The forces of Southern Shanbu split into two groups. One continued guarding Shi Chun, while the other pursued Shi Chun’s subordinates. The vanguard scouts for the pursuing group were the two cloaked figures.
Seeing this, Li Hongjiu grew even more convinced that Wu Jinliang had been telling the truth. Due to the unique environment of Yanfu Prefecture, tracks and traces did not easily dissipate. With the demon eyes scouting the way, the group didn’t take a single wrong turn.
It didn’t take long before they located the site where, according to Li Hongjiu, the incident had occurred. The group paused here briefly. The two demon-eye scouts privately described to Yu Yifu the chaotic Qi signatures at the scene, which corroborated Li Hongjiu’s account—confirming they had indeed clashed here with Shi Chun’s subordinates.
The group then set off once more, continuing to track the Qi signatures left by Wu Jinliang and his party. With their cultivation levels, it took less than half an hour to reach the end of their quarry’s Qi trail.
But the scene was empty, with not a single soul in sight—only the boundless sandy ground beneath the dazzling starry sky. Yu Yifu sent the three accompanying demon-eye cultivators to scatter and search. They all arrived at the same conclusion: the targets hadn’t gone elsewhere; they had all burrowed underground.