Beast King's Mansion

"Sword, come."

Lu Chen released his Spiritual Energy to summon the Primal Chaos Greatsword and swung it, enveloped in Spiritual Energy.

The sword energy charged towards the mountain peak on the left like a swimming dragon, stirring up a sky full of dust.

As the breeze swirled the dust and it settled, the top of the mountain had vanished, leaving behind a platform as smooth as a mirror.

Lu Chen looked at the mountain peak that had been sliced into a platform. "The Breath Regulation Realm is more than a hundred times stronger than the Qi Gathering Realm. Just the ability to project Spiritual Energy outwardly is enough to prove that what the storytellers say is true. Once we cultivators begin our journey, we soar like dragons, move mountains, drain seas, and sever rivers with a flick of our sleeves."

Nantian Wan'er watched Lu Chen level the mountain with a single sword strike and said, "Brother Lu, you're amazing. My brother couldn't do this when he first entered the Breath Regulation Realm."

"I'm not that amazing. I'm only now realizing that stepping into the Breath Regulation Realm is truly entering the world of cultivation." Lu Chen chuckled and scratched his head, flattered by Nantian Wan'er's praise.

"Qi Gathering refines the body, Essence refines Qi. Breath Regulation cultivates Qi, Qi refines Spirit. If I want to continue progressing, I still have a long way to go."

"Huh? What's this?" Lu Chen noticed a change in the space.

"What's wrong, Brother Lu?"

Lu Chen replied, "Wan'er, wait here. I sense that a region in the small world has opened up. I'm going to check it out."

"Okay, Brother Lu. Be careful," Nantian Wan'er gently tidied Lu Chen's clothes and watched him leave.

With the Yin Sea Pearl's return, the Twin Fish Plate's world expanded dozens of times, now the size of a city. The third region had opened.

A forest and a lake appeared in the third region, forming a triangular formation with the previous plains, surrounding a massive palace ten feet high.

Through the thick, dense fog, Lu Chen could sense that only parts of the lake, plains, and forest were visible, with much larger portions hidden behind the mist.

Lu Chen approached the palace. The plaque on the palace clearly read: Beast King's Mansion.

"This... this is the Beast King's residence! No wonder the plains before felt so sorrowful. This is actually the residence of one of the Beast King's people."

Feng Long's voice transmitted from the Primal Chaos Greatsword, his tone filled with deep sadness.

"Feng Long, what's wrong?"

Lu Chen heard the sadness in Feng Long's voice. This place was marked specially, and he was puzzled why a mere residence would make Feng Long so melancholic.

"This is the residence of the Sixth Ancestor, the Beast King! I never thought I'd see it again. Surrounding the residence are the Wilderness Plains, the Forest of Despair, and the Ice Hill Deep Sea. This was where we demonic beasts lived for ages. I can't believe it's been placed here."

"Let's go, let's go! We need to go in quickly. The Beast King must have left us plenty of good things."

Feng Long urged Lu Chen to enter quickly.

The palace wasn't as magnificent as Lu Chen had imagined. There was only a deep, dark passage leading into the unknown. On either side of the passage were small rooms, from which came the roars of demonic beasts.

Upon entering the palace, Feng Long began pulling Lu Chen forward, as if something ahead was drawing him in.

"These are the rooms where the Beast King raised demonic beasts. Each room houses a different species, raised here from birth. Three thousand years have passed; at the very least, they should now have strength beyond the Qi Condensation Realm."

"Hurry and welcome our Lord!"

Feng Long released his aura and let out a great roar that reached the end of the passage.

Sensing Feng Long's oppressive aura, the demonic beasts' roars immediately quieted down.

"Little Lu, there are five floors here. The first floor is filled with ordinary demonic beasts, whose cultivation generally won't exceed the Core Condensation Realm, but this floor has the most beasts. The first five hundred rooms are for Gold Element demonic beasts. After that, every five hundred rooms will house demonic beasts of a different attribute."

Feng Long continued to lead Lu Chen forward, opening the door to each room they passed and explaining the purpose of the beasts within.

The demonic beasts inside the rooms bowed their heads towards the doorway, letting out low growls to show their submission to Lu Chen.

Lu Chen walked for a full half hour before reaching the end of the passage. Along the way, he had gained a basic understanding of ordinary demonic beasts.

At the end of the passage was a spiral staircase leading to the second floor.

The second floor was very quiet, with none of the roaring sounds Lu Chen had expected.

"Little Lu, this floor only has a hundred rooms. Most of the demonic beasts here are in the Core Condensation Realm or Chongtian Realm. These beasts have developed sentience and can speak, but they might not submit easily."

As Feng Long finished speaking, all one hundred doors opened simultaneously.

The heads of one hundred massive demonic beasts emerged from the doors, staring at Lu Chen. "Human, why have you come here?"

Before Lu Chen could speak, Feng Long's aura erupted.

"From this day forward, he is your new king. Will you not welcome your new king?"

Hearing Feng Long's words, a Fire Attribute snake-like demonic beast emerged from the first room. It was likely the strongest on this floor.

The snake-like demonic beast circled Lu Chen twice, its forked tongue flicking as it stared at the Primal Chaos Greatsword in Lu Chen's hand.

"Is that Lord Feng Long? Our king is only the Beast King. How dare a mere human in the Breath Regulation Realm claim to be our king?"

The snake-like demonic beast opened its massive maw towards Lu Chen, intending to swallow him.

Lu Chen remained unfazed by the bloody maw before him. Tendrils of the Azure Emperor Divine Tree emerged from his back, coiling around the snake-like demonic beast. Lu Chen then swung the Primal Chaos Greatsword, pressing it between the snake-like beast's eyes.

As the snake-like demonic beast struggled, a miniature Azure Emperor Divine Tree appeared above its head. A phoenix circled the treetop, exuding a bloodline suppression that subdued the beast.

"Azure Emperor bloodline? Phoenix Ancestor bloodline?" The snake-like demonic beast had been by the Sixth Ancestor's side for a long time and naturally recognized these two bloodlines.

"Then, can I be your king now?"

Lu Chen took a step forward, staring into the snake-like demonic beast's eyes. Although he didn't know why Nantian Wan'er's bloodline had appeared on him, he figured it must have been from the Celestial Pool fusion earlier, which had merged their talents. This was perfect for subduing the demonic beast before him.

"Y-Yes, you are our king."

"Don't you greet our king yet? Roar..." A demonic beast behind the snake-like one let out a roar.

"Greetings, our king!"

The demonic beasts on the second floor all bowed towards Lu Chen, letting out low growls. The strongest on this floor had already been defeated by the young man before them, so naturally, they couldn't defeat Lu Chen either.

Lu Chen retracted the Azure Emperor Divine Tree, and the snake-like demonic beast followed him, introducing the strengths of the demonic beasts on this floor.

"My king, you possess the Azure Emperor bloodline, so you must be a descendant of the Beast King. However, I don't understand why the Phoenix Ancestor's bloodline has appeared on you."

As soon as the snake-like demonic beast finished speaking, the Wind Dragon's aura erupted from the Primal Chaos Greatsword, pressing against the snake-like demonic beast.

"Is the king's secret something you can probe? Properly introduce the information about the demonic beasts to the king."

Snake-like demonic beast: "Yes, yes, I spoke out of turn."

Lu Chen: "It's alright, Wind Dragon. They follow the Sixth Ancestor, so we are naturally all family."

"I haven't figured out the bloodline issue myself, so let's just call it a mutation," Lu Chen said to the snake-like demonic beast.

"Thank you, my king." The snake-like demonic beast turned and shouted to the demonic beasts on the first floor, "Did you all hear? Our king not only possesses the Azure Emperor bloodline but also the Phoenix Ancestor bloodline. He is our king, just like the Beast King."

Hearing the snake-like demonic beast's words, the surrounding demonic beasts shouted again: "Welcome, our king."

"King, this floor currently has a total of one hundred demonic beasts. Seventy are in the Chongtian Realm, and thirty are in the Core Condensation Realm. To advance to the next floor, one only needs to reach the Territory Realm. Therefore, the distribution of demonic beasts on this floor is rather complex."

The snake-like demonic beast led Lu Chen forward. As they passed each demonic beast, an Azure Emperor Divine Tree symbol would appear above their heads, connecting Lu Chen to the demonic beasts.

Within the short span of a hundred rooms, Lu Chen reached the end in just ten minutes. He looked at the spiral staircase before him. The snake-like demonic beast did not accompany Lu Chen further.

"King, the path ahead is yours to walk. I have not yet reached the Territory Realm and am not qualified to go up."

The snake-like demonic beast thought for a moment and then continued, "King, I know you still need to go up, but the demonic beasts above can already transform. Without true strength, they will not bow to you."

"I understand. You can go back now." Lu Chen looked at the spiral staircase and let the snake-like demonic beast leave. He could already feel the aura from the next floor.

Lu Chen stared at the spiral staircase for another moment, then hoisted the Primal Chaos Greatsword. "Wind Dragon, let's go."

Lu Chen stepped onto the stairs and entered the third floor. The second floor became lively.

A powerfully built monkey approached the snake-like demonic beast. "Old Snake, does he really have the strength to be our king? His cultivation is only at the Breath Regulation Realm, far below ours. And compared to the Beast King, he's even further behind."

The snake-like demonic beast turned and stared at the monkey. "Put away your childish thoughts. If you can think of it, wouldn't Lord Wind Dragon have thought of it?"

"Lord Wind Dragon just had me test his cultivation. It was to teach me a lesson. Otherwise, with my cultivation, how could I have gotten close to Lord Wind Dragon? The new king's strength is far stronger than ordinary cultivators of the same realm, by a hundredfold."

"Really?" The monkey was somewhat disbelieving.

"Why would I lie to you? Go clean yourself up and improve your cultivation. Our three thousand years here are almost over. When the new king comes down from upstairs, perhaps he can take us out for a stroll."

The snake-like demonic beast seemed to miss the outside world and no longer paid attention to the monkey, returning directly to its room.

Hearing the snake-like demonic beast's words, the monkey instantly understood. Lu Chen's current cultivation was only at the Breath Regulation Realm. In the outside world, he would definitely need some muscle. At that time, they would be summoned by Lu Chen to fight, which would also be an opportunity to get some fresh air.

With this realization, the monkey immediately returned to its room to cultivate, hoping to be the first one to go out.

The more intelligent demonic beasts around also understood the situation and returned to their rooms to cultivate. Only some demonic beasts that had just gained sentience remained, following others and asking for explanations.