Besides Ye Hua and the old guardian, Gui Ying and his son Gui Wu were also there.
After Gui Wu had been frightened into teleporting out by the Star Brilliance Unicorn, unease had filled his heart. Especially after hearing his father speak of the wager with Ye Hua, that unease had grown even stronger. He hurriedly recounted everything he had seen and heard about Long Haochen.
Gui Ying was also greatly shocked. If Long Haochen obtained a mount like the Star Brilliance Unicorn, his son would be no match for him whatsoever. Thus, father and son simply stayed behind, cultivating outside Holy Mountain as they waited for Long Haochen to emerge and see what mount he had obtained.
They waited for more than twenty days. With time nearly up and Long Haochen still nowhere in sight, Gui Ying's face had been piled with smiles these past few days, and he would occasionally go poke at the anxious, fire-hearted Ye Hua with a few remarks.
Now, seeing that Long Haochen had truly returned empty-handed, Gui Ying felt greatly relieved. He laughed heartily and said to Ye Hua, "Brother Ye Hua, don't forget our wager. At the Demon Hunter Group Selection Competition, we'll be waiting for you. Wu'er, let's go." As he spoke, he deliberately had Gui Wu summon the Crimson Armored Earth Dragon, then sped away with the disdainful and arrogant Gui Wu.
A trace of anger appeared on Long Haochen's gentle, jade-like face. He coldly watched Gui Ying and his son leave, engraving this humiliation deep within his heart.
"Did you gain nothing at all?" Ye Hua asked bitterly. He had never imagined that his disciple would follow in his footsteps—and fare even worse than he had.
Long Haochen lowered his head. "I'm sorry, Teacher. I've disappointed you."
The old guardian asked in confusion, "With talent as good as yours, how could you have gained nothing? Could all those Magic Beasts be blind? How strange."
Long Haochen smiled wryly. "I don't know why either. I crossed the entire Holy Mountain and encountered many Magic Beasts, but not a single one was willing to draw close to me."
The old man sighed. "You needn't take it too much to heart. Those warriors without powerful mounts can still become mighty experts of their generation. Mounts are indeed very important to us knights, but they do not represent everything. What will you choose now? Either hunt Magic Beasts yourself in the future, or try your luck here with me. But you must understand: if we use the teleportation formation to summon a mount, you must first form a contract during the summoning process. Only Magic Beasts that have formed a contract with you can be teleported over. Although we knights can change mounts, if you wish to violate an Equal Contract, your mount companion must die. Your teacher and I can both act on your behalf in that regard, but once you do so, it will inevitably leave a shadow in your heart, which will be greatly detrimental to your future cultivation."
Without the slightest hesitation, Long Haochen said, "Senior, I am willing to try my luck here with you."
The old man nodded. "Very well. But don't hold too much hope. The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment." As he spoke, he seemed to recall something from the past, and a trace of melancholy appeared in his one eye.
A golden command token appeared in the old man's hand. With a sweep of his wide sleeve, a layer of golden light enveloped all three of them. Above the light screen, six strange symbols appeared one after another, and the surrounding space instantly twisted.
Long Haochen vaguely understood that the old man was using the formation's power, then employing a special method to teleport freely within Knight Holy Mountain. It seemed that their ability to discover intruders was also inextricably linked to this formation.
Golden light blazed. The intense glare made Long Haochen close his eyes. To his surprise, during the teleportation process, the funnel-shaped vortex in his chest suddenly spun violently, at least ten times faster than usual.
However, the process lasted only around ten seconds. The vortex's speed abruptly slowed and returned to normal. Long Haochen opened his eyes, and the scenery around him had already changed.
They were actually inside a cave. Pale golden gemstones were embedded in the walls, their faint golden radiance illuminating everything within.
The Light Element inside the cave was not dense, far inferior to that within Knight Holy Mountain. At most, it was only slightly stronger than the outside world.
This cave was enormous. Looking up, the ceiling stood at least twenty zhang above the ground. The entire cavern was an irregular circle, with a diameter of no less than a hundred zhang as far as the eye could see. It was practically like a giant plaza.
Yet it was completely empty, without a single person present.
Long Haochen lowered his head to look at the ground and discovered in surprise that it was covered in trapezoidal grids. These grids were tightly connected, forming enormous rings that converged toward the center of the underground plaza. Within every grid was a symbol he did not recognize at all. At this moment, however, those symbols were dim and without light.
"Don't bother looking. Not only can you not understand it, even old fellows like us cannot understand it either. This is Ancient Elven Script, the writing of an ancient race that has already gone extinct. No one knows how the ancestors of our Knight Temple discovered its mysteries, but many parts of this enormous formation on Knight Holy Mountain were completed with the miraculous power of Ancient Elven Incantations. This is one of the teleportation formations. Through this place, one can instantly connect to other parallel spaces. Each operation of the formation consumes an enormous amount of energy, so you only have a quarter of an hour. If you cannot find an aura close to you and complete a contract within that quarter-hour, then this time, I'm afraid you truly will return empty-handed."
There was some regret in the old man's voice. Talent like Long Haochen's was something he had never seen in his life. It would truly be a pity if such an outstanding young man could not possess a powerful mount.
"Thank you, Senior." Long Haochen respectfully bowed to the old man.
The old man nodded. "Go sit at the center of the teleportation array. Once I activate it, you will naturally feel something."
"Yes."
Following the old man's instructions, Long Haochen strode to the center of the underground plaza. There was a circle roughly three zhang in diameter there, with the largest symbol at its center.
This symbol somewhat resembled the character for "thus," except it was twisted in shape. For some reason, when Long Haochen saw this enormous character, the Holy Guiding Spirit Furnace in his chest gave a slight pulse.
Crossing his legs, Long Haochen cast aside all distracting thoughts. This was his final chance.
Ye Hua was no less nervous than Long Haochen. Veins bulged on his tightly clenched fists, yet he did not even notice his nails piercing his palms.
The old man slowly raised the golden command token in his hand. Ye Hua clearly saw that in an instant, the old man's right hand holding the token turned into a translucent, brilliant gold, as though his palm had become a gemstone.
Radiant Body—the mark of a Seventh Tier Holy Knight. It transformed one's body into part of the Light Element. Holy Temple Knights of immense cultivation could even transform their entire bodies into Radiant Bodies. In this state, the sacred Light Attribute spiritual energy they released could instantly double. Though it could only be sustained for a very short time, both their attack and defense would double. What kind of concept was that?
Before you continue