From beginning to end, these two old monsters, one human and one demon, didn't even glance at the Golden Core cultivators gathered below.
Naturally, this scene was observed by the dozens of Golden Core cultivators nearby. Their expressions varied; some seemed extremely excited, while others were expressionless.
Zhang Ling gazed at the two disappearing streaks of light, his eyes narrowing slightly.
The hunchbacked old man who had appeared earlier possessed an aura no weaker than that of True Person Linghe. It was clear he was a demon beast in the Transformation stage.
Eighth-order demon beasts that survive the Transformation Lightning Tribulation can transform into human form, but it is said that after transforming, some parts of their bodies still retain demonic features.
As their strength increases to the ninth order, these features essentially disappear. Further, at the tenth order, their bodies are indistinguishable from humans, with no traces of their original form.
During their conversation, they mentioned the Crimson Fire King, about whom Zhang Ling had heard some rumors.
Hidden Demon Valley is a very mysterious place, and no one knows its full extent.
Several demon kings reside within, all of whom are transformed demons. The Crimson Fire King is said to be a fire-attribute canine demon beast in his original form.
These demon kings usually do not operate within human territory, and little news of them circulates. Basically, no one knows exactly how many demon kings are in Hidden Demon Valley. Even Nascent Soul cultivators probably don't know much.
Zhang Ling knew the Crimson Fire King's simple information because he had gathered it in Myriad Manifestation City recently. Besides this demon king, there were also the White Mountain King, the Gale King, and a dozen other different demon kings.
The information about these demon kings is a mix of truth and falsehood, and many of the circulating rumors are inaccurate. Some demon kings have existed for a very long time and may have already passed away. But one thing is certain: Hidden Demon Valley has at least ten or more demon kings.
And Hidden Demon Valley does not represent the entirety of the demon race's power. It is said to account for only a small part. Among the demon beasts, there are many with profound strength who harbor animosity towards the human race. The relationship between the two races is only peaceful on the surface.
A large area southwest of Hidden Demon Valley is demon territory, and human cultivators rarely enter it. Myriad Manifestation City can be said to be a boundary between the two races.
Zhang Ling ran through the basic information about Hidden Demon Valley in his mind. Finally, he also sat cross-legged on the stone, quietly waiting for Hidden Demon Valley to open.
As time passed, the sun rose high in the sky. Suddenly, bursts of wailing wind echoed from all around.
With a thought, he stood up. At this moment, the surrounding colored poisonous mist was churning rapidly, all gathering towards one place.
Soon after, the clouds and mist within a few hundred feet disappeared completely. Zhang Ling scanned the vicinity with his divine sense and found seven or eight Golden Core cultivators like himself standing nearby.
These people were of different genders, ages, and appearances, and their attire was mostly the same as his. At this moment, they were all paying attention to their surroundings.
Over the next quarter of an hour, much of the colored poisonous mist disappeared. A space of over a hundred miles was revealed.
Zhang Ling looked around. Beneath his feet was a gray rocky area, and a lush green patch, seemingly a forest, lay a dozen miles ahead. The colored poisonous mist was disappearing into the forest.
Suddenly, strange howls rang out from the forest, and then a dozen streaks of light flew out of the forest all at once. This naturally attracted the attention of the nearby cultivators. Zhang Ling fixed his eyes and saw a variety of strange demon beasts appearing before him.
"Greetings, fellow human cultivators. Bai Qi welcomes you all to this place."
The leader of these monsters was a handsome young man, appearing only fifteen or sixteen years old, dressed in a white robe, like a Confucian scholar. Only his eyes were narrow and emerald green, making him look somewhat eerie.
The monsters behind him looked very strange, some with wolf faces and human bodies, some with blue faces and fangs, and several snake women with human upper bodies and snake tails. Besides these, there were also several monsters that were completely in demon beast form.
The young man circled the area with a smile. Many cultivators couldn't help but shudder under his gaze.
Zhang Ling was the same, and a powerful divine sense swept over him. He also observed that the young man's spiritual pressure was equivalent to that of a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, but for some reason, he felt that this young man was not simple, and he had a vague sense of danger.
Looking at the people behind him, the demon beasts kept a distance from this person, seemingly wary of the young man.
Could this young man also be a transformed demon beast? Zhang Ling was secretly startled, but this person's aura was not as strong as the transformed demon beast he had seen earlier.
At the same time, his divine sense swept slightly and found that this young man had a special spiritual light covering his body surface. He seemed to have some other treasure on him.
A flash of inspiration came to Zhang Ling's mind, and he thought of a rumor about Hidden Demon Valley.
It is said that there is a special spiritual vein within Hidden Demon Valley, with a spiritual energy as rich as a high-grade spiritual vein. This is not surprising, after all, many transformed demon beasts gather here. But a special spiritual medicine called the Transformation Fruit was born in that spiritual vein.
It is said that one matures every three hundred years, and its effect drives demon beasts crazy. It allows fifth, sixth, and seventh-order demon beasts to transform into human form after taking it, and it also allows them to quickly develop intelligence.
The Transformation Fruit is also called the "Transformation Pill" by human cultivators.
Could it be that this young man is a demon beast who has transformed into human form after eating this magical spiritual fruit? At the same time, the monsters behind him also look quite intelligent, and they seem to be not simple either.
Zhang Ling was thinking wildly in his mind when he heard the strange young man speak again.
"Since you have come here, you must abide by the rules of our Hidden Demon Valley. To enter, each person must pay one hundred and fifty medium-grade spiritual stones."
"What? One hundred and fifty medium-grade spiritual stones? Wasn't it only one hundred spiritual stones last time?"
Before the young man could finish speaking, someone in the distance shouted.
"Does this fellow human cultivator have any objections? If you have any objections to this rule, you can leave now." The Confucian scholar turned his head and locked onto that person, a cold light flashing in his narrow, emerald green eyes.
That person immediately stopped talking. Then, a furry creature about ten feet tall floated out from behind the young man.
This creature had a small head and a large belly, covered in black and white fluff, and a round tail. It looked somewhat like a bear and was quite cute, but its aura reached the sixth order.
The furry creature's body flashed with spiritual light, and its size suddenly expanded several times. Gurgling sounds came from its mouth, and then a large opening split open on its belly, from which flew out a dozen furry creatures identical to it, but these creatures were only a foot in size.
This immediately attracted everyone's attention. Zhang Ling thought for a moment and recognized what this creature was. It was a high-level Belly Beast, whose stomach pouch is the best material for making storage bags.
But ordinary Belly Beasts cannot grow to a high level. The time it takes to grow is much longer than ordinary demon beasts.
The stomach pouch of a third-order Belly Beast, plus some special materials, can be refined into a high-level storage bag. Zhang Ling couldn't help but wonder how big the stomach pouch of this sixth-order Belly Beast was.
