Tianci was immediately delighted upon hearing this. Striding out his little legs, he dashed toward Huangfu Shenglin. His young face was adorable. He seemed to have known Huangfu Shenglin before.
Huangfu Shenglin gave a quiet smile. He pointed at the Qi Artist beside him. "Zongsheng, dismount and let Tianci sit on the horse."
The Qi Artist named Zongsheng was quite unwilling. Yet he could not refuse since the Prince had explicitly asked him to.
"Yes, Your Highness." Zongsheng acquiesced and leaped down the horse, motioning Tianci to get on.
Tianci stared at him pitifully. "I... I don't know how to."
Zongsheng became quite impatient, but he lifted the boy up the horse anyway. "Alright, alright, sit tight and don't fall."
Tianci blinked his eyes, giving an extremely adorable smile. "Thank you, big brother."
The young fellow had such a radiant smile. He looked as if he harbored not the least bit of wariness.
Zhongsheng smiled, a savage look flashing across his eyes.
"Eleventh Prince, can we go back?" Another Qi Artist asked.
Huangfu Shenglin nodded. Since Tianci had agreed, he was too lazy to venture deeper into the forest.
After all, there were too many powerful evil beasts in the Magic Beasts Forest. One could easily lose one's life. Huangfu Shenglin had to be extremely cautious.
The company pulled their reins and turned back their horses for the exit.
Tianci sat on the horse, humming a tune. He was looking very happy.
Huangfu Shenglin gave him a gentle glance. "Tianci, how did you come across this pearl?"
"An evil beast gave it to me. I don't know why it has treated me so well. I'm afraid it's poisoned, so I carry it this way!" Tianci pointed smilingly at the pearl he was lifting in his hand.
Huangfu Shenglin nodded admiringly. "You're so clever. You deserve to be Princess Jinghua's adopted son."
"Adopted son?" Tianci widened his eyes. Huangfu Shenglin paused for a moment, then changed the subject. "Did those evil beasts attack you?"
"No. They were very afraid of me!" Tianci said with a smile. Huangfu Shenglin's eyes brightened.
"Are you telling the truth?"
"Of course!" Tianci surveyed his surroundings and said in a very solemn manner.
Huangfu Shenglin became quiet for a while. He made the company turn back and headed for another spot. All the Qi Artists knew that he was trying to confirm the veracity of Tianci's words.
After all, he was a young boy and yet had his hands on an Evolution Pearl. It was a remarkable feat.
Huangfu Shenglin discovered that no evil beast had appeared to attack them in the territory headed by the Heaven Dog.
It was a safe journey. They reached another territory headed by another beast— the One-legged Snake.
The One-legged Snake was, of course, a snake with one leg. It was one of the six leaders of the Magic Beasts Forest. The snake was an evolution of the Golden Ring Snake. Since its cultivation was so high, it had evolved into a One-legged Snake instead.
Its attacking abilities would be even more frightening!
As soon as they entered its territory, the company's hearts were all in their mouths. If Tianci were telling a lie, wouldn't they be risking their lives walking into this territory?
Huangfu Shenglin was the closest to Tianci. He surveyed the surrounding environment calmly. They could see all the surroundings very clearly with the Evolution Pearl.
The trees here were quite different. A lot of huge trees were bearing small black flowers.
These flowers exuded a faint odor.
"Everybody, please use the Magic Qi Bag!" Huangfu Shenglin said in a low voice. He handed one such bag to Tianci. "Young fellow, cover your nose with this or you'll get poisoned."
Tianci did not take the bag and shook his head instead. "Don't bother. Mother says that I have taken Long Red soup with chicken ginseng. I am impervious to all poisons."
Huangfu Shenglin heard him and started to nod. That Hua Qiyue possessed so many divine herbs was already a well-known fact throughout the capital.
That was why his father had sent a pair of twin brothers, both Qi Artists, to protect her. His real purpose was to lay hands on her divine herbs.
The other Qi Artists heard Tianci and their eyes shone. A divine herb was so rare in this world... and yet Hua Qiyue had so many!
"Oh, so that's why. This must be the reason why those evil beasts did not attack you!" Huangfu Shenglin said calmly.
Tianci gave a mischievous grin. "No, no. Maybe it's because of my good looks. Even the evil beasts like me!"
The company heard him and almost fainted!
They had seen cocky people, but not such a cocky young boy before!
Tianci was grinning. He pointed to the poisonous flowers on the trees. "These poisonous flowers are so ugly. Humph, they don't look as pretty as the divine herbs of my mum!"
Huangfu Shenglin gave a slight start. A divine herb could be reared?
It seemed that the rumors were true!
All the Qi Artists were eager to strike.
If they could have some of Hua Qiyue's divine herbs, they could cultivate some more. Wouldn't they be rich?
"Divine herbs... do they grow fast? Young fellow?" Zhongsheng asked behind them with a smile.
"Yes, very fast. They are all ripe. But even if mother doesn't harvest them, they will continue in a ripe state. It doesn't matter!"
The little fellow was not wary of these people tempting him to reveal more about the divine herbs.
The eyes of the company became brighter, more covetous, full of lust and impetuosity...
Huangfu Shenglin gave an indifferent smile. "Princess Jinghua is an extraordinary person. She has received the guidance of an extraordinary Master and will surely become an astonishing character in our world."
His words quietly astounded all the Qi Artists, calming them down.
Who was Hua Qiyue?
If they wished to rob her, they had to ask themselves whether they have the ability to!
"Hey hey hey, of course, my mother's very powerful!" Tianci smiled excitedly. He threw a glance back at Zhongsheng behind him. "Big brother, there are many snakes here. Please get on the horse."
Zongsheng was quite delighted. After all, there were many poisonous plants in this Magic Beasts Forest.
"Very well... oh, young fellow, how come you know there are many venomous snakes here?" Zongsheng, after getting the Eleventh Prince's silent permission, leaped up the horse.
Tianci pointed at a dark spot in the near distance. "I heard their sounds. You hear them?"
The company instantly stopped. Huangfu Shenglin frowned. Didn't Tianci say that no evil beast could come after them? Why then had these venomous snakes appear so quickly?
Just as Tianci had predicted, countless snakes emerged in front. They approached slowly, the patterns on the bodies looking extraordinarily beautiful, their colors diverse.
Venomous animals like them would be the more lethal the more colorful they were.
Soon, there were hissing sounds from everywhere. Countless venomous snakes had surrounded them.
The faces of all the Qi Artists changed color. They stared panic-stricken at these venomous creatures lifting up their heads, the hissing noises of their forked tongues in their ears. They felt their scalps tingle. After all, one careless bite and they would be instantly dead!
Huangfu Shenglin watched the venomous creatures calmly. Tianci had seen evil beasts before and was now much more collected.
Right now, the brood of snakes was separating. A gigantic One-legged Snake slowly slithered in from the center. It was dozens of times bigger than all the other venomous snakes. In other words, it must be very powerful to have emerged as a leader of the territory.
Once the One-legged Snake arrived, everyone felt a strong sense of spiritual oppression. The company had summoned the anima energy from all around to protect them. They were afraid of some tumultuous, instantaneous change.
Tianci stared at the gigantic snake with a coldness in his heart. Then, he saw the calm Eleventh Prince and was curious why he was so cool.
"Big brother, aren't you afraid of that huge snake? This snake... is so ugly. Eh, and it has two heads and one leg... its patterns are so ugly! Not as pretty as those little snakes by far!"
Tianci spoke like a naive child. The gigantic snake heard him and stared at him with icy eyes.
It was using its Divine Sense to detect Huangfu Shenglin and his men's Qi Art level. Seconds later, the eyes of the One-legged Snake rested coldly on Tianci.
This young boy's body had an aura it could not detect. He saw that his eyes and brows were handsome. The boy would grow up to be a handsome man. But the most important question was: why wasn't he in the least scared when he saw so many venomous creatures?
Hiss, hiss, hiss...
The gigantic snake emitted a cold sound. A small green snake immediately darted over toward Tianci!
The company was astounded. No one had expected the young fellow to be the first person the gigantic snake was attacking.
Huangfu Shenglin's face sank and he waved his large hand. A streak of lightning hurtled out from his palm. With a loud sizzle, it severed the green snake into two!
The other snakes saw this and became instantly infuriated. The eyes of the gigantic snake gleamed coldly with profound green light. It raised its raging head.
Another hiss, and green snakes started hurling themselves at Tianci in the air.
Huangfu Shenglin's face was solemn. He knew that the gigantic snake had found out about Tianci's mysterious prowess, or it would not have attacked him alone.
After all, the bead that Tianci was holding was an Evolution Pearl from an extreme evil beast.
It meant that he had killed an extreme evil beast. So, would the gigantic snake let Tianci off?
"Everyone, stand guard at once!" Huangfu Shenglin saw that they were in trouble and cried out loudly.
"Protect His Highness!"
"Yes, sir!"
Everyone had high fighting spirits as they battled the brood of snakes. Closely packed snakes slithered toward Tianci to attack, but their attack was too ambitious. Many venomous snakes started to attack others.
For a moment, the stench of bestial blood was in the air. Huangfu Shenglin protected his body with anima energy and was slaying these demonic snakes with his spiritual energy.
Tianci's body was nearly touched by a scarlet snake. A bright halo immediately emerged out from his pubic region area. The halo expanded. Boom...
All the snakes struck by the light halo exploded, their bodies scattering in the air!
Hiss, hiss, hiss...
The venomous snakes all started to mourn. The halo around Tianci's body disappeared and the entire forest lapsed into silence.
The gigantic One-legged Snake stared at Tianci with horrific, furious eyes. Its eyes were full of rage, with a sadness and a refusal to resign. But it did not launch an attack on Tianci again.
"Hiss..."
The gigantic snake seemed to be giving an order. The unhurt snakes slowly retreated and left. A nauseating stench was in the air, but a powerful gale soon dissipated the stench.
Tianci was sitting on the horse, staring with baffled eyes at the slowly retreating brood.
The same scenario as the last time.
Tianci caressed his head in some embarrassment. "Oh, maybe I'm too handsome. These evil snakes found it rude to hurt me."
Some of the snakes heard him and almost fainted on the spot.
When the snakes had retreated, Tianci found many people staring fixedly at him, as if they had discovered a treasure.
"Tianci, you really are amazing!" Huangfu Shenglin remarked with a faint smile, wiping away the bloodstains on his face.