''Master, these creatures are the half-fiend race!''
Although Shun Long's memories included many things, the half-fiend race wasn't one of them.
Little Black looked at the confused Shun Long, who was staring at the seemingly unconscious members of the half-fiend race, and said
''Master, the half-fiend race is said to be descendants of the actual fiend race. Although they aren't pure-blooded descendants, their intelligence isn't any lower than that of a human's.
Moreover, as descendants of the fiend race, their bodies can naturally cultivate what humans call 'body refining techniques', just by eating or sleeping.''
Shun Long was actually shocked by this revelation as his eyes kept examining the 5 members of the half-fiend race.
Swords, shields and even a crossbow, were scattered on the ground in front of them, when Shun Long suddenly noticed that the breathing of one of the 5 half-fiend members was much weaker than the rest.
Little Black snorted as he looked at this half-fiend member, who was the one who had fired the arrow that had pierced Shun Long's leg earlier.
Shun Long then turned his attention to his right leg. Although the arrow was still on his leg, it didn't hurt as much as before, even though his leg was already painted red with his blood.
Shun Long first removed the arrow from his leg before he circulated his 'Monarch's Eternal body'.
Examining the arrow in his hands, Shun Long saw that it seemed to be no different than an average arrow. And yet, this simple-looking arrow had managed to pierce through the defenses of his middle 2nd stage 'Monarch's Eternal body'.
This was actually the first wound that Shun Long had gotten since he had become a body refiner. It was common knowledge in the 'cultivation world', that body refiners could heal their wounds very quickly, thus Shun Long decided to test the regenerative abilities of his own body.
Surprisingly, the wound in his leg stopped bleeding almost instantly, but at the same time, a strong feeling of hunger overcame him.
Shun Long took out a few of the rations that he had stored inside the 'Stone of Time', but no matter how much he ate, he found out that it was like a small drop of water trying to fill a bucket.
The wound on his leg had already closed by now, but the feeling of hunger didn't seem to go away.
After taking out a 'Profound earth fruit' from the 'Stone of Time', Shun Long decided to consume the fruit directly.
The medicinal essence from the fruit finally managed to satiate his hunger, as Shun Long could feel his body filled with energy once again.
Shun Long then fell in deep contemplation as he thought about the use of the 'Profound earth fruit'.
''It seems that the energy that my body uses when it heals me, can be directly replenished by consuming medicinal herbs!''
Just as Shun Long's thoughts were racing, the 4 members of the half-fiend race had woken up.
When they saw that one of their clansmen had already stopped breathing, they didn't seem to exhibit any emotions at all. There was neither pity, nor sorrow in their eyes, as if the death of their clansman was just a trivial matter.
However, the moment that these four, saw the black dragon next to Shun Long, an intense feeling of reverence overcame them.
They looked at little Black with a fanatic look in their eyes, as they immediately prostrated themselves on the ground while chanting something in a weird language.
Shun Long was astonished as he saw this, while little Black stared at the half-fiend members apathetically.
Then, turning his head to look at Shun Long, he said
''Master, although the half-fiend members here can't pose a threat to us, perhaps they can actually give us some clues about this place. After all, we still don't know much about this 'Vermilion realm'.''
Shun Long nodded his head as he asked
''Then, do you have a way to communicate with them?''
Little Black nodded his head as he explained
''Master, it's actually very easy to communicate with the half-fiends. They share the same language as the fiend race. All dragons are proficient in the language of the fiend race from the moment they are born.''
Shun Long then observed as little Black opened his mouth and uttered some incomprehensible sounds as he looked at the half-fiends.
''Aeytu etuae tuaev''
''Tuaeu etauev yeat''
The 4 members of the half-fiend race responded zealously to little Black, when they saw that he was willing to communicate with them.
Shun Long observed as the black dragon spoke with the half-fiend members for 10 minutes, before they suddenly started jumping around in excitement.
Little Black then turned his head to look at Shun Long as he said
''Master, I have gained some information from these four.
Apparently, the forest that we are in, is near the edge of the 'Vermilion realm' and is called the Forest of the Giants.
The members of the half-fiend race live in a small village inside this forest, that is around 50 miles away from our current location.
Although these four don't know much about the 'Vermilion realm', they said that their village chief has ventured out of the Forest of the Giants in the past.
Considering how much the half-fiend race reveres the dragon race, it's unlikely that they are lying to me.''
Shun Long thought for a bit before nodding his head as he said
''In that case, let's go to their village.''
They didn't have any other lead right now, and getting some information from the half-fiends was much better than trying to find their way around the 'Vermilion realm' blindly. Little Black could also use his soul sense to scan for any potential danger in the 'half-fiend' village as well, so even if these 4 half-fiends were lying to them, little Black would be able to detect it ahead of time.
Seeing that Shun Long had agreed, little Black nodded his head at the 4 half-fiend members, who then started chanting something before they eagerly led the way.
Shun Long could also finally sense the cultivation of these 4 members of the half-fiend race, and found out that all of them were at the early 3rd stage in body refinement.
As they were walking towards the village, little Black who was using his soul sense to scan the surroundings said
''Master, there are many hidden magic beasts inside this forest, and even the weakest of them is at least at the peak of rank 2.''
When Shun Long heard this, he felt pity for any other disciple of the 'floating cloud sect' that was unlucky enough to be also sent here in this forest along with him, as they would probably end up in the belly of one of those magic beasts.
Shun Long and little Black kept following the 4 members of the half-fiend race, and finally, 20 minutes later, they arrived in front of a small village that was hidden near a small lake inside the forest.
When Shun Long's eyes fell upon this small village, they immediately shone with a greedy light as one question flashed through his head
''Is this a rank 4 'Golden Jade spirit tree'?''