Qing Bazhi held a head in his left hand, while his right hand gripped a vine.

The head was pressed against his heart.

The vine was extremely long, stretching all the way down to the fruit house.

His eight braids were neatly divided on either side.

Qing Qishu seemed to be at odds with him, meeting him with a stern face.

But Qing Bazhi gently sidestepped him, bypassing him with a look of joy, “Qinghua, have you come to welcome me?”

“Bazhi!” Before the holy maiden Qingzhi could speak, Qing Qishu had turned back with a frown, blocking his path: “What is this about the Dragon God Envoy you speak of?”

Qing Bazhi craned his neck to stare at Qinghua, but Qishu, though not as tall as him, stood on his toes, moving from side to side, always occupying his line of sight.

“Qishu, I truly underestimated you.” Qing Bazhi finally could not ignore him any longer: “You hunted with Jiuye, and you were the one who returned alive?”

Qing Qishu naturally did not want to delve into this topic.

“Don’t speak of useless things. You claim to have found the Dragon God Envoy?”

“Could it be false? After completing the hunt, I thought I would go hunting as well… Tch!” He suddenly stopped, glancing at Qing Qishu with disdain: “Why am I telling you this!”

With a quick step, he shook off Qishu and gave Qinghua a radiant smile: “The Priestess is still waiting for me, I’ll go in first.”

Qinghua nodded, and he, as if he had achieved a great victory, puffed out his chest, raised his head, and strode inside.

From beginning to end, Jiang Wang was treated as invisible, and he could even hear Qing Qishu grinding his teeth in anger.

In truth, Bazhi only had eyes for the holy maiden Qinghua. If Qing Qishu hadn’t kept pushing his way in front of him, he probably wouldn’t even have seen Qing Qishu.

“Go in, go in, let’s go in too!” Qing Qishu shouted.

Qinghua followed, also heading inside.

Jiang Wang deliberately quickened his pace, entering the room where the Priestess meditated, using his body to block the sight of the skyward-braided little girl, preventing her from seeing the head in Bazhi’s hand.

He had no other thoughts. If An’an were here, he would also cover An’an’s eyes, not wanting the child to see the bloody side of this world too soon.

Children lack understanding of the world. Seeing such things too early can easily bring a lifetime of shadows, even distorting their character.

“Priestess!” As soon as Qing Bazhi entered the room, he walked to the white-haired old woman, knelt down on one knee, and held the head, which had been pressed against his heart, in his single hand before her.

“The hunt… Bazhi has completed it!”

The white-haired old woman’s expression was sacred as she accepted the head with both hands, chanting: “May the favor of the gods never fade.”

In the room, Qing Qishu, Qing Jiuye, and even the round-faced little girl, who was shielded behind Jiang Wang, all chanted in unison. “May the favor of the gods never fade.”

The Priestess clasped her hands, embracing the head in her arms, then said: “Outlander youth, I know your intentions are good. But to the Sacred Clan, the head severed in the hunt is not a bloody thing, but our beauty and our honor. Little Guo’er can see these, and should see them.”

From these words, it could be judged that the Priestess old woman had some understanding of the outside world. Otherwise, she would not have said, “I know your intentions are good.” If she had always lived in the Shadow of the Gods, never coming into contact with the outside world, the moral values of the Sacred Clan should have occupied her entirely, and she would not have believed that Jiang Wang’s starting point was good.

Jiang Wang did not agree in his heart, but he still slightly shifted his body. The world is different, and he could not measure everything by his own standards. This was a principle his father had taught him when he was very young.

Especially in this strange, primeval forest world.

But unexpectedly, a small hand grabbed the corner of his clothes.

The little girl with the skyward braids hid behind him, not willing to come out.

She would also chant for the favor of the gods, but the little girl was clearly afraid of the word “head” she had heard.

It seems that no matter what kind of environment they are born into, humans always have something in common, Jiang Wang thought.

The white-haired old woman paused slightly, but in the end, she did not say anything more about it.

And at this time, Bazhi, who had risen, noticed Qing Jiuye standing in the room.

His face darkened: “Why have you and Qishu both returned? I need an explanation!”

Qing Jiuye was clearly aware of his fault, his voice soft and lacking strength: “Before we could determine a victor, we found the Dragon God Envoy… so we decided to temporarily stop the hunt.”

Even Qing Qishu was silent at this time. In the end, they had indeed abandoned the tradition, because of his fear of pain and Qing Jiuye’s soft heart.

Although there was a reason like the Dragon God Envoy, the Dragon God Envoy was, after all, an unconfirmed matter. Especially now that there were three Dragon God Envoys, it became even more illusory.

They had stopped the hunt, temporarily avoiding a division of life and death.

For Qing Bazhi, who had executed the tradition, was this fair?

Qing Bazhi shifted his teeth: “Is that so?”

Not allowing them to continue the confrontation, the Priestess then said: “Bazhi, where is the Dragon God Envoy you invited?”

Qing Bazhi yanked hard with his right hand, and the vine he was holding rapidly retracted.

This vine was too long, with one end held in his hand and the other end hanging outside the fruit house.

Qing Bazhi pulled for a while…

Bang! Bang!

Two figures fell into the room.

One was of medium height, lying on his back, hair disheveled, eyes dazed, and with a slightly weathered expression.

The other was thin, falling face down, with his hair neatly arranged with a hairpin. He was lying on the ground, and his face could not be seen clearly.

They were both tied tightly with vines, unable to move.

It seemed that these two “Dragon God Envoys” had been captured by Qing Bazhi, and then tied with this vine, and dragged all the way back to the Shadow of the Gods. No wonder the one lying on his back had a look of life-weariness…

Compared to Jiang Wang’s treatment, it was like heaven and earth.

But what made Jiang Wang’s eyes light up was that he should have seen both of these people!

Their clothing was typical of Qi people.

The one lying on his back, although his name and origin were unknown, should have been seen in Seven Stars Valley.

Before the Seven Stars Building secret realm was opened, Jiang Wang had observed all the participants and had some impression of this person.

That is to say, he did not come to the primeval forest world alone.

Although they were competitors, he could not help but feel a sense of kinship at this time.

The Priestess was silent for a while: “Bazhi, is this how you invited the Dragon God Envoy?”

Qing Bazhi still had a stern face: “They ran as soon as they saw me, and I had no choice.”

The years had brought the Priestess not only wrinkles but also patience: “Then how did you determine that they were Dragon God Envoys?”

“I was wearing a Stealth Garment, hiding to the side, when I happened to see them fighting a forest bear. I heard them say things like ‘this world’ and ‘receiving starlight.’ Connecting this with the records in the clan, I understood that they might be Dragon God Envoys.”

“Then why did they run when they saw you?”

“I don’t know either.” Qing Bazhi was a little helpless: “I even rushed out to save them. I was just about to speak when they turned their heads and ran!”

“So you tied them up and brought them back?”

“If I wanted them to come with me, they wouldn’t listen!”

At this moment, Wu Quji, who was tied up tightly, was mentally collapsing.

That bear was so ferocious that we fought it for a long time. You suddenly jumped out of nowhere and killed it with a javelin, wearing such strange clothes, like a savage!

How could we not be afraid? How could we not run?