After they traveled a little farther, the thin mist finally dispersed, and the view opened up before them.
The two moved side by side without their feet touching the ground. Not even a strand of hair was disheveled, and their movements and steps were exceedingly light.
Even Yun Lie’s formidable aura was enveloped in Wood qi. Though he remained as cold as ever, he appeared much gentler in Xu Ziqing’s eyes.
After some thought, Xu Ziqing said, “We’re deep in the plains, where demon beasts gather. Could the residence of King Panshan, whom Xue’er’s mother once served, be somewhere around here?”
Hu Xue’er had wrapped her tail around her master’s shoulder. When Xu Ziqing cast his spell, her tiny body had darted into the hollow of his shoulder and settled there. Now, hearing the words “King Panshan,” she actually began trembling as though afraid. Heavenly Foxes are born with intelligence, so she still remembered everything that had happened since her birth.
Yun Lie considered briefly. “I’ve visited these plains several times, but never this place.”
He had encountered the dense fog before. At the time, however, his cultivation had been insufficient, and sensing danger, he had naturally kept his distance. Now that his cultivation had increased enormously, and with his junior brother’s concealment art to assist him, he had come to investigate.
Xu Ziqing understood. He reached up to stroke the white fur beside his neck and asked with a smile, “Xue’er, why have you brought us here? This place is full of demon beasts. Do you want revenge for your mother, or are you trying to learn where your father is?”
After considering the matter from every angle, he could think of only those two possibilities.
Hu Xue’er rubbed her cheek against him and pointed forward with her tail once again.
Although Xu Ziqing had taken her as his beast companion, he could only sense her emotions, not her precise thoughts. He sighed. “We’ll do as you wish this once. But you mustn’t make a sound. Otherwise, I’ll have to leave you alone in the Beast-Controlling Token for eight or ten years, until you’ve worn down that little temper of yours. Only then will I let you out.”
Hu Xue’er was deeply attached to him. Though she dared not cry out, she rubbed against him several more times in a show of affection, then obediently behaved herself.
Once he had reassured her, Xu Ziqing said softly, “Senior Brother, shall we go?”
Yun Lie nodded slightly. “Go.”
Their auras were now identical to those of the surrounding vegetation, so demon beasts would not readily scent them. Their physical forms still existed, however. They were merely blended into the plants, indistinct shapes flickering amid the grass and trees, making them difficult to notice.
Yun Lie took out two talismans. The spiritual qi they contained was extremely abundant, far surpassing that of any talisman Xu Ziqing had ever seen. The markings upon them were peculiar, too, with patterns completely unfamiliar to him.
At that moment, a possibility occurred to Xu Ziqing.
Perhaps these were not spirit talismans, but treasure talismans!
If they really were treasure talismans, their markings would be treasure patterns compressed from innumerable high-grade spirit patterns. In that case, it would be perfectly natural for them to look unusual.
Yun Lie offered no explanation. He simply pressed one of the talismans against Xu Ziqing.
In an instant, a dim golden gleam entered Xu Ziqing’s body through his chest, and the treasure talisman vanished along with it.
The moment the talisman entered him, Xu Ziqing felt an airy lightness spread through his entire body, as though he had become several measures lighter. When he tried sensing himself, he discovered that his figure had abruptly disappeared!
He drew a deep breath and raised his head. Yun Lie was pressing the other talisman into his own body, and the next instant he vanished too.
When a familiar hand patted his shoulder, Xu Ziqing suddenly understood.
The treasure talisman must be a Concealment Talisman, with the ability to hide one’s physical form. Although it was indeed inferior to the Wood-Escape Aura-Concealment Art, it could lodge a person’s image and shadow within a fissure in the void. Should Xu Ziqing inadvertently disrupt the state attained through his art, the talisman could compensate somewhat, allowing him to return to that state.
It was another precaution, nothing more.
Unfortunately, this meant Xu Ziqing could no longer perceive his senior brother’s location. Fortunately, they had been walking hand in hand, and they could not let go while using the aura-concealment art. That reassured him somewhat.
With every precaution in place, they continued onward.
The demonic qi here was extremely dense. Demon beasts appeared at every step, and all manner of strange auras lurked among the emerald grass and trees.
At a glance, Xu Ziqing saw a fifth-rank tigerlike demon beast with a single horn on its forehead lying in a patch of grass. It commanded a group of fourth-rank members of its own kind, which lounged lazily behind it while guarding the perimeter.
Farther to the left were several barbarian bull beasts. They resembled two-horned savage beasts somewhat in appearance, but were actually fourth-rank demon beasts, far stronger than the two-horned savage beasts.
Behind the bulls was a pack of white-footed wolves. Their leader was a fifth-rank demon beast, while the rest were all fourth-rank. Their expressions were vicious, their bestial eyes bloodred. They plainly specialized in devouring humans.
Many avian demon beasts also perched upon the branches. Some had fleshy wings, others fleshy growths on their heads, and still others fleshy whips growing from their tails. All looked exceptionally ugly, and their ranks ranged from four to five.
Xu Ziqing silently compared them with Chonghua. Although Chonghua had great potential, compared with these wild demon beasts he lacked a certain ferocity. Fortunately, Xu Ziqing had returned him to the Beast-Controlling Token before they entered the fog. Had Chonghua followed them into this gathering of demon beasts, his presence would likely have been detected easily.
Farther away, many more demon-beast clans occupied separate territories. Some appeared to be resting, others keeping watch. They did not interfere with one another, and every beast was enormous and powerful. Together, they represented an exceedingly formidable force.
At the same time, the groups seemed to have an unspoken understanding. Each followed its own rules and refrained from trespassing upon the others. Evidently, this demon-beast gathering was not entirely united.
Realizing this, Xu Ziqing actually breathed a little easier.
If so many demon beasts were truly united under one rule, it would hardly benefit the human world. On reflection, he thought he was being overly nervous. If that were really the case, would he still have the leisure to entertain such idle thoughts?
At that moment, Yun Lie sent him a spiritual transmission. “There is an eighth-rank demon beast here. Be even more careful.”
Xu Ziqing’s heart tightened!
An eighth-rank demon beast? Was that not equivalent to a Divinity Transformation cultivator?
No wonder the demon-beast gathering could occupy a domain of its own on the Savage Beast Plains. They had a being stronger than a Nascent Soul cultivator, so even the five-horned savage beasts could do nothing to them.
As for why the demon beasts could not occupy the entire plains, it was naturally because they, like human cultivators, could not withstand the savage beasts’ extraordinary reproduction and their ability to cultivate without undergoing tribulations. They could only coexist, each side protecting itself by its own means.
Now that Xu Ziqing knew an eighth-rank demon beast was present, he circulated his cultivation art with even greater precision.
However wondrous the Wood-Escape Aura-Concealment Art might be, he could not afford a moment’s carelessness. After all, he was no longer responsible for his own life alone!
The direction indicated by Hu Xue’er’s long tail was a cluster of small peaks to the west.
The peaks were not high, but they were steep and forbidding, forming a small mountain range unlike anything one would expect on an ordinary plain.
A brief inspection revealed numerous ravines filled with fierce beasts. The ravines resembled enormous bloodstained mouths, constantly exhaling an air of ravenous hostility.
Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie turned toward them. Perhaps because they were holding hands, their every step matched perfectly. They moved in extraordinary harmony, without the slightest hindrance. Their surrounding auras mingled as well. Even when a trace of sword qi escaped Yun Lie, the Wood qi swiftly neutralized it, rendering it harmless.
After walking for a while, every movement they made gradually became harmonious to an extraordinary degree, until a subtle sense of perfect coordination seemed to arise between them.
It was a thoroughly pleasant sensation.
Xu Ziqing remained intensely alert to the demon beasts surrounding them, but in this moment, when he and his senior brother seemed united even in intent, some of his tension eased.
Before long, they reached the foot of one of the little peaks.
An extraordinarily powerful pressure emanated from it, as though this were not a small mountain at all but an ancient, malevolent beast radiating an endless desire to devour.
That surging will seemed to make the entire peak into a single entity, as if every inch of earth were manipulated by it and every blade of grass and tree under its control.
There could be no doubt that an exceptionally powerful demon beast inhabited this peak!
Both men became even more vigilant.
Xu Ziqing took out the Qingyun Needle, suppressed its divine ability, and gently inserted it between Hu Xue’er’s brows. Using the pure Wood qi within, he sealed away her demonic aura, unwilling to let even a trace escape. Hu Xue’er seemed to sense his purpose. She did not resist, but obediently submitted, until her aura, too, was indistinguishable from the surrounding vegetation.
Once everything was ready, Xu Ziqing took a deep breath and ascended the mountain path step by step with Yun Lie.
He did not know which demon beast ruled this territory. Fierce beasts lay along both sides of the path, though most were first-, second-, or third-rank; fourth- and fifth-rank beasts were rare, unlike at the foot of the mountain.
Yet these demon beasts had lively, intelligent expressions. They had even refined their transverse throat bones, allowing them to converse with one another and speak just like humans.
Walking among them, Xu Ziqing felt prickles run down his spine. Even knowing they could not detect him, he was profoundly uncomfortable.
After what seemed an endless ordeal, they finally reached the mountainside. At that moment, the scene abruptly changed.
Up to that point, the demon beasts had all retained their animal forms. Here, however, those coming and going or standing guard had transformed into humanoid shapes. Their strength was insufficient to transform as completely as a twelfth-rank demon beast, so they still bore animal characteristics.
Some had tiger or lion heads upon human bodies. Fox demons might retain fox ears, while lizards and snakes dragged long tails. Some female demons, seeking beauty, used spells to assume fully human appearances, like Hu Xue’er’s mother. Such appearances were ultimately only illusions.
Xu Ziqing found the sight quite strange. Then he reminded himself that these demon beasts were in their own territory and could arrange their appearances however they pleased. There was no reason to think it odd.
Hu Xue’er pointed with her tail again, this time straight toward the summit. Xu Ziqing did not hesitate. Together with Yun Lie, he swept upward close to the ground like a passing breeze.
At the summit stood a cave several zhang tall, broad enough for a hundred people to enter at once. Its interior was deep and pitch-black. Outside were countless demon soldiers of bizarre appearance. Their blood qi was extraordinarily heavy, and each seemed to have consumed an enormous quantity of flesh and blood. Gathered together, their murderous aura nearly pierced the heavens. Their strength was no less remarkable: every one of them was a fifth-rank demon beast, while those resembling commanders had reached the sixth rank!
Xu Ziqing held his breath and concentrated, hardly daring to exhale.
Together with Yun Lie, he passed between the demon soldiers on either side and entered the vast cave without a sound.