Ou Yangming was startled. “Why is that so?”
The old macaque hesitated for a brief moment before it answered with a bitter smile, “It won’t be strange for beings that are blinded by greed to act recklessly.”
Ou Yangming pondered seriously for some time, then he responded sternly, “Thanks for your reminder, senior.”
Seeing as Venerable Ones such as Yuqi the Venerable One and the old macaque treated him with special respect and even regarded him as equal, he would be lying to say that he had not been swollen with pride.
Ou Yangming knew his place, hence he would not actually consider himself a Venerable One. Nonetheless, the young fellow was pleased and even secretly wondered how much glory and benefits he would receive from his identity as the Phoenixes’ messenger. Even so, he immediately came back to his senses after he was reminded by the old macaque.
He could do that, but he needed corresponding abilities as his foundation.
If he showed off wherever he went by using the Phoenixes’ name, he might be able to gain temporary benefits, but there would also be hidden troubles.
“Hehe, Master Ou, you don’t need to worry.” Yuqi the Venerable One chuckled. “As long as you’re in the Beast King Sect, I guarantee you that no gangsters and the like will have the guts to treat you impolitely.”
Ou Yangming twitched his mouth and thought.
‘You can guarantee that in the Beast King Sect, but what if I leave this place?
‘Are you expressing goodwill or trying to threaten me?’ Nevertheless, he nodded at the formidable Venerable One to express his gratitude.
Yuqi the Venerable One then cleared his throat and asked, “Master Ou, do you still want your friends on Mount Wuzhi to be sent here?”
Ou Yangming was moved. “Senior, didn’t you say that Mount Wuzhi didn’t want to let them come?”
“Hehe, they didn’t want to let them come back then, but they’ll surely let them come now.” Yuqi the Venerable One beamed. If the other disciples from the Beast King Sect saw how friendly he was, they would not believe their eyes.
“Alright, please inform Mount Wuzhi that I’d like to see them,” Ou Yangming responded without any hesitation.
“Okay.” Yuqi the Venerable One nodded with a smile. He was feeling rather proud.
Mount Wuzhi was almighty among the Humans in Danzhou; even the Beast King Sect and the 7 other sects were inferior to them.
Before this, whenever Mount Wuzhi made a decision, unless at least 3 of the other sects joined hands, the decision would not be overturned.
Yuqi the Venerable One had requested many times for the people from the lower realm to be sent to Beast King Sect to meet Ou Yangming, but he was always mercilessly rejected. Moreover, the powerhouses from Mount Wuzhi even asked that Ou Yangming be sent to Mount Wuzhi instead.
This time, Yuqi the Venerable One believed that the powerhouses from Mount Wuzhi would not reject his request no matter how bold they were.
“Master Ou, do you have any plans for the future?” The old macaque asked all of a sudden.
Ou Yangming pondered for a while before he answered, “There are still many precious books in the Beast King Sect’s library, so I’d like to read them all. Can I…” He glanced at the Venerable One and the old macaque.
“Master Ou, you don’t need to ask for our permission for something as trivial as that.” Yuqi the Venerable One laughed out loud. He flapped his sleeves and continued, “Since you have my authenticating item, you have access to anywhere in the sect.”
Ou Yangming nodded and thanked Yuqi the Venerable One again. Despite that, he also lamented because the Venerable One had previously allowed him to only use the token for the library. This time, he was permitted to use it anywhere in the Beast King Sect.
It was clear that the change that was affected by his status and identity was the biggest.
The old macaque opened its mouth as though it wanted to say something, but it kept quiet after Yuqi the Venerable One signaled it with his eyes.
After being guided by Feng Xiang with his fire, Ou Yangming’s sensing ability was far better than before. Although the Venerable One and the old macaque were being very secretive, the young fellow saw them clearly, and he instantly understood that he should leave.
With that, he stood up and said, “Since you gave me your permission, I’ll be bidding my farewell now.” He paused for a while and noted with a smile, “I’ll be heading to the library.”
Once Ou Yangming left, the old macaque furrowed its eyebrows and asked, “Don’t you want him to join our sect? Why did you stop me?”
Yuqi the Venerable One sighed. “Ah, it’s not that I don’t want to, but given his status now, how can he join any sect?”
“He can’t join the other sects, but he can join the Beast King Sect.” The old macaque rolled its eyes. It sounded displeased. “Don’t forget that you humans aren’t the only ones in charge of our sect.”
“Ah, even that being won’t dare to provoke the Phoenixes.” Yuqi the Venerable One smiled bitterly. He clacked his tongue and explained, “The almighty Phoenixes are powerhouses that have been ruling the world since ancient times, so it’ll be great if we can cling to them. That said, don’t forget that the Phoenixes have a mortal enemy.”
“A mortal enemy?” The old macaque was startled for a while, then it shook its head and said, “No, that’s impossible. Isn’t that race extinct already?”
“Extinct… Heh.” Yuqi the Venerable One sneered. “Before Feng… Sir showed up, have you heard about traces of the Phoenixes?” His eyes turned cold as he added, “Did you think that the Phoenixes were extinct too?”
The old macaque was dumbfounded for some time, then it sighed and responded, “I see, you’re worried about this.”
Yuqi the Venerable One stated in a deep voice, “Yes, the Phoenixes have been hiding for so many years. Since they’re able to show up now, it can happen to that race too. We… Can’t cause our sect any trouble!”
The old macaque shook its head regretfully. It looked disappointed, but it understood that Yuqi the Venerable One was making the right choice.
For some small sects, if they had the opportunity to meet a member of the Phoenixes, they would cling to that member and become loyal helpers regardless of the cost. It would be for the sake of their sects’ development.
After all, such sects did not have capital. In order to rise or survive, they would not have other options.
On the contrary, the situation would be entirely different from influential sects such as the Beast King Sect.
Such a sect would not want to grow by leaps and bounds; they would want to advance steadily.
Even if they stumbled upon an opportunity to cling to the Phoenixes, they would not be too actively involved.
The old macaque blurted, “If that race still exists, wouldn’t Master Ou be in danger?”
Yuqi the Venerable One was stunned. He forced a smile and said, “Let’s hope that that race has really disappeared.”
The Beast King Sect was one of Danzhou’s Nine Great Sects, and they had a bigger reliance behind them. Having said that, even Yuqi the Venerable One dared not talk about that race by their name.
※※※※
Ou Yangming adopted his body technique to arrive at the mountain where the library was located.
He happened to see Shui Wenliang when he looked up, but the man looked different as compared to before.
Shui Wenliang’s eyes lit up when he spotted Ou Yangming from afar. He hurried over to welcome the young fellow.
“Master Ou, long time no see. You’re finally here.”
Ou Yangming did not know to cry or to laugh when he saw how delighted Shui Wenliang looked. He nodded and said, “I’m here to read. Here’s my token…”
Just as he wanted to take out Yuqi the Venerable One’s jade pendant, Shui Wenliang cut him off. “Master Ou, you’re kidding. Why do you need to present a token to enter the library? Quickly come in.”
Shui Wenliang was definitely not the only powerhouse guarding the library. If he fawned over someone on a normal day, the others would have remembered it well and mull over how they could use it to make up a story in the future.
However, when Shui Wenliang addressed the visitor as Master Ou, the others knew at once who the young fellow was.
Since Feng Xiang had just left, the remains of its prestige were not completely gone.
At this time, those that could claim acquaintance with Ou Yangming would be envied by everyone else.
When Ou Yangming came to the library in the past, apart from nodding at Shui Wenliang to greet him, he never interacted with anyone. Therefore, the other people were displeased when they saw how Shui Wenliang behaved, but there was nothing they could do.
Ou Yangming was naturally unaware of everyone’s mentality change. Once he entered the library, he read all sorts of books according to his plan.
Needless to say, due to his profession, he mostly checked out contents related to smithing art. The only thing was he no longer constrained himself to look at smithing knowledge for pieces of ordinary equipment.
Other than pieces of High Grade and Fine Grade equipment, Ou Yangming also became interested in formation maps.
During his fights against the Lizards, his formation boards had helped him so much that he could not forget about them.
Nonetheless, Ou Yangming was only considered Yuqi the Venerable One’s guest before this. While the Venerable One allowed him to enter the library, he knew his limitations, thus he only chose books related to smithing art. As such, the young fellow did not lay his hands on other secret lost studies of the Beast King Sect.
That being said, it was different this time. After Feng Xiang came and left, Ou Yangming’s identity and status underwent an unbelievable change.
At this point, Ou Yangming believed that Yuqi the Venerable One would not stop him from reading all of the Beast King Sect’s secret lore, let alone only a part of formation maps.
Ou Yangming retrieved a book and began to read carefully.
This was his first time officially reading about formations. The young fellow was not guided by anyone, but based on his comprehension and the scattered information from his spiritual world, he grasped the mysteries very quickly and became immersed in them.
Formation maps were no longer ordinary symbols to him.
Through all kinds of abilities, he directly skipped the representation of formation maps and started to explore the hidden origin power behind them.
