“Me? This old man is nobody special. Our organization was wiped out long ago. Sigh, you’ve probably never heard of it, kid.” The old man chuckled, seeming quite affable. He pinched Wen Yuncheng’s hand, checking her age. “A Star Power Mutation… a Star Power Mutation. Excellent material for experiments, hehe. By the way, do you know Wen Yuncheng? When this old man came out of seclusion, I heard the Imperial Capital had produced a prodigy with a Star Power Mutation, but I don’t know the specifics.”

Wen Yuncheng just shook her head and coughed up another mouthful of blood. The old man showed a look of disgust. “Is a Star Lord-level Star Power Mutation this weak?” As he raised his hand, Wen Yuncheng caught sight of the character for “Fu” on the corner of his robes. It was extremely faint, but it made Wen Yuncheng’s heart pound with alarm.

The old man was about to say more when a furious roar echoed from the depths of the forest. A wave of pressure shot directly toward him. He clicked his tongue, casually shielded Wen Yuncheng with his Star Power, and then grabbed her, rushing deep into the forest.

The old man was incredibly fast and could travel through the air. Wen Yuncheng had intended to use her ability to swap places with Number One and Number Two, but the old man was too fast! He shot forward a thousand meters in the blink of an eye. Wen Yuncheng didn’t even have time to use her skill before Number One and Number Two were forced to return.

…The old man had been near the cave from the start. Even if Wen Yuncheng had swapped, it would have been difficult to escape. And now, there wasn’t even a chance to flee. However, seeing how fast the old man was, Wen Yuncheng gave up on the idea of swapping with Number One and Two. Even if she escaped temporarily, it would be a simple matter for the old man to catch her again if he turned back, and she would only end up implicating Lin Jinyu.

Demonic Beasts. The depths of the forest were teeming with them.

Amidst the roars coming from the deep, none of the Demonic Beasts dared to sleep. Instead, they emerged from their lairs and prostrated themselves on the ground, lowering their bodies as much as possible to show absolute submission to the being in the depths.

The old man zipped through the forest, heading straight for the source of the sound.

The moment the old man left, Lin Jinyu forced herself to calm down. After waiting a moment longer, she took out a distress signal and fired it. But that wasn’t all. She then took out a communication stone and began contacting Sect Master Lin.

Lin Jinyu thought she would lose control, but at this moment, she was exceptionally calm. With extreme composure, she recounted what had happened. Wen Yuncheng had been abducted. The person who took her was an old man from “Fu,” at the Star Venerate level. He had taken Wen Yuncheng deep into the forest. There were roars coming from the forest’s depths, possibly related to the sovereign battle during the day, and there might be some conspiracy afoot…

Contact the Flowing Cloud Sect, contact her teacher, and then contact the imperial family. For something like this, at least a Protector of the Nation would have to intervene. A Protector could enter the depths of the forest and negotiate with those sovereigns.

By the time the communication stone turned blue, Lin Jinyu was sitting in the cave, staring at the words Number One had left behind. She felt as if she were trapped in a nightmare, but why hadn’t she woken up yet? Lin Jinyu sat dazedly on the ground until Qiu Fei and Yan Ling rushed over, anxiously asking about the situation.

Of course, Yan Ling and Qiu Fei also saw the words Number One had left. What did this mean? Without the Empire’s knowledge, “Fu” and some of the figures in the Demonic Beast Great Forest had reached some sort of deal? Or perhaps they hadn’t yet, and were merely in negotiations? …Regardless, this was not good news for Wen Yuncheng.

Even Yan Ling had to pessimistically assume that Wen Yuncheng’s chances of survival were slim.

“The Protectors… are the Protectors coming?” Lin Jinyu gradually came back to her senses. She grabbed Qiu Fei’s sleeve, her voice urgent.

Qiu Fei had never seen Lin Jinyu so openly emotional. She wanted to say that a lot of time had already passed, and Wen Yuncheng might have already been taken away by “Fu.” A Star Power Mutation… Fu would likely be very interested in her. Dissection? Research? Those madmen were capable of anything. But Qiu Fei didn’t dare say it. Lin Jinyu was not in a good state, and she didn’t want to provoke her student. “They’re coming. The imperial family has been notified, and they’re contacting the three Protectors of the Nation. They will act soon.”

Lin Jinyu released her grip. She thought to herself that she was, after all, too weak and useless. If she had been strong enough, Wen Yuncheng would never have…

“Your hand?!” Qiu Fei noticed the bloodstains on her clothes and quickly grabbed Lin Jinyu’s hand. Frowning, she pried open Lin Jinyu’s fingers and saw her mangled, bloody palm where she had pierced it.

But Lin Jinyu seemed to feel no pain. She stood up, walked outside, and stared fixedly into the depths of the forest, completely motionless.

Wen Yuncheng felt awful. She couldn’t move while being held by this man, and the waves of pressure made her blood churn. As they flew, she finally couldn’t take it anymore and coughed up two more mouthfuls of blood. The old man didn’t seem to care about her condition at all, merely keeping her barely alive.

Wen Yuncheng thought about the experiments conducted by the madmen in “Fu” that she had learned about. She figured this old man probably thought he could study her as long as she was alive, and didn’t care in the slightest if she was severely injured.

[It’ll be good enough if we can survive. We’ll find another chance to escape.] 1947 also knew the situation was critical. That guy had even broken Wen Yuncheng’s Mechanical Wings, and it was furious. [I’ve submitted an application. Just hang in there.]

In the blink of an eye, they arrived in the depths of the forest. Wen Yuncheng had never been here before. Although she was in terrible shape and felt exceptionally weak, she still observed her surroundings, noticing that the plants deep in the forest were much taller and more lush than those on the periphery.

As the old man continued forward, they suddenly arrived in a relatively open area. It looked like a man-made dwelling. A massive tree, too thick for dozens of people to encircle, had been cut down, leaving a large stump. Seven figures were seated around it. When the old man arrived, all their gazes focused on him.

Behind these seven figures, many Demonic Beasts were peeking out, some in their young human forms, others in their true beast forms.

“You deliberately provoked a conflict between the Dragon Ape and the Green Flood Dragon, and afterward, you lured my young daughter away from the forest depths… Fu? The human empire has already destroyed your old lair. With actions like these, you tell us you sincerely wish to cooperate with us?”

“Fox King, please don’t be offended. The Dragon Ape King and the Green Flood Dragon King are of similar strength. Their fight would naturally draw the attention of the other sovereigns, bringing you all together. Isn’t this the perfect time to negotiate? As for luring her away… that might have been a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. I carry spiritual fruits with me; perhaps she accidentally caught their scent.” The old man cupped his hands, not overly frightened despite being suppressed by the seven Demonic Beasts. The only pitiful one was Wen Yuncheng, who had been casually tossed aside by him, feeling that her journey as a fake Long Aotian was about to come to an end.

“A misunderstanding just because you say so?” The Fox King sneered. Another Demonic Beast King beside him placed a hand on his shoulder, and only then did the Fox King fall silent.

Although that Demonic Beast King had placated the Fox King, he was no pushover. “Even if it was a misunderstanding, there should be compensation, right? Aren’t you humans always so courteous? As for cooperation, tell us what you plan to do, what you expect us to do, and what the benefits are. Then we can discuss it.”

The old man’s expression stiffened. He hesitated for a moment before taking out a storage ring and giving one each to the Green Flood Dragon King and the Demonized Dragon Ape. The two sovereigns took the rings, scanned them, and said nothing more. The matter was temporarily closed. The old man glanced at the Fox King, then took out the box containing the spiritual fruits and presented it with both hands.

The Fox King’s expression was not pleasant. He turned his head to look at his child behind a tree and asked her via telepathy if she was satisfied. As he asked, the old man’s fingers twitched, opening the box just a crack. The fragrance of the spiritual fruits instantly wafted out. The Fox King’s face grew even colder, but his disappointing child was practically drooling, her childish voice repeatedly insisting that she was not dissatisfied at all.

The Fox King raised his hand, took the box, and tossed it directly to his disappointing little cub. Just as the old man was about to breathe a sigh of relief, the little girl, clutching the box, spoke up. “Daddy, I also want the person on the ground.”

The Fox King frowned and glanced at the human the old man had brought and thrown on the ground, who was now on the verge of death. Just a Star Lord. His daughter… “Why?”

“Delicious,” the little girl said, swallowing. “I want her.”

The Fox King was speechless. He turned to the old man. “My daughter wants this person. What do you say?”

“…Of course, of course. As long as the Fox King no longer blames me and seriously considers our cooperation, it’s fine.” The old man’s expression didn’t change as he agreed. The moment he did, the Fox King waved his hand. Wen Yuncheng was enveloped in Star Power, floated into the air, and was tossed to the Fox King’s little daughter.

Wen Yuncheng hadn’t expected this turn of events, and 1947 was also dumbfounded. This little girl… she looked very familiar. Wasn’t she the Star King-level Demonic Beast who ate the salt-baked chicken? She was actually the daughter of the Fox King, one of the seven sovereigns? A salt-baked chicken had bought her a chance at survival? Wonderful!

The little girl reached out and patted Wen Yuncheng. Wen Yuncheng couldn’t help but cough up a mouthful of blood, which scared the little girl into pulling her hand back.

“Let’s talk business.” A humanoid Demonic Beast with two curved horns on his head spoke up, seeing that the conflict between the two sides had temporarily subsided. “What are Fu’s plans?”

“About that, esteemed Kings, perhaps we should… clear the area? After all, the fewer people who know about this, the better,” the old man said, glancing at the young beasts behind them.

The sovereigns each waved their hands, dismissing the young ones from their clans.

The little girl carefully poked Wen Yuncheng with her finger. Seeing that Wen Yuncheng didn’t spit up any more blood, she hoisted her onto her shoulder and scampered away.

The little girl’s home was a treehouse. Wen Yuncheng had assumed that even these high-level Demonic Beasts lived much like ordinary ones, pursuing a life in nature. However… it seemed they knew how to enjoy themselves too. After all, the bed was quite soft; buying one like it in the Imperial Capital would probably cost a lot of Star Stones.

Thinking about how the sovereigns had mentioned the human Imperial Capital, Wen Yuncheng guessed that the Empire must have some agreement with the Demonic Beasts in these depths. These goods, clothes, and other items were likely part of that agreement.

“Are you going to die?” The little fox girl poked Wen Yuncheng. “You don’t have any wounds on you, so why are you spitting blood? Did that old guy hit you?”

“…Because I’m weak, and your auras are too strong.” The little girl seemed extremely friendly, so Wen Yuncheng explained. She touched her storage ring, pretending to take something out, but was actually buying a basic healing potion from the system store. She took out the potion and drank it down.

“Is that medicine you’re drinking? Does it taste good?” The little girl’s eyes were large and sparkling. As she asked, Wen Yuncheng saw a pathetic trickle of drool escape from the corner of her mouth.

“It doesn’t taste good. No medicine tastes good,” Wen Yuncheng said in a low voice. “Why did you save me? Do you want to… eat me?”

“I want to eat chicken.” The little girl sat up straight. She had just wiped away her drool, but the moment she thought of the salt-baked chicken Wen Yuncheng had given her that night, she pathetically—ahem. “You make it so delicious. Even Daddy’s cooking isn’t as good as yours. I want to eat it.”