. Generations of hunting teams had passed through here and gone to the hunting grounds on the other side of the mountain. They rarely encountered any trouble in the cave. Only when new young warriors joined the team would the creatures living in the cave target them. Shao Xuan had encountered this in the past.
Shao Xuan had not been here for a long time, but he knew what kind of creatures lived in the cave. However, when he walked into the cave, he clearly sensed many strange auras that should not have appeared here.
"It is indeed different."
Shao Xuan remembered the path through the mountain. He didn't need Mai to lead the way, he could just follow the path in his memory.
They were ambushed several times by some ferocious beasts hiding in the dark. Shao Xuan could handle them all. Otherwise, Mai would have told him about it.
The stronger ferocious beasts in the forest should have known that the King Stoneworm used to live here, so they all stayed away. Even if the King Stoneworm was no longer here, they would still avoid this dangerous place for a short period of time. The higher the level of the beast, the sharper its senses. Even if the King Stoneworm was no longer in the mountain, the aura it had left behind would still have a deterrent effect on them.
The tip of the sword pierced through a Six-Legged Bug that attacked them and stabbed into the cave wall, leaving a dent in it.
Not far from the dent, there were other marks left by sharp weapons. They were left behind by Mai's hunting team and had not disappeared yet.
Walking in the cave, Shao Xuan released his senses to check if the King Stoneworm had really left.
Shao Xuan could sense the fire seed aura on people within a certain range. Even those who had not merged with a fire seed would have some aura on them, just not as strong. When they were traveling downstream, Shao Xuan could sense the fire seeds of the tribes around the river bank because of the same ability.
That was because of the power of inheritance. Compared to the totemic power that strengthened the body, the power of inheritance was more of a spiritual power. The stronger the power of inheritance, the stronger the power of inheritance. Shao Xuan could sense the fire seeds far away because of the power of inheritance in his body.
Actually, Shao Xuan could sense the bat leader's location in the thousand-grain gold field because of this ability. He could sense it when he was digging for fire crystals but it was too blurry back then. That night, when he sensed the bat leader, it was even clearer. It was just that the bat leader had hidden itself too well. If it were any other fearsome beast of the same level, Ao and the rest would have sensed it from that distance. However, Ao's power of inheritance was not as strong as his totemic power so his senses were not as good as Shao Xuan's.
There was one thing that Shao Xuan did not tell Ao and the rest. When he sensed the bat leader, he 'saw' a spot of light similar to a fire seed. That bright spot of light was the bat leader.
How could a fearsome beast have the power of a fire seed on it?
What surprised Shao Xuan the most was that the power of a fire seed on the bat leader was a little bit similar to the power of the Yanjiao's fire seed. He could feel the difference between the two, but the surprise was also obvious. If the power of the fire seed on the bat leader was 100%, then it was only 10% similar to the power of the Yanjiao. Of the remaining 90%, 10% was similar to another power in Shao Xuan's body. The remaining 80% was completely different from the power of the Yanjiao's fire seed.
In Shao Xuan's sea of consciousness, there was not only the Yanjiao's totemic flame but also the light shield that covered the totemic flame. The power of the bat leader was similar to the power of the light shield.
Perhaps, because of this, the bat leader did not attack the Yanjiao people. It did not mean that it regarded the Yanjiao people as its companions. Shao Xuan believed that the bat leader regarded the Yanjiao people as its little brothers.
But it was the little bit of similarity that made Shao Xuan very confused. The only thing that could connect the bat leader with the Yanjiao was that the bat leader had absorbed the power of the fire crystals before it was separated from all the other bat leaders.
And those fire crystals were 'burned' by Shao Xuan with his own power.
Shao Xuan did not know the real reason, and it was not the time to think about it. He just used the power of the fire seed and the bat leader to perceive the king stoneworm under the mountain, which had not been known for many years.
He had been in close contact with the king stoneworm before, but he did not see it with his own eyes. But if he perceived the king stoneworm again, he would definitely recognize it. Shao Xuan recalled the feeling of being almost petrified and turning every drop of sweat into stone. It was still very clear when he thought about it.
Ao and the others, who were walking behind Shao Xuan, saw that Shao Xuan slowed down, but they did not urge him. Instead, they were on guard against the surroundings.
If only Shao Xuan could use the rope divination to find out the reason. Ao thought in his heart.
Shao Xuan sensed the surroundings. Because there were rocks all around, he could not perceive the fire seeds of other tribes like he could when he was on a long journey. Here, the range of his perception was greatly reduced. But according to Shao Xuan's memory, where the king stoneworm had appeared, even if the range of his perception was reduced, as long as the king stoneworm was still there, he should be able to detect it.
However …
Nothing.
Still nothing!
Shao Xuan continued forward. He did not retract his perception.
Even when he walked out of the cave and came to the other side of the mountain, he still could not detect the king stoneworm.
"The king stoneworm is indeed no longer here," Shao Xuan said.
This was not good news for the Yanjiao people.
They did not care about other beasts' territory changes, but it was different for a king beast. Generally speaking, king beasts would not easily change the location of their territory. For example, on the other side of the sea, the Salt Beast guarded its salt flats. Even if it was disturbed, it had no intention of leaving.
Over here, the king stoneworm that had not moved for a thousand years had already left its nest.
In fact, the king stoneworm's territory was not small. The Salt Beast's territory was horizontal, more like flat land, but the king stoneworm's was vertical. The mountain in front of them spanned an unknown distance. Although it was long and narrow, the peaks reached into the clouds. Very few birds could fly over it. Moreover, there was a large area underground. This place was not smaller than the salt flats.
It was hard to understand why such a territory would be abandoned so easily.
Shao Xuan went to find the cave he had carried his ancestors out of. He walked in for a while, but did not go too deep. There were also some beasts that had not come close in the past. It was rare to see the bones of some small beasts. For this mountain that seemed to be able to swallow anything, bones and the like would not stay for long. But now, the leftovers of these predators had been left here for who knew how long.
"The king stoneworm has indeed disappeared for a long time," Shao Xuan said to Ao and the others. "Perhaps it left last year during the disaster."
If the king stoneworm had gone somewhere else, such as deeper into the forest, it would not have affected the Yanjiao tribe. But what if it had run to Yanjiao?
The bat leader's movements were too sudden. If they did not figure it out, they would not be at ease. And if the king beast did not do anything else, everyone would think that it had gone deeper into the forest to find a new nest. Given its level, as long as it did not encounter other king beasts, the other beasts in the forest would have to make way for it.
"What should we do next?" Ao thought of the bat leader walking around the Yanjiao tribe every day. He felt as if there was a huge rock pressing down on his heart. It was difficult for him to even breathe. He was worried that the huge rock would fall down and cause a bloody scene.
"As long as the Yanjiao people do not take the initiative to attack, the bat leader will not attack the Yanjiao people for the time being." After all, there were some similarities in the fire seed. If the bat leader wanted to attack the Yanjiao people, it would have already attacked them. But during this time, they had not heard of anyone disappearing for no reason.
"Also, tell the wanderers in the tribe not to run around. The bat leader may not attack the Yanjiao people, but I am not sure about the wanderers," Shao Xuan said.
Although Ao did not understand the basis of Shao Xuan's words, he nodded in agreement. He also felt that the bat leader would not attack the Yanjiao people for the time being. After all, there were several opportunities to kill the Yanjiao people in the past, but the bat leader did not do so.
"But we can't go on like this." Even if the bat leader did not attack, with such a dangerous creature around, no one could sleep well.
Shao Xuan thought for a moment and said, "You wait here for Mai and the others. I will go to the bat mountain to take a look."
"Okay." Ao took the other two to find a place to rest first and wait for Mai and the others.
Shao Xuan asked Chacha to take him to the bat mountain. Previously, Shao Xuan had only walked around the bat mountain once, but this time, he planned to look around the bat mountain. There were several guesses about the bat leader's strange behavior. One of them was that it was affected by the king stoneworm's strange behavior. After all, at its level, it would not be easily affected by other beasts.
To rule out this possibility, Shao Xuan had to look around the bat mountain. Was there any strange phenomenon that forced the bat leader to give up on the bat mountain and run elsewhere?
Not to mention that the bat leader liked the Yanjiao headquarters. If that was the case, it would have gone there last year. Why wait until now? The thousand-grain gold was too far away from here, and it was not ripe yet. It was unlikely that it was attracted by that.
Shao Xuan sat on the eagle's back and looked down at the forest below.
Chacha flew at a height that was neither too high nor too low. Not only could he see the scenery below clearly, but he could also avoid the ancient trees and possible threats on the trees. In the past, Chacha had suffered because he flew too low and was dragged down from the sky.
The bat mountain was not on the hunting route of Mai's hunting team. Shao Xuan did not go there often, so there were many places that were unfamiliar to him.
Chacha's flight path was circling around the bat mountain.
In the forest, there was a huge difference in temperature between different places. Sometimes, one side of the mountain was as cold as autumn, while the other side was as hot as summer. But in general, at this time of the year, the forest was still mostly green.
The green ancient trees were the main color of the forest. The only thing that could compete with them were the tall mountains.
From the middle of the mountain, there was a sharp decrease in the greenery. From green to gray rocks, and then to white snow on the mountain peak.
The gray rocks on the cliffs separated the greenery under the blue sky.
Shao Xuan was already used to such changes in color. But as he gradually flew out, Shao Xuan noticed something special.
There was a short mountain there.
Even if there were no trees on a normal short mountain, there would still be some grass. But there were only gray rocks there.
As he flew closer, Shao Xuan could see more clearly. The grey-white short mountain stood out among the large expanse of ancient trees.
"Let's go down and take a look."
Shao Xuan jumped down after Chacha flew lower. He landed not far from the short mountain.
Crack crack crack —
Shao Xuan stepped on the grass. It was obviously not the soft grass.
He looked down. Some of the green grass had turned gray and was still very hard.
Some of the surrounding trees had also turned into the color of rocks.
The closer he got to the short mountain, the more obvious the change was. At the edge of the short mountain, there were many rocks that looked like tree trunks.
They used to be trees, but the upper half was broken. Only the lower half was left. Even the texture of the bark was very clear.
Petrification!
Others might not know about this change, but Shao Xuan already had a guess.
Among all the people and beasts that Shao Xuan had seen, only the king stoneworm could do this!
What was it doing here instead of in its own nest?
Shao Xuan walked up the short mountain. He could sense that the king stoneworm was not nearby, so he was not worried that he would be petrified as well.
There was not a single blade of grass or tree growing on the short mountain. The rocks looked new. The king stoneworm had not been here for long.
He continued walking up the short mountain. At the top of the short mountain, there was a round hole about two meters wide. Shao Xuan squatted at the hole and looked down. He did not know how deep it was. Based on the curvature of the hole, the king stoneworm should have come out from underground. It just did not come out completely. It only poked its head out for a bit before going back underground.
Because of the king stoneworm's movements, the ground had bulged and formed this short mountain made of rocks. Even the trees and flowers nearby had been petrified. The hole on the short mountain had narrowed as the king stoneworm retreated underground. When it had hardened completely, it could not shrink any further. That was how it was now.
The Yanjiao people had thought that the king stoneworm's size should be about the same as the hole in the mountain. However, Shao Xuan felt that the king stoneworm should be bigger than the hole in the mountain. Just like the hole on the short mountain, as the king stoneworm left, the hole would shrink to varying degrees.
However, these were all Shao Xuan's guesses. He had never seen the king stoneworm with his own eyes.
Standing on the short mountain, Shao Xuan looked at the bat mountain. It was not close. Otherwise, Shao Xuan and the others would have discovered it when they first approached the bat mountain. However, it was not too far. At this distance, perhaps the bat leader could sense it.
Could it really be because of the king stoneworm that the bat leader was forced to leave the bat mountain and go to Yanjiao? After all, in the bat leader's eyes, the Yanjiao people might be its underlings.
Unable to be sure, Shao Xuan had Chacha take him into the air to continue searching. They wanted to see if there were any more short mountains like this, especially in the direction of the Yanjiao tribe. If they found it in the direction of the Yanjiao tribe, then the Yanjiao people would be in big trouble.
No one wanted to fight a king beast, even if the Flaming Horn tribe thought of the king stoneworm as a peaceful beast. Otherwise, they wouldn't have set up a hunting route that had lasted for almost a thousand years. None of them had ever been attacked by the king stoneworm.
However, no one could say for sure what would happen if they went up against a king stoneworm.
Fortunately, Shao Xuan did not find any more short mountains like this one after searching in the direction of the tribe. Even so, he could not be completely relieved.
"Where did it go?"
Shao Xuan went back to the short mountain. Shao Xuan told Ao and the others had also come over.
"How about I go down and take a look?" Shao Xuan said.
Since the king stoneworm had gone through a place, there must be a tunnel underground. They could follow this tunnel to find out where the king stoneworm was.
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