When I woke up, I wanted to go home.

An hour later, the two, one human and one black, were eating grilled fish and drinking delicious fish soup. While eating, the black man couldn't help but flatter Zhu Chongjiu in a cheeky way, saying, "Brother Jiu is awesome. His cooking skills are really top-notch. If I marry a wife in the future, I'll be destined to serve her for the rest of my life!"

Zhu Chongjiu had just drunk a mouthful of fish soup when he heard Xiao Hei's words and immediately spat it out. He kicked Xiao Hei, who was about the size of a kitten, sending him flying dozens of meters away. He said, "If you can't speak, then shut your mouth."

You are destined to serve others, your whole family is destined to serve others, I am destined to enjoy a life of luxury!

After the two, one human and one black, had eaten and drunk their fill, Zhu Chongjiu sorted and arranged everything he had found, then said to the little black dog, "Take a look and see what you need, what weapons, crystals, flowers, fruits, grass, and so on."

All I know is that these royal and imperial weapons were left behind from the great war ten thousand years ago or after the deaths of the Divine Void Hunters each year; I know nothing else about them.

Xiao Hei looked at the things on the ground with a bitter face and said, "I don't need any of these things for the time being!"

Why? There must be items here that enhance your strength, right? You don't need them yet?

There are underworld connections; but I'm already at the high-level Emperor rank. If I can't get out of here, and I don't reach the Emperor rank by the time I come of age, I'll burst my body from exhaustion and die.

Zhu Chongjiu asked in confusion, "Why?"

Xiao Hei explained: "Our race needs ten thousand years to grow into adulthood. Before reaching adulthood, we need to absorb the power of the universe's cosmic clouds to advance to the Emperor level or above. If we only absorb ordinary spiritual power, we cannot advance to the Emperor level or above. When our inner strength reaches a limit, we will only explode and die!"

Zhu Chongjiu: Is this some kind of crazy tactic? The world is truly full of wonders!

So now, apart from sleeping, I basically don't cultivate or eat, trying my best to prevent my internal energy from increasing. Even when we eat beast meat, although the energy of cooked Emperor-level beast meat is greatly reduced, I will still expel the energy little by little after eating.

Zhu Chongjiu looked at the pitiful-looking little black dog with a sour face, patted its head and said, "What a pitiful child!"

With teary eyes, Xiao Hei continued, "Ninth Brother, can you take me out of here? If you can take me out of here, I'll be your mount for life, and follow you for all eternity. Anyway, I have no other family!"

Zhu Chongjiu looked at Xiao Hei, who had shrunk to the size of a kitten, pleading with him with tears streaming down his face. He couldn't help but feel sorry for him. "I don't know if I can take you out. I'll try my best. As long as I can take you out, I'm willing to give anything." As he spoke, Zhu Chongjiu touched the big sword on his back.

Upon hearing Zhu Chongjiu's assurance, Xiao Hei immediately said happily, "Brother Jiu, let me explain how to use these things!"

After Xiao Hei's explanation for more than an hour, Zhu Chongjiu had a general understanding of how to use such a thing. Apart from weapons, since Zhu Chongjiu already had a great sword, he had no interest in other weapons at all.

Among crystals, there are those that can be used to forge weapons, those that can store energy, those that can be used to inscribe formations and spells, and those that are simply for aesthetic purposes.

Among the plants, some can heal wounds and cure diseases, some can enhance internal strength, some can improve physical constitution, and some can help people advance quickly. However, most of the plants that can help people advance quickly are limited to those below the Emperor level. There is only one Dingling Fruit that can be used for Emperor level, which Xiao Hei found in the lair of the Divine Void Crocodile. There is also a plant called Manju Flower and a Zhuluo Fruit, which have extremely high effects on advancing from the Emperor level to the Royal level!

Xiao Hei would introduce one item, and Zhu Chongjiu would write down the corresponding item, then wrap it up and put it in his storage ring. He would give it to the team to take back later. As for the Zhu Manzhu flower and Zhu Luo fruit, Zhu Chongjiu kept them separately for Principal Wang, since he had promised him!

After everything was done, Zhu Chongjiu kept the Dingling Fruit and told Xiao Hei to help him observe the surroundings, as he wanted to eat the fruit to advance in his level!

After Xiao Hei agreed, Zhu Chongjiu picked up the Dingling Fruit. The fruit was golden yellow all over, exuding a rich fruity aroma. It made a faint tinkling sound, making it incredibly appetizing. He devoured it in just a few bites!

Looking at his empty hands, Zhu Chongjiu muttered, "I shouldn't have blamed Brother Bajie back then; I didn't taste anything either!"

As Zhu Chongjiu was muttering to himself, a burst of internal force suddenly erupted from his abdomen, rushing towards his limbs and meridians.

Zhu Chongjiu was initially a little unaccustomed to it, but gradually he was able to control these powers, which continuously cleansed his meridians and acupoints!

For someone like Zhu Chongjiu, whose meridians and acupoints are so resilient, if he doesn't rely on external forces but only on his own cultivation to gradually toughen them up, Zhu Chongjiu had previously calculated that he didn't know the answer.

First, Zhu Chongjiu has far too many meridians and acupoints throughout his body, several times more than an ordinary person. It would take several times longer than an ordinary person to sort them all out. But that's not the main point. The main point is the second one. Because Zhu Chongjiu's meridians and acupoints are so resilient, the spiritual energy of this world, after being absorbed by Zhu Chongjiu and applied to his meridians and acupoints, is like water dripping on stone, seemingly without end!

Since Zhu Chongjiu made it to the mid-level Emperor realm in one go, his cultivation level has not only failed to improve at all, but it has made absolutely no progress!

Three hours later, Zhu's tightly closed eyes suddenly snapped open, his entire body surging with power, and an invisible wave of energy emanated from every part of his body.

The little black dog that was lying at Zhu Chongjiu's feet was instantly blasted two or three hundred meters away by the shockwave. A sound of "Oh no!" was heard and then gradually faded away!

Zhu Chongjiu shook off his shattered clothes, changed into a new set, and said to himself, "That was really dangerous. I only succeeded in breaking through at the last moment when the medicinal power of the Dingling Fruit was exhausted. I almost wasted a rare and precious treasure!"

In the future, given the potency of the Dingling Fruit, it's estimated that five or six fruits will be needed to advance to the advanced level. As for advancing from the advanced level to the top level, it's currently unknown how many will be needed.

Now it seems that being too strong isn't a good thing. Others desperately seek out even one Emperor-level rare treasure, while I need five or six to meet the requirements. What a waste!

At this moment, Xiao Hei had returned to Zhu Chongjiu's side and complained, "What are you doing? I was trying to help you take care of me, and you kicked me away!"

I'm so sorry, it wasn't on purpose. I didn't expect you to be so close to me!

Speak properly. I was thinking that if I stayed close to you, I could just pick you up and run if there was any danger. Or is it my fault?

No, no, I'm so grateful to you! It's all thanks to Xiao Hei's cleverness. Your Ninth Brother was foolish and didn't understand Xiao Hei's good intentions. Amidst Zhu Chongjiu's apologetic and coaxing words, Xiao Hei and Zhu Chongjiu also headed towards the depths of the Divine Void Swamp!

Zhu Chongjiu and Xiao Hei stood on a rare piece of land, with more than a dozen huge golden lions lying behind them. Among them was a male lion that was nearly 500 feet tall and had wings on its back. Its whole body emitted a dazzling golden light. Of course, now it was gone, and the golden light was gone. Even without the golden light, its golden fur was still as if it were plated with gold!

The two, one human and one black, stared ahead at the small black path. "Ahead lies the territory of the last demon beast. Including this group of flying golden lions, we've already killed the fourth Emperor-level demon beast. After killing the last one, we'll leave the Divine Void Swamp and reach Divine Void Lake."

Zhu Chongjiu said, "You must have offended quite a few beasts during your six hundred years of journey to the Divine Void. Apart from those you killed, there are still so many left. With two ley lines, there must be nearly ten beasts left, right?"

Xiao Hei replied anxiously: No way! Each ley line has at least dozens of Emperor-level demonic beasts, and sometimes hundreds. How many have I offended? Besides, it's not all me who offended them. Most of the time, they were the ones picking on me. If it weren't for my superb lightness skills and my copper skin and iron bones, I don't know how many times I would have died!

By the way, Ninth Brother, the next Emperor-level demon beast is a high-level Emperor-level beast, the ruler of this Divine Void Swamp, the "Giant Spirit Hippo." This demon beast is about 1,500 zhang long and 500 zhang tall. Its innate supernatural power is immense strength and heaven-defying defense. Moreover, it lives in groups. Besides it, there is another Giant Spirit Hippo in the group, at the low-level Emperor level.

When Zhu Chongjiu heard the size of the beast, his eyes almost popped out of their sockets. How much? 1,500 zhang long? 500 zhang high?

After conversion, it is 4,500 meters long and 1,500 meters high. How big must that be? Zhu Chongjiu already had a picture in his mind: one giant hippopotamus after another lying together, like a row of small mountain peaks rising and falling!

Zhu Chongjiu asked: Do you know how deep the Divine Void Swamp is? Won't that giant hippopotamus drown in the swamp?

No way! The average depth of the Divine Void Swamp is only about 1,000 meters. There are some deep places, and the monsters know that. Nobody's stupid enough to rush there and drown in the mud!

So, does that mean that giant hippopotamus is still 500 meters out of the swamp?

Xiao Hei replied impatiently, "It's grown so big, what can I do? Are there any small creatures in this world?"

Besides, is this even considered big? When our race reaches adulthood, we can grow to tens of thousands of feet in size. In my memory, my ancestor was even more than a hundred thousand feet in size!

Moreover, there is a void beast called "Ancient Kun" that grows to be millions of feet in size when it matures. Even a slight movement of its body can travel millions of miles. Even so, it is an insignificant existence in the vast universe!

After hearing Xiao Hei's words, Zhu Chongjiu looked at Xiao Hei and, thinking of the ancient Kun that Xiao Hei had mentioned, felt that this world, Xiao Hei's world, and his own world seemed to be connected, just with different names.

Let's not worry about that for now. If you don't have the strength, don't waste your time. If you have the strength, everything will become clear!

He still needs to work hard at his training. Xiao Hei's unintentional words opened a new door for President Zhu and gave him a glimmer of hope. Since some things are real, he can continue on his path with a clear goal.

Human potential is limitless, provided there is hope!

Zhu Chongjiu and Xiao Hei packed their things, regained their composure, and continued their journey.

Why does Xiao Hei always follow Zhu Chongjiu in every battle? First, Xiao Hei follows Zhu Chongjiu voluntarily. Second, Zhu Chongjiu knows that Xiao Hei will be fine, after all, it survived unharmed as a lone beast, let alone with Zhu Chongjiu by its side now. Also, don't underestimate Xiao Hei!

As Zhu Chongjiu and Xiao Hei were about to fly into the territory of the Giant Hippopotamus, Zhu Chongjiu vaguely saw a small mountain in the distance, standing in front of them.

Xiao Hei asked in bewilderment: "When did a mountain appear here? It wasn't here before!"

Zhu Chongjiu slapped Xiao Hei and said, "What mountain? That's the giant hippopotamus you mentioned!"

Hearing Zhu Chongjiu's words, Xiao Hei was so frightened that it braked suddenly in mid-air, almost getting thrown off by Zhu Chongjiu!

Zhu Chongjiu angrily asked Xiao Hei under him, "What are you doing? Do you have insurance? You're going to have an accident. If you don't have insurance, can you afford to pay for it?"

While talking, he hit Xiao Hei on the head!

Little Black babbled on and on: "Ninth Brother, how did that giant hippo know we were coming? It's blocking the door here!"

Wouldn't it be better to block the door? Otherwise, we'd have to go find it. Let's hurry forward; there's still a distance to go!

After hearing this, Xiao Hei continued to fly forward cautiously. When it was about five kilometers away from the giant hippopotamus, Xiao Hei stopped and refused to fly forward, which earned it a scolding from Zhu Chongjiu!

You piece of trash, it's a high-level Emperor, and so are you. What are you afraid of?

Little Black replied with a long face, "I'm not as fast or as strong as it!"

Zhu Chongjiu said angrily: "It's not as loud as you. You're small and agile. Just fly up to its ear and yell at it until its brains are turned into mush. It's so big, it can't even hide from it!"

Ninth Brother, have you ever thought that even if I call it ten times, its head might not turn to mush, but if it hits me once, I'll definitely be minced meat!

Zhu Chongjiu flew down from Xiao Hei's back and said to Xiao Hei, "I'm still a level below you two, you good-for-nothings. Watch your Ninth Brother."

With that, Zhu Chongjiu flew towards the giant hippopotamus!

When Zhu Chongjiu flew in front of the giant hippopotamus, he felt a great sense of oppression and was a little scared!

When the giant hippopotamus saw Zhu Chongjiu approaching, it said, "Human, why are you killing the low-level demonic beasts in my territory? What did they do to offend you?"

After the giant hippopotamus finished speaking, Zhu Chongjiu patted his buzzing ears, looked at the slime dripping from his clothes—that is, the giant hippopotamus's saliva—and shouted, "Don't you have any manners? I just changed into new clothes, can I still wear these?"

Zhu Chongjiu cursed and retreated another thousand meters. He originally wanted to make eye contact with the giant hippopotamus and show off, but he didn't expect this result. He was careless and didn't dodge!

After Zhu Chongjiu used his water control technique to take a bath and change his clothes, he replied: How did you know I killed your subordinate?

The giant hippo replied: It was the golden lion who sent me a telepathic message before he died!

"Oh! It's like this. First, your men blocked my way. Second, your men bullied my brother, and I'm just here to avenge him," Zhu Chongjiu said, pointing back at Xiao Hei behind him.

When Xiao Hei saw Zhu Chongjiu point at him, and then the giant hippo looked at itself in the direction Zhu Chongjiu was pointing, Xiao Hei immediately covered its big head with its two front paws, in a self-deceptive manner!

The giant hippopotamus saw the little black creature behind Zhu Chongjiu and replied, "Oh, it's that little thing. It passed through the Divine Void Swamp more than a thousand years ago and caused a lot of trouble for the monsters in the Divine Void Swamp. Isn't it normal for it to be chased and beaten?"

I was just trying to scare it; I didn't actually do anything to it. I've done more than enough!

Zhu Chongjiu looked at the giant hippopotamus and said, "I think you're quite sensible. Since things have come to this, what do you suggest? Draw a line, and as Xiao Hei's ninth brother, I'll take full responsibility!"

Zhu Chongjiu spoke with the air of an elder brother!

The giant hippopotamus pondered for a moment and said, "I don't want to start a bloodbath with you. The solution is for you to return all the demonic beasts you hunted and the rare treasures you obtained in the Divine Void Swamp. They don't belong to you; they belong to the Divine Void Swamp. As long as you agree to my request, I won't stop you whether you leave the Divine Void Swamp or continue your journey to the Divine Void Lake deep within the Divine Void!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Chongjiu thought to himself, "This one has a brain. Even with all this provocation, this big guy hasn't gotten angry. This isn't like the nature of a demon beast at all. It seems I need to use some drastic measures. Otherwise, how can I plunder the treasure trove of the giant hippopotamus?"

As the eldest brother in the Divine Void Swamp, his treasure vault must contain far more treasures than his underlings.

After making up his mind, Zhu Chongjiu pretended to be angry and said: What? You want me to hand over all my treasures? These treasures are all things I obtained after going through countless hardships and risking my life.

Cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents. Since you're pushing me like this, don't blame me for being impolite. Come on, let's have a fight!

Upon hearing Zhu Chongjiu's words, the giant hippopotamus was almost completely worn down by its last bit of good temper and rationality. However, its remaining rationality and the instinct of a demon beast told it that the human in front of it should not be underestimated, as it might easily capsize. This was why it tried to negotiate with Zhu Chongjiu instead of choosing to start a war directly!

The giant hippo stared intently at Zhu Chongjiu with its enormous eyes, remained silent for a long time, and then said: "Since you, human, do not agree to my conditions, then there is no other way but to fight!"

However, I understand that you have your reasons, so we won't fight to the death. If you lose, in addition to the conditions I just mentioned, you must immediately leave the Divine Void Swamp and be forbidden from ever setting foot there again!

Damn, that's really sneaky. They won't let me step into the Divine Void Swamp. How am I supposed to get into Divine Void Lake and the Divine Void Mountain Range in the future? And that mysterious Divine Void Center, I have to go and see it too, and find any way back home.

After thinking it over in his mind, Zhu Chongjiu replied, "Sure, but if I win, I can enter the Divine Void Swamp anytime, anywhere, and you have to hand over all your treasures. Otherwise, let's fight to the death!"

After hearing Zhu Chongjiu's words, the giant hippo analyzed them and felt that the kid had left no room for retreat and was clearly looking for a fight.

At this moment, both the man and the beast understood that since things had come to this, they were both determined to kill each other without hesitation.

The giant hippopotamus said, "Then let's begin!"