The Great Violetwing Beast flew extremely fast. It didn't take long for it to cover a distance of over a thousand miles.
In the majestic Hongyuan Mountain Range, a huge mountain was shrouded in clouds. When the sun shone on it, it reflected colorful rays of light. Looking from afar, spiritual energy surged, and all kinds of birds and beasts flew around. It was like a paradise.
"This is the Cloudmist Ridge!"
Recalling Luo Qiqi's introduction, Zhang Xuan's gaze turned solemn.
Even before reaching the mountain range, Zhang Xuan could already feel the dense spiritual energy in the mountain range. It was as if there was a natural Spirit Gathering Formation in the mountain range. Needless to say, there must be countless powerful spirit beasts gathered in such a treasure land.
"Hurry up!"
Knowing that Wei Changfeng might be in danger, Zhang Xuan didn't stop to rest at all. Soon, he arrived at the foot of the mountain. The Great Violetwing Beast seemed to have sensed something terrifying and refused to fly any further. Zhang Xuan had no choice but to let it guard the area while he climbed up the mountain alone.
"Eye of Insight!"
Activating the Red Dust Heaven Ascending Steps, Zhang Xuan floated in the air and scanned his surroundings, searching for any traces of the enemy.
The Cloudmist Ridge spanned an area of several hundred square kilometers. Furthermore, it was shrouded in mist, making visibility extremely poor. If one were to search aimlessly, it would be impossible for one to find Zhang Xuan even after an entire year.
How were they supposed to save him if they couldn't even find him?
"Hmm? No traces were left behind? "
After scanning the area, Zhang Xuan was unable to find anything. A frown appeared on his face.
Logically speaking, given that the other party had only been gone for less than a day, as long as he left some traces behind, he should have been able to find them with his Eye of Insight. Yet, after taking a closer look, he was unable to find any traces at all. What was going on?
"Wei Changfeng must have purposely erased it..."
After thinking for a moment, Zhang Xuan understood.
If one were to enter the mountain range where there were many Saint Beasts, it would be easy for one to be discovered and tracked down by the Saint Beasts.
Wei Changfeng must have known about this, so he purposely erased his tracks and stealthily ascended the mountain. Firstly, he could avoid the eyes and ears of the Saint Beasts, and secondly, he could better conceal himself and increase his safety.
"How do we find him?" Zhang Xuan frowned.
Zhang Xuan had thought that as long as the other party left behind some traces, it would be easy for him to find the other party through the Eye of Insight. However, there was nothing at all. How could he find the other party?
If he were to search blindly in such a huge mountain range, not only would he not be able to save anyone, he might even end up trapped in the mountain range.
"Oh right!"
Just as Zhang Xuan was in a dilemma, a thought flashed through his mind, and a Honeycomb the size of a football appeared in his palm.
The Thousand Anthive Nest!
In terms of finding people, finding items, and reporting information, this fellow was definitely much better than him.
Hu!
The Myriad Anthive Queen appeared before Zhang Xuan's eyes. It had only been a few days since he last saw it, but it had lost a lot of weight, and its body was so twisted that it resembled a pancake.
"What's wrong with you?" It was normal when she saw it before. How did it become like this?
The Myriad Anthive Queen rolled its eyes.
How did I become like this? Don't you know?
To stuff such a huge fellow like the Byzantium Helios Beast into my small house, I was squeezed to such a state. If not for my luck, I might have already died!
Roar!
Even though he was depressed, he didn't dare to complain. He could only growl.
"Alright, come out and help me search the Cloudmist Ridge. I need to find someone!"
Zhang Xuan knew that he didn't have much time to fuss over such matters, so he waved his hands casually.
He was proficient in the ancient beast language and was able to communicate with the other party without any obstacles.
It didn't take long for the Myriad Anthive Queen to understand his intentions. Nodding its head, it opened its mouth and spat out a ball.
Weng weng weng!
The ball grew in size, and a moment later, a buzzing sound could be heard. Countless Myriad Ants flew out of the ball and dispersed silently in all directions.
"Master, there are no signs of humans in the vicinity!"
A few minutes later, the Myriad Anthive Queen reported.
"None?" Zhang Xuan frowned. "Continue searching up the mountain. At the same time, check the surroundings of the saint beasts as well. If you find any, report back to me in advance!"
Even if there were many saint beasts in the vicinity, there was bound to be a perimeter that belonged to them. As long as they knew where they were, there shouldn't be too much danger.
"Yes!"
The Myriad Anthive Queen nodded. Through a unique method, it communicated with the Myriad Ants.
"Let's head up the mountain!"
Soon, the Myriad Anthive Queen reported the locations of the spirit beasts in the vicinity, and Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.
At the foot of the mountain, the strongest spirit beasts there were only at Ethereal Treading realm.
With this information, Zhang Xuan found a safe route ahead of him. Together with the Myriad Anthive Queen, he headed up the mountain stealthily.
"Master, there seem to be traces of battle ahead …"
After advancing for a while, the Myriad Anthive Queen sent a telepathic message to Zhang Xuan.
"Are there any corpses?" Zhang Xuan turned to the Myriad Anthive Queen and asked.
Knowing what Zhang Xuan was worried about, the Myriad Anthive Queen nodded. "There are no human corpses!"
"Bring me to take a look!" Zhang Xuan said grimly.
"Alright!" The Myriad Anthive Queen pointed out a direction, and Zhang Xuan flew over stealthily. Not too long later, he saw traces of battle ahead.
Activating his Eye of Insight, Zhang Xuan took a closer look.
"Around ten to twelve hours ago …"
"His opponents should be three Green Sound Beasts. Although these spirit beasts are only at the Consolidation realm and aren't very strong, their noses are extremely sensitive. They must have picked up his scent and followed him. Since there was no way to avoid him, they attacked!"
"These Greensound Beasts were all killed by him in a single strike. However, the last one let out a roar before it died, and in a moment of desperation, Wei Changfeng smashed its head into smithereens. Even though it was killed, the roar of the Greensound Beasts should have been noticed by quite a few spirit beasts! "
Soon, Zhang Xuan came to a conclusion. The battle had started and ended quickly, and it didn't take long for the battle to end. However, due to the disturbance in the spiritual energy, Zhang Xuan's location had been exposed, and it would surely attract the attention of other spirit beasts and even saint beasts.
If Zhang Xuan were to venture any deeper, he would be in deep trouble.
"He headed in that direction!"
After analyzing the battle, Zhang Xuan found a trail left behind by Wei Changfeng, and he quickly chased after it.
It must be said that the boss of the Spirit Emporium was indeed a smart man. Knowing that his whereabouts had been exposed, he chose a narrow path up the mountain.
There was only a single path here, and it would be difficult for him to mount a sneak attack or encircle the other party. On top of that, given the massive size of spirit beasts, it would be easier for a human to conceal himself.
However, there was a huge flaw to this method as well. Once one was discovered, one would be trapped in a cage. It would be impossible for one to escape even if one wished to.
Proceeding along the mountain path, Zhang Xuan found quite a number of dead spirit beasts.
Perfect Harmonization realm, Ethereal Treading realm, Chrysalis realm …
As the spirit beasts grew stronger and stronger, the battles grew more and more intense. A moment later, Zhang Xuan came across a Half-Saint beast.
It was a Blackface Steel Bear, and it died on the spot with a single slash of a saber.
"Since a Half-Saint beast has appeared, it will only get stronger and stronger!"
Zhang Xuan's face grew grimmer and grimmer.
He had already encountered a Half-Saint beast halfway up the mountain, and the more he killed, the stronger the saint beasts would be. Even though Wei Changfeng was a Saint realm expert, it was unlikely that he would be able to hold on for too long.
"Hurry up!"
Fearing that something might happen to the other party, Zhang Xuan hastened his pace. Perhaps it was due to the high tier spirit beasts and saint beasts being lured away by Wei Changfeng or some other reason, or perhaps the Myriad Anthive Queen had warned him in advance, he didn't encounter any danger along the way.
However, as he ventured deeper into the mountain, his cheeks twitched more and more intensely.
Soon, he came to a halt before the traces of a battle.
The surrounding vegetation had been flattened by the shockwaves of the battle, and there was a massive depression several hundred meters away. Most of the boulders along the mountain path had been cleaved in half or reduced to dust.
All in all, the area was a complete mess.
"It's three Nascent Saint Black-tailed Foxes!"
Activating his Eye of Insight, Zhang Xuan analyzed the surroundings of the battle, and his face darkened.
Even though the Nascent Saint Black-tailed Foxes were weaker than Wei Changfeng, they were cunning and adept at sneak attacks. Judging from the traces in the surroundings, Wei Changfeng was clearly injured.
Bending down, Zhang Xuan grabbed the ground and a piece of clothing stained with blood appeared in his hands.
"This was from two hours ago..."
Zhang Xuan clenched his fists tightly.
Knowing that he was getting closer and closer to his new subordinate, Zhang Xuan hastened his footsteps.
Not too far away, he found yet another trace of a battle.
Two Saint realm spirit beasts were lying lifelessly on the ground. On the other hand, a huge fellow was holding an arm in its mouth, and fresh blood seemed to have yet to dry.
"It's his arm!"
Zhang Xuan's eyebrows twitched.
He recognized the arm — it was Wei Changfeng's.
Ambushed by a Saint realm spirit beast here, one of his arms was bitten off. Even though he managed to kill his opponent, given the severity of his injuries, it was unlikely that he would be able to get far.
Looking around, Zhang Xuan realized that not only was Wei Changfeng's arm missing, there was also fresh blood everywhere. From the looks of it, Wei Changfeng had sustained severe injuries.
"That fellow... Isn't he putting his life on the line? If we really can't pluck the Cloudmist Flower, we can think of another way..."
Zhang Xuan's complexion turned awful.
Given that he had already encountered a saint beast of similar strength as him, even if he knew that he wouldn't be able to get past it, he could still think of another way. Why did he have to put his life on the line?
He would die like this!
If he were to die, what would be the point of plucking the Cloudmist Flower?
After advancing another several hundred meters, Zhang Xuan saw a saber embedded in the wall of the mountain path. Fresh blood stained the surface of the saber. Most likely, it had just slain a saint beast.
Along the way, Zhang Xuan had seen quite a few spirit beasts being killed by the saber. Knowing that Wei Changfeng's weapon was a pinnacle saber, he hurriedly rushed forward and plucked it out.
"It's broken?"
Pulling the saber out, Zhang Xuan realized that the saber had been severed into two, as though it had been severed by some kind of sharp weapon. There was also fresh blood around the boulder, creating a gruesome sight to behold.
A weapon was equivalent to a cultivator's life. For even a saber to be severed, what in the world happened to Wei Changfeng?
Zhang Xuan scanned his surroundings, and with a slight movement, he picked up a thick strand of hair.
"The hair of a Saint 1-dan pinnacle... Ancient Ape?"
Zhang Xuan's face turned as dark as the bottom of a wok.
To find the hair of an Ancient Ape here, didn't that mean that... Wei Changfeng had encountered such a formidable saint beast?
Wei Changfeng's cultivation was only at Saint 1-dan intermediate stage, not even reaching advanced stage. Even so, it would be difficult for him to defeat a Saint 1-dan intermediate stage saint beast, let alone a Saint 1-dan pinnacle Ancient Ape!
Due to their physique, spirit beasts and saint beasts of the same cultivation realm were usually stronger than master teachers of the same cultivation realm, needless to say, ordinary cultivators.
"He's really in danger this time. It'll be hard for him to survive this..."
Looking ahead, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but worry.
As long as Wei Changfeng didn't intend to charge forward, given his strength, he should be able to escape. Why would he sustain such a huge loss?
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
