Luo Huang and Zhou Yi were both geniuses who had seen their fair share of the world, and in their respective sects, they were considered standout figures.
Yet today's bizarre situation still sent chills down their spines.
Though the valley was vast, none of the missing people were three-year-old children — there was no way they could have wandered off aimlessly. The areas that could be searched had all been combed through. Without any reason to do so, they couldn't have separated from the main group either.
But they had gone back and forth through these zones several times over, and still not a single clue had turned up.
It was as though these people had simply vanished into thin air.
Over on Zhou Yi's side, a disciple hurried up to him in a state of visible panic. "Senior Brother Zhou, do you remember how Yang Zhao died?"
"What about it?" Zhou Yi froze, then something clicked in his mind.
He had heard his master, Tie Can, mention Yang Zhao's death before — it was riddled with suspicious circumstances. Yang Zhao had clearly been inside a sealed chamber, deep within the heavily fortified Dragon Tooth Guard headquarters. He had died without any explanation. No screams had been heard from outside, no sounds of a struggle.
Yet Yang Zhao had perished in that chamber, leaving behind nothing but a skeleton.
"This… could it be…" The thought of Yang Zhao's cause of death, combined with his master's cautious and somewhat fearful tone of voice, sent a wave of creeping horror through Zhou Yi's entire body.
Once this terrifying notion took hold, Zhou Yi had absolutely no desire to continue the search. His mind was already raising the white flag.
With a wave of his hand, he called everyone remaining together.
"Forget it. They're not children — even if they got lost, they can find their way back. If they were captured by an enemy, then that enemy is capable of acting this stealthily, which means their strength is certainly above ours. Staying here won't change a thing. Let's go back and report!"
No matter how much his master Tie Can valued Liu Chengfeng, the man couldn't possibly be more important than Zhou Yi, his own direct disciple.
Zhou Yi had no intention of getting himself killed in this godforsaken place, too.
Those from the Qianlan Northern Palace who had come along — besides Liu Chengfeng and Zhou Yi and their retinue, there were several elites as well. When they heard Zhou Yi say it was time to retreat, their faces turned green.
"Young Master Yi, we haven't found Palace Master Liu or Xiao Yu, and we're just going to leave like this?"
Zhou Yi's expression went cold. "What?"
"We're not leaving without finding them." Those Qianlan Northern Palace elites were fundamentally different from Zhou Yi. Liu Chengfeng was their Palace Master — if he died, they would be leaderless going forward, with no one to rely on.
"Not leaving? Do you think any of you are more capable than Liu Chengfeng? If Liu Chengfeng was ambushed by an enemy, you staying here is just waiting to die. If Liu Chengfeng simply got lost, they'll find their way back to the Qianlan Northern Palace sooner or later. What's the use of you remaining here?" Zhou Yi naturally couldn't voice his own fears and suspicions — saying such things out loud would make him sound like a coward afraid of death.
Over at the Purple Sun Sect, Luo Huang was far more resolute. He activated his Blazing Sun Azure Pupils to their full power and searched in every direction, when suddenly he halted at a specific spot.
This was precisely the place where Yu Jie had disappeared.
It had to be said, in terms of martial cultivation, Luo Huang was truly superior to Zhou Yi.
His Blazing Sun Azure Pupils, in particular, gave him a perceptive acuity that was at least five times sharper than that of martial cultivators at the same level.
"Right here — if my senses aren't mistaken, Yu Jie's ice-attribute aura came to a stop in this area." Luo Huang paused, his gaze sweeping meticulously through every patch of grass.
"Hm?" His eyes suddenly shot out an eerie light. "Come here. Look at this — doesn't the soil in this area feel a bit softer than everywhere else?"
Although the Ice Fire Demon Lotus's method of growing and retracting left virtually no trace on the surface, there were bound to be at least a few subtle marks.
For cultivators at the same level, these would be nearly impossible to detect.
But Luo Huang had trained the Burning Sky Solar Scripture, tempering his eyes into the Blazing Sun Azure Pupils. His visual acuity was at least five — possibly even ten — times that of cultivators of comparable rank.
Under his careful scrutiny, he had found a thread of inconsistency.
The others walked over and looked around, but they couldn't make out a thing. After all, compared to Luo Huang's eyesight, theirs was far inferior.
Luo Huang's expression turned grim as he gripped the massive sword on his back and called out, "All of you — stand back."
Everyone quickly cleared to either side.
Blazing, sun-like flames erupted and raced along the length of the great sword.
Luo Huang let out a thunderous shout: "Open!"
The blade swept downward with devastating force, like a divine cleaver splitting heaven and earth, and struck the ground.
In an instant, a crack split open down the center, as if a block of tofu had been cleaved in two. It raced forward rapidly, opening into a massive trench.
With the earth carved apart, Luo Huang — bold by virtue of his skill — dove straight into the deep trench. His Blazing Sun Azure Pupils scanned every corner as his great sword swung ceaselessly.
Trench after trench appeared under his relentless blows.
Before long, the area was crisscrossed with gashes.
Then Luo Huang's eyes lit up. He reached down and snatched something from the ground. His body shot upward like a crimson bird of fire, soaring back to the surface.