Chapter 213: Chapter 180: A Heaven-Shaking Secret
Along the way, all the Beastmen sized up this uninvited guest from the Human Race with all sorts of curious gazes. Ling Xiao could clearly feel that their looks were far from friendly. Some even bared their sharp fangs and licked their lips with crimson tongues, their eyes—fixed on Ling Xiao’s fair, tender skin—brimming with a craving for food.
’The way humans described Beastmen was: bloodthirsty, savage, barbaric, unintelligent, and... extremely hostile toward the Human Race! But back in the Leopard Tribe, I didn’t sense much of that from the children. It seems some of the Beast Race’s traits aren’t innate. The real reason for their hatred of humans is probably a combination of stories passed down by their elders and the undeniable harshness of their living environment.’
Lam, the Clan Leader of the Leopardman Race, walked with his head held high, ignoring the hostile stares directed at Ling Xiao. Mad Leopard mimicked his posture. The observant Ling Xiao noticed that Mad Leopard seemed to be deliberately studying Lam’s every move. ’He’s probably the candidate to be the next Clan Leader of the Leopardman Race,’ he thought.
They walked through the forest for a while longer. The path twisted and turned, with many forks, making it feel like they were in a maze. Ling Xiao chuckled inwardly. ’And they say Beastmen aren’t intelligent. Lam clearly doesn’t want me to remember the way.’
After walking a while longer, they finally reached a relatively secluded spot. Ling Xiao looked around but saw none of the crude wooden huts he expected from the Leopardman Race. Just as he was feeling puzzled, Lam walked right up to the base of a giant tree and shouted something. A wooden ladder was then lowered from the massive tree, which was more than ten meters in diameter.
Ling Xiao looked up, but his view was obscured by the dense foliage, allowing him to see only two or three meters high. Lam said respectfully to Ling Xiao, "Mighty human, please ascend. The High Priest is waiting for you up there!"
Ling Xiao was a little puzzled. ’Is this as far as they’re taking me?’
Lam, the Leopardman Clan Leader, said softly, "Up there... only the great leaders of the tribe are permitted to go." With that, he gave Ling Xiao a kind smile, turned, and left.
Ling Xiao looked at the wooden ladder. It looked very sturdy. It wasn’t that he was afraid of falling; in fact, he could have leaped up into the tree with a single bound. However, to show respect, Ling Xiao still climbed up, step by steady step.
The wooden ladder was just over four meters high. At the top, Ling Xiao discovered a world unto itself. The dense, giant trees were all interconnected! They formed a network of bridges. About ten meters deeper, nestled among the branches and leaves, a wooden house rested between the massive trunks.
Ling Xiao walked over quietly. The atmosphere here gave him, a Cultivator, a feeling of peace and focus. A thought stirred within him. ’Cultivating in a place like this would be several times more effective than in any human settlement! The Spiritual Qi is even more abundant than in Penzes Swamp!’
As Ling Xiao reached the door of the small wooden house and was about to knock, a beautiful, melodious voice called out from within. "Are you the expert from the Human Race? Please, come in!"
Ling Xiao gave the door a light push, and it swung open silently. He was startled by the decor inside. The floor was covered with expensive rugs, and murals by master artists hung on the walls. The Crystal Core Crystal Chandelier cast a soft yet bright glow, and every piece of furniture was both elegant and grand.
The entrance opened into a reception room, with a bedroom beyond it. The bedroom door was open, and Ling Xiao could vaguely see that the covers on the bed were of a style favored by the Empire’s nobility.
Ling Xiao wouldn’t have found any of this strange in the home of a human noble. But to see it all here, in a Beastman Tribe within Penzes Swamp—one of the continent’s forbidden lands—was utterly bizarre.
’Those Beastmen are barbaric, savage, and bloodthirsty. They may not eat their meat raw and drink blood, but they aren’t much more civilized!’ Just as this thought crossed Ling Xiao’s mind, the beautiful voice spoke again from the bedroom. "Hello, expert from the Human Race."
With the voice came a woman. She emerged from the bedroom with a graceful, swaying gait that accentuated her stunning curves. She seemed to carry an intoxicating fragrance, enough to mesmerize someone before they even laid eyes on her.
"Hello... High Priest of the Beast Race?"
Ling Xiao looked up at the woman before him, utterly stunned. If he hadn’t already cultivated the Great Freedom Heart Scripture to the sixth layer, and if his mind hadn’t been on the verge of reaching the Late Golden Core Stage... he would have cried out in shock.
’This woman... she looked exactly like Ye Zi!’
If he didn’t know it was impossible for Ye Zi to have run off to a Beast Race tribe to pull such a stunt, Ling Xiao would have been certain that the woman before him was Ye Zi herself! Every smile, every frown, every single movement—she was the spitting image of Ye Zi!
A faint, noble smile appeared on the Beast Race High Priest’s delicate face. She said softly, "Please, have a seat. No human has ever set foot here before."
Only after sensing the High Priest’s seemingly innate noble air did Ling Xiao think to himself, ’She is different from Ye Zi after all. Ye Zi doesn’t have this kind of nobility. She’s more clever and vivacious.’
Ling Xiao gave an elegant nod. "Forgive my surprise," he said. "You seem to be... human?"
