This tiny child immediately caught Xu Ke's eye.
His eyes went wide, and he stared intently at her, circling his gaze over her.
Curious, he moved closer until he stood right in front of her. Reaching out, he gave her cheek a gentle squeeze and asked with immense curiosity, "Are you a human too? How can you be on this demonic beast mountain?"
The child tilted her head, raised her own little hand, and gave Xu Ke's cheek a pinch in return.
"Who says humans can't live on a demonic beast mountain? Aren't you a mortal too, and yet you made it here completely unharmed?" she replied with utmost seriousness.
Xu Ke was taken aback at first, but then seemed to thoroughly agree with the child's words.
He clapped his hands with delight. "You're right! Demonic beasts and humans can completely coexist in harmony.
"That's how it is in our sect.
"I imagine it must be the same here on Nanming Demonic Beast Mountain."
A trace of innocence appeared in the child's eyes, and she shook her head. "The Beast Taming Sect? But I've heard that the human cultivators in the Beast Taming Sect rely on the Beast Taming Art to forcibly bind and manipulate demonic beasts.
"Many demonic beasts don't truly want to become their companion beasts. They're merely controlled by the cultivation method, with no will of their own.
"Is that what you call coexisting in harmony?" the child asked earnestly.
Hearing this, Xu Ke waved his hands frantically and said in a fluster, "It's not like that..."
He opened his mouth, wanting to refute her, but for a moment he didn't know where to begin.
Suddenly, an idea seemed to strike him. Grabbing Xiao Hei from atop his head into the palm of his hand, he held him out toward the child before him like showing off a prize. "Look, this is Xiao Hei. We get along great!
"Even though he became my companion spirit beast because of the Beast Taming Art,
"the bond between us is genuine! Isn't that right, Xiao Hei?" Xu Ke shook his hand, trying to get Li Fan to show some support.
Instead, Li Fan flew back onto Xu Ke's head and gave him a swipe with a claw, making him yelp in pain and quiet down.
Ignoring Xu Ke's clowning, Li Fan stared at the child before them, who was as exquisitely crafted as jade, and a flicker of doubt crossed his mind.
Intuition told him this child had to possess an extraordinary background and was certainly no ordinary mortal.
Yet on her body, there was not the slightest trace of an aura belonging to a demonic beast.
Even when Li Fan channeled his innate divine ability, the pillar of destiny he saw was utterly ordinary, no different from that of any common mortal.
This left him somewhat at a loss.
Seeing that this master and pet got along so harmoniously, the child let out a giggle, seemingly very delighted.
"Follow me. The paths in the city are intricate; be careful you don't get eaten," she reminded them once more.
With that, she walked straight inward.
Seeing this, Xu Ke hurried to catch up.
The surroundings were deathly quiet, with no sign of any other demonic beasts.
The beasts that had entered alongside them earlier had now all vanished, nowhere to be seen.
Only the footsteps of the two children, one following the other, echoed through the empty city.
Heading inward along the way and climbing dozens of flights of stairs, after who knew how long, the child led Xu Ke into a chamber.
As soon as they stepped inside, the surrounding walls instantly turned transparent.
It was as if, in an instant, they were suspended high in the open sky.
The vantage point was superb, offering an unobstructed panoramic view of the surrounding landscape.
In the space below, countless demonic beasts of every conceivable shape and form were densely packed together.
They appeared to be discussing something, arguing with great fervor.
"Silence!"
Slightly below where Xu Ke stood hovered several massive spheres of light.
Within the spheres, vague, blurred figures could faintly be discerned.
The one speaking at this moment was a scarlet Nine-Headed Bird.
Its voice was grating and harsh, like metal plates scraping against one another. Yet its status among the demonic beast tribes was evidently quite high; as soon as it spoke, the beasts fell silent at once.
"Everyone, let us welcome the great Sovereign Di Yi, who after many years has once again summoned the myriad beasts to convene in council!"
*Boom!*
At its words, the demonic beasts throughout the entire space seemed to erupt all at once.
Each let out an ecstatic roar, expressing the delight in its heart.
And in the sky, a colossal shadow suddenly descended.
A grayish "mass of flesh" that writhed incessantly—upon which heads periodically emerged and vanished—appeared above the beasts like a dark storm cloud.
Every beast present fell completely silent at that moment, bowing their heads in deference.
"Th-this... this is the Di Yi Beast?" Xu Ke stared down at the mass of flesh and stuck his tongue out.
"Why does it look... so ugly..."
He lowered his voice, speaking with utmost caution.
When the child heard this, she was not angered in the least. Instead, she actually nodded in hearty agreement. "Heehee, I think so too. It really is ugly!"
Hearing this, Li Fan's heart gave a jolt.
To dare say that the most revered demonic beast looked ugly right in the beasts' stronghold...
This child...
Before Li Fan could ponder further, the words spoken by the Di Yi Beast below drew his attention away.
"My compatriots, I have gathered you here today because once again, the moment has arrived that will decide the life and death of our demonic beast race."
Di Yi's voice was exceedingly peculiar.
It resonated from every part of the mass of flesh, seemingly formed by the overlap and blending of tens of thousands of different voices; yet if one listened closely to distinguish them, they could not be told apart, merging into a single harmonious whole.
It sounded somewhat mechanical yet also possessed a strange vibrancy, extraordinarily bizarre.
Di Yi continued, "In the Xuanhuang Realm, a great catastrophe is drawing near. This tribulation will be far more brutal than any before.
"Not only humanity, but we demonic beasts, and indeed the entire world, will face an existential crisis of utter destruction. Even though our bloodline memories contain ample experience in dealing with disasters, I fear we will not be spared this time..."
Hearing this, an uproar erupted among the beasts below.
The mass of flesh writhed slightly, and the light and shadow above the beasts shifted.
At once, the gathered beasts fell solemnly silent again.
"Therefore, for the future of our race, I need to hear everyone's thoughts."
Among the spheres of light beneath the cloud of flesh, a demonic beast that closely resembled Di Yi—likewise spherical in form and devoid of facial features—spoke up: "Sovereign Di Yi, whatever you say, that is what we shall do.
"I, Zi Wushou, will forever be your most loyal subordinate!"
Following Zi Wushou's declaration, numerous beasts below raised their voices in fervent agreement.
"Oh? And what if I decide to lead you in leaving the Xuanhuang Realm to seek a new home?" Unexpectedly to all the beasts, Di Yi suddenly asked in a cold voice.
"What?" Zi Wushou had clearly not anticipated this turn of events from Di Yi either, and was instantly stunned.
Before it could answer, the aged Azure Divine Dragon beside it spoke up first.
"Di Yi, what is your reason for doing this? Could it be that even with the immense might of our demonic beasts, we cannot preserve ourselves in this so-called great catastrophe?
"Indeed. We have weathered so many tribulations completely unscathed. Besides, even if we were to leave, where could we possibly go?"
Chapter 534