Inside Sea Beast City, the Myriad Beasts disciples had all gathered together, all of them riding atop the back of the mount unique to the sect—the spirit beast Night Bat. As they followed the directions of the sect master, it was almost as though a large black cloud was moving towards the Qingqiu Tomb.

Within this black cloud, the Guqin-carrying Ye Gu’yin stood atop a shimmering silver spindle while showing a cold expression. Ying Qiaoqiao considerately drew closer and asked with cautious reverence, "Shijie Ye, do you want to ride atop my black bat? That way you won’t need to waste Qi on using the spindle!"

"Filthy!" Ye Gu’yin replied with only a single word before increasing her speed. Ying Qiaoqiao bit her lip with clear frustration, but she still sincerely followed along regardless.

"Heh, Shixiong Zhaoyang, what sort of rare beast blood essence have you prepared for the offerings?"

Sitting cross-legged atop a giant black bat was a youth wearing thick layers of robes, as though he was extremely cold. This person was precisely the head disciple from the Myriad Beasts Sect Fang Xing had met back at Mount Desolation—Chu Zhaoyang. The person speaking to him—a tall and slender man whose light robe, loose belt, and mocking smile gave him the appearance of a young master—was the son of Bohai Kingdom’s top family, Qi Heng.

Chu Zhaoyang and Qi Heng—plus the plump Daoist—were the candidates for inheriting the Ganglie beast spirit.

Chu Zhaoyang merely took an emotionless glance towards Qi Heng when he heard his question. "Seems like you are very confident!"

Qi Heng laughed. "Not confident exactly, but my father saw this as a rather important thing and spent a good five hundred mid-grade Spirit Stones to make a purchase for me from the outside. I have a jar full of blood essence from a beast ape with the bloodline of the ancient Diabolic Ape tribe, and our great ancestor will surely be able to feel the thoughtfulness behind my offering. I wonder what you prepared as your offering, Shixiong Zhaoyang?"

Although a glint of light had previously shimmered in Chu Zhaoyang’s eyes, it disappeared when he heard the words "bloodline of the ancient Diabolic Ape tribe". He calmly replied, "Unlike you, I do not have a well-established clan behind me and I cannot afford so much money. I have only a jar full of blood essence from an ordinary ninth-tier spirit beast."

"Haha.." Qi Heng laughed. "Shixiong Zhaoyang seems to lack some sincerity, then!"

"That’s none of your concern. It seems like you’ve forgotten that I’m not your only competition; that fatty over there is competing too. To tell the truth, as the one who mastered the Ganglie spirit form, he’s the true successor of this beast spirit!"

Qi Heng looked towards Yu Sanliang, who shuddered from atop the back of a black bat not so far away. Qi Heng sneered, a shimmer flashing through his eyes as he whispered, "Shixiong Zhaoyang, why bother telling such a joke? Even if that fatty has the support of Shishu Moye, the sect master can’t really allow him to become the successor of the Ganglie spirit. The sect master didn’t succeed in mastering the spirit form of the Nine-Headed Lion, after all, and instead forced the inheritance of the beast spirit later. If this fatty were to inherit the beast spirit of the Ganglie and his cultivation level were to surpass the sect master, what would then become of the sect master?"

Qi Heng showed a cold smile, his eyes flashing as he continued, "This fatty looks stupid and foolish, so for him to master the spirit form of the Ganglie is certainly rather curious. Perhaps he has some sort of hidden Mahn bloodline. After I inherit the Ganglie beast spirit, I’ll be sure to ask for this fatty, then craft him into a human pellet. Perhaps I’ll even be able to absorb one or two of his innate talents..."

Hearing this caused a frost to appear in Chu Zhaoyang’s eyes. The inheritance of the Myriad Beasts Sect was actually rather strict in its requirements, in particular in regard to bloodline and physique. However, the Myriad Beasts Sect was too weak and didn’t have enough qualified disciples to choose perfect seedlings, so many disciples had to forcibly study the discipline rather than have it come naturally—a methodology that often caused drawbacks.

Chu Zhaoyang, for example, no longer had any blood circulation, causing his body to be as cold as ice and giving him a fear of the cold. He had to wear a thick robe even during the heat of the summer, or else his body wouldn’t be able to handle it.

As for Shidi Qi Heng, he was mentally unsound. Some privately said he was fond of eating human flesh, and that he’d eaten no fewer than a hundred people. Chu Zhaoyang had merely ignored it as a rumor before, but after hearing such words spoken from the person himself, he subconsciously started to believe it...

Yu Sanliang was squatting on the back of a black bat towards the front, and he couldn’t help but to shiver slightly when he sensed a chilling gaze in his direction.

Yu Sanliang was riding on the same bat as the elderly man—Elder Moye—who had brought him over to the Bohai Kingdom from Chufung. Elder Moye was also a disciple of the Myriad Beasts Sect, and even though he hadn’t received the inheritance of one of the three spirit beasts, he’d chanced upon a Foundation Pellet elsewhere that allowed him to break into the Foundation Stage. Then—through chance once more—he’d found the talented Yu Sanliang and brought him back. During this time, he’d been the person to nominate the plump Daoist to the sect master, and he’d also helped guide him on how to change his sect to the Myriad Beasts Sect.

This elder was extremely loyal to the sect. He believed that since this fatty had mastered the spirit form of the Ganglie, if he inherited the Ganglie beast spirit, his future accomplishments wouldn’t be low at all and might even be higher than that of the sect master. The scrolls said that in the past, only those who had mastered the beast forms were allowed to inherit the beast spirits, after all; the only reason this rule was no longer strictly followed was because the sect had fallen into decline.

Where and how could Yu Sanliang have any money to buy the blood essence of spirit beasts when he’d only recently been brought to the Myriad Beasts Sect? The jar of blood in his arms had been given to him by Elder Moye. Although the blood in this jar belonged to a ninth-tier spirit beast and wasn’t bad on its own, it wasn’t anything special in comparison to the Diabolic Ape or what Chu Zhaoyang had secretly prepared.

It could be said the plump Daoist didn’t have even the slightest advantage, but he still had to continue on regardless; he really couldn’t tell what would happen to him if he lost his qualifications. Although the Myriad Beasts Sect had treated him like an important guest since he’d arrived, it hadn’t eased his panic and his days had been rather dismal and anxious. It was impossible to tell whether this was going to send him to his death or send him soaring to the skies above!

He’d already mentally cursed that turtle-egg bastard Fang Xing countless times by now, and just as he was doing so again, he subconsciously looked towards the distant forest covered in moonlight. Although being a friend of that bastard was often filled with danger, these kinds of problems were typically resolved and he ended up fine. Would he still have the same good luck this time as he had for those instances before?

While Yu Sanliang pondered it, the Myriad Beasts disciples—with the sect master at the front—all arrived at the valley covered in a strange purple smog. The sect master waved his sleeve and released a loud shout in front of him, and although the others couldn’t tell what kind of spell and seal he’d just performed, the purple smog in front of them began to part to either side and unveil a path directly into the valley’s interior.

A black hill could be vaguely seen inside the valley’s center, its shape like that of a tomb. It was about a hundred feet tall, with the top half still obscured in the mysterious purple smog while the bottom half was clearly visible, revealing a black cornerstone. At the tomb’s base at the front was a desk made of black jade, adorned in a carving that at times looked like a demonic face while at others seemed to be a formation of some sort. Within the carvings, there also seemed to be remnants of fresh blood...

"Myriad Beasts Sect’s Ying Shihou is here to pay respect to our ancient ancestors with our fellow disciples.." the sect master loudly proclaimed, taking the lead to kneel on the ground once he’d arrived in front of the Qingqiu Tomb. Behind him, hundreds of Myriad Beasts disciples and elders all jumped off the black bats and fell to their knees to follow suit, "We are here to pay our respects..."

Only Ye Gu’yin remained standing upright amidst these kneeling people, her silver spindle not even touching the ground. She merely looked at Qingqiu Tomb with a cold expression, and although there was some curiosity in her gaze, it was mostly filled with disdain. She felt only scorn for this so-called "ancient ancestor" of the Myriad Beasts Sect; in her heart, only her esteemed shifu was someone truly powerful.

"This unworthy junior has brought the esteemed ancient ancestor a pot of Foundation Stage beast blood essence. Please kindly accept my offering.." Ying Shihou spoke with a deep voice. He stood up and—with a wave of his sleeve—a black pot came flying over to land on top of the jade desk. He flicked his finger and the force immediately broke the pot, causing a black liquid to ooze out and trace along the carvings until it all eventually disappeared without any signs of where it’d gone.

Everyone seemed to hold their breath and quietly observe the changes of the purple-smog-covered Qingqiu Tomb.

After some time, a loud crashing sound suddenly rose up as the purple smog in the air began to shift. A black light came flying out of the smog, and within the light was a black pellet that twisted and floated in front of Ying Shihou. A hint of clear joy appeared on his face as he courteously accepted the pellet and bowed once more. "Thank you, Esteemed Ancient Ancestor..."

"It is indeed curious..." Ye Gu’yin focused her gaze. She’d already recognized this pellet as being a high-quality one used by Foundation Stage cultivators, and its value was extremely high.

Her glance then flickered across the upper half of the Qingqiu Tomb hidden within the purple smog. Although she hesitated a moment, she decided against going up to explore it. She’d already noticed the thick purple smog was actually a strange poisonous gas, and she wouldn’t be able to block it out completely with her current cultivation. Furthermore, she was here to watch the offering ceremony as an important guest to the sect. The fact the Myriad Beasts Sect had allowed her to view the ceremony in the first place was an expression of their trust, and to try to do something like pry into their largest secrets would simply be too ill-mannered.