Traveling through the Immortal Realm: Starting from Becoming a Top-Level Furnace Cauldron

The cold moonlight shone on the soldiers' armor, reflecting bits of cold light.

Li Yue sat in the main tent, staring at the map in front of her, and did not speak for a long time.

"Where's that kid Bai Ming?" Li Yue asked casually, "Your third brother has become so prominent, and he doesn't show any reaction at all?"

"He's waiting outside," Bai Xiao said slowly, "Bai Ming's strength is still far inferior to the others, so it's best for him to stay with me for now."

Li Yue said "hmm" and continued looking at the map on the table.

Bai Xiao stood next to him and could tell at a glance that Li Yue's expression was not right.

"What's wrong, Boss Li?" Bai Xiao asked softly, "Are you worried about Yuguan and the others?"

Li Yue let out a breath from his nose, and the dim candlelight illuminated his cloudy eyeballs.

"More than two hours have passed."

"Based on their cultivation level, even if they don't rush, this much time is enough to return."

"Still no news?"

Bai Xiao hesitated for a moment and then shook his head.

Li Yue slowly moved her finger, tracing the route of Lu Yuguan and others on the map, and finally stopped at the most critical red dot.

Bai Xiao frowned and looked in the direction of Li Yue's finger, which was Houzhuang.

"Do you have any impression of this place?" Li Yue asked, looking up.

"Not sure." Bai Xiao said, staring at the red dot.

Li Yue took a deep breath and stared at the map in front of her in a daze.

Bai Xiao frowned and asked, "I don't see anything unusual around here. It should be just an ordinary village, right?"

"Maybe I'm overthinking it," Li Yue muttered to herself in a deep voice, "If this is really an ordinary village, the soldiers from the reconnaissance team wouldn't be so late in returning."

"It's less than half an hour until dawn. I'm worried that Lu Yuguan and the others won't be able to return. I'm afraid they've run into some tough situations."

Bai Xiao's heart immediately hung in the air. After hearing what Li Yue said, he felt that something was indeed strange.

"But even if they really do encounter a demon cultivator, with their abilities, they shouldn't be unable to handle it, right?" Bai Xiao said hesitantly, "Yuguan is a very talented kid, he wouldn't do anything stupid."

Li Yue sighed and said, "If they are spies from the demonic cultivators, I wouldn't worry. I'm just worried that they might run into an enemy that a Foundation Establishment cultivator can't handle."

"Boss, you're worrying too much. This place is not far from Kyoto. Even if the demon cultivators in Nanzhou have three heads and six arms, they won't sneak into Longhua Country and ambush us in Kyoto." Bai Xiao said with a smile.

"But I always feel something is wrong," Li Yue frowned, staring at the map in a trance. "If it's not a demonic cultivator, then what could be holding them back?"

Although Bai Xiao was confused, he couldn't help but feel a little worried after hearing Li Yue's words.

Li Yue seemed to suddenly remember something. She turned the entire map over, carefully examined the bottom corner of the paper, and then suddenly said, "Sure enough, there's a problem!"

"What?" Bai Xiao leaned over.

"This map is from the third system. According to the Ministry of War regulations, it should be from the fifth system before it can be released to the military," Li Yue analyzed calmly. "The work of the fourth and fifth systems should involve on-site proofreading and calibration."

"The last two steps were not carried out. It seems someone is deliberately concealing some information."

Bai Xiao also realized that things were not simple.

He frowned and scanned the map repeatedly, trying to find the secret hidden in it.

Li Yue's discovery made him feel nervous. The abnormality of the map meant that they could not trust any of the location signs ahead.

"Found it, look."

Li Yue placed the map on the table, performed a fire-attributed technique to make her fingers slightly hot, and then rubbed them hard against the mark on Houzhuang.

The original red circle turned into a black cross, and the words "Houzhuang" disappeared.

"This is!--"

Bai Xiao was extremely shocked. He naturally knew what the black cross meant.

Li Yue sneered and said, "It seems that someone is really looking to make trouble for us during this southern expedition."

Just as the two were discussing, the curtain was suddenly pulled open and Zhao Zimo walked in with two axes.

Li Yue and Bai Xiao looked at each other and read caution in each other's eyes.

"Your Highness Zhao, it's so late. Why are you here instead of resting in your tent?" Li Yue said to Zhao Zimo in a deep voice.

Zhao Zimo took a step forward and half-knelt on the ground, saluting towards Li Yue.

"General Li, Yuguan hasn't returned yet. I'm afraid something has happened to him. Please lend me a fast horse so I can go look for him."

Li Yue stared at Prince Xin Zhao in front of him and said slowly, "Your Highness Zhao is so concerned about the cultivators of Longhua Country. I wonder if he has other plans?"

"Please rest assured, General Li, Yuguan and I are good friends and will never have any ill intentions." Zhao Zimo looked at Li Yue sharply.

Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, Bai Xiao hurried forward to help Zhao Zimo up.

"Your Highness Zhao, please stand up quickly. Commander Li's words are quite biased, but considering the current situation, I hope Your Highness will be more tolerant." Bai Xiao explained.

Zhao Zimo stood there quietly, waiting for Li Yue's answer.

"In that case, I won't be polite," Li Yue threw the map to Zhao Zimo and said in a low voice, "Your Highness Zhao, there is a village in front of the canyon that Lu Yuguan and the other two went to explore, but it's not an ordinary village."

"what is that?"

Zhao Zimo's heart skipped a beat.

"Your Highness can see that the villages replaced by the black cross are all the villages that have suffered unexpected events." Li Yue said slowly.

"Yinzhuang?"

It was the first time Zhao Zimo heard this word.

"In other words, any living creature there that can move," Bai Xiao said, gazing into Zhao Zimo's eyes and emphasizing each word, "is not alive."

"Report!"

More soldiers broke in from outside the tent. He didn't even notice Zhao Zimo inside the tent, kneeling on the ground in a hurry.

"What happened?" Li Yue scolded.

"Commander-in-Chief, we've detected spiritual energy fluctuations from the communication order in the southwest direction of Houzhuang!"

"What!?"

Bai Xiao was no longer calm. A torrent of energy rushed from his heels to his forehead, almost causing him to fall to the ground.

Li Yue stood up and clenched his fists. The armor on his body kept rubbing against each other, making a series of metal collision sounds.

"The most worrying thing has happened. Pass the order down. There is no need to wait for the reconnaissance team to return. The entire army must continue to advance——"

"Yes!"

The soldiers quickly left the main tent.

Bai Xiao clenched his sweaty palms into fists, but still couldn't stop his body from trembling.

Li Yue noticed Bai Xiao's annoyance and scolded him dissatisfiedly: "What's the point of standing there? Go pack your things."

"It's all my fault. I shouldn't have agreed to let them go..." Bai Xiao was so angry that his body was shaking.

"What's the point of regretting here?" Li Yue said in a deep voice, "You're not the only one who agreed to let them go. I'm also involved. There's still time to act now."

Zhao Zimo stepped forward and held Bai Xiao's shoulders, saying in a deep voice, "General Bai, calm down. Now is not the time to panic."

Bai Xiao stood there and calmed down. When he raised his eyes, he seemed to have changed his expression.

"The coach is right, I panicked."

Bai Xiao pulled Zhao Zimo's arm and left the main tent directly. Bai Ming, who had been waiting at the door for a long time, was already impatient.

"Brother, how about I go back and pack my things first?"

Seeing Bai Ming being so disappointing, Bai Xiao was so angry that he punched him on the top of his helmet.

“Ouch—”

Bai Ming covered his head in pain.

"What are you still standing there for? Prepare your horses!" Bai Xiao shouted sternly, "I don't care if it's a living thing or a dead thing. If you dare to touch a hair of my Bai family, you will disappear from this world!"