Back then, this matter had caused a tremendous uproar, sending massive shockwaves throughout the demonic beast world.
No beast was willing to believe that a human could come and go from the Sacred Beast Mountain as he pleased.
Yet that was precisely what had happened.
This cultivator named Lu Ya had not only walked right onto the sacred mountain, but had also taken away the descendant with the purest bloodline of the Tianwu clan.
What made it even harder for the beasts to accept was that Lu Ya had only been an early Nascent Soul cultivator at the time.
This made the entire affair seem utterly absurd.
Never mind early Nascent Soul—even at the consummate Nascent Soul stage, so what? Any adult demonic beast on the Sacred Beast Mountain could have effortlessly swatted him dead with a single paw.
How could such a human cultivator have been allowed to act with such insolence?
Although rumors later circulated that Lu Ya was able to freely enter and leave Nanming Sacred Beast Mountain because he had the tacit permission of Di Yi, the beasts still could not let it go.
As the nominal sovereign of the entire demonic beast race, Di Yi held an exalted status beyond measure. How many young beasts of pure bloodline and peerless talent had failed to catch his eye?
What right did a mere human cultivator have?
Only after more than a decade did the furor finally subside, leaving the name Lu Ya permanently etched into the minds of countless demonic beasts.
Though the Dafeng was forgetful by nature, the simultaneous appearance of "Lu Ya" and the Di Yi jade medallion instantly brought back memories of that past event.
"It seems the rumors were true after all. Lu Ya really has a deep connection with Lord Di Yi..." The Dafeng gave an odd laugh and flapped its wings, following Xu Ke as they flew into the sacred mountain.
Within this Nanming Sacred Beast Mountain, there seemed to be a special energy that was extraordinarily beneficial to demonic beasts.
The closer they got, the more energized Li Fan felt.
Deep within his body, something seemed to leap with joy, making his blood boil and filling him with boundless vigor.
The same was true for the qingluan beneath Xu Ke.
She let out a clear, sonorous cry laden with unmistakable delight, and her flight speed abruptly increased.
In a flash, they arrived.
Xu Ke's group had already crossed into the boundaries of the Sacred Beast Mountain when Xiao Qing suddenly stiffened in midair without any warning, freezing in place.
At the same moment, a fatal sense of crisis welled up in Li Fan's chest.
Xu Ke, however, seemed entirely oblivious to the danger, still shouting excitedly, "Xiao Hei, look quick! What's that?!"
Li Fan's body was as if turned to stone, unable to budge. He could only force his eyes to turn and look in the direction Xu Ke was pointing.
As far as the eye could see, a colossal serpent coiled and wound around the Sacred Beast Mountain.
Fiery red all over, it was strikingly vivid and bizarre beyond measure.
The red snake was so enormous that the portion winding around the Sacred Beast Mountain seemed to be only a fraction of its endless length.
The vast majority of its body lay concealed beneath the azure waters of the Sea of Nanming, inspiring sheer dread in all who beheld it.
Yet before entering Nanming Sacred Beast Mountain, none of them had detected the slightest trace of such a peerless, ferocious beast.
It was as if it had materialized out of thin air.
The serpent was cyclopean, possessing only a single eye. At this moment, it fixed that cold, emotionless eye upon the qingluan and the human outsiders riding upon her.
The immense pressure forced Li Fan to close his eyes, helplessly obeying his body's deepest instincts.
Yet Xu Ke was utterly fearless, appearing completely blind to the horror before him as he stared wide-eyed right back into the red serpent's eye.
After a tense moment of stalemate, a faint luster radiated from the jade medallion in Xu Ke's breast.
The red serpent's eye shifted slightly, and then closed.
In an instant, the qingluan regained her mobility.
Li Fan also felt the crushing pressure vanish completely, and he let out a quiet sigh of relief.
When he looked again, the colossal red serpent—larger even than a mountain—had vanished without a trace.
It was as if that hair-raising sight had been nothing more than a shared hallucination.
Yet Li Fan knew that the one-eyed red serpent remained coiled around the Sacred Beast Mountain; they simply could no longer see it.
"If not for that Di Yi jade medallion, even a Dao Integration cultivator would have left this place dead or maimed," Li Fan thought, inwardly shaken.
Xu Ke, entirely oblivious, casually urged the qingluan to descend onto the mountain.
"Whew! It feels so comfortable here," Xu Ke sighed in admiration shortly after his feet touched the ground, taking a deep breath.
Knowing that staying on the Sacred Beast Mountain offered inexplicable benefits to demonic beasts, he did not recall Xiao Qing this time. Instead, he had her shrink down to a tiny size and set up a makeshift nest for her beside Li Fan.
Li Fan glanced at her, and the image of Saint Teacher Qing thousands of years later in the real world suddenly sprang to mind.
He smiled faintly and paid her no mind.
Xiao Qing seemed somewhat frightened of Li Fan in his form as the Heavenly Destiny Profound Bird. Whenever she looked at him, there was a trace of fear in her gaze, and she proactively kept her distance, not daring to draw too close.
Leaving the two birds atop his head for the moment, Xu Ke followed the mountain path and ran toward the magnificent, towering city above.
Along the way, countless bizarre demonic beasts could be seen.
Some had the body of a horse and the wings of a bird; some had human faces and serpent tails; some were shaped like tigers but howled like dogs; some resembled crows with three heads and six tails; others looked like deer with white tails, horse hooves, human hands, and four horns...
There were even demonic beasts born from flowers, wood, grass, and trees. Devoid of any beastly aura, they appeared utterly transcendent and sacred.
Yet no matter how ferocious or menacing these beasts looked, without exception, they all moved along this mountain path with great restraint, walking forward slowly and cautiously.
None dared to commit the slightest breach of decorum.
Because of this, Xu Ke's behavior of dashing about wildly was particularly conspicuous.
Several beasts flashed murderous glints in their eyes, eager to teach this little human brat a lesson.
Yet seeming to sense the aura of Di Yi upon him, not a single beast made a move in the end.
And so Xu Ke jogged along unhindered until he reached the base of the city atop the peak.
This city on the sacred mountain was crafted from an unknown material, pure white throughout, looking immaculate and solemn under the sunlight.
Outside the White City, there was originally only a tall wall without any gates.
Yet as the beasts approached, a face suddenly appeared on the wall.
Its wide mouth opened, revealing a pitch-black corridor.
Xu Ke came to an abrupt halt.
He craned his neck, peering into the corridor, but could see nothing at all.
Just as he was muttering to himself, an exotic beast beside him cast him a mocking glance and strode straight inside.
Xu Ke curled his lip, his fear evaporating. He followed closely behind, stepping into the sacred mountain's White City.
The light vanished, then returned.
"Follow me, you two!"
A piping, childish voice suddenly rang out by Li Fan's ear.
Directly ahead stood a child who looked no more than five or six years old, exquisitely adorable and porcelain-fair, of indiscernible gender. With hands planted firmly on their hips, the child was speaking to Xu Ke.
Chapter 533