Ye Ling did not hesitate upon noticing the fleeing young boy, decisively tracking the boy's aura into the white mist.
However, after entering the valley, Ye Ling lost the boy's trace.
Within the valley, there was not a trace of the young boy.
Ye Qingyan and the enraged Zhao Fugui caught up. The two looked around, not seeing the boy, and asked Ye Ling, "Where is that boy?"
Ye Ling said, "Lost him."
"Lost him?" Ye Qingyan was utterly shocked, looking at Ye Ling with disbelief. "What person in this world can escape your tracking?"
Ye Qingyan knew better than anyone how strong Ye Ling was now!
Let alone the boy who was clearly inexperienced, even looking across the Three Realms, the entire universe, one would be hard-pressed to find anyone who could escape Ye Ling's grasp!
Ye Ling was not surprised by this, saying, "He must have merged with the white mist in the valley. If I'm not mistaken, this dense fog is that boy from earlier."
"You're saying this mist is that boy?" Ye Qingyan thought she had misheard and asked doubtfully.
How could this be possible?
She had clearly seen the boy as a person earlier, and this dense fog was just fog, without even life. How could it be connected to that young boy?
Ye Ling explained, "That young boy should be an elf evolved from this dense fog, not a creature in the true sense of the word. He's a semi-spiritual entity."
This young boy was most likely similar to the sword spirit Ye Ling had encountered in the Ten Thousand Underworld Mountains before, also a naturally born spiritual entity, a product of heaven and earth.
The only difference between the two was that the sword spirit was already mature, while this young boy had only recently been born and had not yet developed sentience.
Hearing Ye Ling's explanation, Ye Qingyan nodded as if she understood, then said, "If he is an evolved elf, then he is likely the key to opening the stone door. How should we find him?"
The outer perimeter of this valley was filled with dense fog that never dispersed, year-round. Trying to find a young boy within this fog was like trying to catch the moon in the sky.
To Ye Qingyan's confusion, Ye Ling smiled slightly and looked at Zhao Fugui, saying, "This will depend on you."
Zhao Fugui, who had been slacking off, was startled when Ye Ling suddenly mentioned him. "Me?"
Ye Ling narrowed his eyes and smiled, "That's right, only you can do this..."
Suddenly entrusted with a crucial task, Zhao Fugui immediately straightened his chest.
After becoming a god, he could finally display his divine might!
In the camp outside the valley, Zhao Fugui sat alone by the campfire, roasting several wild rabbits.
When Ye Ling gave him the task, he thought he would have to do something earth-shattering. After all, he had become a god in another world, the most esteemed person in that world, and was considered someone of status.
He never expected that after becoming a god, he would personally have to catch wild rabbits and roast them back at the camp.
Now, at best, he was merely bait to lure the young boy.
More importantly, he couldn't even eat the rabbits he roasted!
Zhao Fugui grumbled inwardly about the task Ye Ling had assigned him, but he didn't dare to defy Ye Ling's will, so he could only drool while looking at his roasted rabbits.
Gulp...
Zhao Fugui patted his emaciated stomach, his mouth watering as he gazed at the roasted rabbits before him.
"Do gods get hungry too?" Zhao Fugui complained, suddenly feeling like he had become a false god, utterly useless.
However, just as Zhao Fugui was becoming delirious from hunger and his mind was wandering, he faintly heard a rustling sound from the grass beside him.
"They're here!"
Hearing the movement in the grass, Zhao Fugui's heart jolted. He immediately pretended to be sleepy, yawned, and got up to go into his tent to sleep.
The camp fell silent, with only the sizzling sound of oil from the rabbits and the aroma filling the air.
Soon, the young boy with two horns poked his head out from the grass. His large eyes darted around, and after confirming that no one was in the camp, he dashed towards the roasted rabbits, attempting to steal them.
However, before the young boy could touch the roasted rabbits, a glass dome descended from the sky, trapping him inside!
Startled, the young boy immediately turned into a wisp of smoke, trying to escape. But the glass dome was airtight, and he couldn't get out!
"Finally caught you, you little rascal!"
Zhao Fugui emerged from his tent. Seeing the young boy thrashing inside the glass dome, a cold smile curved his lips. He immediately picked up a roasted rabbit and sat down in front of the young boy, devouring it greedily. "Serves you right for trying to steal my roasted rabbit!"
The young boy pressed against the glass dome, staring intently at Zhao Fugui who was feasting. Saliva dripped from his mouth.
"This little fellow is truly adorable." Ye Qingyan emerged from the shadows, looking at the young boy trapped in the glass dome with a smile in her eyes, as if her maternal instincts had been awakened.
Ye Ling also walked out from the side and said with a smile, "This little fellow doesn't even speak. He probably hasn't been born for long... These little ones are the easiest to deal with."
As Ye Ling spoke, he walked up to the young boy, picked up a roasted rabbit, and asked, "Do you want to eat this?"
The young boy stared longingly at the roasted rabbit in Ye Ling's hand, nodding repeatedly, his eyes full of desire.
Ye Ling smiled and said, "If you want to eat, then you have to listen to me, understand?"
The young boy continued to nod.
"Very good!" Ye Ling chuckled, opened the glass dome, and handed the roasted rabbit to the young boy.
The young boy, unable to hold back any longer, immediately pounced on the roasted rabbit and began to bite into it, his mouth smeared with oil.
Ye Qingyan walked up to Ye Ling and looked at the young boy eating the roasted rabbit, saying, "You're just letting him out like this. Aren't you afraid he'll run away?"
Ye Ling shook his head and smiled, "No... these kinds of spirits have simple minds and are attracted by their desires. He clearly craves Zhao Fugui's roasted rabbit. As long as we have roasted rabbits here, he won't escape."
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Ye Qingyan couldn't help but smack her lips and teased Zhao Fugui, "I didn't expect you to be useless for anything else, but you've been helpful in this strange way."
Zhao Fugui gave an embarrassed laugh and then said, "Th-thank you, Miss Ye, for the compliment. If I say so myself, my cooking skills are top-notch!"
Ye Qingyan looked at Zhao Fugui's oily face and chuckled, "I can see that."
After successfully luring the elf from the white mist with the roasted rabbit, Ye Ling quickly established a rapport with the young boy.
When the young boy had eaten his fill, Ye Ling did not conceal his intentions and said to the boy, "Little fellow, do you know what the stone door inside is?"
The young boy nodded.
Ye Ling then asked, "Can you help us open it?"
The young boy hesitated.
Ye Ling took out Zhao Fugui's roasted rabbit, and the boy's eyes immediately lit up, nodding repeatedly.
Ye Ling smiled and handed the roasted rabbit to the young boy, "Deal!"