Even while heavily injured, Jun Moxie had considered dealing with the Three Great Sacred Lands immediately! Although his strength alone couldn't inflict massive losses upon them, his silent and invisible Yin-Yang Evasion, coupled with his heaven-defying Five Elements Power, could absolutely annihilate their sects before the Three Great Sacred Lands were prepared! He would turn those hypocrites who constantly preached for the good of the world into vagrants!
But the moment he considered Mei Xueyan’s lifelong wish was to ensure victory in the Heaven-Seizing War, Jun Moxie ultimately couldn't bear to see her hopes dashed, nor did he wish to truly become the culprit destabilizing the continent!
Thus, Jun Moxie chose to retreat. Moving the entire Jun Family to Tianfa served two purposes: first, to preserve their strength, and second, to avoid conflict, deciding everything after the Heaven-Seizing War!
This relocation to the Tianfa Forest was, to anyone else, a brilliant strategic maneuver! Yet, only Jun Moxie himself knew how utterly stifling this retreat felt.
Jun Moxie had long designated the Tianfa Forest as his ultimate sanctuary, but his plan was to retire there calmly after becoming unrivaled on the continent—not to 'flee' into the Tianfa Forest to evade enemies as he was now!
These were two fundamentally different concepts!
However, the sudden ambush by Zhan Mubai this time truly drove Jun Moxie into a complete, incandescent rage.
He nearly lost his life; Qianxun’s life hung by a thread, and it was uncertain if she could ever fully recover in this lifetime! He simply could not endure such catastrophic consequences!
First Mei Xueyan, then Qianxun—if he retreated again, who would be next?
I’ve already backed down, yet you relentlessly pursue me; why should I continue to retreat?
When dealing with a vicious dog, unless you beat it until it’s crippled or dead, it will relentlessly harass and bite! Only by driving it far away, or terrifying it so that it flees upon sight, can one achieve lasting peace!
Therefore, Jun Moxie was preparing to counterattack! And it would be a thoroughly bloody retaliation!
But he revealed none of these thoughts. He merely suppressed the immense hatred within his heart, heavy yet subdued, swallowing it down... allowing it to ferment inside him, awaiting the moment it could erupt!
Before that moment arrived, Jun Moxie was determined not to let anyone see the intensity of his desire for revenge!
Currently, Jun Moxie’s mindset was akin to a wolf king hunting on the vast plains, silently waiting for the most opportune moment to strike.
Until that moment came, he would never bare his fangs!
“Let’s go to my place; we need to discuss the follow-up matters.” Jun Moxie leaped up, lightly brushing the dust from his robes, offering a faint smile, composed and detached as if nothing untoward had occurred.
But all the Beast Kings who heard his words felt a chill rise from the depths of their souls! It was as if they could already perceive mountains of corpses and seas of blood about to manifest from this young man’s hands...
This was the innate intuition of the Mystic Beasts, the instinct to sense profound danger—an intuition humans lacked!
“How could things turn out like this? This is simply too much to bear! We shouldn’t have let those bastards escape unscathed just now, even if it meant mutual destruction! They call us beasts, but they are utterly inferior to even the beasts!”
In Jun Moxie’s main hall, Deer Sacred Emperor learned of Tianfa’s suffering over the years from He Chongxiao's mouth and exploded in fury, roaring sternly!
Nearly four centuries of toil and dedication had resulted only in naked betrayal; this was something no one could tolerate. If the Deer Sacred Emperor’s original cultivation base were intact, he would likely rush immediately to the headquarters of the Three Great Sacred Lands to demand justice!
He Chongxiao and the others stood solemnly, daring not to speak further.
“Where is Xueyan? Where is she now? And how much has her injury recovered?” the Deer Sacred Emperor demanded sternly.
“Xueyan’s progress is quite good currently. She has recovered to... roughly the strength of a Level Seven or Eight Mystic Beast. But restoring her full power will still require some time,” Jun Moxie replied calmly.
“Xueyan... she was beaten back to her original form? How could this happen?” The Deer Sacred Emperor stared at him in shock, genuinely unable to believe what he heard. He suddenly slammed a finger onto the stone table, and with a crash, the hard stone table shattered into powder: “The Three Great Sacred Lands break their agreements and then commit such outrageous bullying! I swear I will not let this rest!”
The other eight Saint Kings were equally incensed!
Others might not know, but how could they not? Mei Xueyan... was the only direct bloodline descendant of the Tianfa Ancestor, Mei Sacred Emperor, left in the world! She was also the sole royal bloodline of the entire Tianfa Forest! This was the greatest secret of the Tianfa Forest!
No matter how high the cultivation of the Tianfa Beasts, even reaching the peak of the Sacred Emperor realm, they could only call themselves ‘Beast Kings.’ Only descendants of the Mei Sacred Emperor lineage were entitled to the title ‘Beast Emperor’!
If something truly happened to Mei Xueyan, none of the nine present could imagine the subsequent repercussions! If that ancient Ancestor became enraged and emerged from the Tianfa Secret Cave... it would be far more than just a simple catastrophe...
After a long, long pause, they calmed down and asked Jun Moxie, “Young Jun, you are Xueyan’s husband; what are your plans?”
Jun Moxie already knew that this Deer Sacred Emperor’s true name was Lu Zhuifeng, and the other eight former Beast Kings included the current Crane Saint King He Menglong, Lion Saint King Shi Potian, Monkey Saint King Hou Zhuangzhi, Snake Saint King Yu Longmu, Leopard Saint King Bao Butong, Tiger Saint King Hu Zhen, Bear Saint King Xiong Pili, and Wolf Saint King Lang Xiaofeng.
These nine individuals were all renowned, monumental figures throughout the Profound Continent in their prime!
“My plans can wait for later. The critical issue now is: what are your plans, my nine predecessors?” Jun Moxie pondered for a moment, withholding his answer, and instead posed a counter-question. Though unspoken, everyone understood that Jun Moxie was asking for their future positioning relative to him.
There cannot be two suns in the sky, nor two rulers in a nation!
This principle applied even among the Mystic Beasts!
The return of these nine would certainly add immense aid to Tianfa, but correspondingly, it involved a division of high-level power. Specifically: many factions now faced the massive variable of dual rulership!
Over several centuries, Tianfa had established an extremely rigorous management system. The newly appointed Beast Kings held unquestioned, supreme authority within their respective clans! But now, with the reappearance of their former leaders after long seclusion, this authority faced severe shock!
This matter of positioning had to be resolved immediately!
Otherwise, it was bound to breed an internal crisis with far-reaching consequences!
To stabilize the outside, one must first secure the inside.
Jun Moxie was about to initiate his revenge plan and certainly did not wish to find his main base erupting in internal conflict! Therefore, his first priority was to resolve this potential crisis!
“Our plans? All nine of us are severely weakened and our lifespan is short. Even if we wanted to lead the beast hordes again, we lack the will and strength!”
Lu Zhuifeng sighed bitterly, “The nine of us already discussed this. Now that we have emerged, we will each serve as patriarchs/advisors within our respective clans, spending the rest of our lives in service. BUT! If a battle occurs, it must be the nine of us old fellows who fight first. Our combat effectiveness may be far less than in our prime, but we can still take an enemy of equal standing down with us; after this, the current Beast Kings must not easily venture onto the battlefield—this is our only requirement.”
The other eight Saint Kings nodded in agreement.
This statement instantly put Jun Moxie and He Chongxiao and the other Beast Kings greatly at ease.
The words spoken by Lu Zhuifeng and the others represented the most formal transfer of power regarding the status of the Beast Kings.
“Sirs, your noble spirit, Moxie and the Beast King brothers are deeply grateful. However, there is one matter we do not understand and request your clarification.” Jun Moxie frowned slightly. “Deer Senior, when you nine entered the Illusionary Mansion Mist, the weakest among you was at least at the Saint King level! But over these three hundred-plus years, the Mystic Beast inheritance has only reached the Supreme level at best; the only exception, Xueyan, is only at the Venerable tier. What is the reason for this? Is it because He Chongxiao and Xiong Kaishan and the others weren't diligent enough!?”
Lu Zhuifeng’s face once again showed extreme fury: “This is all thanks to the mischief those scoundrels stirred up! According to Tianfa’s ancient tradition, the true secret arts of each clan are only passed down orally to the newly ascended Beast King during their succession. But at that time, we were tricked into the Illusionary Mansion Mist before we could complete the inheritance... Naturally, Xiong Kaishan and He Chongxiao’s generation of rising talents never received the necessary combat techniques and mental arts required of Beast Kings, so how could they become truly powerful? Little Mei managed to cultivate to the Venerable tier on her own due to her exceptional, heaven-gifted talent! Unfortunately, she... was beaten back to her original form... Why were we so foolish back then? To actually trust the flowery words of those scum...”
“So that’s how it is!” Jun Moxie and He Chongxiao and the others suddenly understood. No wonder the current generation of Tianfa Beast Kings seemed so weak; the fundamental reason lay here.
“Fortunately, you appeared at this critical moment... otherwise, if they had taken advantage of our absence to sweep through the foundations of Tianfa... then the Tianfa Forest would truly be finished... How could we face the past generations of Tianfa ancestors in the underworld...” Lu Zhuifeng still harbored lingering fear, and his gaze towards Jun Moxie grew far more satisfied.
“Your vital essence... is greatly damaged, and your lifespan is short? Let me take a look?” Jun Moxie tentatively asked.
“It won't hurt to look, but... this is an unavoidable situation. Although we have long glimpsed beyond life and death, who truly wishes to die if they can live? Moreover, Tianfa is currently facing turbulent times. If we old guards, who serve as the final barrier, are gone, relying only on these juniors now... it will be difficult...”
Lu Zhuifeng’s eyes carried guilt and worry as he looked at He Chongxiao and the other Beast Kings, extending a hand without hope, sighing mournfully: “For the past three hundred and fifty years, we have endured the constant devouring of the seal day and night, while also facing impacts from that madman, the Fourteenth Young Master of the Nine Netherworld. Our internal organs are nearly failing, our potential long exhausted, and even our Divine Souls have suffered continuous severe damage, making it impossible to last much longer... Even our consciousness is now on the verge of spontaneous collapse and shattering. What hope do we have now besides waiting for death... Hmm? Ah?~~~~”
The Deer Sacred Emperor’s tone grew increasingly desolate, turning to sighing at the end, when suddenly he let out a cry of surprise. He stared at Jun Moxie with utter disbelief, his entire body trembling as if struck by lightning...