"Was Brother Wu Huang kidnapped overnight?" Mu Qinlian asked, her beautiful eyes widening with a clear expression of surprise and deep concern. Immediately, without a second thought, she stood up and left her residence.
"Where exactly is he?" she asked the air, or rather, the presence inhabiting her consciousness.
"It is difficult to know precisely. I had left a Divine Trace on him, but there is some sort of interference preventing me from locating him accurately. Judging by the direction of the vibration, he must be on the outskirts of the sect. You should first inform the Head of Servants to obtain some support," suggested her Master's voice.
Mu Qinlian nodded and followed the instructions at once. She arrived at the service area and went directly to the person in charge.
"Wu Huang was kidnapped?" the Head of Servants asked, genuinely confused. He did not expect anyone to take the trouble to abduct a mere servant. "Didn't he just go out for a walk?"
"I can use my name as an Outer Disciple as a guarantee. If anything goes wrong during the search, I will take full responsibility for the consequences," she assured firmly.
"It is not that I wish to insult you, Young Mu, but your rank is not high enough to mobilize official resources. Furthermore, even if I report it to the elders, the probability of the sect sending a squad to search for a mere worker is zero," the man explained pragmatically. Mu Qinlian bit her lip, feeling the helplessness of the hierarchy.
"Fortunately," the chief added, "Wu Huang has a pending mission with a high-ranking Elder. If I inform her, she will likely send some disciples out of her own self-interest. Wait here while I deliver the notice; do not do anything foolish that could complicate things."
However, as soon as the man turned his back on her, Mu Qinlian turned around and headed straight toward the mountain's exit.
"Do you really plan to go look for him alone?" the voice inside her asked, knowing the answer all too well.
"I will gain nothing by waiting for the sect's bureaucracy to move," she explained with determination. "With my current cultivation level, I can patrol the outer areas and track him. If I find nothing, I will return. But I also have to find the group that dared to touch him and make them pay for this stupidity."
"I doubt you will stay only in the periphery, but trying to convince you otherwise is a waste of time," the Master sighed. "You should be able to perceive the trace I left on his body if you manage to get close enough."
"Thank you, Master."
Mu Qinlian arrived at the sect's great gate. A guardian disciple stopped her immediately.
"Where are you going at this hour, Junior Sister?"
"I am going to gather spiritual herbs for a refinement," she lied, keeping her face expressionless.
The disciple looked at her for a moment before nodding with a warning:
"Be careful. The Magical Beasts are especially aggressive and restless today."
"What is the reason for that?" she asked, suspecting that the environmental chaos could be masking Wu Huang's trace.
"We are not sure," the guard explained. "Several groups reported that the ambient Qi in the depths of the forest is becoming erratic. It is the typical behavior when a Natural Treasure is about to mature. The beasts are tearing each other apart over territory. If you go in, do not approach the heart of the forest."
Mu Qinlian's face darkened. She did not expect that, just as her "Brother Wu" disappeared, the forest would turn into a monster battlefield. She dashed out of the sect at full speed.
The outer layers were calm, but barely a kilometer deep, the air grew heavy. Without hesitation, she unsheathed her sword. In the blink of an eye, the low-level beasts that tried to ambush her ended up sliced into pieces of meat. She kept moving forward, killing everything that stood in her way without stopping to gather materials.
"Is the trace reacting now?"
"Not yet, he must be even further away," the Master explained.
Mu Qinlian grit her teeth. They were already passing the boundary where the sect's protective formation lost its effect. From this point on, beasts at the Foundation Establishment level appeared. Although she belonged to that same stage, she had not yet had time to master combat techniques of that caliber.
If they were beasts in the early stage, there would be no problem. But if a predator at the Peak of Foundation Establishment appeared, the situation would be fatal. Even so, she did not back down.
"I sense something... it is faint, but it is there," the Master suddenly said.
Mu Qinlian's eyes brightened. Wu Huang was alive! Her steps became gusts of wind as she accelerated.
"If you can feel it, it means he is close."
"Perhaps," the Master warned. "But this place restricts my perception due to the density of the wild Qi. Be very careful, Qinlian."
Following the directions, she ventured into an area where the trees were so tall they blocked out the moonlight. The air felt thick, heavy with the smell of blood and ferociousness.
"STOP!" her Master suddenly shouted.
Mu Qinlian rooted herself to the spot. At that exact moment, a gust of cutting wind passed right in front of her throat. Out of pure instinct, she raised her sword to block.
CLANG!
The sound of metal crashing against something as hard as diamond resonated through the forest. The force of the impact was so brutal that Mu Qinlian was sent flying backward, carving deep furrows into the earth with her boots as she tried to brake.
As she looked up, horror reflected on her face. A giant leopard with fur as dark as the abyss and bloodshot eyes glowing crimson was watching her, growling with an echo that made her bones vibrate.
Mu Qinlian turned pale. What she feared most was right in front of her: a Magical Beast at the Peak of Foundation Establishment.
"What do we do?" she asked mentally, feeling cold sweat soak her back.
"You cannot run, it is too fast. There is only one option left: use your Charming Eye technique to daze it for even a second, and seize that instant to deal a fatal blow!" the Master ordered severely, preparing to inject her own spiritual energy into her disciple's attack.
Mu Qinlian gripped the hilt of her sword and her pupils began to shift in shape.