A tide of Xuan Beasts surged through the trees and the earth, passing countless messages to one another, reaching the very canopy. Flying Xuan Beasts watched the direction of Tian Nan City with anxious eyes, some occasionally flying back to the branches only to have another wave circle out, clearly changing guard. The meticulousness of their arrangement was in no way inferior to human defenses.

In the darkness not far away, who knew how many large Xuan Beasts were still hidden. It could be said that at this very moment, in every corner of the Tian Fa Forest, for any Xuan Master on the continent, every second of every location could be a fatal trap!

But these fatal traps were another matter entirely for Young Master Jun!

For instance, at this very moment, Young Master Jun’s two feet were planted firmly atop the head of a ninth-level Xuan Beast, a Golden Tiger. Regrettably, this king among tigers noticed absolutely nothing and was still communicating with several other Golden Tigers beside it.

“Roar… roar-how?” Did you notice anything?

“Mmph… roar… no.”

“Roar… ugh-wugah, I want meat.”

“Mmmph… gah, me too…”

“Mmmph-roar-roar-gah-gah-hey-umph?” How is your little mistress? Did the old hen not notice?

“Mmm-gah-gah-hey-roar!” one boasted: “It’s exhilarating! How could that shrew ever notice? Hmph!”

Although Young Master Jun possessed boundless supernatural abilities, he could not understand a single word they were saying. However, upon seeing the two Golden Tigers seemingly making rather suggestive faces at each other, Young Master Jun couldn't help but pause out of sheer curiosity. After all, catching two tigers making such lewd expressions was not an everyday occurrence. Of course, Jun Mo Xie certainly did not possess my formidable translation skills.”

Unable to decipher the tigers’ language, the young master was about to reluctantly depart. He floated up silently, and as he rose, the young master deliberately applied a bit more force under his foot, causing the head of that Golden Tiger to inexplicably dip down violently, nearly touching the ground. With a startled “Roar!” it sprang up, its tail, stiff as iron bars, shaking uncertainly as it glanced around. It bared its teeth: “Roar-roar-aow-mah?” Did you guys notice anything? I felt like someone just smacked my head?

“Roar-roar,” gah-humph.” The four surrounding Golden Tigers simultaneously rolled their eyes, giving it a look of utter disdain: “Roar-roar-gah-humph-humph-gah.” What a lunatic! Did you overdo it last night? Look at you, drooping like that!

“Gah. Hngh-gah-humph.” Damn it, I feel perfectly fine!” This Golden Tiger extended a shaggy forepaw and, in a remarkably human-like gesture, rubbed its own head. It tilted its head, pondered for a moment, still unable to figure out the strange sensation. It finally dismissed the inexplicable matter, stretched its body, and settled back down to continue discussing its insights on courting females with its companions.

Deep within the Tian Fa Forest.

“Has the challenge been delivered?” the black-robed man asked in a deep voice, cradling Little Whitey.

“En, I estimate these arrogant humans will certainly accept the challenge!” He Chongxiao blinked his slender eyes.

“En, I will enter seclusion for a while; unless something truly vital happens, do not disturb me!” The black-robed man sighed softly, “I have repeatedly felt on the verge of a breakthrough lately; the vital energy within my body has reached its limit, an overwhelming surge like churning rivers that cannot be stopped. This battle is truly arriving at the worst possible time!”

“Boss, rest assured and go. Your breakthrough is the key; you must not be careless in the slightest! We will handle everything; nothing unexpected will occur,” He Chongxiao and Xiong Kaishan said in unison.

“En, it is settled then. You two will look after this little thing first. Try your best to find its master before the decisive battle. Under no circumstances should it be harmed! I suspect its master is likely someone from the Dugu family of Tian Xiang. Use this as a direction for your investigation.”

The black-robed man placed Little Whitey into Xiong Kaishan’s arms. Xiong Kaishan grinned, took the creature, and balanced it atop his head. He looked exactly like a large, dark gorilla wearing a snow-white hat, creating a surprisingly comical sight.

The black-robed man chuckled twice, then vanished with startling abruptness. His movement technique was terrifyingly fast.

“The Boss’s Xuan Gong grows more exquisite with time. If he succeeds in breaking through to the twelfth level this time, he might attain the transcendent realm that Wang Shang once held, wouldn’t he? A realm that we can only gaze up at for the rest of our lives!” He Chongxiao said with boundless envy mixed with a touch of melancholy.

“Alas, we are both failures, stuck right at the tenth level. Damn it, if I reach the eleventh level in this lifetime, I’ll have been blessed enough!” Xiong Kaishan mumbled dejectedly. “Someone finally had the good fortune and divine power to help us advance, and the terms they set weren’t difficult, yet that old bastard Li Juetian messed it up. If I ever catch that old scoundrel, I will feast on his flesh!”

The more he spoke, the more indignant he became. Suddenly, he snatched Little Whitey down, opened his mouth—which grotesquely widened to the size of half a washbasin—and promptly tossed Little Whitey entirely inside. Then, with an “Achoo!” he spat it back out, spraying it high into the air, tilting his head back to catch it in his mouth, only to sneeze again and launch it skyward once more.

Little Whitey was so terrified by Old Fourth Xiong’s rough-housing that it shrieked desperately. The two respectable Beast Kings, however, were acting like children at play. It turned out that it wasn't just ordinary black bears who enjoyed playing ball; the Beast Kings were the same.

Xiong Kaishan’s antics were quite typical in this regard.

“Enough, stop teasing it. If you truly scare it to death, you'll be in deep trouble. This little thing’s master definitely has a close connection with that expert. If he reports you, you’ll be finished!”

He Chongxiao’s eyes fixed on a certain direction within the Tian Fa Forest, his gaze thoughtful. “I wonder what will happen this time with the Fa Tian Sacred Fruit that the Snake King has been watching?”

“Pondering that thing is useless. It’s not like it’s for us anyway. Furthermore, our own vital energy has already reached the limit for a breakthrough. If we foolishly try to consume it now, the only result will be physical explosion. The Boss said we have to let them use it this time; we are at a stage where we cannot use it even if it were offered.”

“I just wonder if they can endure it…” Xiong Kaishan caught the limp Little Whitey, placed it back on his head, and dared not play with the creature any longer.

Suddenly, Old Fourth Xiong stomped his foot in utter fury: “It’s all the fault of that bastard Li Juetian, and his accursed son! If we had completed the mission earlier and returned, would things have escalated to this massive confrontation? If we had broken through with the help of that expert, the initial stage of the realm would have been the perfect time to consume the Fa Tian Sacred Fruit! But those two wicked father and son made us miss this once-in-a-millennium opportunity! It truly makes me furious beyond measure! When I find a chance, even if I can’t deal with the old one, I’ll kill that young one!”

“Since we’ve definitely missed it, let’s stop dwelling on it. This is, after all, a great calamity, fraught with extreme danger. Whenever the Tian Fa Sacred Fruit has appeared in history, several Beast Kings unfortunately could not withstand the medicinal power and exploded to death. If this time…” He Chongxiao’s eyes held a distinct worry. “If we lose several more at this critical juncture, what then?”

The two fell silent, looking into the swirling depths of the forest, both lost in thought, tinged with an implicit tension.

Jun Mo Xie advanced like a flowing wind toward the deepest parts. Although the young master had already intentionally locked onto the auras of Xiong Kaishan and the other, the Tian Fa Forest was simply too vast; their location was not easily found. As he was rapidly traversing the terrain, he suddenly stopped, stunned.

Because, upon arriving here, he suddenly discovered that the air in this entire area was abnormally thick and permeated with all manner of fierce toxins!

This was a severely poisonous zone! According to the young master’s estimation, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that even a Xuan Qi master at the Tian Xuan level, if they inhaled a breath of this air unprepared, would instantly succumb to the poison and die; it was fiercely potent!

What kind of poison could be so overbearing? A cold sweat instantly broke out across Jun Mo Xie’s body. If he hadn't been in the state of executing the mysterious Yin-Yang Evasion technique, given his current meager cultivation, he likely would have already collapsed on the spot, becoming a pile of ashes!

Thinking of this, and hearing rustling sounds in the distance, Jun Mo Xie suddenly halted, his eyes directed ahead.

A flash of green light, and a green-clothed maiden abruptly appeared beneath a large tree. Her face was bent over in intense excitement as she examined something.

The green-clothed maiden had exceptionally fair skin and features like a painting, possessing an indescribable, pure beauty. Her entire being exuded a mysterious aura that seemed both innocent and charming. Her figure, to be utterly blunt, in Young Master Jun’s estimation of all the women he had ever seen, was unquestionably number one!

Curvaceous, from her jade neck to her ankles, she flowed like a natural streamline. Where she should bulge, she exaggeratedly swelled; where she should taper, she naturally retreated, yet even that tapering was exaggerated to a breathtaking degree.

Judging by her face, she appeared to be no older than seventeen or eighteen. It was baffling how she had developed this way—a perfect combination of an angel’s face and a devil’s figure.

However, Jun Mo Xie didn't have time to be dazzled, nor was he surprised that this green-clothed maiden had appeared in the perilously dangerous Tian Fa Forest without warning, nor could he fathom why she seemed completely unafraid of the intensely terrifying poison! His mind was entirely captivated by another object.

Beneath that large tree grew a peculiar, exotic plant. Its stem, only as thick as a little finger, was already multi-colored, bearing nine leaves descending from the top, each one crystalline clear and a different color. Each leaf cradled a drop of glistening dew, rolling about but never falling off the leaf. At the very top grew a strange fruit shimmering with seven-colored fluorescent light, slowly emanating an increasingly potent, marvelous fragrance.

As the aroma in the air intensified, the seven colors on the fruit deepened and gradually shifted toward a single color. Simultaneously, the dense poison in the air formed small vortexes resembling a toxic storm, eagerly being absorbed into that strange fruit!