After transmigrating into the body of the protagonist's childhood friend, he was targeted by a

A young female beast nearby flicked her tail in dissatisfaction, then leaned closer to examine it more closely: "Why? I want this one too. He looks so small, he must be very well-behaved, and he'll be easy to raise."

Several other monsters nearby also joined in the commotion.

One person said Luo Yiyan looked smart, another said that Hehe was sturdy and reliable, but no one mentioned Jiang Che.

Jiang Che lay there, drool stains still on his clothes, completely numb to it all.

If he could beat them, he would have already attacked.

This is so unfair...

Several cubs darted around, biting the tips of their parents' tails and whining, expressing that they also wanted a human.

The scene was quite chaotic at one point.

Finally, the older female beast couldn't stand it anymore. She stepped forward and shooed the few monsters crowding at the front to the side, then glared at Hao and scolded him irritably.

"It's one thing for them to be young and fool around, but why are you getting involved too? How old are you? Aren't you ashamed?"

Hao pouted.

He's not that old, only three thousand years old, still a child!

"What are you all doing?"

A kind and gentle voice rang out, and the previously noisy demon beasts instantly fell silent, bowing their heads and making way, respectfully calling out, "Clan Chief."

What appeared was a giant wolf that was entirely white, its fur as silvery-white as flowing moonlight, and a single horn on its forehead as warm and smooth as jade.

Her steps were calm and steady. Upon seeing this, the several demonic beasts surrounding Lin Zhixu scattered and retreated without being urged.

Even the usually unruly cubs obediently shrank back behind their elders.

Chi came from behind and chased them away.

"These must be the humans." The white wolf stopped in front of the four, his gaze slowly sweeping over them, his tone gentle. "Alright, there are no outsiders here anymore, so stop pretending."

The four realized they had been discovered, opened their eyes, and stood up warily.

Minghe spoke first, her tone wary: "What do you want? Why did you bring us here?"

The chieftain tilted his head slightly upon hearing this, a hint of a smile appearing in his clear amber eyes: "That's quite unreasonable. You were the ones who trespassed into our territory, so why are you blaming us for capturing you?"

"I should be the one asking you, what brings you all to our clan's secluded place?"

The four looked at each other, and it seemed that this was indeed the case.

Jiang Che straightened his clothes, stepped forward, and cupped his hands, saying, "Senior, we are disciples of the Tianheng Sect. We have been sent here on a mission to investigate the strange movements of the demonic beasts. We have no ill intentions and certainly do not intend to disturb your peace."

The clan leader's eyes flashed. "So you're a cultivator from a major sect. My apologies for my disrespect."

"It's all a misunderstanding. Our clan has lived in seclusion for generations, but as the children grow up, they develop a rebellious streak and sneak out behind our backs, causing some commotion and disturbing the people outside."

Lin Zhixu shook his head: "No, you deliberately lured us here."

The clan chief clearly hadn't expected anyone to react so quickly, and his eyes widened slightly.

Her gaze fell on Lin Zhixu, and she was about to say something when she suddenly stopped.

Her pupils suddenly contracted, and almost instinctively she moved closer to Lin Zhixu, stopping in front of him, her nose twitching slightly as if trying to identify some scent.

Minghe, Luo Yiyan, and Jiang Che simultaneously stepped forward to block, but were instantly forced back by an invisible pressure.

Lin Zhixu raised his hand, signaling them not to make any rash moves.

The chieftain slowly raised his head, his beastly eyes surging with intense emotions. "You have a familiar scent about you."

Lin Zhixu was taken aback upon hearing this: "What's that smell?"

"It has an aura unique to my clan's bloodline."

The clan chief's voice trembled slightly, unable to conceal his excitement, "Moreover, this aura is extremely pure. If I am not mistaken, it should be of royal blood from our clan."

Lin Zhixu's heart skipped a beat.

Could she be talking about Xiao Hei?

He suppressed his inner speculation and calmly asked, "What are the characteristics of aristocratic royal lineage?"

The clan chief was filled with pride: "Royal bloodline, entirely black in color, with a size far larger than ordinary clansmen. When fully grown, their beastly bodies can cover half the sky. In battle, they emit black protective flames, a sign of the awakening of their ancient bloodline."

Lin Zhixu understood.

That matches perfectly; it's definitely Little Black.

But he didn't summon Xiao Hei immediately. Instead, he looked at the clan leader and asked, "Tell me first, what exactly is the purpose of going to such lengths to lure us here?"

Seeing his reaction, the clan chief guessed that he had indeed seen the royal bloodline and dared not hide it any longer. He said sincerely, "This is truly out of necessity. Our clan has lived in seclusion here for generations, relying entirely on the protection of the great protective array set up by the royal family and a powerful human ten thousand years ago, which has allowed us to live in peace and seclusion."

"But now the great formation has fallen into disrepair over the years, and many of its key points have collapsed. Although we are willing to repair it, many of the mechanisms were set up by humans, and we are unable to break them."

"We can't get into the human sects, so I had no choice but to let the younger members of my clan go out, hoping to attract the help of human cultivators."

"But," Jiang Che hesitated for a moment, then said truthfully, "we are not experts in formations, so we probably can't be of much help."

The clan chief shook his head, his tone still gentle: "It's alright. We are already extremely grateful that you all would be willing to take a look."

Having said that, the group said no more and followed the clan leader deeper into the area.

Luo Yiyan and Minghe walked ahead, while Jiang Che followed beside Lin Zhixu, muttering in a low voice, "They don't seem very smart. What if this method attracts bad guys?"

Lin Zhixu did not answer, but simply shook his head slightly.

He also felt that these monsters were far too naive.

Using such a flawed method to seek help might attract rogue cultivators who specialize in capturing demonic beasts and refining cores, rather than disciples of a sect.

There are at least a hundred monsters here, any one of which would be highly sought after outside.

They welcomed the four unfamiliar monks into their lair without any suspicion.

They probably never witnessed, nor imagined, how far human greed could go.

The group followed the white wolf through the depths of the village and arrived at a rock wall hidden by vines and ancient trees.

The white wolf raised its front paw and gently waved it, causing the vines to automatically part to the sides, revealing a deep passageway.

The further you go in, the brighter it gets, and when you reach the end, a wide-open space suddenly appears before you.

A huge underground cavern came into view.

In the center of the cave floats an extremely complex array, with layers upon layers of patterns spreading out and their edges disappearing into the surrounding rock walls, emitting a faint silver light.

The light flickered intermittently, and several alarming cracks appeared at the core of the formation. Several key points of the formation had completely dimmed, and residual spiritual energy was leaking out from the cracks in wisps.