"This spot is already very close to the core region where the Saint-level magical beasts live." Luo Ao immediately spread out his spiritual perception and began searching for Saint-level magical beasts.
The closer one drew to the beasts' core region in the Firefly Forest, the denser the elemental energy of heaven and earth became, naturally gathering a group of terrifying Saint-level magical beasts.
On the Boya Continent, the places with the greatest concentrations of magical beasts were dangerous regions such as the Radiance Mountain Range and the Silent Forest. All these dangerous regions had Deity Level magical beasts presiding over them, respectfully addressed as lords.
Never mind a mere Saint-level like Luo Ao—even human Deity Level beings would not readily venture into the core regions of these dangerous places.
In the Firefly Forest, however, the strongest magical beasts were only Saint-level, so Luo Ao did not have to worry about suddenly provoking a Deity Level magical beast. Naturally, he knew these secrets because he had joined the Church of the Fire God.
Although no Deity Level magical beasts lived in the Firefly Forest, its area was not much smaller than that of the Radiance Mountain Range, and it naturally held quite a few Saint-level magical beasts.
However, the Firefly Forest was vast, and most of its Saint-level magical beasts lived scattered apart. Finding one right away was not so easy. Luo Ao patiently searched for traces of Saint-level magical beasts.
"Hmm?" Just then, Luo Ao's spiritual perception suddenly discovered a Saint-level magical beast as tall as a small mountain. This was one magical beast Luo Ao was quite familiar with: a Purple-Eyed Golden-Haired Ape.
Upon discovering someone spying on him, this terrifying Saint-level magical beast, three stories tall, immediately turned his head.
"Who's there?" The Purple-Eyed Golden-Haired Ape's voice echoed through the forest like rolling thunder. He raised his head toward the figure flying through the sky, his mysterious purple eyes sizing up this human.
Luo Ao stood in midair, his voice carrying down. "I am Luo Ao of the Darren Empire. Our clan still lacks a guardian saint beast, so please come with me." Luo Ao sounded quite polite. Anyone who did not know better might have thought this was some fine opportunity.
But Saint-level magical beasts were even more intelligent than ordinary humans. After hearing Luo Ao's words, the Purple-Eyed Golden-Haired Ape naturally caught on quickly. This so-called "guardian saint beast" sounded rather nice, but in essence, did it not mean submitting to humans and becoming someone else's magical pet?
He, Steven, was a dignified Saint-level magical beast. How could he become a slave to humans? Want him, Steven, to submit? Dream on!
"Boy, you seem quite confident in yourself, daring to provoke me, Steven!" The Purple-Eyed Golden-Haired Ape fixed his enormous purple eyes on this "little speck," a contemptuous smile appearing on his face.
He, Steven, was different from those ordinary fools. He had already begun comprehending the power of heaven, earth, and nature.
Although he had yet to comprehend even a trace of the profound mysteries of the laws, he had devised several tremendously powerful moves himself. Ordinary Saint-level magical beasts were no match for him.
It was common knowledge that magical beasts generally possessed little aptitude for comprehension, but he, Steven, was an exception.
Moreover, at the same level, magical beasts naturally held an advantage over humans.
Even at an equal level, a Purple-Eyed Golden-Haired Ape could crush human Saint-level powerhouses through brute strength alone.
"Whether I'm confident or conceited, you'll know after we fight." As Luo Ao spoke, he had already descended to stand before the Purple-Eyed Golden-Haired Ape.
With his "frail" frame standing less than two meters tall, Luo Ao looked tiny opposite the Purple-Eyed Golden-Haired Ape, whose towering, iron-tower-like body exceeded ten meters in height. However, Steven did not underestimate his opponent because of this.
Although this Purple-Eyed Golden-Haired Ape has no rare special talents, his strength is boundless and his body is tough. Subduing him probably won't be so easy, Luo Ao thought to himself.
If he only wanted to kill him, Luo Ao could naturally accomplish that easily by relying on the sharpness of the Crimson Annihilation Divine Sword. But doing so would not necessarily make the other party submit, unless this was a Saint-level magical beast who greatly feared death.
At this thought, an azure longsword appeared in Luo Ge's hand. Before he had obtained the Crimson Annihilation Sword, this longsword forged from azure nightmare stone had actually been the weapon that suited him best.
"Boy, I'll show you the consequences of underestimating Lord Steven!" Seeing Luo Ao draw the Azure Nightmare Sword, the Purple-Eyed Golden-Haired Ape understood that Luo Ao intended to use force!
As a Saint-level magical beast, the Purple-Eyed Golden-Haired Ape was naturally immensely proud.
Bam! He merely took one furious step, and the entire ground shook and cracked. The surrounding trees snapped and fell with a crash, and the Purple-Eyed Golden-Haired Ape's mountain-like body flew straight into the air, his mysterious purple eyes locked on Luo Ao.
"Why put yourself through this?" Luo Ao could not help shaking his head with a sigh.
Unless this Amethyst Golden-Haired Ape had also comprehended the power of the laws, he was destined to be no match for Luo Ao. The innate talents of a Saint-level magical beast like the Purple-Eyed Golden-Haired Ape were nowhere near as overwhelming as those of dragons at the same level.
Without comprehending the laws, he could not possibly defeat Luo Ao.
"Hmph." Realizing he was being underestimated, Steven felt even more humiliated. In his fury, his entire body immediately accelerated to a terrifying speed.
Boom! A sonic blast rang out. The Purple-Eyed Golden-Haired Ape actually intended to ram Luo Ao with his terrifying body.
"This Mountain-Leaning Strike is rather interesting." Luo Ao's level was far above Steven's, so he naturally saw that this move, which looked like a "raging bull charge," actually contained a measure of profundity.
"I wouldn't have guessed this fellow had some talent. But that's as far as it goes." With Luo Ao's speed, he could naturally dodge Steven's attack with ease.
However, he had not forgotten the purpose of this trip. To subdue this Saint-level magical beast, he naturally needed to defeat him in the field where he excelled most!
Thousand-Jun Descent! Luo Ao murmured inwardly. The Azure Nightmare Sword in his hand now seemed laden with tremendous force. Azure nightmare stone itself was not particularly heavy, yet at this moment, the blade of the Azure Nightmare Sword seemed to carry the weight of a small mountain!
"Go!" Seeing Luo Ao actually remain motionless and face him with a slender longsword somewhat surprised Steven. But immediately afterward, something even more unexpected happened.
Bam! Like a meteor suddenly falling, the Purple-Eyed Golden-Haired Ape's towering, mountain-sized body was actually smashed straight down by Luo Ao's seemingly weightless sword stroke!
"Impossible!" Disbelief filled Steven's face. He was a Purple-Eyed Golden-Haired Ape with boundless strength. How could he lose to a human in a contest of strength? Had there been some mistake?
Crack, crack- Smashed downward by an immense force, Steven was completely unable to resist that terrifying power. His iron-tower-like body crashed into the surrounding towering trees and boulders.
Wherever his body passed, towering trees as thick as barrels snapped easily. Even an enormous boulder shattered into pieces like tofu when he struck it.
Only after smashing through several trees in succession and finally striking a boulder to cushion his momentum did he regain control of his body.
"You bastard!" Steven warily watched the figure high in the sky. Luo Ao's Azure Nightmare Sword had cut a huge wound in his body, a full meter long and thirty centimeters deep.
Such a wound would already have been fatal to a human Saint-level powerhouse, but on the enormous Purple-Eyed Golden-Haired Ape, it counted as only a minor injury, not enough to affect his fighting ability.
"You've already comprehended the profound mysteries of the laws!" How could Steven still fail to understand? This time, he had truly encountered a human powerhouse.
Even among human Saint-level powerhouses, very few could comprehend the profound mysteries of the laws. Anyone who could comprehend the laws could be counted as a peak Saint-level powerhouse. And this was his first time encountering profound mysteries as powerful as those this young human had just displayed.
"It seems the power of this Thousand-Equal Descent really is quite impressive." Compared with the sword technique Luo Ao had comprehended through the profound mysteries of the Fire Element, this Thousand-Equal Descent, developed from the Edicts of Destruction, was clearly far more powerful.
Luo Ao had comprehended this move earlier while inadvertently experimenting with "Wielding Light as Though Heavy."
Although his current comprehension was still shallow, this approach to the Edicts of Destruction clearly possessed extraordinary power. Even the Purple-Eyed Golden-Haired Ape, renowned for his strength, had suffered a great loss beneath his sword.
"That's right. I've comprehended the laws, and you haven't. So you can't possibly be my match. Submitting to a genius like me isn't really disgraceful." Luo Ao was actually speaking the truth. If not for the material plane's limited resources, he would have preferred to contract a divine beast.
However, Steven himself was clearly unwilling to submit to a human so easily.