Chapter 1071: The Only Refuge

No news of either the Heavenly Sword Sect or the departing Emperor One beast tribe was ever heard again in the Profound Yellow World.

To Li Fan, this was the escape method he would least consider. The high wall separated the star-sea from everything else. Crossing the wall would likely mean a complete loss of contact with the Profound Yellow World. Consequently, the success or failure of such an escape could not be confirmed. Furthermore, given the massive energy fluctuations involved in realm-splitting, failure would leave no chance of recovery. Neither his main self nor his clones could "test" the true viability of realm-splitting. For these reasons, Li Fan had always shown little interest in this method.

"Splitting the realm to escape is undoubtedly a complete act of fleeing. The trial set by the Grand Heavenly Venerable Xuanhuang could not possibly support such a plan."

"If I were the Heavenly Venerable Xuanhuang, and such a group of people in my world were preparing to defect, what would I do?"

On the journey to Southern Nether Mountain with Xu Ke, Li Fan pondered deeply. The experiences encountered along the way were similar to the illusions he had faced previously. However, this time, protected by Mr. Bai's wooden sculpture, he arrived without incident or danger, reaching his destination smoothly.

Similarly, guided by the human form Emperor One had manifested, he attended the Myriad Beast Assembly of the beast tribe. Amidst the resounding shouts of "Long live Emperor One!" from the assembled beasts, the assembly concluded.

At this point, prompted by Li Fan, Xu Ke handed over the wooden box containing Emperor Two Li. Emperor One's reaction and demeanor were exactly as expected. After uttering a series of abstruse and cryptic words, Emperor One manifested a gray sphere and presented it to Xu Ke.

"You may depart now." Emperor One then promptly bade them leave.

"Wait." At that moment, Xu Ke suddenly spoke up again.

"Oh?" Emperor One was somewhat surprised. Nevertheless, he patiently waited for Xu Ke to finish speaking.

"Senior, how many of these beasts present do you believe would genuinely wish to follow you when you depart? To abandon the Profound Yellow World, this paradise, for a vague, presently unheralded so-called catastrophe."

Emperor One's human form furrowed his brow. "I don't require their sincerity. I only need them to obey orders. If they prove disobedient, I can simply devour them all!"

Xu Ke smiled, adopting a remarkably mature demeanor. "Earlier, Senior mentioned that an infinite future holds infinite possibilities. So why are you so certain that the Profound Yellow World cannot escape this great catastrophe, and that only by fleeing will there be a sliver of hope? Is there a future where the Profound Yellow World genuinely survives, perhaps even becoming the sole safe haven across all of space and time? Would you not consider doing something for even that slender possibility?"

Xu Ke's eyes, gleaming with wisdom, fixed intently on Emperor One. These words were clearly beyond what Xu Ke at his age would typically utter. And the foolish bird soundly asleep on his head... it was clearly not its idea either.

"So, this is his intention?" Emperor One naturally knew who had sent Xu Ke. He then began to seriously ponder the words he had just heard.

Seeing this, Xu Ke seized the opportunity. "Since Emperor Three Mo was able to split from the beast tribe and side with humanity back then, then today, it's natural for a portion to split off between leaving and staying, choosing to remain in Profound Yellow. This is inherently unstoppable anyway. Your words merely make it more official."

Emperor One glanced out the window at the beasts, each with varying expressions, and became pensive. "Interesting. Then, wait before you depart."

With that, Emperor One's human form slowly vanished into thin air. Xu Ke and Li Fan looked towards the still-assembled gathering. Emperor One suddenly called out to over thirty beasts, including Red Nine-Heads. What was said is unknown, but the beasts initially displayed fear, then disbelief, followed by overwhelming joy. Li Fan only sensed Emperor One's distant gaze fall upon him briefly before shifting away.

Seven days later, above Southern Nether Mountain.

"What? You want us to obey this little brat?" Red Nine-Heads, who had already transformed into human form, looked at the diminutive Xu Ke and immediately showed his displeasure.

The procession was vast and mighty, comprising over three thousand transformed beasts. At that moment, all of them radiated overwhelming malevolence, glaring ferociously at Xu Ke. Xu Ke swallowed hard, but eventually, encouraged by Li Fan, he nodded seriously. "Although Senior Emperor One has granted your request to remain in the Profound Yellow World, the sole condition is that you must obey my commands. Of course, I won't issue any unreasonable demands. It's just that I'm concerned you might cause trouble in our human cultivators' territory, so you must exercise considerable restraint."

As Xu Ke spoke, he pulled a round disc from his robe. The moment the disc appeared, the numerous beasts, who had previously been radiating their fierce aura, immediately became docile. At least, they appeared so on the surface.

"Fine, you have the Beast Soul Wheel, so you call the shots," Red Nine-Heads said with a forced smile. "But little brat, we can obey your orders. However, there must be a time limit, right? We can't be your servants for the rest of our lives, can we?"

"Hahaha, I don't think we need to worry about that. This little brat will likely live for only a few thousand years at most. Which of us beasts can't comfortably live for tens of thousands of years?"

"Then we must keep a close eye on this little brat. Let's not let him die too soon!" Many among the beast multitude jeered.

Xu Ke's face remained taut; he was not affected by their taunts. After causing a stir for a while, seeing that Xu Ke remained unperturbed, the beasts quieted down and resumed their journey in peace.

In reality, the migrating beast group was far larger than the three thousand-plus figures visible on the surface. Essentially, every transformed beast had brought their families along. They used spatial artifacts, similar to Grotto-Heaven treasures, to carry their clans who were unwilling to flee the Profound Yellow World. Moreover, along the way, other beasts who had received the news and also wished to remain in the Profound Yellow World continuously arrived to join them.

By the time they neared the Beast Taming Sect, the procession had swelled to a formidable ten thousand strong. It was a vast and powerful contingent, emanating potent demonic energy. Had it not been for the Beast Soul Wheel bestowed by Emperor One to suppress their auras, and Mr. Bai's wooden sculpture occasionally drawing on the power of the Heavenly Dao for concealment, it would likely have caused widespread panic among cultivators in the areas they passed through.

Despite these measures, when they finally reached the outer gates of the Beast Taming Sect, this terrifying army of beasts still plunged the unsuspecting Beast Taming Sect into utter panic.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!" Urgent alarm bells immediately echoed throughout the entire sect. Countless cultivators, accompanied by their natal spirit beasts, rushed from various parts of the sect's mountain gates.

"How truly weak, so weak!"

"I never imagined our Azure Dragon lineage could become so frail after being confined by humans!"

"Hmph, if I hadn't witnessed it myself, I truly wouldn't believe that beasts would genuinely submit to humans!"

"We outnumber them, why don't we..."

Xu Ke looked at the beast contingent, whose atmosphere had subtly but instantly turned hostile, and couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.