Since there was still some time before the competition for the alchemist to recruit inner - door disciples, and Zhao Shuning had nowhere else to go, she stayed at the Gong family's place.
When she was free, she often strolled around the streets.
As for Zhao Huai, after the tavern - keeper Lady Rong mentioned twenty thousand gold coins, on that very day, he dressed up and went to the Demon Valley again.
The Demon Valley was about five hundred li away from the capital, Chang'an.
It was a strange valley.
Most of the peaks inside were shaped like various animals. The rivers there were mostly filled with highly poisonous substances, and even the seemingly ordinary weeds might be poisonous herbs.
After Zhao Huai entered the Demon Valley, he skillfully made his way to the broadest area.
There were thousands of blades here, as well as many strange things. Many of the items Zhao Huai had found in the past came from this place.
However, this time, his goal was more than that.
By now, Zhao Huai could skillfully control the power within his body. If there was no external stimulation, he could maintain a gentle and calm state of mind.
He stretched out his hands, and his body slowly rose into the air.
A pair of wings grew out from behind Zhao Huai.
The wings were so huge that they blotted out the sky and the sun, emitting a faint blue light.
On this Nine - Continent Continent, Zhao Huai was the only one who could transform into a half - beast form, and he was also the only one who could switch between the human and beast forms.
He leaned forward.
The huge wings immediately covered his entire body, completely enveloping him.
The toughness of these wings was beyond anyone's imagination.
Since Zhao Huai's destination this time was not this broad area full of blades, but a long, flowing river beside it.
This river was full of highly poisonous substances.
Without hesitation, Zhao Huai used his wings to protect his body and dived into it.
When he reached the middle of the river, the scene in front of him became much clearer. The last time Zhao Huai came here, he had discovered that there must be treasures hidden beneath the river. But last time, he had saved the black - market tavern - keeper, and it was inconvenient to move with her, so he hadn't gone down to check it out clearly.
Now that he was alone and had dived underwater, he found that the underwater world was truly a wonderland.
As soon as Zhao Huai's wings touched the river water, all the dirty substances and the highly poisonous solutions in the water would stay ten meters away from his wings.
So, the poison in the river had no effect on Zhao Huai.
Zhao Huai tried to move the black iron on the stone wall. With a clicking sound, the black iron was activated, and a huge cave appeared in front of him. As the black - iron door opened, the river water rushed into the cave. The powerful suction force made Zhao Huai fall into the cave as well.
He quickly used his wings to protect his whole body and flowed with the river water.
When the tide around him receded, Zhao Huai slowly put down his wings. Only then did he find that, along with the flow of the river water, he had been carried to an unknown place.
This place was full of grasslands, and on the grasslands grew all kinds of gaudy flowers.
It was also here that Zhao Huai witnessed an extremely spectacular sight.
In the sky above the grassland, a winged dragon was circling. Here, Zhao Huai also saw ancient fierce beasts similar to the Taotie, the Qiongqi, and the Hundun.
However, these things were not real entities but just images, constantly flowing in front of Zhao Huai.
They were more like the souls of those ancient fierce beasts.
Zhao Huai propped himself up. The pair of wings that he had previously retracted into his body now stretched out again under the surging of the souls of those fierce beasts.
The color of the wings also changed.
It turned light purple.
Zhao Huai was a bit nervous at this moment. He wanted to close his eyes tightly and forcefully retract the wings, but he found that these wings were no longer under his control.
They stretched longer and grew larger.
It seemed as if the entire grassland was covered by these huge wings.
At the same time, mournful sounds began to come from this grassland. There were the cries of phoenixes, the roars of dragons, and the howls of various fierce beasts.
The shrill sounds became even more piercing.
Zhao Huai covered his head and ears, but he still couldn't block out these sharp cries.
His body began to curl up into a ball. Then, he hugged his head in great pain. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he let out a loud scream.
"Ah——"
With this scream, the cries of phoenixes and dragons all disappeared without a trace.
Zhao Huai lowered his head.
His body slowly relaxed.
When he looked up again, his eyes had turned fiery red.
The fire pupils had appeared in the world.
All beasts paid homage.
Zhao Huai slowly stood up. At this moment, the souls of those fierce beasts seemed so tiny.
In Zhao Huai's eyes, they were as small as grains of sand.
All the creatures in the beast world, at this moment, were like Zhao Huai's subjects, gathering in the distance, looking at him with fear and respect.
Zhao Huai's head hurt badly, but he couldn't remember anything.
He didn't even know why he was here.
It was as if there was a mysterious call guiding him.
When Zhao Huai got up, all the creatures in the beast world bowed their heads in homage.
The scene was truly spectacular.
All kinds of Yuan Dan began to appear in Zhao Huai's palm. These were the Yuan Dan left behind after the fall of fierce beasts or divine beasts.
Any one of them would be enough to cause a scramble among the four great families.
Zhao Huai gently stroked the Yuan Dan.
Through the Yuan Dan, he seemed to see all the sufferings these fierce beasts had endured in their lifetimes. He could feel their helplessness and their despair.
Each of the Yuan Dan was shining with a different light in Zhao Huai's palm.
Zhao Huai's mind seemed to be connected with these Yuan Dan.
They were calling out to Zhao Huai.
They had sincere respect for Zhao Huai.
They needed Zhao Huai to appear.
Zhao Huai could feel their pain and their joy.
"Ancestor."
"Ancestor of the beast world."
These titles were like nightmares, entangling Zhao Huai.
The memories in his mind began to distort.
Just when Zhao Huai was in great pain, a little girl's figure suddenly appeared in his mind. She slowly walked towards Zhao Huai and then gently hugged him.
She whispered in his ear, "Brother, don't be afraid. I'm here."
Zhao Huai, sweating profusely, suddenly woke up. The nightmare - like memories disappeared instantly.
He let out a long sigh and stood up again. At this moment, there was nothing in front of him. It was as if all the things that had happened before were just an illusion.
However, there were many Yuan Dan hanging on Zhao Huai's waist.
These Yuan Dan reminded Zhao Huai that what he had seen before was not a dream.