After waiting at the airport for about fifteen minutes, the helicopter arrived. We boarded the helicopter, with no idea where we were going.
This was likely a decisive action, Lin Xi said, and this mission could not be delayed any longer. We had to complete it as soon as possible, otherwise, the Miao King would become more vigilant, making it even more difficult to succeed.
I hope so, I nodded.
"We are in a wilderness now. Look at the map. About a hundred kilometers from the Xiangxi Garrison's post, this is the northernmost point of Xiangxi. This is a mountain range, and the Miao King's lair is situated on this ridge," Lin Xi explained.
Looking down, it was a dark expanse with no signs of human habitation. I even doubted the safety of the helicopter's landing.
After flying for another three minutes, the helicopter slowed down and began to descend in a circle. I saw a 'h' shape made with flashlights on the ground through the porthole. It looked like a valley.
We landed, they dropped us off, and the helicopter flew away.
The flashlights were temporarily stuck in the ground and were extinguished one by one by a woman in a black tight-fitting suit. Lin Xi introduced her as the comrade embedded beside the Miao King, named A Ying.
"Then how do we proceed?" I asked.
"...That will depend on you. A Ying is not a core member of the Chi You organization, so she doesn't know the Miao King's exact hiding place," Lin Xi said with a wry smile.
So, I was brought here to play this role. Helplessly, I activated my Qi Sensing technique and searched around, but found nothing. Within a radius of more than ten li, there was no sign of human presence.
"Are you sure?" I asked A Ying with a frown.
"Uh... I'm not entirely sure about this. It's probably around here."
I should have used my Qi Sensing technique on the helicopter. The range would have been much larger.
Borrowing the moonlight, I looked around and found a small hill. I climbed it and activated my Qi Sensing technique again. The view was much better this time, but still no people. I held my breath and tried to channel my true qi to expand the range of my Qi Sensing.
It was effective. The observation radius increased to about ten kilometers, and I finally saw a few humans with faint auras. However, they were all low-level colors like orange and yellow, not masters. They were likely peripheral security personnel.
"Over there, ten kilometers away," I said.
Lin Xi opened the mobile map, which had satellite positioning and a drawing tool. Extending ten kilometers in the direction I pointed, a small town called Furong Town appeared on the map.
However, when I switched to satellite mode and zoomed in, it was a dense forest with no town at all.
"Could the map be wrong?" I asked.
"Impossible. This is our Shabia map. Haven't you seen it before? The chess formation in Zhongnan Mountain was discovered using it."
Yes, it was you and Yao Yao who discovered it, and it made our eyes extremely tired.
Lin Xi trusted my Qi Sensing technique and immediately called headquarters to request historical maps of this location to investigate what was going on.
In the age of big data, checking maps wasn't one or two, but thousands. Soon, headquarters replied, stating that Furong Town was indeed a town seven years ago. Later, due to a mudslide that destroyed half of the town, the local government, after an investigation, deemed the risk of further mudslides too high. They relocated the hundreds of residents of Furong Town outside the mountains. To prevent anyone from secretly returning to live or operate farmlands in the surrounding area, they demolished all the remaining houses after the relocation, turning it into ruins.
Indeed, the following year, another mudslide occurred here, submerging the entire town. The rainfall in this area is good. After seven years of vegetation coverage, the original mudslide terrain had become a forest, blending in with the surrounding scenery. However, the map had never updated its name.
"Since it's ruins, how can it be the Miao King's lair?" Lin Xi looked at me doubtfully. "Could it be just some miscellaneous people, and the Miao King is not here?"
"Let's go and see over there," I pointed to another mountain that was about five hundred meters ahead and higher.
A Ying led the way with a machete, clearing a path. We descended and then ascended. After twenty minutes of effort, we finally reached the summit of the second hill. I activated my Qi Sensing technique again and saw at least over a hundred auras within the "ruins"! Moreover, there were purple qi masters, including both humans and demons.