Chapter 883: Reunion
Chapter 883: Reunion (Combined)
Could I possibly be ten kilometers away from Qingqing Ni already?
Is it that fast?
Qiao Sang was momentarily confused about the situation.
If Steel Treasure couldn't catch up to Qingqing Ni, it might have been a matter of being a step behind.
But for that step to turn into a ten-kilometer gap in just a moment, it was quite unbelievable.
Qingqing Ni is still just a Junior Companion Beast, after all...
Fangy's body slowly shrank and teleported to its Beastmaster's side.
"Xunxun!"
At this moment, Treasure Seeker floated over, glanced down at the Gentle Breeze Compass, and let out a startled cry.
Why isn't the compass moving?
After a long period of searching, Treasure Seeker had already understood that the Gentle Breeze Compass was the artifact for finding Qingqing Ni.
Qiao Sang put down the compass, suppressing her turbulent emotions, and explained:
"This means Qingqing Ni is no longer within the compass's detection range."
"Xunxun..."
Upon hearing this, Treasure Seeker glanced at Steel Treasure and sighed.
She didn't expect Little Brother to be so slow...
"Steel Blade?"
Steel Treasure called out calmly, indicating what to do next.
Qiao Sang pondered for a moment and said:
"We can only move in large, rapid sweeps to see if we can bring Qingqing Ni back within the Gentle Breeze Compass's detection range."
In just a day, she had come to deeply understand the vastness of Secret Realm 16.
Being able to safely and quickly traverse most of the Hidden Realm was mainly due to Treasure Seeker's Space Teleportation.
Qingqing Ni, not only small in size, could also turn into a breeze and vanish without a trace. If they relied solely on Steel Treasure's or Fangy's normal flying speed, even with the Gentle Breeze Compass, it would be extremely difficult to catch up to Qingqing Ni in the Hidden Realm, possibly taking a month.
To be honest, not catching up to Qingqing Ni in five hours, and then having a few minutes' delay result in Qingqing Ni being ten kilometers away, was quite a shock to her.
"Xunxun!"
Treasure Seeker showed a "watch me" expression, its eyes glowing blue.
Qiao Sang thought of something and warned:
"Wait until the coordinates are confirmed safe before moving."
"Xunxun..."
Treasure Seeker paused.
After about seven or eight seconds, Qiao Sang and Steel Treasure disappeared from the sky.
Treasure Seeker cautiously performed the Space Teleportation.
It remembered its Beastmaster's words and only teleported after ensuring that the new location had no powerful auras.
While Treasure Seeker was checking the safety of the coordinates, Qiao Sang picked up the Gentle Breeze Compass to check for any movement.
After two consecutive Space Teleportations, the three rings and central needle of the compass, which had been still, started moving again.
Qiao Sang's eyes lit up, and she called out:
"No need to move anymore! The Gentle Breeze Compass is moving again; let's follow this direction!"
"Xunxun~"
Hearing this, Treasure Seeker happily floated around.
It was indeed still relying on it.
"Steel Blade."
Steel Treasure called out, flapping its wings forcefully and speeding up.
"Ya Ya?"
Fangy looked around and then at the flying Steel Treasure, calling out to ask if it should take over.
"No need", Qiao Sang said, not wanting to waste any more time. "Lulu already gave Steel Treasure a Healing Light a moment ago."
"Ya Fangy"
Fangy grew bored after a while and began to close his eyes for Meditation.
It was so competitive; even in the Hidden Realm, people wouldn't forget to take time for training. Seeing this, Qiao Sang was slightly moved. She retracted her gaze from Fangy and continued to observe the direction of the Gentle Breeze Compass.
To be honest, she felt incredibly lucky to have encountered Qingqing Ni earlier.
Qingqing Ni had disappeared from sight in just a few minutes after she decided to bond with it and started chasing. Yet, it had taken so much time to catch up, during which the Treasure Seeker had even used Space Teleportation twice to get the Gentle Breeze Compass moving again.
If it weren't for her incredible luck, how could such a swift Qingqing Ni have appeared before her?
When it followed the wind, it was unpredictable. Even if the Gentle Breeze Compass showed a reaction for a second or two, Qingqing Ni's speed would have allowed it to create a great distance in that short time.
No wonder, after thirty years of the Secret Realm 16 being open, and with 32 Gentle Breeze Compasses, only a few Beastmasters had successfully found and bonded with Qingqing Ni.
"Yah!"
As she was thinking, Fangy suddenly opened his eyes and called out seriously, looking down.
Someone was shouting for help.
Qiao Sang gathered her thoughts and instinctively said, "Let's go down and take a look."
Then, she remembered something and put the Gentle Breeze Compass in her pocket.
With a flap of the Steel Treasure Wings, they changed direction and flew downward.
In the thicket, a blue lion familiar with white striped Spirit Patterns was frantically fleeing.
On the ground, rows of sharp spikes shot up, trying to pierce the lion familiar's body.
"Help! Help me!"
The man on the lion familiar was screaming in distress.
Wind Sprint Lion, it's that guy again... Qiao Sang wore an exasperated expression.
The Steel Treasure was large, and the sound of its wings flapping could be heard within a certain range.
The man heard the noise and looked up in surprise. When he saw the figure in the sky, his mouth twitched.
"Let's go", Qiao Sang said coolly, patting Steel Treasure's back.
Sometimes, once is enough.
Without a word, Steel Treasure flapped its wings and left.
Just as Steel Treasure was about to leave, the man's expression turned grim, and he gave the command: "Hardening."
The Wind Sprint Lion abruptly stopped.
At the same time, a layer of translucent light enveloped its body.
Rows of sharp spikes shot out of the ground.
With a "crack", the spikes did not pierce the Wind Sprint Lion's body but broke off instead.
Then, the Wind Sprint Lion pushed its limbs down hard.
The sandy ground suddenly exploded, and several brown, rock-composed familiars were jolted out from underground.
"Wind."
The Wind Sprint Lion called out, and dozens of chaotic Wind Blades appeared, slicing through the rock familiars' bodies.
The rock familiars screamed as they fell to the ground.
Several figures leaped down from the dense trees.
"How is it still that guy? Didn't she say she was going to find the Icebird? Could she have already gotten the Icebird's feather?" The man who had originally been wearing a white down jacket had taken it off and was now wearing a green jacket.
"Impossible", the short-haired girl rolled her eyes. "That's the Icebird we're talking about."
"I'm not doing this anymore", the man climbed off the Wind Sprint Lion, complaining. "There are only a few Gentle Breeze Compasses, and the Secret Realm 16 is so vast. How could we possibly meet someone with a Gentle Breeze Compass so easily?"
"Wind."
The Wind Sprint Lion nodded fiercely.
The man in the cap said gravely, "I think the chances are high that the young woman we saw earlier has a Gentle Breeze Compass."
"What do you mean by that?" The man in the green jacket became interested.
"Didn't you say you didn't see the Gentle Breeze Compass on her?" The short-haired woman asked.
"Nothing."
A cat familiar, about twenty centimeters tall and mostly black, appeared out of nowhere and let out a meow, indicating that it hadn't seen the Gentle Breeze Compass this time either.
The man in the cap pondered for a moment before sharing his thoughts:
"We appeared in Icebird's territory because we had intelligence confirming that someone had seen Qingqing Ni's trail in that direction thirty years ago. The person we just encountered there was asking for Icebird's feather."
"There's no guarantee that she could find Icebird in such a short time, let alone successfully obtain its feather and end up here."
"Remember, we used consecutive Space Teleportations based on Zhicheng's location to get here so quickly."
"I believe she must have a specific purpose for moving around. Any family that possesses the Gentle Breeze Compass is not to be underestimated. Her familiars are not from the Hollow Plains, and they are clearly not the kind that an ordinary Beastmaster could have."
"Her identity is definitely not simple, and she is most likely not from the Hollow Plains."
"A Beastmaster who is not from the Hollow Plains but possesses the key to the Sixteenth Secret Realm and has come here can only be here to find Qingqing Ni, for no other reason."
Hearing this, the short-haired woman and the man in the green jacket became thoughtful.
Li Zhicheng held a different opinion:
"She is indeed not simple, but not necessarily in the way you think. I've been in close contact with her, and she looks young, like a Minor, but her strength is definitely not that of a Minor. She's probably some old monster, and the familiar that teleported me is a Ghost-type."
"Think about it, a Ghost-type Companion Beast that can use a Psychic Pet's Space Teleportation. How simple could a Beastmaster who has such a familiar be?"
"I think she has already obtained Icebird's feather. The speed at which she arrived here suggests that her Ghost-type familiar is at a very high level, possibly even Imperial Tier, or that its proficiency in Space Teleportation is very high."
"Besides, she wasn't holding the Gentle Breeze Compass. Even if she's looking for Qingqing Ni, it's not like she's using the Gentle Breeze Compass to find her."
He paused, his tone becoming serious:
"To be honest, even if she has the Gentle Breeze Compass, so what? Given her ability to pluck Icebird's feather, I don't think we stand a chance of taking the Gentle Breeze Compass from her."
The man in the green jacket nodded:
"I agree with Zhicheng. Her apparent age doesn't match her strength, and that's the most dangerous kind of person. I'd rather face someone who looks old."
The short-haired woman spoke slowly:
"There are many people in this Hidden Realm. We don't need to focus on just one."
The man in the cap fell silent, convinced by their arguments.
...
In a thicket where sunlight barely penetrated, Steel Treasure flapped its wings and descended from the sky.
A strong gale was blowing through the thicket, causing the towering ancient trees to sway wildly.
The three rings were rotating according to their pattern, indicating that Qingqing Ni was currently stationary. This gale was similar to the one that suddenly blew when Qingqing Ni took a photo with her. It seems her elder is here, so I must be in the right place... Qiao Sang dismounted from Steel Treasure, glanced at the Gentle Breeze Compass, and cautiously advanced in the direction indicated by its needle.
From the moment she entered Secret Realm 16, this was the first time Qiao Sang had moved on the ground.
"Squish..."
Walking on the soil covered with decaying leaves for about twenty minutes, Qiao Sang saw a cliff.
On the cliff, there was a bird familiar of an unusually large size, lying still with its eyes closed. Its body was primarily white and brown, with some green patches. From its head to its back and neck, it had green-striped skin, a tuft of sharp white feathers on its neck, and a long brown tail.
Qiao Sang's pupils constricted, and a post flashed through her mind:
Deep in the northwest direction, on a cliff, lives an Imperial Ancient.
A cliff?
An Imperial Ancient?
She had already entered the territory of an Imperial Ancient?!
No wonder the journey had been so smooth, with hardly any wild beast companions encountered. This was the territory of the Ancient Wing Bird!
Qiao Sang gave Treasure Seeker a covert look: Hurry up and leave!
However, Treasure Seeker was staring at the Ancient Wing Bird's feathers with bright eyes, looking eager to try something, and didn't notice her signal.
Was he really that daring? To set his sights on the feathers of a Royal Beast... Qiao Sang's lips twitched, and she carefully moved her feet, preparing to leave the way she had come.
At this moment, Electrotail, who had been sleeping soundly, slowly opened its eyes.
A terrifyingly large figure filled its field of vision.
Fear instantly filled Electrotail's pupils, and it let out the most desperate cry it had ever made since birth.
"Electrotail!!!"
The Ancient Wing Bird slowly opened its eyes, revealing a pair of cold red eyes.
"Quick, let's go!" Qiao Sang shouted without hesitation.
"Xunxun!"
Treasure Seeker quickly gathered his thoughts, his eyes glowing blue.
In the next second, Qiao Sang and Fangy disappeared from the spot.
The Ancient Wing Bird closed its eyes again, seemingly indifferent to the intruders.
A sudden gust of wind howled around it, but the Ancient Wing Bird remained unmoved, still with its eyes closed.
Taking advantage of the strong wind, a gentle breeze drifted toward the thicket.
...
Halfway down the mountain.
"Phew..." Qiao Sang let out a sigh of relief.
She had been terrified, never expecting to encounter one of the two Royal Beasts in this Hidden Realm...
"Ya Ya!"
Fangy suddenly called out, indicating that Electrotail had fainted.
It had been scared unconscious... Qiao Sang looked at Electrotail and called, "Lulu."
"Ice Emperor."
Lulu understood immediately, and the gem on her forehead glowed cobalt blue, shining on Electrotail.
When the cobalt blue light faded, Electrotail regained consciousness.
"Electrotail!"
It immediately clung to Qiao Sang's clothes, hiding behind her, and cautiously looked around.
"Don't be afraid, it's all over now", Qiao Sang comforted.
"Electrotail..."
Electrotail still trembled.
It had been so brave when it first met her... Come to think of it, they had been following the direction indicated by the Gentle Breeze Compass. Could Qingqing Ni be near the Ancient Wing Bird? How was she supposed to handle this... Qiao Sang glanced around and picked up the Gentle Breeze Compass.
The familiar scene repeated itself, with the three rings and three needles spinning wildly in 360 degrees.
At that moment, Qiao Sang felt her heart skip a beat.
She tried to steady her breathing and cautiously said, "Qingqing Ni?"
The next second, a clear and innocent voice responded:
"Qingqing?"
Then, Qingqing Ni appeared before her. (End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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