Inside the Knight Sacred Mountain, Huo Yuhao looked at his surroundings and took a deep breath.
"The light-attribute spiritual energy here is so dense. If I cultivated here, my speed would be suppressed quite a bit. This really is a paradise for cultivators of sacred light-attribute vocations."
Feeling his internal spiritual power being suppressed, Huo Yuhao spoke somewhat helplessly.
At that moment, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm also began comforting Huo Yuhao within his spiritual sea:
"Yuhao, let's go. Just treat this trip as a chance to relax. It's good to broaden your horizons too."
With their spiritual power, the two of them could easily sense the auras of the magical beasts within the Knight Sacred Mountain's array.
It was precisely because he had found no magical beast suitable for Huo Yuhao that the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm said this.
But since they were already here, getting to know some other magical beasts would be good too.
Thus, Huo Yuhao wandered leisurely through the Knight Sacred Mountain, treating it as a casual stroll.
By the time he had explored the entire Knight Sacred Mountain, half a month had passed.
He had seen quite a few powerful mounts here, but the King of Starlight Unicorns was the most eye-catching of them all.
This magical beast at the peak of level eight possessed strength equivalent to a human at the peak of the seventh tier.
But Huo Yuhao had only glanced at the King of Starlight Unicorns from afar and had not approached to speak with him.
The King of Starlight Unicorns had the sacred light attribute and could not work with him, so there was no need to talk.
As for the other level-nine magical beasts, and even the level-ten ones, Huo Yuhao had not approached them either.
Magical beasts of that level were not meant for ordinary knights.
These magical beasts of level nine and above were all mounts of the seniors hidden within the Knight Sacred Mountain. Huo Yuhao's spiritual power could see through that.
Normally, no knight would dare contract a level-nine magical beast outright, so they felt safe leaving them in the Knight Sacred Mountain.
After seeing the entire Knight Sacred Mountain, Huo Yuhao stood atop its highest peak, took out his token, and casually crushed it, leaving the Knight Sacred Mountain.
With a flash of light, Huo Yuhao appeared outside the Knight Sacred Mountain's array, and the old man appeared immediately afterward.
He was not surprised that Huo Yuhao had failed to find a suitable magical beast.
"Alas, little fellow, it really is too difficult for an ice-attribute knight to find a suitable mount!"
The old man shook his head and continued:
"Follow me. We've already prepared the ancient teleportation array!"
"We?"
Huo Yuhao was slightly taken aback. As he followed the old man, he asked:
"Senior, weren't you going to oversee the ancient teleportation array alone?"
"If you were an ordinary fourth-tier knight, I certainly wouldn't have a problem overseeing it alone."
The old man smiled, then looked at Huo Yuhao and said, "But you're different. You're a fifth-tier Earth Knight, and your spiritual power is so strong."
"For a genius like you, we old fellows will naturally do everything we can to find you a suitable mount. Otherwise, without a magical beast partner, the difference in strength would be too great."
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao was somewhat moved. "Many thanks, seniors. I..."
"No need for pleasantries. I hope you can bring out all your strength and find a magical beast that doesn't exist in our world," the old man continued.
The two then climbed the mountain one behind the other. The old man moved faster and faster until he vanished into the thick fog, but Huo Yuhao's spiritual power remained firmly locked on him, never losing track.
Half an incense stick later, the two arrived one after the other at a cave.
The old man's expression was unchanged, and his breathing had not wavered in the slightest, but Huo Yuhao was panting heavily.
Running at such intensity had consumed quite a bit of his stamina.
Only after recovering briefly did he raise his head and take a careful look around.
The cave was enormous, and its walls were densely engraved with ancient elven script, which even restricted his spiritual power.
In the hall was a huge array, and besides the old man from earlier, four other old men were actually waiting for him.
Like the first old man, these four all had serious injuries. Some were missing arms or legs, one was missing part of his head, and another had a huge scar across his chest, among other injuries.
But one thing they had in common was that they were all very powerful, with cultivation levels mostly at the eighth tier or above.
Considering their injuries and ages, Huo Yuhao knew very well that these old men must have been at the ninth tier in their youth, only for their cultivation to regress because of serious injuries. That was perfectly normal.
He hurriedly gave the old men a formal knight's salute and thanked them:
"Sorry for the trouble of waiting here, seniors. I am deeply ashamed."
When he finished speaking, the old men all smiled with satisfaction.
"Hahaha, the lad certainly has manners. Why stand on such ceremony? We old fellows would all be delighted to see another talented member join the temple and bring glory to our Knight Temple."
"Indeed. A fifth-tier knight not yet ten years old-our other old friends would all be fighting for the chance to come for a genius like that."
"When that boy Long Xingyu came to the Knight Sacred Mountain, the difference between him and you was like that between the clouds and the mud."
"Perhaps this time it's us old fellows who will get to broaden our horizons?"
"..."
As they talked, the atmosphere in the cave grew increasingly relaxed. Huo Yuhao continued gratefully:
"You flatter me, seniors. How could I compare with Lord Xingyu?"
"That little fellow Long Xingyu is narrow-minded. Just don't learn from him."
"Indeed. If you want someone to learn from, learn from your grandfather Yang Haoyu. He's the real example to follow."
"..."
"All right, enough chatting. Yuhao, go to the center of the array and restore your spiritual power and internal spiritual power first. We old fellows will adjust our condition as well. Once you've recovered, we'll activate the ancient teleportation array."
"Yes, senior!"
Huo Yuhao answered, then went to the center of the array and closed his eyes to rest. Before long, he had entered meditation.
The sight made the other old men present nod slightly.
To enter a meditative state so quickly in such an environment, both his mentality and his talent had to be of the highest order.
Two hours later, Huo Yuhao slowly awakened.
Although the Knight Sacred Mountain suppressed him, so much time had still been enough for him to recover.
"Seniors, I am ready!"
Huo Yuhao stood up and respectfully saluted all five old men.
At that moment, the one-armed old man among them spoke up with a warning:
"Yuhao, let me remind you one last time. Although you're at the fifth tier and your spiritual power is extremely strong, you still can't stay inside for longer than it takes an incense stick to burn. Otherwise, you'll become lost in there and be unable to return to our Holy Demon Continent."
The longer the ancient teleportation array was maintained, the more spiritual energy it consumed.
If just one of them oversaw the teleportation array, he would not be able to maintain it for even a quarter of an hour. After all, besides overseeing the array, he would also have to devote energy and spiritual energy to protecting Huo Yuhao inside it.
But even if all five of them joined forces, they could maintain it for no more than the time it took an incense stick to burn.
"Thank you for the reminder, senior. I'll remember!"
"Good. Get ready. The teleportation array is about to activate!"