Chapter 565: Lost Trace

The shorter of the two demonic-eyed cloaked figures replied, "Auntie Alan, there's no mistake; they've definitely gone in." He stamped his foot on the ground. "They went in underground. There are traces of earth-tunneling beneath this spot, which matches their previous use of earth-tunneling techniques to excavate caves in the mountain."

The Woman with the Smile immediately extended her hand, casting a spell to probe the ground. After confirming her findings, she looked at the divine mountain with a grave expression. "How is this possible? There's only one entrance and exit. The reason the Phoenix Clan preserved this ancient grand array is precisely its powerful protective capabilities, which deter covetous eyes. How could anyone disregard the defenses and secretly burrow in?"

The cloaked figure who had replied said, "It is a bit strange. We almost thought we were mistaken."

The Woman with the Smile turned away seriously. After walking some distance, she began transmitting a message across the air to a distant location.

Soon, a spatial rift opened not far in front of her, and the Woman in Red emerged from it.

Seeing this, the two cloaked figures immediately hurried over, bowing in unison with clasped fists. "Your Ladyship."

The Woman in Red walked between the two figures, stopping only when she encountered an invisible barrier. She raised a finger and pressed against the invisible resilient wall, asking the same question the Woman with the Smile had asked earlier, "Are you certain they breached the 'Big Dipper Spirit Repulsion Array' and entered?"

The shorter cloaked figure again stepped forward to answer, "Your Ladyship, there's no mistake. The traces show that the target came directly here from Dazhicheng, meeting another person along the way, with no signs of branching off. The trail leads here, then slightly interrupts before going underground. Evidence of burrowing should be visible underground." He pointed forward. "Then the trail re-emerged from beneath the slope ahead within the array, subsequently turning forward. As for where they went further ahead, we couldn't ascertain; the distance was too great for us to see clearly."

The Woman in Red didn't question their keen eyesight, but she still had some doubts. "The 'Big Dipper Spirit Repulsion Array' draws upon the vast power of the stars. In the current cultivation world, no one can breach its defenses and enter without using the array's gate. How did they manage it?"

The shorter cloaked figure said, "That is unknown. If there's a way to enter, it would only be by making the grand array misidentify them as not being spirit bodies."

The Woman in Red made an 'oh' sound. "Is there a way to conceal oneself, then?"

The shorter cloaked figure replied, "Your humble servant is too ignorant to know."

The Woman in Red stared at the divine mountain in silence for a moment, then suddenly smiled faintly. "I thought he was just a rogue and a slick opportunist. I didn't expect him to become so interesting."

The Woman with the Smile walked to her side and asked, "Your Ladyship, should we continue the investigation? If we pursue further, we might need to enter the grand array to pick up the trail again, and quickly. If we're late, the traces will dissipate, making it difficult to find their whereabouts."

The Woman in Red said, "Investigate. Leave someone to keep watch."

"Yes." After the Woman with the Smile assented, she immediately assigned the taller cloaked figure to lie in wait at that location.

Before long, outside the main gate archway of the divine mountain, the Woman with the Smile appeared with two rows of figures shrouded in black cloaks, totaling nine people including herself.

Late at night, the fact that the central gate of the divine mountain was wide open was secondary. The Goddess Feng Qingping, in a great hurry, personally led people to greet them. Facing the Woman with the Smile who strode in, she respectfully saluted and said, "I did not know Auntie Alan would grace us with her presence. Feng Qingping is remiss in not coming out to meet you."

Besides reverence, there was also apprehension. She didn't know why someone close to the Demon Empress had suddenly arrived, nor had she received any summons from the Phoenix Clan. She also wondered if it was related to the previous interference in Dazhicheng, which led to the release of Bai Qiru.

Alan's smile remained unchanged, but she didn't acknowledge Feng Qingping. She turned her head and said, "You go conduct your investigation."

Consequently, six of the eight people who had followed her in immediately turned and flew away.

Feng Qingping was puzzled and ventured to ask, "May I ask, Auntie Alan, what is this about?"

Alan merely gave her a smiling glance, said nothing, and continued walking straight ahead.

No answer was an answer in itself: she would do as she pleased in Feng Qingping's territory, with no need for explanations or accountability. This was a display of dominance.

Feng Qingping immediately understood and kept silent, accompanying her quietly.

Behind them, the Lord of North Mountain, Huang Ye, and his subordinate Jiang You'er exchanged glances, both with unease in their eyes. They also knew that the Demon Empress had intervened in the Dazhicheng affair, and that Mo Shiliu had fought someone there. They vaguely worried that the sudden investigation by the Demon Empress's people might be aimed at their demonic sect.

The six cloaked figures who had entered the divine mountain flew rapidly and soon arrived at the location on the periphery of the protective grand array where the target had burrowed in.

With eyes glowing red, the cloaked figure who again activated his demonic eyes swiftly led the others, following the re-established trail of the target. Occasionally, a red dress could be seen beneath one of the swaying cloaks, revealing that the Woman in Red herself had personally followed them out of curiosity to investigate.

The group soon followed the trail to the vicinity of the divine mountain's main peak.

Meanwhile, Shi Chun, who was stealthily moving on the main peak of the divine mountain, was on the other side of the mountain.

After collecting another Soul-Reversion Tree, he called a halt to his companions. "Alright, that's enough."

He showed the tiny bit of light-yellow paste remaining in his small jar to Wu Jinliang. "We have no idea what this stuff is. We need to leave a sample for Zhu Xiangxin. She's been refining pills for a long time, so maybe she can help us figure out what this is."

Wu Jinliang naturally understood what he meant. If this substance ran out, they wouldn't be able to obtain more Soul-Reversion Trees in the future. Moreover, communicating with the underworld would likely require a large amount of Death Incense. After nodding, he looked towards the mountain peak and whispered, "Chuntian, how many Soul-Reversion Trees do you estimate are left?"

Shi Chun replied, "I can't see the situation up there clearly, but quite a lot, at least a thousand trees. The higher up, the more there are, and their sizes also seem larger."

Wu Jinliang stroked his chin and mumbled, "After all this trouble tonight, we've gathered about two hundred trees, haven't we? Such a large batch, should we give all of it to Grandma Qi?"

Shi Chun thought for a moment. "We can't give them all at once. Let's give one hundred first, and then another batch after they're done with these."

Wu Jinliang hummed in agreement. "That's still quite a lot. Even preparing a hundred trees will take a considerable amount of time."

It would be impossible to give the unprocessed, freshly pulled trees directly to Grandma Qi. Any fool would see they were newly uprooted, which would surely cause trouble. They definitely needed to be processed first.

Shi Chun waved his hand, signaling them to leave.

The two then stealthily descended the mountain. They had originally intended to return by the same path, not wanting to leave traces of earth-tunneling all around the grand array, which would make them easy to discover.

However, reality often forces one to change plans.

Before they even reached the edge of the grand array's defenses, Shi Chun suddenly extended his arm to block Wu Jinliang, pulling him down into a quick squat.

Wu Jinliang, who had also become alert, quietly asked, "What's wrong?"

Shi Chun's expression showed a mix of surprise and uncertainty. "Damn it, at the spot where we entered, it looks like someone is lying prone. Yes, there's definitely someone."

Wu Jinliang exclaimed in surprise, "What the hell? Is it a coincidence, or what's going on?"

Shi Chun said irritably, "The divine mountain is so vast; could it be such a coincidence?"

Wu Jinliang gasped, "That's impossible! Xiao Sheng was on watch midway to prevent anyone from following us, and he didn't detect anyone. Did someone follow us later? The wind at high altitudes is so strong; by the time they got there, any scent would have long dissipated. To be able to track..."

At this point, the two exchanged glances.

Wu Jinliang then cursed, "Damn it, don't tell me we've been targeted by the demonic eyes again! If that's the case, we're in trouble from now on, unless we hide forever and never show ourselves."

Shi Chun thought for a moment. "If it's someone from the demonic sect, there are also demonic sect members on the mountain who could provide support. We shouldn't stay here long; we need to leave quickly. I don't know if my cultivation technique can sever their tracking lead, but let's try. Plot another route. You contact Xiao Sheng and have him lie in wait near that route. If he detects anyone tracking us, it means my cultivation technique was useless."

"Alright." Wu Jinliang immediately took out a mother-child talisman and did as instructed.

Shi Chun, meanwhile, pulled Wu Jinliang's arm, casting a spell to lift them both. His Cloud-Treading Boots once again proved effective. Knowing there were also demonic sect members on the mountain who could provide support, he immediately became extremely cautious. This time, they had to avoid leaving even a single footprint. At the same time, the green aura emitted by the Demonic Bathing Art enveloped both their bodies, and they quietly tiptoed away through the air.

After moving some distance, they then burrowed underground to leave.

On the main peak of the divine mountain, following the traces of their stay, the demonic-eyed figure beneath the cloak knelt on one knee and scraped the ground. He looked up at the Woman in Red beside him and said, "Just like the previous traces, the soil here has also been disturbed and then covered up, yet we haven't found anything unusual. I don't know what this means."

"Are they just idly messing around?" The Woman in Red was also completely baffled. As she frowned in thought, she spoke, "Alright, you don't need to check every single pit. Leave markers at the pits you find for others to investigate. You just need to follow their trail and first locate their whereabouts. Once you find them, keep a close watch, and the answers will naturally emerge."

"Yes." The demonic-eyed cloaked figure acknowledged the order and rose to continue tracking.

Afterward, as the Woman in Red had instructed, every excavated spot where the target had lingered was marked and left for others to inspect. He, meanwhile, continued to lead the Woman in Red in circles around the main peak of the divine mountain.

The Woman in Red became somewhat puzzled herself after realizing she was being led in circles.

After much circling, they finally descended the mountain.

It was almost like returning the way they came. Although there were many places where their paths diverged, there were also numerous intersecting trails they hadn't seen on the way in. The demonic-eyed cloaked figure immediately realized something and reported, "The target should have descended the mountain, likely not long ago."

However, just as they were about to reach the edge of the grand array's defensive perimeter, he stopped again.

Seeing him looking around and turning in circles for quite some time without making any progress, the Woman in Red finally couldn't help but ask, "What's going on?"

The demonic-eyed cloaked figure said, perplexed, "It seems, it seems, Your Ladyship, the trail seems to have ended here. They've seemingly vanished into thin air. There are no traces of burrowing underground, nor any signs of flying away in the air. Your humble servant is incompetent and does not know where the target went." He bowed with clasped fists, apologizing for his failure.

The Woman in Red looked down indifferently and said, "I don't listen to nonsense. Find the reason, find a solution to the problem, otherwise, what use are you to me?"

Her authority was evident without her needing to show anger. She had personally come here only to get such a result. How could she possibly accept it?

The demonic-eyed cloaked figure broke out in a slight sweat. He quickly gathered his thoughts, and after a brief consideration, replied, "Your Ladyship, there are only two possibilities. One, the target might also cultivate demonic arts and know concealment techniques. Two, someone who knows concealment techniques might have met them and helped them leave. Beyond these, your humble servant truly cannot think of any other possibilities, as no one within this 'Big Dipper Spirit Repulsion Array' possesses the power to shatter the void and leave."

The Woman in Red reached up and pulled back her half-concealing hood. Her eyes glinted as she pondered, then she said, "The target was tracked by the demonic sect with demonic eyes not long ago and nearly lost his life, yet he never used concealment techniques. You've tracked him all the way to the divine mountain and still haven't seen him use any. If he had this ability, he wouldn't only be using it now. According to your statement..."

She turned her head, her cold gaze sweeping across the divine mountain. Slowly, she continued, "This means there might be people from the demonic sect lurking in this divine mountain. Our arrival has disturbed them. The target was either met and taken away by the demonic sect, or kidnapped by them. How would the kidnappers know he was on the mountain? If he was indeed met and taken away, and is actually in cahoots with the demonic sect, then this truly becomes more and more interesting."