Chapter 2191

The stone-paved path led deep into the forest, and after walking along it for ten or so minutes, Su Xiao came to a fork in the road.

Su Xiao glanced at the map and learned that to the left ahead lay Yongyue City, while to the right ahead lay the Yuan She Manor.

Based on Su Xiao's speculation, the nature of Yongyue City was actually similar to Arlan City of the Sela Empire, inhabited by many civilians; as for the Yuan She Manor, it was an extremely dangerous zone, guarded by over a thousand Tianba warriors.

Walking half a kilometer or so along the right-hand path, the gravel road gradually widened, but the surroundings grew increasingly quiet—the insect chirping faded, and the birds and beasts that had been frequently seen earlier had vanished without a trace.

After continuing forward for two kilometers, a wooden bridge appeared ahead, beneath which the river rushed violently, scouring bridge piers nearly half a meter thick.

The wooden bridge was constructed very smoothly, and on the wooden pilings at the bridgehead were carved fork-tailed snakes; at the top, thick ropes were tied, with purple ribbons hanging down from them, fluttering in the wind.

After crossing the wooden bridge, stone steps appeared ahead, with only a few withered leaves scattered on them, indicating that this place was often swept clean.

Su Xiao followed the steps forward, and a breeze blew past, causing the trees on both sides to rustle.

Soon, the steps came to an end, the terrain began to level, and a large complex of pavilions and towers came into view ahead.

These pavilions were built very densely, varying in height, with several hundred structures; although numerous, they formed a unified whole—the Yuan She Manor had arrived.

The Yuan She Manor was built against the mountain, a large mountain range leveled, with only a remaining mountain range behind it, which looked like a backdrop to the Yuan She Manor.

A doorway nearly ten meters high stood ahead, and before it, four Tianba people stood, their skin light blue, with a visible sheen—some kind of mucus.

Moreover, on the lower jaw of each of these four Tianba people grew transparent whiskers, about as thick as a little finger, roughly ten centimeters long, with very fine tips, some even split at the end.

The aura of these Tianba people was completely different from those seen in Qian Shou Village; although the Tianba of Qian Shou Village were fierce, at least they had no mucus on their bodies.

The Tianba people before the Yuan She Manor gate, however, seemed more inclined toward imminent mutation—their aura was unstable, ferocious, brutal, and gloomy.

Su Xiao picked up a stone from the ground, gesturing for Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang and Am to hide nearby, while Bahah scouted from above, but not too close to the Yuan She Manor.

Su Xiao threw the stone in his hand toward the doorway.

Thud—

The stone struck the door panel, and the four Tianba people suddenly lifted their heads, their dark blue eyes scanning the surroundings.

Su Xiao gripped the hilt of his knife at his waist; he had not concealed his presence, for these four Tianba people were nothing—he could easily handle them.

Their eyes met, and the four Tianba people stared at Su Xiao for a moment before turning and coming to the tall wooden door, where the four of them joined forces to push open the two double doors, which boomed loudly.

"Time, right?"

"No one dares to impersonate..."

The four Tianba people spoke in low voices; from their tone, it could be heard that their minds seemed not entirely clear.

Seeing this, Su Xiao felt somewhat surprised—those four Tianba people seemed to have misunderstood something.

"Don't just stand there—drink the... source water, then go to Qian Shou Village."

One Tianba person urged him on; seeing this, Su Xiao stepped forward, having already mastered the Tianba language and able to adapt on the fly.

"Has the person arrived? Why so slow?"

A female voice came from within the gate.

"Arrived..."

"Let him hurry..."

Before the words finished, the female voice suddenly shouted: "It's an outsider!"

A female Tianba person rushed out from within the wooden gate, wielding a nearly 1.2-meter-long sword without a hand guard, her attire much fresher, her skin free of mucus, and she wore an ornament on her ear.

The infiltration failed; Su Xiao drew his long sword from his waist and stepped forward swiftly.

Clang!

The swords clashed, shockwaves spreading, the ground beneath the female Tianba person's feet cracking, but she shifted her body, dragging her sword forward.

With a sizzle, sparks flew; the female Tianba person spun like a dancing butterfly, executing a rotating slash, her sword swinging toward Su Xiao's throat.

Pfft!

The Dragon-Slaying Flash thrust downward, piercing straight through the female Tianba person's chest, penetrating her heart, pinning this "butterfly" to the ground.

Su Xiao grabbed the female Tianba person's chin with one hand and jerked his arm.

Crack—

The long sword in the female Tianba person's hand flew loose, clanging as it fell to the ground.

Su Xiao picked up the spirit money bag from the ground and looked toward the four Tianba people before the gate.

This was the absolute gap in technique: the moment before the female Tianba person's rotating slash, Su Xiao had already predicted her move, making what followed simple—no need to dodge, but rather to strike faster, piercing the enemy's vital point with a single blade.

The four Tianba people approached head-on, three wielding long swords, one unarmed; though they had seemed mentally unclear earlier, once combat began, they all returned to normal.

As long as these Tianba people did not carry bows and arrows or jump around chaotically, Su Xiao would find them much easier to handle—of course, provided their number did not exceed a certain limit.

Just as this thought formed in Su Xiao's mind, over a dozen figures leapt onto the doorway, all holding long bows, their skin coated with a layer of mucus.

Seeing these over a dozen Tianba people, Su Xiao immediately leapt backward—this was unwinnable; the four close-combat Tianba people were already tough enough, and adding these over a dozen mucus-natured Tianba people made victory impossible.

Thud, thud, thud...

Arrow after arrow struck the ground near Su Xiao; as he leapt back, he swung his sword forward, clanging as he severed an incoming arrow.

Su Xiao had just landed when he stopped in place; over a dozen arrows had sunk into the ground near him. To counter predicted arrows, the most effective method was simply to stand still.

Cold ice spread across the ground, causing the four rushing "Qin-natured" Tianba people to slow their steps; seizing the opportunity, Su Xiao flashed his body several times and retreated to a safe distance.

After rushing out a few hundred meters, Su Xiao noticed that the Tianba people behind were not pursuing him, and he felt relieved to find that the Qin-natured Tianba people were not difficult to deal with—their Qin ability could not be transmitted to the Dragon-Slaying Flash, thus posing no threat to him.

After waiting about half an hour, Su Xiao returned to the main gate of the Yuan She Manor.

The four Tianba people covered in mucus still stood there with heads lowered at this time, leading Su Xiao to conclude that as long as he did not clash with them, they would remain in a state of mental confusion, possibly even mistaking him for someone else.

The Eye of the Apostle floated beside Su Xiao; after sensing, he understood the situation: these mucus-covered Tianba people differed from normal Tianba people not by much—the issue lay in the "Source·Corrosion" ability.

The "Source·Corrosion" ability of normal Tianba warriors was around level 45, whereas these mucus-covered Tianba people had "Source·Corrosion" ability as high as level 70.

The higher the degree of "Source" corrosion, the more confused the Tianba people's minds became; through Su Xiao's preliminary tests, he learned that although sound would startle such Tianba people, as long as he did not engage them in combat, they would not become overly aggressive.

Upon learning this, Su Xiao felt relieved; just as he was preparing to infiltrate the Yuan She Manor, Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang quickly ran up to his side.

"Woof."

"As expected, her destination is not the Abyssal Serpent Manor."

Su Xiao glanced at the Abyssal Serpent Manor ahead, then turned back the way he came, first crossing the wooden bridge, running about two kilometers, and reaching the fork in the gravel road.

As Su Xiao just arrived at the fork, several wildflowers by the roadside 'came to life' — these were plant lives irrigated by Xiang Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang using the 【Natural Spring】.

Equipment Effect 1: Spring of Life (Passive): This equipment can gather natural energy……

Note: If the Spring of Life is used to irrigate ordinary plants, it can grant them spiritual life for a certain period.

……

The existence cycle of several small wildflowers is very short, only about thirteen hours, after all, Xiang Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang had diluted the 'Spring of Life' with water before irrigating them — no, he had mixed some Spring of Life into a large bucket of water.

A total of 107 plant lives are distributed in this area, and they have only one mission: to wait for Benny, so that Benny can quickly contact Xiang Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang through them.

And all of this is prepared for Xi, unless she is extraordinarily lucky and also manages to erase all traces along the way.

What is Benny best at? Of course, treasure hunting, but treasure hunting cannot rely solely on luck, so it must pay attention to the traces left along the path it travels; over time, Benny has become accustomed to it, and habit has become instinct.

Benny did not take five days — it only took half an hour to find Xi's traces near the Front Guard Village, and then, through the sensing of plant life, it contacted Xiang Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang.

Benny is good at tracking traces, but for tracking, Xiang Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang is more professional.

"Meow."

Benny, hiding in the grass, let out a cry, and Xiang Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang quickly stepped forward, following Benny to the place where Xi had appeared.

Twelve minutes later, Xiang Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang arrived at the place Xi had passed through.

"There are still spatial fluctuations, very faint and unstable; Xi's spatial-system teammate is only a half-baked spatial-system user."

Bahamut observed for a moment and drew a conclusion.

Xiang Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang began searching nearby, nostrils flaring.

"Woof."

"Track."

"Woof!"

Xiang Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang started running fast, and after each segment of distance, it would stop and continue searching — it was not tracking by scent, but by aura.

Xiang Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang's running speed kept increasing, while Bahamut flew high in the sky, its sharp eyes locking onto any suspicious thing.

Indeed, being stared down by Su Xiao is just this kind of experience — either don't give him any chance, or if there is a chance, he will drag the enemy out.

After Su Xiao's team advanced at full speed for nearly three hours, they finally burst out of the forest, and Bahamut swooped down from high altitude.

"Found it! East, 1.7 li outside, three people total, no transportation."

"..."

Su Xiao said nothing, only quickened his pace.

……

1.7 li outside, Xi was sitting on a fallen dead tree, the grassland breeze gentle, stirring her silver long hair.

"Xi, there's something I don't know whether I should say."

Mi Tang raised her head to gaze at the sky, her eyes thoughtful.

"Speak."

Xi put down the compressed food in her hand.

"Well, someone is tracking us — don't look at me like that. I only sensed it just now, and given their speed, we can't escape; they're already two hundred meters away — ah, no, wrong — they've already… flown over here."

As Mi Tang's words fell,

Boom!

Mud flew sideways, smoke and dust rose.

In the smoke and dust, Su Xiao brushed off the grass leaves on his shoulder; Am threw his launched object with a slight deviation, so it didn't directly hit Xi.

Smoke and dust drifted; Xi calmly rose from the dead tree, and when the smoke and dust completely cleared, she saw Su Xiao's face clearly.

At this moment, Xi's pupils rapidly contracted, and various memories surged into her mind — high temperature, explosion, solar flame, and……that desperate situation from before.

Just then, Am landed with a thunderous boom behind Su Xiao, the wind pressure from his fall stirring Su Xiao's clothes, and Bahamut swooped down from high altitude, landing on Am's shoulder.

Layers of cold air rose, white cold mist swirling, the red glow in Su Xiao's eyes especially prominent, and his vital energy spread outward around him.