Wait a minute, where is my master?

Age Chicken tribal land.

Clan Leader's cave, bedroom.

The interior layout and decorations of this place were not much different from those used by the Human Race Cultivators in their caves.

Screens, tables and chairs, beds and couches, flowers and plants, and so on and so forth.

The only difference was that the bedding on top of the couch wasn't bedding, but some kind of material that looked extremely soft dry grass.

On the dry grass, the old Clan Leader of the Age Chicken tribe lay sprawled out, head held high.

His little eyes were intently staring at the opposite side, where Jin Xu and Yu Yaoer, who stood behind him holding a coconut, sat on a brown wooden chair.

"Little Taoist, your help in removing the curse from our land has left me deeply grateful.

"The celebratory banquet is still being prepared, and I've taken the liberty of inviting you here not just for the feast, but also to make an audacious request for the future of my Age Chicken tribe.

"If there's any impropriety in my request, I hope you can forgive me."

The clear sound of his voice fell.

The aged Age Chicken shakily stood up from the dry grass bed and deeply lowered his head to the little Taoist.

"Clan Leader, there's no need for such formalities, Little Hong once helped us out a lot in the outside world, just tell me what you need. But wait a moment..."

Jin Xu modestly waved his hand, then turned his head and called out to the screen: "Little White, come out and translate, don't hide behind there!"

"Oh, got it, temple master."

The Husky reluctantly came around from behind the screen, muttering under her breath, "That's how they do it in Capitol City when watching a double act, what's wrong with trying it out..."

Jin Xu pretended not to hear what she was saying and turned his face to the aged Age Chicken.

"Clan Leader, what was it that you wanted to say?"

The aged Age Chicken raised his head, looking curiously at Little White, and let out a crow.

Feigning maturity, Little White said, "The venerable one noticed that the child, Half-Age (Little Hong), seems to have cultivated a kind of magic that can increase his size and suppress his body's special fragrance.

The venerable one would like to inquire if you could impart this Divine Ability to our Age Chicken tribe?

"Of course, our tribe will not expect you to offer this without compensation. I have the authority to give you an ancient Secret Treasure that our tribe has been guarding for generations."

Having said this, Little White looked at the aged Age Chicken with surprise.

Clearly, she was beginning to be curious about the ancient Secret Treasure mentioned by him.

However, before Little White could ponder further, right after she finished translating, the aged Age Chicken let out another low crow.

A look of astonishment instantly crossed the Husky's face.

The little Taoist noticed the peculiar expression on his pet's face.

So, he opened his mouth to ask.

"Little White, what else did the Clan Leader say?"

"Temple master, he... he said, since you've been to the cursed land, then surely you must also know that inside, it's actually a site specifically for slaughtering Age Chickens, right?"

The Husky's tone was somewhat odd, and as she spoke, she turned to look at Yaoer behind the little Taoist.

Noticing that the latter, like her, had eyes filled with curiosity.

Neither of them had entered the cursed land, originally thinking it was just an ordinary dangerous place, but now it seemed that there was more to it than met the eye.

Their curiosity was naturally piqued.

And upon hearing the Husky's translation, a flicker of astonishment passed through Jin Xu's eyes.

He had been wondering whether or not to reveal the true situation inside the "cursed land."

But now, it seems that the Chief of the Age Chicken clan is already quite clear about the situation within the cursed land.

The young Taoist pondered for a moment, then rose from his chair and said,

"Elder Clan Leader, you're right: that 'Cursed Land' is indeed a place specifically for slaughtering members of the Age Chicken clan.

"Moreover, from what I've observed, it seems to be a... kitchen."

With that, the young Taoist recounted everything he had seen inside.

After listening, the aged Age Chicken lowered its head and let out a deep sigh.

"Temple Master, he sighed."

"...That doesn't need to be translated."

"Understood, Temple Master."

While Husky was chipping in with jokes,

the aged Age Chicken suddenly stood up shakily, moved a couple of steps toward the head of the bed, then bowed its head and pecked vigorously at one spot three times.

Next, the sound of a mechanism clicking could be heard, and an ancient, long wooden box slowly rose from the head of the bed.

The aged Age Chicken let out a low cluck, stretched its neck to grasp the copper ring on the wooden box, and lifted it open.

"Temple Master, he's asking me to help take out the items inside."

As Little White spoke, he quickly moved two steps to the head of the bed, reached in, and pulled out the unknown material of the scroll, then laid it on the bed's straw.

"Cluck cluck."

Under the direction of the aged Age Chicken, Little White spread the scroll open.

By now, Jin Xu and Yu Yaoer had also reached the bedside.

As the scroll was slowly unfurled, the young Taoist noticed, to his astonishment, that it was a flat map of the Age Chicken clan's territory.

In the top-left corner of the map, the long path and cliff face they had entered through were clearly marked, followed by fields, plazas, dwellings, residences...

These locations were all labeled in the script of the Nine Provinces Realm, and at the so-called "Cursed Land," a large character for slaughter was starkly annotated.

"Elder Clan Leader, what is this?"

Jin Xu turned his head to ask.

The aged Age Chicken sighed deeply once again, and with Little White's help in translating, began to tell the group the history of the Age Chicken clan.

"Our clan, bearing the bloodline of mythical beasts, descents from ancient times. However, because of our unique fragrance that attracts people and creatures alike, our clan gradually declined, and our legacy nearly came to an end.

"But fortune favors the brave, and according to our ancestors' records, tens of thousands of years ago, when our clan had dwindled to only a few members, a Great Master abruptly appeared and brought our ancestors into this Mountain and Sea Realm. He set up a Formation, carved out a cave dwelling, and gave our clan a territory that was both freely accessible yet safe.

"After doing all this, the Great Master left behind a message to prosper well before disappearing without a trace.

"This act was like a beam of light in the darkness. Our ancestors were both alarmed and overjoyed—the alarm stemmed from the fear that our clan was chosen by the Great Master due to our unique fragrance and was being domesticated.

"The joy came from the fact that, even if we were domesticated, the clan could at least continue to thrive.

"However, over the centuries that followed, the Great Master never showed himself again, and the cave dwelling and Formation never restricted our clan's freedom.

"Therefore, our ancestors were assured that our Age Chicken clan was truly meant to survive and had encountered a benevolent savior in our time of need.

"To express their gratitude to the Great Master, they not only erected a statue in his honor in the plaza but also added a living memorial tablet to the ancestral hall, to remember this great kindness for generations to come.

"Then thousands of years flew by.

"Our clan began to see rapid population growth, entering an explosive era. With deliberate breeding by our ancestors, in just two thousand years, the population in the cave dwelling exceeded eight thousand.

"But then...

"The nightmare began!"