61 Fan Long. (1/2)
Li Yang continue to follow Jinwu's directions, slowly noticing more and more tracks left by groups of people. As the groups started to approach the Demon Plains, they seemed to increase the thoroughness of their search. Trees were cut open, boulders overturned, corpses of Demonic beasts spread around the wilderness.
Li Yang did not mind picking up the corpses of the Demonic beasts, storing them into his interspatial ring. These Demonic beasts were too weak to be noticed by the groups from the sects and clans, but they were perfect for Liang Zhou and the others, leaving them behind would be nothing but a waste.
After another half day of traveling, Jinwu's directions finally led him to a new group of people. Li Yang praised his own luck, because the people in the group were clad in the white robes of the Heaven's Gate Sect. He had been looking to find out who the current sect leader was, so this was perfect timing for him.
There were three people in the group that were clearly guards, Li Yang recognizing one of them as Liang Chun, a teenage girl who had become one of the tribe's warriors a few years before Li Yang left the village. The two other guides were burly and tanned boys, but Li Yang could not recognize them, so they clearly weren't from the Liang tribe.
Liang Chun and the two boys were carving up several Demonic beasts, pulling out their insides and showing them to the people from Heaven's Gate. The leader, a female with shoulder-length green hair, who seemed to be in her twenties, inspected the presented insides, but shook her head each time. Other than the female, who was only at the middle stage of the Houtian Rune realm, there were four other members, but they were all a little weaker than the leader. This group was clearly one of the weaker groups that went out, one that the clan did not expect to complete the mission.
Li Yang swept the group with a quick glance, thinking about the best way to approach them. Thanks to his tracking technique, he could tell that there was no one else within 1000 meters, he could also tell that the three guides were in perfect health, without a single wound. Li Yang tapped his nose for a bit as he pondered, but in the end, decided to just go with the most direct approach.
He jumped down from the tree he was hiding in, Jinwu and Shenlong tightly grasping onto him so they did not fall off. He landed a short distance away from the group, lightning surrounding his body. The people in the group quickly noticed his presence, but at that time, it was already too late. Li Yang dashed forward like a bolt of lightning, immediately reaching the leader, tightly grabbing her throat. His gaze was calm as he glanced at the people behind her, his voice cold.
”Don't move. Move and she dies. All I want is for you to answer my questions, there is no need for you to die a pointless death.”
Just to prove his point, lightning started to crackle around Li Yang's hand, dancing on the girl's throat. The four remaining people in the group, who were just about to take action, quickly halted in their steps, looking at the leader with uncertain eyes. The girl, who Li Yang had heard was called Xun Qiu, took a deep breath and weakly waved her hand.
”Do as he says, we stand no chance.”
She knew that no one in her group was a match for the youth in front of her. She could feel lightning enter her body from the hand of Li Yang, her body numbing as she slowly lost control over her own body. The people in the group lowered their arms but kept looking at Li Yang with wary gazes. Li Yang sent a slight smile at Xun Qiu, wasting no time as he started to talk.
”Excellent, a sensible one. My questions are simple, who is the current leader of your sect, what are you searching for out here, and what have you done to the people of the Liang tribe?”
Even though he was talking to Xun Qiu, he was constantly keeping an eye on the rest of the people in the area, watching their every move. He did not mind killing them if they were to try anything. Xun Qiu quickly organized her thoughts, responding to Li Yang's questions and sending a short nod at Liang Chun
”My group has done nothing to the people of the Liang tribe, you can even ask the girl herself. I don't know what we are searching for, I only know that the clan posted a mission to investigate a strange occurrence in the Cloud Wilderness. The guides suggested we look for what caused the sudden rain of fire a year ago, but as they don't know what truly caused it, we can only search around for anything. I am merely an outer circle disciple, I don't have the right to know anything about the sect leader. If anyone is going to know, it would be Senior Brother Fan Long.”
Li Yang found it rather strange that Xun Qiu did not know who the current leader of Heaven's Gate was. Back when he was at his peak, it had been common for even normal people to know about the names of the leaders of the strong sects and clans. Had something changed since then? He sent a short glance at Liang Chun, who nodded her head to indicate that Xun Qiu had spoken the truth, before turning back to Xun Qiu.
”Where will I find this Fan Long?”
Xun Qiu did not know, but at least he had gotten a clue as to who knew the information he was curious about. Of course, if she did not know where this Fan Long was, or if he was too far away, there was nothing Li Yang could do. Luckily, it seemed that his luck was rather good, as the answer that Xun Qiu gave was favorable.
”He is currently within the village of the Shentu tribe, resting after his most recent search.”
Xun Qiu could not resist Li Yang, so there was no point in resisting or lying. She had been given the duty of bringing the members of her group back home alive, lying could very easily lead to the death of everyone in the group, the worst possible outcome. Li Yang gave a short nod of his head, his gaze landing on the other members of the group as he spoke out.
”Quick answers, good. Hand over your interspatial rings, all of you.”