Chapter 5803
Kai shook his head: “You go first.”
“Senior?” Ling Shuang and Lie Tian were both taken aback.
“I’m going to find Shi Yan and Ying Wu.” Kai’s gaze was firm. “They haven’t returned on time, they must have encountered trouble. I can’t abandon them.”
“But Senior, there are search parties everywhere outside, it’s too dangerous for you to act alone!” Ling Shuang said anxiously, her eyes showing genuine worry.
Lie Tian also advised: “Senior, Shi Yan and Ying Wu are both alert children, perhaps they were just delayed by something, or they are hiding somewhere. If you go out now, what if…”
“There is no ‘what if’.”
Kai’s tone was calm, but with an undeniable determination. “I came to the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect with them, it is my responsibility to find them and get them out of here safely.”
“You go to the secret realm first, tell me the exact location and how to enter, I will meet up with you after I find them.”
Seeing that Kai’s mind was made up, Ling Shuang knew that further persuasion was useless.
She bit her lip, took out a fiery red, feather-shaped jade pendant from her bosom, and handed it to Kai: “Senior, this is the Blazing Fire Pendant, one of the keys to opening the entrance to the secret realm.”
“The entrance to the secret realm is located about 20,000 miles southwest, at the deepest part of the Crimson Flame Canyon, where there is a crimson rock wall that burns eternally.”
“Hold the Blazing Fire Pendant, circulate your fire-attribute spiritual power to activate it, and simultaneously use your divine sense to inscribe the seal I’m passing on to you. This will open the temporary entrance.”
As she spoke, she transmitted a complex and profound seal into Kai’s mind with her divine sense.
Kai sensed it briefly and memorized it, then took the Blazing Fire Pendant and put it away.
“Senior, please be careful! We’ll be waiting for you in the secret realm!” Ling Shuang looked at Kai, her eyes
filled with complex emotions. “Senior Chen, take care!” Lie Tian and the other disciples of the Myriad Beasts Sect also bowed, their eyes filled with gratitude and anticipation.
Kai nodded, said no more, and with a flicker, disappeared from everyone’s sight as if merging into the air.
Not even a spatial fluctuation was caused.
Ling Shuang stared blankly in the direction Kai had disappeared, stunned for a moment before snapping back to reality. Suppressing the strange emotions within her, she turned to Lie Tian and said, “Sect Master Lie Tian, we must set off immediately!”
“Please have the less seriously injured disciples help support the severely wounded. We’re leaving now!”
Led by Ling Shuang, this mixed force, composed of elites from the Xuan Tian Sword Sect and remnants of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect, silently withdrew from the hidden valley, stealthily heading southwest towards the Crimson Flame Canyon.
…
After leaving the valley, Kai pushed his spatial escape techniques and concealment abilities to their limits.
Like an invisible shadow, he swiftly traversed the dense forest, rocky cliffs, and shadows, his divine sense like the most sophisticated radar, radiating outwards in all directions from his own center.
He meticulously searched for any traces that might be related to the rocks and shadow dance, while skillfully avoiding squads of visible and hidden sentries.
Following the route provided by Lie Tian, he searched a distance towards the Xuan Tian Sword Sect, discovering several faint traces of a battle and the unique hidden marks of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect.
The marks pointed in another direction—seemingly a secluded path leading to the old site of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect.
Kai’s heart tightened. Had the two been exposed while scouting the old site of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect?
He immediately changed direction and followed the marks.
The closer they got to the outer area of the old site of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect, the greater the density of patrols and the more tense the atmosphere became.
Kai had to be even more cautious, sometimes needing to lie in wait for long periods, waiting for the patrols to change shifts before he could pass.
Along the way, he discovered more signs of battle, and… bloodstains.
Judging from the aura, it was mixed with Shi Yan and Ying Wu’s!
Kai’s heart sank.
Finally, near a narrow mountain stream about a hundred miles from the original core area of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect, Kai discovered strong residual energy and a large amount of fresh blood.
The rocks on both sides of the stream had obvious marks of sword and knife strikes and spell bombardment, a scene of utter devastation.
In the air, besides the aura of Shi Yan and Ying Wu, there were at least five or six different, violent auras of fused beasts, as well as two chilling auras of demonic cultivators.
“They were ambushed here…”
Kai’s eyes turned cold.
Judging from the traces at the scene, the battle was quite fierce; Shi Yan and Ying Wu had obviously put up a fierce resistance, but the enemy outnumbered them and seemed to have come prepared.
He searched carefully and found a small piece of torn black clothing in a crevice, carrying Ying Wu’s faint scent, with some bloodstains on it.
Kai clutched the hem of the garment, his knuckles turning slightly white.
Following the faint lingering scent and barely perceptible drag marks on the ground, Kai tracked the trail.
The tracks eventually disappeared near the entrance of a cave halfway up a mountain, concealed by dense vines.
The cave entrance was covered by a simple barrier, but faint sounds of voices and… a woman’s sobs and struggles could be heard from inside!
Kai’s eyes suddenly turned cold, his killing intent almost materializing. He moved like lightning, silently passing through the rudimentary barrier and entering the cave.
The cave was quite spacious, illuminated by several eerie green soul lamps.
Seven or eight Fusion Beast Warriors of various forms were sitting together, laughing and talking loudly, sharing food and drink. Scattered on the ground were some odds and ends taken from Shi Yan and Ying Wu.
Deeper into the cave, two people were bound to two thick stone pillars.
It was Shi Yan and Ying Wu!
Shi Yan’s condition was extremely bad. He was covered in blood, with multiple deep wounds exposing bone, and one arm was bent unnaturally, clearly broken.
He hung his head, his breath weak, in a semi-conscious state.
As for Ying Wu… her condition infuriated Kai even more!
Her outer garment was torn in half, revealing her blood-stained undergarments, her fair skin covered in bruises and wounds.
A beast leader with goat-like, crooked horns and a lewd face was grinning wickedly.
He reached out to try and tear off her remaining clothing, his breath reeking of alcohol: “Little beauty, don’t struggle. After I’ve had my fill, maybe I can spare your life and offer you to the Sect Master of the Bone-Slaying Sect as a plaything, hahaha!”
Ying Wu struggled desperately, her eyes filled with tears of despair and humiliation, but her spiritual power was sealed, and her injuries were severe; she was powerless to resist.