Chapter 87

"Looking at the direction from which Brother Li Ying returned, it is in the west, where the Black Wind Mountain is located, right?"

Qin Xianyu took the Cicada Wing Step, his body moving like a gust of wind, darting through the forest.

When he heard that a child had been taken by the gray ape, he immediately put on his long sword, hung the black bee bag, and was determined to go and save the child.

Today, the old man had answered many of his questions, speaking openly and with a good personality. Seeing him sigh with melancholy, he dismissed the crowd, his face filled with sorrow.

Looking at that sorrowful figure, Qin Xianyu felt genuine sympathy, and his desire to save the child became even more urgent.

"If I had known this, I should have chased after them during the day, cut down the gray ape, and hoped that the fierce ape hadn't had time to act."

"It's really strange, no fierce creatures have entered the village for decades, but it happened tonight? Unfortunately, I was meditating and didn't pay attention to the surroundings. Otherwise, I might have noticed the gray ape."

Qin Xianyu moved like the wind, fully utilizing the Cicada Wing Step. His footsteps were as light as the fluttering of cicada wings, gently brushing past the treetops.

In the distance, a mountain peak could be seen, stretching out.

But Qin Xianyu already knew that this was the Black Wind Mountain.

A wind blew in his face.

The night was pitch black, so the wind was also black.

Wind itself has no color, but it appears colored due to the dust and debris it carries.

At night, the wind is naturally black.

This was a very normal occurrence, but in Qin Xianyu's eyes, it was extremely abnormal.

The wind was black.

It wasn't because of the darkness of the night or any other reason, but because this wind was inherently black.

To be precise, the wind was gray.

Qin Xianyu stopped, silent for a long time, and finally said, "Sha Qi (negative energy)."

...

When Wen Xiang was invaded by Sha Qi, he hadn't reached the source of the earth's veins, which is why he couldn't determine the exact location. He could only guess it was within a few miles.

Qin Xianyu originally had doubts about this, but facing this wind, his doubts instantly vanished.

If this gray wind blew on an ordinary person, they would likely catch a cold or other illnesses. For a scholar like Lord Xiang, who was old and frail and had never practiced martial arts, being hit by this gray wind would result in being affected by Sha Qi.

The gray wind made people feel tired.

Qin Xianyu used his innate primordial energy to resist it.

The earth's veins were ahead, even if not on Black Wind Mountain, at least in this western direction.

Qin Xianyu felt excited, but at this moment, his priority was to catch up with the gray ape and save the child before it could harm them.

Li Ying had only seen the gray ape approaching Black Wind Mountain from a distance and hadn't pursued it. Qin Xianyu was confident that with the Cicada Wing Step, he could quickly reach Black Wind Mountain and catch up with the gray ape. However, he wasn't sure if he could save the child before the gray ape acted, as the gray ape had already taken the child and might have already reached Black Wind Mountain and acted.

Qin Xianyu took a deep breath, used the Cicada Wing Step, and stepped onto Black Wind Mountain.

This Black Wind Mountain was barren, with some withered grass, and the few growing tall grass and trees were yellow and gray. The entire mountain seemed very bleak.

"Where is it?"

Qin Xianyu focused his true energy in his eyes and scanned the entire mountain but saw no trace of the gray ape.

However, although the mountain was barren, there were many withered trees and dead grass, which might have hidden the gray ape.

Qin Xianyu carefully observed but found nothing.

But he saw a place,

It was a dark, black cave.

"Could it be hiding here?"

Qin Xianyu used the Cicada Wing Step and approached the cave.

The cave entrance was about two to three yards wide, quite large, and the inside was deep, with no end in sight.

Qin Xianyu used his true energy to look inside but saw only a gray mist, making it hard to see clearly. However, a wind blew, carrying a chill, indicating that the inside was well-ventilated.

But this wind carried Sha Qi!

"Earth's vein Sha Qi?"

Qin Xianyu took a deep breath.

If he followed this cave, he might find the source of the earth's veins, where the Sha Qi was concentrated, but such a place might not be without danger. The fierce creatures likely came from inside.

If Qin Xianyu had known the location of the Sha Qi earlier, he would have returned to the village, used the Golden Elixir, and practiced until he reached the stage of external true energy. Then he would have come back to refine the Sha Qi and achieve the state of Ganga Sha.

But now, there was no time to consider.

The gray ape had likely taken the child into the cave.

Qin Xianyu thought for a moment and said to himself, "With my skills and this sword, the gray ape is no match for me. Even if it has a family, I am not afraid. If there are thousands of gray apes in the cave, I can only retreat. With the Cicada Wing Step, as long as I am not surrounded, I can move freely."

This young Taoist was now highly skilled and bold, but caution was still necessary. He looked down at the black bee bag.

With this nest of winged divine bees, even if there were thousands of gray apes, he would not be afraid.

With his mind made up, he stepped into the cave.

The cave was dark, with gray wind, Sha Qi, and a chill.

He gradually moved deeper into the cave.

He gradually disappeared into the darkness.

...

A crack, like a dry branch breaking.

Qin Xianyu thought he had stepped on a dry branch.

He looked down and stiffened slightly.

It was a bone.

Qin Xianyu was startled and took two steps back, but he was no longer the young boy who was afraid of corpses and bones. He had already shed much blood and taken many lives.

As an ordinary person, he used to have many taboos about corpses and even feared them.

But since he started practicing Taoism, the more he killed, the more indifferent he became.

Now, he could take things from the mangled corpse of Wu Ya, peeling off the jade-dry hands from the corpse's palms, without fear.

Initially, he was startled, but once he calmed down, he had few taboos. He focused and saw that these were not human bones but likely the bones of deer or sheep, which had turned into dry bones over time.

Shaking his head, Qin Xianyu held his sword and continued forward.

He looked at the ground and saw some handprints, as if they had just been made.

"Apes are good at climbing trees, and their feet are like hands. So these handprints are probably the footprints of the gray ape." Qin Xianyu found a clue and sighed in relief, thinking, "It seems I haven't come to the wrong place."

Since he had found the right place, he needed to act quickly.

Qin Xianyu quickened his pace and entered the depths of the cave.

The gray wind in the cave blew, enveloping him in darkness.

A roar, like a tiger or wolf, suddenly echoed.

Qin Xianyu stopped, pressed against the rock wall, and focused.

Despite the mist in the cave, he could still see clearly.

Ahead was a large gray tiger with red eyes, tearing apart a gray wolf. It pressed its paw on the wolf's head, crushing the red eyes into pulp, and then began to eat.

"Besides the gray ape, there are indeed other fierce creatures in this cave." Qin Xianyu took a deep breath and thought, "These red-eyed, gray-furred creatures are not all of the same kind. Although they are fierce beasts, they still fight and eat each other, just like the outside world."

The cave was vast and had many passages. There were also some shrubs and trees growing inside, as well as natural caves.

With these shrubs and trees as cover, some weaker creatures could coexist with fierce beasts like tigers and wolves. Some of the natural caves, large or small, were occupied by fierce beasts as their dens.

For example, under a rock wall, there was a small cave where two gray-furred, red-eyed rabbits lived. These rabbits had sharp teeth and claws, unlike ordinary rabbits.

Qin Xianyu swung his sword, killing the two gray rabbits on the spot.

Then a bat flew down, heading straight for his head.

This was a deadly bat that targeted the head, sucking out brain and blood.

Qin Xianyu was ruthless, and as he swung his sword, a bat wing fell. The bat, having lost a wing, fell to the ground and was finished off by another sword strike.

Following the gray ape's footprints, Qin Xianyu finally found a cave.

He entered the cave and took two steps when a sound came from his side.

The sound whistled past his ear.

It was a claw, like a human hand but covered in gray fur, with sharp nails.

Qin Xianyu looked at it and recognized it as the gray ape from earlier.

The gray ape had a fierce expression, bared its sharp teeth, and its red eyes glowed with violence as it lunged at Qin Xianyu.

Since Qin Xianyu had found it, he didn't hold back. He focused his true energy and swung his sword, just as he did when cutting incense sticks.

A secret sword technique cleared the gray mist.

The gray ape stiffened, a deep cut appearing on its head, and it fell to the ground.

Qin Xianyu held his sword and walked deeper into the cave.

This was the gray ape's den, narrower than the outer passages.

Qin Xianyu entered the innermost part but saw no child or fresh blood. He frowned and muttered, "Where is Cheng Shu's granddaughter?"

"If I had known this, I should have kept the gray ape, but it wouldn't have been useful. It can't speak and can't be interrogated."

Qin Xianyu thought, "Since I haven't seen a body or any signs, it might not have happened."

He tried to think positively, feeling better. Just as he was about to leave, he noticed some fabric at the edge of the cave.

It was a piece of clothing, but not a child's.

Qin Xianyu approached and found more items besides the fabric.

One of the items was a token, with the words "Qin Tian Jian" (Imperial Astronomical Bureau) engraved on it.

"An emblem of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau?"

Qin Xianyu examined the token carefully and began to piece together some events.

...