Snake King Qian Xun looked at them with an expression heavy with guilt. Her face was a mask of apology, almost shamefaced!

“Search meticulously! Every blade of grass, every tree, every single leaf, every inch of earth—leave nothing unchecked! You must find that fellow!” He Chongxiao sliced his hand downward, issuing the command, his eyebrows immediately shooting up, bristling with murderous intent! “The few of us—each take responsibility for one direction. Be sure to coordinate with each other. Those above the Ninth Level, prepare for battle! As long as he remains here, he won’t fly away even if he has wings! A warning: this individual’s methods are extraordinarily cunning. Anyone who discovers him must sound the warning signal immediately!”

The Beast Kings responded in unison, their eyes showing glimmers of near-madness. The Saintly Fruit of Heaven's Punishment. This was something the Beast Kings had eagerly awaited for hundreds of years. To have it vanish just like that? Anyone would go mad!

Just then, as the Beast Kings were about to take action,

Suddenly,

a terrifying, world-encompassing pressure descended with abruptness, crashing down like a thunderclap! It was as if the vast, endless expanse of the heavens had suddenly plummeted from the ninth cloud layer, pressing down upon the Heaven’s Punishment Forest, bearing down upon the heads of the Beast Kings and the Profound Beasts—close enough to touch, mere inches away!

This immense power, reaching the utmost limits of terror and majesty, swept forth grandly and heavily, imposing with the solemnity of a mountain! Xiong Kaishan and the other Beast Kings felt an irresistible, crushing lethargy well up from the depths of their hearts, and all were unable to suppress their shock and dismay!

The performance of the Beast Kings was relatively commendable; the Profound Beasts below the King rank all executed a single, synchronized motion at that moment: they flattened themselves to the ground, heads bowed, daring not to move a muscle! Only a few hundred Ninth-Level Profound Beasts managed to remain standing, but their legs trembled, their bodies shook, and all fighting spirit had clearly evaporated.

The sensation was akin to an ordinary mortal suddenly encountering a lofty Deity! A Deity appearing right before their eyes! A Deity holding their very lives in the palm of a hand, capable of playing with them as they pleased!

Even if that mortal was himself extraordinary—perhaps a prince or a powerful general commanding vast influence, or possessing astounding, unique talent, or commanding massive forces capable of determining the life and death of countless others—at this moment, facing the high and mighty Deity, no matter how remarkable he usually was, before the Deity, he was still just a mortal. This was the fundamental, unyielding difference between man and god.

Simultaneously, the eight Beast Kings were struck by the exact same realization: If this person had taken the Saintly Fruit, then even mobilizing the entire strength of the Heaven’s Punishment Forest would never be enough to reclaim it!

Though no voice was heard, though no person was seen! Yet, this thought had already taken root in the hearts of all the Profound Beasts Kings.

His aura was heaven-shattering; the man was like a god. To oppose him rashly would only invite self-destruction!

The eight Beast Kings lifted their heads in unison, gazing toward the high heavens. They were the only ones with the remaining strength to look up!

There, a single, dark silhouette hovered, his face and both feet obscured by black cloth, yet he floated in the night sky as steadfast as Mount Tai. Although it was night, and although the figure was clad entirely in black! yet in the minds of all present, it was as if the pitch-dark night had spontaneously birthed a blazing radiance, like a colossal sun! Equally dazzling, equally impossible to look upon directly!

Only Xiong Kaishan and He Chongxiao felt a sudden, familiar sensation rise within them!

Is it him!?

“That fruit, I took it,” the person spoke, his voice a unique blend of aged clarity, uttered slowly. Looking down from his superior position, even his tone was imbued with an undeniable authority! His accent conveyed a clear message: This world belongs to me! I take what I wish! It is merely a matter of course!

Fortunately, the person offered an explanation: “Because, this kind of rare celestial treasure, placed in your hands, is truly a colossal waste!” He sighed with an air of mournful pity, drifting his voice, “If it were only waste, that would be one thing, but none of you eight Beast Kings, currently in the stage of advancement, possess the cultivation to consume this Saintly Fruit safely! If the fruit were truly given to you, I fear that anyone who ingested it would instantly explode and perish within moments! There would be no exception!”

He paused, his voice chillingly authoritative: “For meager cultivators such as yourselves to even harbor designs on this Saintly Fruit—it is simply courting death! If you are so tired of living, why not take a knife and slit your own throats? Must you desecrate such a divine object?!”

As he finished speaking, the eight Profound Beast Kings exchanged bewildered glances. A few who were naturally wild and untamable, though fully aware that the opponent’s power was unfathomably profound and beyond their capability, still could not relinquish the benefits of the Saintly Fruit of Heaven's Punishment. How could they believe his one-sided account? They let out mournful cries and prepared to charge forward!

Especially Snake King Qian Xun, whose beautiful eyes seemed ready to spew fire! Her slender hand coiled, poised to strike in the next instant!

“Senior... could it be that you are the Senior Feng, whom this junior met previously at Tianxiang?” He Chongxiao suddenly waved his hand, halting the restless movements of his siblings, speaking with extreme caution, tinged with uncertainty. In his heart, although the feeling was indeed familiar, the presence emanating from this person was absolutely far more powerful than the mysterious master who had aided him and his brother at Tianxiang.

Xiong Kaishan harbored the same apprehension. Thus, even though they had recognized him, they held a degree of disbelief!

Could that mysterious master have achieved such a massive breakthrough in just these two short months? This pace of advancement is simply too terrifying, too incredible to fathom!

They did not know that during the Tianxiang affair, Jun Moxie’s cultivation was still shallow; at best, he had only activated a small fraction of the aura of the Grandmist Pagoda. Whereas now, with his cultivation greatly advanced, having attained greater access, Young Master Jun had unequivocally unleashed the full capacity of the Grandmist Pagoda that he could currently activate, solely to secure the most overwhelming deterrent effect possible!

The difference between the two situations, while perhaps not entirely worlds apart, was still like comparing mud to clouds—how could they be spoken of in the same breath?

The reason Jun Moxie revealed himself now was twofold: firstly, according to his established plan, and secondly, seeing the utterly demoralized state of these Profound Beast Kings, he genuinely felt a touch of pity. After all, this was something they had cultivated for hundreds of years, investing immeasurable effort, sustained over generations of relay.

Was it right for him to take it all? Of course, taking only a small portion, perhaps half, was something Jun Moxie felt he could do without guilt. As for the other half, no matter how unscrupulous Jun Moxie might be, he could not bear to see hundreds of years of hard work and the efforts of tens of millions of Profound Beasts go completely to waste.

In Jun Moxie’s estimation, the so-called humans were far less personable than these straightforward Profound Beasts. If he had the ability to lend a hand, he naturally would. Could he just stand by and watch these masters of supreme strength explode and die?

Whether for his future development, his plans, or any other objective, it would be a terrible pity if these Beast Kings perished! Even if they couldn’t serve him, fostering goodwill wouldn't hurt.

One must remember that masters of this caliber are rare encounters! Naturally, the current situation required an appropriate method of explanation. And his disguise was the perfect approach to handle the matter.

“He Chongxiao, Xiong Kaishan, hehe, you two truly surprise this old man.” Jun Moxie sighed with affected age: “Back then, I really didn’t want to stoop to deal with the riff-raff from the Blood Soul Manor personally, which is why I entrusted it to you two. Heh, such a simple task, yet you two managed to make such a mess of it, culminating in this Profound Beast Tide. Most preposterous is that you still couldn't resolve it, even drawing half the Profound Practitioners of the world here…”

“These trivial matters don’t much concern this old man. Since it happened, it happened. But I am quite curious: when did the power of the Heavenly Punishment weaken to this extent? I recall the deadline we discussed was one month, wasn't it? When did a month in the Heaven’s Punishment Forest stretch into seventy days?”

“It truly is you, Old Senior...” He Chongxiao and Xiong Kaishan, having confirmed his identity, finally let out a collective sigh of relief, but their faces immediately flushed scarlet with extreme shame, feeling a burning heat on their cheeks, wishing they could dig a hole and disappear on the spot…

They recalled the saying: never strike a man in the face. And here he was, exposing their shame publicly…

It was utterly humiliating. This Senior truly showed them no quarter!

As for the reason they felt relieved…

It was simple: A supreme expert of this caliber would surely not be the sort to stoop to petty thievery! Surely, he must have some deeper intention that they failed to grasp. At any rate, they certainly wouldn't suffer any loss from this…

Little did they know that the peerless expert they viewed was accustomed to resorting to every trick—deception, fraud, cynical policies of unscrupulousness, hitting people with bricks from behind, snatching a donkey and leading away a cow—such maneuvers were so practiced that they flowed from him effortlessly and instinctively…

It just so happened that this time, their guess was correct; Young Master Jun was experiencing a rare moment of conscience…

“We are ashamed, Senior. You cannot blame us brothers for this. The Blood Soul Manor was simply too shameless. From Li Juetian downwards, there wasn't a single decent person. They even allied with all the continent's Profound Practitioners against us! In desperation, to fulfill your request, even at the great cost of weakening the power of our Heaven’s Punishment, we spared no expense in launching the Profound Beast Tide. After all, we had an agreement in advance; no matter how difficult, we had to complete it. We truly dedicated ourselves wholeheartedly to the task you assigned, Senior.”

He Chongxiao’s eyes darted, and he hurried to offer his defense.

The implication in his words was clear: We orchestrated this massive display entirely for your sake, so you cannot stand aside.

And of course, you cannot side with the humans against us. Not only that, since we exerted such great effort for your cause, you, as an unparalleled master, must show some token of appreciation. We have suffered a massive depletion of our vital strength…

“Sigh… The reason I sought you out for this task initially was because if I, in my capacity, had to personally deal with the Blood Soul Manor, wouldn’t that be giving too much face to Li Juetian? It would practically be bullying them! Surely you two haven’t failed to grasp this point even now? Knowing that you would cause such a commotion and still fail to settle the matter, I should have…”

Jun Moxie’s stomach cramped, but his tone remained steady, carrying a slight note of regret…