Nine Astra Skies

On the main road below Emerald Cloud Mountain.

"Little Tanuki, is a Daemon King so powerful that their Psyche can travel several hundred miles?" Ye Chen looked down and asked Little Tanuki. The old man transformed from the Eclipsing Firebird had given a rather incredible description of Daemon Kings. Ye Chen had become curious about a Daemon King's abilities.

Little Tanuki grinned widely and shook her head, then said something in beast language.

"Big Sister Little Tanuki said that each Daemon King has different abilities. Some Daemon Kings have overpowering fighting power while others specialize in tracking. There are also Daemon Kings that excel in secret techniques to confuse or conceal. An ancient, unique species like me is rather different from ordinary mystical beasts and Celestial Beasts. Those low-level mystical beasts and Celestial Beasts haven't seen a formidable Daemon King before and thus describe a Daemon King's abilities to be miraculous. Even so, there's no doubting a Daemon King's might." Little Wingsy ate a lamb chop ravenously while explaining with his mouth full.

"Little Tanuki, have you encountered many Daemon Kings?" Ye Chen asked, puzzled. Without encountering Daemon Kings, how would one know so much about them?

Little Tanuki was silent for a moment. After a long time, she nodded.

"Big Sister Little Tanuki said that she once saw some Daemon Kings at the Daemon King Feast, but only from a distance. She had heard from her grandmother everything she knows about Daemon Kings." Little Wingsy conveyed what Little Tanuki had said.

Ye Chen sensed that on this topic of Daemon Kings, Little Tanuki seemed to be in low spirits, and her eyes revealed her dissatisfaction, humiliation, helplessness, suffering, and bewilderment. Ye Chen's Astral Body could feel those complex emotions. There were some things that Little Tanuki had not told Ye Chen even now, including why Little Tanuki's clan was exterminated. Nevertheless, Ye Chen understood and empathized with Little Tanuki's anguish. Little Tanuki must have had some secrets she could not share as well. If Little Tanuki did not share this with him, then surely it was not yet the right time for him to know.

The Daemon King Feast? What sort of event was that? A gathering of all Daemon Kings?

While Little Tanuki recalled the various events of the past, she must bore deep-seated resentment toward those mystical beasts and Celestial Beasts that had wiped out the tanuki. However, Little Tanuki was still unwilling to say who her enemy was. This meant that her enemy was too powerful. With Ye Chen's current strength, he was no match for them, so Little Tanuki chose to keep silent.

One day, when Ye Chen was powerful enough to help Little Tanuki get her revenge, she might then tell her secret to him.

Ye Chen stroked Little Tanuki's head. Her clan was wiped out, yet she had no choice but to abandon her close family members to escape. Ye Chen felt as if he was experiencing that suffering and guilt as well.

Little Tanuki curled up in Ye Chen's embrace, tears brimming at the corner of her eyes.

"Big Brother Ye Chen, Big Sister Little Tanuki is very sad." Little Wingsy also had tears in his eyes. Although he did not know why Big Sister Little Tanuki was sad, the moment Little Wingsy saw her grieving, he could not hold back his tears.

"Little Tanuki is fine, Little Wingsy. We're heading back to the Capital City now. It's almost dark. There seems to be a small town market up ahead. We'll stop there. Tomorrow, we'll buy a horse, then continue our journey," Ye Chen said while pulling Little Wingsy with him as he walked along the main road. It looked like he must capture a few more mystical beasts that could fly. Having just the Raven Hawk and the Vermillion Spirit Condor were not enough.

They walked for a few miles and spotted the busy town from a long distance away. Ye Chen and Little Wingsy were cultivators, so they did not feel tired even after walking for so long.

Green Willow Town.

This small town was by the side of the main road. Many trading merchants would stop there. It was a noisy crowd and there were people everywhere on the street. Restaurants and brothels lined both sides of the street.

Ye Chen's Astral Body did a quick sweep and had observed everything in the small town without exception.

Each time he reached a small town, Ye Chen would examine the place with his Astral Body out of habit, to see if there were any experts or good items that caught his attention. Nonetheless, he was soon disappointed. The strongest person in this town was nothing more than a Ninth Level fighter accompanied by many Seventh and Eighth Level fighters, who seemed to act as escorts. As for good items, there only seemed to be a few low-ranking herbs.

The town had a diverse mix of people. Other than those from the Xiwu Empire, many were merchants who came from other countries. There were the blonde-haired green-eyed citizens of the Muhei Nation, the dark-skinned citizens of the Seyi nation, and so on. It gave the entire town an exotic atmosphere.

Since there were no powerhouses in town, Ye Chen could not be bothered to use his Astral Body, so he withdrew it.

"Little Wingsy, let's go to a restaurant," Ye Chen said. With Little Wingsy in tow, he went into a restaurant, ready to stay the night after having his meal. They would leave tomorrow morning after he bought a horse.

Ye Chen was a seventeen, eighteen-year-old youth, with a five or six-year-old kid with him and a white tanuki burrowed against his chest. He was rather conspicuous among the trading merchants. Still, the moment people noticed his clothes, they knew that he was someone from a martial arts family. No one would actively provoke a cultivator.

Just as Ye Chen was heading up into the restaurant, the distant vendors wore a strange look on their faces. Someone swiftly left the place.

In a courtyard somewhere in town, there was a group of people who were dressed differently.

"Did you all see that? That young fellow was carrying a white tanuki?" one of them asked in a low voice. He was tall and sturdy, body rippling with muscle and hair tied up behind his head. He wore light blue clothes. Although his attire was similar to people from the Xiwu Empire, his looks were very different. He had an unusually straight nose and deep green eyes.

"Yes, Big Man Leiyu. We saw it," someone else replied confidently.

Leiyu Tianyi nodded slightly. "I'll report this to headquarters then. Keep a close eye on them. If you lose track of them, you know the consequences!"

"Yes, Big Man Leiyu!"

Leiyu Tianyi was the head of an intelligence agency in Green Willow Town set up by the Nanman Kingdom. He was at the Eighth Level and was responsible for gathering all sorts of information for the Nanman Kingdom. The Nanman Kingdom had had its eyes on the Xiwu Empire for a long time. Over the past centuries, it had sent many people to infiltrate the Xiwu Empire, building an intensive intelligence network here. Everything that had happened in the Xiwu Empire would not escape their eyes and ears!

The previous matter of the Human Tier medicinal pills had attracted the Nanman Kingdom's attention. They knew a little about what had happened at Central Lake Island. The inciting incident was Ye Chen catching a Purple-gold Divine Fish, which was refined into Purple-gold Divine Pills by Master Apothecary Xuanyi. The Nanman Kingdom was also highly interested in such a large number of Human Tier medicinal pills and had sent some experts over to seize the medicinal pills. However, when their experts had reached the place, the battle had ended. Master Apothecary Xuanyi and Ye Chen were nowhere to be found. Even so, the experts of the Nanman Kingdom had stayed on in the Capital City and had never left.

Unexpectedly, Ye Chen showed up here. The Purple-gold Divine Pills could not possibly be used up so quickly. Ye Chen must still possess a significant number!

Leiyu Tianyi looked at the information he had, which stated - "Ye Chen was estimated to be seventeen or eighteen years old. Came from Donglin County's House of Ye. Presently had a cultivation base of an Earthly Venerable Rank fighter. Accompanied by a five or six-year-old child whose origins and cultivation base was unknown. Nie Qingyun was once thwarted by the said child. The child did not know any martial arts technique, but fighting him directly was inadvisable. Moreover, there was a tanuki, its cultivation base unknown. In possession of a large number of Purple-gold Divine Pills. Level of importance – extremely high."

As Leiyu Tianyi looked at this information, he could not help sighing ruefully. A seventeen or eighteen-year-old who was already an Earthly Venerable Rank fighter. This talent was not inferior to his kingdom's Grandruler. A character like this must be annihilated in advance. Leiyu Tianyi had heard of what had happened at Donglin County's Ye Castle. Previously, experts from the Nanman Kingdom had tried to assassinate Ye Zhantian. Many Tenth Level fighters had died, but not a single hair was harmed on Ye Zhantian's head. They did not know where the members of Donglin's Ye Clan were situated. Many of them had gone searching deep in the Lianyun Mountains and countless were injured or killed. Nonetheless, they could not locate the Ye Clan. Even the Grandruler had taken notice of Donglin County's Ye Clan and had inquired about them a few times.

This time, the Grandruler had sent two Heavenly Venerable fighters and five Earthly Venerable fighters over, along with the terror-inspiring assassins by the Grandruler's side. If they could capture and kill Ye Chen in one go this time, then he, the person who first discovered Ye Chen, would be greatly credited. Promotions and wealth would be just around the corner. His heart had started to burn feverously. No matter what, before those experts arrived, he must not lose track of their target!

Leiyu Tianyi had made arrangements to strictly control the restaurant where Ye Chen was staying.

The entire night had passed without incident. On the next day, when dawn had just arrived, many merchants were up and about, ready to continue their journey. The clanking horse bells rang through large streets and small alleys as troop after troop of horses exited the small town and went on the main road. These trading merchants had to hurry on their way.

The wind murmured. In the early morning air, there was the scent of flowers and earth.

Ye Chen, who had been sitting on the bed, cultivating, now opened his eyes. After sitting cross-legged on his bed, cultivating for an entire night, he felt full of energy. He got up to move his body around. It was a shame that he could not practice his martial arts techniques here. Otherwise, Ye Chen would like to further familiarize himself with some martial arts techniques to prevent being out of practice.

After a while, Ye Chen woke Little Tanuki and Little Wingsy up. After eating together, they headed out of the inn.

"Little Tanuki, Little Wingsy, let's go buy a horse."

In the morning, the street was already bustling with movement. From time to time, a troop of horses would pass by. Vendors had also set up many stalls by both sides of the street, many of whom were selling various kinds of snacks. Hot steam constantly rose from these stalls.

"Steaming hot buns fresh out of the steamer, three for a coin!"

"Linguan's sweet pastries – they look, smell, and taste delicious!"

Shouts could be heard all over the place.

Little Wingsy followed behind Ye Chen, a long trail of saliva dripping from his mouth as he looked around constantly.

"Big Brother Ye Chen, are these things tasty?" Little Wingsy asked as he looked toward a bun stall. He could not move his eyes away and would occasionally stand on tiptoe, soaking in the aromas in the air.

When Ye Chen noticed Little Wingsy's greedy expression, he could not stop himself from laughing. He took out a ten-tael piece of silver from the armguard's space and handed it to Little Wingsy. Little Wingsy immediately rushed to the bun stall eagerly.

"Boss, I want to buy some buns."

The vendor of the bun stall was a fifty-year-plus old man. He wore rough clothes and was stooped at the waist, appearing to have weathered much of life. When he heard this voice, he looked down and saw that it was a fair, adorable, young boy dressed in fine clothes. The vendor smiled widely at him and asked, "Young master, how many do you want?"

"How much can this buy?" Little Wingsy offered the ten-tael piece of silver and asked.

"Oh my, I don't have enough change for that," the old man said in horror. Little Wingsy's offer of a ten-tael piece of silver had shocked him.

"Boss, pack all your buns for takeout. And keep the change for this silver." Ye Chen walked over and took the silver from Little Wingsy, then placed it at the bun stall.