Thereupon, the worm darted toward a certain direction within the city, shooting forward with great speed.
The Straw-Coated Wanderer’s spirit shook, and in an instant, his figure flashed as he followed it.
Soon, the Consciousness Worm, flapping its wings, arrived at a large pit where Chen Yuan was last seen disappearing. The surrounding area was nearly razed to the ground, with rolling sands and a swath of charred earth.
The worm burrowed straight into the pit, tunneling into some muddy sand below.
In no time, the Consciousness Worm unearthed a palm-sized, shattered piece of cloth from the vast sands.
The Straw-Coated Wanderer’s spirits lifted. He picked it up and squinted at it.
It was Array Patterns!
This meant, the Ninth Mountain’s Colonel might truly not be dead.
But even if he wasn’t dead, with a shattered Dharma Image, he must have been seriously injured.
This was the outcome he had hoped for.
So, where would this injured tiger go?
The Straw-Coated Wanderer pondered for a moment, his eyes blazing with thought, remembering a scene he had witnessed in Jingguan City: the Colonel alone holding back the enemy to cover the retreat of the Ninth Mountain Army.
This person would surely be most concerned about the safety of his own troops.
Now that he knew the Colonel was likely still alive, the next step was to find the retreating Ninth Mountain Army. He clearly remembered the direction from which they had come. The nearby Guang’an City was abandoned, where then would the civilians from Guang’an City have gone? This could provide a breakthrough in his search.
Thinking thus, the Straw-Coated Wanderer, in the next second, transformed his figure into a wisp of black smoke, flashing towards the east, and after a few flickers, vanished from the spot.
Shortly after this person’s disappearance, two life-sized demon shadows emerged silently out of thin air at the place of his departure.
One demon had green scales on its foreheads and golden pupils shaped like triangles; the other demon with a black scale and a bird-beak had red eyes with black pupils. They were two ferocious demons from the Feiyi Clan.
Both pairs of demon eyes stared intently at the spot where the Straw-Coated Wanderer had vanished.
The demon with the bird-beak spoke up,
"Sixth Elder, it seems this person already has a clue. It was indeed your method that worked, as if you knew these people would come."
However, the demon with the green eyes slowly shook its head, its Demon Eye flashing with a cold sneer, "No, I still made a miscalculation. Given my knowledge of the Mountain-cutting Army, I thought they would be the ones to come. Instead, we encountered this group. Still, all the better, our actions won’t be too obvious. Hmph, it appears there are plenty of Human Clan masters in Shu, but they are more concerned with the divine weapons and magical artifacts left behind by the Colonel than engaging in a bloody battle with our clan. Did you not see how quickly these insects scattered when Old Jiu made his move? If it were those from the Mountain-cutting Army, even with lesser strength, they would never have fled so fast. I was even prepared to put in extra effort, but now, it seems there’s no one left in that army."
Speaking thus, he snorted coldly,
"How ironic, the troops of the Mountain-cutting Army have all died in battle, and there are hardly any of these people in sight. They are not to be feared. Indeed, the day for our Ten Saint Clan to emerge has come."
This ferocious demon held little regard for the strong from the Central Plains but had high esteem for the weak Mountain-cutting Army.
"These fellows are indeed troublesome. Who would have thought that Jixuan and Yougu would both fall at the hands of the Ninth Colonel? This guy must be hiding somewhere now. Otherwise, the Luck Spirit Root that should have been revealed from the sacrificed Ancestor Tree Spirit, why is there no trace of it? Something like that would not be easily destroyed," the bird-beak demon gnashed its teeth with resentment.
"Hmph, if we could get our hands on that Luck Spirit Root, then even death would be worth it. They only have themselves to blame for being useless. Has the news been sealed off yet?"
"It has been sealed."
"We must not let any other Holy Clan find out, including the Five Mountains. We bear seals on us and cannot stay outside for too long; we can only rely on the Ancestor Tree. Otherwise, you and I would have broken out long ago, turning a thousand miles around upside down, forcefully dragging that Colonel out. There’s no need for all the effort we’re putting in now."
"Let’s follow that person. On the surface, he seems to only possess Tao Fruit Cultivation, but his qi feels concealed; he’s likely hiding his real realm, showing one thing while hiding another. This could turn out to be an interesting play! Hehe!"
"You are the reserve troops from Guang’an Prefecture who were to rendezvous with the Ninth Mountain Army."
"Speak, where is the Ninth Mountain Army currently?"
Over two thousand miles to the east of Weiyuan Pass, in a mountain forest, a small squad of twenty soldiers lay dead.
Horses had been reduced to minced flesh; blood flowed across the ground. Several Black Armor soldiers were slumped on the ground in a kneeling posture, their necks broken.
At that moment, a young Armored Soldier knelt, bound, in front of a young man clad in a white robe embroidered in gold with a Jade Crown on his head and a Qilin stitched onto the chest. The young man held the soldier’s head, his voice cold, bereft of patience.
Whereupon, the young Armored Soldier, seeing his comrades fallen, struggled fiercely with a ferocious expression. He spat a mouthful of bloody sputum at the young man and roared hoarsely,
"Go to hell! You beast..."
Before he could finish speaking, the young man opposite him pressed down hard with his hand.
A "crack" sounded—the noise of a breaking bone.
The young Armored Soldier’s roaring and ferocious expression ceased as his throat was crushed; his head tilted, and his body began to fall.
Just then, the young man kicked, sending the dead soldier’s body flying, smashing into a pulp. A not-so-exquisite wooden carving rolled out from his chest onto the cold hand of the fallen soldier, shattered.
Meanwhile, the young man in the white robe with gold embroidery emotionlessly took out a handkerchief, wiped the spit off his face, and said,
"Continue the search for others. If this group isn’t afraid of death, there must be someone who is!"
"It should be about time for someone from the family to arrive."
"It’d be best if we made some progress before my family’s uncle arrives."
"Where on earth could these Ninth Mountain Soldiers have gone?"
The figure cloaked in the white robe behind him responded in an aged voice: "Yes!"
The two were the Li Family Master and Servant from Jingguan City, searching for the Ninth Mountain Troops that had retreated from Weiyuan Pass!