"From their size and appearance, these Black Feathered Flying Snakes should be around level 18," Li Yuan discerned from afar, using the Divine Palace Inquiry to confirm this fact.
If they were Second Rank Flying Serpents, besides being over thirty meters long and significantly larger, there would also be a more prominent horn on their heads, resembling a dragon.
"Slaying these few Flying Snakes wouldn't be hard."
"But it would easily alarm the others. Based on the intelligence, there are tens of thousands of Flying Snakes living in the Flying Serpent Valley, with at least a thousand above level 18," Li Yuan said as he slowly retreated, disappearing into the mountain forest.
He changed directions and continued deeper into the Flying Serpent Valley.
Slaying Flying Snakes? That wasn't the goal.
What Li Yuan sought was the precise location of the 'Heavenly Materials Treasures' mentioned by the captives and Wang Zhou, before making his next move.
On the road, Li Yuan occasionally encountered Flying Snakes.
Gradually, Li Yuan noticed that most were ordinary Flying Snakes around level 15, and those exceeding level 18 were rare.
But the density of the Flying Snakes made his scalp tingle. There were simply too many.
"If it weren't for the special environment of the Star Realm, with these Flying Snakes' powerful bloodlines naturally able to absorb a small amount of Origin Power, their numbers wouldn't be so vast," Li Yuan said, shaking his head slightly.
Just the source of food alone wouldn't solve the issue.
Li Yuan's Stealth skills had reached an 'abnormal' level, such that even Second Rank Prime Warriors might not be able to detect him, allowing him rapidly to approach the very heart of the Flying Serpent Valley.
Had it been another level 19 Martial Artist, they would have long since clashed with some of the Flying Snakes.
"Flying Serpent Valley," Li Yuan ventured through the jungle to the edge of a vast canyon on one side.
The towering mountains on both sides made it hard for sunlight to directly penetrate the canyon, shrouding it in dense mist, completely obscuring the bottom of the gorge.
"According to the intelligence inquiry, Flying Serpent Valley stretches for twenty kilometers, with a maximum width of 814 meters, the narrowest point about 300 meters, and an average depth well over 1800 meters," Li Yuan thought to himself.
Such a deep gorge is extremely rare on Blue Star, truly qualifying as a rift in the earth.
When Li Yuan looked up and saw the 'Ming Mountain' at the horizon's end, resembling a pillar holding up the heavens, he felt reassured.
Just like what Yang Zhu had said before: "The Star Realm is mysterious, anything is possible. All we can do is to accept it."
"Flying Snakes," Li Yuan caught a glimpse of dozens of Flying Snakes gliding out from the opposite mountain, swiftly disappearing into the mist.
Just with Li Yuan's naked eye, there were already numerous traces of Flying Snakes on the canyon's side walls.
"Detonating a nuclear bomb here might solve most of Flying Serpent Valley's problems," Li Yuan muttered to himself.
But Li Yuan was just musing.
The terrifying power of a nuclear explosion would likely attract the attention of a Flying Heaven Level existence.
Flying Heaven Level beings are extremely sensitive to large-scale energy fluctuations in the vast expanse of the world.
"In the depths of the gorge, shrouded by mist, lies the true nest of the Flying Snakes," Li Yuan thought to himself: "No rush, I'll first look for the Tianliang Clan."
Without finding the Tianliang Clan, Li Yuan was not willing to risk venturing in.
Soundlessly, Li Yuan moved away from the gorge, starting to search gradually along the mountain sides for traces of the Tianliang Clan.
If the captives were right in saying they had over 200 Tianliang Clan warriors, then... they couldn't possibly leave no trace.
...Scouring a dark canyon stretching over twenty kilometers, searching the mountain ranges on both sides for ten kilometers; such a vast range, if left to an ordinary human to explore, would likely take months to finish.
But with Li Yuan's strength.
Just eight hours later.
"The Tianliang Clan's camp," Li Yuan lay hidden in the mountain woods, staring down at the large encampment in a secluded valley below, along with two Tianliang Clan warriors.
This campsite, if not looked for carefully from a distance, was very hard to notice.
And it was quite a distance from the Flying Snakes' regular activity area, which is why it had remained safe.
The fact that he found it in such a short time was not only due to his remarkably efficient reconnaissance but also due to a stroke of luck.
"Such a large camp, by the number of people, should indeed exceed 200," Li Yuan pondered.
"Only, why are there so few around? Could it be that the Tianliang Clan has already started to act?" Li Yuan wondered.
With just the few warriors in the camp, Li Yuan could easily take them out.
But he didn't make a move.
The enemy is in the light, I am in the shadow, this was Li Yuan's biggest advantage.
"Wait," Li Yuan had patience.
...This waiting lasted a full six hours, as there was no concept of 'night' in the Mingxu Star Realm.
"Hm? Is that him?" Li Yuan's eyes brightened as he saw a familiar figure appear in his line of sight.
A tall and burly man with a combat saber on his back was scolding a few ordinary soldiers.
The robust man was none other than 'Logan,' one of the two captains of the Tianliang Clan who had slipped away from Li Yuan.
"Yet, adding them up, there's still only a dozen or so people in the camp," Li Yuan frowned: "It's not possible that so many Tianliang Clan warriors are dead, right?"
"And then there's this."
"None of the 'Divine Palace Disciples Blood Guards' mentioned prominently in the intelligence reports match the profiles."
...After observing for a while, Li Yuan gradually realized that these Tianliang Clan warriors seemed to take turns leaving their base.
They kept heading towards the direction of Flying Serpent Valley to explore.
"Could it be that the main forces of the Tianliang Clan have withdrawn?" A thought emerged in Li Yuan's mind.
Three hours later, three Tianliang Clan warriors started out from their base, cursing under their breath.
"Dammit, they actually left us here to die."
"We can only blame our captain for coming back alive by himself, even Captain Mo Long is dead."
"Be thankful. If we had joined the chase mission earlier, we'd probably all be dead at the hands of the Seven Stars Human Race by now." The three warriors discussed this among themselves in a low voice in 'Tianliang language', all quite dissatisfied.
"What's the point of this exploration? We don't dare to enter the core area of Flying Serpent Valley."
"It's useless, just for show."
"Let's just wander around the outskirts of Flying Serpent Valley and head back."
"So much time has passed and we've seen no trace of the Seven Stars Humans, they probably didn't come." The three warriors continued chatting in low voices, all the while remaining alert to their surroundings.
As elite fighters of the Tianliang Clan, though discontented, their combat readiness was still extremely high.
"Pft~" From what appeared to be a harmless bush nearby, suddenly flashed a black saber light, and two Tianliang Clan warriors had no chance to react as their heads flew up instantly.
"No good." The warrior at the forefront immediately turned back, filled with shock and rage, instinctively trying to press his 'Communication Device' for help.
Click~ His hands were fast, but the slash of the saber light was faster.
The light of the saber whizzed past, instantly severing the tall and thin Tianliang warrior's arm, blood splattered, and the Communication Device on his wrist naturally fell as well.
Then came a kick fast as lightning, directly sending the Tianliang warrior flying backward, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
The gap in strength was too great.
The three 18-level Tianliang Clan warriors, in the presence of the Li Yuan of now, were like babies facing a strong man.
Boom! With another swift movement.
Li Yuan instantly rushed to their front, stepping on the arm of the warrior that wasn't injured,
Crack~ the sound of bones breaking.
"Aaah~" The Tianliang Clan warrior let out a low moan of pain, his eyes almost spitting fire, glaring daggers at Li Yuan.
"The emblem on your chest indicates you're a 'squad leader', I know you can speak the Seven Stars Human language." Li Yuan said with an icy voice, "I ask, you answer, I'll give you a swift end."
"Dream on." The Tianliang Clan warrior roared.
A pill was directly forced into his mouth, and within mere seconds, his eyes bulged out roundly.
It was too painful, much more than ten times the pain of the severed arm.
Not long after, two more pills were forced into his mouth.
Just as Li Yuan was about to stuff three pills into his mouth simultaneously, the stubborn Tianliang Clan warrior finally gave up, willing to say anything.
After quickly ascertaining the relevant intelligence.
With a slash of the saber, Li Yuan granted him a swift end, the head falling to the ground.
The body thudded down heavily.
"Willpower quite strong, probably on par with many Prime Warriors." Li Yuan muttered to himself, "I thought I would need to use a Marrow Spirit Desiccant pill."
Li Yuan had gotten the information he wanted.
Could it possibly be false intel?
While interrogating, Li Yuan's powerful spiritual power was constantly sensing his heart rate, pulse, spiritual fluctuations, eye expressions... The likelihood of falsity was very low.
"Xue Shu, if there's no trace of our Seven Stars Human Race, will you return within three days?"
"Counting the time, today is the end of the first day."
"That means, they won't be back for another two days?" Li Yuan thought to himself, "First, head to the central gorge to verify whether the location of the Heavenly Materials Treasures is real."
Li Yuan's figure moved, vanishing into the jungle.
Soon, dozens of Flying Serpents were lured over by Li Yuan on purpose, quickly devastating the scene of the earlier slaughter... Li Yuan then killed two more Flying Serpents.
Creating the illusion that the three Tianliang Clan warriors had encountered an attack by a group of Flying Serpents.
Having arranged everything.
Only then did Li Yuan shake off the pursuit of the group of Flying Serpents, cleanse any scent from himself, and swiftly headed towards the center of the gorge, the core area shrouded in innumerable mists.
"Let's see what kind of treasure it is, to wield such an immense allure."