After the Path of Heart Inquiry, they rounded a bend, and the view ahead suddenly opened up.

Before them lay a vast, boundless valley. Mist and clouds swirled within the gorge, and countless phantom forms of spirit beasts could be faintly seen darting and weaving through the haze.

This cave abode contained spatial formation arrays, allowing the internal space to be altered at will. The second trial before them was known by the Shen Family as the Valley of Ten Thousand Beasts.

As the name suggested, the valley was inhabited by countless spirit beast phantoms. These were not living creatures, but “beast souls” condensed through divine abilities by the cave abode’s original master.

To pass this trial, one needed to find a spirit beast phantom within the valley that was willing to follow them.

The spirit beast phantoms would choose whether to acknowledge a master based on the cultivator’s spiritual power, temperament, and beast-taming aptitude. Attempting to forcibly subdue one would instead enrage the herd, leading to the failure of the trial.

But if successful, one would directly obtain that beast soul. Each person could only obtain one.

Beast souls were produced after a spirit beast’s death and retained some of its abilities from life. They were often used as artifact spirits, puppet cores, and the like. They could even assist in performing certain special secret arts, making them quite rare.

However, the prerequisite for subduing one was… having passed the first trial.

Shen Xian had no chance at that, but he was quite interested in this valley. He recalled that he still had a fourth-grade earth-rank spirit beast, the Black Mystic Spirit-Seeking Tortoise. That fellow required Jade Marrow Crystal daily to maintain the spiritual nature of its shell plates. He wondered if any could be found here.

In the valley, Ye Qingxian, who had arrived long before, had not waited for the others. Her figure was already at the central location.

Around her, seven or eight spirit beast phantoms had already gathered. Each exuded a powerful aura and held themselves in a respectful, submissive posture. She merely stood there, yet she possessed a commanding presence that seemed to compel the beasts to submit.

This sight left Shen Tianhao and the others dumbfounded.

Only now did they realize that this young mistress likely truly possessed a special constitution. No wonder she had wanted to come see the cave abode. What a pity… her cultivation was completely lost.

Shen Xian, who knew the truth, was not surprised. Possessing the Ancient Divine Phoenix Bloodline gave her a natural oppressive force over other spirit beasts. These beast phantoms had probably already acknowledged her as their master, displaying such respect in hopes of being chosen and taken away by her.

To the side, the guards who had previously passed the trial also began attempting to communicate with the local spirit beast phantoms. Although their primary duty was to protect Shen Xian, they would not give up exploring for opportunities on that basis. After all, this cave abode was already occupied by their family. As long as they didn’t take unnecessary risks, it was generally safe.

The remaining guards who hadn’t passed were also searching the perimeter for any treasures that might appear.

Whoosh!

Right then, a sudden change occurred.

A large net, black as ink, materialized in mid-air. Entangled within its mesh were eerie greenish runes; each line wriggled like a living thing, emitting a heart-chillingly cold aura.

The net expanded with the wind, transforming in an instant to cover an area ten zhang wide as it descended directly towards Ye Qingxian!

“Watch out!” Shen Tianhao cried out in alarm.

His Foundation Establishment Realm Perfection cultivation erupted violently. His figure vanished from his original spot instantly. Spiritual light bloomed from his palm as a spirit sword materialized, followed by a sword light that howled forth, sharp and fierce beyond compare.

But it happened too suddenly; no one had expected such a turn of events. Before Shen Tianhao’s sword light could arrive, the net had already fallen and was about to ensnare her.

A cold glint flashed in Ye Qingxian’s eyes. Her body didn’t move, but an eagle-shaped spirit beast phantom circling around her suddenly beat its wings. Its sharp feathers swept out like blades.

Riiip—

The black net was torn apart. The eerie green runes exploded in the air, dissipating into specks of Yin fire.

However, the net twisted and writhed like a living creature! The severed threads rapidly regenerated, once again coiling towards Ye Qingxian!

“Persistent pest!” Shen Tianhao had already arrived. With an angry roar, his sword light surged violently. The sharp sword Qi transformed into a sky full of silver radiance that shredded the black net into pieces.

The crisis was resolved for now, but no one dared let their guard down. The remaining people all formed a protective circle around Shen Xian.

Shen Xian frowned.

Evil cultivators!

This was a cave abode under family control. How could such individuals appear here?

Could it be…

He furrowed his brow further as he suddenly thought of his second brother, who opposed him at every turn. Without someone inside the family itself, these evil cultivators would have no way to pass through the grand formation array outside, let alone avoid detection by the Nascent Soul True Lords to enter this place.

Besides, nothing had happened before now. Why was it that as soon as he arrived, these evil cultivators showed up?

Considering how things looked when they entered earlier… Shen Xian didn’t think any of this was a coincidence.

A startling conjecture surfaced in his mind: Shen Li wants me dead!

Realizing this made Shen Xian unconsciously clench his fists; anger gradually rose within him.

“Hehehe… The Shen Family indeed has some skill.”

At that moment, an erratic voice suddenly rang out as if coming from all directions at once—chilling to the bone.

“Playing tricks!” Shen Tianhao snorted coldly and swept out with his divine sense, trying to lock onto their position.

Suddenly—

Thud!

A spray of blood blossomed from a guard’s chest! His eyes widened in disbelief as he looked down to see that a pitch-black bone spike had pierced through his heart without him noticing.

“Careful! It’s the Blood Fiend Sect’s Shadow Evasion Technique!” another guard shouted—but it was too late.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Three black shadows shot out from the ground like ghosts! In their hands were short blades gleaming with an icy blue light, aimed straight for the remaining guards’ throats!

Clang!

One guard reacted extremely fast—he summoned his magic artifact, blocking one strike—but two other guards weren’t so lucky.

“Ah!”

Amidst the screams, one had his throat slit, blood spraying everywhere; another was tackled by a shadow figure—a bloody hole instantly torn open in his chest—his heart actually ripped out while he still lived!

“Bastards!” Shen Tianhao’s eyes nearly burst from fury! His Foundation Establishment Perfection spiritual power erupted violently as he roared, “Gather on me!”

The remaining guards hurriedly escorted Shen Xian towards him.

During this time, the evil cultivators kept attacking from tricky angles that were hard to defend against. Fortunately, these guards were well-trained, preventing further losses for the moment.

“Form up!”

Once gathered, Shen Tianhao gave a fierce shout. The remaining guards instantly shifted positions, forming three small battle formations of three people each. As their spiritual power interwove, a pale golden light screen bloomed like a lotus flower, protecting both Shen Xian and Ye Qingxian at the center.

“Merely Foundation Establishment battle formations dare block my Blood Fiend Sect secret arts?”

Amidst sinister laughter, seven black shadows emerged from the shadows of the cliff wall.

The leader wore a crimson cloak and a mask made of white bone that covered half his face. The exposed skin was crawling with blood-colored patterns—the unique Blood Curse Marks of the Blood Fiend Sect!

Shen Tianhao’s pupils constricted sharply.

The Blood Fiend Sect was a notorious evil cultivator force within the Azure Province. They had been rooted here for many years, but he never expected they would infiltrate the cave abode today! Moreover, the leader also exuded a Foundation Establishment Perfection aura—a formidable enemy indeed!

The red-robed evil cultivator licked the blood off his dagger, muttering lowly, “Go.”

He waved his hand abruptly, and all seven simultaneously formed hand seals!

The ground suddenly oozed thick, viscous blood, transforming into dozens of ferocious blood pythons that madly bit and tore at the light screen!

Hiss—

As the blood pythons collided with the light screen, they actually corroded it, producing streams of black smoke!

The three outermost guards groaned, blood trickling from the corners of their mouths.

“Hold on!” Shen Tianhao bit the tip of his tongue, spraying a mouthful of essence blood onto his sword.

The sword body instantly ignited with crimson flames. “Flame Dragon Slash!”

Dragon-like fiery sword Qi swept out, and three blood pythons were instantly vaporized!

But more blood pythons drilled up from underground, two of them suddenly wrapping around one guard’s legs.

“Ah!”

The guard screamed, collapsing as the flesh on his legs visibly melted away at a speed visible to the naked eye!

“Old Zhou!”

A companion was just about to rescue him when a black shadow flashed past like a ghost…

A cold light flashed—and that guard’s head soared skyward!

“That makes four.” The red-robed evil cultivator played with the dripping head, giving a sinister smile.