Chapter 116: Searching for Xu Yan

Chu Feng felt a heavy weight in his heart. Xu Yan could arguably be called the most important friend of his life, and he never expected such a fate to befall her.

After detailed inquiries, both Chu Feng and Long Yue were left in a state of uncertainty. Logically, the Feiqiong Mountain area should not have posed any significant danger, certainly not enough to claim the life of a Xuan-tier trainee. Moreover, given the vastness of human territory, the location where Xu Yan went missing might not even be near her actual mission site.

Xu Lan was, after all, an instructor of the Xuan-tier battalion and could not spend an extended period away to search. Trainees dying in the field was a relatively common occurrence for the Spirit War Pavilion. For missing trainees, the Pavilion would only begin an investigation after six months had passed. This was because many "missing" trainees were not truly lost; some were merely trapped somewhere, while others were in seclusion for cultivation and would likely return in time. The Pavilion had strict time requirements for declaring a trainee truly missing, as search efforts were resource-intensive. Those temporarily trapped or in seclusion would return eventually, while those truly lost to some catastrophe were rarely found, making this policy a matter of resource management.

"Elder Xu, leave this matter to me," Chu Feng said. He believed that with his Flying Eagle warship, he could cover a much wider search area. He remained hopeful that although Xu Yan was missing, she might not be dead.

Over the past few days, Xu Lan had more or less prepared himself for the worst. Hearing Chu Feng’s offer, he was deeply moved and urged, "Be careful, and do not push yourself too hard. Perhaps this is simply that child's fate!"

Feiqiong Mountain was located northwest of the Holy City, only four or five hundred miles away. Traveling with Long Yue, they reached the mountain quickly aboard the Flying Eagle. The warship flew at a low altitude, and for Chu Feng and Long Yue, who both possessed powerful spiritual consciousness, scouting the terrain was not difficult.

Feiqiong Mountain was not particularly large, spanning less than a hundred miles. From the warship, the pair took turns scanning the area, leaving no peak or canyon unexamined. However, after twenty days of continuous searching, they were left disappointed—there was absolutely no sign of Xu Yan. They widened their search area further, dividing it into sections, but another month passed without any trace.

"It seems Xu Yan might not be in the Feiqiong Mountain area after all," Chu Feng mused, feeling a pang of sorrow and realizing the immense difficulty of the search.

"Perhaps there are hidden ruins in the vicinity that we cannot perceive. Let us expand the search range once more. If there are still no clues, I fear we will truly have to give up," Long Yue suggested.

To the west of Feiqiong Mountain lay a vast expanse of wetlands. One day, as the Flying Eagle passed over a certain part of the marsh, Chu Feng suddenly ordered the ship to stop.

"What is it?" Long Yue asked.

"Xu Yan may have been here," Chu Feng replied, using his spiritual energy to lift a pink ribbon onto the deck.

Upon seeing it, Long Yue noted that it appeared to be a hair ribbon. While they could not be certain it belonged to Xu Yan, it was undeniably a significant clue.

"Let’s search this wetland thoroughly," Chu Feng commanded. He instructed the Flying Eagle to fly almost flush with the water’s surface, allowing them to use their spiritual consciousness to probe the depths.

Two hours later, Chu Feng signaled for the ship to stop again. Frowning slightly, he stared at the storage ring on his finger and murmured, "The storage ring seems to be reacting to something."

He sank his consciousness into the storage space and was momentarily stunned. Half of a purple-red token was emitting a vibrant glow. This was the same fragment inscribed with the words "Heavenly Lord." Held in his hand, Chu Feng could feel the token vibrating faintly.

Seeing this, Long Yue was astonished. "Brother Feng, what is that?"

"I obtained it from a deceased Demon clan powerhouse in the Hundred Thousand Mountains. To be honest, I am not entirely sure what it is for," Chu Feng explained.

Long Yue looked at the fragment and said, "Could the other half be here? Is that why they are resonating within a certain distance?"

Chu Feng nodded and looked down at the marsh. "Perhaps it is hidden beneath these waters. Could there be a ruin concealed down here?"

Though they scanned the water, they initially found nothing. While their spiritual consciousness was powerful, it was somewhat dampened by the water, making it sufficient to reach the bottom but difficult to scan the terrain beneath the silt.

"Let's go down and take a look," Long Yue suggested. "If there really is a ruin hidden here, it is possible that Xu Yan is trapped within."

"Be careful," Chu Feng cautioned.

They dove into the water, with Chu Feng taking the lead to ensure Long Yue’s safety. At their level of cultivation, breathing was unnecessary, and their spiritual consciousness allowed them to see perfectly underwater.

After diving several yards, Chu Feng was startled. Under his mental shroud, Long Yue, who had been only a few yards away, suddenly vanished. He looked up, but could not see her.

"Have we stumbled into a ruin?" Chu Feng wondered, feeling uneasy. He swam back toward the spot where she had disappeared, but after only a short distance, he felt as if an invisible wall was blocking his path.

"A highly sophisticated barrier!" Chu Feng realized. The water was equipped with a barrier so advanced that it hadn't even registered on his spiritual consciousness. Moreover, the barrier had a disorienting effect, which was why he could no longer see Long Yue.

He drew his Zhenyu Sword and struck with his full strength, but beyond causing a ripple of vibration, the barrier remained intact.

Suddenly, the communication bead in his storage ring chimed. He activated it, and an urgent voice came through: "Brother Feng, where are you? I can't see you. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. What about you, Xiao Yue?" Chu Feng responded immediately.

"I'm fine. It seems we've breached the outer perimeter of a ruin. There is a powerful barrier here—it's like an invisible maze. Moving forward or backward is incredibly difficult. Don't worry about me, Brother Feng; the layout of this barrier doesn't seem intended to kill, so I'm not in immediate danger. It’s impossible to break this from the outside. Follow the resonance of the token; you should be able to reach the interior of the ruin. Perhaps you can find a way to break the barrier or locate a correct exit route," Long Yue’s voice replied.

Chu Feng fell silent for a moment before replying, "Take care of yourself, Xiao Yue."

"You too, Brother Feng," her voice drifted from the bead.

Chu Feng felt a twinge of regret. He had intended to keep Long Yue safe behind him, but now they were separated, lost in a maze where finding one another would be extremely difficult.

He steadied his emotions and focused a portion of his spiritual consciousness on the token. Sure enough, he could detect a faint pulse coming from a specific direction. The pulse acted like a compass; as long as he did not lose his orientation, he would eventually find a path.

He surmised that if Xu Yan were truly here, she was likely trapped in this invisible maze. After nearly an hour of searching, he finally reached the bottom of the water. As he touched the rocks, his entire body was suddenly pulled through.

Much like his experience in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, he didn't panic, realizing he had likely triggered a real memory. Soon, his feet touched solid ground. Scanning the area with his consciousness, he trembled in astonishment—the place was eerily similar to the barrier he had encountered before.

It was dark and dry, littered with scattered stones. Thirty yards away, there was a pit from which a few wisps of purple-red light were spilling out. Chu Feng felt the resonance from his token growing stronger, pointing directly to the pit.

What shocked him most was that a person was lying in that pit.

"Damn it, why do I keep running into things like this?" Remembering the past, he grew cautious, wary of some powerful consciousness suddenly emerging to seize his body.

His consciousness could extend three hundred yards, allowing him to see clearly without approaching. He confirmed that the figure was a human, not a demon, which brought him a small measure of relief. However, the body was mangled—three large holes in the chest and abdomen, with wounds covering all four limbs.

"Could it be..." Chu Feng’s body shook. He noticed a broken blade protruding from the corpse’s heart, and a familiar object gripped in its right hand.

In the Hundred Thousand Mountains, the Demon warrior he had encountered held a broken blade. Chu Feng was certain that the fragment in this human’s heart was the missing piece of that very same weapon. Had the Demon warrior’s opponent been this human powerhouse? Had they perished together, leaving the human too weak to return to the Holy City?

He scanned the area, but no consciousness emerged from the warrior. "He must have been in such a dire state before death that he lacked the strength to leave behind a spiritual projection," Chu Feng thought.

He approached the body and took the object gripped in its hand. As expected, it was the other half of the purple-red token. At such close range, the two pieces glowed intensely. With a violent vibration, they snapped together into a single, complete token, and the light faded.

There was no doubt: these two powerful beings had died fighting over this object. It had been whole, but in the struggle, it had been split in two, with each warrior claiming a half.

"Heavenly Lord’s Mansion," Chu Feng whispered. Connecting the name to the object, he realized the exquisite purple-red token was like a miniature plaque.