"Is there anyone here who understands human speech? Step forward and answer my questions."
Below, blood and filth covered the ground, and a throng of disheveled savages who ate raw flesh and drank blood knelt in the squalor. Above them hovered a thousand-foot Heavenly Wolf, translucent as ice crystal. Fang Qianyuan's black robes snapped in the wind as spiritual light surged around him and wind and snow howled.
The scene formed a stark contrast.
At his words, everyone below raised their heads to look, but the sight of the enormous White Wolf sent them trembling again. They knocked their heads against the ground like garlic being pounded, not daring to look up at all.
"No one?" Fang Qianyuan sounded slightly disappointed.
"Grand Elder Fang, these people seem accustomed to seeing powerful cultivators," Lin Zaixing suddenly said.
"What makes you say that?" Fang Qianyuan asked, puzzled.
"Though frightened, they haven't lost their composure. As soon as the heavens changed, they knelt in unison. Clearly, this isn't aimless prayer, but a ceremonial welcome." Lin Zaixing explained at some length, seemingly intent on showing off.
"Which raises the question: why would even these savages in the wilderness know enough to kneel in such orderly submission? There is only one explanation. They live near cities inhabited by powerful cultivators and are so accustomed to seeing them make their rounds that it has long become a habit."
Finally, he concluded, "Thus, I venture to guess that somewhere within ten thousand li, there must be a Yaksha powerhouse of at least king level presiding over the region. There might even be an Emperor Venerable among them!"
Fang Qianyuan glanced at him. "In that case, how do we get the information out of them?"
Lin Zaixing looked down at the ground. "I know a little of the