Lin Wei told Long Xiao and Xiao Ming about the hunter's encounter with the Fire Qilin. He mentioned that his friends had also entered the mountains five days prior and had made no progress.
Opening the electronic map, Long Xiao first located his position, then divided Phoenix Mountain into several sections, with his current location as the center. He decided to search separately with Xiao Ming, covering one section each day, and within a few days, they would have searched the entire mountain.
Lin Wei, being older, was responsible for guarding the camp. Long Xiao and the others would return to the camp daily to discuss the next day's actions.
Long Xiao and his two companions were discussing how to find the Fire Qilin while Si Huai sat by the fire, warming himself. The four of them had been thoroughly intimidated by Long Xiao and Xiao Ming and were behaving very docilely, their past mischievous ideas all hidden away.
After listening to Long Xiao and the others' discussion, the four of them remained silent. When Long Xiao and the others finished their conversation, Da Huai said, "Three esteemed heroes, I have also heard of the Fire Qilin."
"Speak, it might be useful," Long Xiao replied.
Da Huai nodded and began to describe what he had heard about the Fire Qilin.
Da Huai had heard that the Fire Qilin was actually a very ordinary creature, a 'four-unlike' (四不像), that only turned red at certain special times.
Da Huai's description of the Fire Qilin matched the description he had seen in the "Dragon Collection's" record of exotic beasts.
"Who told you all this?" Long Xiao asked.
Da Huai looked at San Huai, who said, "My uncle is that hunter. After he fell ill, I went to see him, and he told me all this."
"Do you know where your uncle encountered the Fire Qilin?" Long Xiao asked.
San Huai shook his head and said, "I don't know, but I do know where my uncle often goes hunting."
"That's great!" Long Xiao happily opened the electronic map on his phone and asked San Huai to point out the specific location.
After finding the place where San Huai's uncle often hunted, Long Xiao studied the electronic map for a while and said, "I'll go there tomorrow and gradually expand my search area from this point."
With the information provided by San Huai, Long Xiao and his group's plan changed again.
Long Xiao decided that he and Xiao Ming would first go to the place San Huai's uncle frequented, and then, with this area as their center, each would search in a different direction.
After eating some food and resting on the mountaintop for a night, Long Xiao and Xiao Ming set off at dawn the next day.
Without Lin Wei accompanying them, their walking speed increased. At the same time, Long Xiao spread out his Five Elements Qi sensing to observe the surrounding situation.
The purpose of coming here to search for the Fire Qilin was to find an extremely pure fire-attributed Qi. If they could find such Qi, there would be no need to search for the Fire Qilin anymore.
The terrain in the mountains was complex and there were no paths. Although they moved quickly, they only covered more than twenty kilometers in the morning.
The surroundings were filled with rocks, trees, and weeds, and they encountered very few small animals. They did encounter people a few times, but they both managed to avoid them in advance.
At noon, they hastily ate some of the food they had brought with them, and then they split up, Long Xiao heading north and Xiao Ming heading south.
They agreed to return along the same path after walking ten kilometers and meet at the point where they separated.
After watching Xiao Ming leave, Long Xiao once again spread out his Qi sensing and continued to walk north while searching.
Long Xiao was very sensitive to Qi. As long as there was an extremely pure Qi, he could sense it from a great distance.
He walked up the mountainside for a kilometer, crossed a ridge, and began to descend. After walking about two kilometers, Long Xiao noticed two people sitting in a mountain hollow not far away, discussing something.
As he got closer, Long Xiao overheard their conversation.
"Big Brother, is the Fire Qilin real?"
"Of course, it is. If it weren't, why would so many people come to this poor mountain village?"
"Big Brother, if we find the Fire Qilin, will we lose our lives?"
"It's possible. Those who come looking for the Fire Qilin are all reclusive masters. With just the two of us, even if we find it, we won't be able to keep it."
"Then why are we still looking? Let's leave quickly, or if we really encounter the Fire Qilin, we'll be doomed."
The one called Big Brother was a middle-aged man with a full beard. He looked at the young man beside him and said, "Are you being foolish again? If we can find it, why wouldn't we? If we encounter the Fire Qilin, we can sell the information and earn a substantial sum."
"Big Brother, do you really know how to get to Qilin Cave?" the young man asked again.
"Of course, I do. It's just that I don't know if the Fire Qilin is still there."
From their conversation, Long Xiao could tell that the bearded man knew the location of Qilin Cave. Long Xiao decided to follow them to Qilin Cave to see.
The two rested for a while and then set off. Due to their low strength, they walked very slowly. Long Xiao kept them at a distance using his Five Elements Qi sensing.
They walked until dark before reaching the foot of a cliff.
"Big Brother, are we almost at Qilin Cave?" the young man asked.
The bearded man nodded and said, "It's right below the cliff. Let's look around, it shouldn't be hard to find."
The two walked along the cliff and soon found a cave.
The cave was very deep, and a cold air emanated from within.
There was certainly no extremely pure fire-attributed Qi here. Therefore, after the two entered the cave, Long Xiao did not follow them. He continued along the cliff, looking for other caves.
Long Xiao now regretted not bringing Silver Wolf. Ever since he obtained Silver Wolf, Long Xiao had kept it at the Apricot Grove Medicine Hall to guard the place.
Silver Wolf was intelligent and would obediently lie in its doghouse every day, like a well-behaved dog with peculiar fur color. Even those who knew wolves wouldn't recognize it as a silver wolf.
After walking for more than two hours, Long Xiao found a total of three caves. He entered them to check but found neither the fire-attributed Qi he needed nor the Fire Qilin.
As night fell, Xiao Ming returned to their agreed meeting point but did not see Long Xiao. He called Long Xiao.
Long Xiao explained the situation to Xiao Ming, telling him to return to the camp and that he would not be returning that night.
Darkness did not significantly affect Long Xiao. He could rely on his Five Elements Qi sensing to observe his surroundings, so his forward speed was similar to that during the day.
Soon, Long Xiao encountered another cave. He felt as if there was something inside and stopped at the entrance.
Long Xiao sniffed and detected a foul, fishy odor. It appeared to be the lair of a large carnivorous animal.
Since it was not the Fire Qilin's den, Long Xiao had no intention of entering. Just as he was about to leave, he heard footsteps approaching from a distance.
Long Xiao quickly withdrew his dispersed Five Elements Qi and hid in a patch of bushes near the cave entrance.
"Master, is it really possible that the Fire Qilin is nearby?" a clear girl's voice asked.
"The information I received is that the Fire Qilin's lair is nearby. There are cliffs here, so there might be caves."
"Master, if we find the Fire Qilin, do we really need to take its inner core?" the girl asked again.
"Yes, only by refining the Fire Qilin's inner core can one gain the ability to absorb fire-attributed spiritual energy."
"Master, is fire-attributed spiritual energy very powerful?" the girl asked again.
"Of course, it is. The spiritual energy we obtain through cultivation all has the five elements. However, due to our physique, humans cannot absorb extremely pure spiritual energy. Therefore, no matter how much humans cultivate, they cannot escape the limitations of their physical bodies."
"Master, I understand. By refining the Fire Qilin's inner core, we can absorb extremely pure fire-attributed spiritual energy, and in the future, we will have the opportunity to escape the limitations of our physical bodies," the little girl said.
"Yes, hahaha, you are absolutely right. There's a cave ahead, let's go and take a look."
Long Xiao felt a surge of Qi pass by. This Qi was indeed impure, but it was very powerful.
Long Xiao suppressed his own Qi, and a faint life Qi emanated from his body, covering him. His aura completely blended with the aura of the plants and trees.