Inside that starlight passage, the Space Secret Art Yang Kai had employed destabilized the passage, causing him to become separated from Xiao Xiao and Liu Yan. Throughout this time, Yang Kai had been worrying about their safety, but he had no way of learning their whereabouts.
Setting Xiao Xiao aside for the moment—it looked like a puppet at first glance, and anyone who saw it would surely be intrigued. If it ever revealed itself before outsiders, it would definitely be targeted.
However, Xiao Xiao's escape abilities were rather impressive. As a member of the Stone Puppet clan, it could burrow through the earth from birth, making it rather difficult for anyone to capture.
Liu Yan was a different matter. She didn't have escape techniques as formidable as Xiao Xiao's, and her very existence would pique the interest of any martial artist. Capturing her and fusing her into one's own Artifact would effectively grant that Artifact an Artifact Spirit, boosting its power by an entire tier!
Moreover, martial artists proficient in fire-attribute power could directly devour Liu Yan, fusing her power into their own bodies for a drastic increase in strength.
Even if she served no practical use, she could still be sold! Without doubt, she would fetch a fine price.
So Liu Yan's situation was far more perilous than Xiao Xiao's.
Now, upon hearing the intelligence the middle-aged man had provided, Yang Kai felt a surge of alarm. If the creature in Yuqing Mountain truly was Liu Yan, then her current situation was dire.
With so many martial artists converging on the area, Liu Yan would be overwhelmed—capture was only a matter of time.
With that thought, Yang Kai immediately activated his movement technique and raced after the departing crowd.
Thirty thousand li was nothing to cultivators at the Void King Realm. In less than half the time it took an incense stick to burn, Yang Kai arrived at the foot of Yuqing Mountain.
A considerable number of martial artists had already gathered there—at a rough count, around two hundred.
What put Yang Kai somewhat at ease was that none of them possessed particularly high cultivation. Most were at the Return Void Stage or the Void King Realm, with the Dao Source Realm being exceedingly rare.
It seemed the overall martial standard of Maple Forest City wasn't all that impressive, Yang Kai silently mused.
The assembled cultivators showed no intention of entering the mountain range to search. Instead, they began forming groups of three to five, calling out to form teams—apparently planning to rely on superior numbers.
Some among them were covered in wounds. The injuries were clearly from fire burns; on the ground lay several charred corpses, a ghastly sight, their bodies completely scorched.
"That fire bird is truly ferocious. Judging by the power fluctuation from its body, it's only at the Void King Third Stage, but the flames it breathes are nearly impossible to withstand. Brothers Zhao and Zhang were both veteran Void King cultivators, yet in a single exchange they were burned to death. We were lucky to run—if we hadn't..."
The speaker sat beside those corpses, tending to his own injuries while recounting the encounter with the fire bird in lingering fear.
Quite a few people gathered around them, gauging the fire bird's combat strength from the severity of their wounds.
It was precisely because of these survivors' experience and testimony that the Void King cultivators of modest strength had abandoned any notion of fighting solo, choosing instead to band together.
Yang Kai heard every word, and felt a jolt of excitement.
Void King Third Stage power fluctuation. Terrifying flames. The characteristics matched Liu Yan perfectly! If Yang Kai had still harbored any doubt about whether the fire bird in Yuqing Mountain was truly Liu Yan, he now had over eighty percent confidence.
Liu Yan also possessed Void King Third Stage power fluctuations, and because she had devoured so many exotic fires—even continuously absorbing flames like the True Solar Fire—her flames were terrifyingly potent. Even Yang Kai wouldn't dare touch them lightly.
"Excuse me, gentlemen. From what you're saying, you've actually seen this fire bird?" Yang Kai pushed through the crowd and stepped forward to ask.
"Of course we have." The speaker looked up at Yang Kai with a bitter smile. "Otherwise, how would we have ended up like this?"
"Could you tell me what the fire bird looks like?"
"Hard to say. It looked rather strange—extremely long tail feathers, though not particularly large. Only about ten feet or so."
Yang Kai was taken aback. Liu Yan's true form should have been enormous. That detail didn't quite match.
"Does it only take the form of a fire bird? Could it possibly transform into something else?" Yang Kai pressed.
The man burst out laughing. "What would you want it to transform into—an alluring red-haired beauty in revealing clothing, perhaps?"
The onlookers erupted in laughter, their gazes on Yang Kai turning peculiar, as though regarding a man whose brain had been overtaken by base desires.
"Thanks for your help." Yang Kai chuckled awkwardly and withdrew from the crowd.
Though the intelligence gathered wasn't much, it was still something.
Whether the fire bird in Yuqing Mountain was Liu Yan or not, one look inside would tell. He quietly stimulated the soul imprint within his sea of consciousness, reaching out silently.
He and Liu Yan shared a spiritual connection—a soul bond planted when he had first subjugated her. As long as the distance wasn't too great, stimulating the soul imprint would allow them to sense each other.
But to his disappointment, he received no response from Liu Yan.
It seemed he had no choice but to go inside and see for himself.
Just as he had steeled himself to enter Yuqing Mountain, a figure silently approached from behind. Yang Kai's brow furrowed as he turned—and there he found a petite young woman with a surprisingly voluptuous figure, gazing at him with a cheerful smile.