"Of course I know!" Xu Ke's voice carried a hint of pride.
"I told you, Senior Brother Lu Ya is really nice."
"When he brought me to the Beast Taming Sect, the sect was so huge, and he knew I was mischievous and liked running around everywhere. So to make it easy to find me, he gave me a jade plaque."
"He can sense my location at any time."
"And the function works both ways—I can find him whenever I want too."
"Heh heh, I actually know that Senior Brother Lu Ya gave it to me because he was afraid I'd get bullied right after joining the sect."
As Xu Ke answered, he showed Li Fan the jade plaque hanging against his chest.
Li Fan looked over. The jade plaque bore a resemblance to the strange beast with a human face and a tiger's body that Lu Ya had ridden before.
Yet seeing Xu Ke's smug expression, for some reason, an irritated emotion welled up inside this body.
Li Fan immediately poured cold water on him, saying coldly, "Since the jade plaque works both ways, Senior Brother Lu Ya must know you're heading over."
"Right now he's with Mr. Bai, and earlier he didn't want you to meet Mr. Bai. So he's definitely going to avoid you this time too."
Xu Ke brushed it off with a silly grin. "Little Xuan, you're overthinking it. There's no way he—"
Before he could finish, however, he suddenly froze. "What's going on? The connection really vanished all of a sudden?!"
The qingluan beneath them had not reacted yet and was still blankly flying in the direction Xu Ke had previously pointed out.
Xu Ke's face fell, and he complained, "Little Xuan, you're such a jinx. Nothing good ever comes true when you say it, but every bad thing happens right on cue..."
Li Fan sneered and gave him a claw swipe.
Xu Ke rubbed his head, but he did not give up on finding Lu Ya.
His eyes darted as an idea struck him.
"Little Xuan, since you're the legendary Heavenly Destiny Profound Bird, you must be really capable."
"Can you help me find where Senior Brother Lu Ya and Mr. Bai are right now?"
Li Fan tilted his head slightly with a haughty expression.
Seeing this, Xu Ke immediately showered him with flattery, promising to find three stalks of Thorn Cordyceps for Li Fan.
The unmatched deliciousness of that red cordyceps was still deeply etched into the Profound Bird's soul.
Tempted by the delicacy, and because Li Fan truly wanted to see if he could meet that enigmatic Mr. Bai, he hopped onto Xu Ke's head.
Circulating his innate divine ability, he gazed into the distance.
Whether it was Lu Ya or Mr. Bai, their fortune was bound to be extraordinary.
Within this Beast Taming Sect, they should be exceptionally conspicuous.
Li Fan thought so, but the result was somewhat unexpected.
Not far away, he indeed saw an azure-blue radiance of fortune, remarkably eye-catching.
Yet beside that blue radiance, there was nothing at all.
'Could Mr. Bai have already left the Beast Taming Sect?'
'Or does this conspicuous fortune not belong to Lu Ya?'
Li Fan was puzzled, but he still marked the location for Xu Ke in his mind.
Xu Ke was overjoyed and hastily urged Little Qing to fly at top speed toward the target.
The qingluan was also remarkably obedient to this newly met young boy, carrying him willingly without complaint as it accelerated.
Lu Ya's location seemed to be a small hut atop a mountain peak.
Just as Xu Ke and the others drew near, a frail figure flew out from the mountain summit and vanished in the blink of an eye.
Li Fan, however, could faintly sense that the person had just glanced in Xu Ke's direction.
"Mr. Bai!" Xu Ke cried out.
Li Fan's expression grew solemn.
For he had seen clearly that above Mr. Bai's head, not a trace of fortune could be observed.
'Discerning fortune is the innate destiny ability of the Profound Bird clan. Just what level of cultivation could prevent even a Heavenly Destiny Profound Bird from observing it?'
In the inherited bloodline memories of the Profound Bird Li Fan possessed, even its ancestors seemed to have never encountered such a situation.
Xu Ke stared in the direction where Mr. Bai had vanished, standing in a daze for a moment.
After a brief hesitation, he had Little Qing fly toward Senior Brother Lu Ya's hut on the summit.
Reaching the peak, Xu Ke could not wait. He leaped down with Li Fan and sprinted toward the hut.
"Senior Brother Lu Ya!"
Xu Ke pushed the door open excitedly, only to discover in surprise that someone else was in the room besides Lu Ya.
A man with an emaciated face, white eyebrows, and a white beard.
An imposing aura of dignified authority emanated from him, causing Xu Ke's body to freeze instantly.
The white-bearded elder and Lu Ya merely glanced at the rashly intruding Xu Ke before continuing their unfinished conversation.
Without making any effort to avoid Xu Ke, the white-bearded elder said, "Since we've already promised him, let us do as he requested."
"Though he forced our hand by storming our gates, it might not be entirely a bad thing."
A look of surprise appeared on Lu Ya's face. "Senior, what did you see?"
The white-bearded elder did not answer, but smiled and asked in return, "Lu Ya, do you believe Mr. Bai's words?"
Lu Ya fell silent all of a sudden.
The white-bearded elder shook his head. "Everyone makes mistakes. Sometimes, candidly admitting one's fault is nothing to be ashamed of."
Lu Ya replied bluntly, "I only believe my own eyes."
"Often, what you see is not necessarily the truth of the matter," the white-bearded elder sighed softly.
Yet he seemed to understand Lu Ya's temperament and knew he could not be easily persuaded.
Thus, he did not dwell on the topic, instead turning to say, "The great calamity approaches. I fear our Beast Taming Sect will hardly be spared."
"Yet amid the bleak ruin, I saw a sliver of vitality."
"This thread of vitality is related to Mr. Bai's mission. And it is related to this young friend."
The white-bearded elder looked toward Xu Ke, who was frozen in place, utterly bewildered.
"Him?" Lu Ya turned to look at Xu Ke, his expression indecipherable.
"None other than him," the white-bearded elder nodded.
Lu Ya shrugged. "Senior, even if you are known throughout heaven and earth as the beast of wisdom, the all-knowing Di Sanmo... claiming that the Beast Taming Sect's sole hope rests on this kid..."
"That's just a bit too bizarre."
"At any rate, I don't buy it."
Di Sanmo did not argue. Instead, he smiled and said, "Who would dare claim complete knowledge of the river of fate? That so-called 'all-knowing' title is merely a misunderstanding outsiders have of me."
"However..."
Di Sanmo paused. "This boy barged in today, and he shares an obscure connection with both Mr. Bai and you."
"This only makes me trust my judgment all the more."
"After all, I also only believe my own eyes."
The smile abruptly vanished from Di Sanmo's face, replaced by utmost solemnity.
Seeing this, Lu Ya could only give a slight nod.
"In any case, there's still some time before Mr. Bai—"
"Before his mission begins. It'll be enough for this kid to grow."
"Still, what should we do about the troublemakers in the sect right now?"
"Are we really going to leave them alone?"
"Our Beast Taming Sect hasn't fallen yet, has it?"
Lu Ya frowned, displeasure in his tone.
"Let whoever wants to leave, leave," Di Sanmo replied, showing no anger at all.
"When the great calamity falls, protecting each additional disciple takes that much more effort."
"Taking this opportunity to trim the fat isn't a bad idea either."
Chapter 345