The Emperor's Domineering Favor, the Evil Consort's Unparalleled Reign

Ying Li emerged from the martial arts training room, his body aching all over. All he wanted was to go home, stretch his muscles, and sleep for three days and three nights. Unexpectedly, before he even reached his residence, he saw Yue Wei and An Yao hurrying eastward. Ying Li called them down and, after inquiring, learned that with the arrival of autumn, many demonic beasts had multiplied and roamed freely, their numbers surging. The Palace Master of Bixia Palace had used her own spiritual power to create a spiritual energy gate. Once all disciples passed through it, they could reach the Spirit Beast Mountain Range, slay demonic beasts, and seize their inner cores to aid their cultivation.

Although humans have always held the position of the strong on the Spirit Realm Continent, the difference in physical strength between humans and demonic beasts means that only geniuses can rival them. Furthermore, demonic beasts multiply rapidly every autumn, and if left unchecked, they will inevitably become a scourge on the Spirit Realm Continent. Therefore, over time, an unwritten rule has formed: every autumn, when the hunting grounds open, each sect will carve out a gate of spiritual energy to escort their disciples to a corner of the Spirit Beast Mountain Range to hunt demonic beasts, seize their inner cores, and aid their disciples' cultivation.

Ying Li never expected that she would encounter the opening of the hunting grounds so soon after arriving at Bixia Palace; it was such a coincidence.

"Where are my second brother and third sister? Have you seen them?" Ying Li asked. She hadn't seen the two of them for several days and didn't know where they were.

“Ying Zhe and Ying Xue should have already gone to the Gate of Spiritual Power. Sister Li, why don’t you come with us? If we miss the hunting grounds, we won’t have many chances to seize the inner core again in the future,” Yue Wei said. He wanted to spend more time with Ying Li, so he wouldn’t miss any opportunity to be together.

Ying Li thought about it and worried that something might happen to Ying Zhe and Ying Xue. After all, she wasn't sure if Lin Xiangxiang and Lin Zheng would cause trouble for the Ying family at the hunting grounds. Lin Zheng was currently an ordinary disciple, and Lin Xiangxiang was a lower-level disciple. Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. Since they were newcomers, it would be best for them to stick together.

Ying Li nodded and followed Yue Wei and An Yao towards the gate of spiritual energy. She also wanted to know what the Spirit Beast Mountain Range was like—was it like Qingyue Manor, filled with spiritual herbs and rare beasts?

It must be said that this gate of spiritual energy is much more spacious than the martial arts arena. Not only are there fewer people, but the gate also connects directly to the heavens and earth, appearing to be nothing more than a layer of mist. Everyone exclaimed in admiration, then took a step with their right leg and entered the Spirit Beast Mountain Range in an instant.

Considering the strength and safety of the Bixia Palace disciples, this spiritual energy gate only leads to the outermost edge of the Spirit Beast Mountain Range. Ying Li opened her eyes and looked at everything around her. Suddenly, she felt a sense of déjà vu. The mountains and plains were covered with rainbows and clouds. The mountains were vast and the sounds of insects were chirping. Occasionally, there were cries of spirit beasts. Various winged birds flew in the sky. They had sharp teeth and beaks and lived by sucking the brain marrow of demon beasts. For some reason, Ying Li felt a chill all over her body, as if she had been here a long time ago.

"Hmph." A soft sigh sounded beside him. Ying Li's expression changed. He looked down at the withered bone ring on his right hand, but seeing no change, he thought he had misheard. The alluring man watched Ying Li shake his head and continue on his way, a chill running down his spine. The Spirit Beast Mountain Range, oh the Spirit Beast Mountain Range... He never thought he would be able to traverse this place again. It's good to be alive; if you die, you'll see nothing at all!

A thick stench of blood still lingered in the air. Several ordinary disciples of the Bixia Palace were herding a swarm of ant-beasts. These beasts moved in packs, possessed extremely low attack power, and were the most popular monsters to hunt among ordinary and lower-ranking disciples. Similarly, these ant-beasts also had the fastest reproductive rate in the Spirit Beast Mountain Range.

"Girl! I've been waiting for you! Come here quickly, I need to talk to you."

Ying Li looked into the distance upon hearing the sound and saw Yi Bicheng waving a red plum blossom fan and beckoning to him. Behind him were the young men and women who had registered on the day of their citizenship. Ying Li nodded and walked towards them.

When Yi Bicheng saw Ying Li arrive, he introduced her to everyone with great enthusiasm, "This is Ying Li, who has the terrifying talent of the Deep Eyes. Li girl, these are the strongest among the new disciples. The reclusive elders summoned us here, and now we're just missing you."

Ying Li greeted everyone, but upon hearing Yi Bicheng's words, his face showed doubt. "Hidden elders? Am I the only one missing? What's going on?"

Seeing Ying Li's confused look, Yi Bicheng smiled slightly, put away his folding fan, and slowly explained, "Hunting monsters in the hunting grounds is extremely dangerous, so everyone acts in groups or relies on alliances. We are all new disciples, and we cannot join the various alliances in Bixia Palace yet. The hidden elder's idea is that we can look after each other, and the spoils will be divided equally after we hunt monsters."

Ying Li was taken aback after hearing this. She had considered the drawbacks of going it alone, so she quickly accepted it. "That's good. We can all look out for each other. But I have two friends. I wonder if they can come with us?" After saying that, Ying Li looked at Yue Wei and An Yao and gestured for them to stand over.

Before Yi Bicheng could speak, one of the men, named Wang Meng, spat on the ground. He glanced at Ying Li, sizing her up for a while, and said sarcastically, "Girl, if it weren't for Yi Bicheng's sake, who the hell would let you join us?! A country bumpkin like you, trying to squeeze into the rich crowd. I was being lenient by not yelling at you earlier! What nonsense about 'deep pupils'? I've never believed in that bluffing stuff. Get out of here with your two poor relatives!"

"Hey, Wang Meng, how can you talk like that?!" Yi Bicheng's expression changed. He hadn't expected Wang Meng to be so vulgar! These young masters all came from prestigious families. To be honest, Ying Li's family was indeed inferior to theirs, but Wang Meng was really going too far.

“Wang Meng! What did Ying Li do to offend you? How could you be so presumptuous! Quickly apologize to Ying Li. I’m so sorry, Ying Li. I’m too hasty and speak without thinking!” A woman standing next to Wang Meng said apologetically to Ying Li.

Ying Li looked at those people, some of whom were just there to watch the show. Some of them were even worse than Wang Meng, only capable of using underhanded tricks behind people's backs.

"Fine, I won't join your alliance." Ying Li smiled coldly and said to Yi Bicheng, "Young Master Yi, I have other matters to attend to, so I will take my leave first."

Yi Bicheng's face was somewhat unpleasant. He glared fiercely at Wang Meng behind him, and felt a faint worry in his heart as he watched Ying Li's dashing figure leave.

"Pah! This girl at least has some self-awareness! What was that hermit elder thinking, actually bringing such a girl to join us? He must be out of his mind!"

Wang Meng cursed under his breath. Seeing Yi Bicheng glaring at him, he turned his head away indifferently. Who did Yi Bicheng think he was? He was just pretending to be a good guy. Humph, one day he would teach Yi Bicheng and Ying Li a lesson!

"Li-mei, those people are just too arrogant and don't say anything nice. Please don't take it to heart!" An Yao saw Ying Li walking forward silently and assumed that she was still troubled by what had just happened, so he quickly comforted her.

Ying Li waved his hand, parted the reeds in front of him, looked at the shimmering river surface, and said indifferently, "The weaker they are, the more they think they are strong. Wang Meng thinks he is powerful, but if he were to face a mid-level disciple, he would know what it means to be outmatched and have a higher level of skill!"

An Yao nodded. Ying Li's words made a lot of sense. Their vision was too narrow. They thought that being an ordinary disciple, or even a lower-level disciple, was already very good. Little did they know that there would always be someone stronger than them! The four Spirit Lords on the Spirit Domain Continent were a testament to this: there is no strongest, only stronger! The Mu Clan had produced three Spirit Lords in one fell swoop. In the present day, only the Mu Clan was the strongest on the continent. They, these little minions, were nothing!

"Li-meimei, um... how did you meet Yi Bicheng?" Yue Wei finally couldn't hold back and asked. He had long noticed that Yi Bicheng's attitude towards Li was different, and the two of them got along naturally as if they were old acquaintances.

Ying Li paused, turned back to look at Yue Wei, whose face was somewhat flustered, and said, "I met him when I was cultivating in Linshui City. He's a pretty loyal friend." A man who would exchange the Spirit Gathering Grass with Ying Li on their very first meeting couldn't be considered a bad person. Moreover, although he was injured at the time, he could have easily killed Ying Li, but he didn't choose to. So perhaps, he and Ying Li could have become very good friends.

Yue Wei's expression changed, her heart filled with immense grief. It turned out they really had known each other all along. Just as she was about to speak again, Ying Li whispered a warning, "Shh! Don't speak, there's something strange on the river!"

Yue Wei and An Yao immediately squatted down on the ground. The three of them slowly parted the reeds and watched every move on the river.

"It's a spirit crocodile! They're laying eggs!" An Yao exclaimed, utterly shocked. These spirit crocodiles were among the top 100 most ferocious monsters on the list. They fed on humans from a young age, and a single spirit crocodile could have slaughtered countless humans as it grew up. The Spirit Beast Mountain Range was originally inhabited, but because of these spirit crocodiles, all of humanity perished. The spirit crocodiles didn't care at all; after laying their eggs, they even crossed the Spirit Beast Mountain Range and went on a rampage, slaughtering villages. Such atrocities were simply outrageous!

Ying Li and Yue Wei also had heavy expressions. Normally, when a demon beast lays eggs, it is in the best interests of humanity not to destroy the eggs to extract the core. However, that spirit crocodile was extremely ferocious. If these little spirit crocodiles were allowed to grow up, who knows how many humans would suffer such a terrible fate.

“We’ll do this so that when it finishes laying its eggs and goes out to forage, we can absorb all the spiritual energy from those eggs. We absolutely cannot let these demonic beasts hatch successfully,” Ying Li said coldly, and the two nodded repeatedly.

After the crocodiles finished laying their eggs and went out to forage, the three of them stood up from the reeds and walked straight toward the crocodile eggs.

"Hey, where did this little brat come from, daring to ruin my good time?! You're really audacious, don't you have a death wish!" Just as Ying Li decided to absorb the spiritual energy within the egg, a sharp and piercing voice suddenly rang out from behind her!