Chapter 57

"Master Zhao!"

A cultivator walked out of the stream, holding a few items he had just retrieved from the water, and said, "These are all the things from Master Ma and Junior Brother Cheng. It seems that the two charred corpses are most likely theirs!"

The flames of the bonfire had long been extinguished, leaving only two charred bodies. Master Zhao, dressed in a green robe, had been standing next to the two bodies since he arrived at the stream, until the seven or eight cultivators searching the area confirmed the identities of the deceased.

"According to the message Master Yao sent earlier, Ning Ji's son would be brought here by Junior Brother Ma. Now that Junior Brother Ma and Junior Brother Cheng have perished, it's likely that the child has been rescued by someone."

Master Zhao's voice was like a cold wind sweeping through the forest, sending chills down the spines of the several junior brothers standing around him, who dared not even breathe heavily.

"Have you found any traces while searching the area?"

A cultivator stepped forward and said, "Master, we found some concealed traces in the southeast direction. It seems the enemy tried to cover their tracks when retreating, but these traces disappeared after about half a mile."

Another cultivator added, "Master, we also found traces of someone walking in the northwest direction, but..."

Master Zhao's dark gaze instantly swept over, causing the cultivator to involuntarily shiver. He quickly said, "But from the traces left behind, it seems someone passed through the miasma to get there."

Master Zhao's face, which was a mix of green and purple, twitched, and a cold smile suddenly appeared at the corner of his mouth. "No matter what tricks the person who rescued Ning Ji's son uses, he will eventually have to return to Wasteland Town to inform Ning Ji. Everyone, pursue them. We must intercept the child before he returns to Wasteland Town. At the same time, inform Master Yao as quickly as possible so he can prepare for any contingencies."

The cultivator who had emerged from the stream mustered the courage to advise, "Master, if we all go to chase the child, what about the giant locusts we are monitoring?"

Master Zhao snorted coldly and said, "It's fine. The Qiwu Mountains stretch for hundreds of miles, and there are dozens of giant locust swarms. We are only monitoring one of them."

Yang Junshan stood on a cliff, watching the dark passage below where Ning Bin was engaged in a magical duel with Junior Brother Niu. The three grain carts had stopped in the middle of the road, and the other two drivers lay dead under the carts, each with a chest pierced by a feathered arrow.

Ning Bin, who was destined to be one of the three greats of the Heaven-Shaking Sect, was indeed formidable. Although Junior Brother Niu was much older and had spent more time in the Immortal Foundation stage, and his combat techniques were more seasoned, Ning Bin managed to hold his own with a pair of crimson flame talismans, making the battle fiercely contested.

The smoke columns rising from the distant mountains were gradually diminishing, and time was of the essence. Yang Junshan hoped his strategy to lure the enemy away would succeed. He drew a feathered arrow from his quiver, pulled back the seven-stone hard bow, and the spiritual light on his finger glowed, activating the talisman patterns on the arrow. The bowstring vibrated, and the arrow whistled through the air, heading for Junior Brother Niu's leg.

As soon as the first arrow was shot, Yang Junshan quickly nocked another arrow and shot it, but this one clearly missed the target, flying two feet to the side of Junior Brother Niu.

Junior Brother Niu had already noticed that his opponent had a marksman hidden nearby. The reason he had been evenly matched with the teenage Ning Bin for so long was that he had to devote a significant amount of energy to defending against the marksman's arrows.

As soon as the first arrow was shot, Junior Brother Niu saw the direction it was coming from and took two quick steps. The talisman arrow landed where he had been standing, creating a half-foot deep crater in the ground.

Just as Junior Brother Niu dodged, Ning Bin, seeing Yang Junshan's assistance, grew even more determined. He tightly gripped the crimson flame talismans and summoned two streams of crimson flame to attack Junior Brother Niu from both sides.

Junior Brother Niu panicked and took another step back to avoid the two streams of magic. However, a black shadow flashed in the air, and Yang Junshan's second talisman arrow pierced his neck from left to right.

Junior Brother Niu clutched his neck, trying to breathe, but blood and bubbles gushed from the wound. A red light filled his vision as Ning Bin's crimson flame engulfed him completely.

Standing beside the charred body of Junior Brother Niu, Yang Junshan sighed, "What a pity, what a pity. He was an Immortal Foundation cultivator, and now he's burned to a crisp, leaving no spoils of war!"

Ning Bin's face was flushed. His spell had been unnecessary, and he could have aimed it directly at the face, concentrating the power of the spell and avoiding burning the entire body, thus preserving the spoils of war.

Fortunately, the three grain carts and the three ox-like beasts were unharmed. Yang Junshan pointed to the last ox-like beast pulling the grain cart and said, "That ox looks the strongest. You should ride it and go!"

Ning Bin bowed to Yang Junshan, then unhooked the cart from the ox, turned it around, and mounted it, heading back the way they came.

Yang Junshan called out from behind, "A word of advice: don't go directly to the garrison to find your father. Be careful, they might have set a trap for you!"

Ning Bin's figure was no longer visible in the dark passage. Yang Junshan searched the other two drivers' bodies but found only a few jade coins and several stone coins, nothing particularly valuable.

Yang Junshan turned the grain carts, attaching the third cart to the second, and began to head back. After walking about two or three miles, he saw that the ox-like beast pulling the two carts was exhausted. He looked at the loose soil on both sides of the passage and said, "This should be the spot!"

According to his memory, the soil on both sides of this section of the passage was very loose, often collapsing during the rainy season, sometimes even blocking the passage. Although the passage had been recently opened, there were already several mounds of soil formed by collapses on both sides.

Yang Junshan drove the three grain carts to one side of the passage, unhooked the ox-like beasts, and led them to the other side. He then climbed to the top of the soil mound and carefully examined it, finding several cracks. He shot talisman arrows into these cracks, and when they exploded, a large amount of soil collapsed, burying the three grain carts in a mound.

Looking at the dozens of mounds on both sides of the passage, Yang Junshan was confident that they would not be discovered. He tied a branch to the tails of the two ox-like beasts and let them walk in opposite directions, erasing the wheel tracks as much as possible to confuse any future investigations.

After completing this, Yang Junshan returned to the forest. The black smoke from the burned bodies had completely dissipated. To avoid his strategy failing, he circled around in the forest and returned to the stream.

The ashes of the burned bodies were still there, but the charred corpses had been buried. Yang Junshan searched the area and found that, except for the traces left by someone coming from the southwest, the other directions had been searched, and there were traces of a group leaving to the north.

It seemed they were indeed heading north. He hoped Ning Bin would not encounter them, but the group would never expect Ning Bin to return to Wasteland Town via the passage, nor that he had a mount to speed up his journey. This way, Ning Bin should be able to return to Wasteland Town before them, and he wouldn't be betrayed.

Following the group's tracks to the southwest, after walking about seven or eight miles, Yang Junshan heard a loud buzzing sound, like the rapid flapping of wings.

Yang Junshan's heart raced, knowing he was close to his target. He moved more cautiously, afraid of alarming the creatures hidden in the forest.

Suddenly, a loud buzzing sound came from above. Yang Junshan stopped and looked up, seeing a black-gray giant locust, about four inches long, land on a branch of a small tree, its mandibles rapidly vibrating as it devoured a palm-sized leaf. Then it flew back the way it came.

It was indeed a giant locust, just like those in the locust plague from his previous life!

Yang Junshan suppressed his mixed feelings of fear and excitement, carefully pushing aside the branches and thorns, and a valley appeared before him.

This valley, which should have been covered in grass, was now filled with a bustling mass of black-gray locusts. Only occasionally could he see the ground, which had been stripped of all vegetation except for the bare roots buried in the soil.

The valley could no longer support such a massive number of locusts, but Yang Junshan saw many larvae in the valley. These larvae were the size of adult locusts but lacked fully developed wings. Perhaps because of the presence of these larvae, the locusts in the valley had not yet caused a plague.

However, Yang Junshan could see many locusts flying into the surrounding forests and returning after a short while, some carrying whole leaves in their mouths. When they returned to the valley, the larvae would swarm to them, fighting for the food.

Yang Junshan was stunned. These adult locusts actually knew how to feed their larvae!

Monsters! Could they be monsters?