Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
“Quick! We need to subdue it right now!”
Knowing that they would be in a bad position once the Goldspirit Cloudtiger’s companion came over, Wu Changping drove his zhenqi to his limits. The blazing net grew more and more searing as it contracted rapidly.
As a grand elder of the Beast Tamer Hall, he had a deep understanding of beasts. The earlier call was sharp and distinctive, a clear sign that it was beckoning its companion. Just one Goldspirit Cloudtiger was enough a headache for them to deal with; if another one came at this moment, they would surely die!
Realizing the dangerous position that they were in, anxious looks appeared on the faces of the others as well. They hurriedly drove their zhenqi into the blazing net to hasten the process.
“Hahaha! To think that you, the Goldspirit Cloudtiger, one of the Five Monarchs of the forest, would actually be caught by a bunch of fellows like this! How embarrassing it would be to be in a position like yours!”
A mocking voice echoed in the air as a slender figure darted out of the cavern.
This slender figure bore some resemblance to Zhang Xuan’s Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast, but it was much larger, and its bloodline was significantly purer. Just like the Goldspirit Cloudtiger, it was a Sempiternal realm consummation expert!
“It’s a Heavenwood Greenserpent!” Wu Changping’s face paled. Without any hesitation, he ordered, “Retreat!”
Right after those words were said, the blazing net around the Goldspirit Cloudtiger dissipated into nothing. Following which, he turned around and began running into the distance.
As expected of someone who had lived for many centuries, his priorities were very clear. As soon as he noticed that something was off, he was willing to abandon anything, no matter how valuable it was.
Just the Goldspirit Cloudtiger was enough to nearly corner them. With a Heavenwood Greenserpent thrown into the mix, it formed a combo far beyond their means to deal with.
“Ah?”
Wu Changping fled the moment that he noticed that things had gone awry, but the others in the group were not as decisive as him. They were stunned for a moment before hurriedly rushing away.
Just from their reactions, it was apparent that other than Wu Changping, none of them were beast tamers!
With their tamed beasts fighting alongside them, true beast tamers boasted amazing fighting prowess. However, taming beasts was not an easy feat at all. The slightest mistake could very well incur the beast’s backlash. For this reason, it was important for beast tamers to be able to assess the situation and know when to flee.
In fact, there was an unofficial adage within the Beast Tamer Hall that went ‘The first step to beast taming is learning when to flee’!
Many unexpected situations could happen during the process of beast taming. A beast tamer who did not know when to flee would have already died a hundred times over before they could reach Great Sage!
“Don’t you think it’s inappropriate for you to leave just like that after trying to drug and kidnap one of us?” a chilling voice echoed from beneath the ground.
Huala!
Before the other members of the group could get far, the ground suddenly rumbled furiously, as if an intense earthquake had struck the area. Following which, a massive beast rose up from the earth. It had the head of a lion, the horns of a deer, the eyes of a tiger, the body of a moose, the scales of a dragon, the tail of an ox…
It was a chimerical Qilin!
Unlike Zhang Xuan’s Inferno Qilin, it was of the earth attribute. With a simple flick of its claw, a firm wall of yellow soil rose up from the ground and encircled the fleeing crowd, blocking their path of escape.
The remaining members of the group did not expect another beast to appear. Only at that moment did they understand why Wu Changping had fled so quickly, hesitating not in the slightest to abandon them.
Awful looks could be seen on their faces as they realized that they had been betrayed.
“Break!”
The current strongest member of the group, a Sempiternal realm intermediate stage elder, raised his sword and hacked it down on the wall of yellow soil.
Huala!
The wall of yellow soil crumbled beneath the ferocious might of the sword. However, before the crowd could relish in their momentary victory, the wall of yellow soil had already regenerated at an astounding rate. In the blink of an eye, the crowd was trapped once again.
“If only I knew this would happen, I never would have listened to Wu Changping! Why in the world did I even risk my life for this?”
The crowd felt their hearts sinking into the abyss.
Just like most other existing groups wandering around the folded space, their group had formed spontaneously as well.
Wu Changping had gathered all of them and said that this was the only possible way that they could get to the Temple of Confucius. He had even reassured them that he had a Great Sage artifact and that this matter was already in the bag. After carefully contemplating over the matter, they had felt that Wu Changping’s words made sense, so they had joyfully joined the group as well.
Who could have known that they would end up facing three Sempiternal realm consummation beasts simultaneously? More importantly, no one had thought that Wu Changping would actually flee faster than any one of them there!
He won’t be able to get away either…
In contrast to the furious looks on the faces around him, Zhang Xuan glanced in the direction that Wu Changping had fled in and shook his head.
He had to admit that the old man had made a wise decision to take flight as soon as he realized that things had gone awry, but unfortunately for him… this was not a situation that he could possibly flee from.
As if fulfilling Zhang Xuan’s prophecy, the call of an avian echoed from within the cavern.
Huala!
Following which, a magnificent bird cloaked in a layer of flames dashed out from the cavern. With unimaginable speed, it bolted for Wu Changping in order to apprehend him.
Xiong xiong!
Before the talons of the bird could reach, its flames had already surged forth to construct an inferno barrier ahead, sealing Wu Changping’s path of escape.
“The Celestialfire Phoenix?” Wu Changping’s face paled as his body trembled nonstop.
He had thought that the only beast within the cavern was the Goldspirit Cloudtiger, and he had prepared accordingly. Who could have known that following the emergence of the Goldspirit Cloudtiger, the Heavenwood Greenserpent, the Terra Qilin, and the Celestialfire Phoenix would make an appearance too? Before they knew it, they were already faced with four legendary beasts!
Furthermore, each of them wielded prowess that far surpassed him.
How could he possibly stand a chance against something like this?
Hula!
Without any hesitation, Wu Changping tossed out his weapons furiously, hoping that it would buy him some time. However, that was all meaningless before the agile Celestialfire Phoenix. The vast difference in strength was not something that he could bridge singlehandedly.
Before long, he was already bound by a bundle of flames, forced to grovel on the ground.
With this, the group of eight had been fully apprehended. Despair and fear could be seen in their eyes as they shot frightened glances at the powerful beings before them.
Seeing that its comrade had managed to apprehend the pesky humans who had dared lay their hands on it, the Goldspirit Cloudtiger glared at the guffawing Heavenwood Greenserpent and spat, “Mock me all you want after you get back. Hurry up and release the seal on me!”
“Alright, alright! I’ll help you open it!” After using up a lifetime worth of laughter, the Heavenwood Greenserpent turned its head to the cavern and said, “Brother Acheron, I’ll be counting on you for that then…”
“Un, give me a moment. I’ll be right out…”
Another voice sounded from within the cavern. The crowd turned their gazes over and saw a massive silhouette slowly making its way out of the cavern.
Its movements were extremely slow. It took an entire eight minutes from the moment that its silhouette appeared before it was able to fully make its way out of the cavern
It was a massive tortoise.
“The Goldspirit Cloudtiger, the Heavenwood Greenserpent, the Acheron Blacktortoise, the Celestialfire Phoenix, and the Terra Qilin… These are the Five Elements Divine Beasts?” Wu Changping’s face paled as realization struck him. “I should have guessed!”
Legend had it that Kong shi feared that the space in the Temple of Confucius would be unstable, so he had captured five powerful beasts, each representing one of the Five Elements, in order to stabilize the space. They had eventually come to be known as the so-called Five Monarchs to the other beasts in the folded space.
When he heard of the Five Monarchs, he had instinctively assumed that they would be scattered around the area. After all, powerful beasts were extremely territorial, and they could not tolerate other beings, especially those as powerful as them, trespassing on their land. As such, he could not have imagined that they would actually all be within the Goldspirit Cloudtiger’s cavern.
The Acheron Blacktortoise crawled up to the Goldspirit Cloudtiger slowly and opened its massive mouth.
Huala!
Water cascaded down on the blazing net, extinguishing it in an instant. The Goldspirit Cloudtiger’s body immediately expanded as sword qi burst forth from its acupoints.
Under the barrage of sharp sword qi, the string was severed at every inch before scattering all over the floor.
Despite being a Great Sage artifact, being set on fire before being doused in water shortly after had already ruined the structural integrity of the string. In its fragile state, the Goldspirit Cloudtiger’s sharp sword qi was able to destroy it easily.
“These fellows are here to kill you. How do you intend to deal with them?” the Heavenwood Greenserpent asked.
“We have to deal with them, but there’s still one more fellow hiding in the area. Let’s capture him before deciding on what to do!”
The Goldspirit Cloudtiger lowered its head and sniffed twice before bellowing, “Friend hiding over there, I applaud you for your exceptional use of spatial seals. However, it’s not enough to hide from me!”
As it said those words, it glanced at where Zhang Xuan was hiding with killing intent rippling in its eyes.
