Xiao He, unwilling to say more, simply took off his cloak, revealing his identity as a student from Yun Duan.

"Never mind who I am, just tell me where all the civilians have gone?"

Seeing his attire, Jiang Cheng was clearly taken aback: "I...I don't know. I only know that a team of teachers and students from Yunduan came to protect them during their evacuation. We just volunteered to stay behind to cover their retreat."

"Have you ever seen a chubby guy with lightning powers? He's a warrior who fights bare-handed."

"This..." Jiang Cheng thought for a moment, then said, "Yes! He's in the team too! He's incredibly strong!"

Was he injured when he left?

"No! No one was injured at the time. Their instructor was very strong!"

Who is it?

"I think his name is something like... Mentor Condy?"

"That's right, it's Candy, the advanced ice-type instructor. He's the chief ice-type lecturer for both the beginner and intermediate academies." The shield warrior, who was still fighting nearby, had been paying attention to the situation and chimed in when he heard the two talking.

"Candy?" Xiao He was taken aback, remembering the aloof and expressionless guy who was relentlessly dissed by Honglian.

“Yes, this mentor is incredibly capable. Under his protection, almost no one in the town was injured or killed.” Jiang Cheng asked with some concern, “Have they retreated back into the city?”

"No." Xiao He didn't hide anything: "We came from inside the city and searched all the way here, but we didn't find such a large group of people. Are there any high-level earth-elemental mages among them?"

Jiang Cheng thought about it carefully again, and finally shook his head: "No, there might be some intermediate students, but definitely not advanced students."

"No?" Xiao He frowned immediately.

Without a high-level earth mage approaching the forbidden spell level, the possibility of them hiding underground is extremely slim.

"Could it really be in the narrowest passage? That's impossible..."

“Ice element…” Xiao He silently gazed at the winding river.

[Xiao He: Lele, feel the water temperature at the bottom of the river. Is it abnormal?]

[Dai Lele: Oh? Wait a minute, there's a fight going on over here.]

[Dai Lele: It's mostly normal, but there are occasional ice shards, so the riverbed temperature is a bit lower. What's wrong?]

[Xiao He: Only broken ice? Didn't you find anything else?]

[Dai Lele: That's it. Does a broken shoe sinking to the bottom of the river count?]

Xiao He stood up and beckoned Huo Lei to return.

"Let's go down the mountain, I have an idea."

"Oh?" Horry raised an eyebrow. "You've got a lead?"

"Hmm! Let's deal with those monsters first, otherwise this road won't be safe for civilians."

"OK!" Horry summoned his tall horse out of thin air, startling the two people beside him.

Xiao He leaped onto his horse, no longer caring about the two men left behind.

Now that Jiangcheng has recovered, let him treat himself; whether he stays or leaves is up to them.

"drive--"

With a neigh, the spirited horse charged straight down the mountain like an arrow released from a bow.

The monsters in the vicinity, having lost the guidance of the cross, are all wandering aimlessly. Even if they sense people, some will not take the initiative to attack.

This change relieved most of the pressure on the Huo family army members down the mountain.

They were still somewhat bewildered as they watched the monsters scatter.

They all breathed a sigh of relief only after hearing Horry's horse neigh and seeing Horry safe and sound.

Xiao He hadn't forgotten that there were other resurrection cultists here, but judging from He Yu's feedback, none of the monsters here were connected to the lifeline.

Even if there really was a Resurrection Cult nearby, he wouldn't be able to find them.

This is not a sign of safety.

"Lele, come with me into the water."

"Go underwater?" Dai Lele didn't quite understand. "You think they're hiding underwater?"

"This river eventually flows underground, into the cave we just passed through. Let's follow the water flow and look around. We'll leave this place to the two of them. We'll call them if we need backup."

"good!"

Under the cover of Huo Lei and Wang Xuefeng, the two arrived at the riverbank, where Dai Lele's water and ice magic came in handy.

With a "splash," the river parted under her direction, creating a small space that was then blocked by the ice.

The two of them walked down to the bottom of the river step by step.

Although the river was not wide, it was very deep, and as they continued to venture deeper, the light from the river's surface became increasingly scarce.

In the end, it was Xiao He who turned on the "ring-shaped fill light" above his head.

"Huh... the riverbed looks really strange..." Dai Lele couldn't help but complain.

To avoid stepping on the silt at the bottom of the river, she also made sure to freeze a thin layer of ice under their feet. Although it was only a thin layer, it was enough to walk lightly without much burden.

Her imagination was so vivid that she was afraid she might kick half a skull.

Xiao He held a piece of broken ice in his hand, which he had asked Dai Lele to retrieve from the river.

This is completely different from naturally formed ice. Natural ice is pure, while ice infused with magic is much more solid.

Clearly, this is a block of ice whose magic has not yet completely dissipated.

Judging from the purity of the ice element, it perfectly matches what Jiang Cheng called "Mentor Kangdi".

It was precisely for this reason that Xiao He decided to go down to the river with Dai Lele.

They had already removed their Nether Cloaks, even though this would make their presence more obvious. Only by doing so could Condi more easily spot them and find them.

Otherwise, given Condi's near-forbidden spell power, finding him would be no easy task.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!