Chapter 80: Who is the Yellow Sparrow

Chapter 80: Who is the Yellow Sparrow

The cave city of the Stoneling people differed from human settlements in its three-dimensional layout, resembling a series of interconnected hills and valleys.

The team stealthily traversed the hills and disappeared from view.

The Stoneling people passing by were oblivious to the intruders in their midst, as most of them slumbered in their nests.

Ji Xinghuo did not follow the same route as them but instead chose an optimized path with a lower probability of detection by the Stoneling people through magnetic field sensing.

He kept them locked in his perception, always within his sensory range.

From time to time, he could even see them directly.

During this process, Ji Xinghuo realized that Ren Mian could also see the team ahead, unlike Chi Zhonglin and Jiang Nancaiyi, who relied entirely on his guidance.

"It's probably a visual ability."

Ji Xinghuo quickly guessed.

Only when the team ahead was within Ren Mian's line of sight could she see them; when they were obstructed, she had to rely on her own guidance.

With one team ahead and the other trailing behind, they soon passed through the first cave.

The second cave was slightly smaller but still housed tens of thousands of Stoneling people and was located even deeper underground.

Ji Xinghuo's magnetic field sensing covered this cave perfectly, and the large and small biological magnetic fields were mapped out in his mind. He immediately noticed several extremely bright magnetic fields, indicating a level of strength clearly superior to that of the average Stoneling, most likely fourth-order powerhouses equivalent to superhumans.

The average strength of the Stoneling people was not high, as the vast majority were first-order.

The proportion of second-order Stoneling people was less than 5%, and the number of third-order was even rarer, accounting for less than 1%. As for fourth-order powerhouses, there were only a handful, perhaps two or three.

And these were the Stoneling people who had entered the Star Realm.

Just like humans, not all Beiluoshimen tribespeople were qualified to enter the Star Realm. Most of their tribes remained on their homeworld, and only the evolved individuals from their tribes were present in the Star Realm.

From this, Ji Xinghuo inferred that the Stoneling people's talents were far inferior to those of humans.

This was consistent with the information he had encountered before.

In fact, among the Beiluoshimen tribes, only the Dagun people had slightly better talents than humans, but they were very specialized and not as well-rounded as humans.

Passing through the second cave, they arrived at the third, then the fourth, and the fifth.

Neither team was moving quickly. After nearly two hours, they had stealthily traversed seven caves, each one unique in size and terrain, complex and deep like massive labyrinths, all filled with tens of thousands of Stoneling people.

By the time Ji Xinghuo's group reached the eighth cave, they had descended more than two thousand meters underground.

This cave was even larger than the previous ones! It had a diameter of nearly five kilometers and a height of over three hundred meters. Ji Xinghuo's magnetic field sensing revealed a dense population of Stoneling people—roughly seventy to eighty thousand by his estimate.

"This should be the core cave of the Stoneling city," Ren Mian's voice sounded in their minds.

"Yes," Ji Xinghuo nodded slightly.

The total population of this underground Stoneling city was close to two hundred thousand, which wasn't considered large. However, the fact that all these Stoneling people were evolved individuals made it quite remarkable.

Most of the Stoneling people were in a state of slumber to reduce energy consumption.

This biological habit was a result of their homeworld environment. Nightstar had scarce resources and lacked sunlight for most of the time. To ensure the survival of their race, the Stoneling people would enter a hibernation-like state when they had no tasks to attend to.

Usually, only a small number of tribespeople were left on patrol and guard duty.

When there was work to be done or an external threat, the Stoneling people would quickly awaken and mobilize for battle.

Hibernation required a dim environment.

However, on one side of this vast cave, there was an area filled with bioluminescent plants that emitted a soft glow, standing out in the otherwise dim cave.

From a distance, Ji Xinghuo could make out the figures of awake Stoneling people, Dagun people, and Golaukat among the glowing plants.

In the center of the illuminated area stood a palace-like structure made of rock, nestled against the cave wall. Teams of Stoneling guards patrolled the perimeter with vigilance.

In front of the palace were hundreds of steps leading up to an entrance that was a hundred meters above the ground. The entire structure seemed embedded in the stone wall, and Stoneling guards stood watch from the ground all the way up to the entrance. These guards were more robust than the average Stoneling and were at least second-order warriors.

Among the patrolling Stoneling teams, there was always at least one Dagun person and two Golaukat, clearly indicating their status as guard captains.

It was evident that this was the most important place in the city.

"Is Chan Ling inside?" Chi Zhonglin asked, his eyes filled with anticipation as he gazed at the rocky palace.

"Most likely," Ren Mian nodded. She could see that the team they were following was stealthily making their way towards the rocky palace, gradually closing the distance.

"Let's go too." The four of them quietly followed suit.

Before they could reach their destination, Ji Xinghuo noticed that the team ahead had stopped moving. They were hiding in the shadows about three hundred meters away from the rocky palace, carefully observing the situation within.

Ji Xinghuo didn't want to get too close to them, but he also couldn't afford to stay too far, lest he miss the opportune moment.

He carefully selected a position on the other side of the palace entrance, about four hundred meters away from both the entrance and the team they were following. It was an empty alleyway.

From this position, Ji Xinghuo's magnetic field sensing could probe the interior of the palace.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, focusing his attention.

Behind the palace's grand entrance was a wide passageway, entirely carved out of the rock, stretching a hundred meters long and leading to a cave deep within the stone wall.

The cave was spacious, with a diameter of about three hundred meters. It was damp inside, resembling a large pool with water only half a meter deep. The water contained soil, and numerous plants had taken root, crawling up the cave walls. There were also several small groves, home to various insects and animals, creating a miniature ecosystem within the cave.

Ji Xinghuo sensed the presence of the Chan Ling; its biological magnetic field was very conspicuous.

It lay coiled in a tall grass patch in the pool, standing over three meters tall and with a body length exceeding ten meters. While it wasn't exceptionally massive compared to the other monsters, Ji Xinghuo sensed an immense danger emanating from it.

Its magnetic field intensity was off the charts.

At the very least, it was Super-class!

However, Ji Xinghuo didn't dwell on the Chan Ling for long, sparing it less than a second of his attention before his focus was drawn elsewhere by another magnetic field.

His eyes widened slightly, and his pupils contracted.

This was a human-shaped magnetic field, resembling that of a Dagun person. However, its magnetic field intensity was ten times stronger than that of the Chan Ling, like a beacon shining in the night, overshadowing all other magnetic fields. It was so prominent that Ji Xinghuo found it hard to ignore.

While a strong magnetic field intensity didn't always equate to superior strength, most of the time, this rule held true.

"A fifth-order Dagun person!"

"A Legend!"

Ji Xinghuo drew in a sharp breath as a chill ran down his spine. Sister Ren had mentioned that there were Dagun people specifically tasked with guarding the Chan Ling in the Deeprock Canyon, but she hadn't said anything about a Legend.

According to the information provided by Wang Longtai, the Chan Ling was guarded by three fourth-order Dagun people who led a group of approximately ten fourth-order Stoneling warriors.

"Is the information wrong?"

Ji Xinghuo's thoughts raced, "Or did something else happen recently?"

The Legend Dagun person wasn't inside the cave; instead, he was seated at the entrance of the passage leading to the palace, accompanied by two fourth-order Dagun people and dozens of guards.

"Sister Ren."

Ji Xinghuo signaled to Ren Mian to activate the thought chain. He didn't have time to worry about exposing his actual range of perception, and he quickly conveyed his discovery in his mind, "There's a Legend Dagun person over there."

Upon hearing this, the three teammates exchanged worried glances.

However, Ren Mian remained calm and collected. After a few seconds of contemplation, she replied, "It seems that we're not the only ones, and that team isn't the first to infiltrate this place. Their presence must have alerted the Beiluoshimen Tribe, prompting them to dispatch a Legend to bolster the defense of the Chan Ling."

She then asked, "Is the Chan Ling still there?"

"Yes," Ji Xinghuo nodded.

"As long as they haven't moved the Chan Ling, we're good." Ren Mian's expression eased slightly, seemingly unfazed by the presence of a Legend.

The Chan Ling had very specific living environment requirements and couldn't be relocated easily. If it was displeased, it might attack its caretakers, and calming it down again would be incredibly challenging.

Chi Zhonglin, who had been quiet until now, asked, "Do we continue?"

"Of course." Ren Mian didn't hesitate for a moment, "We've come this far; there's no reason to give up now. We'll give it a shot."

She glanced at the location where the other team was hiding and added, "We don't have to engage the Legend Dagun person directly."

Ji Xinghuo understood her implication.

They just needed to be patient and wait for that team of five to make the first move.

They waited for four hours, but the team hiding in the shadows didn't move an inch. They remained vigilant, keeping a close eye on the patrolling guards at the palace entrance, as if waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

During this time, Ji Xinghuo and his team changed positions.

Without a Hypnotist among them, they relied solely on Jiang Nancaiyi's Phantom Orb to conceal their movements. As time passed, their star power waned, so Ji Xinghuo found a Stoneling nest devoid of any Stoneling people and hid there. From a narrow crevice, he could observe the situation at the palace entrance.

They had expected to wait for a day or two, but an unexpected development unfolded.

The Legend Dagun person made his move.

There were a few rooms adjacent to the passage entrance inside the palace, where the Dagun person resided. Suddenly, he stepped out, prompted by a group of Stoneling guards who rushed to deliver a report.

"The Stoneling guard's bodies at the cave entrance must have been discovered."

Ji Xinghuo shared his deduction with his teammates.

Most of the Stonelings were in a state of slumber, and with numerous cave entrances, it wasn't common for Stonelings to come and go. It had taken several hours for the discovery to be made, which was already quite slow.

The Eccentric had been forced to take lives due to the narrow cave entrance.

With their group of five, even with the Hypnotist's concealment, they couldn't slip past the Stoneling guards so close by. Hence, they had resorted to killing the guards to force their way in.

At that moment, the Dagun person emerged from the palace and stood at the entrance, his gaze sweeping the surroundings as if searching for the intruders.

"Be careful."

Ji Xinghuo, who had been observing from the crevice, promptly hid himself from view.

However, he didn't forget about the other team hiding in the shadows.

Suddenly, his magnetic field perception detected something amiss. A dim human-shaped magnetic field detached itself from the Hypnotist and flew out from their hiding place, moving incredibly fast and silently through the rocky nests. Alarmingly, it was heading straight for Ji Xinghuo's position.

"Illusion!"

Ji Xinghuo immediately realized that it was an illusion created by the Hypnotist.

Evidently, they had known they were being tailed and had created this illusion to divert attention. Once the illusion was detected, it would draw the Legend Dagun person's attack, providing them with an opportunity to rush into the palace.

Both sides were vying to be the ambushing yellow sparrow!

The illusion could pass through walls and moved at an incredible speed. Ji Xinghuo had less than ten seconds to react.

"Don't move!"

Without time to explain, he entered a stealth state and darted out of the Stoneling nest, climbing onto a nearby rock and using it as cover. With his Dragonhawk Bow drawn, he nocked a Blaze Arrow, and his right eye glowing, he released the arrow at a high angle.

A dazzling fire trail blazed through the air, precisely striking the spot where the five intruders were hiding, and then...

BOOM!

The explosion illuminated their startled faces.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end