Xiao Yu circled above the nearby mountains, her wingtips slicing through drifting clouds as her keen gaze swept over the rolling ridges and ravines.
Apart from a few scattered beasts darting about, she found no sign of a single person.
She knew there had to be more than one group. The others might have realized their companions were dead and hidden their tracks out of caution. Searching any longer would be futile, so she turned and flew back.
On the ridge, the Black Flood Dragon lay beside the pit, his huge head poking inside to investigate.
The pit was deep and wide, with a few crude steps hacked into its side.
Beneath the thick, even layer of yellow earth, the soil at the bottom shimmered with strange colors. Whenever he tilted his head to change his viewing angle, the colors shifted gently with the light, like an oily sheen floating on water.
After staring for a while, he began to wonder. Could this be the legendary five-colored soil?
The sound of beating wings passed through the densely packed branches, and Xiao Yu landed steadily beside the pit.
Folding her wings, she copied the Black Flood Dragon and stuck her head into it.
The two enormous beasts lay side by side at the edge, their heads together as they studied the colorful soil at the bottom, intrigued by its hues.
Several corpses lay scattered nearby in silence. Blood seeped into the dead leaves, and tiny flowers of ice blossomed.
There was something indescribably eerie about the scene.
Xiao Yu shook her feathers.
"I searched the nearby ridges and found no one else. They may have hidden in rock crevices, caves, or beneath large boulders. I couldn't see clearly." "That's fine. I'll search. Just keep an eye on our surroundings for me."