"With that said, this is the brat who saved us from the curse that was burning away our lifespans. While he's here in our territory, please keep his existence known only to our clan members. It would bring great trouble upon Xue Hui if the other clans were to find out about him."
A look of disbelief washed over the members of the Red-Scaled Winged Naga Clan as they stared at the sight of a human boy sitting next to Chi Zhenxiong, smiling as though he wasn't surrounded by Demon Beasts.
After their talk, Chi Zhenxiong decided to let the core members of his clan meet Xue Hui, as he had never hidden the fact that the cure they had received was provided by a human.
Chi Zhenxiong wasn't worried in the slightest that his clan members would act hostile upon seeing Xue Hui, as they were a clan that had never harbored much hatred toward humanity, unlike the great clans.
In reality, most Demon Beasts born in the Immortal Tortoise Realm had never even laid eyes on an actual human, let alone interacted with one. Most of what Demon Beasts knew about humanity was information fed to them by the Demon Beast Clan, which was mostly nothing more than biased propaganda meant to instill hatred toward humans.
So it was no surprise that the members of the Red-Scaled Winged Naga Clan were at a loss as to how they were supposed to react to meeting Xue Hui.
"Y-you're not actually one of our own kin? I-I thought my baby girl had finally found herself a man. I was even rooting for the two of you, but it turns out it was all a big lie!" Chi Maya sobbed.
Unlike the rest of her clansmen, Chi Maya's biggest issue was that Xue Hui was human rather than a Red-Scaled Winged Naga, as Xue Hui had made her believe.
"Sorry for deceiving you, Auntie. If I had known I could simply show you my real appearance, I wouldn't have the need to deceive you," Xue Hui said apologetically. "How about this, Auntie? Since I made you upset, please accept this gift as my apology."
With those words, Xue Hui took out a Blood Soul Resin and passed it to Chi Maya, whose eyes widened in shock upon recognizing Heaven defying treasure.
Blood Soul Resin was incredibly valuable and exceedingly difficult to obtain. In fact, the last time it had appeared in the Immortal Tortoise Realm was three hundred years ago, when it was put up for auction. Numerous clans had fought fiercely to obtain it, driving its price to astronomical heights. In the end, it was purchased by none other than the patriarch of the Demon Beast Clan himself.
"Ya'er, what are you doing!? Quickly, store the Blood Soul Resin in your interspatial ring before its medicinal essence fades!" Chi Maya jolted in panic as she snapped out of her daze upon hearing Chi Zhenxiong's urgent command. She hurriedly took out a medicinal box and placed the Blood Soul Resin inside before storing the entire thing in her interspatial ring.
With the Blood Soul Resin secured, Chi Maya returned her gaze to Xue Hui. A look of shock still lingered on her face.
"H-how did you obtain that Blood Soul Resin?" she asked in disbelief.
It wasn't just her. Even Chi Zhenxiong and the other elders and grand elders present were in disbelief at what Xue Hui had just so nonchalantly handed over.
"Oh, I only stumbled upon it during one of my ventures into the outside world. I don't have any left, since I used it all to increase the strength of my friends. Auntie, you can keep that one. I hope you can forgive me for deceiving you," Xue Hui said apologetically.
A shaky breath escaped everyone's lips. Blood Soul Resin was a rare treasure that could help any Demon Beast break through to the next realm. In fact, as soon as it appeared, everyone immediately had the same thought: Blood Soul Resin could greatly increase Chi Zhenxiong's chances of breaking through to the Two-Fate Realm.
That was why Chi Zhenxiong didn't bother with formalities and shamelessly asked his daughter to secure the Blood Soul Resin.
"Is this perhaps a dowry?" Chi Maya asked, a teasing smile stretching across her lips. "You know what? It doesn't matter if you're human, Xue Hui. Humans and Demon Beasts can still have children."
"Mother! What are you saying? Xue Hui and I don't have that kind of relationship!" At her words, Chi Mei, who was sitting in the corner of the room, suddenly stood up in embarrassment. Her face was burning hot as she sharply glared at her mother.
"Oh, it's quite alright, baby. Your father and I don't mind who you fall in love with, as long as he's a decent, strong man who can support you."
"W-We don't?" Chi Hu Long asked, looking very unsure about what his wife was saying.
"Uh-huh! Mei'er is old enough to make her own decisions. If she wants to settle down with Xue Hui, then we can only support her as her parents," Chi Maya answered matter-of-factly.
"I said we're not in that kind of relationship! You! Xue Hui, stop smiling like a fool and fix this misunderstanding!" Chi Mei yelled in desperation.
"Hey, don't take it out on me. I'm just casually handing you a gift here, so why are you getting angry at me?" Unfortunately for her, Xue Hui only showed amusement at her embarrassment, causing the atmosphere in the room to lighten up a little.
"Cough… cough… That's enough! We still need to discuss some important matters," Chi Zhenxiong interjected, bringing everyone's attention back to him.
"Xue Hui, thank you for giving us the Blood Soul Resin. That's another favor we owe you," Chi Zhenxiong said firmly, prompting Chi Maya to stop her teasing and Chi Mei to swallow her complaint.
"As I was saying, Xue Hui here is an important guest of our Red-Scaled Winged Naga Clan. Without his help, our clan would still be plagued by our cursed physique. So make sure to treat him with respect and courtesy. Understood?" Chi Zhenxiong continued, making everyone nod in agreement.
"We understand, Patriarch," everyone replied. What Xue Hui didn't know was that many of the experts before him had been on the verge of completely burning through their lifespans, so they were deeply grateful to Xue Hui for his help.
"Another thing is regarding the matters concerning the great clans. As rumors of my impending death began to circulate, they started acting more aggressively again, suppressing the other slave clans."
Chi Zhenxiong's words brought the atmosphere in the room to a standstill, as looks of concern appeared on the faces of the members of the Red-Scaled Winged Naga Clan.
"I already reached out to our friends and explained things. They agreed to hide the fact that our cursed physique has been cured, at least until I break through to the Two-Fate Realm. With that said, everyone needs to be extra careful out there. Including us, I can tell that the great clans are itching to return to the old days, with them oppressing all the slave clans once again."
Chi Zhenxiong's words highlighted the grim reality of the situation. It didn't matter whether Xue Hui had injured Niu Batian and incurred the wrath of the Blizzard Mountain Bull Clan, because the great clans would always find a way to make things difficult for any slave clan.
Especially with rumors of Chi Zhenxiong's impending death.
BOOM!
As they continued their meeting, a powerful spiritual pressure suddenly descended upon Blue Lush Mountain, throwing the entire Red-Scaled Winged Naga Clan into a panic.
Especially since the spiritual pressure carried a domineering aura, causing some of the weaker members of the Red-Scaled Winged Naga Clan to tremble in fear.
"A Demigod rank expert dares to be presumptuous toward our Red-Scaled Winged Naga Clan? Hilarious! I'll go there and beat that bastard black and blue!" Chi Hu Long spat in anger, his previous timidness nowhere to be found.
"That's soul force. It's very unique to the members of the Demon Beast Clan. Look how quickly they changed their attitude toward us once they heard about Father's worsening condition. What a bunch of bastards," Chi Maya spat.
Before anyone could jump into action, Chi Zhenxiong raised his hand, bringing the commotion in the room to a halt.
"For now, let's swallow this grievance. The most important thing is to keep the fact that our cursed physique has been cured a secret. More importantly, we must keep the great clans in the dark about my attempt to break through to the Two-Fate Realm. If they find out about it, they'll do anything to prevent it from happening."
Chi Zhenxiong then looked at Xue Hui, whom he hadn't noticed had already transformed his appearance to resemble that of a member of the Red-Scaled Winged Naga Clan.
"Boy, you have quite a strong illusion technique. Can you use it to make me look like I'm in even worse condition?" Chi Zhenxiong asked.
Xue Hui nodded as the Origin of Dreams exploded into smoke, enveloping Chi Zhenxiong.
Time passed.
High above Blue Lush Mountain, a Demon Beast expert with the appearance of a Black Dragon hovered over the territory of the Red-Scaled Winged Naga Clan, his expression filled with contempt.
As soon as he saw the group of experts led by Chi Zhenxiong approaching, a sneer appeared on the Black Dragon's face. Although he was no match for Chi Zhenxiong, the Black Dragon was confident that Chi Zhenxiong wouldn't dare to move against him, as he could clearly see that the former's condition was indeed deteriorating.
WOOSH!
Cough!
The Black Dragon's face paled as a powerful spiritual energy locked onto him, causing him to taste iron as a mouthful of blood threatened to rise up his throat.
"Zhu Cang Ming! Did you come here courting death? If so, then let me give you a swift one," Chi Zhenxiong snarled, his tone filled with venom.
Although Zhu Cang Ming was shaking from the overwhelming spiritual pressure weighing down on him, he showed no signs of backing down. In fact, he even laughed, completely brushing off Chi Zhenxiong's threat.
"Hahaha! Chi Zhenxiong, I've lived long enough, so why should I fear death? Go ahead and kill me. Let's see if you have the guts to do so!" Zhu Cang Ming taunted.
The look of hesitation that appeared on Chi Zhenxiong's face was all Zhu Cang Ming needed to confirm his suspicions about the state of Chi Zhenxiong's health.
This information only encouraged Zhu Cang Ming to push things further.
"You can't? Ha! How the mighty have fallen. Since you're too afraid to follow through on your threat, then release me at once, unless you don't want to hear the message sent by our patriarch."
His words made Chi Zhenxiong knit his brows. Appearing hesitant, he released Zhu Cang Ming from his spiritual pressure, prompting the Black Dragon to let out a deafening laugh.
"Hahaha! Good, good! You're indeed the Heaven-defying genius of the slave clans, Chi Zhenxiong. You understand very well when to submit."
His words caused the killing intent of the other members of the Red-Scaled Winged Naga Clan to leak out. But ultimately, they restrained themselves from lashing out in anger.
Zhu Cang Ming sensed this but ignored it completely. He sent Chi Zhenxiong and everyone else a disdainful look before relaying the news.
"The ten-millennia spatial array has revealed itself, setting up another inheritance trial. All clans are required to send their younger generation to participate, no more than sixty years of age and with a cultivation rank no lower than Black Gold Rank. Go to Emerald Lake tomorrow with your representatives. Don't be late."
As soon as Zhu Cang Ming delivered the message, he gave everyone a scornful look before shooting off into the distance, leaving everyone in shock.
End of Chapter 143
.
.
.
.
If you like my story, and want to support me, you can read advance chapter to my patreon.com/AxelDeAxist