Reversing the Milky Way

Ling Feng: "I still think it's better for us to split into two teams. Crying Forest Ridge consists of two mountain ranges, so it will be easier to search if we split up. Besides, those Blood Demon Bats have appeared in both of these mountain ranges."

Ling Feng's words made Li Hui ponder. Bai Cheng, seeing the affectionate look in Ling Feng's eyes, understood the other party's intention. After all, no one wants their wife to be snatched away by someone else.

Huimin: "In my opinion, it would be better to split into two teams. Fellow Daoist Lingfeng and Miss Li are from the same sect, so let them lead the rest of you. Junior Brother Huiwu and I will travel with you."

Li Hui nodded helplessly after hearing the suggestion.

Li Hui: "Alright then, please let Master Huimin accompany us on this journey."

Meanwhile, inside Yuelin Mountain Villa.

In the main hall where the family held discussions, Yue Qunxiong sat high in the position of the family head, while below him, Yue Feng sat opposite a person dressed in the robes of an elder of the Crimson Soul Sect. The person's face was half-covered by a hood, and an old face could be vaguely seen. It was none other than Zhu Hongtao, the Great Elder of the Crimson Soul Sect.

Yue Qunxiong: "That group has already gone in. I wonder what instructions Elder Zhu has?"

Zhu Hongtao stroked his graying beard.

Zhu Hongtao: "Since this was their own decision, how can we be blamed?"

Yue Feng: "Father, are we really going to take action? They are people specially sent by the Censorate."

Yue Qunxiong: "So what if they were specially sent? Didn't those disciples from the White House Academy also perish inside?"

Yue Feng: "But their team this time has many experts, and they've even hired two foreign players. I'm worried..."

Yue Qunxiong raised his hand to interrupt Yue Feng.

Yue Qunxiong: "A bunch of juniors who haven't even opened their meridians yet, how could they possibly be a match for that demon?"

After saying this, Zhu Hongtao suddenly took out a bottle of pills from his sleeve.

Zhu Hongtao: "Master Yue, there's no need to worry. This is the latest experimental result. For this, I've specially brought three gardenias that have already been cultivated in the sect."

As he finished speaking, he slightly raised his hand and beckoned to the void, and a series of solid footsteps came from the dark corner.

Immediately afterwards, three figures of unusual height and weight emerged from the shadows, their bodies bound with strips of cloth. Two of them were nearly three meters tall, with forearms thicker than an average person's thighs, while the shorter one was about two and a half meters tall, with an unusually full chest, clearly the figure of a woman.

Zhu Hongtao: "These three are all rogue cultivators who can only reach the late stage of Qi Condensation Realm. With the help of the Crimson Soul Pill that I have newly developed, their combat power can be increased by leaps and bounds, and they may even be able to touch the threshold of the Meridian Opening Realm."

After saying that, he handed the bottle of pills in his hand to Yue Feng.

Zhu Hongtao: "I'll trouble Young Master Yue to personally handle this matter."

After receiving the pill bottle, Yue Feng immediately stood up, bowed to Zhu Hongtao, and then left the main hall. The three exceptionally robust cultivators followed him out.

In the Crying Forest Ridge, Bai Cheng's team made a slow and unsteady advance. Along the way, Bai Cheng discovered that there were very few wild animals in the Crying Forest Ridge, not a single spirit beast was seen, and not even a bird was heard in the forest.

To avoid encountering the monster, they chose to travel through the mountains and forests, conserving their energy for any unexpected events.

Li Hui: "Although this is not the first time I have been here, this Crying Forest Ridge is really strange. This place is in an environment with a spiritual energy concentration of four times that of other places. Not only are there no spirit beasts, but there are not even any wild animals to be seen."

Huimin: "Could they have been hunted down by those so-called Blood Demon Bats? I've heard that Blood Demon Bats are good at sucking blood essence, and they don't just kill people, they even kill fierce wild beasts."

Li Hui: "But then again, we've been in the mountains for so long and haven't found anything unusual."

As he spoke, Li Hui stared intently at the demon-hunting compass in his hand, but the compass showed that no signal was detected within a ten-mile radius.

He put the compass away, and the group continued their journey.

At some unknown time, a thin mist quietly rose from the mountains, slowly seeping into the forest, making the path ahead appear increasingly eerie, unpredictable, and terrifying.

About half an hour later, Bai Cheng suddenly noticed that the texture of the soil under his feet had changed. Looking down, he realized that the ground beneath his feet had unknowingly turned light red.

Bai Cheng: "Look at the ground."

Upon hearing Bai Cheng's words, everyone lowered their heads.

Hye-min: "What's wrong with the ground?"

Li Hui: "It's just a bit reddish, I guess it's because of the soil."

Bai Cheng squatted down to observe carefully.

Bai Cheng: "Is it really because of the soil?"

Li Hui: "Hmm? What are your thoughts?"

Bai Cheng: "The soil in a dense forest can't be this firm. Because of the fallen leaves, even after they decompose, the ground becomes very soft. This is especially true in dense forests. But look around here, wherever there is red soil, it is exceptionally firm."

After hearing this, everyone couldn't help but look around.

Hye-min: "So what do you mean?"

Li Hui asked a question, but Bai Cheng ignored him and went straight to a tree.

Bai Cheng: "Look at these tree roots."

As the group stepped forward, they discovered that the tree root where Bai Cheng was pointing had also been stained red, and was even more vibrant red than the ground beneath it.

Bai Cheng: "Even if it's a soil issue, the tree roots couldn't possibly be red."

Bai Cheng's words prompted everyone to ponder.

Bai Cheng: "Think about it, there are tens of thousands of Blood Demon Bats, but we haven't found a single one since we came to this forest. This is very illogical. Even if they don't come out during the day, where are their habitats?"

Li Hui: "What do you mean?!"

Bai Cheng: "We all know that the Blood Demon Bats attack at night, but where are they during the day? Are they in the trees? But we haven't found a single one along the way."

After speaking, Bai Cheng looked at Li Hui with a serious expression.

Bai Cheng: "Captain Li, I wonder if the Demon-Finding Compass can detect underground monsters?"

Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned.

Li Hui also considered the possibilities in Bai Cheng's words.

Li Hui: "No, the Demon-Seeking Compass is essentially the same as our divine sense search. Once it encounters an obstruction or some shielding array, it cannot detect anything. If it is really underground, then it is even more impossible to determine."

Bai Cheng: "So what do we do now?"

Li Hui: "No rush, let's search the entire forest according to plan first."

With that, the group continued on their way.

Unbeknownst to them, the sound of their footsteps traveled across the thicket of ground to the empty nest beneath their feet. In the stillness, even their words caused ripples in the air, followed by the sudden opening of a pair of blood-red eyes.

The group's search lasted from morning until evening. Since they encountered no suspicious traces in the forest, they split up and flew quickly through the forest on their swords to search, before gathering together again.

During this period, Bai Cheng discovered a very peculiar bright red flower, whose roots, stems and leaves were all the same bright red color, which aroused his curiosity.

Before long, the group met at the agreed location.

Li Hui: "It might be just as Bai Cheng said. We have searched the entire Crying Forest Ridge in the north, and there are hardly any monsters or even wild animals left, let alone demonic beasts."

Hye-min: "What do we do now?"

Li Hui: "It's getting dark soon, let's hurry up and leave here to meet up with Ling Feng and the others."

The group responded in unison and then quickly flew out of the forest.

At the entrance of Yuelin Manor, Li Hui led a group of people back, while Ling Feng and the others had been waiting for a long time.

Ling Feng: "Why are you taking so long? We've been waiting for you for ages."

Li Hui: "We discovered some issues, which caused a slight delay. What have you discovered?"

Upon hearing this, Ling Feng and Li Qingrou exchanged a glance.

Ling Feng: "To be honest, we have made a discovery. Because our sect's cultivation method is very unique, it is extremely sensitive to the slightest shockwaves in the air. So after my junior sister and I explored the area to the east of the Crying Forest Ridge, we discovered a very large and complex cave system. That's why we returned here ahead of schedule and wanted to hear your suggestions."

Huimin: "If that's really the case, it seems those so-called Blood Demon Bats are hiding underground!"

Li Hui: "In that case, we'll make a decision tomorrow. Let's report the findings tonight."

The group then returned to the villa.

As they passed the entrance to the resort, an old woman suddenly blocked their way.

The old woman pleaded, "Please, sirs, have mercy! My son has been missing for days. Please, I beg you, come into Crying Forest and help me search for him."

She knelt on the ground, kowtowing, while tears streamed down her face, and everyone rushed forward to help her up.

Bai Cheng: "Please get up quickly, let's talk things out slowly."

As soon as he finished speaking, several more people ran over, all pleading with them to enter the Crying Forest Ridge to search for their relatives. This made everyone realize that something was amiss.

Li Hui: "What's wrong with you? Tell me slowly. Also, how can you be sure that your relatives disappeared in Kulinling?"

Upon hearing this, a middle-aged man stepped forward from the crowd and spoke up.

The middle-aged man said, "It was the patrol team from the manor who told us. Here's what happened: the manor regularly organizes people to go out and collect things. Although the wild animals around Weeping Forest Ridge have disappeared, there are still many rare and precious spiritual plants growing there. Because this task is quite dangerous, the rewards are extremely generous. However, even so, most of the collection teams only dare to linger outside Weeping Forest Ridge and dare not go deep. But even so, every time they go out, people still go missing, especially in the last two years. And the news of those missing people comes from the guards of the manor who have returned."

Bai Cheng: "The strange flower you mentioned earlier? Is it this kind?"

As he spoke, Bai Cheng took out the red flower he had found in Kulinling.

Middle-aged man: "Yes, yes, that's it. We call it the Blood Spirit Flower, and we mainly collect this kind of spiritual plant every time."

At this moment, Li Hui and the others also gathered around.

Li Hui: "I've never seen this flower in the illustrated guide. Where did you find it?"

Bai Cheng: "Under a hidden thicket of bushes."

Ling Feng: "This flower is extraordinary. Judging from the natural spiritual energy it emits, it has already reached the third grade level."

Bai Cheng: "I picked this flower because I had never seen it in the illustrated guide, so I wanted to study it."

Li Hui: "Really? This is a new discovery. But if this flower exists in Kulinling, why hasn't anyone reported it?"

After speaking, Li Hui looked at the crowd in front of him.

Li Hui: "What do you do with these flowers after you pick them?"

The old woman said, "We don't know either, but all the flowers we picked were bought up by Master Yue."

Upon hearing this, the group exchanged glances, all keenly sensing that the flower might hold a significant secret.

As night fell, everyone gathered in the house to discuss the matter, and in the center of the table was the Blood Spirit Flower that Bai Cheng had brought back.

Huimin: "In my humble opinion, Master Yue probably has some unspeakable secret."

Ling Feng: "Do you even need to tell me? Since this flower is a third-grade spiritual plant, why doesn't he report it or even promote it?"

Li Hui: "Wait, we're here to investigate the Blood Demon Bat, not this flower. Now that we've confirmed there's a spacious cave beneath Crying Forest Ridge, I'll go down and investigate tomorrow."

Ling Feng: "Even so, we haven't found any passage leading down here today, and none of you seem to know the Earth Shield Technique. Are we just going to dig down directly?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Cheng secretly thought of the Earth Element Compass he had obtained. If he were to take out this treasure now, it would definitely solve the problem. However, he was also afraid that if he took out such an important treasure with his current level, others would covet it. After all, he had seen many cases of murder and robbery, and he himself had been caught up in them.

Li Qingrou: "Don't worry, everyone. My senior brother and I have already discovered a cave that is very close to the ground. We only need to dig a little to get directly underground."

Li Hui: "Alright, in that case, we'll begin our operation tomorrow. Bai Cheng, you'll be on watch tonight."

Bai Cheng nodded in response.

Late at night, Bai Cheng sat in front of the table with the Demon-Patrolling Compass in his hand. After playing with it for a while, he had figured out how the compass worked.

To put it simply, the demon-locking mechanism of the Demon-Seeking Compass is not automatic; it requires you to infuse it with a trace of spiritual power.

This spiritual power will be amplified infinitely by the array of the Demon Patrol Compass, much like radar wave reflection. Once the array detects the demonic spiritual power emanating from the demon beast, it will display its location and position on the array plate.

The search area of ​​the compass is also related to the array pattern engraved on it; the compass array pattern can only search a radius of ten miles.

Bai Cheng poured his spiritual energy into the compass in front of him, and the array patterns on the compass emitted a series of bright fluctuations.

Bai Cheng: "It seems I'll have to study the array patterns carefully when I get back. Magic artifacts like these compasses are made from a small array, and I'm afraid we'll need this function quite often in the future."

As Bai Cheng repeatedly infused spiritual energy into the compass, the array patterns on the compass continued to ripple.

Suddenly, after a wave swept across the compass, a green dot appeared on the compass, and the green dot was located inside Yue Lin Manor.

Bai Cheng: "Huh?!!"

Bai Cheng infused his spiritual power again, and after another ripple swept across the area, the green dot suddenly disappeared.

Bai Cheng: "What's going on? Did I see it wrong?"

Bai Cheng then tried several more times, but nothing appeared on the compass.

Meanwhile, in an alley on the south side of the villa, chilling chewing sounds echoed through the night. At the feet of three tall and imposing figures lay the body of a patrolman whose limbs had been severed.

The patrolman from the mountain village had been dead for some time, his eyes glaring angrily ahead.

The eldest brother said, "Damn it, I haven't had any meat on this journey. I finally got here, and now I have to listen to that brat's nonsense."

The speaker was the leader of the three. As he spoke, he raised the human leg he was holding, tore off a piece of flesh, and chewed it. When he opened his mouth, his sharp teeth crushed the fresh flesh like tofu.

Second brother: "Big brother, you're wrong to say that. They know we haven't eaten anyone in a long time, so they specifically asked us to catch a lone patrolman for a snack."

The one who spoke was the second of the three. As he spoke, he tore open the belly of the man lying on the ground with one hand, pulled out the intestines, and sucked them all into his stomach in one gulp, like sucking on noodles.