At the same time, in the far north of the Northern Borders, in a corner of the mountains near the North Sea, Xu Xian was busy digging up the earth.
He was completely unaware of the battle in the Southern Borders.
That day...
After settling the infants in Old Cow Town, he followed the white snake's guidance and headed north.
The journey took him two and a half days to reach this place. He spent another half-day searching, and another half-day digging...
The 'Wait' in his hand was being swung so hard it was practically smoking.
Yet, he still hadn't found the entrance to the grotto-heaven Xiushe had mentioned.
Xu Xian panted heavily, taking a moment to rest as he complained, "I say, you aren't playing me, are you?"
"I wouldn't dare," the white snake at his waist replied.
"Then tell me, where is it? If I keep digging, I'm going to tunnel right through this mountain."
"Trust me, it's really around here."
His Pupil of Insight tried to peer through the cold stone and soil to see the truth, but it found nothing.
More than once, Xu Xian questioned if this snake was intentionally deceiving him, waiting for him to exhaust his strength so it could take a bite out of him.
But the snake insisted that the things down there were left behind during its peak. It had even set up a restrictive formation inside.
It claimed that even if the great cultivators at the peak of the ninth stage in Fanzhou passed by, their divine sense wouldn't be able to detect it. Thus, it was perfectly normal that Xu Xian couldn't find it.
After hearing this, Xu Xian felt it wasn't entirely unreasonable.
He then questioned the white snake, asking how it could have so little memory of something it buried itself.
The white snake replied that even a wily hare has three burrows. As a formidable ferocious beast of the ancient era, it had far more than one hiding place; how could it remember every detail so clearly?
It added that these were things from tens of thousands of years ago. The original entrance had likely collapsed and been blocked by the passage of time.
The little snake’s mouth was quite active; it was a smooth talker.
Tens of thousands of years.
Xu Xian doubted whether it had misremembered or if someone from a later generation had already dug it up. He worried he might end up working for nothing, like trying to draw water with a bamboo basket.
But since he was already here, he refused to give up until he saw the results for himself.
Xu Xian struck the ground hard and threatened, "It better be here. If I don't find anything, I'm slaughtering you for soup."
The white snake trembled all over and repeatedly gave its word.
"It won't happen! I swear, it's definitely there. Young hero, you must have a little patience."
Xu Xian couldn't be bothered to respond and went back to digging with a series of heavy thuds.
On the other side, Ye Xianyu, Li Qingshan, and the others, led by Wen Qingxue, arrived at Old Cow Town.
Wen Qingxue said, "A few days ago, disciples from the Shadow Hall began investigating the Yecheng area to search for Little Grand-Uncle's whereabouts. One disciple discovered traces left by him in a dense forest several hundred miles from here."
"They found a nameless solitary grave. After digging it up, they discovered some infants buried inside. They speculated that Little Grand-Uncle might have left with the remaining infants, which led them to this village."
"This village is called Old Cow Village. The villagers said that three days ago, a young man brought over a thousand children here. He claimed to be a disciple of the Wendao Sword Sect and asked the villagers to help look after the children. He left money behind and instructed the villagers to go to the nearby prefecture office to burn spirit incense and report the news after a few days. He also left his name."
"Xu Xian—our Little Grand-Uncle..."
Wen Qingxue repeated the information she had gathered.
Ye Xianyu looked thoughtful. "He considered everything quite thoroughly. Your Little Grand-Uncle handled this matter beautifully. Not bad—as expected of my Junior Brother."
She then asked, "What about those children? How are they now?"
Wen Qingxue reported, "They have been properly settled. The newly dispatched disciples from the Supervision Hall have already coordinated with the various county offices in Yecheng. They are registering households that have recently lost female infants and conducting one-on-one comparisons. However, there are many children, so it might take some time."
"Take it slow, then."
Li Qingshan grew anxious. "What do you mean 'take it slow'? Where is he? Where is the person? Are we just not going to look for him?"
Ye Xianyu glanced at him and said with annoyance, "Why are you shouting? Who said we aren't looking?"
"Then we should hurry! Why are we wasting time here?"
"No one is stopping you. Go look for him then."
Li Qingshan glared at Ye Xianyu, flicked his sleeves, and stormed off.
Ye Xianyu was stunned by the glare. She looked at Wen Qingxue and asked, "Little Wen, did he just glare at me?"
Wen Qingxue quickly shook her head. "I didn't notice."
Ye Xianyu said huffily, "He definitely did. That unruly disciple—no respect for his elders."
Wen Qingxue acted as the peacemaker. "Little Grand-Uncle was personally brought back by Peak Master Li. He has deep feelings for him. It's only natural that he's anxious while Little Grand-Uncle's whereabouts are unknown."
Ye Xianyu crinkled her nose. "Who isn't anxious? He's my Junior Brother. But what's the use of worrying? The world is vast; who knows where that brat has run off to? It's been three days, and he hasn't even sent word whether he's dead or alive."
"Then... Sect Master, what should we do next?"
Ye Xianyu sighed.
"What else can we do? Keep searching slowly. Maybe he'll just run back on his own in a few days."
She paused, then instructed Wen Qingxue:
"However, Yecheng has just suffered this calamity and everything needs rebuilding. There is a shortage of officials in the city. You stay behind for now to assist the Supervision Hall disciples. Finalize the candidate for the new City Lord, stabilize the situation, and then return to the sect to report..."
Wen Qingxue lowered her eyes, her tone somewhat dejected.
"This disciple obeys."
Ye Xianyu caught her expression out of the corner of her eye and said meaningfully, "Don't worry. I've ordered the entire Shadow Hall to mobilize. We'll find him eventually. It won't take long. Just focus on your work."
"I know."
"I'm leaving."
"Mm."
Days passed in a flash.
Another three days went by. The people of the Wendao Sword Sect were searching frantically, and the news of Xu Xian's disappearance was causing an uproar within the sect.
The matters in Yecheng were settled.
The battle of Cangwu had also ended.
Yet the Little Grand-Uncle, who had participated in that day's battle, had never shown his face.
His life or death remained unknown; all they knew was that Little Grand-Uncle's sword had not returned to the peak.
However, the danger of that day's battle was now common knowledge.
Two Nascent Soul demonic cultivators, over ten in the core formation stage, and hundreds in the foundation establishment stage.
The Yecheng Black Armor Cavalry.
The Yecheng Marshal, Min Zhan.
And a massive snake at the beast king stage.
A bloody battle that lasted all night.
The Wendao Sword Sect had lost six core formation disciples and one Nascent Soul disciple. Nangong Ning was heavily injured and unconscious. Little Grand-Uncle had stayed behind alone.
He had faced a Nascent Soul cultivator, a Beast King, and tens of thousands of iron cavalry by himself.
Under such circumstances, even a Nascent Soul disciple would have found it extremely difficult to escape.
Little Grand-Uncle was only in the foundation establishment stage.
No matter how much the disciples of the Wendao Sword Sect racked their brains, they couldn't imagine how Little Grand-Uncle could have escaped such a desperate situation.
It was a certain-death trap.
Seeing that seven full days had passed since that night without a single scrap of news about Xu Xian, Ye Xianyu stopped keeping it a secret.
She ordered the Mission Hall to post the task of finding Xu Xian in the main hall.
It was labeled as an immortal-grade mission.
She paid for it out of her own pocket.
Anyone who could find Xu Xian would be rewarded with 200,000 merit points.
The mission had no time limit and no limit on the number of people who could accept it.
As the news spread, disciples from every peak and hall came flocking in, crowding the Mission Hall until it was impassable.
[Mission: Find the Little Grand-Uncle.]
[Requirement: Locate Xu Xian.]
[Reward: 200,000 merit points.]
[Issuer: Ye Xianyu.]
"200,000 merit points? Isn't that too much?"
"Too much? I think Little Grand-Uncle is worth a million."
"I'm taking this mission. Not for the points, but for Little Grand-Uncle's fearless spirit of sacrificing his life for righteousness. I must bring him back."
"I'm going too."
"Count me in!"
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