Chapter 451: Appearance of the Tianji Pavilion Disciple!

Liang Feiyan paused, following Xia Chaoge’s gaze, but could only see the hazy sky.

Jin Zhongming also looked over.

Seeing nothing, he praised, "I've long heard that Junior Sister Xia possesses a divine eye by birth. It seems the rumors are true. Then that person must be incredibly lucky; they've likely stumbled upon a group of Foundation Establishment Stage 1 beast kings."

Liang Feiyan fully agreed. With envy in his eyes, he said, "A Foundation Establishment Stage 4 beast king is still a beast king, and so is a Foundation Establishment Stage 1. The merit points gained from slaying them are the same. However, the difficulty of slaying them is poles apart. To encounter a group of Foundation Establishment Stage 1 beast kings is simply divine luck!"

His gaze shifted.

Liang Feiyan chuckled, "Why don't the three of us go join in?"

Jin Zhongming immediately agreed, scoffing:

"Since he can only pursue but not hold back the group of beast kings, it shows his strength is insufficient. He can't handle such immense merit! If he can't do it, we'll take over!"

After speaking, both looked at Xia Chaoge, to see if she was willing to join them.

Xia Chaoge gazed at the beast horde, her pupils turning a faint blue.

A moment later, she slightly shook her head and said, "I won't be going. And I don't recommend that you two go either."

Jin Zhongming laughed wryly, "Junior Sister Xia, surely you don't think we can't handle a group of Foundation Establishment Stage 1 beast kings?" He felt that his near-death experience with the Foundation Establishment Stage 4 demonic beast might have made Xia Chaoge underestimate him.

Xia Chaoge said softly, "That group of demonic beasts isn't Foundation Establishment Stage 1. They are Foundation Establishment Stage 4 and 5."

Crack—

Liang Feiyan's hand suddenly trembled. The demonic core he was holding clattered heavily onto the ice, its sharp cracking sound echoing clearly in the deathly silent surroundings.

Foundation Establishment Stage 4 and 5 beast kings? A group of them?

He couldn't help but shiver. Just one Foundation Establishment Stage 4 beast king had nearly cost him his life. If a group of them stood before him... the mere thought of that scene made him break out in a cold sweat.

Jin Zhongming also drew a sharp breath, "A group of Foundation Establishment Stage 5 and 4 beast kings?"

Suddenly, he remembered what Xia Chaoge had just said.

"Are you saying someone is chasing a group of Foundation Establishment Stage 5 and 4 beast kings?"

Xia Chaoge nodded slightly. "I wasn't certain before. But now I can confirm it, because he just slew a Foundation Establishment Stage 4 beast king."

Jin Zhongming and Liang Feiyan simultaneously gasped!

What terrifying strength would it take to relentlessly pursue a group of Foundation Establishment Stage 4 and 5 beast kings, forcing them to flee frantically? And, in such a short time, another one had been slain.

Jin Zhongming said, "Could it be that an elder has intervened?"

Liang Feiyan also said, "That must be it. There's no one among our generation with such terrifying power, is there?"

Even Xia Chaoge couldn't possess such strength. In a one-on-one fight, Xia Chaoge would have no problem slaying a Foundation Establishment Stage 4 beast king. Slaying a Foundation Establishment Stage 5 beast king might also be possible, but pursuing a group of Foundation Establishment Stage 5 and 4 beast kings is utterly impossible. Among her contemporary peers, Xia Chaoge's strength was unparalleled.

Xia Chaoge diligently activated her ocular technique, attempting to discern the identity of the person attacking. However, the individual remained in stealth mode. She shook her head slightly and said, "It may not be an elder. Currently, the elders haven't officially joined the battlefield. The main force on the front lines is still us, the disciples from various sects. It's more likely that this person is a disciple."

Liang Feiyan mused, "If it's a disciple, then it can only be a disciple from the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion! The disciples of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion are envious of the rewards redeemable with merit points and can't sit still. Many have already taken the opportunity to leave the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion and come to this battlefield."

Xia Chaoge looked at him in confusion. The Merit Ranking was only open to disciples of the Nine Sects. Even if they slew demonic beasts, they wouldn't receive any merit points.

As if understanding her question, Liang Feiyan sighed helplessly, "Rules are rigid, but people are adaptable. The demonic cores they obtain indeed cannot be exchanged for any resources directly. However, they can give them to a Nine Sects disciple, letting the merit be recorded under their name. Then, when they want to redeem resources, they simply have that disciple act on their behalf. Offering a small benefit to the Nine Sects disciple is enough. There are plenty of disciples willing to cooperate with them. After all, who wouldn't want to befriend those mythical, peerless prodigies from the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion?"

Jin Zhongming's face showed anger: "Such a thing exists? Aren't the resources of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion enough for them? Why do they have to come and compete with us Nine Sects disciples? I must report them!"

Liang Feiyan gave a bitter smile: "Since they dare to do this without fear of punishment, they must have elders backing them. Our reports as disciples won't be of much use. Besides..." Glancing at the vaguely disappearing beast tide, he said somewhat powerlessly: "Some merit points, only they dare to earn. If given to us, we might not even dare to pursue them."

Hearing the last two sentences, Jin Zhongming deflated like a punctured ball. It was true that the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion disciples were breaking rules, but for merit earned by pursuing Foundation Establishment Stage 5 and 4 beast kings, he had no right to be envious.

Xia Chaoge showed no emotion regarding this. Watching the beast tide disappear into the distance, she slowly retracted her gaze and said, "Before I came, I observed that the area around Duan Tian Grand Canyon was filled with demonic energy. Presumably, there are many demonic beasts that have crossed the defense line there. Let's go and check it out."

Hearing this, Jin Zhongming and Liang Feiyan's eyes lit up. The three immediately set off towards Duan Tian Grand Canyon.

Meanwhile, Jiang Fan continued to pursue the beast kings. Over several days, he had slain five more Foundation Establishment Stage 4 demonic beasts. This translated to another hundred merit points. The beast tide ahead had been culled by him, leaving only two Foundation Establishment Stage 4 beast kings. These two beast kings trembled, hiding under the protection of a group of Foundation Establishment Stage 5 beast kings, not daring to be alone. They feared Jiang Fan would suddenly appear from somewhere and slay them with a single strike.

Heizhe had largely recovered. It tallied the remaining beast kings. It discovered that including itself, only a mere five remained! When they had arrived, there were a full fifteen of them! As a result, ten had been lost in enemy territory, including their leader Xuan Jia. Only a meager five battered and defeated survivors managed to flee back.

What infuriated Heizhe even more was that out of the ten, nine had died at the hands of a human junior. It was an absolute disgrace! Of course, it absolutely dared not stop and fight Jiang Fan to the death. It did not want to experience that soul-piercing strike, which had nearly claimed half its life, a second time.

Suddenly, it abruptly raised its head and looked towards a small ice mountain ahead. Seven mysterious human figures, clad in dark robes and wearing masks etched with star and moon patterns, stood eerily atop it. They quietly gazed down at the approaching beast kings. There was a faint smile in their eyes.

Heizhe immediately felt a chilling sensation and roared, "Be careful! There are human experts!" The most dangerous among them, it even felt, was no less powerful than Xuan Jia!

Not long after, Jiang Fan caught up unhurriedly. He had already planned to abandon the pursuit. The remaining two Foundation Establishment Stage 4 beast kings were too heavily protected. Opportunities to strike were extremely rare. Rather than wasting time on them, it would be better to go to the front line and slay enemies there.

But abruptly, he sensed a massive battle fluctuation. He couldn't help but be startled. "The beast kings have encountered human experts?" He quickly leaped forward.

However, the scene he saw from afar made his pupils constrict. Four massive beast king corpses lay in the snow. Two of them belonged to the two Foundation Establishment Stage 4 beast kings. And the other two were Foundation Establishment Stage 5!!!

Six figures, clad in long black robes and wearing mysterious masks, stood atop the corpses, gazing northwards.

Not long after, a tall figure, similarly dressed, with long silver-white hair, approached, pacing with his hands behind his back. He appeared to be simply walking. Yet, with each step, the ground beneath him seemed to contract, rapidly closing the distance. It bore the distinctive charm of the legendary 'Shrinking the Ground into an Inch' technique.

"Senior Brother Jian, have you captured that pangolin demon?"

The six were extremely respectful towards him.

Jian Linyuan smiled courteously and casually tossed a yellowish-brown demonic core to the speaker.

The six men smiled. "As expected of Senior Brother Jian, that pangolin demon, with its earth-elemental talent, was extremely troublesome, yet you still managed to slay it."

Jian Linyuan shook his head slightly: "Its soul was damaged by someone, and its combat power was less than half. Otherwise, I doubt it would have been easy to subdue it."

Suddenly, his gaze beneath the mask narrowed slightly, and he softly sighed: "You all make things too difficult for me. Someone has arrived... and none of you even noticed."