Chapter 158 Chapter 158

The agreed place was a canyon, with several-meter-high cliffs on both sides. The rocks were covered with crisscrossing vines, and the dark green appearance made the surroundings look particularly gloomy. The vines were covered with sharp thorns, reflecting a faint light in the sun.

A famous scholar was curious and wanted to go over to take a sample, but Xia Muqing pulled him back: "Be careful, don't go over there!"

"That's a green vine," she said seriously, "a kind of mysterious beast."

Scholar: “…Ah?”

Instead, he became even more excited, rubbing his palms excitedly. "Really? This is also considered a mysterious beast? But it doesn't even move! It's not mentioned in the association's illustrated information database. How did you know about it, Xiaoxia Divine Beast Envoy?"

Xia Muqing gave him an ambiguous smile, then pulled the hand holding the other's shirt back even harder, whispering, "Don't touch it. Even though this mysterious beast doesn't move and looks like a real plant, its abilities are truly miraculous."

"The Green End Vine can produce its own offspring. Given enough time, it could cover the entire wasteland. Each offspring will inherit the characteristics of the parent plant. In this way, even the smallest ability will be infinitely amplified through the combined power... Hmm, the mysterious beast we've been waiting for has arrived!"

There was a rustling sound not far away, and two huge figures walked slowly from the depths of the canyon, their tall bodies casting a shadow.

There was a faint and powerful pressure in the air. Even though there was still some distance between them, one could feel the extraordinary strength of the person coming.

The newly emerged mysterious beast attracted the attention of the scholars and the entire team, drawing their gaze away from the green vines draping down the canyon's sides. Xia Muqing and the others also secretly raised their vigilance. Yu Cong, the team leader, stepped out first and asked loudly, "Is this the Beast King from the Yiyuan Secret Realm?"

He was answered with a low growl.

【Welcome, human beastmasters who have come from afar.】

The beast's cry was as deep as spring thunder, echoing faintly along the narrow canyon. The Swift Dog's fur trembled violently, and it leaped from Xia Muqing's arms. Upon landing, it transformed into the heroic form of the Fengluo Lord, baring its fangs.

“Ouch…”

Master, it remembers this voice.

This mysterious beast... have they seen it before?

The little golden dragon and the Nether Butterfly were a little confused. They didn't have any impression of it, but after Xia Muqing frowned and recalled for a moment, she also shuddered suddenly.

That’s right, she remembered it too!

As if to confirm Xia Muqing's guess, a mysterious beast approached slowly with heavy steps not far away.

First, a huge, furry figure emerged. The gray spiritual core on its forehead was obscured by scattered white hair, and its cheeks were streaked with black lines like highlights. Then, a massive body, as majestic as a small mountain, emerged, its tail like a sharp sword.

It was the super-large sword-tailed tiger they had seen before in District 7.

Xia Muqing: “……!”

Her frown deepened.

The sword-tailed tiger had never come into direct contact with Xia Muqing or her several mysterious beasts, and had no impression of this overly young creature. Its lips curled slightly, giving it the appearance of a harmless big cat, and it tilted its head slightly towards Yu Cong, who was in the front.

You've arrived fairly punctually. Mysterious Snake and I will take you into the Alien Secret Realm. But let me tell you in advance, once you enter, you must abide by a few rules...

The rules were all general things, such as not harming the young mysterious beasts and the contract must fully comply with the wishes of both parties. Of course, the few people in the team would not touch on these principled issues, and before setting off, Yu Chong had already reminded them of them.

Xia Muqing found another matter thorny. If she remembered correctly, when she encountered the sword-tailed tiger in District 7, it was in a private meeting with a strange astral beast shrouded in thick black smoke. Both of them expressed disdain and disgust for human beastmasters in their conversations. Even though she didn't hear everything, only snippets, the dissatisfaction in their tone was still very clear.

Such a mysterious beast now represents the Alien Secret Realm to welcome the human beastmaster team?

And still pretending to be friendly?

There seems to be something fishy about this.

Xia Muqing took a step back and was about to signal to her companions, reminding them not to be fooled by the sword-tailed tiger's kind appearance. But before she could move, another voice suddenly rang out: "Hiss—"

A dark green snake with a body as thick as a bucket pushed aside the green vines and lazily emerged from behind the sword-tailed tiger.

Xia Muqing glimpsed him from the corner of her eye and was immediately stunned even more, her heart pounding. Feng Luo Lord also stared wide-eyed in shock, staring intently at the other's scarlet pupils and the purple-red lines all over his body. "Ah, ah?"

Master, master, master, this guy's aura, could it be...

The little golden dragon and the Nether Butterfly were confused again.

The little golden dragon lay on Xia Muqing's shoulder, looked at his own beastmaster who was stunned, then looked at the Fengluo Lord who looked like he had seen a ghost, and scratched his head with his tail in confusion: "Ah?"

What’s going on? Who is it?

How come the Master and the Wind Dog seem to know just this random Beast King? Has the Master's connections been so extensive that he's even conquered the Alien Secret Realm?

"No, this is a complicated matter..." Xia Muqing opened her lips silently, "Xiao Zi, quickly open the chat room."

Although the Nether Butterfly was confused, it reacted quickly: "Ah!"

Skill 'Overclocking Empathy', activated!

The invisible net was pulled up, and while the two beast kings were negotiating with Yu Cong, Xia Muqing quickly told Xiao Jin and Xiao Zi in her mental space about her previous encounter with the sword-tailed tiger in the seventh district.

In fact, the two mysterious beasts also knew about this matter, but they were not present at the time. They heard it from other beasts. At that time, the little golden dragon was sprinting for the advanced challenge of the gilded sky dragon, and Xiao Zi was helping it replenish its life energy. They did not see the negotiation between the sword-tailed tiger and the black fog mysterious beast on the spot, so they did not remember it for a while.

After Xia Muqing's reminder, they finally understood what had happened and immediately became alert to the smiling sword-tailed tiger not far away.

The origin of the giant snake that came later was even more bizarre. Xia Muqing took a deep breath and said, "Xiao Jin, think about it carefully. You should know this mysterious beast."

Little Golden Dragon: “???”

It thought carefully for more than ten seconds, counting the few snake-type mystical beasts it had seen. After a long time, it finally dug out some almost forgotten images from the depths of its memory. After comparing them, it was so shocked that all the scales on its body stood up.

“Ooooohhhh??”

No, no way, could it be that poor little Azure Dark Snake that followed the wrong beastmaster and was bullied and abused?

Ahhhh its head is going to explode! That was so long ago, and how is this possible? Wasn't the Azure Dark Snake crippled?

Lord Feng Luo lowered his jaw, his nose twitched a few times, and a faint light flickered in his ice-blue pupils: "Ouch..."

It’s this one, no mistake!

It is a canine-like mysterious beast and has always been sensitive to breath. Moreover, the Green Jade Snake is its first enemy on the road of growth and the target of its hard training for a long time. It will never mistake the other party's breath!

"That's not the key issue."

Xia Muqing clenched her palms and broke into a sweat.

The alien space is full of dangers, but it is also full of opportunities. If the Qingbi Ming Snake can really find some rare materials, it is not impossible to restore its mysterious power or even go further, and then become the beast king and join the alien secret realm.

But! She knew exactly how the little snake had fallen into that situation, and she was also fully aware of its deep hostility toward Liu Pan and, indeed, all human beastmasters. Was it appropriate for a beast king, once harmed by a human beastmaster, to represent the Alien Secret Realm in contact with the human team?

What is waiting for them in the secret realm?

"Something's wrong. This is really wrong."

Xia Muqing felt her scalp tingling as she looked at the tiger and the snake not far away.

Unfortunately, the Nether Butterfly's 'Overclocked Empathy' was built on top of her mental space, and currently could only connect to her and her contracted profound beast. Damn it, how could he pass this information to Yu Chong and the others without them even noticing?

She was worried here, and over there, the tall "black snake" was lazily sticking out its tongue and casually glancing at the crowd.

Then, he was stunned for a moment.

The blood-red vertical pupils shrank slightly, and the long spiral tail was raised high. Just as he was about to slap the ground hard, he suddenly remembered something and had to slowly let it go.

It narrowed its eyes and stared at Xia Muqing in the crowd, with an ambiguous light flashing in its eyes. Its eyes swept over the Feng Luo Lord who was baring his teeth beside it, and it seemed to curl its lips inadvertently and spit out a blood-red tongue.

“…Ouch.”

Lord Fengluo whispered in the mental link: [It seems like it wants to fight me.]

Xia Muqing bit her tongue: "It's normal, isn't it?"

After all, they were former enemies, so it was reasonable for them to want to fight again.

Lord Fengluo tilted his head: [But it seems like he doesn't want to fight. So contradictory, is he struggling?]

The Azure Dark Snake seemed to want to convey something to them, but it also suffered from the inability to communicate. Its pupils blinked more and more ferociously, causing the two sides to stare at each other and make wild guesses in the chat room.

On the other side, the sword-tailed tiger was still talking with Yu Chong. Although there were hidden meanings in their communication, it was still harmonious overall. In addition, most of the team's attention was attracted by that side, and for a moment no one noticed the undercurrents on Xia Muqing and the black snake's side.

Finally, the sword-tailed tiger growled, "Ah!"

[Come on, human beastmasters, I will lead you into the mysterious realm of the Other Element. You must follow carefully, as this space is filled with traps. One wrong step could lead to your death... Don't blame me for not warning you.]

Yu Zong nodded, turned around and said to the crowd, "Indeed, the space here may seem stable, but it's actually full of tiny cracks. Just like the reefs and undercurrents on the seabed, once you get stuck in it, even I would find it difficult to break free."

"Everyone, follow carefully. Put away all the instruments first. We'll discuss the spatial data after we get inside..."

As he was speaking, suddenly the tall black snake swam forward a few steps, just blocking the sword-tailed tiger and the human group, releasing a fierce murderous aura from its body.

“Hiss!”

[Humans, do you look down on us? ]

"We agreed that the top beastmasters would be coming, so we can safely entrust the young mystical beasts to you for training! Why is there such a young girl among the people who came this time?"

It bared its fangs, held its head high, and pointed the tip of its tail at Xia Muqing.

Anyone could see the disdain for Xia Muqing in its eyes.

Yu Zong was slightly taken aback and tried to explain: "You misunderstood. This is the most talented beastmaster of our young generation in recent years. Although he looks young, he has already trained many gods..."

"hiss!"

[Haha, it's all just a gimmick. Humans always like to flatter themselves. The Alien Secret Realm has no room for those who try to take advantage of the situation. If you don't have the strength, get out now. Otherwise, just clean your neck and wait for death.]

“…”

Even the sword-tailed tiger looked sideways now, with confusion in its dazed eyes. It looked at its companion suspiciously: "Roar?"

What is this for?

The Azure Dark Snake stretched out its neck and said, "Hiss."

"Human children have no idea what responsibility is, just like that bastard beastmaster I had before... I'm annoyed just looking at him."

Swordtail Tiger: "...Roar."

"That's enough! I don't care what grudges you may have had with human beastmasters in the past. Don't let a little selfishness ruin the clan's great cause..."

The two mysterious beasts exchanged whispers. Yu Cong, standing nearby, looked at Xia Muqing in surprise. After hesitating for a moment, he whispered, "Have you seen this snake before? Do you have a grudge against it?"

Xia Muqing gritted her teeth and said, "No, no, it shouldn't be..."

Yu Cong's expression changed slightly. "So they're just looking for a random excuse to attack our human group. Are they trying to take this opportunity to test our strength?"

Xia Muqing: "Uh..."

Qingbi Mingshe spoke abruptly, this was definitely not her plan. She was about to deny it, but then she thought, isn't this a good way to make Yu Chong and the others more vigilant?

So Xia Muqing went along with it and continued vaguely, "That's right, that's right. Let's be careful. These guys hate humans. I'm afraid they have bad intentions and won't hand over the divine beast cub to us so easily. There must be targeted arrangements in the secret realm..."

Sorry, Big Tiger, for the safety of the team, you have to take the blame. And strictly speaking, this isn't unfair, right?

Yu Zong nodded solemnly, and upon hearing this, the others also stopped smiling. The atmosphere, which had been slightly relaxed, became slightly tense again after Xia Muqing's reminder.

Over there, the sword-tailed tiger and the black snake finally reached a consensus after some communication.

The tall black snake raised its head, its two-meter-tall body straightened, looking down at the human team in front of it, with a gleam in its eyes: "Hiss."

"Alright, for White Tiger's sake, I'll let you in first. As for your strength... I'll personally test you once we get to the secret realm, humph."