The Master of Beasts

After this great battle, the Demon Clan retreated, with even their cannon-fodder army staying away from the collapsed walls.

Standing atop the city wall, Chen Jiuge surveyed the land. Once yellow, it was now pitch black. Under the ravages of Demon Worms, not only living creatures but even the plants had been gnawed clean. He even spotted a half-eaten greenstone.

This really isn't the Insect Clan, but the Demon Clan? It's terrifying, not a blade of grass grows.

The brief calm gave the army a chance to catch its breath.

Since receiving a message from Chen Jiuge sixty years ago, the four beasts' training in the Desolate World had become wilder.

They constantly challenged Spiritual Beasts stronger than themselves and consumed High-Rank Spiritual Beasts to accelerate their Cultivation. This inhuman, even un-beastly, training method left the four beasts teetering on the brink of life and death. This situation persisted for sixty years.

Feeling the Spiritual Energy surging within him, War Song stood up contentedly and said to his three sworn brothers, "Sixty years have passed, and we are still far from the Mahayana Realm. Our master is already fighting the Demon Clan on the battlefield. We must reach the Mahayana Realm soon to aid him, so I've decided we should go to the Blood Pond mentioned by that Spiritual Beast last time."

The Blood Pond was a Cultivation site for a Heavenly Immortal Spiritual Beast. To be precise, that entire region belonged to the Heavenly Immortal Spiritual Beast. The Blood Pond itself, placed in that region by the Heavenly Immortal, constantly absorbed the qi and blood of dead Spiritual Beasts for its own Cultivation.

As for whether any Spiritual Beasts dared to steal the fruits of the Heavenly Immortal Spiritual Beast's labor, naturally, there were. However, the Heavenly Immortal also had protective measures. Besides, the number of Mahayana Spiritual Beasts here could be counted on one hand, so essentially no beast had the power to enter.

Even Yue Li, usually rash, felt some hesitation about this bold decision. "Big brother, isn't this too dangerous? Besides, we've only just reached Returning to Void. It seems we can't even enter."

"Do you remember the one-time-use Magic Treasure that our master gave us when we last left?" War Song pulled out a little stick that shone with golden light.

"Isn't that for protecting our lives?" Ao Li was somewhat reluctant. Their Cultivation speed was already incredibly fast; no Spiritual Beast had ever advanced from Divinity Transformation to Returning to Void in sixty years.

"I think we should try it," Yang Huan said, a bit uncertain. "The Blood Pond has protections, but the stick's power is at most equivalent to a True Immortal. It can, at best, break a hole. Once inside, we'll just take the Blood Fruit. My only worry is that the Heavenly Immortal might have sensing techniques, and we won't make it out in time."

"Fortune is found in peril. We have to take this gamble!" War Song declared, making the final decision.

Apart from the Great Array guarding the Blood Pond, there was also a fat pig at Returning to Void, rumored to be a beast from that Heavenly Immortal's clan. Its strength was weak, barely reaching Returning to Void. Yang Huan elegantly assassinated it without pain.

"Are you ready?" War Song gripped the little stick, a bit nervous.

"No problem. I'll rush in as soon as you open it," Yang Huan said, poised for action.

"What if it doesn't open?" Ao Li was somewhat worried that the stick wouldn't be powerful enough.

"Impossible. It's quite impressive that this Heavenly Immortal can set up a Great Array. It couldn't possibly set up a Barrier that matches its own Cultivation level," Yang Huan denied.

What a joke. It was just a Heavenly Immortal from a remote corner of the Desolate World. If it were versed in all arts, Spiritual Beasts would have already dominated the Heavenly Realm.

As Spiritual Energy was injected, the little stick was activated.

The shimmering golden stick slowly grew to about ten meters, then with a THUD, it directly hit the thin layer of the Great Array. As the stick slowly shrank, the Great Array began to crack, finally shattering with a CRACK.

"Damn, was this Great Array always this flimsy?" Yang Huan dashed in, critiquing as he went.

The disappearance of the Great Array naturally alarmed the owner of the Blood Pond, the Heavenly Immortal Spiritual Beast.

Hei Shan was sleeping, holding a Fox Clan beauty in his arms, when he suddenly felt the Great Array he had set up around one of his Blood Ponds shatter. He instantly woke from his sleep. "Which thief dares to break my, Hei Shan's, Great Array?"

"My lord, what happened?" The fox woman, obviously still tired from a recent battle, asked groggily, sensing Hei Shan's movements.

"Beauty, it's nothing, just a petty thief. I'll go have a look; you continue resting," Hei Shan consoled gently.

By the time Hei Shan reached the Blood Pond, the Great Array was indeed broken, and the Blood Pond Holy Fruit, which took ten thousand years to form, was also gone.

Enraged, Hei Shan leaped into the sky, and the phenomenon of a Heavenly Immortal immediately emerged. A colossal, black-skinned wild boar appeared overhead. Hei Shan's voice, heavy with suppressed anger, resonated throughout the area, "Who is it? Who dares steal the Holy Fruit from me, Hei Shan? All Spiritual Beasts, go search! If you find it, you will be handsomely rewarded by me. If not, I will devour you all alive!"

Immense fear enveloped all the Spiritual Beasts in the area.

"It's over, we're doomed, definitely doomed now," Ao Li said, his face ashen.

"Not at all," Yue Li reassured him, patting Ao Li's head with ease.

"Don't pat my head! That's a Heavenly Immortal! We're surely doomed," Ao Li cried, shaking off Yue Li's large hand, his voice colored with fear.

"I just love seeing that expression on your face. Alright, we should leave," War Song said teasingly, grinning.

"Leave? To where?" Ao Li was confused.

"Back to the Sect, of course," War Song said, pulling out a Great Teleportation Talisman.

"A Great Teleportation Talisman? We're saved! Huh? How come you all look like you already knew this?" Ao Li's surprise quickly turned to suspicion.

"Of course we knew. Our master gave this to us, didn't he?" Yue Li said mockingly.

"Stop talking. The Concealing Talisman is about to expire. If we don't leave now, we really won't be able to escape," Yang Huan warned.

With the activation of the Great Teleportation Talisman, Runes of transportation began to appear under the feet of the four beasts.

"We're finally safe," Ao Li said with a look of relief.

Then, the Concealing Talisman's effect ended. Hei Shan, who had been hovering in the sky, now sensed the aura of the Holy Fruit and glared fiercely at the four beasts about to teleport. "You damned little thieves, die!"

The overwhelming pressure terrified Ao Li half to death. Luckily, the Transmission Array activated at the last moment, and the four beasts managed to retreat safely.

"Hey, I'm okay! HAHA, I'm alright!" Ao Li, who had been closing his eyes the whole time, was shaken awake by Yue Li. He then checked his intact body, his face showing the relief of having survived an ordeal.

"Don't embarrass yourself. Let's head back to the Sect." War Song felt Ao Li was being a bit disgraceful. After all, he had been training for sixty years, yet Ao Li still acted so terrified of death.

The four beasts returned to the Sect and headed straight for Eden Garden. After greeting Chen Tingting, they split the Holy Fruit into four parts. Each ingested one to enhance their Cultivation, hoping to quickly reach the Spirit Void Realm to support Chen Jiuge.

Chen Jiuge was unaware that his own Spiritual Beasts had the audacity to plunder a Heavenly Immortal. The three life-saving items he had given them were only at the True Immortal Level. As for life-saving measures effective against a Heavenly Immortal, Chen Jiuge doubted he could afford them, let alone find any to buy.

But now, Chen Jiuge was about to face the greatest crisis of his Cultivation journey.