Baby with Daoist Monarch System

The mountain range, lush with greenery, exuded a wild vitality.

A peregrine falcon with snowy white feathers glistening brilliantly in the sunlight was performing the wondrous Soaring Skill, slicing through the high-altitude gales. Its sharp round eyes seemed to penetrate the ground’s minutiae, thoroughly examining below as if to uncover every detail.

Suddenly.

The remarkable peregrine falcon abruptly noticed something.

With a rapid ascent like a green onion sprouting from dry land, it soared high into the sky, then retracted its wings, diving downwards at lightning speed.

The wind howled, like a short flute’s whistle.

Its speed was startlingly fast.

Fast enough to leave a white cyclone trail behind.

In just a moment.

This extraordinary peregrine falcon landed swiftly before a concealed mountain cave, shrouded in mist.

"Crunch--"

Xiao Bai walked on the ground, its sharp claws crushing the withered leaves and dried sticks, its eyes brightening at the sight of a bonfire in front of the cave.

"There are traces of people here, could it be...?"

Xiao Bai’s heart stirred with excitement.

It had been four days since Xu Binghu disappeared. At night, it searched towards the east of the Great Mountain all night long. Despite its sharp vision, even at an altitude of ten thousand meters, it could still see the ground clearly. But at night, no matter how good the eyesight, there were limitations, and the sudden dense fog further hampered its efforts.

Only during the day could it see some details on the ground, and just now in front of a fog-shrouded mountain cave did it discover traces of a human.

With hope in its heart, Xiao Bai approached the cave step by step, while cautiously examining the surroundings, moving with extreme care.

The sudden rise of mist in the Great Mountain was mysterious. When setting out to look for people, Master Xu Ran had warned to be cautious, cautious, and even more cautious amidst the fog!

Moving excruciatingly slowly, the instant it entered the cave, a bloody scent hit, accompanied by the stench of decay.

"Hmm?"

The bloody odor, alongside the traces of human fire-making at the cave’s entrance, indicated that if there were indeed someone in the cave, they must be injured. Considering this decayed smell, if it’s really Xu Binghu, things aren’t looking good, maybe even...

Although speculating, Xiao Bai continued to venture in slowly.

Its suspended heart finally eased upon seeing the figure deep inside the cave.

At the cave’s deepest stone wall lay a human corpse reduced to bones, small in stature, clearly not Xu Binghu.

Xu Binghu had only been missing for four days; even if he encountered danger, he couldn’t have turned to bones in such a short time. The moment entering the cave, the decayed scent was evidently from the skeleton.

Seeing it wasn’t the person being sought, Xiao Bai immediately retreated from the cave, harboring a glimmer of luck but still filled with worry.

The mist grew thicker; should this continue, even in a day, it might be impossible to see anything from above, obliging a ground search. By then, never mind Xu Binghu, even its own direction could easily be lost.

In the Great Mountain, getting lost was most feared. What if inadvertently someone ventured into the deep mountains?

Given Xu Binghu’s cultivation, entering the deep mountains, regardless of encountering a Great Demon, even relatively weak Demon Beasts in the depths would only result in battle, without a chance of survival.

Not to mention, deep within lurked a Snake King eyeing the Great Wilderness Border Village and Xu Family. Even if still asleep, the blood-colored giant tiger encountered earlier—that aura, even now, facing the blood-colored giant tiger, it’s not a match.

If captured by the Snake King’s subordinates, it might be turned into a weapon against the Great Wilderness Border Village and the Xu Family.

For Master Xu Ran, any such scenario is extremely unfavorable.

The mountain mist grew denser, even its visibility extended only about three meters. If enemies stood beyond three meters, they wouldn’t be discovered, even employing the Divine Eagle Skill. Luckily, Xu Ran taught it the Wind Control Skill, allowing it to sense airflow for any enemies, an immense advantage in the fog, mitigating concerns for its own safety.

With a flash of memory, Xiao Bai vanished abruptly, and in the next instant, its figure appeared high above, eyes ceaselessly scanning the ground, seeking traces of humanity.

...

To the west of the Great Mountain.

A figure less than a meter tall appeared in the deep mountains, moving swiftly, like searching, meticulously inspecting every possible hiding spot for people. This person was Xu Ran, seeking the missing.

He seemed like a machine, almost expressionless, repeating each action: discovering a place, searching for people, if none found, moving to the next location.

"This mist, it’s getting thicker!" Xu Ran murmured.

Initially, he too searched from above the Great Mountain, similar to Xiao Bai, but with the thickening mist obscuring view, he descended to search on foot. Fortunately, with the Wind Control Skill and Smell Wind Skill, Xu Ran encountered no danger.

While searching, a few Demon Beasts, considering him small, attempted to ambush him from the mist, only to be instantly killed by a pocket-sized flying sword.

Suddenly, merely two meters from Xu Ran, a fierce gust of wind arose suddenly. The mist there briefly dissipated, but in an instant, the cleared mist quickly replenished, even denser, as if in a cloud layer.