Chapter 223: The Importance of Character Design

Watching Xiao Yuying leave, Sister Zhang turned to Zheng Fa and said, "Young brother, how many beast tribes are you planning to capture?"

Zheng Fa nodded and replied, "Right now we only know the Great Freedom Demon Cult has allied with the beast tribes, but we don't even know how many enemies there are… We want to help the Sect Master, but we don't even know how."

"The Great Freedom Demon Cult probably can't emerge now—they can only rely on the beast tribes' strength. At the very least, we need to find out how many beast tribes are tied to them."

The group's gazes turned again to the golden crow.

The golden crow shrank back its neck and stammered, "I… I already told you everything!"

"I've never understood just how strong your beast tribes really are."

The golden crow blinked, then looked frustrated: "You don't know? Even the beast tribes themselves don't know—they don't organize by bloodline, but by territory."

"…."

"I at least know the beast tribes in this Nine Mountains region all serve under the Green Cloud Great Sage."

"Great Sage?"

Zheng Fa glanced at Sister Zhang, who explained, "Great Sage is a title beast tribes use for those beyond Soul Transformation."

The golden crow nodded and added, "Below the Great Sage are ten Nascent Soul beast kings—I serve under the Heartless Beast King."

Zheng Fa nodded.

It made sense that a Great Sage commanded such power.

According to Sister Zhang's earlier words, the Hundred Immortal Alliance had only one Soul Transformation cultivator on record.

He felt deeply weighed down.

Even without Soul Transformation cultivators, ten Nascent Soul beast kings were more than the Nine Mountains Sect could handle alone.

"What else? How many will head to Nine Mountains Sect?"

Zheng Fa asked the golden crow again.

"I don't know the rest," the golden crow muttered. "With my bloodline… I'm not valued in the beast tribes. The Heartless Beast King doesn't even care about me."

As he spoke, the golden crow sounded almost wounded:

"Beast tribes have scarce resources. The supreme bloodlines can't grow, and the lesser ones all refuse to submit to each other—no one can unite the factions. Internal strife is brutal. If I didn't have a few hidden skills, I'd be dead already."

"If you want real answers, you need to capture at least a Jin Dan beast."

Zheng Fa now understood why the golden crow sold out his own kind so readily—it was nothing but a ragtag army.

Aside from not being human, they had nothing in common.

They couldn't match the immortal sects, let alone the demon sects.

"Young brother, this matter must be handled carefully…"

Sister Zhang said.

Zheng Fa nodded and asked, "Among the beast tribes who came here, who holds the highest rank?"

"There's one with Qiongqi bloodline—he's a descendant of the Heartless Beast King…"

Zheng Fa frowned: "His identity is too sensitive—we can't seize him by force, or we'll alert the Heartless Beast King… That would be blowing our cover."

Sister Zhang nodded lightly, deep in thought: "We need everyone to believe—he's simply hiding himself?"

Hearing this, Zheng Fa turned his gaze to the golden crow.

The golden crow seemed to understand.

"I… I have a conscience too!"

Zheng Fa reached out and touched him. The golden crow's eyes grew hazy, yet he still muttered:

"If I go after him, the Heartless Beast King will kill me!"

"I'll take care of you."

"... eal!"

…

Taiyang County, Fengcheng County.

A group of burly men walked down the street—muscular, with grim expressions, yet their eyes were pale and dull, showing signs of exhaustion.

Leading them was a young man, square-faced, but half a head taller than his companions.

Though they walked through the streets quietly, no one could hear them speak.

Clearly, they'd used some method to conceal their voices.

"Why have those demon sect demonesses finally let us out to roam these past few days?"

One of them suddenly asked.

The square-faced youth glared at him, annoyed he'd spoken so openly among strangers, then glanced around before replying, "I heard the little golden crow escaped—they're preparing to move locations."

"Escaped? So what? Why move?"

The questioner said.

"Better to be cautious," the square-faced youth shook his head softly. "The immortal sects are strong now—we can't afford exposure."

"Tens of thousands of years… When will we ever stop hiding like this!"

The others nodded, looking frustrated.

"Once we crush the Nine Mountains Sect and the Great Freedom Demon Cult's great ones emerge from the secret realm, our good days will come—every spirit stone mine nearby will be ours."

The square-faced youth clearly held authority; with that, the others fell silent.

Suddenly one chuckled, "Big Brother, you carry Qiongqi bloodline and are a direct descendant of the Beast King—once our beast tribes rise, you might even become a Beast King yourself!"

"Beast King? What's that?" another flattered. "Become a Great Sage!"

The square-faced youth shook his head gently: "Our alliance with the demon sects is out of desperation… Future days will mean obeying the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor."

All fell silent.

They'd been sent to the Great Freedom Demon Cult—judging by the demonesses' attitudes, the beast tribes were the weaker side.

No matter how noble their bloodlines sounded.

To those demonesses, they were little more than breeding boars.

"It's just that our beast tribes are too weak—even if the Great Freedom Demon Cult triumphs, we'll still be mere vassals," the square-faced youth sighed. "We're only Jin Dan cultivators—we're nothing but meat on the chopping block."

They exchanged glances, faces grim, the earlier cheer gone.

Suddenly, commotion erupted at the street's end.

The silent group turned toward the disturbance.

A tall female cultivator walked slowly through the crowd, clearly used to being stared at.

"Who's that?"

The square-faced youth asked.

One man rushed forward to ask, then returned and said, "Big Brother, have you heard of the Spirit Ye Immortal?"

"The Treasure Immortal?"

The square-faced youth asked, his face betraying surprise.

"Yes! They say wherever she goes, she finds secret realms—she's unbelievably lucky!"

The group of beast tribes had all heard of the Spirit Ye Immortal; now they spoke of her with deep envy.

Yet the square-faced youth's face darkened. "If she's come to Fengcheng County, trouble is coming—we must return quickly!"

Everyone froze, glancing at each other. Though they clearly hadn't finished sightseeing, they obeyed him without question.

The group turned and walked toward the other end of the street.

Suddenly, murmurs rose again from the crowd ahead.

It sounded like they'd heard something monumental.

Even the square-faced youth couldn't resist curiosity—he signaled the man to go ask again.

After a moment, the man sprinted back, face flushed, breath ragged, and blurted: "They say Xiao Yuying met an old acquaintance at the tavern—and their conversation revealed a huge secret!"

"What secret?"

"Xiao Yuying said she discovered another secret realm in Lei Chi!"

"Secret realm?" The square-faced youth's pace quickened. "This just got interesting—let's go!"

"Big Brother! She said the secret realm contains Emperor's Flowing Juice!"

The man's low cry froze the square-faced youth in place.

"Emperor's Flowing Juice?"

He turned to ask.

"Yes!"

"Truly Emperor's Flowing Juice?"

"They heard it with their own ears!"

The square-faced youth stood still, deep in thought, visibly torn.

"Big Brother, why hesitate!"

The square-faced youth slowly shook his head. "Something's wrong—why would the Spirit Ye Immortal reveal a secret realm with Emperor's Flowing Juice? This must be a trap!"

"…I've heard another theory," another man spoke up.

"What theory?"

"The Spirit Ye Immortal is extremely proud," the man recalled rumors he'd heard. "Whenever she finds a secret realm, she never hides it—she announces it openly, doesn't care who hears."

"This Immortal Miss Ling Ye is extremely proud," the man recalled the rumors he had heard: "Whenever she enters a secret realm, she never hides anything... she says exactly what she thinks, utterly unconcerned with what others think."

"If someone else said it, I'd think it was a trick," the man continued. "But if Xiao Yuying said it…"

"If someone else had said this, I'd think it was a trick," the man continued, "but if Xiao Yuying said it..."

"That's just who she is!"

"…"

The square-faced youth fell silent.

He glanced around at the others nearby, clearly still hesitating.

"Big brother, didn't we just say our cultivation base is too low? If the Demon Sect gains power, we'll just be their dogs?"

"…"

"The Emperor's Flowing Juice is our demonic race's greatest treasure—Big Brother, if you take it, you might even ascend to Nascent Soul! Why suffer and smile for those demonesses?"

The square-faced youth's face darkened further.

"This matter… requires caution…"

"What? We're already willing to ally with the Demon Sect—what's there to fear?"

At these words, the square-faced youth fell silent, as if they held undeniable logic.

The square-faced youth looked at his brothers around him and realized the Emperor's Flowing Juice held too great an allure for their race; if he continued to oppose them, they would surely resent him.

More importantly—he himself couldn't help but be tempted.

"Let's go!" he said. "But I still feel something's off—you must not act rashly. Wait for your chance!"

…

In a mountain hollow beside Lei Chi.

Master Pang's eyes shimmered with silver light as he gazed into the distance.

"So many have come…" Master Pang clicked his tongue. "Xiao Xianzi, your single word proved remarkably effective."

Zheng Fa also turned to look at Xiao Yuying beside him.

This was the power of a well-crafted persona…

Xiao Yuying looked left and right, as if deeply curious about what Zheng Fa and the others intended to do.

"Sister, set up the talisman array."

Zheng Fa turned to Zhang Shijie beside him.

Zhang Shijie pulled out the Flying Immortal Brush; several sheets of golden foil-like talismans fluttered out from her sleeve.

With solemn expression, she painted a few spiritual runes upon them; the talismans flew to all corners of the hollow, and a phantom array rose instantly.

"This is that thing of yours…" Xiao Yuying sounded as if she'd heard of it before: "That… what's it called? Theater?"

Zheng Fa nodded.

More accurately, this was the Master's Pavilion of Heaven and Earth Array.

But Zhang Shijie, at this moment, spared no cost—using Heaven-grade talismans—and she was a talisman prodigy with Nascent Soul cultivation.

Combined, these factors made the phantom array three-tenths stronger than if the Sect Master himself had cast it.

Indeed, Xiao Yuying beside them marveled:

"This illusion—I can't even see through it, not even for a moment…"