This, without a doubt, was a signal—an absolutely explosive one. This divine sense was sent out. If He Chongxiao and Xiong Kaishan had not been in the Heavenly Punishment Forest, they would certainly have appeared immediately!

Deep within the forest, the two great Beast Kings, Crane Three and Bear Four, were sitting opposite each other, drinking.

He Chongxiao had always been cautious, but Xiong Kaishan was the typical live-for-the-moment type. As soon as the Boss left, Xiong Kaishan felt that without the tiger, the monkey could rule the mountain. With the Boss gone, I am the Boss!

So, for two straight days, he had been dragging He Chongxiao into drinking and merrymaking, completely disregarding the recent happenings in the Heavenly Punishment Forest and the issues they would soon face. This carefree temperament was, in a certain sense, surprisingly similar to Jun Moxie’s.

The two great Beast Kings were currently not drinking in their human forms, but had both revealed their true bodies while guzzling. One was a massive bear, covered in golden fur, resembling a small mountain; Crane Four’s true form was a celestial crane, its body even more gigantic, pure white all over, its eyes glowing red like two blazing torches. The table before the two kings was a single, massive slab of blue stone, easily two zhang in circumference, and their cups were directly carved from millennium-old purple sandalwood roots, thick as a waist. One cup held the volume of at least a large jar of wine in the mortal world!

As for the wine the two kings drank, it was extraordinarily fragrant. It was the Monkey Wine brewed by the monkey tribes of the Heavenly Punishment Forest, which the two great Beast Kings had illicitly obtained to feast upon. A thick bear mouth and a pointed crane beak were both consuming it at breakneck speed.

“Third Brother, I find you getting more and more cautious. You’re excessively careful. What’s there to worry about regarding that Heaven-Punishing Sacred Fruit? Why the hell are you fussing?”

The large bear, his eyes hazy with drink, patted the golden fur on his chest and spoke with a human voice: “I truly don’t understand. You’re always worried about gains and losses; don’t you get tired?”

Clearly, He Chongxiao was concerned about the Heaven-Punishing Sacred Fruit, while Xiong Kaishan simply paid it no mind. Xiong Kaishan had complete confidence in that mysterious distinguished expert. He had a strong intuition that a master of that level of cultivation would have absolutely no need to deceive anyone, so he simply failed to understand He Chongxiao’s deep anxiety, even despising it. “Your big bear head is just full of muscle, what do you know?” He Chongxiao rolled his massive eyelids, his ruby-like eyes fixed on Xiong Kaishan: “It’s better to be safe than sorry! If that person truly disappears, what can you and I do? You bear, you have too few brains; if you went out into the world, you’d be someone who gets swindled! Just like Second Brother, damn it, running off just because of a bet—you’re the same, you wouldn’t run away!”

Xiong Kaishan fell silent for a moment, then said heavily: “Actually, besides trusting that high expert, I also feel that relying on the Heaven-Punishing Sacred Fruit for advancement is far too risky, with the danger of body explosion at any moment. Judging by past success rates, it might not even reach thirty percent. If that high expert truly possesses a method for breakthrough advancement without risk, even if it requires waiting and taking chances, it would be worth it!”

He Chongxiao was greatly surprised by Xiong Kaishan’s words. He truly hadn't expected the usually simple-minded Bear Fourth to offer such reasoning. He felt it made perfect sense: “I really didn’t realize you, Bear Fourth, could come up with such words. Truly, ‘Even a fool might stumble upon a good idea after a hundred thoughts.’ Because of what you just said, as your elder brother, I toast you!”

Xiong Kaishan was delighted and immediately downed three or four cups in one go, adding: “What ‘a fool might stumble upon a good idea’? This Great King is naturally wise yet feigns stupidity; I simply choose not to speak often.”

Seeing Xiong Kaishan puffing himself up, He Chongxiao couldn't help but smile faintly. Just as he was about to raise his cup to drink, he suddenly seemed to recall something and looked up: “I say, you’ve gotten bold, haven’t you? Who were you calling Third Brother just now? I am your Third Brother! Have you lost all sense of seniority and respect? I praised you once, and now you’ve forgotten east from west? Even if what you said just now has some merit, this matter is still too risky! After all, the Heaven-Punishing Sacred Fruit is not in our own hands; it’s still improper.”

Xiong Kaishan snorted: “What risk? Does it stop being risky just because it’s in our own hands? Has it never happened that someone kept the Heaven-Punishing Sacred Fruit for themselves since ancient times? Shall we make another bet?”

He Chongxiao rolled his red eyes, somewhat annoyed: “When will you ever get rid of this habit of betting? Don’t forget that Second Brother became someone else’s mount precisely because of a bet; I see a strong tendency for you in that regard! Besides, what’s the point of us betting? If that person really can’t be found, we’ll both slit our throats. A bet? Bet your head!”

Xiong Kaishan was furious and jumped up: “So what if I like to bet? I’ll bet you today, I bet that person is absolutely not the kind of useless person you think he is!”

He Chongxiao let out a sound, neither warm nor cold: “Not that kind of person? You sound quite certain. Hmph. Now that the Blood Soul Villa affair is completely settled, he should, by rights, fulfill his promise. Even if he doesn’t fulfill the promise of exchanging the Heaven-Punishing Sacred Fruit for spirit pills, he should at least fulfill the promise to help us break through the level of Ten-Star Profound Beasts. That was agreed upon beforehand, so why is there no sign of him?”

“Maybe something else delayed him,” Xiong Kaishan said, his previously extremely certain tone instantly collapsing, showing a hint of unease. “How could an expert of that caliber go back on his word?”

“Does being a high expert mean he won’t go back on his word?!” He Chongxiao sighed, then said: “Humans betray promises too often. Do you think they truly take promises to heart? Old Bear, you’re still too naive! Wise yet feigning stupidity? Go fool yourself!”

Xiong Kaishan snorted twice, directly picking up the huge vessel containing wine beside him and taking a huge gulp. He tilted his head sideways, clearly showing his disdain for He Chongxiao’s petty worries.

Just as he was preparing a rebuttal, he suddenly felt it—within the Heavenly Punishment Forest, a commanding and overwhelming pressure was approaching. Xiong Kaishan trembled all over, his hand shook, and the large wine vessel crashed onto the stone table. He jumped up, extremely excited: “It’s him! He’s come to find us, he must be here to help us advance! Crane Third Brother, what do you have to say now?”

He Chongxiao’s face also lit up with joy. At this moment, he forgot to correct the term “Crane Third Brother.” He shot up with a boom, his wings flashing once, and called out: “Fourth Brother, you won the bet. It really is him coming.”

The two great Beast Kings exchanged a glance, and unrestrained ecstasy instantly arose in both pairs of eyes.

Xiong Kaishan clearly couldn't wait another second. He sprang directly onto He Chongxiao’s back, pointed ahead, and commanded: “Fly quickly!” His tone was decisive, full of command. However, his weight of several thousand jin, unprepared for by He Chongxiao, didn't cause him to ascend but instead made him crash onto the ground with a thud. He roared angrily: “Damn it! Why didn’t you transform into human form before getting on? I curse your father, don’t you know your own weight of nearly three thousand jin?”

Only then did he realize something was wrong, and he quickly added: “You *** get down quickly! I am your Third Brother, not your mount! Run over there yourself!”

Xiong Kaishan clung tightly to two of He Chongxiao’s primary feathers and quickly transformed into human shape, stubbornly refusing to get down. He Chongxiao sighed in resignation, but fearing they would miss the timing, he flapped his wings and shot into the sky, speeding towards the location where the profound pressure emanated like lightning!

Jun Moxie stood serenely in mid-air. Beneath his feet, across a vast area, every Profound Beast that felt this supremely powerful pressure trembled in fear, not daring to move in the slightest. Facing such immense pressure, a pressure as vast as the primordial chaos of heaven and earth, perhaps only a few Profound Beasts in the world could withstand it!

From afar, wind and thunder suddenly surged, and a massive black shadow flew over.

The arrival, naturally, was He Chongxiao carrying Xiong Kaishan, approaching with the majesty of a Dragon Knight from a Xuanhuan legend.

Jun Moxie stood unmoving until He Chongxiao transformed into his human shape, and the two landed together on the ground before him. Only then did he float down lightly as well.

“Senior… you… you’ve arrived,” He Chongxiao was somewhat embarrassed. Back in Tianxiang City, he had called him “Brother Feng,” but now, the term was “Senior.” The two great Beast Kings also felt awkward. They didn't know why, but suddenly they didn't dare to address him as an equal anymore.

Furthermore, they had just been doubting him moments ago, and now seeing the actual person appear before their eyes, He San felt a little awkward.

“En,” Jun Moxie said, adopting a magnificent and domineering posture, “I will be leaving Tiannan in a few days. I suddenly remembered I owed you a promise. A person cannot establish himself without trust; how can I leave without repaying past favors?”

“Gua-ga-ga… Senior is indeed a man of his word! Just now, this Crane Third Brother was worrying that Senior wouldn’t come, probably running away in secret, and I severely scolded him for that! Crane Third Brother, do you recognize your mistake now? Hahaha!” Xiong Kaishan grinned triumphantly, feeling he had won a great victory.

How could he not be happy and proud? Since this high expert had arrived now, it meant he valued promises. And someone who valued promises so highly, how could he possibly have tricked the Heavenly Punishment Forest out of the Heaven-Punishing Sacred Fruit? Wouldn't that imply that the spirit pills were also very likely?

Thus, Xiong Kaishan instantly let go of all his worries!

“You—you—you, you damnable bear brute! What nonsense are you spouting? I—I never doubted Senior!” He Chongxiao was choked with anger, trembling his finger, wishing he could strangle the bear to death. He never expected this bear would betray him just to curry favor with the high expert before him.

“It’s nothing, that’s only human nature,” Jun Moxie chuckled. For some reason, every time he faced the two great Beast Kings, Jun Moxie felt exceptionally pleased. This wasn't the pleasure of showing off; it was the ease and comfort of not having to decipher others' schemes.

Compared to human experts, the Beast Kings of the Heavenly Punishment Forest were clearly much more simple and honest. This atmosphere truly made Jun Moxie feel relaxed and at ease, as if he had suddenly escaped endless scheming and double-dealing.

“En, a promise is a promise. I have come specifically to fulfill my commitment. You two prepare yourselves first. Calm your hearts and adjust your conditions to their best, most importantly, adjust your mental state to the most peaceful level. I will first observe your progress.”

In Jun Moxie’s laughter, even he himself did not realize that there was a faint trace of closeness. Such closeness, apart from those few individuals like Old Master Jun and Third Master Jun, was truly rare.

And it was precisely this faint closeness that He Chongxiao and Xiong Kaishan clearly perceived. They completely trusted him!