“Could it be that you are also here to attend the Ten Thousand Beasts Conference?”
The giant bird, Dafeng, ignored the nearby Manman bird and asked in a friendly tone.
“What Ten Thousand Beasts Conference? I have no idea.”
“I was entrusted by my senior brother, Lu Ya, to deliver this wooden box to you.” Xu Ke’s eyes shifted around as he stared at Dafeng, pretending to be innocent as he spoke.
“Lu Ya?” Dafeng tilted its head, thinking for a moment, seemingly unable to recall anyone by that name. “Sounds somewhat familiar…”
“What wooden box? Let me take a look…” it said nonchalantly.
“Sure!” Xu Ke, appearing carefree and defenseless, pulled out a vermillion wooden box.
An ancient and desolate aura immediately emanated from the box.
“This is!” Dafeng’s body shuddered uncontrollably, almost losing its balance and nearly falling into the sea.
Its feathers stood on end, as if it had been greatly agitated.
Just as it was about to say something, Dafeng swiftly flapped its wings, sending a gust of wind to silence it.
“Hehe, so it was sent by ‘that’ person…”
“Quick, little one, put it away. If others catch sight of it, there will be trouble.”
Without further questioning the contents of the box, Dafeng awkwardly coughed and hurriedly advised Xu Ke.
“Okay!” Xu Ke obediently put the wooden box back.
“Senior, we’re heading to the Nanming Beast Mountain, but we’ve lost our way. Could you take us there?” He blinked his eyes, rubbing the back of his head, looking a bit embarrassed.
“Ahem, young one, didn’t your elders instruct you before setting out? It’s not called the Nanming Beast Mountain, that sounds so crude. It’s the Nanming Sacred Beast Mountain!” Dafeng corrected him sternly.
“To show such disrespect for the Sacred Beast Mountain, you’re lucky you met me, someone with a good temper. If you ran into one of the more violent ones, you’d be captured on the spot, have your stomach cut open, your heart devoured, and your liver eaten!” Dafeng warned, trying to scare him.
Xu Ke tilted his head, thinking for a moment, confused. “But Grandpa San said not to worry when we get here, to feel at home. That’s how everyone at home talks.”
“Grandpa San…” Dafeng choked on its words, unsure how to respond.
The once-arrogant Manman bird also shrunk its head back, pretending it had heard nothing.
“Hehe, as long as you’re happy, kid.” In the end, Dafeng could only smile wryly and say no more.
The group continued heading southward.
Along the way, Xu Ke kept chattering, constantly asking Dafeng for information.
“Senior, what exactly is the Ten Thousand Beasts Conference you mentioned?”
Dafeng initially didn’t want to answer, but Xu Ke’s persistence left it no choice.
Reluctantly, it whispered, “Not long ago, Lord Emperor One announced to the world that the Ten Thousand Beasts Conference would be held.”
“All beast clans must send representatives to the Nanming Sacred Beast Mountain to participate.”
“It’s said that this concerns the life and death of the beast clans, and it’s the first time in hundreds of years that Lord Emperor One has called such a gathering. It’s extremely important.”
“Even usually reclusive beings like Lord Azure Dragon, Lord Scarlet Nine-Head, and Lord Purple Headless are coming.”
“The last time we had such a grand gathering was during the public trial of Emperor San…”
Dafeng stopped mid-sentence, its expression suddenly changing as it quickly fell silent.
Li Fan and Xu Ke exchanged glances, understanding instantly.
It seemed that even someone with Emperor Sanmo’s status faced serious consequences when interacting too closely with humans.
No wonder both the Manman bird and Dafeng were so cautious about even mentioning Emperor Sanmo.
However, it was clear that the public trial had not been successful against Emperor Sanmo.
Otherwise, when Xu Ke took out the sealed wooden box bearing Emperor Sanmo’s mark, Dafeng and the others wouldn’t have shown such a mix of fear and respect.
Moving away from this topic, Xu Ke continued pestering Dafeng with questions about the beast clans.
He asked where they usually resided, how they interacted with humans, their future plans, and their views on the Beast Taming Sect.
After the earlier slip, Dafeng became more cautious, only sharing trivial and irrelevant information with Xu Ke.
Thus, more than ten days passed.
Finally, the legendary Nanming Sacred Beast Mountain came into view.
From a distance, at the junction of the blue sky and sea, a towering conical mountain appeared out of thin air.
It stood in the middle of the sea, like a mirage, incredibly mysterious.
The mountain’s peak was crowned with a thick layer of white snow.
At the snow-covered summit, a magnificent city could faintly be seen.
Li Fan, with his keen eyes, also noticed that the Nanming Sacred Beast Mountain marked the boundary of the entire Nanming Ocean.
It was a sight beyond words.
The vast, endless sea abruptly stopped at this point.
Beyond it lay a dark abyss, like a black void.
The Nanming Sacred Beast Mountain stood at the boundary between light and dark, reality and illusion, separating the real world from the dreamlike realm.
Dafeng, seeing Xu Ke awestruck by the magnificent view, couldn’t help but feel proud.
“How does it look? Never seen such a wondrous sight, have you?”
“The so-called ends of the earth, the world’s frontier, the source of all life, this is our Nanming Sacred Beast Mountain.”
Dafeng sighed with emotion.
“It’s said that the first beasts in the world originated here before spreading across the world.”
“This is a sacred place for all beasts, not to be desecrated. Even though you were sent by an important figure, your human identity cannot be changed. You may not be allowed to enter.”
“Hehe, Dafeng is right. Even you, little black bird, though a beast, have been tamed by humans and serve as a companion spirit beast. You too are not qualified to enter the Sacred Beast Mountain.” The previously quiet Manman bird suddenly perked up and mocked.
With a strange cry, it flapped its wings and flew towards the distant mountain peak, leaving Xu Ke behind.
Xu Ke didn’t seem to mind. He waved a jade token hanging around his neck.
“No worries, before I left, Senior Brother Lu Ya told me that if I encounter any trouble, just show them this token.”
“Senior Brother Luya would never deceive me.”
“Xiao Qing, let’s go!”
Dafeng was about to advise him further when it suddenly realized something, its eyes widening in shock, even more so than when it sensed Emperor Sanmo’s aura.
For it had clearly seen a fleeting glimpse of the jade token, which bore a symbol that only beasts could recognize: the character “One.”
Dafeng finally remembered where it had heard the name Lu Ya before.
It was over a decade ago, when a lone human had entered the Sacred Beast Mountain, and then left unscathed.