Elemental Beings had actually always existed on Tianlan Continent, living alongside humans day and night. Their traces could be found almost everywhere.
The reason there had never been any news related to Elemental Beings was simple—they had put on disguises.
Mountain Gods, River Gods, Wood Gods, Stove Gods, Land Gods...
Elemental Beings played an indispensable role in ordinary people's lives, usually accepting offerings and reverence under the identity of deities.
As for why no cultivators had uncovered the truth...
Perhaps they simply could not beat them, nor could they catch them.
Elemental Beings capable of crossing the barriers between realms and bearing the title of god were at least Lord-level existences.
According to Anviya's explanation, every Lord-level Elemental Being was no weaker than a Venerable.
Not to mention the many traits inherent to Elemental Life.
There might indeed have been sects and factions whose eyes had been blinded by greed, hoping to capture a "god" for study. In the end, they had most likely been hammered into pulp by an enraged Elemental Lord.
That was probably what had happened when the Mountain Gods and River Gods of legends grew angry.
To soothe a god's wrath, people could only offer sacrifices and cast them into cliffs or rivers.
And so, a complete industrial chain was born.
Humans offered tributes.
Elemental Beings acted as gods to collect the tributes and bring them to the Eternal Kingdom.
The dragons collected the tributes and sold them.
Suppliers, middlemen, agents, customers.
The division of labor was clear, and the tributes offered by people were put to thorough use.
In any case, those Elemental Beings had no use for them. They were much like sea demons—their sense of taste might as well have been nonexistent, and they judged food solely by its chewiness.
Even if they