The Red Sand Valley was a V-shaped valley that was located a few dozens of kilometers north on what was considered as the outskirts of the Demon beast mountains range.
It was also closer to the Sky Lion Kingdom than the other kingdoms. Long ago, the Red Sand Valley used to be known as the Red River Valley, and that was because the river that was running between the hills and the mountains of the valley was red in color.
However, for some unknown reason, the river that ran through the valley had dried up more than fifty years ago, leaving nothing but red sands in its place. It was after that sudden change that its name was changed from Red River Valley to Red Sand Valley.
After Ling Chen and his group arrived at the outskirts of the Valley, they saw that the people had already turned a part of the valley into a small village.
There were plenty of men gathered here and there. They were all in groups and several tents were scattered about.
Some of the tents were empty while some of them had people lying within them to rest. The tents came in all shapes and sizes. Some of them were of high quality or luxurious while some look as though they belong to a poor beggar.
Furthermore, there were plenty of people sitting on rocks or tree branches eating and drinking while the others were resting.
More than half of them were here for the fun instead of trying to catch the 7th class demon beast cub. Just like Ma Tu, some of them have never seen a powerful 7th rank demon beast before, and they were here just to satisfy their curiosity.
The people around were mostly Martial Master and Martial Grandmaster warriors. It was rather peaceful here with no one causing trouble or a disturbance which was rather odd considering that all of them were here for the same thing and only one of them could get it.
They were all bound to fight and compete for it, yet they were all minding their own business as though they had reached a peaceful agreement not to fight.
" Let's go and see what the 7th rank injured demon beast looks like." Ling Chen said to Fang Lan including Ma Tu and his guards as they moved forward.
Ling Chen's group arrival didn't attract the attention of anyone present. In their eyes, aside from the late Martial Grandmaster that was accompanying them, the rest of them were a bunch of Martial warriors and Martial Master, same as most of them.
They couldn't sense Fang Lan's aura, as such they put him in the same boat as the rest of the Martial Masters and Martial Warriors.
As for Ling Chen, they didn't even look at him as he was nothing but a little child who probably hasn't even opened a single meridian yet. And interestingly, they were right. Ling Chen was indeed a child that hasn't even opened a single meridian as his body wasn't the same as that of a regular human warrior.
Ling Chen and his group continued on ahead until they made it to the top of the mountain. From there, they could see the other side of the valley as well as the red sands that separated the two sides like a border.
As Ling Chen continued to look ahead, he used his left power to amplify his sight and that's when he saw a huge black fox the size of a grown horse lazily lying on the ground in front of a cave surrounded by three gigantic trees. The black fox had six tails and a thick dark fur that cascaded down over its body like midnight waves.
In front of the black fox, there were dozens of lifeless human bodies with missing limbs and heads lying on the ground in their own pool of blood. Among these bodies was a Martial Lord realm warrior while the rests were Martial Ancestor and Martial Grandmaster.
Greed was truly a frightening thing. It could turn any smart person or any level headed person into idiots. No matter how injured the 7th rank Demon beast was, it still wasn't something a puny Martial Ancestor or Martial Lord could handle or deal with. It's indeed true what they said, humans will die for riches just as birds will die for foods.
Next to the huge black fox, there was a little black fox cub about nine inches tall lying down next to the huge black fox sleeping.
Nonetheless, none of these things drew Ling Chen's attention. What drew his attention was not the injured black fox or the little black fox cub. It was the black fox's pair of eyes.
It was a pair of eyes filled with sadness, sorrow, and unwillingness. It was the eyes of a dying mother unable to watch his newborn little cub grows up.
The Black fox wasn't even looking at the hundreds of people on the other side of the valley waiting for an opportunity to kill her, its pair of eyes were silently looking at the little cub sleeping next to her with no care in the world.
There was a myriad of emotions in its eyes such as affection, sadness, pain, and sorrow, but that had gone unnoticed by everyone.
There was a motherly look in the mother's eyes as it continued to watch over its cub affectionately as a loving mother would without any malice.
After a while, the injured black fox used its head and rubbed the little sleeping fox affectionately as it licked its little head gently and softly.
The eyes of the black fox were filled with gentleness and love when it was looking at the little black fox. If one were to move closer, one would have been able to see the dried up tears around the black fox's eyes.
The look in its eyes was as though it was saying:
Dear child, your mother will not be able to protect you and watch you grow anymore!
Looking at this scene, Ling Chen felt something deep within him stirred as an unfamiliar new feeling emerged from his heart.
It was a feeling he hadn't felt before or a feeling that he had forgotten. That feeling gushed out deep from within him like a volcano or a river broken free from a dam and spread out in every corner of his body.
Suddenly, two large tears welled up and rolled down from Ling Chen's pair of eyes.
Without hesitating, Ling Chen used his right hand to wipe the tears in his eyes.
" So this is what it feels like to be truly sad."
" This is how mother probably felt when I was born." Softly whispered Ling Chen as he was looking at the liquid which was his tears in his fingers.
Today was the second time he cried in his entire life and also the first time he truly knew what it felt like to be sad. It was as though he was reviving his mother's last day in this world, and also the day he was born through the dying black fox. Though the situation wasn't the same, it was kind of similar.
While Ling Chen was reminiscing about that sad moment when he was born as well as drowning in this newly felt emotion,
Suddenly, a group of a hundred men clad in red armor came running over where he was standing before forming a line that prevented anyone from going through the other side of the valley where the injured black fox was.
"All of you make way, the Second Prince of the Sky Lion Kingdom has arrived." Shouted one of the men.
The moment everyone heard they mentioned the Second Prince of the Sky Lion Kingdom, they instantly grew startled and hastened to make a path for them.
In the Sky Lion Kingdom royal family, the second prince possessed the highest talent amongst the many princes and princesses. He was also the one most favored by the Sky Lion King. He was only twenty-seven years old and was already a peak Martial Ancestor realm warrior.
Aside from that, he was also cultivating a powerful low-rank Earth Battle technique known as the Star Destroying Finger.
At this time, another group of men clad in red armor reached the peak of the mountain accompanied by a handsome young man.
The young man wore a blue robe with black dragons design coiled around it. His body was emitting an amazing momentum and an invisible noble aura of someone above others as if he was the sky above and everything else was at his feet.
As soon as the second prince reached the top of the mountain, everyone dashed there to pay their respects.
At this time, a group of people has already reached the Peak of the mountain, and they stopped their steps ten meters away from the blue-robed second prince. Each had a respectful expression on their faces as they saluted, "We humble servants pay respect to His Royal Highness Second Prince!"
"Mu Tian from the Mu Family of the Eighth Great families pay respect to His Royal Highness Second Prince!"
"Chen Long from the Chen family of the Eighth Great families pay respect to His Royal Highness Second Prince!"
One by one, every single great character and influences within the Sky Lion Kingdom came to pay their respects.
The Second simply stood with his hands clasped behind him; and said with an apathetic voice that floated with the soft breeze: "Rise."
"Much obliged, His Royal Highness Second Prince!" Mu Tian, Chen Long, and everyone thanked respectfully and slowly got up.
"Although I'm here in the Red Sand Valley, all of you have no reason to worry; I am only here for the 7th class little cub on behalf of my father the King."
"As for the corpse of the black fox, I won't take it and will allow all of you to compete for it!" The Second prince announced.
Hearing these words, everyone in the group was secretly happy in their hearts; this was the question they were most worried about after the second Prince had arrived. They thought that he was going to use his royal power to monopolize everything.
Even though they couldn't get the 7th class little cub, the whole body of the 7th rank demon beast was priceless as well, especially its blood and its demon beast core.
The second prince waved his hand: "All of you can go now."
Acknowledging the command to leave, the group of people was about to retreat out of sight and left the mountain.
"Sorry, but I'm gonna have to ask all of you to leave the whole Red Sand Valley, including the second prince and his guards under the order of my young master."
However, before they could make it far, Fang Lan's thunderous voice suddenly echoed out from within the crowd.