Chapter 1463: The Zoo

Ye Chen chuckled dryly and quickened his pace. As he passed through a mountain range, he saw a disheveled figure crawling out from the rubble—it was none other than Xiao Yuan Huang.

That guy was truly in a sorry state. After climbing out, he kept shaking his head, as if he'd been thoroughly beaten, his head buzzing and his vision filled with stars.

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow, glancing at Xiao Yuan Huang and then at Qian Shang Yue beside him.

Being sharp, he quickly figured out what had happened. Xiao Yuan Huang had probably run his mouth again and been slapped out of Kongque Xian Shan by someone, even causing a mountain to collapse in the process.

Clearly, it was Qian Shang Yue who had sent him flying. And as for those so-called "techniques" and "old man cart," they must have come from Xiao Yuan Huang's big mouth—quite the tantalizing tale.

"Such a heavy hand," Ye Chen sighed. This place was at least eighty thousand zhang away from the Kongque family. Getting smacked that far, he could imagine the utterly defeated look on Xiao Yuan Huang's face at the time.

"Why are you running so fast? Wait for me." Xiao Yuan Huang caught up, cleverly positioning himself on Ye Chen's left side, keeping a safe distance from Qian Shang Yue, afraid of getting dragged off for another beating.

Ye Chen felt like laughing but didn't say anything. He rode the rainbow light, soaring through the misty skies.

Qian Shang Yue also remained silent, while Xiao Yuan Huang muttered complaints the entire way. Normally arrogant, he was uncharacteristically meek this time, even letting his tail droop.

The three traveled in silence, crossing vast rivers, sweeping over expansive plains, and brushing past majestic mountain ranges.

It was unclear how much time passed before they descended from the void and stopped in front of a wild forest.

The wild forest stretched endlessly, with towering ancient trees forming a lush, green ocean. Even before entering, they could sense the primal aura—ancient, profound, overwhelming, and surging.

"This is the Honghuang Zhi Sen," Qian Shang Yue said with a light smile. "It's said to have existed since the Honghuang era, standing in this world for countless ages. The Wan Zu Sheng Hui is held deep within."

"Indeed, it's ancient," Ye Chen smiled, stepping inside and curiously scanning his surroundings.

Once inside the forest, sunlight became scarce, all because the ancient trees were so dense and towering.

Tree after tree stretched toward the sky, majestic and upright, their crowns overlapping and branches intertwining, creating a thick canopy of green that blocked out the light, making the place mysterious and dim.

Deeper in, the paths wound through secluded areas, with fairy light glowing everywhere. Many ancient trees had bizarre shapes, their twisted and gnarled trunks covered in the wrinkles of time, exuding a sense of antiquity.

This was a vast realm, with immense space filled with people milling about, bursts of colorful light, and a natural harmony. The knotted roots and branches of the ancient trees held woven vine tables, all laden with spiritual fruits and fine wines—it was the venue for the Nan Yu Wan Zu Sheng Hui.

"Xiao Yuan Huang has arrived—anyone want to latch onto a big shot?" As soon as the three arrived, Xiao Yuan Huang bellowed, making Ye Chen's ears ring and startling everyone present.

It worked wonders—plenty of people rushed over, all male cultivators, each dashing and elegant, but they weren't coming for Xiao Yuan Huang. They were all heading for Qian Shang Yue, drawn by the universal love of beauty, especially since she was Nan Yu's recognized top beauty.

Xiao Yuan Huang was left awkward, shoved to the side with a darkened face, feeling utterly unappreciated. The way people looked at him was full of irritation, and some even brandished weapons.

Though Ye Chen wanted to laugh, he found himself equally awkward, squeezed to the edge by the crowd.

Qian Shang Yue remained composed, offering only a polite smile before finding a table on one of the ancient trees and sitting down with Ye Chen and Xiao Yuan Huang, leaving the male cultivators feeling just as awkward.

"Once I advance to Saint, I'll take you all on one by one." Xiao Yuan Huang sat down, grabbed a peach from the jade plate, and chomped into it fiercely, grumbling nonstop.

"It's really the Wan Zu Sheng Hui!" Ye Chen held his wine cup, sighing in amazement as he looked around. Aside from him, a human cultivator, everyone else seemed to be some kind of creature: cockroach spirits, snake demons, scorpion spirits, bat spirits, spider spirits, centipede spirits, toad spirits.

"Are there any reincarnated souls?" Qian Shang Yue asked quietly through voice transmission, scanning the area.

"Yes." Ye Chen replied confidently, pointing them out one by one. "That jade rabbit spirit across from us is a disciple from Qingyun Sect. The snow ferret spirit not far from her is an elder from Xishu Situ family. And the red flame wolf beast diagonally opposite is an elder from Panlong Sea Domain Niu family."

"Looks like we came to the right place." Qian Shang Yue smiled warmly. Though most were unfamiliar to her at first, hearing Ye Chen's descriptions made her feel a sense of closeness—they were all from her homeland.

"I've noted them all down. After the gathering, I'll trouble you to unseal them for them." Ye Chen handed her a storage bag, filled with a mountain of jade slips containing sealed memory lights.

"Don't worry, leave it to me." Qian Shang Yue took it with a transmitted smile. "Nan Yu is full of prodigies, so be careful. You're unbeatable at the quasi-saint level, but there are countless saints stronger than you."

"Got it." Ye Chen smiled. Even without her saying so, he could tell. Everyone here was either a divine child or goddess from a major sect, or a prince or princess from a great clan. Their bloodlines were exceptionally powerful, and a few, though well-hidden, made his saintly blood stir.

"That person in the black robe and mask—who's he from, sitting with the Kongque princess?" As they talked, discussions erupted around them, all eyeing Ye Chen. "Can't see his true face or bloodline. So mysterious—what's his background?"

"What's everyone staring at?"

Xiao Yuan Huang exploded. He spat out the chewed peach bits all over the ground.

"We weren't staring at you—why get so cocky?"

A toad spirit male cultivator snorted coldly.

"Hey, don't test my temper."

Xiao Yuan Huang leaped up and swung his staff.

"What, think I'm scared?"

The toad spirit huffed, his body radiating fairy light, with divine patterns etched on his forehead and a massive toad apparition manifesting behind him, his aura surging.

"No brawling!"

A deep, echoing voice boomed through the realm, authoritative and ethereal, carrying a commanding presence that made Xiao Yuan Huang and the toad spirit stop immediately.

"Quasi-Emperor," Ye Chen murmured softly, unable to pinpoint the source of the voice.

"That's Xuanwu Wang, the ancestor of the Xuanwu clan—a genuine quasi-emperor," Qian Shang Yue transmitted. "The Wan Zu Sheng Hui is held once every sixty years, hosted in rotation by Nan Yu's five great king clans. This time, it's Xuanwu clan's Xuanwu Wang in charge."

"The four great king clans?" Ye Chen asked, tilting his head curiously at Qian Shang Yue. "Which four?"

"Qinglong, Baihu, Zhulong, Xuanwu, and Qilin," Qian Shang Yue explained with a smile.

"The lineup of the four divine beasts and one sacred beast!" Ye Chen straightened up, clicking his tongue in amazement.

"They don't represent the true divine or sacred beasts," Qian Shang Yue laughed. "Only the primordial ancestral dragon, primordial white tiger, primordial yuan phoenix, primordial Xuanwu, and primordial Qilin from the dawn of heaven and earth qualify as such. They're now just legends and myths, lost to time."

"I see," Ye Chen stroked his chin and asked again, "So among the ancient nine clans, which is the true orthodox line of the ancestral dragon—the dragon clan or Nan Yu's Qinglong clan?"

"Neither is the orthodox line, based on bloodline division. The dragon clan of the ancient nine is the Canglong clan," Qian Shang Yue said with a leisurely smile. "Canglong, along with Qinglong, and even Zhulong from Xuanhuang Northern Yue, the more ancient Taixu ancient dragon, violent dragon, and tyrant dragon—they're all descendants of the primordial ancestral dragon. From the Honghuang era to now, the dragon clan has intermarried with many external races, and due to wars, the ancestral dragon lineage has splintered into many branches. One line begets another, with some declining and others rising. For example, the Taixu ancient dragon once dominated the primordial era for millions of years, while the blood dragon has been extinct for ages."

"So that means the phoenix clan, Qilin clan, and others are like the dragon clan's branches—not the Honghuang orthodox lines either," Ye Chen pondered. "Too many inheritances have been passed down through the ages."

"Exactly. Later bloodlines are far inferior to their predecessors," Qian Shang Yue chuckled. "The first beings from the dawn of heaven and earth had truly dominant bloodlines."

"The older the being, the more terrifying—this isn't just empty talk," Ye Chen shook his head with a laugh. "I wonder if the desolate ancient holy body would get crushed if it existed in the Honghuang era."

"What's with all this chit-chat? Come on, let me introduce my brothers." Xiao Yuan Huang grabbed Ye Chen and pulled him up. "After the gathering, let's find a spot to swear brotherhood."

"Get lost, I'm busy." Ye Chen cursed and was about to sit down when he sensed a powerful, heavy aura approaching from one side, making him instinctively turn his head toward the newcomer.

It was a burly fatty, incredibly sturdy, with a powerful bloodline as a Diwu Xiong—a great earth martial bear.

Flanking him were three others, all non-human cultivators: an Xianwang He, a Chuanshan Jia, and a Beiming Yu, each with formidable bloodlines. They strode in side by side, looking rough and rowdy—like clan heirs, or perhaps bandits if you didn't know better.

Ye Chen watched with interest. These four were undoubtedly Xiao Yuan Huang's brothers—a perfect set: one flying in the sky, one running on the ground, one swimming in the water, and one burrowing underground.

"Xiao Yuan Huang, you're quick on your feet!" The Diwu Xiong approached, his voice as deep and solid as his build, his heavy steps making the ground thud.

"You know it." Xiao Yuan Huang grinned. "Second brother, you're still as beefy as ever."

"Cut the crap. Give me back my Tianwang hammer." The Diwu Xiong extended his thick palm, his round face covered in twitching black lines.

"And my Xianyu sword." The Xianwang He reached out too. "Borrowed it and never returned?"

"My Jinzun drill hasn't been returned either." The Chuanshan Jia smoothed his hair. "Don't play games like that."

"And my Beiming pearl—you've had it long enough." The Beiming Yu spoke up.

"No wonder they're brothers," Ye Chen thought, amused. This bunch was hilarious; he suspected they were a makeshift group, just messing around.