Jack knew that Firetree Pythons were extremely ill-tempered, and a violent battle was bound to break out once it sensed that someone had broken into its nest. It would take at least three junior guards and twenty soldiers to kill an adult Firetree Python, and Jack was pretty certain that Wilbur and Steward Horne would not be powerful enough to defeat one. They would be dead for sure. All they had to do now was wait for that to happen. Jack had been told that he had to bring Steward Horne's corpse back, but now felt like that was not necessary anymore. Once it was confirmed that the Firetree Python had woken up, Jack would be able to head back with everyone else. This was Divan's task, not Jack's. It was just that Jack had to listen to Divan as he was under him. The thought of Divan reminded Jack of the past. The two of them had entered the Reyne family together, but Divan had made it as a Middle Guard in just two thousand years while Jack remained a Junior Guard. Jack was ce
Everyone was beside themselves with terror. After all, other species outside of human beings could cultivate in the middle dimensions as well. Just like Wilbur's master had once told him, the universe was a vast expanse, and cultivation was not something that was just limited to the human race. "A wyrm?" Jack widened his eyes. He was no more than a Junior Guard. If Saber was here, the two of them might have a shot at defeating a Firetree Python together. But if the python had evolved into a wyrm, Jack and his men would not stand a chance. If they were to stay here and the wyrm were to burst out of the hole in the tree all of a sudden, they would all be dead. Either way, the wyrm had been awakened and there was no way Wilbur and Steward Horne could still be alive. There was honestly no point in staying here any longer. Buck Town was a place filled with murder and danger, where countless tragic incidents played out every day. It was only natural that everyone would look out for t
Wilbur did not know what to say to Felix. He did not know the guy well, and the middle dimensions were far more dangerous than he even knew. Agreeing to Felix's request might get him into unwanted trouble. Despite the fact that Felix had helped Wilbur before, Wilbur had also saved his life in return. The two men did not owe each other anything anymore, and Felix was currently being hunted down by the Reyne family. Wilbur might become a target himself if he agreed to Felix's request. Just as he was thinking about it, Felix pushed himself off the bed before falling to his knees in front of Wilbur. "Please, honorable Child of Light. Please let me follow you for the rest of my life." "Please stand up, Senior Horne." Wilbur was about to help Felix up, but Felix was hellbent on remaining on his knees. "No! I won't get up until you say yes to me, even if I have to die like this!" "You don't have to do this, Senior Horne…" Wilbur sighed. He was not a ruthless man, and eventually ag
Felix stared at Wilbur solemnly. "I've finally found the reason why the Eight Great Families have been able to reign supreme in Buck Town for tens of thousands of years without any decline, Master. It's because of the special aura in the four forbidden grounds—the Azure Dragon Lake, White Tiger Forest, Vermillion Bird Mountains, and Black Tortoise Lake." After a brief pause, Felix explained further, "The energy aura in Buck Town is so thin because the energy in these four forbidden locations is controlled by the Eight Great Families. They've been able to claim these energies as their own and use them to cultivate for thousands of years. It's terrifying." Felix could not help but shake his head at the thought. This had seemed practically impossible when he had first found out about it, but that was the truth. Wilbur frowned. "So, the Eight Great Families took over the four energy sources of Buck Town, controlling and absorbing the energy aura that comes out of them, leaving whatev
Felix's plan, despite being a pretty solid one, was still too rash for the time being. Besides, Felix has yet to recover fully. Wilbur could only console him, telling him that they could postpone their escape plan for a later day. Throughout the next month, Wilbur would go hunting late at night and cook up some good food. He would eat with Felix in the cave, and then continue cultivating. Time sped by, and Felix's injuries had finally completely recovered. Due to the freezing weather, Wilbur collected some firewood and lit a fire in the cave. There was a breeze blowing into the cave that night, and thus they did not have to worry that the fire would go out. Felix got off the stone bed, stretching his body before walking up to the fire. "Master, have you thought about the plan I proposed to you a month ago? When are we getting out of here?" Wilbur stoked the fire with a branch, sparks kicking up from the breeze outside. He stared at them calmly, saying, "I've considered it a lon
"By the way, I found an even more secluded cave a few mountains behind last night. I think we should move there tomorrow for safety's sake." "Alright." The following night, Wilbur and Felix crossed the mountains under the moonlight to the next cave. Throughout the next year, they would move locations every one to three months. At the end of the year, they had reached a snowy mountain several thousand kilometers away from Buck Town. There was a lake under the snowy mountain that was filled with fish. Wilbur and Felix cultivated there and went fishing whenever they got hungry. Felix would always look surprised when he saw Wilbur sprinkle seasoning on the grilled fish. After eating the seasoned fish, Felix would give Wilbur a thumbs-up and look genuinely impressed. "That fish was amazing, Master." "Yeah? Have some more, then. We'll get back to cultivating after you're done eating." Felix nodded. "I'll work hard on my cultivation, Master." Wilbur saw the look of joy on his
"No, I meant the energy aura in the water. It seems to be several times more powerful than usual, and it grows stronger the closer you get to the bottom of the lake. I think… this might be a special energy source." "What?" Wilbur was shocked. Energy aura was extremely important to a cultivator, and the energy aura in Buck Town was so weak that Wilbur and Felix had hardly progressed with their cultivation even after a whole year. Just a few days ago, Wilbur had mocked that at the speed they were going, they would never come close to the elites of the Eight Great Families even if they had ten thousand years. It seemed like there was hope after all, and this was his chance. Wilbur dove into the water at once, swimming downward quickly. The lake was far deeper than he had expected. He had yet to reach the bottom even after swimming two hundred meters downward. Nevertheless, Wilbur was thrilled. He found that the energy aura was stronger the deeper he dived, and by the time he had
"It's over a thousand times stronger!" Wilbur took out the bronze mirror that No-Night had gifted him, stroking its surface. "This is our chance to improve our cultivation quickly." He dove into the water once more, reaching the bottom of the lake in no time. The Black Tortoise appeared again. It did not seem to be afraid of Wilbur at all, swimming around him in circles as if trying to befriend him. Wilbur was caught off-guard but then remembered that he was also a dragon clan cultivator. There were four major forces on Earth: the Azure Dragon, the White Tiger, the Vermillion Bird, and the Black Tortoise. The dragon clan was connected to the other major forces in one way or another, which meant that the Black Tortoise was affectionate toward Wilbur because it sensed the dragon aura coming off him. Wilbur took out the bronze mirror, muttered a spell, and began to absorb the energy aura at the bottom of the lake with it. The powerful Black Tortoise energy aura was channeled into