After days of travel, they finally reached the edge of the mountainous region and began to see the signs of human territory on the horizon.
The scenery around them began to change, from harsh nature and towering mountains to gentler hills and green expanses.
"Finally!" Liu Yan said with a sigh of relief. "This journey nearly finished us."
Wang Fei looked toward the horizon where the features of human civilization began to appear. "Well, according to the map, we still have twenty kilometers to reach Blue Fish City."
"Should we fly at full speed to get there quickly?" Liu Yan suggested.
After all, the Ancestor rank was far stronger than ordinary humans. If they traveled by flying sword, they would arrive in less than five minutes. The maximum speed of a flying sword by an Ancestor rank was over three hundred kilometers per hour.
Zhang Yong shook his head. "No, it's better to walk. We might attract attention if we fly over the city. What I fear most is trouble coming to us on its own."
He was cautious by nature. In a vast place, there were many variables.
Wang Fei nodded in agreement. "Little Brother is right. It would be better to choose the safest route."
Liu Yan couldn't help but grumble. "Ugh, how I hate it when you two are right."
They continued advancing on foot, descending from the mountains toward the low plains where Blue Fish City was located.
As the terrain descended, the weather became milder, and signs of human life gradually appeared.
Scattered small farms appeared, then dirt roads, and finally, a wide paved road leading to the city.
After two hours of walking, they stood on a hill overlooking the city. The walls of Blue Fish City were high and sturdy.
Traffic on the roads leading to the gate was crowded with caravans and travelers, indicating that the city was prosperous.
"Finally, civilization," Liu Yan said, looking at the scene with a relaxed expression. "After all those weeks in the wilderness, I feel like a beast."
Su Ming smiled slightly with a hint of sarcasm. "Don't worry, Big Sister. Your current appearance isn't much different from the beasts."
"Why you...!" Liu Yan's face reddened with anger , Su ming was courting death , but Wang Fei intervened.
"Enough, don't quarrel at the city gates," Wang Fei said quietly, pointing to the city guards who were carefully watching those entering and leaving.
As they approached the main gate, they noticed the city guards wearing armor with spears in their hands.
They were carefully inspecting the travelers entering, but without exaggeration.
When they reached the front of the line, a guard stepped forward and gestured to them. "Where are you from, and what is the purpose of your visit to Blue Fish City?"
Wang Fei stepped forward and answered politely. "We are merely travelers. We came to get some supplies and rest."
The guard looked at the group, examining them. He looked at their appearance, which indicated a high level of training. "Travelers, I see. Will you be staying long?"
"Not long. A few days at most," Wang Fei answered smoothly.
The guard nodded and waved his hand. "Entry fee is fifteen spirit stones per person. Bringing in unregistered weapons is forbidden, and any dangerous materials must be declared."
Wang Fei paid the fees without complaint. The procedures were routine, indicating that the city was organized and safe.
After passing through the gate, they found themselves on a crowded main street. Shops lined both sides of the road, street vendors announced their wares, and the aroma of delicious food wafted from restaurants. The contrast with the harsh wilderness they had passed through was stark.
"First, let's find an inn," Wang Fei suggested. "We need a place to organize ourselves."
After consulting a local vendor, they found a nice inn called "Traveler's Rest." Its inner courtyard was quiet and clean, and the rooms were suitable. After settling in, they gathered in Wang Fei's room.
"Now that we've entered the city safely, what's our next plan?" Liu Yin asked in her quiet voice.
Wang Fei looked at Zhang Yong. "Little Brother, what do you think? Any new step you're about to take, I'm all ears."
"Really? You guys really don't mind wherever I go, you'll come with me, huh?" Zhang Yong said, with a hint of complaint and gratitude at the same time.
Wang Fei smiled relaxedly. "Of course. Besides, traveling with you is unique in a way—except for the part where we almost die."
Liu Yan shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, it's not as if it's unnatural for the outside to be dangerous. But it's a fruitful experience."
"Well, since that's the case..." Zhang Yong whispered, then suddenly raised his head, his red eyes blazing with familiar confidence. "We're going to the Crimson Valley!"
"The Crimson Valley?" Everyone exchanged curious glances. The Crimson Valley was a ruins area, and usually researchers would go there to try to explore. But due to a natural disaster, untrained people were unable to survive that place.
Thus, over time, it was forgotten and became abandoned. Few would go there. After all, there were no valuable resources worth the risk.
"Exactly." Zhang Yong smiled secretively. "I have a feeling we'll find something interesting there."
After deciding the next destination, the group dispersed. Then Zhang Yong approached Liu Yan. "Um, Big Sister, I might need your help with something."
Liu Yan raised an eyebrow curiously. "My help? What is it?"
Zhang Yong scratched the back of his head slightly. "The thing is..."
...
In one of the city's shops.
The shop was filled with rolls of embroidered and colorful fabrics, from soft silk to comfortable cotton.
Zhang Yong and Liu Yan entered the shop with Kuro.
"Welcome! How can I help you today?" the shopkeeper greeted them warmly.
"We're looking for some suitable clothes for this little one," Liu Yan replied, pointing to Kuro, who was hiding between Zhang Yong's arms.
Kuro wasn't used to her human body completely, which made movement difficult for her.
"Ah, of course!"
Liu Yan and the shopkeeper began displaying various designs.
While they were busy, Kuro was clutching the hem of his robe tightly.
"Papa... all these fabrics are beautiful," Kuro whispered in a faint voice.
"Choose what you like, Kuro," Zhang Yong encouraged her gently.
After some hesitation, Kuro's natural curiosity began to overcome her shyness. She began touching the soft fabrics with sparkling eyes.
"This... is beautiful," she pointed to a piece of purple silk embroidered with cherry blossoms.
Liu Yan smiled happily when she saw Kuro finally showing interest. "Excellent taste! Purple suits you."
The shopkeeper took the fabric and began measuring it on Kuro. In moments, a beautiful purple dress was finished. Kuro wore it with Liu Yan's help.
The dress was made of soft purple silk embroidered with faint cherry blossoms, with wide sleeves and a golden silk sash wrapping the waist.
Her long purple hair fell over her shoulders, framing the purple dress, and her purple eyes sparkled with joy and wonder.
"Papa... how do I look?" Kuro spun slowly, trying to get used to the of the new clothes , but while not used to human body , she almost fell , but luckily she grabbed on liu yan
Zhang Yong clutched his heart for a moment. 'Damn, she looks so cute. I'm about to have a heart attack.'
"You... are very cute," Zhang Yong said in an unusually soft voice, raising his thumb. It was hard to resist the urge to pamper her.
Kuro's eyes lit up more "I love this dress! Thank you, Big Sister Liu Yan."
Liu Yan felt her heart melt in an instant. "Ah, she's so cute." Then Liu Yan nudged Zhang Yong's side with her elbow. "Hey, Little Brother, you better not mistreat her. Don't let her grow up to be like you."
"Like me?" Zhang Yong laughed, then looked at Kuro, who was throwing her hands up and down like a purple butterfly. "Don't worry. I'll make sure she grows up to be better than me."
After buying several sets of clothes, shoes, and other supplies for Kuro, they left the shop.
Liu Yan sighed with relief. "Heh, it's been a while since I last shopped like this. I think it was since I was a little girl. Still, I should apologize for overspending. I can't take a budget like this from my little brother."
Zhang Yong shook his head. "No need. This money isn't a big deal since it's for Kuro. Besides, you've already helped me, so I think we're even, right?"
Liu Yan scoffed quietly. "Even? Remind me how you saved us at the Phoenix Mountain?"
Zhang Yong laughed bitterly. "Don't remind me of that experience. And even so, it just happened that I was lucky enough not to be affected."
"Lucky?" Liu Yan said, rolling her eyes. "Would you call everything we've encountered along the way luck? Zhang Yong, we may not ask, but we're not stupid."
Zhang Yong sighed and shook his head with a bitter smile. "Well, you're right. But even if I wanted to explain, it's unbelievable."
Liu Yan nodded, and didn't press further. Everyone had their secrets, and that was respected. She looked at Kuro, who was in Zhang Yong's arms, before saying, "Thinking about it, the name Kuro isn't really suitable for a girl."
Zhang Yong raised his eyebrows. "You don't like the name?"
"It's a good name, but..." Liu Yan nodded toward Kuro, who now looked like a delicate little princess. "Kuro would be suitable if she were still a spirit beast. But she has a human body now, right?"
Zhang Yong thought for a moment. She was right. The name "Kuro" was appropriate when she was a spirit beast, but now that she was in human form, perhaps she needed a more suitable name
That without the fact that the name was horrible a bit
"What name do you suggest?" Zhang Yong asked.
Liu Yan stared at Kuro for a while. "How about Ling? It means gentleness. Or Yan, meaning beauty. Or... Zehua. Aren't you the father here?"
Zhang Yong whispered the name again. "Ling..." Then he looked at Kuro. "What do you think? Do you want a new name?"
Kuro raised her head and looked at Zhang Yong with wide eyes. "A new name?"
"Yes. Since you're human now, why not have a normal name?" Zhang Yong smiled gently.
"But... Kuro is the name Papa gave me," Kuro said in a faint voice, her purple eyes appearing slightly confused. "I love this name."
Zhang Yong laughed and patted her head gently. "Alright, we'll keep it as it is. Kuro is a beautiful name."
Kuro smiled happily and held Zhang Yong's hand tightly.
Liu Yan turned toward Zhang Yong with a wide smile. "Then how about making it more feminine by making it Kuroyona?"
"Kuroyona?" Zhang Yong hesitated in pronouncing the new name, then looked at the little girl in his arms. "What do you think? Do you like the name Kuroyona?"
Kuro's purple eyes lit up. "Kuro... yona... It's beautiful! I love it! It also have the name papa gave me"
As they walked in the street, Zhang Yong noticed that people began looking at them with curiosity.
A handsome father with a beautiful daughter in his arms made them conspicuous. It was an enviable sight for many.
"Papa , everyone is looking at us," Kuroyona whispered, clinging to Zhang Yong's arm.
"Don't worry. They're just curious," Zhang Yong answered quietly as he continued walking down the main street.
After returning to the inn, Zhang Yong entered his room, placed Kuroyona on the bed, and sat on its edge. "So, Kuroyona, this might be a bit hasty, but I'll have to explain some things since you're human now."
Kuroyona looked at Zhang Yong with wide eyes full of interest, sitting on the bed with her small feet swinging. "What is it, papa?"
Zhang Yong sat before her seriously. "Being human means you have to learn many new things. How to act, how to speak with others, and how to protect yourself."
"But I can still use my powers, right?" Kuroyona asked with concern.
Zhang Yong nodded. "Of course. But you'll be different from others in your training method."
Kuroyona nodded enthusiastically. "Mm, I understand, Father. The teacher already told me about the differences between spirit beasts and humans."
Zhang Yong raised an eyebrow slightly. "Oh, Da Ming did that?"
Kuroyona shook her head. "The teacher said humans get their spirit rings from beasts every ten levels, while transforming beasts can condense them themselves, right?"
Zhang Yong was slightly surprised, then smiled. Da Ming was more than a competent teacher for her. It seemed Kuro had made her decision to transform into human form long ago.
"Correct." Zhang Yong shook his head. "This is one of the advantages of being a transforming spirit beast. In addition to a complete innate spirit, it makes your training extremely easy. What you lack now is a cultivation technique. Your attribute is Void, so the Five Elements technique won't suit you. I'll give you the Great Cycle Technique for spiritual energy, but... you don't know how to read or write."
Kuroyona looked at Zhang Yong with wide eyes, then nodded her head with some shyness. "Yes... I haven't learned that yet."
Zhang Yong sighed gently. "It's fine. I'll teach you myself. But first, I'll explain the Great Cycle Technique for spiritual energy to you verbally, and I want you to memorize it by heart."
Zhang Yong sat beside her on the bed. "Close your eyes and imagine there is a vortex of energy inside your body. This energy moves like a great river..."
As he explained, Zhang Yong noticed that Kuroyona was grasping the concepts with astonishing speed. As a former spirit beast, she had a complete sense of immersion in spiritual energy.
After an hour of explanation and guidance, Kuroyona opened her eyes glowing. "I think I understand! I can feel the energy moving inside me."
Zhang Yong smiled proudly. "Well done! You learn quickly." Then he looked at the window and noticed the sun was beginning to set. "Let's take a break now. Tomorrow we'll start reading and writing lessons."
After staying in the city for about three days, the group was ready.
Zhang Yong had returned Kuroyona to the pet space for safety.
Then, after traveling for seven consecutive days, they reached the beginning of the entrance to the Crimson Valley.
"This area makes me uneasy," Su Ming said, looking around cautiously.
Zhang Yong was silent, his crimson eyes scanning the area with focus. There was worry in his heart, as if something was about to happen
Zhang Yong looked at his companions. "Guys, how about we retreat? I'm no longer interested in—"
Suddenly and unexpectedly, the space behind them split apart just like fabric tearing. A black hole formed in space.
From within this rift, a person emerged.
His appearance was frighteningly ordinary. Average height, faint features difficult to remember even in the moment you look at him. He wore a simple black suit, not even neatly pressed, as if he had just put it on without care. But what made the blood freeze in everyone's veins were his eyes.
Two crimson eyes, without pupils, radiating a cold, dead light. The gaze of those eyes was enough to instill terror in a person's eyes.
"Found you." The man stared with a lifeless voice.
All of Zhang Yong's instincts screamed at him to run and flee to the ends of the world!
He forced his body to move, raised the Mountain-Splitting Axe, and swung it forcefully toward the man.
With a light tap, the man shattered the axe into small pieces. "You were more fun before."
The man raised his hand and moved with incredible speed, striking Zhang Yong's chest, shattering his ribcage and crushing his heart under the pressure.
He felt his ribcage collapse, his ribs breaking like matchsticks, and his heart tearing under the immense force. Blood sprayed from his mouth, and he saw the world around him begin to spin and fade
His body flew far before Wang Fei caught him mid-air and ordered, "Everyone, run!"
There was no time to think. Wang Fei's shout was full of desperate urgency, driving everyone to move immediately.
"Oh, running? Sounds fun. You have one minute to escape. To make this more entertaining." The man said, clasping his arms behind his back.
Wang Fei carried Zhang Yong's bloodied body as he ran at maximum speed, Zhang Yong's blood staining his robe. "Don't die! Hold on!"
Su Ming was in the front, his golden sword cutting a path of escape. Liu Yan and Liu Yin were in the rear, their faces pale.
In Wang Fei's arms, Zhang Yong's body trembled violently. His red eyes opened with difficulty, his breathing intermittent. "Leave me... run on your own..."
"Impossible!" Wang Fei refused firmly.
Zhang Yong looked back from the corner of his eye with difficulty. 'It's him... my body... my heart is compressed by the shattered bones... I have seconds before I turn into a corpse. Even if I die, I'll come back, but... I must survive.'
As if his will erupted from his heart, a strange shadow appeared in his soul—a spherical shape with a bloody liquid in the center.
Blood Nest!
The Blood Nest released crimson silk threads throughout Zhang Yong's entire body and began surrounding his heart, quickly devouring it.
Every muscle and cell in his body was connected by the nest.
Zhang Yong took a deep breath, and his body began to tremble. The sensation was like thousands of needles piercing his nerves and veins.
Simply put, the Blood Nest was invading his body.
His body was not repaired. His bones were still broken, and he could no longer feel his heart. But the loss of his life due to the heart injury no longer existed.
Zhang Yong raised his head with difficulty. He felt as if he would lose consciousness at any moment, but he fought it fiercely.
If he lost consciousness, they would all perish.
Immediately, he unleashed the Heavenly Eyes to a full extent, almost covering the entire valley, and saw everything.
He muttered in a voice just loud enough to be heard: "Big Brother... Wang... destroy... the eastern western wall... enter the abandoned... ruins."
After hearing Zhang Yong's weak words, Wang Fei did not hesitate. He sent a giant energy palm and destroyed the required wall, revealing a secret passage leading to abandoned ruins.
"Enter now!" Wang Fei shouted as he rushed inside, carrying Zhang Yong.
Su Ming, Liu Yan, and Liu Yin quickly followed. As soon as they all entered, Su Ming used his sword to bring down rocks over the passage, trying to hide it.
Outside, they heard the footsteps of the mysterious man approaching slowly. "Interesting... hiding like rats?"
Inside the abandoned ruins, darkness prevailed, and the smell of mildew and dampness permeated the air. The place looked like an ancient temple or a palace buried underground for centuries.
"Big Brother Wang... put me down," Zhang Yong said in a weak voice.
Wang Fei gently placed Zhang Yong on the ground, his concern evident on his face. "How are you now?"
Zhang Yong was breathing with difficulty, but his complexion improved slightly. "Still alive... but I can't move much."
Zhang Yong crawled little by little forward and felt the ground with his fingers. He was right. "There's a way to survive."
Wang Fei and the others looked at him with eyes full of hope and questioning. How could an abandoned place like this provide refuge from that terrifying being?
Zhang Yong weakly pointed toward a wall in the corner. "There's a teleportation formation. It's very old and barely functional, but it might transport us far away."
Zhang Yong turned his hand and took out the Shambhala necklace. 'This formation is a teleportation formation. It only works in one direction. If I use Shambhala's spatial laws and manage to reset the formation and make it the only escape formation, but the area where we'll appear will most likely be in the other place.'
Zhang Yong took out the necklace and placed it in the center of the formation. Suddenly, the necklace exploded with bright white light, and the formation began to vibrate and hum.
"Hurry!" Zhang Yong said in a hoarse voice, as he tried to stabilize the Shambhala necklace in the formation's center using his remaining strength. "The formation is unstable... it won't last long."
As the white light intensified, they heard the mysterious man easily opening the rocks at the entrance with terrifying ease. "Time for the game to end."
"Go now!" Zhang Yong shouted with all his strength. "I'll catch up with you later."
Su Ming jumped to the center of the formation, followed immediately by Liu Yan and Liu Yin, and they disappeared.
Zhang Yong turned toward Wang Fei and shouted, "Big Brother, hurry and enter—"
However, at that moment, Zhang Yong was pushed into the formation by Wang Fei.
"Little Brother, don't plan to sacrifice yourself to save us. As your big brother, I am the one who should protect you."
Wang Fei smiled calmly. His lips rose gently, curving into a soft arc. His eyes were gentle, warm, radiating a tranquility like someone performing his duty with complete simplicity. His expression was peaceful to the end. That was because it was simply what he had to do as the eldest brother
There was no pain or regret, as it was the last time he might see them again.
But before that, he was completely content, as long as they were alive, nothing else mattered.
"Big Brother!" Zhang Yong screamed as he disappeared into the white light.
Wang Fei raised his sword and completely destroyed the formation. At the same moment, the wall shattered into pieces and the man entered. "Oh, sacrificing yourself to save them? How noble."
Wang Fei threw off his robe and tore the skin of his hands, allowing the poisonous liquids and gases to escape. "My duty as the eldest brother is to ensure the safety of my younger brothers, even if it costs me my life. So your pursuit of my little brother ends here!"