Chapter 127

Watch the home.

Yunhe ignored the little fox's pleading gaze and slowly stepped into the lake water.

It wasn't that he didn't want the little fox to help.

With the strength of a mid-second-stage demon beast, plus various illusion and supportive spells, it could still provide considerable help if encountering enemies.

But this time it wasn't on land, moving through the mountains and forests, but going into the lake.

As a fox, being underwater still poses quite a serious restriction.

Moreover, the danger level of this trip is still uncertain; although Yunhe himself has enough confidence in self-preservation, if he brings the little fox and encounters danger, it's hard to say.

After all, it's his first second-stage demon beast subordinate; it's better not to casually throw away its life.

The cool lake water didn't even reach his turtle back.

He lightly paddled with his claws twice, and Yunhe slowly swam toward the direction where a faint urge to move was felt from the lake.

Wuu!!

Watching Yunhe disappear from sight, the little fox puffed its cheeks, somewhat angry.

He angrily kicked his foot, sending a small pebble into the water, splashing up not-small droplets.

He noticed the gazes the demon beasts were casting.

Wuu!

What are you looking at! Every time it requires the king to personally go out, don't you feel ashamed? Hurry back and train!

As the words fell, the demon beasts all fled in disarray.

But the little fox's words also make sense: if every time the king has to act personally, then these subordinates would become utterly useless.

Of course, for most demon beasts whose spiritual awareness has just awakened, they wouldn't think that much.

Only those like the little fox, White Ape King, Red-bellied Snake, Blue Shadow Swallow, Blue Water Croc, Black Fish, and Ni Qiu—demon beasts that have partially awakened their spiritual awareness—felt a hint of pressure.

Follow me, and I'll teach you demon beasts how to cultivate!

The little fox looked at them and muttered.

Although the Eight Revolutions Spirit Fox Technique it cultivates isn't suitable for them, still some cultivation concepts and methods can be passed on.

As for that, the White Ape King and the others naturally wouldn't refuse.

Yunhe, who had submerged into the lake, didn't know what happened after he left.

Actually, even if he knew, he wouldn't care much; at most he'd just smile.

It would be nice if his subordinates were a bit stronger, but it's fine if they aren't, since he never expected them to provide much combat assistance anyway.

Being able to help tend the medicine fields and investigate information is enough.

Whether in cultivator form or demon beast form, he always trusts only himself.

Ruyi!

Then he saw its form shift, shrinking from its originally huge size to about three feet, and then it employed the Turtle Breath Body Forging Technique to conceal its aura and cultivation.

Slowly, he encountered some demon beasts.

Most of them were basically heading in the same direction, though most were merely first-stage demon beasts, instinctively moving toward that attractive direction.

And for Yunhe, who had completely concealed his aura, these demon beasts naturally went unnoticed.

But as he continued deeper, he gradually encountered some second-stage demon beasts.

Most did not conceal their aura at all, startling even ordinary fish and weak demon beasts to the point they dared not approach.

Yunhe also didn't pay much attention to these demon beasts.

But that instinctive urge among demon beasts grew more pronounced, making him ever more curious.

What exactly could simultaneously attract so many demon beasts and have such a wide range of influence?

Surely it couldn't even attract third-stage demon beasts, right?

Yunhe couldn't help but think.

If a third-stage demon beast were to intervene, he would surely leave without looking back.

When passing through the place where the riverbed once had a sealing formation, Yunhe couldn't help but pause slightly.

However, this place is almost unchanged from when he first came; only the number of demon beasts loitering and swimming nearby has decreased somewhat.

After losing the Gathering Spirit Pearl and that strand of essence blood that could help demon beasts awaken spiritual awareness, this place's attraction to demon beasts has also diminished considerably.

He paused because he wanted to see if he could spot that thousand-thread worm from before, which had once chased him relentlessly.

However, after scanning with his demon sense he found nothing, and not wanting to waste too much time here, Yunhe left.

He continued onward.

Compared to last time, Yunhe, who has now reached mid-Second Stage, is much more at ease.

Although the nearer to the lake, the more second-tier beasts appear, no third-tier beasts have shown up, allowing Yunhe to relax a little.

Finally.

In his sight.

An island appeared.

Island in the lake.

This is also the first time Yunhe has seen an island in the lake.

Gazing into the distance.

The whole island was a expanse of red, as if covered with red maple leaves.

The lake breeze swept by, bringing a rustling sound and waves of tempting fragrance that even the drizzling rain could not withstand.

Even Yunhe, upon lifting his head above the water to smell this scent, felt a flutter in his heart.

Many beasts were attracted by this fragrance and came running.

But if you look closely, you'll find that what grows on this island is not any kind of maple tree.

Instead, it is a special spirit plant, layered like a pagoda, overall bright red, with only the central root stem pale yellow, giving off a faint glow and some hazy dust.

Many beasts are already frantically scrambling for this spirit plant, not hesitating to come to blows.

Even worse, many beasts have already died for it.

"Red Rainbow Grass"

Seeing this spirit plant, Yunhe stared blankly and muttered.

His expression gradually turned strange.

This spirit plant isn't particularly precious; in the cultivation world, cultivators have seen it more than once in various classics.

Its function is only one.

It promotes beast reproduction!

Exactly.

This spirit plant does not increase the beasts' demonic power, nor does it give them any substantive help; its sole function is to make beasts reproduce.

Put more plainly, it is an aphrodisiac for beasts.

Yet this grass has a powerful attraction and temptation for beasts; for most low-tier beasts, mating, breeding, and reproduction are also among their most primal and instinctive behaviors.

So after seeing the grass's appearance, Yunhe felt utterly speechless.

I originally thought some treasure must be drawing all those beasts forward one after another, but it turned out to be "Red Rainbow Grass".

Moreover, Yunhe noticed that the pagoda-shaped "Red Rainbow Grass" on the island mostly has only two tiers.

That is to say, these "Red Rainbow Grass" can at most attract second-stage or lower beasts, unable to interest any third-stage beasts.

"Huh?"

However.

When he, feeling a bit bored, was preparing to return, he discovered.

The number of dead beasts here is already not small; even on the lake surface beside the island, many beast corpses and remains float.

Surprisingly, the lake water surrounding this lake island remains perfectly clear, with no trace of being stained red by beast blood, as if all the beast blood had been absorbed by something.

Noticing this, Yunhe's heart turned cold.

"Is this a trap? A trap specifically targeting first- and second-stage beasts?"

But then he discovered that, although most beasts were attracted by the "Red Rainbow Grass," some second-stage beasts ignored it, marching straight through the grass toward the lake island.

Looking at them, their eyes were clear and their gaze firm, as if they were not being swayed by anything.

Feeling a bit curious, Yunhe moved closer again.

Thump—thump!

Suddenly.

Yunhe's heart jumped.

He was all too familiar with this feeling.

When he first detected that strand of special essence blood, his heart began to beat in this unusual way.

"Thump—thump!"

The heartbeat sounded as if it were right on his eardrum.

At the same time, he instinctively felt that something on the lake island was especially attractive to him.

He could even feel his blood flow quickening, and the demon core in his qi sea dantian becoming exceptionally active.

"Could it be that the "Red Rainbow Grass" is merely a facade, and the true secret behind all this lies on the island?"

After a brief hesitation, Yunhe approached.

Since many second-stage beasts have already gone to the island, even if something unexpected happens, those beasts could give him ample warning.

He should be able to flee in time.

Splash—

On the water, under the water, beneath the water, even in the sky.

The beasts' incessant scrambling creates noises that rise and fall without cease.

He skillfully avoided all flashpoints of conflict.

He arrived at the shore.

He noticed that the island also had many plant-like beasts, unaffected by the "Red Rainbow Grass," taking the opportunity to continually prey on the beasts drawn there—a long-awaited feast for them.

He slowly climbed onto the island.

Yunhe's demon sense remained extended.

He constantly watched for any unexpected developments.

After he got onto the island, he then crawled another three or four li.

His demon sense suddenly swept over a stone tablet.

A stone tablet?

Its texture was much like the stone tablet he had seen in the little fox's den before, and it also bore some inscriptions.

The demon race's script!

Having passed that stone tablet, Yunhe more or less recognized some of the demon race's characters.

He also read some content from that stone tablet.

". Demon Pond Blood"

However, he knew too few characters, only able to guess and read a handful.

He continued forward, only stopping again when he reached the stone tablet.

Gazing at that ancient, even decayed stone tablet, his eyes glimmered with a misty spiritual light.

Spiritual Eyes!

With the aid of the 'Spiritual Eyes', although much of the content on it was still incomprehensible, the meaning conveyed by some characters became roughly clear.

'Beast Cleansing Pool'

Yunhe's eyes gradually widened, revealing a look of disbelief.

He turned his head toward the island's center.

As expected.

Many of the second-tier beasts that had come ashore had as their target the entrance to the 'Beast Cleansing Pool' at the island's center.

Moreover, the throbbing of his heartbeat in his ears repeatedly told him he needed to go to the island's center.

"I never expected to encounter a secret realm in Yao Shou Shijie."

That's right.

This so-called 'Beast Cleansing Pool' is not merely a pool.

but rather a secret realm left behind by some ancient beast grandmaster or other existence, unknown which.

As for this stone tablet, it seems not to have been left by the master of this secret realm.

'Red Ni Grass' is merely the first step to attract beasts; the 'Beast Cleansing Pool' is the true focus.

According to the stone tablet, there is indeed a 'Beast Cleansing Pool' at the deepest part of the secret realm, capable of cleansing beast blood.

It can achieve the powerful effect of purifying and increasing the concentration of beast blood.

For beasts, purifying blood concentration equals enhancing their potential, even raising their cultivation base.

This made Yunhe feel a slight stirring of interest.

After all, he had already experienced the benefits of a single blood purification.

To a certain extent, a beast's bloodline can be compared to a cultivator's spiritual root.

It is not that a beast with inferior bloodline cannot improve its cultivation.

Rather, if the bloodline concentration is high, it is just like a cultivator having high spiritual root aptitude.

The cultivation speed will increase, and the difficulty of breaking through bottlenecks will be relatively much lower.

However, Yunhe also understood that opportunities often come with risks; the greater the opportunity, the greater the risk.

He hesitated whether to wade into this murky situation.

Until he saw the final words on the stone tablet, which wrote that if one could not reach the 'Beast Cleansing Pool' within a certain time, or certain special locations, the secret realm would close, automatically expelling the beasts inside.

He did not know the specific time; it was not that the stone tablet lacked the writing, but rather that the beast who inscribed the tablet defined time differently from Yunhe's understanding, not divided by days, months, or years.

But it was estimated not to be long.

It was precisely because of this mechanism of the secret realm that Yunhe decided to give it a try.

"If it's really dangerous, at worst I'll hide in a corner and wait for the time limit; anyway, having a Cultivator Body means I don't have to worry about cultivation resources."

That was the thought.

Afterward, Yunhe memorized all the understandable and incomprehensible characters on the stone tablet in his heart.

Carefully, he crawled toward the island's center.

During this, he took out a 'Message Talisman' from his storage bag, left its content, then ignited the spiritual talisman and let it fly toward Huanhu Dao.

Finally, he seized the gap when no other beasts were paying attention, passing through a membrane that offered no perceptible resistance.

(End of Chapter)