Chu Liuyue’s words caused the few others to be collectively stunned as they instinctively surveyed their surroundings.

The white snow covered the sky and the ground. It was dead quiet.

It looks like… something is wrong. 

“Chu Yue is right. How precious is the Heavenly Square Cauldron? If it appeared here, it would definitely cause a huge commotion. But now… it seems like nothing has happened.”

“Could it have appeared in other places and not reached here yet, so this place looks like this?”

The few elders discussed softly.

Elder Hua Feng knitted his brows. “It’s not really possible. Bo Yan sent a message saying that the Heavenly Square Cauldron had appeared, so they definitely would’ve seen it. Even if it’s not by their side, it shouldn’t be too far away. And now, they’re not far away from us. If they had seen it, we should be able to see it too.”

Once he said this, everyone then fell into dead silence. At this point, they started to truly suspect the authenticity of the matter.

“No matter what, Bo Yan should be nearby. Even if we rack our brains here, we might not be able to find out the truth, so we should just go and meet them first!”

This suggestion received everyone’s approval. Hence, after some deliberation, they moved forward once again.

“Chu Yue, let’s go!” Elder Hua Feng took two steps out and saw that Chu Liuyue didn’t move, so he called her.

“I’m coming!” Chu Liuyue answered and followed them. However, she couldn’t help but turn around and take another look with slightly furrowed brows. She felt that… something seemed amiss…

“That gray-faced fox has a very strong bloody scent.” Tuan Zi’s voice suddenly entered her ears.

Chu Liuyue was first shocked; then, she suddenly recovered her senses. Right, it was that feeling! It was just because this place was covered in snow and ice, so the bloody smell was covered. 

But Tuan Zi was now a red-gold heavenly phoenix, so it was naturally much more sensitive toward this sort of thing compared to her.

“If I didn’t guess wrongly, it should’ve just experienced a fight, and…” Tuan Zi’s voice paused. “And it ate until it was very full.”

A chill was suddenly sent down Chu Liuyue’s spine.

Even though she hadn’t personally seen a gray-faced fox before, she still had a certain level of understanding of it.

The so-called ‘eating’ meant gnawing on corpses! Judging from the strong bloody scent on it, the corpse had very likely died not too long ago!

It was very rare for people to come to this place. Even for fiends… If their cultivation level wasn’t high enough and they weren’t strong enough, only death would await them.

Then… What exactly did that gray-faced fox— Chu Liuyue knitted her brows even more tightly. During this recent period of time, quite a few people have actually come to the Flood-Desert Northern Region. Not talking about the other people first, Ling Xiao Academy has sent more than 300 people over. They should’ve also walked past this area… If something really has happened, the heavy snowfall is enough to cover all the traces. 

An intense shadow loomed over her heart.



The few of them walked some more, and a lot of their force was greatly exhausted. Even Elder Hua Feng’s lips started to turn pale faintly.

He glanced at the green jade plaque in his hands, and his expression suddenly changed.

“What’s the matter?” The other elders saw that his expression was amiss, and they instantly asked worriedly.

Elder Hua Feng closed his eyes and looked at that green jade plaque closely again.

The two stars on it were right beside each other. Logically speaking, they should’ve already met Bo Yan and the rest. But looking over, there wasn’t a single person at all!

The few elders saw that the two stars on the green jade plaque almost seemed to have gathered together. They were dazed for a moment, and their expressions changed. “What’s going on? Where are they?!”

“Could it be that there’s something wrong with this plaque?”

Elder Hua Feng slowly opened his mouth, and his voice was hoarse. “Bo Yan had specifically left behind the aura in this green jade plaque before he left. It definitely won’t be wrong!”

They had clearly reached the location, but they didn’t see anyone, causing one to have some suspicions.

Upon hearing this, the few of them fell silent and exchanged glances.

“Elder Hua Feng, what is this?” At this point, Chu Liuyue’s voice came over.

The few of them looked up and saw that Chu Liuyue had walked a distance at some point and was holding something in her hands.

Elder Hua Feng looked over and immediately said, “Quickly bring it over and let me look at it!”

As he spoke, he couldn’t wait for Chu Liuyue to come over and immediately went forward himself.

Chu Liuyue passed the item over—it was a green jade plaque.

The moment Elder Hua Feng saw it, he immediately confirmed his guess. “This is Bo Yan’s! Why is it here?”

He hurriedly looked at Chu Liuyue and anxiously asked, “Chu Yue, where did you find it?”

Chu Liuyue raised her hand and pointed. “Where I was standing just now. Initially, I just wanted to look around. Suddenly, I felt that I had stepped on something, so I took it. It turned out to be this.”

“That explains it…” Elder Hua Feng furrowed his brows tightly and held the green jade plaque tightly in his hands. No wonder it kept indicating that Bo Yan and the rest are here! It turns out that only the green jade plaque was left here! 

But this made one worry even more. This was because the plaque was a symbol of one’s identity, and Ling Xiao Academy’s elders and students would take care of theirs meticulously.

If it weren’t because something had happened… this item wouldn’t appear here for no reason!

The other elders had also realized this as their expressions changed.

Right at this moment, a strange sound suddenly came from the side.

Chu Liuyue turned around. This sound was coming from beneath the snow not far away from her.

Just as she thought that it was the gray-faced fox again, the same sound came from another direction. Very quickly, the few of them were quickly surrounded by these sounds completely.

Whoosh!

Countless rays of dark-blue light flew out from the snow and intertwined in mid-air! A gigantic Xuan formation cage instantly trapped the few of them!