Ma Rong and Wen Cheng started searching for Alex, but he was nowhere to be found. He didn't respond to any sort of message at all.
Alex was the only one the Saint beasts were after, so after not finding him for nearly 15 minutes, they started to get worried that he might have already been found by the beast and maybe even be killed.
With no choice, Wen Cheng let out a sect-wide message, asking if anyone knew anything about where Alex was. That was the only way he could think of finding him.
* * * * *
3 men were inside an inn in Rosewood City.
"Any news yet?" one of them asked.
"No," the other one said. "I tried searching around, but it seems most people didn't feel anything. I have called the bald guy here. He didn't want to give me an answer, but I doubt he will want to do the same to you."
"Alright then, let's wait," one of the others said.
So, they waited. The inn was empty for the most part, but the three didn't seem to care.
"They should be fine right?" one of them asked.
"It should be mostly fine. I'm ready to fly back should they ask for our help again," one of them said.
"Look, he's here."
The door opened and a man walked in.
"I told you, old Yang, I don't want to talk with you bastard. I don't care who you are with, I don't want anything to do with you," the bald man said as he walked in.
"What? Not even me?" one of the men said as they lifted their hood.
"Y-Your majesty? Why are you here?" the bald man said with surprise.
"Am I not allowed in a city of my own empire? Is the Honor sect so big that they can question why I am anywhere?" the Emperor who was staying hidden until now said.
"Your highness, you are always welcome. Whatever I said, please don't mind it. They were all directed towards that bastard," the bald man said as he gestured towards the red-haired Yang.
"Whatever, I don't have time for your grievances. I'm here for some information and will leave as soon as I get it. There is a beast horde incoming and I don't want to stay here for much longer either," the Emperor said.
"Yes, please, ask whatever you want. If I know of it, I will tell you," he said.
"Okay, 2 weeks ago we felt a wave of an aura pass through the capital. It turned out only us 3 sensed it in there, and none of the others did. After we left searching for more information, we realized that there were very few people who managed to sense it."
"We are searching for the source of that aura and came to ask if you know something about it. I know of a fact that it came from this general direction. It was maybe even released from this very city," the Emperor said.
The bald man's eyes brightened. "2 weeks ago? I knew I wasn't going mad. I told the sect elders to see what was up, but none of them felt anything and instead thought I was just talking nonsense. Damn those fools, they think I'm going senile with old age," the bald man said.
"I mean, they're not wrong," the red-haired Yang chipped from the side.
"Stop talking," the Emperor ordered. "So you did feel it. Where was it from?"
"That… it's weird. I felt the aura come from somewhere up northwest, but you should know what's there, right your highness?" the bald man said.
"The desert? I've heard of it in the records. I've never been there myself," the Emperor said.
"Right, that desert. I felt the energy come from the desert area," the bald man said.
"That can't be true," the Emperor said. "From what I know of, there shouldn't be any Qi in that area. Even people with a cultivation base lose all of it when they go there. How can something with such a profound aura originate from there," the Emperor said.
"Besides, the desert is so big that it will be impossible to find anything in it at all," the red-haired Yang said. "I once went there when I was still in the True realm when there was a sect in the desert. I had immediately lost all of my Qi and didn't want to stay there any longer."
"But the desert is massive right?" Feng who had been staying quiet this whole time said. "Even if we know it's there, it will be impossible to find it, assuming he's not lying in the first place."
"I promise on my longevity, your highness. The aura definitely originated from the desert," the bald man said.
"Hmm… the desert. How do we enter there again?" Feng asked.
"If I remember correctly, it should be through the mountains in the Scarlet City," the Emperor said as he recalled the map in his head.
"Isn't there a sect there? I remember my grandson mentioning it a few months ago," the red-haired Yang said.
"Hmm, maybe we should go there. My daughter and nephew are there looking after my sister-in-law. I heard she was also healed recently. It might be a good idea to go there," the Emperor said.
"Wait," the old man Feng said. "Didn't the information for the beast horde come from there too? I thought it said Tiger sect."
"Right, it did," the old man Yang said. "Hmm… maybe it is a good idea to go and see how they find out about the beast horde. They predicted it last time correctly, so there must be something important there."
"Now I'm curious too. Let's leave. Thank you for your help, sect leader," the Emperor said.
"Uh, I haven't been the sect leader for ages— I mean, its my honor, your majesty," the bald man said.
The three of them left the inn and flew up into the air above the Rosewood City. The entire city was empty with the only people visible being a crowd on the city walls, ready to fight.
"How far is Scarlet City again?" the old man Feng asked.
"About 20 minutes away for us," the red-haired Yang said
"Let's go," the Emperor said and put on his hood again before flying.
The 3 of them flew at an incredible speed that no flying artifact could ever hope to achieve. Their speed was just something most True realm cultivators could even imagine.
They flew on top of the road that would usually be filled with peddlers and merchants and caravans. But, now, it was empty. There was not a single soul in sight for the longest time.
The 3 Saint Realm cultivators couldn't even sense any bandits outside. With the Beast Horde incoming, there was not a single sight of anything.
"It's coming," Feng said as he looked to his left. Far away in the southern forest, he could see the trees moving.
"God damn, they really can predict the beast horde's timing," the red-haired Yang said.
"That will maybe take 15 more minutes, let's hurry up," the Emperor said and was about to increase his speed when he sensed something.
"Fuck!" the red-haired Yang said as he sensed it too.
Feng's face went white with fear as he sensed it too.
The Saint Beast was amongst the ones coming in the direction of the Scarlet city.
"How are we so unlucky to meet that damned thing? He's way too strong for us," the red-haired Yang said.
"Do we retreat, your highness?" Feng asked.
"We shou—" the Emperor was about to answer when suddenly his face twisted. Not only him, Yang and Feng too had massive changes in their faces all of a sudden. And none of them were for the better.
From what their senses were telling them, there wasn't just a single Saint Beast coming their way, there were 2.
"Your highness, this is bad. We already lost to a single beast. If a second one decides to fight us then we are done for," Yang said with a worried face.
"Your highness, I seriously suggest that we retreat back," Feng said.
"NO!" the Emperor said. There was a hint of a tremor in his voice, but he spoke with as much determination as he could muster. "My daughter is in that city. I cannot abandon her," he said.
"Shit!" the red-haired Yang said. "My grandson is there too. Fuck! I hope we don't have to fight them."
"Let's go," the Emperor said and all 3 of their flying speeds increased drastically.
"How much further?" the Emperor asked after a few minutes.
"We should be close to the Gap soon. After that, it's at most 5 minutes. We will surely make it before the beasts do," Yang said.
"That's for the best. As long as my daugt—" the Emperor suddenly stopped talking and looked down at the road next to the gap.
Feng also saw what was on the road and was a little surprised.
"What's that idiot doing there? Does he not realize a beast horde is coming?" Yang said.
The emperor didn't speak and instead flew down from the sky. The other 2 followed suit.
"Young man, there is a beast horde incoming, you should quickly run away from here," the Emperor said.
The young man turned to look at them. When he did, the other 3 could see nothing but fear in his eyes. And even then, the young man spoke up and said, "I know. The beasts are here for me, and if I let them have me, I will probably be able to save the people I care about."
