Chapter 2286 — The Fire Lion Clan Has Vanished Too

Having received the warning from the Sixth Elder in particular, he was even less inclined to rashly cross blades with this strange man whose strength stood at the very peak of the late Heaven-Rank. So he merely knitted his brows and waved a hand at the men behind him, signaling them not to act recklessly.

Even if this man were the one who had killed the Thirteenth Elder, the Twelfth Elder was certainly no match for him. The Thirteenth Elder had been only a shade weaker than himself, and yet this old madman at the peak of the late Heaven-Rank clearly wore his dominance on his sleeve, his true qi brimming and abundant, showing not the slightest sign of injury.

In other words, this man had killed the Thirteenth Elder without taking a scratch. What did that mean? The Twelfth Elder understood all too well. No wonder the Sixth Elder had said the enemy was strong. That being so, there was no reason for him to bar the way. He simply let the Heaven-Rank freak run down the mountain, pass through under everyone's watchful eyes, and then run off into the distance...

For such an obvious expert, though the other clans and gangs in the small town were greatly puzzled as to where he could have climbed up from, not a single fool was rash enough to block or question him. The Heaven-Rank freak's strength lay wholly exposed; any cultivator could see he was a master at the peak of the late Heaven-Rank. Who would still dare to provoke him?

"Phew..." Only after watching the Heaven-Rank freak recede into the distance did the Twelfth Elder breathe a sigh of relief. His mental pressure just now had been immense—after all, the Thirteenth Elder might well have died at that man's hand, and this crushing sense of being unable to strike at the sight of an enemy left the Twelfth Elder quietly seething.

A little impatience ruins a great plan! The Twelfth Elder reminded himself of this, then quickly steadied his emotions. He took up paper and brush, wrote down the situation as he had seen it, bound the note to the foot of a flying spirit beast, and released it into the air. He had to inform the Sixth Elder of this news at once.

At the summit of the upper reaches of the Ulonghot Mountains, the Sixth Elder read the letter the Twelfth Elder had sent and sighed inwardly. His guess had indeed been right: it was a master at the peak of the late Heaven-Rank who had struck. It had been correct for the Twelfth Elder not to bar his way—otherwise, the Twelfth Elder would likely have been no match either.

Thinking of that enormous pit at the top of the mountains, the Sixth Elder felt a shock in his heart. A master of that caliber was probably about the same as their master—one of those endlessly close to the great perfection of the late Heaven-Rank peak, lacking only the opportunity to step into the Heavenly Dao...

"So only one late Heaven-Rank peak left? That means Zhang Naipao and his wife are still up in the Ulonghot Mountains and haven't gone?" At this possibility, a cold smile flickered at the corner of the Sixth Elder's mouth! This was good news indeed!

Originally, the Sixth Elder had reasoned that if anyone made a move to kill the Thirteenth Elder, it must be the backer behind that so-called Zhang Naipao and his wife. If that figure remained at the couple's side the whole time, then even joining forces with the Twelfth Elder, he would have no certainty of snatching the prize from the tiger's jaws—and they would be left entirely passive!

The Sixth Elder had kept himself hidden all along, not daring to show his face openly, precisely out of fear of being struck down by that master at the peak of the late Heaven-Rank. He had meant to bide his time and strike when the three separated, but now it seemed that was unnecessary. Zhang Naipao and his wife had not come down the mountain; the Heaven-Rank freak had. So all he had to do was block the way up the mountain while the Twelfth Elder blocked the way below, and the two of them would find no escape even with wings.

What the Sixth Elder and the Twelfth Elder had figured out, Wei Zhao had naturally figured out as well. The Heaven-Rank freak had inexplicably run off, and Wei Zhao, having lost this powerful close guard, naturally grew cautious—especially with the spider clan vanished entirely, which made him feel that the Ulonghot Mountains were steeped in strangeness.

He proceeded warily the whole way, following the Sky Thunder Pig and Sun Jingyan to the territory of the Fire Lion clan. But what left Wei Zhao puzzled and astonished was that the Fire Lion clan were not in their lair!

There were only three lions in the Fire Lion clan, and it was possible they had all gone out together. Though Wei Zhao's heart sank at the sight of the empty lair, he nonetheless waited there with Sun Jingyan.

Though ancient prohibitions guarded the outside of the lair, they posed no obstacle to Wei Zhao, Sun Jingyan, and the Sky Thunder Pig. They could enter without hindrance, and waiting here meant they need not fear any outside intrusion.

"Why is the Fire Lion clan gone too?" Sun Jingyan also sensed something was off. Though Wei Zhao could keep his composure, she was finding it harder to hold hers.

"I don't know. There's something sinister about all this!" Wei Zhao said. "I can't rule out that they've gone out together to hunt or search for rare natural treasures. Let's wait and see."

Sun Jingyan nodded, her mood growing very heavy. Had she known this trip to the Ulonghot Mountains would bring so much trouble and so many bizarre occurrences, she would never have suggested that Wei Zhao accompany her here!

This place was simply too dangerous; suspicion hung in the air everywhere.

That wait lasted a day and a night, and the Fire Lion clan still had not returned. This left Wei Zhao increasingly uneasy!

The spider clan had vanished, and now the Fire Lion clan had vanished too?

And it seemed to have happened at the same time?

Earlier, Wei Zhao and the Fire Lion clan had agreed that when he came down the mountain, he would collect a Fireflow Divine Bomb here. Logically, even if the Great Fire Lion's family went out in search of rare natural treasures, they could not all have gone—someone should have stayed behind to wait for Wei Zhao.

Even if they had all gone out, they would have hurried back as soon as possible. They could not have been gone this long without a word; that did not suit the Fire Lion clan's character at all! Toward Wei Zhao, their benefactor, they would not be so negligent!

"Sky Thunder Pig, can you sense where the Fire Lion clan has gone?" Wei Zhao turned to the Sky Thunder Pig and asked.

But the Sky Thunder Pig shook its head, gave two squeals of "jiji," and then began writing on the soft ground with its claws: The trail is too old. The scent has already faded. I cannot track them! And they seem to be beyond the range I can sense.

"Beyond the range you can sense?" Wei Zhao frowned. The scent of the Great Fire Lion's route might have faded, true, but under normal circumstances the Sky Thunder Pig did not need that trail to find the spirit beasts and treasures it sought. If it was saying this now, did that mean the Great Fire Lion's family had truly gone far away?

They should no longer be in the Ulonghot Mountains. The Sky Thunder Pig wrote on the ground once more.

"Ga?" Wei Zhao was startled by what the Sky Thunder Pig had written! No longer in the Ulonghot Mountains? Then where had the Fire Lion clan gone? After all, the Fire Lion clan normally did not even go to the upper and lower reaches; now they were not even in the mountains, so where could they have run off to?

The Sky Thunder Pig nodded solemnly.

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