Chapter 698

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In the palm of Gu Ruochen’s hand, a small, thumb-sized spiritual sparrow slowly unfolded its wings, its body radiating a gentle green light.

“This is a Golden Search Sparrow, a type of small spiritual pet that I keep,” Gu Ruochen said with a smile. “When Qi Ying approached me for cooperation, she showed me the map. I took it and sprinkled Golden Search Powder on it. This powder is the Golden Search Sparrow’s favorite thing. It can easily detect its scent even from tens or hundreds of miles away!”

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

Upon hearing this, the others’ expressions brightened. If the map was fake, they could still find Su Jinyue and the young man and eliminate them. Qi Ying had quite a few spiritual points on her, and they were all envious that Su Jinyue and the young man had gotten their hands on them. And if the map was genuine, the prospect of a high-quality spiritual treasure was even more enticing.

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

“Right…” The group of dozens immediately sprang into action.

On the other side, Ye Wushuang and Su Jinyue set off, following the map’s directions as they traversed through dense forests and crossed over numerous mountain ranges. Su Jinyue found it quite strange. The deeper they went, the higher the class of spiritual beasts that should be living there. These beasts were powerful, typically occupying territories spanning several miles or even tens of miles. However, after traveling over a hundred miles, they hadn’t encountered a single spiritual beast.

But Su Jinyue wasn’t naive. Ye Wushuang was leading the way, sometimes taking detours, clearly avoiding the territories of those spiritual beasts. As they walked along a mountain path, Su Jinyue curiously asked, “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 come near. Ordinary beasts, first-class spiritual beasts, and second-class spiritual beasts usually use their feces or urine. But third and fourth-class spiritual beasts have unique ways. It could be fur, plants they like, or even the bones and blood of the spiritual beasts they’ve hunted…”

As he spoke, Ye Wushuang moved to the sides of the path and soon returned with a tuft of fur and a small, 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 Swallowing Flame Tiger. Its fur is bright red and has a distinctive firestone scent. It often patrols its territory and leaves these shed fur strands.”

“And this bone fragment belongs to a second-class high-level spiritual beast, the Three-Eyed Mink. The Three-Eyed Mink shouldn’t be in this area, so it must have been left by a third-class mid-level spiritual beast, the Green-Scaled Beast, which preys on Three-Eyed Minks. It serves both as a display of its power and as a territorial marker.”

“So, the area to the left is most likely the territory of the Swallowing Flame Tiger, and the area to the right is probably the territory of the Green-Scaled Beast. The path we’re on is the boundary line. Even if these two beasts sense our presence, they won’t dare to come near rashly…”

“Unless we have extremely bad luck and both of them 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 us, 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 as comprehensive as an encyclopedia, and he explained everything in a clear and logical manner. Even the top-tier experts she had encountered in the Lingjian Mountain didn’t possess such extensive knowledge.

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 couldn’t know so much…”

With his exceptional strength, the aura of a swordsman, and his extraordinary knowledge, he was definitely not someone who could be considered a genius from the Qingyun Empire.

Ye Wushuang ignored her.

“Come on, Ye Wushuang, tell me. You’ve saved me twice, and I won’t harm you,” Su Jinyue urged.

“Is that so?” Ye Wushuang smiled. “In that case, why don’t you tell me the relationship between the Lingjian Pavilion and Lingjian Mountain?”

“Never mind,” Su Jinyue muttered.

The two continued on their way, but soon Ye Wushuang abruptly stopped. “There’s a fight going on!” he said, looking to the left front. There was a thicket of thorns blocking their view. They quietly approached and hid in the shadows, only to see a valley ahead with its entrance wide open, littered with broken stones.

At the entrance, 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 and ability to run swiftly. Even a fourth-class spiritual beast would struggle to catch up with a Unicorn Colt at full speed.

“Look over there…” Su Jinyue’s eyes widened in surprise as she recognized the figures. “That’s Shui Wanrong and Zhu Yushu from our Lingjian Mountain!”

“Our Lingjian Mountain has quite a few outstanding talents this time, and the most famous one is Li Wenbo, whose swordsmanship is extraordinary. These two are also very formidable!” Su Jinyue continued.

However, Ye Wushuang just smiled and said, “No matter how formidable they are, they are still doomed.”

Upon hearing this, Su Jinyue’s expression froze.