Chapter 814: For What?

The Purple-Winged Skyspan Beast flew extremely fast, covering a distance of over a thousand li in a short amount of time.

In the majestic and continuous Hongyuan Mountain Range, a colossal peak was shrouded in mist. The sun shone upon it, reflecting a myriad of colors. From a distance, spiritual energy surged, and various birds and beasts flew within, making it appear like a fairyland.

"This is Cloudmist Ridge!" Recalling Luo Qiqi's description, Zhang Xuan's gaze became solemn.

Even before arriving, he felt the dense spiritual energy of the mountain range, as if a natural Spirit Gathering Formation stood within the mountains. It was clear, without a doubt, that such a treasure trove would undoubtedly attract countless powerful spirit beasts.

"Hurry!" Knowing that Wei Changfeng might be in danger, Zhang Xuan did not hesitate and quickly reached the foot of the mountain. The Skyspan Beast seemed to sense something terrifying, stubbornly refusing to fly further into the mountains. Zhang Xuan had no choice but to leave it guarding there and ascended the mountain alone.

"Eye of Insight!" The Red Dust Heaven-Treading Steps activated, and he floated in the air, scanning left and right, searching for traces.

Cloudmist Ridge spanned hundreds of kilometers, its area vast. Moreover, with mist enveloping everything, visibility was very low. If he searched aimlessly without direction, he wouldn't find anyone even after a year.

If he couldn't even find the person, how could he save them?

"Hmm? No traces left?" After a quick scan, he found nothing. Zhang Xuan frowned.

Logically, the other party had only passed by less than a day ago. As long as traces were left, the Eye of Insight would definitely be able to find them. But after careful observation, not a single trace remained. What was going on?

"Wei Changfeng must have deliberately erased them..." After a moment's thought, Zhang Xuan understood.

Entering a mountain range with numerous Saint Beasts, if traces were left, it would be easy for them to be discovered and tracked, leading to danger. Wei Changfeng surely knew this and deliberately erased his tracks, ascending the mountain stealthily. Firstly, to evade the detection of the many Saint Beasts, and secondly, to better conceal himself and increase his safety.

"How am I supposed to find him now?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

He had originally thought that as long as the other party left traces, finding him would be easy with the Eye of Insight. But with nothing there, how could he search? In such a vast mountain range, if he searched blindly, not to mention whether he could save anyone, it was unknown if he himself might get trapped and be unable to escape.

"Right!" As he was feeling conflicted, an idea struck him, and a beehive the size of a football appeared in his palm.

Myriad Ant Beehive! When it came to finding people, objects, or reporting information, this fellow was definitely much stronger than him.

The Myriad Ant Queen Bee appeared before him. After not seeing it for a few days, the entire beast had lost a lot of weight, and its body was twisted like a pancake.

"What happened to you?" It was normal when I saw you last, why are you like this now?

The Myriad Ant Queen Bee rolled its eyes. *How did I become like this? Don't you have any idea? You stuffed a huge Purple Yang Beast into my small dwelling. I was literally squeezed into this state. If I wasn't lucky, I might have already died!* Though depressed, it dared not complain. It could only let out a low growl.

"Alright, I called you out to help me investigate Cloudmist Ridge. I need to find someone!" Knowing there wasn't time to dwell on this, Zhang Xuan said no more and waved his hand. He was proficient in ancient beast language, so communicating with it was no problem.

The Myriad Ant Queen Bee quickly understood his meaning. It nodded, swayed in place, and spat out a spherical object. *Buzzzzz!* The sphere expanded rapidly upon contact with the air. A moment later, a buzzing sound emanated from it, and countless Myriad Ant Bees flew out, silently spreading in all directions.

"Master, there are no human traces nearby!" A few minutes later, the Myriad Ant Queen Bee reported.

"None?" Zhang Xuan frowned. "Continue searching uphill, and also investigate the situation of the Saint Beasts in the vicinity. Report their range in advance if you find any!"

"Yes!" The Myriad Ant Queen Bee nodded and communicated with the Myriad Ant Bees through a special method.

"Ascend the mountain!" Soon, the Myriad Ant Queen Bee reported the distribution of the spirit beasts in the surroundings. Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

At the foot of the mountain, the highest cultivation level was merely the Void-Treading realm, with no Saint Beasts present. Knowing this, he found a safe route in advance. Zhang Xuan, accompanied by the Myriad Ant Queen Bee, quietly flew up the mountain.

"Master, there seem to be traces of a battle ahead..." After advancing for a while, the Myriad Ant Queen Bee transmitted a message.

"Are there any bodies?" Zhang Xuan looked over.

"No human bodies!" Knowing what he was worried about, the Myriad Ant Queen Bee nodded.

"Show me!" Zhang Xuan's expression was grim.

"Alright!" The Myriad Ant Queen Bee pointed the direction, and Zhang Xuan quietly flew there. It wasn't long before he indeed saw traces of a battle.

The Eye of Insight shimmered as he observed carefully.

"Roughly ten to twelve hours ago..."

"He must have fought three Azure Sound Beasts. Although these spirit beasts were only at the Unification realm and not strong, their noses were extremely sensitive, and they must have picked up his scent and tracked him down. With no way to avoid them, he had no choice but to engage."

"These Azure Sound Beasts were all killed by a single blow from him. However, the last one roared before dying. In his haste, Wei Changfeng smashed its head. Although he killed it, the Azure Sound Beast's cry was loud and must have alerted many other spirit beasts!"

Soon, he had an analysis. This battle started quickly and ended even faster; it didn't last long. But when the battle began, spiritual energy surged, effectively exposing his location, which would inevitably attract the attention of other spirit beasts, and even Saint Beasts.

If he intended to go deeper, the trouble would be significant.

"He went in that direction!" After analyzing the battle, his eyes flashed. Zhang Xuan found a faint trace left by Wei Changfeng and quickly pursued it.

It had to be said that this Spirit Material Master was indeed very clever. Knowing his whereabouts were exposed, he chose a narrow mountain path to ascend. There was only one path here, making it difficult even for ambushes or encirclements. Moreover, given the large size of spirit beasts and the relatively smaller size of humans, it was easier to hide.

However, there was also a significant drawback: if he were discovered, it would be like being trapped in a cage, and escaping would be impossible.

Advancing along the mountain path, he soon found many slain spirit beasts: Unification realm, Void-Treading realm, Cocoon-Sealing realm... The spirit beasts' levels grew higher and higher, and the battles became increasingly fierce. After walking for a while, he actually saw a Half-Saint level beast. It was a Black-Faced Iron Bear, its head cleanly split by a single strike, dead on the spot.

"A Half-Saint level has appeared; the ones ahead will only get stronger!" His expression grew increasingly grim.

He had encountered a Half-Saint level beast even before reaching halfway up the mountain. The more he killed, the more formidable Saint Beasts he would attract. Even if Wei Changfeng was a Saint Realm expert, he probably wouldn't last much longer.

"Speed up!" Fearing that something might have happened to the other party, Zhang Xuan accelerated. He didn't know if the high-level spirit beasts and Saint Beasts had been drawn away by Wei Changfeng or for other reasons. Additionally, with the Myriad Ant Queen Bee's early warnings, he didn't encounter any significant danger along the way.

However, the deeper he went, the more his eyelids twitched.

He soon stopped before traces of a battle. The surrounding vegetation had been flattened by the aftershocks of the battle, extending for hundreds of meters, filled with massive craters. Many rocks along the mountain path had also been split in half or reduced to dust. In short, the area was a complete mess.

"It was three Exalted Saint-level Black-tailed Foxes!" The Eye of Insight shone as he analyzed the battle scene. Zhang Xuan's face was as still as water.

Although Exalted Saint-level Black-tailed Foxes were not as strong as Wei Changfeng, these creatures were cunning and agile, skilled in sneak attacks. From the surrounding traces, Wei Changfeng was clearly injured.

Bending down, he grabbed something from the ground. A fragment of clothing appeared in his palm, stained with blood.

"This was from two hours ago..." He clenched his fist.

Knowing he was getting closer to his newly recruited subordinate, he sped up and continued forward.

He hadn't gone far when he discovered more battle traces. These were even more intense. Two Saint Realm spirit beasts lay dead on the ground, and in the mouth of one massive beast, an arm was clenched, the blood still wet.

"It's his arm!" His eyebrows twitched wildly.

He recognized this arm; it was Wei Changfeng's. Having been ambushed by a Saint Realm spirit beast here, one of his arms had been bitten off. Although he had also killed his opponent, his injuries were severe, and he probably couldn't have gone much further.

He searched around again, finding not only the arm but also blood everywhere. It seemed Wei Changfeng had sustained extremely severe injuries.

"This guy... isn't he just risking his life... If he really couldn't gather the Cloudmist Flower, they could think of other methods..." His expression was grim.

He had already encountered Saint Beasts of similar strength to his own. Knowing he couldn't pass, he should have given up. If the Cloudmist Flower couldn't be found, there were other ways. Why insist on risking his life? He would die like this! If a person was dead, what good would gathering the Cloudmist Flower do?

He rapidly moved forward, traveling another few hundred meters. He then saw a long saber, stuck into the rock wall of the mountain path. It was drenched in fresh blood, indicating a Saint Beast had just been killed.

Along the way, he had seen many spirit beasts killed by a saber. Zhang Xuan already knew that Wei Changfeng's weapon was a peerless-grade long saber. He hurried forward and pulled it out.

"Broken?" Only after pulling the saber out did he discover that it was broken into two pieces. It seemed to have been cut by some sharp weapon. The rocks around it were stained crimson with blood, presenting a gruesome sight.

A weapon was a martial artist's life. With his saber broken, what exactly had Wei Changfeng encountered?

He lowered his head and looked around. With a flicker of his body, he picked up a thick strand of hair.

"Saint Realm 1-dan pinnacle... hair of a Gigantopithecus Beast?" His face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot.

Finding the hair of a Gigantopithecus Beast here, didn't it indicate that Wei Changfeng had encountered such a formidable Saint Beast?

Wei Changfeng's cultivation was merely at Saint Realm 1-dan mid-tier, not even reaching the late-tier. He would find it difficult to defeat a Saint Realm 1-dan mid-tier Saint Beast. Encountering one at the pinnacle... he couldn't possibly resist!

Spirit Beasts and Saint Beasts of the same level, due to their size, had stronger combat power than Master Teachers of the same level, let alone ordinary martial artists.

"He's truly in danger this time; he might not survive..." He couldn't help but look ahead, filled with worry.

As long as he didn't insist on pushing forward, with his strength, he should have been able to escape. With such severe injuries, what was he fighting for?