Nine Astra Skies

"His name is Mingyi, from the Pangolin Clan." Ji Lei pointed to a young man who looked very down-to-earth.

This down-to-earth young man was dressed plainly. He was slightly shorter than Ji Lei and looked a little inert. However, since Ye Chen had met with pangolin Mingyuan before, his impression of Mingyi was relatively positive.

"Hello." Ye Chen nodded slightly and smiled.

"Hello." Mingyi scratched his head and returned a pleasant smile.

Ye Chen's gaze landed on the last person. His build was similar to Mingyi. Although his looks were not as handsome as Qing Yu, he was relatively good looking. He wore a black robe and his expression was somewhat grim. Ye Chen could sense that his gaze was not very friendly.

"This is Hei Ming, he belongs to the Nether Snake Clan. This fellow is always dark and sullen, pay no attention to him!" Ji Lei concluded with a laugh.

It turned out that Hei Ming was from the Nether Snake Clan. It was not surprising that Ye Chen had sensed a trace of darkness in his gaze.

"We'll soon be entering the seventh floor of the Soul Pagoda. Follow us, we'll ensure that you're safe. The Demon Wolves who had just left wouldn't dare to challenge us." Ji Lei patted Ye Chen's shoulder.

Since Ye Chen was trying to hide his identity to enter the seventh floor of the Soul Pagoda, it would be beneficial for him to follow Ji Lei and the others. Perhaps he could also contact the Leo King discreetly at some point.

"Let's go." Qing Yu grinned at Ye Chen.

The group of them walked toward the Leo King's Palace camp.

The bystanders watched Ye Chen departing with the others and lamented in their hearts at Ye Chen's luck. They thought that Ye Chen would die for sure, but unexpectedly, the Leo King's Palace came to his rescue and had averted a disaster. What they did not know was that, if not for the appearance of Ji Lei and the others, Suo Mang and his gang would have been turned to ashes by now.

When Ye Chen turned around, he felt a dark gaze watching him closely. He immediately realized that it was Hei Ming from the Nether Snake Clan. Ye Chen smiled thinly inside his heart. 'I hope you don't try to mess with me, otherwise, don't blame me for being rude.'

The group chatted with one another as they walked to the campgrounds where the Leo King's Palace was stationed.

Most of the people here were subordinates of the Leo King's Palace, but there was also a bunch of people who had just joined the Leo King's Palace recently. They seemed to know Ji Lei and the others, and nodded in acknowledgment when their group walked past.

Judging from the reaction of these people, it was easy to tell that Ji Lei and the others occupied a respected position.

"The team from the Leo King's Palace that is preparing to enter the seventh floor of the Soul Pagoda consists of six hundred and thirty-two combatants. Among these groups, there are four Daemon Kings and the others are Mystique Rank." Ji Lei glanced at Ye Chen. Although Ye Chen had not said anything so far, Ji Lei felt that he was trustworthy.

"Our men have scouted the seventh floor of the Soul Pagoda. Even the lowest-level Spirit Beasts are Mystique Rank existences, and usually move in packs. In addition, if we bump into those from the Wolven Kingdom, it'll result in a fight to the death. If you don't have a life-saving tactic, it's better not to go in," Hei Ming said coldly as he passed by Ye Chen.

"Thank you for your concern, please worry about yourself," Ye Chen glanced at Hei Ming and replied impassively. He did not have a good impression of Hei Ming. He felt that Hei Ming's gaze toward him was filled with malice, like a venomous snake.

"Hei Ming is always like that, don't mind him." Beside them, Fei Yin said with a cheerful smile. Her bright eyes and dazzling smile caused her surroundings to dim in comparison. This girl was as pure as ice and snow.

"No problem." Ye Chen nodded.

"Ye Chen, if you like Sister Fei Yin, you have to be very capable. Among our group, both Brother Qing Yu and Brother Hei Ming likes Sister Fei Yin," the sculpture-like little girl, Ye Qiu, said matter-of-factly.

Hearing Ye Qiu's words, Ye Chen was amused. He was not the kind of person who fell in love with every girl he saw. This little girl was quite amusing. Ye Chen could not help but tease her, "Miss Ye Qiu, actually the person I fancy isn't your Sister Fei Yin, but you. How about you, will you accept me?"

Ye Chen's words caused everyone to laugh.

Ye Qiu's bright purple eyes looked at Ye Chen for a long time. Her tiny hand rested on her chin as she replied quite seriously, "Although you're not as handsome as Brother Qing Yu, you still make the cut. However, you must prove your capabilities. If you can defeat Brother Qing Yu and Brother Hei Ming, I agree to be your partner."

Ye Chen was taken aback. Looking at the solemnity on Ye Qiu's face, he once again realized that humans and mystical beasts had vastly different perceptions. If an ordinary human girl had been teased by Ye Chen in such a manner, they would have been completely embarrassed. On the other hand, Ye Qiu was not at all embarrassed and even seemed thoughtful. He admitted that Ye Qiu was very cute and would grow up to become a beautiful young lady. However, Ye Chen was not interested in a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl.

Ye Chen shook his head and laughed. "Forget it. By the time you grow up, I'll be an old man. Ten years for mystical beasts is equivalent to just one year for us humans."

Ye Qiu pouted. She stared at Ye Chen with her large doe eyes and said, "It must be an excuse. You probably think that you're not good enough to defeat Brother Qing Yu and Brother Hei Ming, that's why you said that."

"Perhaps." Ye Chen smiled and nodded.

The group of them continued walking. Ye Chen slowed down his steps and walked beside Qing Yu.

"If you came from the Xiwu Empire's Lianyun Mountains, do you know Little Ning?" Ye Chen asked. Finally, he could not help but ask Qing Yu.

"Little Ning? Is she alive?" Qing Yu stared at Ye Chen with disbelief. There was a trace of wetness in his eyes.

"Yes!" Ye Chen nodded. He could feel that Qing Yu and Little Ning had a very deep relationship. His heart felt a little uncomfortable.

"Where is she now?" Qing Yu asked anxiously.

"She's staying in a place and cannot come out for now," Ye Chen could only explain in this manner. "You're Little Ning's…"

"Brother." Qing Yu was very excited. He then added, "I'm her biological brother." Qing Yu could tell that a profound relationship existed between Ye Chen and Little Ning.

Hearing Qing Yu's words, Ye Chen's heart felt relieved. He did not think that he would meet Little Tanuki's brother here. Ye Chen's heart could not help but feel excited.

Qing Yu calmed his emotions and looked at Ye Chen. "It's good that Little Ning is well."

Thanks to Little Tanuki, the relationship between Ye Chen and Qing Yu had become closer in an instant.

"When the incident happened in Lianyun Mountains, I was in the Central Empire, so I couldn't protect Little Ning." Qing Yu's expression dimmed, regret plastered on his face.

As they talked, Ye Chen found out that Qing Yu had left Lianyun Mountains many years ago due to his natural talents. He had been staying in the Central Empire, trained by the Leo King's Palace. The six people in this team were prodigies among the younger generation in the Leo King's Palace.

The Leo King's Palace consisted of thirty-two mystical beast clans, which meant that these six were at the top of hundreds of millions beasts!

"We should move toward the seventh floor of the Soul Pagoda now. Thunder Cliff, House of Storms, and a few other factions have already entered!" Ji Lei turned around to declare to the group. His voice was very loud. Even his ordinary voice sounded like a peal of thunder, which added to the powerful aura around him.

Ye Chen looked into the distance and saw Tong Tian the Leo King in front. Ye Chen did not expect to meet the Leo King again so soon, but even if Tong Tian had seen him, he probably would not recognize Ye Chen.

"Let's go!" Tong Tian the Leo King's voice boomed. Four figures rose into the air. All of them were Daemon King Rank combatants. Tong Tian was a Celestial Beast Daemon King while the other three were mystical beast Daemon Kings.

The Mystique Rank combatants also rose into the air and flew toward the seventh floor of the Soul Pagoda.

The Wolven King camp.

"Three Highnesses, the Leo King's Palace team has set-off," a huge red wolf flew in and reported.

"In that case, let's go!" The one who spoke was a human-form Blood Wolf Daemon King. His entire body was blood-red and he held a bizarre demonic blade in his hand. There was a murderous air around him. "I wonder if there'll be a chance to witness Tong Tian the Leo King's Hammer!"

"Swish, swish, swish", a multitude of figures flew into the air. There were at least a thousand Mystique Rank combatants who had entered the seventh floor of the Soul Pagoda.

Waves upon waves of people had departed.

The scene before Ye Chen's eyes darkened. The world around him turned dim. In a distance, he saw endless hills. From time to time, roars of Spirit Beasts reverberated. In the distant horizon, fiery clouds were hanging low, filled with tremendous pressure.

The entire seventh floor of the Soul Pagoda was filled with a dangerous energy. Ye Chen could sense more than a dozen Grand Supreme Rank Psyches probing at them. Perhaps, the strength of their group was not even worth these Spirit Beasts' effort, so the Spirit Beasts ignored their arrival.

"Once you get to the seventh floor of the Soul Pagoda, be careful of where you step on. The seventh floor contains some Spirit Beasts that dig underneath the ground. They often lie in ambush underground and when someone walks past, they'll spring an attack!" Qing Yu reminded him.

Under the leadership of Tong Tian the Leo King, the group walked on without stopping.

"Where are we heading to?" Ye Chen asked.

"Before this, a few people from the Leo King's Palace found a Daemon King Rank Spirit Beast. Near that Daemon King Rank Spirit Beast, there's a Tier Nine Purple Demon Armor component. We're preparing to kill the Spirit Beast and obtain the Purple Demon Armor!" Ji Lei turned to inform Ye Chen.

"A Tier Nine Purple Demon Armor?" Ye Chen nodded slightly. A Tier Nine Purple Demon Armor component was enough to mobilize the entire Leo King's Palace. After all, every single component of the Purple Demon Armor was worth an entire city!

The two Purple Demon Armor components in Ye Chen's hands were only at Tier Eight. He wondered when he could finally assemble it.

The seventh floor of the Soul Pagoda was incomparably vast. It was more than ten times larger than the sixth floor of the Soul Pagoda. Tong Tian the Leo King led the large troop along the edge of the Soul Pagoda for almost two hours, and finally stopped at a flat ground.

"Fortify in position!"

"In just a little over an hour more, we'll arrive at the Daemon King Rank Spirit Beast's location. Why are we fortifying in position now?" Ji Lei was puzzled as he gazed into the distance. Then, pangs of beastly howls resounded. All of them saw, from all over the mountains, countless Spirit Beasts were charging toward them like a gigantic wave.