Subduing Zhang Peng, Locking Onto the Golden Tortoiseshell in the Core Area

The newcomer made no effort to conceal the unsettlingly sinister aura around him. Youming and Ming Lei sensed it at once.

Their delighted expressions vanished as they looked into the sky with grave faces.

Yan Jingchuan felt it as well, and goosebumps instantly rose across his body.

The three stopped in their tracks as a figure shrouded in black mist descended before them.

"Zhang Peng, the Holy Church's Sixth Consecrator, greets the Holy Son."

As the dense black mist faded, a middle-aged man appeared before Yan Jingchuan.

His features were resolute, but his eyes carried an indescribable coldness.

There was no need to doubt his identity after hearing his introduction. He was the Scorpion Tiger Douluo.

"Sixth Consecrator, you truly act with lightning speed. I never expected you to arrive so quickly. You came all the way from Heavenly Soul in just an hour; we are truly ashamed of our inferiority."

Before Yan Jingchuan could say anything, Nether Lightning Douluo hurriedly stepped forward to flatter him.

Zhang Peng cast Ming Lei a cold glance. Nether Lightning Douluo swallowed and forced out a smile before immediately falling silent and taking two steps back.

Nether Douluo remained silent, his gaze toward Ming Lei carrying a trace of disdain.

The man was speaking with the Holy Son, and the Holy Son had not even opened his mouth yet. Why were you interrupting? Even flattery required choosing the right occasion. You had no sense at all.

With a faint smile and no sign of anything unusual, Yan Jingchuan deliberately asked Zhang Peng something he already knew.

"Does Sixth Consecrator have some urgent matter? If not, I do have something I would like to ask Sixth Consecrator to help me with."

Zhang Peng frowned slightly. Why did he feel as though Yan Jingchuan had been waiting for him to arrive?

It felt like walking right into a trap...

"Holy Son, I have come under the orders of the Grand Consecrator to take you to meet him. If the Holy Son's matter is not urgent, it can be set aside for now. It will not be too late to handle it after you have met the Grand Consecrator."

There was not much respect for Yan Jingchuan in Zhang Peng's words. He was merely maintaining superficial politeness.

More precisely, this was more or less the attitude of the Holy Spirit Cult's consecrators after hearing about Yan Jingchuan, the Holy Son. They could even disregard Zhongli Wu's orders, so why should they listen to some Holy Son he had appointed?

"No, my matter is very important. Sixth Consecrator should help me first, and then I will go with you to see my great-grandfather."

A false smile appeared on Yan Jingchuan's face as he deliberately slowed his speech, as though afraid Zhang Peng would not hear him clearly.

By the time Zhang Peng heard the first half of the sentence, his expression had already darkened noticeably. Leaving aside the fact that he had not intended to emerge before Mu En's death, Yan Jingchuan's refusal to show him proper respect and refusal to meet the Grand Consecrator alone were enough to infuriate him.

Youming and Ming Lei both kept their eyes on their noses and their noses on their hearts. They had already decided to leave Yan Jingchuan alone and retreat to protect themselves.

Expecting them to challenge a consecrator for the sake of an unfamiliar Holy Son was nothing but wishful thinking. If they left now, they could even get several Class 9 soul tools for free. What a massive profit.

As for Zhongli Wu, if he asked later, they could simply truthfully shift the blame onto Zhang Peng.

Yet all those thoughts and attitudes existed only before the words "great-grandfather" were spoken. When the three Titled Douluo heard that term, their hearts surged with towering waves.

He called the Grand Consecrator his great-grandfather!?

Zhang Peng's furious expression froze on his face, and he went completely still.

Youming and Ming Lei immediately abandoned any thought of standing by and watching.

Nether Douluo reacted the fastest. Martial soul possessed and soul rings appearing, he pointed at Zhang Peng and loudly demanded,

"Sixth Consecrator! What kind of attitude is that? How dare you speak to the Holy Son like that! Do you have the Cult Leader in your eyes? Do you still have the Grand Consecrator in your eyes?!"

Filled with righteous indignation, Youming looked exactly like a loyal minister defending his lord. There was not the slightest trace of his earlier intention to stand aside.

Ming Lei, who was a little slower to react, cursed Youming for being shameless in his heart. Then he raised the Purple Radiant Heavenly Dragon Sword and pointed it at Zhang Peng.

"That's right, Sixth Consecrator. You had better give the Holy Son a reasonable explanation!"

Zhang Peng was completely dumbfounded, his mind having crashed entirely.

Yan Jingchuan's words, "great-grandfather," echoed endlessly in his head...

How could the Grand Consecrator possibly be this boy's great-grandfather? The Grand Consecrator was a Rank 99 Limit Douluo, and his martial soul was the Dark Sacred Dragon...

Then Zhang Peng suddenly understood. He recalled hearing that Yan Jingchuan's martial soul also seemed to be the Dark Sacred Dragon, while his other martial soul was some sort of demonic puppet martial soul.

Twin martial souls of the Dark Sacred Dragon and a demonic puppet type... It really was possible that he was the Grand Consecrator's descendant, perhaps even the descendant of the Grand Consecrator and the Supreme Cult Leader...

When he carefully recalled the complicated expression Long Xiaoyao had worn when ordering him to bring Yan Jingchuan back, cold sweat began pouring down Zhang Peng's back.

He realized something. Yan Jingchuan was either an illegitimate son or truly the Grand Consecrator's great-grandson!

Looking at the smiling yet silent Yan Jingchuan, Zhang Peng remembered his attitude just moments ago and immediately felt as though his life was about to end.

Whether his legs had gone weak or he had simply yielded from the heart, Zhang Peng dropped to one knee with a thud.

"Holy Son, this subordinate offended you just now... No, I mean, you! Please punish this subordinate, Holy Son!"

"Hmph! Now you know..."

Nether Douluo wanted to add more fuel to the fire and take the chance to kick Zhang Peng while he was down.

Yan Jingchuan suddenly raised a hand, signaling for him to stop there.

"Sixth Consecrator, you overstate it. What offense could there be? You were merely carrying out orders."

As he spoke, Yan Jingchuan helped Zhang Peng up and gave him a way out.

"The Holy Son is magnanimous. Zhang Peng admires you!"

Zhang Peng no longer dared to put on the airs of a consecrator and became exceptionally humble and polite.

"Then regarding my request, can Sixth Consecrator..."

"This subordinate is willing to brave fire and water for the Holy Son without hesitation!"

Zhang Peng's instant response undoubtedly revealed his stance, and Yan Jingchuan was greatly pleased.

Youming and Ming Lei secretly looked down on Zhang Peng, having completely forgotten their own swift change in attitude.

With the support of Zhang Peng, a Rank 96 Hyper Douluo, Yan Jingchuan's confidence in his plan to obtain the Life Gold greatly increased.

With one Rank 96 Hyper Douluo and two Titled Douluo fully equipped with Class 9 soul tools, as long as they did not risk their lives against ferocious beasts, no one could stop them from retreating unless Di Tian came personally.

Yan Jingchuan and the other three immediately set off for the core area.

After traveling for an entire afternoon, they arrived near the core area shortly before nightfall, but they did not dare advance any farther.

The vastness and danger of the Star Dou Great Forest had somewhat exceeded Yan Jingchuan's expectations. During the flight alone, he had personally seen three hundred-thousand-year soul beasts.

The soul beasts around the core area all began at thirty thousand years.

There were truly quite a few soul beasts here, vastly different from the increasingly scarce, near-extinct state of soul beasts he had imagined.

Moreover, after observing along the way, Yan Jingchuan concluded that nearly all high-year soul beasts possessing powerful bloodlines had gathered near the core area.

Though he was puzzled by the reason behind this situation, Yan Jingchuan did not forget the main purpose of this trip.

After searching tirelessly through the night, their efforts were finally rewarded, and they identified the gathering place of the Golden Tortoiseshell clan.

It was a secluded little lake. More than a dozen golden turtles were scattered around it, their bodies radiating brilliant golden light. One could tell at a glance that they were no ordinary creatures.

Golden Tortoiseshells possessed triangular heads and whisker-like lower jaws. Combined with their heavy, radiant golden shells, they looked every bit like emperors among turtles.

The four concealed their auras and hid atop distant treetops, gazing toward the lake.

Yan Jingchuan examined the turtles one by one before finally locking onto a Golden Tortoiseshell with half its body submerged in the water.

It was not especially large, appearing to be around thirty thousand years old. Unlike its companions, which lay motionless in rest, this soul beast was weak and listless, radiating exhaustion.

If one looked closer, one would find dense pale-green patterns on its shell.

Yan Jingchuan knew that these were signs of backlash from the Life Gold. Its original hundred-thousand-year cultivation had been reduced by the backlash, making it appear to be only thirty thousand years old, while even its body had shrunk.

Having identified the target, Yan Jingchuan turned his attention to the soul beasts responsible for protecting the Golden Tortoiseshell clan.

The good news was that there were no hundred-thousand-year soul beasts. The bad news was that there were an exceptionally large number of ten-thousand-year soul beasts.