Two days had passed since Wu Tianjun completed his tribulation. He was currently sitting by a vast lake, where small, weak demonic beasts occasionally came to drink. He wore a baggy robe, though he had no idea which mighty expert it had belonged to. Soaking his bare feet in the water, he watched the ripples on the lake's surface, lost in thought. Two days ago, after finishing his tribulation, he had retrieved a set of clothes from Chi Dan's spatial ring that barely fit him—it was simply the smallest among all the garments belonging to those ten powerful experts. Afterward, they had relocated to this lake. Finding the scenery here decent enough, Wu Tianjun decided to stop and ordered Wu Zixuan and the others to disperse and gather information about their surroundings before returning. Even the one among them who had been imprisoned for the shortest time had been locked away for nearly twenty thousand years, so they knew very little about the outside world and needed to go out to assess the situation.
Sitting alone and looking at the lake, Wu Tianjun had a faint smile on his lips as he peered into the depths. Below, he could see several demonic beasts that were somewhat powerful, the strongest of which was at the peak of the Deity Communion Realm, occasionally casting hostile glances at him. Normally, demonic beasts needed a supreme cultivation at the God Realm to take human form. Some extraordinary beasts could not even transform at the God Lord Realm, while others, despite being capable of transforming, preferred to remain in their true beastly forms...
"You've been watching me for so long. Do you really think you can do anything to me?" Wu Tianjun suddenly spoke to the surface of the lake, his voice traveling through the water and into the ears of the Deity Communion Realm demonic beasts.
Several demonic beasts gradually rose to the surface. They were a species known as Sword-toothed Fish, with a sword-like horn protruding from their snouts. They stared intently at Wu Tianjun but did not attack. A moment later, they submerged again. This human was clearly not simple!
"Ah! You actually know how to avoid danger and choose the easy way out. How interesting. Is this instinct? I haven't eaten meat in over a month, you know. What do you think, little loach?" Wu Tianjun looked down at the lakebed again. At the bottom of the lake was a pitch-black cave, within which demonic energy surged violently but did not leak outward, indicating that the beast inside was not weak at all.
"Human! I do not wish to make an enemy of you. Do not push me too far." A cold voice rang out. Being able to speak human tongue usually meant the beast had reached the God Realm.
"Haha, smart! Then you shouldn't stare at me like that either. I really don't like the feeling of being spied on," Wu Tianjun chuckled. "Besides, I'm quite interested in the meat of a second-tier God Realm Flying Flood Dragon."
"..." The Flying Flood Dragon instantly shut its mouth. Two days ago, a group of powerful experts had arrived here, terrifying it so much that it hadn't dared to budge. Afterward, those people had left, leaving behind this seemingly harmless kid. Even if it were beaten to death, it would never believe this kid was harmless. A group of powerful experts leaving a harmless kid in the Yuanmu Star Forest, where demonic beasts ran rampant—who would believe that?
"Sigh... How boring!" Wu Tianjun said listlessly. He then jumped into the lake, letting himself float on the water, and closed his eyes to fall fast asleep. Perhaps only this guy would have the leisure to sleep in such a place.
"Stop! You have nowhere left to run! Halt immediately and come back with me!" Wu Tianjun had been asleep with his eyes closed for nearly half an hour when a loud, jarring shout suddenly rang out.
"Miss, run quickly! Let me hold them off!" an elderly voice cried out.
"Elder Fu..." a terrified female voice said. "Let us go back..."
"You mustn't, Miss! Those people only want to capture you to threaten the Master. If you go back, you will only implicate him, and then, I'm afraid..." Elder Fu's voice trembled.
"Sobbing, the young girl looked at the heavily injured old man before her and said, "Elder Fu, you..."
"Haha, Elder Fu, if you were in your prime, you could indeed take the Young Mistress away. But now that you've taken a strike from the Fourth Master, do you really think you can still escape?" That grating voice rang out again, followed by a group of people rushing over. The leader was also a super powerhouse of the Second Layer of the God Realm. "Young Mistress, come back with me quickly. If you return, you will still be the Second Young Mistress of our Yan family."
"Hmph! A bunch of traitors! If the Ancestors find out about this, none of you will survive," the heavily injured Elder Fu said coldly. His cultivation, surprisingly, was at the peak of the Second Layer of the God Realm.
"Haha, Elder Fu, do you think the Second Master and Fourth Master would dare to act without the tacit approval of several Ancestors? Foolish!" That grating voice sneered once more.
"Uncle Zi Yuan, why is this happening?" the Second Young Mistress asked, her voice trembling.
"Second Young Mistress, the Family Head has been heavily injured all these years and cannot recover. Our Yan family needs a new Family Head... Several of the Ancestors have also tacitly agreed. As long as you return, the Family Head will surely hand over the Family Head Seal. At that time, the Yan family will still be the Yan family," Zi Yuan gently advised her.
"This..." The Second Young Mistress did not know what to say.
"Miss, do not listen to them..." Elder Fu hurriedly advised her, but a sudden change occurred.
"Little loach! I'll give you a chance to not get eaten by me. Keep that young girl, and chase the rest away! There are too many flies buzzing around here," Wu Tianjun, who was sleeping, suddenly opened his eyes and spoke to the Flying Flood Dragon.
The Flying Flood Dragon was in the cave, pondering how to escape that human, when it heard Wu Tianjun's voice. At first, it was stunned, but then it became ecstatic. "Alright! I will chase them away immediately!" The Flying Flood Dragon immediately rushed out of the dark cave and flew up to the lake's surface, not daring to disturb the water.
"How dare you disturb... that esteemed one's rest! Get lost immediately!" The Flying Flood Dragon had been about to refer to itself as "this noble dragon," but with that person right there, even if it were given ten times the courage, it wouldn't dare. "That little girl stays!" the Flying Flood Dragon added awkwardly.
"Huh? A Flying Flood Dragon? There's actually a Flying Flood Dragon here." The people pursuing Elder Fu and the Second Young Mistress looked at the Flying Flood Dragon in shock. To be able to speak, it must be at least in the God Realm.
"Flying Flood Dragon, do not push your luck. There are many of us, and we are not afraid of you," Uncle Zi Yuan said coldly. He could tell that the Flying Flood Dragon was only at the late stage of the Second Layer of the God Realm, the same realm as him. If they fought, it was still uncertain who would emerge victorious, not to mention they had the advantage in numbers.
"Seeking death! Since you don't want to leave, then stay here forever!" Not wanting to disturb the water, the Flying Flood Dragon shot up from the surface. Behind its back was a pair of aqua-blue wings. With a single flap, it charged toward Zi Yuan at an astonishing speed.
"Heiyun, Canlang, you two come with me to deal with this Flying Flood Dragon! The rest of you, split up and surround Elder Fu!" Zi Yuan drew a broadsword from his waist and quickly ordered the remaining people. "Let's see how capable you are." This time, he had brought over thirty people. He was at the Second Layer of the God Realm, four were at the First Layer of the God Realm, and the rest ranged from the Earth Core to Heaven Core realms. Splitting up to surround Elder Fu and the girl was more than enough; Elder Fu was already like a lamp running out of oil, so he was not much of a threat.
"Heh! This Jiao will show you the meaning of regret!" Relying on its superior speed and sharp claws, the Flying Jiao quickly tangled in a fierce brawl with Si Yuan's group of three, locked in an even match.
"Elder Fu, surrender without a fight. We don't want to lay hands on you. We have also served the Yan Clan for hundreds of years..." a First-level Divine Realm expert said sincerely. They had all served the Yan Clan for many years; the only difference was that they served different masters.
"Save your breath! If you want to take the Young Mistress, you'll have to step over my dead body!" Elder Fu said resolutely.
"Elder Fu..." the Second Young Mistress, who was only at the peak of the Origin Gathering Realm, cried out in distress. Elder Fu had been by her side, protecting her ever since she was born.
"Refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit! Die!" the other First-level Divine Realm expert said impatiently, then brazenly swung his sword to attack. Normally, he would never have dared to do this, but right now, Elder Fu had barely any strength left.
Seeing the attack coming, Elder Fu raised his sword to block, but he was instantly forced back, spitting out a mouthful of black blood as he trembled, barely able to stand.
"Elder Fu!" Terrified, the Second Young Mistress immediately rushed forward to support him, her face filled with anxiety.
"Sigh... Heaven wants to destroy the Yan Clan..." Elder Fu looked up at the sky and sighed. Heavily injured as he was, he knew he could not escape this calamity.
"Hey! Little loach! If you can't deal with those three, I'll deal with you later!" A child's voice rang out, and then a boy wearing baggy clothes walked toward the Second Young Mistress and Elder Fu.
"Huh? Whose child is this, letting him wander into the Origin Wood Star Forest?" a Heaven Elixir Realm cultivator said with a laugh, looking at Wu Tianjun.
"Kid, get out of here quickly so you don't lose your life in vain! There are many demonic beasts here..." Another Heaven Realm cultivator was speaking when he suddenly went silent, then was thrown violently backward, crashing into a giant tree and losing consciousness. The Heaven Elixir Realm cultivator who spoke earlier met the same fate.
"So many flies..." Wu Tianjun said, picking his ear. The pursuers were horrified. They hadn't sensed a thing, yet those two had been sent flying without a single trace. What had caused this? A supreme powerhouse?
"Are you willing to follow me?" With no one to stop him, Wu Tianjun walked up to the Second Young Mistress and asked. He was more than a head shorter than her, making the scene look rather bizarre.
"Impossible! How could the Second Young Mistress of our Yan Clan follow you?" Elder Fu said coldly in anger. Although this kid's appearance was a bit strange, the Yan Clan was powerful. How could they allow the Second Young Mistress to acknowledge someone else as her master? If word got out, they would become the laughingstock of the entire starry sky.
"I am asking her, not you," Wu Tianjun said indifferently, glancing at Elder Fu before looking back at the Second Young Mistress and repeating, "Are you willing to follow me?"
"I..." The Second Young Mistress had experienced too many things today and was terrified; at this moment, she truly did not know what to say.
"Haha, our Second Young Mistress possesses a Water Spiritual Root. Once she grows up, she is bound to become a supreme powerhouse. Who do you think you are to demand that she follow you?" Elder Fu laughed crazily.
"Noisy..." Wu Tianjun let out a cold snort and glanced at Elder Fu. As if struck by a heavy blow, Elder Fu stumbled back three steps and spat out another mouthful of black blood.
"You..." Elder Fu stared wide-eyed at the child in front of him. What kind of monster was he? He looked only twelve or thirteen years old, so how could he be this strong? Even if Elder Fu was heavily injured, he wasn't someone just any random nobody could hurt.
"Don't hurt Elder Fu!" the Second Young Mistress cried out in fear.
"What 'you'? If you dare open your mouth again, I will kill you instantly! What I hate most is flies buzzing in my ears." Wu Tianjun glared at Elder Fu before turning his gaze back to the Second Young Lady. "My time is limited, so make your decision quickly. I still have to leave the Yuanwood Star Forest, and a mere Water Spirit Body isn't enough to delay me," Wu Tianjun said coldly. Indeed, he did not consider a Water Spirit Body to be anything formidable. But while that was true for him, to anyone else, it was an incredibly powerful existence.