Chapter 466: The Sudden Arrival of the Archaeological Team! Smuggling Tengshe Right Under Their Noses!

Getting Tengshe out of here was going to be a problem. Ning Fei pondered this for a moment.

If anyone else saw this creature, it would definitely cause a massive headache.

At that moment, Tengshe landed on the ground, lowered its body, and let out two soft cries.

"You want me to ride you?"

Ning Fei asked, understanding the creature's intent.

Tengshe nodded, gesturing for him to climb onto its back, right behind its wings.

Even Ning Fei felt a little nervous at the prospect.

Riding a tiger on the ground was one thing, but flying on a divine beast? That felt a bit too fantastical.

Besides, there were no safety measures in the air. If he fell, it was essentially a death sentence.

Still, Ning Fei chose to climb aboard.

After all, who could refuse a ride on a flying divine beast?

He settled onto its back, and Tengshe immediately flapped its wings, slowly lifting into the air.

It didn't fly particularly fast. Feeling the wind brush against his face, Ning Fei found the experience incredibly relaxing.

Tengshe moved with absolute freedom, able to make sharp turns up, down, left, or right at a moment's notice. It was far more thrilling than flying a helicopter or skydiving.

Ning Fei signaled Tengshe to fly out through the opening at the top of Peach Blossom Spring.

Peach Blossom Spring was a canyon completely surrounded by mountains. The enclosing peaks provided a naturally perfect sanctuary.

Unexpectedly, however, Tengshe seemed to panic. It refused his command and let out a few low cries.

"You're saying that flying out is dangerous, that you'll be found?!"

Ning Fei understood the meaning behind its cries, a hint of surprise flashing across his face.

"Let's go down first," Ning Fei said after their brief flight.

He realized the gravity of the situation.

Flying out meant danger. It meant discovery.

The implications of that were massive.

Huaxia's technology was exceptionally advanced now; satellites could see almost every corner of the earth.

Other nations, like Mei Country, were equally capable.

Satellites did more than just monitor. They could scan the general outlines of objects. Whenever a specific shape was detected, a photograph would be taken and transmitted to a certain department.

The personnel in that department would then filter through the data, examining the details of each picture.

Take Tengshe, for example. As long as the satellite locked onto the outline of a winged snake, it could scan the entire globe to obtain the desired information.

And that was exactly what had happened.

At the Special Department, a few photos with similar outlines came in every day, though most were just illusions caused by snakes hiding under the shadows of leaves.

That was until a few days ago, when the department received genuine pictures of Tengshe.

The photos were a bit blurry, but that white body beneath the moonlight was undoubtedly Tengshe!

Lin Tao looked at the creature in the photo, looking a little anxious.

His team had just climbed the mountain above Peach Blossom Spring and was rushing toward the Peach Blossom Spring Ruins.

Meanwhile, inside the ruins, Ning Fei frowned deeply.

"If someone is monitoring you with satellites, then your appearance was definitely exposed during my live stream just now!"

"That means someone will come looking for you very soon."

"I have to get you out of here as fast as possible!"

"There is absolutely no way I am letting anyone take my divine beast."

Ning Fei fully recognized the severity of the situation.

'System, do you have a skill that can shrink Tengshe?'

Ning Fei immediately asked.

The System replied, "There are no skills to shrink a body, but there are cards that can do it. They are limited to animals, however."

"Shrink Card: A magical card that can shrink an animal's body. Duration: 30 minutes. Requires 10 million Popularity Points to redeem."

"Note: The Shrink Card cannot be used while in the presence of or under the observation of others. Similarly, when the card's effect expires, no other people are allowed to be present. Otherwise, the duration will be paused and extended."

'Perfect. I'll redeem three cards first.'

Ning Fei said at once.

'Under normal circumstances, this card wouldn't be very useful, but right now, it couldn't be more perfect.'

'The extension feature makes it even better. That means as long as someone is looking at Tengshe, or if I'm spending time with other people, the Shrink Card's timer will pause.'

'I need to turn my live stream back on.'

Just then, Ning Fei suddenly heard movement outside the tunnel.

Someone was coming!

That fast?!

Ning Fei's expression shifted, and Tengshe also began to act restless.

Without hesitation, Ning Fei used a Shrink Card on Tengshe.

"Get into my sleeve, and stay in there quietly. Don't come out!"

Ning Fei told the creature.

In an instant, Tengshe shrank down until it was roughly the size of a gecko.

Ning Fei tucked the tiny snake into his sleeve.

A second later, Lin Tao and three other men walked in through the entrance of Peach Blossom Spring.

"Captain Lin!"

Seeing Lin Tao appear, Ning Fei kept his expression neutral, feigning just the right amount of surprise as he greeted him.

"Temple Master Ning, what a coincidence!"

Lin Tao replied with a hearty laugh.

As he spoke, Lin Tao's gaze constantly swept the surroundings, clearly searching for any sign of Tengshe.

The other three men had immediately split up the moment they arrived, scouring the rest of the Peach Blossom Spring Ruins.

"What brings you here?"

Ning Fei asked with a smile.

"There's been a lot of geological activity in this area lately, so my superiors sent me to take a look. I never expected this place to be the legendary Peach Blossom Spring Ruins! It's completely beyond my expectations."

"Temple Master Ning, you are truly amazing to have actually found this place!"

"Can you let me in on a little secret? How did you manage to find it?"

Lin Tao asked amiably.

He studied Ning Fei with eyes full of smiles, but deep within his gaze lay an imperceptible sharpness.

"By reading ancient texts. The books mentioned details like Wuling, peach forests, and the Mountain Cave. I just followed the topographical features and ended up here," Ning Fei answered unhurriedly.

"By the way, where did that winged snake from your live stream go? I was watching your broadcast earlier, and it gave me quite a fright," Lin Tao asked.

"That thing tried to attack me, so I fought it off. It ran out right through that entrance!"

Ning Fei explained, his expression completely unwavering.

"Really?"

"Why would I lie to you? It's not like I could just hide something that massive."

Ning Fei appeared incredibly composed. No matter how smart Lin Tao was, he would never guess that Ning Fei had the ability to shrink animals.

"Captain Lin, I've seen all there is to see in these ruins, so I'll leave this place to you guys. I'm heading back."

"Was there anything else?"

Seeing the other men busy with their search, Ning Fei acted as if he didn't want to intrude and prepared to take his leave.

Lin Tao scrutinized him carefully. Nothing about Ning Fei seemed out of place. It was summer, so his Daoist Robe wasn't very thick. There was absolutely no way he could be hiding a three-meter-long Tengshe underneath it.

Thus, Lin Tao didn't dwell on it.

Ning Fei turned and left without looking back.

As soon as he was gone, Lin Tao immediately made a phone call, ordering all platforms to restore Ning Fei's live stream. He also assigned a few people to specifically monitor the broadcast to ensure nothing went wrong.

"Captain, over here! We found its shed skin!"

One of the archaeological team members shouted, and Lin Tao hurriedly ran over.

The moment Ning Fei exited the tunnel, he turned his live stream back on.

The Shrink Card only lasted for half an hour, but as long as someone was paying attention to Ning Fei, the timer would pause and extend.

After starting the stream, Ning Fei specifically checked on the status.

Tengshe's shrinking duration had indeed stopped counting down.

'Thank goodness.'

Ning Fei breathed a sigh of relief.

The second he went live, a dense wave of comments flooded the screen.

"Temple Master Ning, where did that Tengshe go?"

"Was that really a Tengshe?"

"Why are you coming out of the Peach Blossom Spring Ruins!"

"We didn't even get to see what's inside Peach Blossom Spring yet!"

Ning Fei glanced at the comments and saw that everyone was asking the exact same things.

Left with no choice, Ning Fei explained, "That Tengshe tried to attack me earlier, then it just slithered away. I have no idea where it ran off to."

"Right now, the Peach Blossom Spring Ruins have been taken over by official personnel, so there's no way for me to continue broadcasting from inside."

"However, the ruins will definitely be opened to the public as a tourist attraction later on, so don't worry about it."

Hearing his explanation, the viewers let out a collective sigh of regret.

Feeling the warm heat radiating from the tiny Tengshe against his forearm, Ning Fei smiled imperceptibly.