Hou Niao still hadn't gotten his act together; he truly didn't want to turn a friendship into a superior-subordinate relationship. In the future, when he stepped down, he wouldn't even have a single friend left.

"Important matters? Important matters should take you to Shaking Light Sword Palace. Here, it's all about eating, drinking, and having fun..."

Yan Baiyi understood his nature and ignored him, looking at his own sister. "Ziyi, you tell him."

Yan Ziyi was quite open; though they hadn't seen each other for a hundred years, just one encounter confirmed that her brother had made the right choice. This Hou brother was still the same unrestrained Hou brother, not a high-and-mighty Sect Leader at heart.

"Hou bro, Ziyi's visit to Dushan this time is more about finding you than seeing my brother."

As she spoke, she took out a magic artifact and handed it over. "Hou bro, do you recognize the owner of this magic artifact?"

Hou Niao nonchalantly accepted the artifact. A scan with his divine sense made his eyes narrow sharply. "Daoist Ying! Of course, I recognize it. That's a former disciple of Chu Sect. Ziyi, what's going on? Please explain in detail."

Yan Ziyi began, "This happened on the eighth of March five years ago, but due to various reasons, nothing came of it. It was only recently, during a casual chat with a Foundation Establishment disciple, that I learned about it. It involves the safety of a Sword Sect disciple, someone named Luo Yewang..."

She recounted the entire story, and to ensure the accuracy of the information, she even found the Golden Core junior who led the team to understand the specifics before hastily coming here.

Hou Niao's face was grave; it was troublesome, and they found out too late. "You're saying Daoist Ying was already gone at the time, Luo Yewang was missing, life and death uncertain?"

Yan Ziyi nodded. "Back then, several Sect Golden Core brothers went into Tuzewá to search and investigate, but found nothing. Luo Yewang wasn't found, nor those two Outer Space demons, nor any relics of Brother Luo. All those earth demons played dumb, feigning ignorance of everything... Later, the brothers involved reported this to the Sect, but somehow the news just never reached us."

Hou Niao and Yan Baiyi exchanged a glance, both knowing very well the reason. There had been a rift between the sects, so this sort of thing was not uncommon, whether intentionally or unintentionally ignored. It wasn't as if it was done by Yan Sect anyway.

But with just a little thought, Hou Niao could roughly understand the causality within. The timing was just right; it was after he had acted in Sui Mo City, yet he hadn't expected his unintentional act to bring such harm to a friend.

Feeling guilty, but the most important thing now was to determine the life and death of Luo Yewang, find out who did this, before moving on to other matters.

Nodding apologetically, he said, "Ziyi, thank you for bringing the news. Luo Yewang is a friend from when I first entered the path of Dao. Although he later left Sword Sect for various reasons, the fact that he is my friend will never change.

I need to handle this, so I can't entertain you for the time being..."

Yan Ziyi was a bit concerned, "Hou bro, actually within Yan Sect..."

Hou Niao knew what she wanted to say and comforted her, "Your Hou bro is not foolish enough to take it out on Yan Sect; from what you said, whether they were quick or not, the outcome couldn't have changed; as for the news, Ziyi, you're telling me now, aren't you?

In my view, you are the one bringing the news back for Yan Sect."

Just as he was about to turn around, Yan Baiyi grabbed him, "Leader, no matter what, please take me with you. I also bear some responsibility in this."

Hou Niao hesitated a bit. Yan Baiyi's current status was still a bit awkward. It's fine to go elsewhere, but if it were back to the Northern Territory...

Yan Baiyi insisted, "Trust me, I know that place better than you all do. Also, dealing with Yan Sect will be different with me there; I can manage the situation."

Hou Niao nodded, deciding not to leave yet. He sent out messages directly, and shortly after, two sword lights landed in front of them—Rao Zongzhi and Li Shipeng.

Rao Zongzhi, one of the few friends Luo Yewang had made in Sword Sect, although not comparable to Fang Yazi and others, was still a competent Sword Cultivator, given his solid foundation.

Li Shipeng, accustomed to handling hidden, underhanded deeds, with a meticulous mind and ruthless methods.

Hou Niao briefly explained the situation, which made Rao Zongzhi quite anxious; though he had many friends, true friends were few. An old friend in trouble, how could he not worry.

Hou Niao immediately instructed, "Li Shipeng will take charge, Zongzhi and Baiyi, you all head to Tuzewá. I want to know the life and death of Luo Yewang, and the origins of those two Outer Space demons, whether they're from Yuan Yi or Shaking Light?

There are two things you must remember: this matter does not involve Yan Sect, do not complicate things; do not enter the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains privately, even I dare not enter there. If you get stuck, I won't be coming to rescue you.

That's it, go now."

His instructions were straightforward, and the three left swiftly. This was the style of Sword Cultivators—swift and clean, vanishing in the blink of an eye, leaving Yan Ziyi looking around.

"This, this, this, Hou bro, you are really... Hey, brother, wait for me."

Hou Niao hovered quietly in the air, feeling a bit melancholic. He wasn't optimistic about the results of this operation; five years had passed, and the chances of Luo Yewang surviving were very low, given his status, he held no value in the hands of the Demon Clan, with no reason to be kept.

The reason for sending people to investigate the site was merely to confirm which mountain range those two Outer Space demons operated in.

Back in Sui Mo City, he had observed the five monsters, knowing that the two that got away were Hei Fu and White Head; from Yan Ziyi's words, he learned Hei Fu was a Black Python, and White Head was a White-headed Eagle. These two were the culprits.

He needed more precise information, rather than blindly plunging into the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains; this matter, already five years old, was not something to rush, nor a problem to marshal a Sword Cultivation Army to sweep through the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.

As a Sect Leader, he could appear impulsive, but he couldn't truly act impulsively; at the very least, his current focus should be on how to extract the Grotto Heaven.

There are two possibilities.

If Luo Yewang had already been killed by the monsters, that would actually be simpler. There would always be opportunities to kill those two demons; they couldn't stay hidden in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains forever.

What he must consider is, in case Luo Yewang is still alive, the possibility of him being taken into the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains; active rescue was unlikely, as he knew nothing—where is he held? What is his current situation? What is the protection level?

The difficulty of humans infiltrating a demon's lair far surpasses demons infiltrating the human world; he wouldn't undertake such a random, foolish task, since however many people were sent wouldn't be enough. Thus, the best solution would actually be an exchange.

The premise was, he had to first capture a few Outer Space demons.

How to do that? He fell into thought; back in Sui Mo City, he hadn't gone for the kill, and had left behind two under his umbrella and flag.

Nobody has eyes at the back of their head.

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