Chapter 1169: Manhunt Across the Mountains

The patriarch stroked his chin in thought. “Perhaps we can ask the mountain demons for help, just like the time before last. If the target is traveling in the wilderness, wouldn’t being attacked by demons be perfectly normal?”

Demons don't care about the petty affairs of the human world; they'll work if the benefits are sufficient.

He Lingchuan and Dong Rui trekked for a long time through the mountains and finally caught sight of White Ridge.

The surrounding mountains were emerald green, but the peaks of these particular mountains stood out in white, visible from afar.

That wasn't snow; it was just the ashen-white rock.

“We’re here. How do we get in touch with those fox demons?” The mission from Lingshan was to find a three-tailed fox demon. Dong Rui asked him, “Don’t tell me we have to fight first, like ‘no battle, no acquaintance’.”

This was their territory, after all.

“Let’s go to the middle of the mountain first,” He Lingchuan said, pointing up the slope. “Fang Canran provided a method of contact.”

The weather in these mountains was peculiar. Last night's heavy rain had fallen near Jingshan, but not a drop had reached here. The ground was dry, and the Snail Toad would have to stop and rest after just a few miles. So, the two decided to walk up the mountain.

However, as soon as they reached the foot of the mountain, they found their path blocked.

A group of about sixty or seventy people stood there, all soldiers clad in armor and armed with weapons. Their standard military armor was quite refined; He Lingchuan was sure he had never seen it before.

Before He Lingchuan could speak, two soldiers stepped forward. “Who goes there?”

Meeting travelers in the wilderness, they naturally had to ask.

“We are traveling merchants from Julu Port, on our way to Yao State for business.”

“Our army is hunting demons; the road ahead is closed,” the soldier warned them. “No matter where you’re going, you must take a detour.”

“Which army is this?”

“We are from Yao State.”

Dong Rui was surprised. “What happened on this mountain?”

What a coincidence that they arrived now.

“A great demon has been devouring people recently, and we have it cornered on the mountain,” the soldier said, pointing eastward. “If you don’t want to die, leave quickly!”

He Lingchuan and Dong Rui thanked him and walked several dozen yards in the direction he indicated. Not until the soldiers could no longer see them did they slip into the nearby jungle.

“I knew this escort mission wouldn’t be simple,” Dong Rui muttered. “The target is trapped on the mountain. We need to find a way to get it out?”

“It seems so. I see many more soldiers in the woods. Yao State has probably surrounded the mountain,” He Lingchuan said without hesitation. “Summon the Snail Toad.”

They were here to retrieve someone, and it was best not to directly confront the Yao State army.

But the first step of the escort mission was thwarted because the Snail Toad only burrowed half a *li* up the mountain before it couldn't move any further—

A barrier! No passage ahead!

“Whoa, the Yao State army actually set up a movement-restricting barrier on White Ridge?” Dong Rui gasped in amazement. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen anyone this wealthy and powerful.”

A movement-restricting barrier was a common formation. It wasn't difficult to set up, but it was very energy-intensive, and the larger the covered area, the disproportionately greater the amount of profound crystals consumed.

Even during intense siege battles, a movement-restricting formation couldn't be kept active indefinitely. Ordinary countries and cities couldn't afford this money-guzzler.

“You’ve experienced this more than once, haven’t you?”

“That was in Beijia,” Dong Rui shook his head. “The Demon Emperor sent General Goldhorn to capture us.”

Beijia had found their whereabouts and set up a movement-restricting formation in advance, effectively sealing off the entire mountain. But they had seen through it and escaped beforehand.

This was the Glimmering Gold Plain! Yao State could actually use a movement-restricting barrier across an entire mountain just to capture one great demon.

This gave He Lingchuan the impression that he might have previously underestimated Yao State’s strength.

After the coup in Boguo, he had thought there wouldn't be any truly powerful states on the Glimmering Gold Plain.

Dong Rui habitually asked him, “What now?”

“Find someone to ask, then go in.”

The two surfaced again and looked for an opportunity around the barrier's perimeter. They both casually put on masks. He Lingchuan wore a dragon-head mask, while Dong Rui wore a wolf-head mask. These had been prepared before leaving Yangshan Archipelago—who knew if the Yao army had aerial scouts? They didn't want to expose themselves.

But the Yao State army was quite cautious; they patrolled in groups of five.

He Lingchuan waited patiently for a while until a soldier finally went off alone to relieve himself.

The unlucky fellow was just about to head back when he fell into Dong Rui’s clutches.

He was no fearless warrior. After being roughed up by the Ghost Ape a few times, he confessed, his eyes already bruised black.

First, his answers confirmed the most crucial intelligence:

The Yao State army's target was the same as He Lingchuan’s: a den of fox demons.

The hunt had been going on for three days. The fox demons kept changing locations, with the army in relentless pursuit. Unfortunately, White Ridge was crisscrossed by too many tunnels, perhaps the result of the fox demons' meticulous construction over time. Three days had passed, and the fox demons were still eluding capture across the mountain.

White Ridge was not a single peak; it consisted of five mountain peaks.

For the past few days, the Yao State army had been trying to encircle them to narrow down their area of activity. Barring any surprises, they would likely be caught in a net-like capture.

Of course, since the fox demons had held out for so long, the unexpected had arrived as scheduled.

He Lingchuan, who was coming to rescue them, had arrived, hadn't he?

But he also received some bad news:

The fox demon had sustained serious injuries in the past few days.

“Not good,” He Lingchuan murmured. “This is really not good.”

The information he received from Fang Canran indicated that the fox demon had fought with Yao State months ago, and its injuries had not fully healed. Now it had new injuries. “Tsk, this escort mission might just turn into a rescue mission.”

“We’ll have to make Mou State pay more for this later,” Dong Rui said, looking up at the sky. “It’s getting dark soon, a good opportunity for us to go up the mountain. However, once we go up, it won’t be easy to come down.”

With the entire mountain under a movement-restricting barrier, they and the fox demon would have to walk their way out.

Next, He Lingchuan asked the captive about the encirclement setup. But this fellow was just a low-ranking soldier, only responsible for his own duties, and had limited knowledge.

He Lingchuan only learned that the commander of this operation was named Yu, a General of Heavy Arms in Yao State.

The title sounded like unparalleled bravery, but it was actually a general with a non-specific rank.

Yao State had been established for a long time and had many such generals. General Yu was only twenty-five years old and was the fastest-rising among them.

For this operation, he led seventeen hundred Yao soldiers to encircle and suppress the great demon Three-Tail. They had blocked several tunnel exits beforehand; otherwise, the difficulty of the capture would have at least doubled.

After clarifying these details, the two dealt with the captive and proceeded into the mountain.

Avoiding the Yao soldiers on the mountain was also easy for them. All these units carried high-held pine-oil torches. From a distance, the entire mountain was dotted with specks of light, glowing everywhere.

This was done intentionally by the Yao army to drive the fox demons into a panicked frenzy, but it objectively facilitated He Lingchuan and Dong Rui’s movements.

By observing where the torchlights were sparse, they knew those areas had either already been searched or were likely where the fox demons were hiding.

“This doesn’t look good,” Dong Rui said, shading his eyes with his hand. “It seems the fox demons don’t have much room to maneuver. Our arrival at this moment is good luck for them.”