Yu Ci listened intently, yet no other voice was present in the carriage, only Bi Chao's voice flowed:
"Our differences lie in the word 'dedication'. Ordinary tasks within the sect are not difficult, it all depends on whether one is dedicated. Before this, I had gone through the files of everyone at the dock. My interactions with Yu Ci were all for the public good, aiming for effectiveness. I would humble myself when necessary, not belittling anyone due to their status. If I can do this, why can't you?"
The luxurious carriage continued to move, distancing itself from the Mountain Moving Cloud Boat Dock. Inside the quiet room, Yu Ci was taken aback.
What a bold statement from Bi Chao!
Yu Ci didn't feel much about her change in attitude. If the person in charge sent by the Rakshasa Sect to this place didn't show a bit of their mettle, Yu Ci would find it strange. How could such a sect become one of the top in the world? What was really strange was, who was Bi Chao talking to?
Yu Ci listened even more attentively, but just at this moment, another roar came from a great distance. The Fish-Dragon heard it, and so did Bi Chao in the carriage.
"Stop the carriage!"
With that command, the luxurious carriage immediately slowed down and stopped by the roadside. Then came the sound of a curtain being lifted and the light step of jade feet. It must have been Bi Chao getting out of the carriage, but it was unclear what she was doing.
Yu Ci immediately adjusted the starry form within the Fish-Dragon's Divine Soul, switching to the "visual" state. As the image before his eyes became clear, Yu Ci "saw" Bi Chao get out of the carriage and look westward into the sky. After aligning the direction a bit, Yu Ci realized that was where the roars and restlessness of birds and beasts were coming from.
Was Bi Chao interested in this too? As he was thinking, he saw Bi Chao nod at the Incense Slave, and the two of them simultaneously took to the sky, heading in that direction.
Despite being dozens of miles away, Yu Ci was still shocked. Bi Chao's cultivation level was one thing, as a Golden Elixir cultivator, it was natural for her to control instruments to fly. But what about the Incense Slave?
Yu Ci wanted to command the Fish-Dragon to follow, but after a second thought, he had the little creature swim to the back of the carriage curtain. Peering through the Fish-Dragon's vision, Yu Ci confirmed once again that there was no third person in the carriage!
Taking a deep breath, he commanded the Fish-Dragon to soar into the sky. The Fish-Dragon was incredibly fast, especially in the past two months, it had almost overcome the effects of losing the "Qi of the Heavenly Dragon True Form". Although its powerful instinct was no longer there, its flying speed had recovered to about seventy to eighty percent.
However, due to the previous delay, Bi Chao and the other were no longer visible in the sky. The Fish-Dragon was faster than the two, but its sensing range was too poor to track the target.
Yu Ci could only let the Fish-Dragon head west, hoping that the source of the disturbance was within fifty miles.
Regrettably, things did not go as smoothly as he had hoped. The incident indeed took place within a fifty-mile radius, where the Fish-Dragon once again captured the figures of Bi Chao. However, the place was now a scene of devastation, with fallen trees and grass, and the scattered remains of several wild beasts. The culprit responsible for this chaos had already fled far away.
Here, Bi Chao paused to observe, seemingly discovering something, and then continued to fly west, quickly covering fifty miles. This had already exceeded the range that Yu Ci could sense, so he had no choice but to have the Fish-Dragon fly back and wait patiently beside the luxurious carriage. No matter what happened there, Bi Chao would always return, wouldn't they?
After a while, someone did return, but it was only the Incense Slave, Bi Chao was nowhere to be seen.
"What on earth is going on?"
In his confusion, Yu Ci took the opportunity to take a closer look at this person. The other party was entirely shrouded in a large cloak, making it difficult to discern their figure or appearance, but they seemed quite tall. Now that they no longer had the Divine Map, the Fish-Dragon's sensing capabilities were limited, making it impossible to discern the appearance underneath the cloak.
On the other hand, even if they did have the Divine Map, this "Incense Slave" was clearly at the Golden Elixir Cultivation Level, and the mere presence of the Golden Elixir mist made the Divine Map meaningless. It was better to use the Divine consciousness starlight now, even if the perspective was limited, at least they could capture some information.
Having studied the Divine Bronze Mirror these days, Yu Ci increasingly felt that while the previous Divine Map was indeed incredible, it was entirely reliant on the mystic properties of the Divine Bronze Mirror itself. There was no "usage" to speak of, and once the Divine Bronze Mirror changed, they would be completely blind. Although the "Divine Map" had disappeared now, the subsequent techniques of using the Yin Spirit Controlling the Mirror and the Divine consciousness starlight were far more substantial than before.
If they continued to develop in this way, understanding the mystical origins of the Divine Bronze Mirror, and from there deducing and reproducing the Divine Map, it was not impossible.
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Because of the memory of the Divine Map, Yu Ci was momentarily lost in thought. When he snapped back to reality, he saw that the Incense Slave had somehow left the vicinity of the luxurious carriage and was strolling along the mountain path, following the tracks of the carriage.
Yu Ci felt a sense of unease. Previously, this Incense Slave had moved only on Bi Chao's orders, without any superfluous actions. Having seen this many times, Yu Ci had almost come to believe that this person was a puppet from the legends. Seeing her now, full of human-like movements, was a first for him, and it made the doubts in his heart spread like a cloud.
Through the Fish-Dragon's sensing, Yu Ci observed carefully, hoping to glean more details from her. But this Incense Slave seemed to be deliberately opposing him. After taking a dozen or so steps, she suddenly turned around, landed on the carriage shaft like a flying spirit, and the four Step Cloud Beasts, well-trained and understanding of human intentions, immediately started moving, pulling the carriage forward. Amidst the rumbling of the carriage, they crossed mountains and ridges, continuing their journey eastward.
"Shall we not wait for Bi Chao?" Yu Ci was somewhat overwhelmed by this series of unexpected events. He had allowed Fish-Dragon to accompany him for a while, but even as the fragrant carriage crossed the fifty-mile boundary, he had not received any more precise information.
Inside the stone chamber of the dock, Yu Ci closed his eyes, pondered for a moment, then stood up. So far, he was not deeply involved in the current situation, and he was not anxious, but he felt that he needed to do something.
Having made up his mind, he stepped out of the door and headed towards the Central Docking Array to find Yan Hao.
In the Mountain Moving Cloud Boat Dock, the highest-ranking was naturally Elder Chu. However, this man was only interested in his research and rarely involved himself in practical matters. The one with the highest cultivation level was Zhou Hu, but his main duty was to ensure Elder Chu's safety. As for Zhao Xi Qiao, he was, after all, an outsider. After considering everyone, the only person truly responsible for the dock's operations was Yan Hao, who had previously controlled the takeoff and landing of the Guiding Cloud Shuttle.
Yan Hao was a very honest man, not good with words, usually silent, yet meticulous. He managed all the affairs at the dock in an orderly manner. Yu Ci, being a member of the Lichen Sect and being there to help, held a transcendent status, but when it came to matters of patrols and protection, he was accustomed to notifying Yan Hao.
Just like now, he found Yan Hao at the Central Docking Array and said seriously, "There seems to be some Demons activity in the outer area. I'm going to investigate and will be back soon."
Yan Hao, not tall and with a very honest face, scratched his head in a somewhat distressed manner upon hearing this, "Brother Yu, you just went out this morning."
"This time, it's not for hunting."
Seeing that Yan Hao had misunderstood, Yu Ci shook his head and relayed the sounds he and Bi Chao had heard at the entrance earlier. Of course, he omitted all the subsequent events.
Upon hearing that even the Master of Xuan Yin Sect had mentioned Demons and fierce beasts, Yan Hao's face turned solemn, "Isolated Demons or beasts are not a problem, but if they are organized and run into the Jue Valley Docking Formation, that would indeed be troublesome."
During the previous disturbance in Sky Rift Valley, the Mountain Moving Cloud Boat Dock, located only two thousand miles away from the valley, was affected. Although they managed to avoid the chaos swiftly and no personnel were harmed, the Docking Array for the Guiding Cloud Shuttle was damaged in the fight between the Demons and beasts, which took quite some effort to repair.
"That's why I need to go and check the situation."
Yu Ci merely gave a heads up. At the dock, although he bore responsibility, he had a great deal of autonomy. Not to mention Yan Hao, even Elder Chu could only rely on his seniority and had no power to restrict him. Naturally, neither could Yan Hao. Watching him turn and leave, the honest man wanted to call him back but thought better of it and instead turned to go to Elder Chu's resting place.
When Yu Ci stepped out of the tunnel, the sky had already darkened. Without delay, he identified his direction and headed deep into the forest. In the distance, the small figure of Fish-Dragon darted through the vegetation, acting like a scout, relaying the conditions of the path ahead.
After traversing about thirty miles, Yu Ci arrived at the place where the disturbance had first occurred. He had previously seen the situation here through Fish-Dragon, but now that he was physically present, his observations were even more detailed. This was indeed not a typical battleground of wild beasts.
Scattered limbs exuded the smell of blood, but no beasts came to enjoy this free dinner. Such a situation occurred because various scents still lingered in the area, including several extremely dangerous beasts, and even a faint, pungent smell of Demons.
These scents mixed together, and if it weren't for Yu Ci's keen sense of smell, which was unlike ordinary people, and his long-term residence in Sky Rift Valley, as well as his experience with the Sky Rift Valley turmoil, he wouldn't be able to distinguish them.
Of course, after such a long time, it was unlikely for Yu Ci to accurately identify each corresponding beast and Demon from these scents. Yu Ci was merely looking for the trajectory of the scent changes to deduce the direction of the Demons and beasts' movements. Moreover, the previously violent creature didn't seem to have any intention of hiding, as the traces of its fighting and running were clearly visible.
Without much effort, Yu Ci managed to plot several approximate routes, one of which was the direction chosen by Bi Chao. If he wanted to conserve energy, he wouldn't need to think too hard and could just follow along. However, he was currently tasked with the responsibility of guarding and patrolling, even though it seemed like nobody, from He Qing and Yu Zhou to Elder Chu, took this responsibility seriously.
He remained still, while Fish-Dragon, with a speed comparable to that of a Vacuum Walking Cultivator, zipped around the routes like a bolt of lightning, sensing the situation in each place to help him make the final decision.
The wounded beast went south, the Demons went north, and there was also the west...
By combining the scents with the traces left in the forest, Yu Ci roughly deduced the directions of several stronger beasts and Demons. However, he still didn't understand why such a group of dangerous creatures would suddenly gather here and inexplicably fight each other?
In the end, he chose the western route taken by Bi Chao. Fish-Dragon, as before, flew ahead to scout. Although its sensing range was only about three yards, its extraordinary speed made up for the limited range, enabling Yu Ci to have a thorough understanding of the inevitable path ahead.
After advancing another twenty miles, beyond the boundary where Fish-Dragon had turned back, Yu Ci suddenly slowed down. A red light flashed, and the Pure Yang Talisman Sword was in his palm.
After a brief pause, a chilling wind suddenly rose in the completely dark forest.
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