Chapter 698

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With a gentle grasp and release of his palm, Gu Ruochen unveiled a tiny, thumb-sized spiritual sparrow that fluttered its wings, radiating an ethereal green glow.

“This is a Golden Search Sparrow, a small spiritual pet I’ve raised,” Gu Ruochen said with a smile. “When Qi Ying approached me for cooperation, she showed me the map. I took it and sprinkled it with Golden Search Powder, which is the sparrow’s favorite. No matter the distance, even if it’s tens or hundreds of miles away, it can easily detect it!”

“With it leading the way, we will surely find Su Jinyue and that young man,” he continued confidently.

Upon hearing this, the others’ faces lit up with hope. If the map was fake, they could still kill Su Jinyue and the young man. Qi Ying had quite a few spiritual points on her, and the group had been coveting them. But if the map was genuine, the prospect of a royal-level spiritual object was even more enticing.

“What are we waiting for? Let’s go!” someone exclaimed.

“Right,” the others agreed, and dozens of people immediately set off.

On the other side, Ye Wushuang and Su Jinyue embarked on their journey, following the map’s directions through dense forests and across towering mountains. Su Jinyue felt puzzled. The deeper they ventured, the higher the class of spiritual beasts they should encounter. These beasts were powerful, usually dominating territories spanning tens or even hundreds of miles. Yet, after traveling over a hundred miles, they hadn’t encountered a single one.

But Su Jinyue wasn’t naive. Ye Wushuang was leading the way, sometimes taking detours, clearly avoiding the territories of these spiritual beasts. As they walked along a mountain path, Su Jinyue asked curiously, “Ye Wushuang, how do you know how to avoid the territories of those spiritual beasts?”

“By relying on my nose and eyes,” Ye Wushuang replied directly.

By nose and eyes? How was that possible?

Seeing Su Jinyue’s puzzled expression, Ye Wushuang continued, “Generally, third- and fourth-class spiritual beasts mark their territories to warn others not to approach. Lower-class beasts, like ordinary animals, first-class, and second-class spiritual beasts, usually use their feces or urine. But third- and fourth-class beasts have unique ways. It could be fur, their favorite spiritual plants, or even the bones and blood of the spiritual beasts they’ve hunted…”

As he spoke, Ye Wushuang moved to both sides of the path and soon returned with a tuft of fur and a thumb-sized bone fragment.

“This tuft of fur has a faint smell of firestone. It must have been left by a third-class mid-level spiritual beast, the Flame-Swallowing Tiger. Its fur is bright red and has a unique firestone scent. It often patrols its territory, leaving behind these shed hairs.”

“And this bone fragment belongs to a second-class high-level spiritual beast, the Three-Eyed Mink. Since the Three-Eyed Mink shouldn’t be in this area, it was likely left by a third-class mid-level beast that preys on them, the Azure-Scaled Beast. It serves both as a display of its power and as a territorial marker.”

“So, the area to the left is probably the Flame-Swallowing Tiger’s territory, and the one to the right is likely the Azure-Scaled Beast’s. The path we’re on is the boundary line. Even if the two beasts sense our presence, they won’t dare to approach recklessly…”

“Unless we’re extremely unlucky and both beasts happen to be patrolling their territories and spot us. But even if we’re discovered, we can escape to the other beast’s territory. If they dare to pursue, the two beasts will likely clash, and it could turn into a fierce battle to the death. We might even be able to take advantage of the situation…”

Hearing this, Su Jinyue looked at Ye Wushuang in disbelief. His knowledge of these spiritual beasts was encyclopedic, and he spoke with such clarity and confidence. Even the strongest warriors she had encountered in the Spirit Sword Mountain didn’t possess such profound insights.

Suddenly, Su Jinyue said, “I’m certain that you must have been taught by some great power from the Central Continent of Tianyuan. It must have been an extraordinary adventure, otherwise you wouldn’t know so much…”

His exceptional strength, his extraordinary swordsmanship, and his remarkable knowledge—none of these were traits of a genius from the Qingyun Empire.

Ye Wushuang ignored her.

“Go ahead, tell me, Ye Wushuang. You’ve saved me twice, and I wouldn’t harm you.”

“Is that so?” Ye Wushuang smiled. “Then tell me, what is the relationship between the Spirit Sword Pavilion and Spirit Sword Mountain?”

“Never mind,” Su Jinyue replied, and they continued on their way.

However, not long after, Ye Wushuang suddenly stopped. “There’s a fight!” he said, looking toward the left front. There was a thicket of thorns blocking their view. The two of them quietly approached and hid in the shadows, only to see a valley ahead with an open mouth and a ground littered with broken stones.

At the entrance of the valley, there were about twenty people, all dressed in the same uniform, surrounding and attacking a spiritual beast.

“It’s a Unicorn Colt,” Ye Wushuang whispered.

The Unicorn Colt is a third-class low-level spiritual beast. Although it is classified as third-class, its combat strength is barely at the Tian Gang level. Its main advantage is its incredible speed, capable of running so fast that even a fourth-class spiritual beast would struggle to catch it.

“That’s…” Su Jinyue’s eyes widened in surprise as she recognized the figures. “It’s Shui Wanrong and Zhu Yushu from our Spirit Sword Mountain!”

“Our Spirit Sword Mountain has many outstanding talents this time, and the most famous among them is Li Wenbo, whose swordsmanship is extraordinary. These two are also very capable!” Su Jinyue continued.

Ye Wushuang, however, smiled and said, “No matter how capable they are, they are doomed in a moment.”

Upon hearing this, Su Jinyue’s expression froze.