"Why did Yan disappear out of nowhere?" Jiang Mian looked astonished. "To silently take Yan away right before Bear Lord and Scarlet King, how powerful would that have to be?"
"Not necessarily that powerful. It might be a soul beast exceptionally skilled at hiding." Scarlet King said, "If she were truly powerful, she would not need to hide from Bear Lord and me."
Before Scarlet King had even finished speaking, Xie Yue suddenly vanished from where he stood without a sound, his whereabouts unknown.
"Another one disappeared." Jiang Mian's lips twitched as he quietly moved closer to Bear Lord.
"I think I know who it is." Bear Lord and Scarlet King exchanged smiles. The two soul beasts already had an answer in mind.
"Who?" Jiang Mian asked in surprise. "An old acquaintance of yours?"
"More or less." Bear Lord laughed. "She is still quite playful. Yan and Xie Yue might be having tea somewhere right now."
"Who exactly is she?" Jiang Mian asked curiously.
"She is not among the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts, but her strength surpasses both of ours." Scarlet King said slowly. "And she is best at concealing her aura. If she does not wish to be found, even Di Tian would struggle to locate her."
"She is that strong?" Jiang Mian widened his eyes. The Star Dou Great Forest truly hid countless formidable beings. She was clearly an ultimate assassin!
"The reason she was not ranked among the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts is that she rarely shows herself, and everyone who has seen her true form is dead." Scarlet King said bitterly. "If we truly fought, I would not be her match. Even Bear Lord would have to fear her somewhat."
"If you want to put yourself down, go ahead, but why drag me into it?" Bear Lord looked at Scarlet King speechlessly. "Do not think I do not know about the relationship between you two."
"Shh, do not say it." Scarlet King rushed in front of Bear Lord and tightly covered his mouth. "This cannot get out. She will kill me."
"There is gossip?" Jiang Mian's eyes lit up, but he immediately felt a sinister chill around his neck.
The next second, Jiang Mian seemed to be standing within endless darkness. It was incomparably pure. Even with one's eyes closed, one could vaguely perceive light, but this darkness was like dark matter, swallowing every trace of radiance.
White light suddenly flashed across Jiang Mian's forehead, only to be swiftly devoured by the endless darkness. It was as though the world itself loathed darkness. It was terrifying beyond measure.
"Oh?"
An exclamation came from every direction. The voice seemed to be everywhere, both far beyond the horizon and right before his eyes.
"You are connected to Snow Empress?" The mysterious voice clicked her tongue in amazement. "You are also carrying Di Tian's scale. Who exactly are you, little one?"
"May I ask who you are, Senior?" Jiang Mian asked in return.
"Why do you care who I am!"
Jiang Mian only felt something draw close to him in the darkness. He could see nothing and could only rely on his senses. It seemed dreamlike, impossible to see or touch, yet undeniably present.
"Then there is no need for you to know who I am either, Senior." Jiang Mian chuckled. "However, Scarlet King and Bear Lord are my bodyguards, while Di Tian and Snow Empress are my friends."
"Kid, are you not afraid of biting your tongue with such boasting?" The shadow laughed loudly. Her voice was crisp and clear, and Jiang Mian imagined that she was probably the mature, commanding type of woman.
"Why would I need to boast?" Jiang Mian spread his hands, completely calm. "If I had no connection to them, where would all these tokens on me have come from?"
"Interesting." The mysterious voice said, "I have never seen Snow Empress and Di Tian value a human at the same time."
"Perhaps I am not an ordinary human." Jiang Mian laughed. "How should I address you, Senior?"
"Is Scarlet King not traveling with you?" The mysterious voice sounded slightly playful, with a hint of jealousy. "Go ask him. Ask him why he does not dare meet me!"
"Ah, well..." Jiang Mian scratched his head. He truly could not tell where the mysterious voice was coming from, so he could only clasp his fists in a random direction. "Senior, do you know where my two friends are?"
"Of course I know. I threw them somewhere in Divine Eagle Canyon. Go find them yourselves." The mysterious voice giggled mischievously. "If you find them, that is your skill. If not, they can only become food for soul beasts."
"Senior..."
Before Jiang Mian could finish, he was kicked out of that pitch-black hell. He blinked and looked at the clouds glowing before dawn in the eastern sky, then solemnly said, "That Senior threw Xie Yue and Yan somewhere in Divine Eagle Canyon. She told us to find them ourselves. If we cannot, they will be eaten."
"What is that woman trying to do?" Scarlet King's expression turned livid. He said indignantly, "Does she really expect me to go find her?"
"Go ahead. No one is stopping you." Bear Lord mercilessly exposed him. "Maybe you can even bring our two disciples back."
"But on second thought, this is also excellent training for Xie Yue and Yan." Scarlet King rubbed his nose and laughed. "Let us leave them there a little longer."
"Can that dog nose of yours find them?" Bear Lord asked.
"Let us try." Scarlet King suddenly revealed his true form. He lay prone on the ground and carefully sniffed the surrounding scents.
Hu Liena and Zhu Zhuqing were full of worry. They did not know Yan and Xie Yue's condition. Jiang Mian had only been allowed out because that Senior was giving Di Tian and Snow Empress some face. Otherwise, Jiang Mian would likely have been tossed somewhere in Divine Eagle Canyon to fend for himself as well.
"Did you catch their scent?" Bear Lord pressed.
"Follow me." Scarlet King raised his heads high, wearing an extremely confident expression. He took off on all fours with astonishing speed.
Jiang Mian took Hu Liena and Zhu Zhuqing's hands, shielding them behind him, while Bear Lord brought up the rear. The group followed Scarlet King in a grand procession deeper into Divine Eagle Canyon.
"This does not seem right." Jiang Mian looked at the dead trees around them. His sixth sense told him that something was definitely suspicious.
"What is wrong?" Scarlet King's far-right head turned around and said, "You should trust my nose. After all, I know her scent best."
"Is it possible that all of Divine Eagle Canyon is filled with her scent?" Jiang Mian raised a brow and questioned him. "Should you not be looking for Yan and Xie Yue's scents instead?"
"Relax, I know what I am doing." Scarlet King looked utterly confident, but that expression made Jiang Mian feel that he was not sincerely looking for Yan and Xie Yue at all.
Jiang Mian said nothing more. He kept Zhu Zhuqing and Hu Liena close behind him as he followed Scarlet King step by step into this desolate wasteland where not even birds would bother to shit.
The surrounding dead trunks were twisted and grotesque, like ghostly faces deliberately carved into them. The stones on the ground were far blacker than ordinary rocks, with a texture somewhat like volcanic stone, yet there were no volcanoes anywhere near Divine Eagle Canyon.
"This place is almost identical to Scarlet King's den. Even the stones by the roadside are so alike." Jiang Mian smelled gossip in the air. He quietly moved closer to Bear Lord and asked, "What does Scarlet King have going on that we do not know about?"
"That is a story from a very, very long time ago." Bear Lord looked up at the sky, a long-lost and nostalgic expression appearing on his face. "When Scarlet King was still just a little pup, she stayed by his side and cared for him without ever leaving."
"So that is how it was. It seems like an older woman-younger man relationship." Jiang Mian grew interested and pressed, "Then why does Scarlet King refuse to talk about it?"
"Something happened between the two of them later, but it should not have been a major issue." Bear Lord scratched his head as he recalled, "Then she left the Star Dou Great Forest and wandered the world. It seems that Scarlet King, that idiot, was too dense and broke her heart."
"I thought Scarlet King was pretty good at sweet-talking people?" Jiang Mian asked in surprise.
"Everyone improves." Bear Lord laughed. "After all, their last meeting was probably ninety thousand years ago. I do not remember clearly, but after that meeting, Scarlet King became obsessed with learning how to coax girls."
Jiang Mian laughed without mercy. Scarlet King's three heads all turned around at once, glaring resentfully at Bear Lord as if to say, You are even telling others about that? Do I not have any pride?
Hu Liena and Zhu Zhuqing stifled laughs. The group suddenly felt that leaving Xie Yue and Yan to struggle for survival a little longer would not be much of a problem.
After all, neither of their masters was worried. Even if they worried, it would be useless and would only make more trouble for them.
"Come out. I am already here." Scarlet King led everyone before a gloomy castle. He howled three times and said, "Do you still not wish to see me?"
"How did you find this place?"
The mysterious voice rang out again.
"How could I ever forget your scent?" Scarlet King lay on the ground like an obedient dog.
The castle gates opened, and a gray wolf slowly emerged. Her entire body was black except for a streak of white fur on her forehead. She moved with noble elegance, her eyes looking down upon the world, her bearing like that of an Empress.
She gracefully walked to Scarlet King's side, extended her tongue, and gently licked the fur on his neck. Smiling, she said, "Your scent has not changed either."
"This is the scent we shared together." Scarlet King stood and lightly placed a claw against her neck. "How could I bear to change it?"
"Interesting." The gray wolf lifted Scarlet King's chin like a queen examining her male favorite. "When did you become so slick with your tongue?"
"Meeting you makes me unable to help myself." Scarlet King had already forgotten everything else. He quietly groomed the wolf queen's fur and said affectionately, "It has been such a long, long time since we last met."
"If you would not come find me, were you expecting me to go to the Star Dou Great Forest to find you?" The wolf queen giggled. "Does Nether Empress need to humble herself that much?"
"I have always been looking for you, but I never had any news of you." Scarlet King lowered the corners of his eyes, looking aggrieved. "I never expected you to return to the canyon between the human world."
"I have not been here long, less than a thousand years." Nether Empress said casually. "I also lived in the Extreme North for a time. Why did I not see you come looking for me there?"
"The Extreme North is Snow Empress's territory. How would I dare enter without permission?" Scarlet King said cautiously.
"What a joke." Nether Empress patted Scarlet King's shoulder and grinned. "With me there, would Snow Empress really kill you? That would be far too disrespectful to me."
"Hehe." Scarlet King laughed awkwardly. Nether Empress looked toward Bear Lord and smiled. "Old Bear, you are in the mood to wander around with this fellow too?"
Bear Lord laughed heartily. "I became the bodyguard for these little ones."
"The mighty Bear Lord is escorting humans?" Nether Empress became increasingly interested in Jiang Mian. She truly could not understand it. Bear Lord's temper was famously terrible, second only to the Evil Eye Tyrant Overlord among the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts, yet he was now lowering himself to stay by this child's side. Why?
Bear Lord spread his hands. "It is Di Tian's mission. I have no choice."
"Stop lying to me." Nether Empress laughed angrily. "How many times have you ever listened to Di Tian's orders? And now you are trying to fool me?"
"Hahaha, actually, this kid has shown me great kindness. Even if Di Tian had not arranged for me to protect him, I would still protect this child with everything I had." Bear Lord rubbed Jiang Mian's head and smiled. "He is the hope of soul beasts."
"Oh?" Nether Empress raised her brows. "Could he be the Dragon God's reincarnation?"
"No." Bear Lord shook his head. "Little Nether, take a closer look. How much have Scarlet King's and my cultivation and strength improved?"
"Scarlet King has already reached four hundred and ten thousand years?" Nether Empress swallowed, then looked at Bear Lord and discovered that he too had crossed the five-hundred-thousand-year threshold. She immediately guessed most of the truth. It seemed this boy's martial soul could increase soul beasts' strength and allow them to cultivate faster.
"Little Nether, if you do not work harder, Scarlet King will truly surpass you." Bear Lord teased.
"So what if he surpasses me? He is my man. If he is stronger than me, why would I be unhappy?" Nether Empress slowly walked to Jiang Mian's side and smiled. "Kid, I think I understand why Di Tian and Snow Empress hold such high hopes for you."
"Nether Empress, where are those two youths? Hurry and release them." Scarlet King said. "One is my disciple, and the other is Bear Lord's disciple. Both are geniuses of their generation."
"You two have taken disciples too?" Nether Empress stared at Bear Lord and Scarlet King in disbelief and sighed. "Even the two people who love keeping their secrets to themselves most have opened up?"
"It is mainly because those two disciples are so talented that Bear Lord and I did not want such gems to be buried in dust." Scarlet King said solemnly.
"Interesting." Nether Empress laughed. A sinister wind swept in and enveloped her. Before long, a beautiful mature woman dressed in pure black leather emerged.
Her aura was exceptionally complex. She had both the cold aloofness of a mature woman and the cheerful vitality of a lively girl, like a young schoolgirl playing soccer, pleasing to the eye.
Scarlet King likewise returned to human form. He took Nether Empress's hand and asked softly, "What do you think of him?"
"A very good young man." Nether Empress gave her assessment. She quietly leaned against Scarlet King and smiled. "If I am not mistaken, this little one must be highly sought after, right?"
"That sounds strange." Jiang Mian scratched his cheek. He did not dare interrupt. With no prior understanding and only a few scattered clues, Nether Empress had deduced Jiang Mian's ability. Her strength was truly frightening.
Hu Liena and Zhu Zhuqing huddled together behind Jiang Mian. Nether Empress's true form was a Fenrir Direwolf, and her control over darkness far exceeded Scarlet King's control over flames.
But just as Scarlet King had said, Nether Empress rarely made a move, so no one had ever seen how powerful she truly was. No one knew her exact cultivation age either. That was why Nether Empress's name was absent from the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts.
As everyone chatted and laughed, Nether Empress suddenly said mysteriously, "Come with me. I will show you something amazing."
If you cannot find it by searching the book title, try searching for the author instead. It may have simply been renamed!
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