Not long after, two yellow engineering vehicles passed by, carrying a lot of solid wood boards. Their vehicles did not skid. I looked closely and discovered the secret: the wheels of these two engineering vehicles were wrapped with nylon anti-skid chains. This thing evolved from the steel belt anti-skid chains commonly used in the north in the past, with better anti-skid performance and acceptable wear resistance, which is fine for short distances.
After confirming there were no other minor demons behind us, Wu Qian and I left the small woods and advanced along the road in the heavy fog.
I dare not speak loudly, for fear of disturbing the people on the mountain.
Looking at my phone, there was no signal either.
After walking for about half an hour, Wu Qian got tired and signaled to stop and rest. I checked Yao Yao's aura again. The engineering vehicles had not carried them; they had already gone far. Accompanying Yao Yao were still those four blue-aura great demons, keeping a moderate distance from us. I didn't know how much further they intended to go.
If it weren't for Wu Qian, with my physical strength boosted by double demon cores, I would have caught up with Yao Yao and the others long ago. Of course, there was no point in catching up; I couldn't save her anyway. Maintaining a distance of about two kilometers was safer.
There was nowhere to rest. I wanted to take off my cotton-padded jacket to use as a cushion for Wu Qian, but she waved her hand to refuse. Wu Qian squatted on the ground and massaged her thighs for a while. I signaled to carry her on my back, but Wu Qian gave a wry smile and waved her hand again. She got up and signaled that we could continue.
"Can this be considered climbing a mountain?" I whispered.
Wu Qian pursed her lips and gave a wry smile, "It will definitely be unforgettable for a lifetime."
Continuing to chase, after another half hour, Yao Yao and the others' auras finally stopped ahead. Because the terrain here was relatively high, the fog was not as dense as before. Looking up, I could see the surrounding mountain peaks, scattered here and there, arranged in no particular order.
But I couldn't tell if this was the area of the "chessboard" or not. I could only infer from the distance. Even if it wasn't, we should be close.
Wu Qian and I mustered our strength and chased for another kilometer or so. About seven to eight hundred meters away from them, I found a relatively gentle small mountain that could be ascended on foot. The summit was also free of fog. I decided to go up and try my luck, in case I could see Yao Yao and the others directly.
It didn't look high, but because I had to accommodate Wu Qian, it took me a full fifteen minutes to reach the summit.
Unfortunately, I still couldn't see Yao Yao in the fog. However, from this clear vantage point, I could see all the mountain peaks within a hundred-mile radius. I took out the chessboard map and tried to calibrate my position, but I still couldn't pinpoint it accurately. The map was a satellite overhead view, while we were at a contour line level view; they were completely different.
One does not recognize the true face of Mount Lu, only because one is right in the midst of it.
Yao Yao and the four blue-aura great demons' auras were still in the same place. I didn't know what they were waiting for. Just as I was about to go down and continue the pursuit, to try and get a little closer, suddenly, at the edge of my vision using the Qi sensing technique, a purple-black aura appeared. It was very high up and coming from the sky!
I subconsciously thought it was Long Yue, but upon closer inspection, it wasn't her. I had seen her aura before, and it wasn't this dark. It wasn't Da Ji either; Da Ji's aura was similar in darkness, but I could recognize this as a brand new version of purple-black aura, not human, but demonic, and it looked like a female.
Could it be Bai Qingcheng?
Soon after, I heard the chugging sound of a tractor from the sky. Following the sound, I looked up, and indeed, it was in the direction of the aura. A small black dot appeared in the mountains.
It was a helicopter. That matched. Lin Xi had said that Bai Qingcheng arrived by helicopter.
However, we couldn't contact each other now. Even if she flew over my head, she couldn't take me with her. Moreover, Bai Qingcheng didn't know the Qi sensing technique, so she couldn't locate Yao Yao in the thick fog.
Wait, since I couldn't see Yao Yao's location, they couldn't see me either. But I could see the helicopter!
With this thought, I no longer feared exposing my identity. I climbed onto a large rock on the mountaintop, confirmed that I couldn't see Yao Yao, turned around to face the direction of the helicopter, spread my arms, and waved to signal.
The helicopter quickly spotted someone on the mountaintop and immediately swooped down. I was almost scared to death, because I saw two multi-barreled aviation cannons hanging on the side of the helicopter, commonly known as Gatling guns! If this thing were to sweep me with a burst, I'd be reporting to the King of Hell immediately!