Ye Cha came over at once upon receiving the information. He came with all the patriarchs of the Cyan Phoenix Race. His plate was full from dealing with various matters at their ancestral lands. That being said, Lu Li"s business was the most important of all. Ye Cha took the incident seriously.Ye Cha took over the investigation. Lu Li gave him full access. Many warriors were called over to the Inferno to look for traces and clues.
Time went on day by day!
But there was no progress yet. Lu Li was getting more and more impatient. Lu Ling seemed to have vanished into thin air. It appeared that the three warriors had come from above and they left behind no clue at all.
Lu Li"s despair grew stronger as time went by, just like what he felt in the Wu Ling City years ago.
But this time was different and much worse. Back then, he saw Granny of Ghost Snake taking away Lu Ling himself. At the very least, he knew who took her away. He could find ways to look for her and to get her back.
On the contrary, he did not know how Lu Ling disappeared, where she had gone or how to save her.
Lu Renhuang should be on his way back. That being said, it would take him at least two months to arrive even at the top of his speed.
Lu Li was on pins and needles for all this time. He could not focus on cultivating or sleep. Jiang Qiling and the twins accompanied him every day and none could settle down to cultivate.
Half a month later, Ye Cha finally came to report back to Lu Li!
Lu Li"s eyes glowed brightly with hope. However, Ye Cha did not seem to be here to deliver good news. He dropped to one knee, too afraid to look up. "Saint Lord, I am sorry, but I found no clue. It seems that the three people have come from nowhere and then disappeared. They left no trace behind. We scoured the Inferno, the Deserted World and we searched the Central Plains but of no avail. Saint Lord… I am incapable. Please punish me." Ye Cha said.
Silence!
Lu Li said nothing. He closed his eyes, feeling exhausted. He let Ye Cha go. He knew that n.o.body in the world could find Lu Ling if not even Ye Cha could do it.
It had been a long time. If it were his enemies, they would have contacted him to discuss terms.
If that were the case, Lu Li would be delighted. He would give his enemies the Wicked Bead without any hesitation if that was what they wanted as long as he could save Lu Ling.
It had been a long time. There was no message delivered to him. This implied that the three had come for Lu Ling.
As for the relations.h.i.+p between the three men and Lu Ling, Lu Renhuang might be the only one that could provide some insight.
Lu Li told all to leave and stay in the castle for three days and nights alone. Finally, a piece of news from the City of Mystic Armor got him out.
Great Grandfather Five sent a message. Little White was back with Patriarch Eight and some unfamiliar beast eggs.
Little White crossed mountains and rivers with Patriarch Eight. There was no telling how long of a route they had covered. In the end, they stopped at the southeast of the Central Plains. Little White asked Patriarch Eight to pick up some beast eggs. Patriarch Eight suspected that Little White was looking for food for the Dragon Demon, so he asked Lu Li to take a look.
Lu Li was not in the mood to check.
He did not want to step away from the castle at all in case Lu Ling would come back all of a sudden or a message from the enemies would be delivered to him.
He asked Ye Cha to send a message to Patriarch Eight, telling him to come with Little White. Afterward, Lu Li went back to the castle alone again.
Jiang Qiling and the twins could tell that Lu Li had withered. He had lost weight. Even though worried, they did not know what to do. They couldn"t even find the words to comfort him. Lu Ling was too important to him.
Several days later, Patriarch Eight came, together with Lu Zhengyang and Great Grandfather Five. Lu Zhengyang had been informed some time ago, but Demon-slaying City had many things to attend to. He must take care of the Eastern Land of Oceans as well. Hence, he only found time to come back today.
Lu Li asked Jiang Qiling to take care of Lu Zhengyang while he and Patriarch Eight went to the Inferno. At an open land, Lu Li said, "Take out those eggs."
Usually, Xuan Beast was vivipara, not oviparity, unlike birds. Little White squeaked. Patriarch Eight took out more than a dozen huge eggs with black and white patterns from his ring.
"Buzzing~"
Lu Li set the Dragon Demon out. The latter was attracted by the dozen eggs as soon as it came out. The Dragon Demon swallowed the eggs all at once, hungry for more. The Dragon Demon looked around but found no more eggs. It turned to Lu Li and begged for some more.
"Good!"
This was the only piece of good news lately. The glow in Lu Li"s eyes restored a bit. He ignored the Dragon Demon and asked Patriarch Eight directly, "What kind of beast is this?"
"The Feiyi Beast!"
Patriarch Eight was delighted. "It is a kind of beast that lives in the moor. The beast has one head, two bodies, four wings, and six legs. The Xuan Beast is only of sixth rank. In the moor, the beast can be very threatening but not so much outside."
Lu Li did not care about these details. He touched upon the key points, "Can we breed this kind of beast on a large scale? If so, capture some and provide them with unlimited food. Let them reproduce. I need a large number of their eggs."
"I suppose so."
Patriarch Eight thought for a while and replied, "There are many Feiyi beasts in that swamp. There is a Beast King there, though. I think we can kill that Beast King and then throw in some low-level Xuan Beasts. Feiyi Beasts have no natural enemies. With enough food, the beasts can breed quickly."
"Okay!"
Lu Li added after some thoughts, "Go and look for similar terrains around in the Central Plains. Find as many as you can. Put some Feiyi Beasts in each location. Provide them with unlimited supplies of food and station armies there to make sure that the Feiyi Beasts would not be attacked. Transport all the eggs here. You can build some Teleportation Formations and you work out the details. You will be in charge. Ask Great Grandfather Five to work with you. Bottom line is, I need a large number of those eggs you just gave me."
"I understand!"
Patriarch Eight knew the gravity of this matter. That huge beast that made him s.h.i.+ver was Lu Li"s spirit beast. Nurtured well, that beast could make great contributions.
Patriarch Eight did not concern himself about Lu Ling. There was little he could do, and Lu Zhengyang was here anyway. He must focus on the task at hand.
Patriarch Eight left. Lu Li felt he could breathe. At least, he had found food for the Dragon Demon who liked it very much, even more so than the egg of the Miemeng bird. He would now have the confidence to face powerful warriors of the nine universes once the Dragon Demon grew up.
He had several years before powerful warriors from the nine universes would arrive. Lu Li soon s.h.i.+fted his mind away from this. He pictured Lu Ling"s face in his mind. Gazing into the sky, he murmured, "Sister, where have you gone? Who took you away? Will we… meet again in this lifetime?"