Don't kill him?" Lu Changwei turned around carefully, a look of genuine surprise on his face. "Is… Is what he said true? Ninth Young Lord… you… you really…"
"Can you just stop talking?!"
Ximen Dingjun's face reddened, glaring at Lu Changwei.
A subtle change of expression spread across the whole group.
Things were extremely awkward!
"Pffft…"
The people tried to suppress their laughter, but some of them couldn't hold back and cracked up.
A Northern Wilderness Ninth Young Lord! The beloved son of the Northern Wilderness overlord has premature ejaculation and erectile dysfunction!
How was that any different from an eunuch?
That was the most sensational, most scandalous news of the decade!
Wenren Muyue blushed, but there was a cheeky look in her eyes.
Dong Xiaowu and the others looked at each other, a suppressed smile on their faces.
"You are not allowed to laugh! None of you are allowed to laugh! I will kill whoever who laughs!"
Ximen Dingjun's face had turned into a combination of green and red. He had never been so humiliated in his entire life.
"Don't laugh! No one is allowed to laugh… Arghh!!"
Lu Changwei barked aloud, but before he could finish, he suddenly cried out in pain.
Smack!
Ximen Dingjun had sent a slap flying to his face. "How dare you talk! It didn't need to be announced so publicly but you kept pushing for that kid to reveal it! You've humiliated me!"
"I… I didn't know the kid was so skilled."
Lu Changwei touched the cheek that had just been hit.
"How dare you try to make excuses!" Ximen Dingjun grinded his teeth. "Didn't you say that you were going to eat shit on livestream? Go and do it now! Eat until you're full before you come back!"
"I…" Lu Changwei stammered.
He had let those words roll off his tongue, and Ximen Dingjun actually remembered them!
Lu Changwei dared not sound a word of protest when he saw Ximen Dingjun's fiery expression.
Miao Yiyue and the others laughed so hard they nearly toppled over.
When Lu Changwei fanned the flames, trying to worsen the situation for Chen Xiaobei, he was actually throwing a rock at his own feet, and unconsciously, at Ximen Dingjun's feet as well!
The old bodyguard under disguise shot Lu Changwei an angry look.
"I… I will go now…"
Lu Changwei conceded, and then fled the scene faster than a bullet.
"Ninth Young Lord! What's more important now is to cure your illness!" The old man whispered into Ximen Dingjun's ear.
The young lord was very obedient to the old man. He turned to Chen Xiaobei and asked, "You can cure me of my illness?"
"Of course! If you believe me, I can prescribe a medicine for you tonight. I guarantee that it'll be effective immediately!" Chen Xiaobei said.
"It will take effect immediately? Are you some sort of miracle doctor?" Ximen Dingjun furrowed his brows.
"Mr. Chen does deserve the title of miracle doctor!" Wenren Muyue piped up. "That one time, when he suppressed the illness in me, it took effect immediately! You should know that even the Temple doctors were unable to do that!"
Everyone was shocked at this revelation. Half a minute ago, they had all thought that Chen Xiaobei was just exagerrating. Now, they all finally believed that Chen Xiaobei was the real deal!
"Alright! Then please, Mr. Chen, help cure me! If I'm cured, I will make sure I'll reward you handsomely!" Ximen Dingjun changed his tone and spoke respectfully to Chen Xiaobei.
There was a saying that went: you can offend anybody but you should not offend the people who have the power to heal!
Before a miracle doctor like Chen Xiaobei came along, even the arrogant Ximen Dingjun would have to put away his weapons!
"Mm, give me ten minutes. I'll get the medication ready. Once I'm done, I'll send it over to you immediately!"
Chen Xiaobei smiled. Everything seemed to be under his control.
"Alright! I'm giving you ten minutes!"
Ximen Dingjun gave his bodyguards a look and one of them followed Chen Xiaobei.
"Ninth Young Lord, this is a special secret formula. I can't have people watching me while I do it!" Chen Xiaobei said. "Don't worry. I'm very weak, so I won't be able to run away!"
"Fine! Then please go ahead, Mr. Chen!"
Ximen Dingjun nodded. He just had to be patient and wait.
After that, the group dispersed.
Wenren Muyue and Dong Xiaowu went to Chen Xiaobei immediately.
"Mr. Chen! Can you really cure the Ninth Young Lord's illness? That's an incurable disease! Are you sure you can take care of it in just ten minutes?" Dong Xiaowu asked, his face a mixture of worry and curiosity.
"Yeah! There's specialization in every industry! Mr. Chen, I know you were able to suppress Muyue's illness, but this is premature ejaculation and erectile dysfunction! It's not even in the same class!" Qin Luo added.
"I heard that this disease is incurable. The doctors and the hospitals who claimed they were able to do it are all liars." Wei Ruilong sounded very suspicious.
"Everyone, please don't worry yourself sick!" Wenren Muyue spoke before Chen Xiaobei had the chance to defend himself. "If Mr. Chen says he can, then he can! Let's just wait and see the results!"
The others nodded. Wenren Muyue had never been one to stretch the truth. The fact that she vouched for Chen Xiaobei proved that Chen Xiaobei really was very skilled!
"Muyue…"
Miao Yiyue frowned. "Have you thought… if Mr. Chen's medicine really works, you will be in grave danger!"
"Me? Why is that?" Wenren Muyue asked.
"There are no outsiders here so I'll just speak frankly!" Miao Yiyue said. "The Ninth Young Lord is an eunuch now, but if Mr. Chen fixes him and makes him a man again, what do think will be the first thing he does?"
"Uh…" Wenren Muyue inhaled sharply.
The faces of the others quickly changed.
Anyone with a brain would understand what Miao Yiyue was trying to say. If Ximen Dingjun did get well, the first thing he would want to do was force Wenren Muyue to have sex with him.
That was why Wenren Muyue would be in serious danger.
"Don't worry! I'm here. Muyue won't be in danger!" Chen Xiaobei said.
Miao Yiyue immediately gave him a salute.
"I have always thought that my cultivation is way more powerful than Mr. Chen! But in a critical time like this, the best person to keep Muyue safe would be Mr. Chen! I hope Mr. Chen can deal with the Ninth Young Lord. You must protect Muyue!"
"You're too kind, Master Wei! Elder Wenren has assigned me with the responsibility of protecting Lady Wenren." Chen Xiaobei shrugged. "Everyone, please return to your tents to rest. If there's too much noise tonight, just use cotton to block your ears!"
"Noise? Tonight? Why would it be noisy?" The group scratched their heads.
Chen Xiaobei merely smiled in response and left.
He found a private place, and took out a small bottle from the Infinite Space Ring. He weighed it in his hand. Inside was half a bottle of a curious solution.
"This alcohol is too good to waste on that pervert! It'll be such a waste!"
Chen Xiaobei took the bottle to Ximen Dingjun's tent with a smirk on his face.
Ximen Dingjun's tent was as huge as the tent generals used during ancient times. There was large bed inside and even a desk and furniture to match. It could easily fit a dozen of people and there would still be room to wiggle.
"Mr. Chen! You're finally here!"
Ximen Dingjun was sitting on a gold throne in the center of the tent.
Standing to next to him was the old bodyguard disguised as a young man with cultivation equivalent to a demigod.
"I'm sorry to keep you waiting, Ninth Young Lord!" Chen Xiaobei produced a small bottle and said,
"This is the special secret medicinal wine that I have prepared. It will take effect immediately after you drink it!"
"Alright! If it really is that miraculous, I will reward you!" Ximen Dingjun gave the old man a look.
The old man then came forward to receive the bottle. He opened it, took a whiff, and then dipped a fine, long, needle into the bottle.
"Why? Are you afraid that I spiked it?" Chen Xiaobei chuckled. "If I poison the Ninth Young Lord, where am I supposed to run to?"
Ximen Dingjun explained, "Please don't mind it, Mr. Chen. Ever since I was born, anything that enters the mouth will have to go through his test! If possible, he will taste it before I do!"
"Mm, I understand! Ninth Young Lord is a prince. This is all surely necessary!" Chen Xiaobei nodded.
"Anyone can drink this medicinal wine. Brother Meng can go ahead and taste it! It's not a problem at all."
"Mm."
The old man poured a little of the liquid into a small cup.
The whole tent was filled with an amazing but strong aroma.
"Wow! It smells so good!"
Ximen Dingjun loved eating, drinking and most of all gambling. Beautiful women aside, his second favorite interest was good wine!
He had an intoxicated look in his eyes at the smell of the wine.
"The aroma of fruits… rich on the palate, with a sweet aroma. This is rare wine! Hurry! Give it to me!"
The old man passed the cup over.
In the cup, the wine looked like a thousand rubies, crystal clear with a crimson color. Not a trace of impurities could be traced in it and it was irresistible!
"What a beautiful color! What refined texture! Amazing! Absolutely amazing! Hurry up! I want to try it!"
Ximen Dingjun was practically drooling at the brew.
"Hang on, my young lord. Allow me to test it for poison first." The old man lowered his voice.
There was the same thirst in his eyes. He was clearly a man who enjoyed his wine as well.
"Mm! Hurry up already! I can't wait any longer!" Ximen Dingjun said.
The old man raised the cup, and downed it. There was an unmistakable intoxication in his eyes. "Good wine! Very good wine! It's indescribable! You can't even find such good quality wine in the Temple's wine cellar!"
The old man was about to pour himself more of the wine when Ximen Dingjun grabbed it from him.
The impatient prince could not wait anymore. He brought the bottle to his mouth and began to gulp it down.
Ximen Dingjun looked very delighted, as if he had just discovered valuable treasure. "Oh my god! How could such wine exist! It's amazing! Really really amazing!"
Chen Xiaobei merely smiled.
These two obviously enjoyed Chen Xiaobei's wine a hell lot. If only he had finished making the Heavenly Dog Biscuits, he could have dissolved two of them in the wine, and add himself two more powerful loyal hounds to his collection.
Chen Xiaobei was deep in thought.
"Huh? It's finished? There's no more?" Ximen Dingjun had downed the whole bottle so much so that there was not a drop of wine left inside. He then began to panic as if he had lost something really precious.
"Calm down, Ninth Young Lord. This medicinal wine is very strong. You can't have too much of it or there'll be problems!" Chen Xiaobei said.
"Huh? Is this the medicine that you're giving me?" Ximen Dingjun asked. "It's such an excellent wine! How could it be a medicine?"
"This really is a medicinal wine!" Chen Xiaobei said. "You will begin to feel its effect in less than ten minutes!"
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! I can feel it!" Ximen Dingjun's eyes widened. "I can feel an energy surging through my body! I'm energized! And… and I can feel a heat in my pants!"
"That sounds about right!" Chen Xiaobei smiled. "It means that you are healing. If you continue the treatment, you might go through a second stage of puberty, and it might even grow bigger."
"My god! What kind of wine is this? It's so damn effective!" Ximen Dingjun exclaimed in delight.
The old man standing next to him stood upright. Even though he only had a little bit of the wine, his body experienced some changes as well.
"This wine is called Hundred Fruit Dragon Dick wine! It's my special secret formula!" Chen Xiaobei replied.
"Dra… Dragon… Dick? Where did you get a dragon dick?" Ximen Dingjun gasped.
"Er, that's just a metaphor. It actually uses more than ten kinds of whips, and then brewed using a special technique!" Chen Xiaobei was making things up as he went.
After all, dragons in the earthly realm were treated like gods. No one would have believed it if he said that there was a dragon's whip inside.
"Mr. Chen! How much more of this wine do you have? I'm willing to buy it at any price! I will buy everything you have!" Ximen Dingjun exclaimed.
"I don't have much with me. But after the hunt, I can go visit my Sifu. I might be able to make more then!" Chen Xiaobei said.
He had said that to make sure that Ximen Dingjun would not try to mess with Chen Xiaobei before the hunt was over.
Also, mentioning a mysterious Sifu would make Ximen Dingjun think twice before doing anything to Chen Xiaobei.
"Who is your Sifu? I must visit him after the hunt!" Ximen Dingjun fell for it.
After all, the medical expertise Chen Xiaobei had showe, and the Hundred Fruit Dragon Dick wine that he had produced were not common things that an average person would have. Ximen Dingjun believed that there must be a powerful elite behind Chen Xiaobei. That was why he did not dare to do anything bad to him.
"My Sifu has lived in seclusion for many years, and he does not welcome outsiders into his home. I will just have to pass our Ninth Young Lord's kind intentions to him."
All of his medical knowledge, he had learned from Hua Tuo and the others. The dragon dick in the Hundred Fruit Dragon Dick wine was given by Ne'Zha, and the wine was given by Monkey King.
Ximen Dingjun would never be able to meet this 'Sifu' of Chen Xiaobei in his entire lifetime.
"He doesn't meet outsiders? Oh, that's really too bad! Oh, I can feel something down there!" Ximen Dingjun suddenly shouted excitedly. "Hurry! Go find me a woman! I need to do it now! Wahahaha!"
"Woman? The only woman worthy of you is Wenren Muyue!" The old man said.
"What are you doing just standing there? Go get her to me!" Ximen Dingjun ordered impatiently.
"What about Mr. Chen?" The old man asked.
"Chen Xiaobei offered me such amazing medicinal wine. He should be rewarded! Give him 100 medium-grade Spiritual Stones! After I have my fun tonight, I will pay him more tomorrow!" Ximen Dingjun was ecstatic.
Whoa! Three sips of wine, and the reward was 100 medium grade Spiritual Stones!
Chen Xiaobei's mouth dropped open. That was equivalent to 100,000 low-grade Spiritual Stones!
This Ximen Dingjun really was the Northern Wilderness overlord's golden boy, spending his fortune in such a cavalier manner!
Had Chen Xiaobei given him a big bottle of Dragon Dick's Hundred Fruit Moonshine, he might have even rewarded Chen Xiaobei with more than 10,000 Spiritual Stones! Just thinking about it sent chills down Chen Xiaobei's spine!
"Mr. Chen, please come with me! I'll bring you the Spiritual Stones!" The old man said.
"Alright." Chen Xiaobei nodded.
After he had received his payment, he called out to the old man, "Mr. Meng! There's something I'd like to talk to you about!"
"Mr. Chen, are you going to plead on behalf of Wenren Muyue? Forgive me, I'd like to help but I can't!" Old man Meng had read Chen Xiaobei's mind.
"I do not plan to plead. I would've said something in there if I was," Chen Xiaobei said.
"Then, what is it that you want to say?" Old man Meng said.
"The Ninth young lord is not completely cured yet. So, he should not lie with any woman just yet. Otherwise, the essence that had just been replenished will be drained again!" Chen Xiaobei said.
Old man Meng shook his head and said, "I understand that, but the Ninth Young Lord is a reckless pleasure-seeker. The Temple doctors had advised him to stay away from women but he refused to listen. That is how he got himself in this mess today."
The neck and the tip of the old man's ears were scarlet red, and he was slurring a little. Clearly, a sip of the Hundred Fruit Dragon Dick's Moonshine had snuck into his head.
"Mr. Meng, you don't look very good. Are you feeling alright?" Chen Xiaobei asked on purpose even though he already knew the answer.
"Quite the opposite! My body feels really good! Mr. Chen's wine is just too incredible! This old man here has not felt like this in so many years! It's as if I've regained the energy of my youth!" Old man Meng said, looking a little tipsy.
"Old man?" Chen Xiaobei pretended to look surprised.
"Oh!" Old man Meng caught himself. "Since Mr. Chen has gained the ninth young lord's approval, I'll just be honest with you! I am the young lord's personal bodyguard. I'm only wearing this mask to fool people!"
Chen Xiaobei slapped his thigh. "Oh, no wonder! The tip of your ears and your neck are red, but your face has not changed at all! Do you want to go take care of that? In case anyone suspects anything?"
"Really? I better take care of it then!" Old man Meng said. "The Temple has stipulated that those who are over 30 cannot join the hunting competition. If my cover is blown, it will raise an unwanted precedent. If people start accusing the Temple of being unfair, it would be very troublesome for us all!"
"Then you had better hurry!" Chen Xiaobei said.
"If I go, who is going to get Wenren Muyue?" Old man Meng frowned.
"How about this? Why don't you go do what you need to do, and I'll try to advise the young lord against indulging himself tonight? Who knows, he might change his mind!"
"Impossible!" The old man said with certainty. "The young lord can't get his hands off women! On top of that, it's been a while since he had any sexual release! Now that he has regained his potency, there's no way to convince him to stay away from Wenren Muyue!"
But Chen Xiaobei insisted, "Just let me try! You go take care of your cover, it'll only take about three minutes. If can't convince him, it still wouldn't be too late for you to go fetch Wenren Muyue!"
"Heh, three minutes. Even if I give you three days, you wouldn't be able to convince the young lord!"
"If you don't believe me, why don't we make a bet?" Chen Xiaobei said. "The young lord awarded me with 100 medium-grade Spiritual Stones just now. If I fail to convince him, you can keep it all. How about that?"
"Alright! Since you want to give me your Spiritual Stones so badly, I won't refuse the offer!' Old Meng smiled. He really did not believe that Chen Xiaobei could convince Ximen Dingjun, the pervert of all perverts from having his way with Wenren Muyue.
"Thank you Old Meng!" Chen Xiaobei said, putting his palm against his fist.
"Your mouth says no but your heart says yes, young man! Who said you were not going to plead on behalf of Wenren Muyue?" Old Meng grinned. "I was young once upon a time too! I too, know that it's hard for a man to resist such a beauty, but the hero is powerless before a ruler! Very weak and vulnerable! Do you understand?"
"Thank you Old Meng for that reminder!" Chen Xiaobei said solemnly. "I won't be rude to the young lord. If I fail, I will get out immediately. I won't piss him off!"
"Mm, I believe that you should know what to do! I'll have to go now. I'll be back in three minutes!"
"Roger that!"
Chen Xiaobei nodded. After the old man left, he turned around and walked into Ximen Dingjun's tent.
"Why are you here? Where's Wenren Muyue? Call her in now! My manhood has not been this strong for so long. It's thirsty!"
Ximen Dingjun's face was flushed, his lips and throat were dry, and he was beginning to feel a burning heat under his shirt. He had even already begun stripping.
"Old Meng has already gone to get her. He should be back soon!" Chen Xiaobei said. "My medicinal wine is too strong. I wanted to check up on you before they get back, just in case!"
"Mmm, okay. Pour me a glass of water! My body feels very hot! It's like I'm on fire!" Ximen Dingjun said, wiping the sweat off his forehead.
"You can't drink water or the effect of the medicine will be diluted!"
"But I'm feeling really hot!" Ximen Dingjun said impatiently. "It's so hot I'm dying!"
"Ninth Young Lord, don't fret. I have a fan with me. Let me fan you to cool you off!" Chen Xiaobei smiled, taking out a fan from the Infinite Space Ring.
"Good, good, good! Hurry up and fan me!" Ximen Dingjun nodded, popping his head out of the tent, shouting. "Is Wenren Muyue here? Why isn't she here yet?"
Chen Xiaobei walked up next to him, spread the fan open and began to fan Ximen Dingjun.
An invisible gust of wind drifted into the place between Ximen Dingjun's brows.
Chen Xiaobei pointed a finger at a pole in the tent and sniggered, "There's a woman more beautiful than Wenren Muyue. Don't you see her, Ninth Young Lord?"
"Wow! She's gorgeous! How could there be such a beautiful woman in this world? Darling! Don't run way! Let me take good care of you! Hehehe!"
Ximen Dingjun practically ran towards the pole like a wild boar in heat, and began kissing and licking with his hands was all over the pole and his body was twisting and turning.
"Ninth Young Lord, this moment could mean a lot to you. You take your time and enjoy yourself!" Chen Xiaobei smiled, and exited the tent.
"Ooh! Darling, you are amazing! That's so good! Ooh, ooh! Ohh!"
The loud carnal noises Ximen Dingjun made could be heard all over the camp grounds.
"Mr. Chen! What happened? What's wrong with the young lord?" Old Meng was running back to the tent, looking nervous.
"It's probably because …. the medicine was too strong that the young lord has already begun to liberate himself. There's no need to get Wenren Muyue, just let him pleasure himself." Chen Xiaobei said.
"Plea… Pleasure himself?" Old Meng was shocked.
"Ah, don't worry, Old Meng. Sure you can go take a look yourself. But let me give you a friendly warning, it's going to hurt your eyes!" Chen Xiaobei shrugged.
"Er…"
Old Meng thought for a second, when he suddenly opened the curtains of the tent, stuck his head inside, and then immediately popped back out, squeezing his eyes shut.
"He's okay, right? Should we stop him? If he continues like that, the pillar is going to break."
Old Meng's brows were furrowed, and his forehead creased.
"We can't stop him! He's already too into it. If we stop him halfway, it may be… damaging to him!" Chen Xiaobei said. "Trust me, let him get it out of his system. After a night's sleep, he'll be fine the next morning."
"Mm, your wine really was too powerful. The young lord really needed to, err… get it out of his system, but doing it this way is just too…" Old Meng could not seem to find the right words.
"Don't worry. If there's any problem tomorrow, I will take full responsibility!" Chen Xiaobei said confidently.
"Fine! We'll just let him be then. I'll keep watch here. You go ahead and rest!" Old Meng said. "Oh, by the way, it looks like I lost the bet. Here's your 100 medium-grade Spiritual Stones."
"No! You didn't lose! I didn't actually talk him out of it. The young lord couldn't control himself, that's why it should be considered a tie!"
Chen Xiaobei smiled.
"Oh? 100 medium-grade Spiritual Stones is not a small number. Are you sure you want to count it as a tie?" Old Meng asked.
Chen Xiaobei nodded. "Of course!"
"Fine! Then I will give you what you deserve!" Old Meng took out 100 medium-grade Spiritual Stones, and handed them to Chen Xiaobei. "Nowadays, there are not many young men like you who are not greedy! Very rare indeed!"
"Old Meng, you shouldn't praise me too much!" Chen Xiaobei said. "Tonight, you have to keep watch. Tomorrow morning, I will come and check up on him again!"
"Good! Good!"
Old Meng nodded.
After that, Chen Xiaobei retreated to his own tent.
"I've earned a huge sum of Spiritual Stones today. Now, I have a total of 3.6 million low-grade Spiritual Stones! I can do a lot of things with that!"
Chen Xiaobei changed into his Nightstalker outfit. "Next, I have to find the Overgrown Forest's hidden treasure before dawn! I only have a few hours left!"
Chen Xiaobei hurried out of the camp. Only when he was a good distance away, did Chen Xiaobei retrieve a Spirit Summoning Talisman from the Infinite Space Ring.
"Heaven and earth, hear my command! Allow me to borrow the force of nature!" Chen Xiaobei held the talisman between his fingers, and shouted, "I, in the name of Spirit Oracle, summon all evil spirits that are around me! Hear my command!"
Once he had finished, the talisman began to go up in flames.
The flames were in a strange blue shade that did not burn to the touch but was instead bone-piercingly cold!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
All at once, evil spirits emerged from the ground everywhere around like bamboo shoots after a rain shower!
These evil spirits were all half human, and half beast. Thousands of them swarmed towards Chen Xiaobei.
This was the effect of the Spirit Summoning Talisman: invoking all the evil spirits within a one kilometer radius, and for one whole hour, they would all be under Chen Xiaobei's command.
"Who knows if there's a treasury nearby that was left behind by the Overgrown Forest nobles?"
Chen Xiaobei had not hesitated to use the last Spirit Summoning Talisman to summon these evil spirits who had been buried in the ground for a long time to find the location of the hidden treasures that Overgrown Forest held!
However, most of the evil spirits shook their heads, indicating that they did not know.
"Based on Lu Changwei's behavior, the hidden treasure should be nearby! Why don't any of these evil spirits know anything about it?" Chen Xiaobei rubbed his forehead.
He had already figured out the Lu family's plans; every nook and cranny of it. There was no way he was wrong!
"I know where it is!"
Suddenly, an evil spirit in human form floated towards Chen Xiaobei.
"Good! You can take me there! The rest of you can leave!" Chen Xiaobei waved them away, and the other evil spirits left, leaving only the human-form evil spirits which floated towards the east.
Chen Xiaobei followed closely behind.
Soon, after travelling for only about one kilometer, the human-form evil spirits stopped in front of a small hill.
"The hidden treasures are under this hill? Where is the entrance? I don't see it!" Chen Xiaobei asked.
"The entrance is here in between this stone wall!" the evil spirit said.
"Is it? Why can't I see it?" Chen Xiaobei scanned the rock but he could not see it. "I have the key. But there's no keyhole on this stonewall!"
"It's here! The key is in this groove! 500 years ago, I saw someone enter this place with my own eyes!"
"Good!" Chen Xiaobei walked up to the stone wall, took out the key and pushed it into the groove. There was a secret keyhole there!
Crack! Crack! Voom!
Chen Xiaobei twisted the key, and the secret mechanism in the stone wall began to move. The stone wall, made up of two 10 centimeter thick, large doors made of a special mixture of metals, parted open and revealed a long, wide passage.
Inside was a flight of stairs that lead underground.
"Haha! It's here! Treasure, here I come!" Chen Xiaobei rushed down the stairs laughing away.
No one had entered the place for 500 years, so Chen Xiaobei did not need to worry about facing nay danger.
After about 10 meters downwards, the space suddenly opened up.
"My god!" Chen Xiaobei stood at the steps, and took in a big gulp of air.
The treasury was colossal. It was at least a few thousand meters wide, and differed slighty from a conventional treasury.
There were only three types of things in there: Spiritual Stones, Spiritual Medicine, and Spiritual Instruments!
On top of that, these things were all scattered all over the place.
Located on the left was a pile of Spiritual Instruments. There were about a thousand of them, mostly weapons and armor used for combat.
On the right were thousands of wooden boxes of different sizes with precious Spiritual Medicine inside. Some even carried pills that were a rare concoction.
And right at the center was a mountain of Spiritual Stones, a dense mixture of low-grade and medium-grade Spiritual Stones. The pile in its entirety towered a few meters above the floor. It was difficult to tell how many were there just by looking at it!
"My god! Everything here inside this treasury trumps all the treasure I've collected in the past! The nobles of Overgrown Forest must have been rich!"
Chen Xiaobei could not stop himself from gasping in wonder.
The evil spirit in human-form next to him said, "This is just a small portion of fortune that the Overgrown Forest nobles owned!"
"What?! This is a small portion? How is that even possible?" Chen Xiaobei's eyes bulged from their sockets.
"It's true, 500 years ago, when the Beast Horde erupted all of a sudden, the nobles were massacred. It was only when they were close to extinction that they started to panic and moved a small portion of their resources here!"
The human-form evil spirit also said, "Spiritual Instruments, Medicinal Items, and Spiritual Stones, to prepare to counter the Demonic Beasts' attack! If the nobles had deposited all their resources, I think it would have been a few hundred times more!"
"Oh my god!" Chen Xiaobei inhaled sharply. "The Overgrown Forest nobles' resources and inheritance are too much for me to count!"
"Yeah, unfortunately, the once powerful Overgrown Forest nobles were unable to fight off the Demonic Beasts, and were completely wiped out in the end."
"Oh, yeah! By the way, are the Demonic Beasts who destroyed the nobles still here?" Chen Xiaobei asked.
"Of course!" The evil spirit nodded. "There were three Legend-ranked Ultra Beast Kings, and hundreds of Obsidian-ranked and Diamond-ranked Demonic Beasts! Demonic Beasts with such rankings could live up to a thousand years without a problem! Today, they reside in the capital city on the other side of the planet! Also, they are much stronger than they were 500 years ago!"
"Yeah! It's been 500 long years! Their strength will surely have improved a lot!" Chen Xiaobei scratched his head. "I really don't understand why the Northern Wilderness Temple decided to have a hunting competition here. What if there's another Beast Horde explosion again like the last time? If so, all the tens of thousands of young people will die!"
"That… I'm not too sure." The evil spirit shook his head. "But, they must have a reason. The Northern Wilderness Temple Overlord never does anything without reason!"
Chen Xiaobei nodded. "Mm, that's true. He even sent his favorite son here. It seems I wount not need to worry about safety at all!"
"That's right! What you need to worry about now is how to store the treasure that belong to you!"
"Belong to me? You really know how to say the right things huh?" Chen Xiaobei laughed. "Since they all belong to me, I will just help myself then! Wahaha!"
Chen Xiaobei rushed into the treasury, then used his Infinite Space Ring to collect each and every last bit of the resources there, leaving nothing behind.
"What a fruitful yield!"
Chen Xiaobei skimmed over the resources he had just amassed in his mind. Looking at the newfound loot, he was euphoric!
"These are all valuable 3 to 5 star Spiritual Medicine. I could use some of them to make Skybreaking Cultivation Pills! I can even make another batch of Heavenly Dog Biscuits! Sweet!" Chen Xioabei was estactic. "There are even a couple of ready-made pills for injuries. Ha! They are pretty high-grade as well! Some of them can even be compared with my Taiyi Life Enhancement Pill! There are so much Spiritual Medicine… they can last me for a long time!"
"Sigh! But these Spiritual Instruments are only 1 to 2star grade. But that's nothing unusual. The Overgrown Forest soldiers probably brought all the higher-grade Spiritual Instruments with them to the battlefield. These low-grade Spiritual Instruments were probably not needed at all! I have no use for these low-grade items, but I guess could bring them back for my disciples. Then, every one of them could draw out at least 1 or 2 Spiritual Instruments. This would make me look good!"
Chen Xiaobei was even more excited now. "I wonder, which faction in this world has all of their disciples owning a Spiritual Item each? None!!! Only my Bei Xuan faction! Hahaha!"
Then, Chen Xiaobei gulped, suddenly nervous. "Next, is our highlight of today!"
The final resource in the treasury was also the most bountiful, and it was that pile of Spiritual Stones lying on the floor towering like a small hill!
Chen Xiaobei had already stored them into the Infinite Space Ring, and summed up the total.
This was the most exciting moment!
"Low-grade Spiritual Stones, 60 million; medium-grade Spiritual Stones, 40,000." Chen Xiaobei paused and swallowed. "That's a total of 100 million low-grade Spiritual Stones! Wow! That is scary!"
100 million low-grade Spiritual Stones!
It had taken Chen Xiaobei a very long time to amass three million Spiritual Stones. And the Spiritual Stones from this treasury was 300 times more than everything Chen Xiaobei had!
Compared to an average person, Chen Xiaobei was already considered very rich, but when compared to the Overgrown Forest nobles, it would seem that Chen Xiaobei was just like a wet-nosed child!
He had never seen so many Spiritual Stones in his entire life! The thought made him not want to even think about it!
"100 million Spiritual Stones! Even if I were to waste them, I wouldn't be able to finish using them!" Chen Xiaobei was so delighted he began to imagine things. "What if I borrow the Three Realms Red Envelope Group's Divine Items and give them a try. Then I can kill anyone and everyone, and finally there would be no one whom I cannot defeat! Awesome!"
Having had his moment of excitement, Chen Xiaobei finally put aside his enthusiasm.
"Damn! I've spent too long here… I better get out. The door was quite noisy when I opened it. It had better not attract Lu Changwei and others here."
Chen Xiaobei quickly left the treasury and quietly closed the door shut.
He even made sure to thoroughly inspect the closed door so that there were no traces or markings that indicated that the door had been opened recently. He wanted to make sure that it looked like no one had ever opened it.
Once he was done, Chen Xiaobei returned to the camp.
The night had been peaceful and uneventful.
Soon, morning came.
"Wa… Water… I want water…"
In the large tent, Ximen Dingjun had woken up, groggy, and sounding very weak.
"Ninth young lord! You're finally awake!" Old Meng handed him a glass of water. "Here, drink this. Slowly! Drink slowly!"
"Where's the beautiful woman?" Ximen Dingjun searched his surrounding as he literally swallowed all the water down in huge gulps.
"What beautiful woman?" Old Meng asked.
"The beautiful woman I spent the night with? Where did she go?"
Ximen Dingjun looked hopeful.
"Er… that…"
Old Meng could not come up with anything, his eyes wandering towards the pillar in the corner.
"Oy, I'm talking to you! Why are you looking at the pillar? Huh? hang on…
Hey!!! Why is the pillar like that?"
Ximen Dingjun cocked his head to one side, curious.
Bite marks, scratches and curious blotches of slobby liquid were strewn all over the pillar. There was even a hole the size of a finger, covered in a strange, sticky fluid.
"I… I dare not tell you."
Old Meng looked down at the floor.
"My Old Meng, you watched me grow up. After all this time… there's been no inhibitions between us! No matter what you say, I won't blame you, eh?" Ximen Dingjun said.
"Oh? Hmm… If that's the case, then I will tell you." Old Meng gulped. "That pillar is your beautiful woman."
"What? The pillar is a woman? Old Meng, are you alright? This joke is not funny at all!"
Ximen Dingjun frowned.
"I'm not joking," said Old Meng. "You were hugging and humping that pillar the whole night."
"What?! I humped the pillar the whole night? Why did that happen?"
"It's true." Old Meng explained, "The medicinal wine was too strong, and it probably made you hallucinate. Before I could bring Wenren Muyue to you, you had already began to unleash yourself on the pillar."
"Oh," Ximen Dingjun felt faint, as if the world had ended and he was going to have a heart attack. "Now that you've mentioned it, it suddenly feels sore down there.
He could feel a sharp, throbbing pain coming from his crotch. When he looked down, he could see that the skin on his privates had been rubbed raw.
He then looked at the finger-sized holes on the pillar. It matched his measurements. Perfectly.
With all this hard evidence, Ximen Dingjun could not deny the horrific truth.
"Why didn't you stop me, huh? You are my personal bodyguard! How could you just stand there and do nothing while I did something so stupid!"
Ximen Dingjun's face was red and his voice laced with spikes.
"No, look. I was going to stop you but you know what? Mr. Chen told me that if I stopped you while you are in the middle of it, it would be even more problematic the next time!" Old Meng said in almost a whisper.
"Mr. Chen? Oh that motherf*cker! Get that Chen over here now! I want to beat him up and tear up his skin!!!" Ximen Dingjun roared.
"You can't do that, my ninth young lord!" Old Meng said. "Even though you sustained some light injuries, your medical conditioned seems to have improved! Ain't that right, my lord?"
"My medical condition huh?" Ximen Dingjun paused to think.
What Old Meng said was all true though. Back then, he could not even get hard, but last night he was able to make a hole in the pillar! Also, he used to always peak in less than a minute but last night, he humped the pillar and lasted all night long!
It would seem that this was thanks to the astonishing effects of the Dragon Dick Moonshine that he had been given!
"Since you are not fully cured yet, offending Mr. Chen now is not the wisest choice!" Old Meng said, coughing.
Clearly, this old man was quite fond of Chen Xiaobei and was speaking on behalf of him.
Had Lu Changwei been there, he would surely add insult to injury, making sure that Chen Xiaobei was put in a tight spot.
"Mm, what you say makes sense, Old Meng! Argh!!! I cannot offend that Chen guy now!" Ximen Dingjun frowned. "But I didn't get to taste Wenren Muyue! I'm really not happy about that!"
"You will still get your chance next time!" Old Meng smiled. "Right now, what you really need is to focus on getting better, okay? Oh, and also collect the Overgrown Forest's hidden treasure as soon as possible!"
"Overgrown Forest's hidden treasure? Didn't that idiot Lu Changwei say he was going to give it to me today? Where is he?" Ximen Dingjun asked.
"He has been waiting outside your tent the whole morning. He's been waiting for your approval to go ahead and get to the location of the Overgrown Forest's hidden treasure!"
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go now!"
Ximen Dingjun got up, and got ready.
In a jiffy, under Lu Changwei's instructions, the group packed up and moved forward towards the Overgrown Forest's hidden treasure.
Wenren Muyue walked up next to Chen Xiaobei, asking, "Mr. Chen, what in the world happened last night? How many girls did Ximen Dingjun harm?"
"You heard it too?" Chen Xiaobei chuckled.
"He was howling so loudly, I could not not hear it!" Wenren Muyue said, obviously disgusted while furrowing her brows.
"Don't worry. He didn't touch a single girl. He was just having his own very wet dream." Chen Xiaobei's smile broadened.
"Wet dreams?" Wenren Muyue blushed, sounding a little anxious when she asked, "Then will he ask for me?"
"Don't worry, as long as I'm here, you'll be safe!" Chen Xiaobei said, his tone changed into somehing somewhat firm and imposing.
The commanding voice made Wenren Muyue feel secure. "Thank you, Mr. Chen! Thank you so so so much!"
Someone came up from behind them, a spoke in an eerie voice, "Heh, the both of you really are experts at licking each other's wounds eh?!"
It was Lu Changwei and Zhu Dachang.
"Everyone knows what the ninth young lord is like! He's only enduring you now because he has use of you!" Lu Changwei sniggered. "But once he's completely healed, he'll swallow Wenren Muyue whole! There's no way a dimwit like you can protect her!"
Wenren Muyue's forehead creased at the comment. Lu Changwei may be an abominable creep, but what he said was true.
Ximen Dingjun was the classic asshole who had done more than his fair share of backstabbing.
He had actually wanted to get rid of Chen Xiaobei earlier in the tent. Had Old Meng not advised him against it, he would have already done it.
Lu Changwei smiled. "Wenren Muyue, instead of hoping for this dimwit to protect you, you might as well beg me. Who knows, I might just put in a good word for you, and ask the ninth young lord to let you off the hook!"
"You? Oh please! The young lord will never listen to you!" Wenren Muyue hissed.
In all aspects, Lu Changwei's status was a little lower than Wenren Muyue. He had no power to advise Ximen Dingjun against doing anything that the young lord had already set his mind to.
"Don't you know?" Lu Changwei wore a contented smile on his lips. "I will be gifting the young lord some treasure soon. I will become the ninth young lord's confidant then!"
"Gift him with treasure? Become his confidant?"
Wenren Muyue stared blankly at him.
"That's right! All I need to do is to open my mouth. I'll be more useful than this dimwit!" Lu Changwei raised his chin.
"Master Lu, I don't like it when you call me dimwit." Chen Xiaobei said.
"Hmph! You've only treated the ninth young lord once and you think you're some sort of VIP now?" Lu Changwei spat. "You be a dimwit to me forever! The less you like it, the more I will call you that!"
"Master Wei, here's a piece of advice for you: Don't forget the pain even if your wounds have healed!" Chen Xiaobei smirked. "Would you like to have another round of slapping that you had yesterday?"
"F*cking bastard! How dare you mention yesterday!" Lu Changwei felt a prod on his wound. "Yesterday… that was because yesterday, everyone was siding you! That's why I gave in to you! If you so much as dare touch a hair on me today, I will make sure there's nothing left of you to bury!"
"Heh, don't you forget. I was not the only one who hit you yesterday!" Chen Xiaobei said in a mocking tone.
"What a joke! You think you can make the ninth young lord hit me again?!" Lu Changwei smiled smugly. "I already said that I will become the young lord's confidant soon! Now how in the world are you going to compete with that?"
Chen Xiaobei ignored him. "Lady Wenren, let's go. We don't have to talk to this idiot."
"Motherf*cker! Who are you calling an idiot?! I will kill you now!" Lu Changwei's nose flared.
But before he could make a move, someone grabbed him from the back.
"M… Mr. Meng." Lu Changwei quickly tried to hide his anger. "Why are you here?"
"The ninth young lord is asking how much further do we have to go?" Old Meng asked.
"We'll be reaching soon in about 3 to 5 minutes. We'll just need to reach that hill in front." Lu Changwei replied.
"Then get everyone to saddle up! Let's move quickly and not waste any more time! The ninth young lord is getting impatient!" Old Meng said sternly.
"Yes!" Lu Changwei nodded, and then shouted to the group, "We have to move faster! Everyone, follow me! Come on!"
Lu Changwei hurtled forward.
Chen Xiaobei gestured to Old Meng a fist-in-palm. The old man nodded but said nothing. He then turned to leave.
Very soon, they all arrived at the foot of the hill.
"Ninth young lord, look, the legendary hidden treasures are right under the hill!" Lu Changwei piped.
Ximen Dingjun responded with an eyeroll, and an impatient answer ensued, "Enough nonsense! Just open the hidden treasure now! I can't wait to see the treasure!"
"Yes, sir!" Lu Changwei nodded and then shouted, "Everyone, listen to my instructions! Form up into the Yin Aqua King Slaying Battle Formation! Let's unveil the Overgrown Forest's hidden treasure!"
Dong Xiaowu frowned. "Lu Changwei! You said that you invited us to hunt together, but you never mentioned anything about hidden treasure!"
"I get it now!" Miao Yiyue said. "Lu Changwei lied about the hunting! He just needed us to open the hidden treasure! He's just using us!"
"If that's the case! I refuse to join the combat formation!" Qin Luo said.
"I refuse too!" Wei Ruilong said.
"Heh! You're only realizing that now? It's too late!" Lu Changwei said icily. "I am giving this hidden treasure to the ninth young lord as a gift! Refusing to join the combat formation means you're refusing to help the young lord! That is equivalent to being disloyal to the Temple! Treason is a crime punishable by execution!"
Everyone was shocked to hear this.
"So, you're not willing to open the hidden treasure for me, eh?" Ximen Dingjun looked around at them, his tone threatening.
The group quickly said, "No, no, no. We are willing to do it for you! It's our duty, and our honor!"
They were clearly not afraid of Lu Changwei, but they dared not offend Ximen Dingjun.
If they were accused of being disloyal to the Temple, all their families would be executed along with them too!
Dong Xiaowu and the others were aggrieved. Even though they knew that they were just tools to Lu Changwei, they could not refuse to join the formation, and had to accept their fate of being used.
"Lu Changwei is despicable!" Wenren Muyue frowned. "Mr. Chen, why are you using a fan, huh? It's early in the morning and it's not even hot right now."
"I don't just use a fan when I'm feeling hot!" Chen Xiaobei chuckled. "I'm using this fan to give Lu Changwei a taste of his own medicine! He's going to be smacked in the face!"
"How?" Wenren Muyue looked doubtful. "Once the combat formation is formed, and the hidden treasure is opened, Lu Changwei will have Ximen Dingjun's favor. When that happens, then it is finished. Lu Changwei can even override the young governor's authority! Who would dare hit him?"
"Just wait and see. If I say that he will get a good beating, then he will eh!" Chen Xiaobei said confidently. It was clear he already had something planned.
Wenren Muyue blinked, and then shook her head. "Even though I believe you, I just cannot imagine how that is going to happen."
Chen Xiaobei shrugged in response, a knowing smile stretching across his face.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Yin Aqua King Slaying Battle Formation was formed, and everyone channeled their strength together to form a 300,000 combat power giant aqua sword. They then swung the huge sword at the small hill three times and the door of into the hidden treasure was forced open, revealing a flight of stairs.
Ximen Dingjun was jumping with excitement. "Let's go down now!"
"Hang on, ninth young lord! There may be dangers down there! Allow me to go inspect it first. Once I've confirmed that it's secure, I will signal for you to come down!" Old Meng said.
"No one has entered this place for the past 500 years. There won't be any danger! I'm willing to go down there myself, and act as the ninth young lord's guide!" Lu Changwei was not going to pass up a chance to prove himself. He then rushed into the passage before anybody could say more.
Whoosh!
Just as Lu Changwei took the first step forward, Chen Xiaobei, who was standing far away, fanned the fan at Lu Changwei!
A crisp gust of wind tunneled in between Lu Changwei's brows undetected.
"Mr. Chen, what are you doing?" Wenren Muyue asked, curious.
"Wait and see. Lu Changwei is going to get slapped!" The corner of Chen Xiaobei's lips twisted upwards into a smile.
"How is that even possible? The door to the hidden treasure has been opened. Lu Changwei is going to get his favor from the young lord. Why would he get slapped?"
Chen Xiaobei smiled.
"Congratulations, ninth young lord! Congratulations! Wonderful news!" Lu Changwei ran out of the passage, excited. "Not only is there no danger at all. There are a pile of Spiritual Instruments and Spiritual Medicine, and an ocean of Spiritual Stones! I'm afraid even the Temple treasury cannot be compared to this!"
Gasps of amazement echoed throughout the group.
Ximen Dinjun was beside himself. "I heard that the Overgrown Forest nobles were the strongest and wealthiest people 500 years ago! It looks like the legend is real after all! All that effort I made to come here hasn't been wasted!"
"Ninth young lord! Let's go down now! Make it known, that everything here belongs to you!" Lu Changwei took every opportunity and busied himself with some sucking up.
"Good! Lu Changwei, this time, you made a really great contribution! From now onwards, you are one of us! Whenever I, Ximen Dingjun, reap any benefits, I will make sure to include you and your family!" Ximen Dingjun was in a very good mood. "Everyone, let's go down together! This is a big moment! Let's all witness it together!"
The big moment!
Piles of Spiritual Instruments and Spiritual Medicine! Spiritual Stones which were as vast as the ocean! To be able to acquire such an epic treasury was a turnkey event that would be recorded in history!
Lu Changwei was going to use this treasury to win Ximen Dingjun heart. From now onwards, he would be able rise meteorically, where everything would be possible for him! His future would be bright!
All the hundred over people following behind him wore looks of envy and admiration.
"Damn, once Lu Changwei gets the upper hand, he will not waste any time in making the ninth young lord find trouble with us," said an anxious Wenren Muyue.
Chen Xiaobei merely smiled in response. "Trust me huh. This is all but an illusion! Come on, let's go down and take a look!"
"Huh?" Wenren Muyue chewed on her lips. She could not understand how Chen Xiaobei could be so calm in such a situatuon.
Chen Xiaobei had already made his way to the front, so she hurried to catch up with him.
The whole group were following Lu Changwei and Ximen Dingjun down the stairs and into the treasury.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, faces fell instantaneously.
Lu Changwei seemed to be oblivious to that as he announced proudly, "Ninth young lord! Look! This is what I'm gifting you – The Overgrown Forest's hidden treasure!"
Everyone, except Chen Xiaobei, looked at Lu Changwei as if he was the world's biggest fool.
Lu Changwei was under the influence of the Mirage Mythical Fan's special ability. So, in his eyes, the treasury was overflowing with treasure.
But as the rest of the group were unaffected, they saw the treasury for what it was – empty. There was not a single stone, instrument nor medicine to be found.
For that reason, and from the group's perspective, Lu Changwei had been toying with Ximen Dingjun, and everyone else!
This sort of dumb, self-sabotaging act could only be done by the world's biggest idiot, and no one else.
Oblivious, Lu Changwei was still talking excitedly. "Hey, what is it? Why are the expressions on your faces so strange? Aren't you guys all bowled over by these amazing treasures?"
"So, this is the treasury you are giving me, eh?" Ximen Dingjun's face darkened.
"That's right!" Lu Chnagwei gave him the broadest smile. "Our ninth young lord is a giant among men, with status above all men! Only a person like you is worthy of this treasury!"
Ximen Dingjun's face had practically become black.
Lu Changwei was clearly trying to curry favor, but to Ximen Dingjun, this was the ultimate insult.
"Master Wei, are you messing around?" Zhu Dachang stammered, his face a ghost white.
"Messing around? Why would I be making jokes now? I'm being very serious right now! All of this – I am giving them all to the ninth young… Ow!" Mid-sentence, Lu Changwei suddenly screamed.
Smack!
Ximen Dingjun had swung a palm across Lu Changwei's face.
"N… Ninth young lord, why did you hit me?" Lu Changwei looked up warily. He could not understand what he had done to deserve that slap.
Bam!
But before he could ask any more questions, Ximen Dingjun had already sent a leg down at his stomach, kicking him to the ground.
"You insist on treating me like a fool! And you dare ask me why I hit you?!" Ximen Dingjun's nostrils were flaring. "I was so excited and hopeful thinking that this was going to be an epic moment. Do you know how disappointed I am? Do you?"
"I… I'm not playing with you… I don't know what to say…" Lu Changwei was completely lost.
"Son of a bitch! The truth is already in front of you! Why are you still pretending?" Ximen Dongjun was burning with rage. "Drag this dog away and cut him up!"
Lu Changwei began to freak out, his frail heart was thumping, and felt like it was about to explode inside him.
What happened to the favor he was supposed to get? What happened to his bright, illuminating future? What in the world was happening?
The rest of the people were shocked to hear this.
This was especially true for Wenren Muyue. "My god! Mr. Chen! Are you a deity? How is it that you've predicted all of these and it really happened?!"
Chen Xiaobei smiled at her, with no intention to explain himself.
On the other side of the room, Old Meng was whispering to Ximen Dingjun.
It appeared that the conversation changed Ximen Dingjun's eyes. "Forget it. I've had enough. Drag him to one side and flog him well! Carve him a new face. Make sure that at the end of it, his own mother won't even recognize him!"
"Yes, m'lord!" The Young Lord's Ethereal Cultivation bodyguards grabbed Lu Changwei and dragged him to a corner. Then, they began to kick and punch him with all their might.
If Ximen Dingjun killed Lu Changwei, he would have the Lu Family to answer to. It would create unpleasant ramifications in the future.
However, the punches thrown at Lu Changwei were enough to draw blood, bruises and screams.
On the other side of Overgrown Forest.
The once thriving Overgrown Forests' capital city was now in ruins. The buildings had crumbled with neglect, and weeds overgrown every available surface. It was a complete mess.
Strangely, in the city centre, there was a pyramid styled building made out of giant rocks!
It was more than a few hundred meters wide and a few hundred meters tall.
Such a massive structure like this would be difficult to build even with the latest modern technology!
After the Overgrown Forests' nobles were wiped out, the city became the Demonic Beasts' capital.
And inside this vey structure lived the strongest Demonic Beast King.
Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
A Diamond rhinoceros with crystal armor on its body came charging out.
Diamond rank was equivalent to the early phase of Ethereal Cultivation!
The giant rhino was so fast and strong it looked like a giant bulldozer which was about to plough them down!
When it ran, the earth shook, sending sand and stones flying off the ground leaving a trail of potholes behind it.
The crystal-armored rhinoceros slowed down only when it was in front of the stone pyramid. It regulated its breathing and then walked in slowly.
It was complete darkness inside the giant pyramid.
But the rhinoceros seemed to be a frequent visitor to this place. It seemed that it did not need any light to maneuver its way inside.
Bam!
After some distance, the rhinoceros bent its legs, laying prostrate on the ground. "Greetings, O'Tyrant Dragon King! Long live the king! Long live the king! Long live the king!"
There was no response, as if no one heard it. Just still, darkness.
But the rhinoceros continued, "I have received intel that a group of humans have opened a small hill, and there's a passage leading down! It might be the Overgrown Forest hidden treasure!"
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a gaping hole cracked open before the rhinoceros, and revealed an amber, giant eyeball!
The eyeball alone was as big as the giant rhinoceros' head!
"It is really the Overgrown Forests' hidden treasure?" A thick, deep voice spoke, and the whole place trembled.
"Finally! After 500 years, someone finally found the hidden treasure! Finally!" Tyrant Dragon King said excitedly, as if it had discovered the most valuable item in the world.
"My king, based on what your humble servant knows, the resources in the treasury holds only 1% of what the Overgrown Forest nobles had owned!" The rhinoceros said. "Over the course of 500 years, we've already gotten hold of 99% of them. Why does his highness place so much importance on this remaining 1%?"
"That's because, there's a special herbal medicine in the Overgrown Forest's hidden treasure that can cure my curse!" Tyrant Dragon King said. "Then, I won't have to answer to the Northern Wilderness Temple! Then I can roam freely in the universe! I've been waiting for this for 500 years!"
"Cure the curse?" The rhinoceros looked very excited. "If that's the case, I will bring our people to slaughter the humans who found the treasury. We'll bring back their storage bracelets to you!"
Tyrant Dragon King said, "This chance is one in a million! Bring as many people as you need. We cannot fail! Sneak up on them. Don't give yourselves away and scare them off!"
"Don't worry, my king!" the rhinoceros said. "They are competitors from the hunt. All are weaklings under 30 years old! If I fail, I will kill myself in front of you!"
"Good! If you succeed, I will make sure to reward you!" the Tyrant Dragon King said.
"Oh, right. Do I need to report this to your right and left hands?"
"There's no need to do that!" Tyrant Dragon King said. "They are both cultivating in seclusion. Unless you succeed or fail, only then will we need to wake them up!"
"I understand! I'll leave now! We will return victorious before sundown!" the rhinoceros said, and then exited the giant stone pyramid.
Outside the Overgrown Forest treasury.
Lu Changwei's face was beaten black and blue, his front teeth were knocked out, and his body was covered in cuts and bruises. He could barely stand.
Thankfully, he still had his group of lackeys.
Zhu Dachang tended to his wound, and decided on his behalf that once they had taken care of his injuries, they would leave the planet and return home.
Chen Xiaobei and the others gathered together and discussed their next move.
"I won't be able to leave for at least 2 – 3 more days. Ximen Dingjun is not yet completely cured, and he won't let me go," Chen Xiaobei said.
"If that's the case, I'll send Muyue back!" Miao Yiyue said. "Without you around, it'll be a lot of trouble if Muyue suddenly goes into a seizure! The thing I worry about the most is Ximen Dingjun. Once he's cured, he will want to have Wenren Muyue!"
"I agree! Once Lady Wenren is back, she just needs to take her medication according to the prescription, and she should be fine!" Chen Xiaobei said.
"I won't go!" Wenren Muyue said firmly. "What about you Mr. Chen? If you stay by Ximen Dingjun, this capricious asshole, your life will be in constant danger!"
"Don't worry. It won't be easy for Ximen Dingjun to kill me. I only need to hold out for another two days. He can never kill me, not in his entire lifetime!" Chen Xiaobei laughed confidently.
"Why is that? Is something about to happen after two days?" Wenren Muyue asked.
"I can't reveal that. You'll just have to trust me," Chen Xiaobei said.
The truth was, that the new batch of Heavenly Dog Biscuits would only be ready in two days. Chen Xiaobei would then administer it it to Ximen Dingjun, and everything will go well.
"But I'm still worried," Wenren Muyue said.
"You just said that I was a deity, but now you don't trust me?" Chen Xiaobei chuckled.
"Er…" Wenren Muyue paused for a moment and then nodded, "Fine, I trust you! I will wait for you in Silver Plume City. I will be waiting for you! You have to come back in one piece!"
"Of course!" Chen Xiaobei grinned, and then changed the subject. "Young governor, what is your plan?"
Dong Xiaowu said, "Look. Master Qin, Master Wei and I have discussed and agreed that we will continue to join the competition. After all, the reward this time is just too good a deal to pass up on! We want to give it a try!"
"Reward?" Chen Xiaobei raised an eyebrow. "What reward?"
Qin Luo said, "First place will win a piece of Nine-star Spiritual Medicine, the Golden Purple Echeveria Lola! The second place –"
"Wait! What did you just say Golden Purple Echeveria Lola?" Chen Xiaobei asked, eyes wide open.
"Yes, the reward for the first place is the legendary Nine-star Spiritual Medicine, Golden Purple Echeveria Lola. Is there something wrong?" Qin Luo asked.
"Good! That's great! That the final Spiritual Medicine we need for Mr. Wenren's medication! If we get it, I can cure Lady Wenren completely within one month!"
"What?! Muyue can be cured completely? Mr. Chen, are you kidding?"
"I'm a doctor. I don't joke about my patient's illness!" Chen Xiaobei said.
"I trust Mr. Chen!" Wenren Muyue said. "I've seen that prescription. That medicine the last piece of the puzzle we need and we haven't gotten it yet. My father has made use of all his contacts but he still couldn't find it!"
Miao Yiyue frowned. "Even if what Mr, Chen says is true, the Golden Purple Echeveria Lola is the prize for first place! We can't win first place!"
"Yeah!" Dong Xiaowu nodded. "The most outstanding young people of Northern Wilderness Starfield are in this Elite Hunting Competition! Silver Plume is only considered a second-rate planet. There are plenty of people who are much stronger than us!"
"It's a matter of effort! I have to give it a try, no matter what!" Chen Xiaobei said.
This Golden Purple Echeveria Lola was extremely rare, and Wenren Muyue only have five months left to live!
Such opportunities only reared its head once in a lifetime. If they missed this chance, there might not be another!
"If that's the case, none of us will be leaving! Let's work hard together!" Miao Yiyue said.
"I agree! Everyone, let's work as one! Let's do this for Muyue! We will not give up until the final second!"
Dong Xiaowu rose to task.
"Alright then! Let's fight together!" Qin Luo and Wei Ruolong joined in.
Wenren Muyue was very touched to see this. "Thank you! Thank you everyone!"
"There's no need for that!" Miao Yiyue said. "Our biggest problem now is where we could find the Demonic Beasts! If we want to get first place, we have hunt as many high-tier Demonic Beasts as possible!"
Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
All of a sudden, a loud sound came from afar, and the earth beneath them trembled.
"Beast Horde! It's a Beast Horde! My god! They are coming for us! Let's run!"
All at once, the whole group erupted into a frenzied panic.
The pandemonium far ahead was approaching at breakneck speed as the earth trembled even more violently, and judging by the amount of dust billowing into the air, there were at least hundreds of Demonic Beasts charging at them.
This scale of attack was called a Beast Horde!
"Run for your life! Run!"
Lu Changwei's group of friends' cultivations were not that high, and with Lu Changwei bedridden, they were all so frightened that all they could think of at the moment was to run for their lives.
"Stay where you are!" Zhu Dachang who was the calm one said. "This Beast Horde's speed is unusual! They must all be high-rank Demonic Beasts! None of you will be able to run far enough! They will be able to catch up with you in no time! The only way to survive is to stick with the Ninth Young Lord!"
Everyone stopped in their tracks.
Thankfully, Ximen Dingjun's men did not run off. The whole group quickly swarmed towards Ximen Dingjun and hid behind him.
"Ninth Young Lord, save us! Ninth Young Lord! Please save us! You are the only one who can save us!"
Hundreds of men, all crying out for help. It was a hell of a racket. One of them knelt down on the ground, and the others all followed suit, touching their heads to the ground, and begging for help.
"Hmph! Look at your pathetic reaction! It's just a Beast Horde! What is so scary about that?" Ximen Dingjun stood his ground proudly and looked down at them. "My 12 Temple Guardians will slaughter this wave of Beast Horde for me! Even though we didn't get any treasure, I am going to win the number one spot in this hunt!"
At this proclamation, the whole group began to cheer with the raves of a wild crowd.
"Ninth Young Lord, the wise and brilliant one! Ninth Young Lord is awesome and mighty!"
"Congratulations, Ninth Young Lord! Congratulations, Ninth Young Lord! You will definitely be the champion of this Elite Hunting Competition!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill! This stupid Beast Horde is nothing to our Ninth Young Lord!"
"Young Lord! No!" Old Meng quickly advised. "This Beast Horde is coming at us at full force! It's as if they have a plot in mind! It's better for us retreat! If we delay our escape, I'm afraid it would be too late!"
Ximen Dingjun's forehead creased. He seemed to waver at Old Meng's advice.
But the hundreds of men were still busy praising him, and Ximen Dingjun had just blown his own trumpet. If he chose to retreat now, would he not be forced to eat his own words?
Ximen Dingjun could not bear the thought of losing face, so he said, "I have already decided! Temple Guardians! Attack now!"
"Yes, sir!" The 12 Temple Guardians were the personal Guardian bodyguards who had been following Ximen Dingjun around. They were all Ethereal Cultivation elites, and were naturally, unafraid of the beast horde. Once they received the order to attack, they stormed forward without a second thought.
The group of people cheered when they saw this. They began to applaud and started a fan frenzy towards Ximen Dingjun.
The Ninth Young Lord ate it all up and began to make proclamations, "You are all loyal to the Temple of Northern Wilderness! I will protect each and every one of you! I can guarantee you that my 12 Temple Guardians will return triumphant in under 10 minutes!
The cheers grew louder at this announcement.
Only Old Meng seemed to be worried, eyeing the incoming Beast Horde with suspicion and vigilance.
On the other side, Chen Xiaobei and his group of acquaintances also noticed the sudden change of the situation.
"What a big wave of Beast Horde! If we kill all of them, we'll definitely be able to win first place!" Dong Xiaowu said, brows furrowed.
"Yes!" Qin Luo nodded. "Sadly, we cannot conquer this horde!"
Miao Yiyue said, "Also, Ximen Dingjun's men are in the way. If he kills this wave of Beast Horde, it will be very difficult for us to win!"
"Forget it! This is fate! I've already accepted mine. There's no need for anyone to do anything for me!" Wenren Muyue said in a hushed voice.
Her tone was calm but there was an unmistakable disappointment in her beautiful eyes.
Who would die so willingly at such a young, budding age?
Wenren Muyue wanted to live, she wanted to live a good life, but who would have the power to change the cruel hand of fate?
Even though she was reluctant, the situation had taken such a turn that she had no choice but to concede to what fate had decided for her!
It was then when Chen Xiaobei raised a question, "How is it that all of you knew Chen Xiaobei would be able defeat this wave of Beast Horde?"
"Do you have to ask?" Wei Ruolong asked. "All 12 of those Temple Guardians are Ethereal Cultivation elites. Their combat powers are around 180,000 and 200,000. They have very good chemistry, and could even form a small combat formation! This size of a Beast Horde is not a threat to them at all!"
"I don't think so!" Chen Xiaobei shook his head. "As far as I know, Demonic Beasts are pretty intelligent creatures. They don't launch a Beast Horde attack unless they are very confident that they are going win!"
"Mr. Chen is right!" Miao Yiyue confirmed. "Whenever the Demonic Beasts launch a Beast Horde attack, it's always a pre-planned deployment, well-executed, and they would always have a very detailed strategic plan! They won't just come here to die in vain!"
"If that's the case, doesn't that mean that the Temple Guardians are in danger?" Wenren Muyue asked.
"Maybe, or maybe not. That depends on whether Old Meng is going to join the fight or not!" Chen Xiaobei said.
"Who is Old Meng?" The group asked in unison.
Chen Xiaobei lowered his voice, "It's the personal bodyguard standing next to the Ninth Young Lord. That's Old Meng! He's wearing a mask. He actually possesses the strength of a demi-god!"
"Demigod?!" The group gasped. "If he joins the fight, he'll be able to end it nippily!"
Chen Xiaobei shook his head, wariness in his voice. "Even so, Ximen Dingjun is a selfish person. He won't allow his life-saving charm to leave him!"
"Life-saving charm?!" The group gasped.
Old Meng was an extremely important life-saving charm to Ximen Dingjun. There was no way he was going to allow Old Meng to leave his side.
Right now, in the face of this major battle, it was very probable that Ximen Dingjun was not going to release Old Meng to join the fight.
If he does, Ximen Dingju's would be sacrificing his own safety.
"The battle will break out at any moment now! There's no time for discussion!" Chen Xiaobei has already decided. "I will go ahead on my own first to scout the situation. You guys protect Muyue and get as far away as you can! If the Beast Horde gets out of control, return to the safe zone immediately!"
"How is that a workable plan? Your cultivation is the lowest amongst us! Wouldn't you be sending yourself to die if you go?" Miao Yiyue said nervously.
"There's no time to explain! For the sake of the Golden Purple Echeveria Lola, I have to give it a try!" Chen Xiaobei stepped forward and charged ahead.
After all the cultivating he had done beforehand, Chen Xiaobei was able to wield 132,210 combat power. His speed was much faster than an individual at the pinnacle phase of Celestial Cultivation.
"H… How is that possible?"
The rest of people were flabbergasted at his gallantry.
"Oh my god! Mr. Chen is more powerful than all of us here! I have to say he hid it pretty well!" exclaimed Miao Yiyue, shocked.
All these while, he had always thought that Chen Xiaobei was just an outsider with weak cultivation. He never thought that Chen Xiaobei had such powerful force in him.
"This is truly unbelievable… He's just an outsider! We, the Silver Plume nobles are far older than him… but, out cultivation is weaker than him… This really baffles me…"
Qin Luoshu and Wei Ruilong were equally shocked as well.
"At this age, not even Lu Changwei's cultivation can be compared to Mr. Chen's! In other words, Mr. Chen's cultivation is the most powerful amongst the young men who are below 30 years old!"
Dong Xiaowu had managed to see a bigger picture than the other people.
"I have told you guys earlier than Chen Xiaobei is no ordinary person! However, there is something weird about his cultivation!" said Wenren Muyue.
"How so?" asked Miao Yiyue.
"130,000 combat power and health belongs to pinnacle phase of Celestial cultivation! If he managed to breakthrough this cultivation, he would achieve Ethereal cultivation! But… Mr. Chen, there's still a long way to go before he can reach 180,000 combat power…"
"You are actually right about that! If that's the case, his strength is weaker than the temple guard! There's nothing he can do by running towards the enemy!"
"True! I think he will be killed by the enemy within seconds! Yiyue! Quickly go and pull him back!!" said Dong Xiaowu.
"We are going as well!" said Qin Luoshu and Wei Ruiling.
"No! Don't go! Believe in him! He will never disappoint us!" said Wenren Muyue.
"Muyue! We all know that you idolize him. But, he is not powerful enough to defeat the enemy! He will be killed if we don't go and pull him back!" said Miao Yiyue.
"Don't go! He didn't expect to join the battle! If we rush to him without telling him, we will become a burden for him!"
"This…"
All of them found it hard to believe that Wenren Muyue would say something like this. One should know that Wenren Muyue's current cultivation was early phase of Ethereal cultivation with 180,000 combat power. If she thought that she would turn into a burden for Chen Xiaobei, others would surely be worse off.
"Muyue! I think you are obsessed with that guy!" said Miao Yiyue in a displeased manner.
"You are actually right about that! There's something magical about him! I'm really interested in him."
To everyone's surprise, Wenren Muyue voiced out her inner thoughts.
"Alright. Since Muyue is so sure about it, let's wait and see how things go!" said Dong Xiaowu.
After that, everyone had their attention focused on Chen Xiaobei.
A few hundred meters from them, the ground was shaking and ashes were being flung up into the sky. There was even a bright Ethereal Force being shot up into the heavens. One could imagine that that the 12 Temple Guardians had already started the fight with the horde of Demonic Beasts. No one dared to get close to them except for Chen Xiaobei.
This was, after all a war for Ethereal cultivated elites. Any people with lower cultivation would be killed almost instantly in this battle. As for Chen Xiaobei, he did not dare top get too close as well. Instead, he found a safe spot to observe the fight. He could see that all 12 Temple Guardians formed a unique battle formation. Though it was just a small-scaled formation, the essence of 12 Astrological Signs were actually engrained in it. Not only was this formation was unpredictable, but it was also good at attack and defense as well.
Rumble…
The moment the 12 Temple Guardians unleashed their attack, all the Demonic Beasts that stood at the front line were being put to ground. As for those Demonic Beasts that had lower cultivation, they were killed before they even realized it. This powerful attack had managed to stop the horde from moving forward. Now, they were just glaring at the 12 Temple Guardians.
"Such a powerful formation! If they managed to eliminate all these Demonic Beasts, Ximen Dingjun would definitely get the first place in this Elite Hunting Competition! Although I now have the Heavenly Dog Biscuit with me, it's going to be hard for me to feed it to Ximen Dingjun if Elder Meng insists that he wants to give it a try firsMy only hope right now is for the 12 Temple Guardians to defeat all those Demonic Beasts! With that, I will have a higher chance get first place in this Elite Hunting Competition! And this is the safest way for me to get the reward as well!"
The reward for the first place in this Elite Hunting Competition had everything to do with curing Wenren Muyue's illness. That was why Chen Xiaobei wanted to lower the risks as much as possible.
"Hahaha! Is this the Demonic Beast Horde?! I thought it was going to be really impressive! Truth is, they are just garbage! Brothers! Keep up the good work! I believe that we can eliminate all of them within ten minutes! Ninth Young Lord will reward us abundantly once we deliver the good news to him!" said the head of the Temple Guardian in an excited manner.
"Kill! Kill! Kill! In the name of the temple, let's slaughter them!"
Suddenly, all the Temple Guardians were filled with excitement. Clearly, they had a lot of experience when it came to dealing with Demonic Beasts. Usually, the most powerful Demonic Beasts would be placed at the front line.
However!
All those Demonic Beasts that stood at the frontline were rendered defenseless when the Temple Guardians attacked them. That was why the Temple Guards thought that this Demonic Beasts Horde was nothing to them.
Buzz…
All 12 of them stood together again, preparing to unleash a 300,000 combat-power attack.
"Kill!"
A giant and golden trident was formed!
It launched into the sky and fell on the Demonic Beast Horde with lighting speed. Seemingly, the force of the trident was going to annihilate all the living beings and shatter them to the ground!
"Eh?"
"Something is off… All these Demonic Beasts are not as weak as they thought they were… I think all these 12 guardians are about to be killed by them!" said Chen Xiaobei, obviously shocked.
Swoosh!
The golden trident that fell from the sky yielded 300,000 combat power. To the 12 Temple Guardians, they firmly believed that this attack could at least kill a dozen of Demonic Beasts, and they could end the battle within ten minutes.
"Look there! It seems the Demonic Beasts Horde have come to a stop!"
Those who were watching the fight were filled with excitement.
"The 12 Temple Guardians are so damn powerful! The Demonic Beasts Horde could be put to a stop after only one attack just now! I believe that they will be able to eliminate all of them in no time!"
"Ain't that right?! This is why the 12 Temple Guardians are the personal bodyguards of Ninth Young Lord! Of course, they are powerful enough to annihilate those Demonic Beasts!"
"We are so lucky! The Ninth Young Lord has just protected us! From today onwards, I will stay loyal to him no matter what!"
"You are right! All hail the Ninth Young Lord! All hail the Ninth Young Lord!"
Seeing that the situation had made a quick turn, all the people started to give praise to Ninth Young Lord. It was as if they could hear victory knocking at their doors.
"Hehe… didn't I tell you guys earlier. This is just a Demonic Beasts Horde! It's not scary at all! It seems like the battle will end in ten minutes!" said Ximen Dingjun.
Upon hearing that, the crowd praised him even more. Even Old Meng could finally let out a sigh of relief. He too believed that the 12 Temple Guardians would win in this war.
"Such is life…"
Wenren Muyue let out a sigh of disappointment. It seemed like she had no reason to believe that the 12 Temple Guards would lose in this fight. In other words, she would never be able to get her hands on the Golden Purple Succulent Herb! To make matters worse she was only left with five months to live. Taking it away from her would mean sentencing her to death.
After knowing that, Miao Yiyue and Dong Xiaowu were left in a depressing state as well. They wanted to help Wenren Muyue but there was nothing they could do. At that moment, everyone thought that the 12 Temple Guardians has won the fight. Chen Xiaobei was the only that had noticed an inevitable threat approaching the 12 Temple Guardians.
Swoosh!
A shadow that moved as fast as lighting moved among the Demonic Beasts ten meters before the golden trident landed on all those Demonic Beasts. It moved so fast that not even Chen Xiaobei could have a clear look on it.
But!
Chen Xiaobei had already knew that the Demonic Beasts didn't come here to lose the battle. They must have had an organized plan with them! They were here to annihilate all the humans, leaving none behind!
Rumble…
Seconds later, the golden trident clashed with the shadow!
The force generated by the clash had managed to shake the ground and wind that was strong enough to shake off all the leaves from the trees around them. One could only imagine how powerful the being was. At that moment, Chen Xiaobei could finally see that it was a Crystal Armor Rhinoceros charging at the golden trident.
Clearly, this rhinoceros was at the pinnacle phase of diamond tier and its combat power was 220,990. Logically speaking, it was actually weaker than the power of golden trident.
But!
It had a whopping 300,000 health! It must have triggered its Special Ability when it came in contact with the golden trident.
There was a rainbow colored halo surrounding its crystal horn. Seemingly, it helped with increasing its health. This fight was like a sharp spear trying to penetrate a tough shield.
Shinng!
Just as expected, the Crystal Armor Rhinoceros had managed to break the golden trident. And, it seemed like it had no intention to stop its attack. It leaped into the sky and prepared to toss itself at the 12 Temple Guardians.
"Oh god… How could there be such a powerful Demonic Beast hidden amongst the Horde?!"
Seconds ago, the Temple Guardians thought that they had won the fight. Now, all of them were left in a paniced state. All these while, it would seem that those Demonic Beasts were just acting weak in front of them. They wanted to make the Temple Guardians let their guard down. This was to make sure that they could launch their powerful surprise attack without any hiccups.
Swoosh!
Swoosh!
Swoosh!
Before they recovered from their shock, there were another seven to eight shadows charging at them. Judging from their speed and strength, it seemed that they were the Crystal Armor Rhinoceros. Surely, this surprise attack would be powerful enough to kill all the Temple Guardians since they had no time to setup their defense.
"Run! Everyone! Run!
The leader of the Temple Guardians let out a scream of desolation and started to shove his allies hard to run for his life.
Rumble…
Seconds later, the Crystal Armor Rhinoceros landed on head of the Temple Guardian and two other Temple Guardians. This lethal attack had instantly turned them into minced meat.
"BOSS!!!"
The rest of the nine Temple Guardians were screaming their lungs out in sheer terror. They would have been killed if their leader did not shove them aside earlier on.
"Stupid humans! You bunch of trash are not even worthy of blocking our path! How naïve!"
None of the Temple Guardians could understand what the Crystal Armor Rhinoceros was trying to say. The first thought that crossed their mind was to run for their lives.
"Are you guys trying to run away from me?! Dream on!" the Crystal Armor Rhinoceros put on a smirk and said.
Before the Temple Guardians realized it, the rest of the seven powerful Demonic Beats had already attacked them.
"Help… Help us!"
While running for their lives, all nine of them were screaming for help in a hysterical manner. Seconds later, the seven Demonic Beasts had caught up with them.
Some had their throats ripped open.
Some had their chests slashed.
In a blink of an eye, seven of them were dead.
There were only two Temple Guardians left alive.
"What is going on? Why did the Temple Guardians cease their attacks on the Demonic Beasts?"
The crowd was left in a puzzled state.
"Ninth Young Lord! The Temple Guardians have been defeated! Please… allow me to go and rescue them!" shouted Old Meng in desperation.
"What?! All 12 Temple Guardians were defeated?! How is that possible?!"
Hundreds of mouths2 fell open.
Approximately 10 seconds ago, they were so certain that it was a sure win, and had busied themselves with singing Ximen Dingjun's praises.
None of them had expected things to take such a horrible turn in such a short time!
"How… Why…"
Ximen Dingjun looked like he had just fallen all the way down from heaven to hell. He had been indulging in the people's praises, drinking in all the admiration, but now, it was all coming back to him, slapping him in the face.
If it had not come from Old Meng's own mouth, Ximen Dingjun would never have believed this to be true.
At the other end of the forest.
Dong Xiaowu's exclaimed. "My god! This Beast Horde defeated all 12 of the Temple Guardians! Mr. Chen is still over there! I don't think he's going to make it!"
Miao Yiyue frowned. "Muyue! If we don't go get Mr. Chen out of that place, he may not make it out alive!"
"Yeah! Muyue! Let's go after Mr. Chen! If we wait any longer, none of us would dare make an appraoch!" Qin Luo and Wei Ruilong said.
As the person with the strongest strength among the group, Wenren Muyue, was very worried about Chen Xiaobei too.
But after a moment's hesitation, Wenren Muyue shook her head with a heavy heart. "No! Let's not do anything rash! Ximen Dingjun still has a guard with him! If I'm not mistaken, that person is Meng Qianshan!"
"Who is Meng Qianshan?" Wei Ruilong asked.
"I know him!" Dong Xiaowu said. "Meng Qianshan is a demigod! He's the personal bodyguard that the Overlord had chosen personally to protect Ximen Dingjun! He's been with the young lord since he was a child. He has never left his side!"
"A demigod?! My goodness!" Qin Luo nearly choked with surprise. "But those over 30 years of age are not allowed to join the Elite Hunting Competition! By bringing Meng Qianshan here, wouldn't that be breaking the rules?"
"Rules?" Wenren Muyue sighed. "Have you forgotten who came up with the rules in the first place?"
"That means that Meng Qianshan can destroy the Beast Horde! Then it means that Ximen Dingjun will win first place!" Miao Yiyue wrung his hands around nervously.
"Right now, winning doesn't matter anymore." Wenren Muyue shook her head. "I only hope that Ximen Dingjun allows Meng Qianshan to fight the horde. Just as long as Mr. Chen is safe."
"I…" Miao Yiyue cocked his head. "Muyue, what is it with you? Is that guy's life more important than yours?"
"No…" Weren Muyue said softly. "If anything happens to Mr. Chen, and even if we get first place, no one can help me come up with a prescription for my illness!"
Miao Yiyue was suddenly silent.
Chen Xiaobei was the only person in all of the Northern Wilderness Starfield who could cure Wenren Muyue. If Chen Xiaobei died, it would mean that Wenren Muyue would also die with him!
Everyone's gaze fell on Ximen Dingjun. His stride spoke of his intention.
"Ninth Young Lord! Give the orders now! If I don't go out there, the 12 Temple Guardians will be no more!" Old Meng said.
Ximen Dingjun was an egocentric prick. "If you go, who is going to protect me? What if there's another wave of Beast Horde? I'd be a dead man then!"
"No, that won't happen," said Old Meng. "I will only need half a minute, and I'll be back with you! The 12 Temple Guardians have been loyal to you and protected you for more than a decade! Are you really going to let them die like that?"
"I…"
Ximen Dingjun seemed to have a change of mind. He looked around him, made sure there was no danger before agreeing reluctantly, "Go ahead then! Hurry up! This damned place is not the Temple Capital City! Heaven knows what might happen!"
"Your humble servant will do as you have commanded!"
Old Meng put one foot forward and he was immediately a few hundred meters away.
When the crowd saw this, they all exclaimed in surprise.
"Who knew that the Ninth Young Lord had such a frighteningly strong elite hidden in his pocket!"
"Great! The Beast Horde will be destroyed! Looks like we'll get to survive another day!"
"Once the Beast Horde is defeated, we should get back to the safe zone. I cannot stand being here for another second!"
Everyone believed that the Old Meng could squash the Beast Horde.
Dong Xiaowu exhaled. "Muyue guessed correctly! Now that Meng Qianshan is fighting the Demonic Beasts, Mr. Chen can return safely!"
Muyue and the others nodded, relieved.
From afar, Chen Xiaobei also spotted Old Meng getting into action.
While the majority believed that Old Meng would win this fight, Chen Xiaobei thought otherwise.
The Zachara Grand Canyon Beast Horde was still fresh in his mind. Chen Xiaobei had personally witnessed the Demonic Beast's ability to not only employ a brilliant plan, but to also coordinate multiple strategies!
Earlier on, they played dumb to take advantage of the 12 Temple Guardians.
They would definitely have other ploys to defuse Old Meng's attack!
"What kind of manoeuvre would the Demonic Beasts use to ward off a demigod?"
Chen Xiaobei tensed up. He was on high alert, in combat mode, and not allowing himself to relax at all.
All of a sudden, the hundreds of Demonic Beasts who had just won a big victory, gave up on pursuing the last Temple guard, turned around and ran in the opposite direction!
"Wh… They ran away?" Chen Xiaobei watched in disbelief. He had thought that the Demonic Beasts had a trick up their sleeves to defeat a demigod. He did not expect them to run off like that!
"No! No way! The Demonic Beasts must have a plan!" Chen Xiaobei focused hard. Suddenly, his eyes widened. "I've got it! Since they can't fight, they are running away from Old Meng while he's still energetic! The Demonic Beasts must be trying to draw him away!"
Chen Xiaobei turned to look at where Ximen Dingjun was standing.
Rumble! Rumble!
Alas!
The ground beneath the young lord's feet began to move, as if it was going to rip the land apart!
Ximen Dingjun was weak himself. The people with him, Lu Changwei's lackeys, were just as weak as well.
An earthquake like this sent them into a panic, and it broke out into a riot.
"Help, Old Meng! Help!" Xiemen Dingjun let out a high pitched scream.
A pangolin the size of a small car dug its way out of the ground, swiftly flicked its tongue at Ximen Dingjun, wrapping it around him, turned around and disappeared back into the ground.
"Crap!" Old Meng was almost catching up to the Beast Horde, but he could not not turn back to rescue Ximen Dingjun.
If anything happened to the young lord, Old Meng will have to cash in his chips.
Whoosh!
Old Meng did not even hesitate when he launched himself into the giant hole in the ground, trailing the passage that the pangolin escaped into.
With Old Meng gone, the hundreds of people there were left vulnerable like chicks without their mother!
The Beast Horde that was running away now wheeled back around and charged towards them!
It was undeniable that this group of Demonic Beasts was remarkably clever. Those who did not know might even say that they had the supreme military advisor, Zhuge Liang himself orchestrating them!
Playing dumb to defeat the 12 Guardians of the Temple!
Luring Old Meng away to trick him!
Their final move pulling the carpet under Old Meng meant that they had not only captured Ximen Dingjun, but it also meant drawing Old Meng away!
This series of plots were closely interlocking, flawless, and absolutely ingenious! The remaining hundreds of people were suddenly on the chopping block, helpless and left to the mercy of the Beast Horde!
"B…B… Beast Horde! The Beast Horde is coming at us! The Ninth Young Lord and his personal bodyguard are gone! What are we going to do?"
Things had taken a dramatic turn.
The remaining people, although there were hundreds of them, were all Lu Changwei's low cultivation lackeys.
The strongest among them, Lu Changwei, only had 130,000 combat power, not enough to even make a dent to the Beast Horde.
Above all that, Lu Changwei was maimed.
The hundreds of people scattered all over the place, were confused and in a frenzied panic.
"Why don't we follow the Ninth Young Lord down into the hole?" Someone suggested in desperation.
Another person refuted, "Go down the hole, my ass! You think that the Beast Horde won't go down into the hole? We'll all be stuck down there and die!"
"Then what should we do? With our cultivation, we can't run quickly enough!" The crowd screamed in despair.
"Everyone, shut the hell up! Bring Master Wei and follow me!"
Once again, Zhu Dachang stepped up to the plate. He led the hundreds of people to Dong Xiaowu.
Zhu Dachang fell to knees before the young governor.
The others followed suit, and began to cry out.
"Young governor! Help us!"
"Young governor! Save us!"
"Uh…" Dong Xiaowu could feel a trickle of sweat run down his forehead. "I can't protect any of you! The bodyguards I brought with me are all young men under 30 years old. The strongest one has only 130,000 combat power!"
Zhu Dachang quickly turned to the other side, thumping his head on the ground. "Lady Wenren! Save us! Your cultivation is the highest amongst us. You are known for your kindness and grace. You won't turn away from people in need, right? Please save us!"
The other hundreds of people did the same.
"Shut up!" Miao Yiyue scolded. "Muyue's cultivation is high but she's sick! She is not allowed to fight! You guys are asking her to kill herself!"
The people began to wail in hopelessness.
"What should we do? Are we just going to stay here and die?"
"Stop arguing! All 12 of the Temple Guardians are dead! Even if Lady Wenren were to fight the beasts, she won't be able to defeat them either!"
"This is it! We're going to die! We really are going to die this time!"
"Save us! Save us! I really don't want to die!"
The hundreds of people were completely resigned. There was no light at the end of the tunnel for them.
Some of them were pale asghosts, while the others were shaking from head to toe. Some people even wet their pants.
it was evident that death was coming, and none of them were able to handle the situation!
"Everyone, stop arguing!" Wenren Muyue suddenly shouted. "We cannot fire and we cannot flee! Right now, there's only one road left for us!"
"Is there a way out? Can we be saved? Lady Wenren! Please tell us now! Point us to a way out! We'll listen to you!"
There was sudden surge of hope as hundreds of eyes turned to Wenren Muyue as if she was their savior, their final hope.
"Our final path is to wait!" Wenren Muyue said.
All at once, the people exploded.
"Wait? Lady Wenren! Are you kidding? The Demonic Beasts are only 500 meters away! If we keep waiting, we'll just be waiting to die!"
"The situation has come down to this, so I'll just be frank with you!" Wenren Muyue said. "Mr. Chen is nearby the Beast Horde! He told me just now that he knows how to defeat the horde!"