Due to the confines of their temporary haven and the presence of Bai Lian, it was ill-suited for the rigorous practice of the Four Spirits Body Refining Technique. Thus, after concluding his cultivation in the Chong Meridian, Jiang Wang shifted his focus to the Yuan Control Technique. Within the ethereal expanse of the Tongtian Palace, he directed and shaped the Dao Yuan, at times weaving it into the character for “An,” at others into “Wang,” finding a peculiar satisfaction in the subtle mastery.

An indeterminate period of time passed before faint whispers drifted into his awareness.

Jiang Wang withdrew from his cultivated state, his gaze shifting towards Bai Lian.

Bai Lian returned his look with a silent, knowing glance.

The voices drew nearer.

“Damn it! Every day, this same boring crap. I didn’t join the Jixing Division just to be a hunter,” one voice grumbled.

Another voice offered a quiet word of caution, “Say less.”

“He’s not even here,” the first voice retorted, though its tone had noticeably softened. “What’s there to fear?”

Jiang Wang’s heart stirred. “Hunter”? What could that mean? Were they here hunting fierce beasts? Yet, he had heard no sounds of battle. Zhao Rucheng had mentioned earlier that someone on Yuheng Peak had prevented Dou Yuebrow from uprooting the mountain. Was that person not present now? Jixing Division… The cultivators on Yuheng Peak must indeed belong to Zhuang Court. The fierce beasts plaguing the Sanshan city domain were, in truth, linked to Zhuang Court!

Thoughts surged through his mind, while the voices of the two speakers grew ever closer, or perhaps they were ascending towards the mountaintop.

Jiang Wang remained perfectly still, utterly silent, adhering to his instructions and pondering Bai Lian’s intentions. To this point, he still had no clear idea of what he was meant to do. Yet, with the secrets of Yuheng Peak and Zhuang Court now entangled, his mind inevitably delved deeper.

The sound of footsteps halted just outside the cave entrance, and two weary-looking cultivators came into view.

One was exceptionally tall, the other possessed a luxuriant beard.

Each bore something akin to a birdcage, and their gazes were fixed upon Jiang Wang and the others.

They were taken aback, as was Jiang Wang.

“They see us!” Jiang Wang blurted out.

“Isn’t that rather obvious?” Bai Lian replied coolly.

“Didn’t we set up the array disk?”

“Oh, that array disk. I just had it in my pocket, and it was rather heavy, so I just casually placed it somewhere.”

“…”

Jiang Wang suppressed the surge of exasperation and had just reached for his sword when Bai Lian floated gracefully out of the cave.

Now free from the confines of the beast hide, her elegant form was no longer concealed. Suspended in mid-air, she was a captivating sight.

She extended her hands and gently pressed her palms between the eyebrows of the two cultivators.

In truth, the two cultivators had reacted instantly, but their Dao techniques dissolved before they could fully form.

They seemed to shout something, but their voices were extinguished by some unseen force.

The two cultivators slumped softly, and Bai Lian bent to retrieve the two cages.

“Did you… kill them?” Jiang Wang asked.

If his ears hadn’t deceived him, these two cultivators were from the Jixing Division. In a sense, they were part of the extraordinary forces maintaining stability within the Zhuang Kingdom. Killing them was not an outcome Jiang Wang wished to witness.

“They’ve merely fainted. Why would I be so foolish?” Bai Lian said, a playful smile gracing her lips. “What if you ended up hating me?”

Jiang Wang truly couldn’t navigate these subtle overtures and simply stated, “What do we do next?”

Bai Lian held the cages in both hands and walked back with a light step.

She extended one of the cages towards Jiang Wang. “Take a look at this.”

Inside the cage were countless miniature wild beasts. Upon closer inspection, each one moved and was very much alive.

“What is this?” Jiang Wang asked, making no attempt to hide the limited perspective of a youth from a small town.

It wasn’t for lack of trying; unlike those born into privilege who lived surrounded by such sights, he simply hadn’t.

And there was nothing regrettable or pitiable about that – he was already on the path to seeing them.

“It’s a beast cage!” Bai Lian gently shook the cage, causing the wild beasts within to panic and scurry about.

“Like a storage box, but this one holds living wild beasts?”

Storage boxes were exceedingly rare items, almost legendary. Jiang Wang had never possessed one, but he had heard countless tales of them. The marvel of containing myriad things within a single box had once ignited a spark of aspiration within him.

Bai Lian nodded, raised her hand, and instructed, “Carry it.”

Jiang Wang took the two beast cages and examined them closely. “Why are people from the Jixing Division here? What are they catching so many wild beasts for?”

But Bai Lian offered no answer and walked deeper into the cave.

“Wait, isn’t the mountain spider sleeping inside?” Jiang Wang questioned.

Bai Lian turned back, tilted her head, and looked at Jiang Wang. “Why would the mountain spider be sleeping inside?”

“Didn’t you say… this is the mountain spider’s nest?”

“Did I say that, and it becomes the truth?” Bai Lian hummed softly and turned away. “You’re so easily deceived; be careful or some demoness might swallow you whole, skin and bones.”

Jiang Wang: “…”

He wasn’t simple-minded; it was merely that Bai Lian was his savior and had consistently shown him kindness, leaving him no reason to doubt her, especially over such a minor matter.

As they walked, Bai Lian produced a floating lantern, manipulated it subtly, and set it to follow them, drifting along.

The vast interior of the cave unfolded before Jiang Wang’s eyes.

There were few signs of human habitation within; it was simply a bewildering maze of numerous caverns leading to unknown depths, like a true labyrinth.

Bai Lian, however, seemed familiar with the path and unhesitatingly chose one cavern, heading directly inward.

They twisted and turned for a considerable time until, suddenly, the space opened up dramatically!

It was a colossal valley, stretching as far as the eye could see. There were trees, rocks, flowers, and grass, but it conveyed no sense of serene beauty. Instead, it instilled a feeling of depression and irritability.

Numerous caverns pockmarked the walls of the surrounding mountains, and Jiang Wang and the others were in one of them.

Jiang Wang surmised that perhaps many of the earlier caverns led to this very valley.

“Open the beast cages and pour them out,” Bai Lian instructed.

“Oh.”

Jiang Wang had already examined them and immediately placed the cage in his right hand on the ground, lifted the one in his left, pointed the cage opening towards the valley below, and opened the door.

“Roar! Hiss! Screech! Squeak!”

Countless beast roars echoed around them as the wild beasts surged out like a tide. The moment they emerged, they returned to their normal size and then plummeted, falling into the valley below.

These were ordinary wild beasts— lions, tigers, bears, leopards, birds, foxes, rabbits. Some were gentle, some ferocious, but all within the expected range.

When they fell into the valley, terrifying things began to happen.

First, their eyes turned blood-red almost instantaneously.

Rabbits bared fangs, small birds sprouted claws sharp as knives… Some swelled monstrously in size, others grew sharp horns.

Jiang Wang witnessed it all firsthand.

These wild beasts… were transforming into fierce beasts!

Those mindless fierce beasts, those brutal, savage, nightmare-inducing creatures.

The ones that had nearly overwhelmed the Sanshan city domain and ravaged various counties of the Zhuang Kingdom.

They… were actually ordinary wild beasts transformed!

Captured by people from the Jixing Division and transformed in this valley.

This was a massive secret, an even more cruel truth.