The Ten Thousand Beasts Secret Realm was created a thousand years ago by a Purple Mansion master from Beast Taming Peak for his disciples. It was immense, containing dense forests, streams, waterfalls, and swamps, with mist often filling the air.

Many different species of Demon Beasts lived here. Don’t think for a second that being raised in captivity had stripped them of their wild nature. On the contrary, in terms of danger, this place was no less treacherous than the Cloud Mist Mountain Range in the outside world.

Yu Changsheng suddenly materialized out of thin air in a dense forest.

Before his feet even touched solid ground, he immediately unleashed his Divine Sense at full strength, blanketing the surrounding thousand meters. He then pointed a finger, executing a Beast Taming Technique he had prepared in advance.

"Iron Carving King!"

A pair of feathered wings unfurled from behind Yu Changsheng. The Iron Carving King’s head rested against him, its wings closing around him to form a protective barrier.

BANG!

The next second, a streak of blue light struck its wing, freezing a small patch of feathers.

"This guy is a Beast Master!"

"He’s way too alert! How did he notice us?"

"Idiot! Beast Masters’ Divine Sense is generally stronger than other Cultivators’. Did you really think we wouldn’t be found squatting in these bushes?!"

"Let’s hurry up and attack! There are three of us. Dealing with a mere Qi Refining Fifth Layer Beast Master shouldn’t be hard!"

"Ice Arrow!"

Another streak of blue light shot toward Yu Changsheng from the bushes several dozen meters away.

Under his Divine Sense, he could clearly feel the frosty qi emanating from the blue light.

"Iron Carving King, Black Wind Slash."

Yu Changsheng made a swift decision. After issuing the attack command with his Divine Sense, he instantly cast the Wood Shield Skill.

"SKREEE!"

BANG!

Just as the Iron Carving King took flight, the Ice Arrow struck Yu Changsheng’s Wooden Shield.

The tyrannical cold qi froze the Wooden Shield, and in the blink of an eye, the surrounding flowers and grass turned into Ice Crystals.

Yu Changsheng retreated a step and dispelled the Wood Shield Skill. Then, with a flick of his finger, he sent a flicker of fire shooting toward the trio in the bushes.

"Fireball Skill!"

With the Iron Carving King’s flight speed, the distance of several dozen meters was covered in an instant.

However, his opponents were also at the Qi Refining Fifth and Sixth Layers; in terms of Realm, they were no weaker than the beast.

The three hurriedly retreated. One of them swung his sword, unleashing a beam of Sword Light.

The Iron Carving King spun, its wings slicing toward the opponent as air currents transformed into intersecting blades of sharp, Black Wind.

SHINK! SHINK! SHINK!

The clash between the Black Wind and the Sword Light seemed to end in a stalemate.

But the Sword Cultivator had no time to dodge Yu Changsheng’s fireball, which arrived right after.

"Why is this fireball so big?! Brother Li, help me!"

Li Zezheng, who had originally planned to flank the Iron Carving King, had no choice but to grit his teeth. He forcefully changed his attack’s trajectory, firing another Ice Arrow at the Fireball Skill.

BANG! The collision of the fireball and the Ice Arrow created a massive cloud of steam.

However, Yu Changsheng’s fireball was clearly superior. It melted the opponent’s ice in a second and continued toward him with plenty of force to spare.

Li Zezheng’s expression changed. He quickly ducked and yelled, "Get out of the way! This fireball is too strong!"

Hearing this, the Sword Cultivator froze in astonishment. He turned his head just in time to see the massive fireball filling his vision.

"No!"

His face drained of color as he hastily swung his sword, slashing at the fireball.

But this also gave the Iron Carving King an opening!

Ignoring the Technique attack from the other Cultivator, it let out a cry, then whipped its body around. Its tail, moving like a powerful fin, struck the Sword Cultivator’s back in mid-air.

The tons of damage slammed into the Sword Cultivator’s physically fragile body, instantly smashing him into a mangled pulp of flesh and blood. His limbs were twisted and shattered by the impact.

The poor Sword Cultivator was killed instantly. His body flew in a straight line and slammed against the base of a giant tree.

The other two disciples who had been attacking Yu Changsheng were utterly horrified.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Li Zezheng turned and fled, selling out the servant disciple on the other side.

"Brother Li, save me!"

This servant disciple, who also practiced the sword, couldn’t possibly withstand the combined assault of Yu Changsheng and the Iron Carving King. A moment later, he too was dead at their hands.

As for Li Zezheng, who practiced the Cultivation Techniques of Magic Peak, he escaped quickly. By the time they had killed his ally, he had already vanished a thousand meters away.

Yu Changsheng leaped over to the two corpses. He raised his hand and took their Talisman Jades and Hundred Treasures Pouches. After a quick scan with his Divine Sense, he casually tossed them into his System Space.

’These two are dirt poor. Not even a single Spirit Stone.’

’The only useful things are the Talisman Jades... and their bodies.’

"Go on, eat."

Hearing this, the Iron Carving King eyed the two corpses, hesitated for a moment, and then began to peck at them.

The bodies were a reward for the Iron Carving King. However, its appetite wasn’t as good as the Red Snake King’s; it was full after eating just one. In the end, the Red Snake King had to be brought out to finish them off.

"BURP!" The Red Snake King and Iron Carving King let out satisfied belches.

Meanwhile, Yu Changsheng had harvested 79 essence points.

’A bit on the low side, but there are probably more bodies waiting for me in this selection trial.’

Yu Changsheng gazed into the distance, holding his Talisman Jade. He immersed his Divine Sense into it and saw a map of the Ten Thousand Beasts Secret Realm, along with his own position.

’No other Talisman Jades nearby. I’ll check other locations.’

Yu Changsheng recalled the Red Snake King into his Inner Realm, then mounted the Iron Carving King and took to the sky.

However, he flew at a very low altitude. Flying too high would not only make him an easy target for other avian Demon Beasts but also expose him to attacks from other Cultivators.

He had no desire to become a public target.

But while Yu Changsheng set off to search for nearby Talisman Jades, many others were searching for him.

"Damn it, it’s not the kid!"

Wu Shang’s expression was dark and terrifying as he held his dripping Magic Sword.

’I thought following right after Yu Changsheng would get me teleported nearby, but I’ve killed everyone in a one-kilometer radius and still haven’t found him!’

’He must be around here! He has to be!’

"You two, go search as well. If you find anything, notify me immediately with a Sound Transmission Talisman. And remember, don’t be careless!"

Wu Shang spoke sharply to his two followers.

"Brother Wu, don’t worry! That kid is only at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer, and a Beast Master at that. We’ll have no problem dealing with him!"

"I told you to send the talisman, so send it! Stop wasting time and get searching!"

The other servant disciple kicked his companion, and then they split up to search.

Wu Shang’s gaze was profound. Thinking about Huang Li’s death, he felt it wasn’t so simple. But back then, under pressure from Huang Suyu, he could only push all the blame onto Luo Lesheng.

After all, only Luo Lesheng had the power to kill Huang Li and the other servant disciples. But after hearing that Yu Changsheng had broken through to the Qi Refining Fifth Heaven, he started to feel that there was more to this person than met the eye. The previous corpses, the bloodstains, the wounds—it all seemed riddled with suspicious points now.

However, Wu Shang didn’t dare share his suspicions with Huang Suyu, so he could only stick to the original plan: kill Yu Changsheng during the selection trial.

Conveniently, the changed rules of this selection trial provided him with the perfect stage!

’A Qi Refining Fifth Layer Beast Master... I refuse to believe that so many of us can’t handle him. My own strength is now no less than Luo Lesheng’s, I have a Magic Sword given to me by Brother Huang, and I have two servant disciples who are also at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer!’

’I can’t think of any reason why I would lose!’

Wu Shang’s gaze gradually hardened with determination. With a flicker of movement, he shot off into the distance, unleashing his Divine Sense to constantly scan his surroundings.

"Just you wait until I find you!"