Xiaoxiao.

Seeing Wu Ren stride confidently out of the cave, Zhu Lu's face was filled with barely suppressed joy.

As Wu Ren approached step by step, the powerful aura emanating from him surged forth like a tidal wave, instantly enveloping Zhu Lu.

Zhu Lu felt his breath catch in his throat, but Wu Ren brought him not pressure but excitement. He couldn't help but exclaim inwardly, "Such momentum is truly astonishing!"

He was now extremely excited, waving his arms and shouting, "Haha... It was truly worth waiting here outside the cave for so long! It's really great! You've only just broken through to the late stage of the Enlightenment Realm, yet you possess such a powerful aura, it's unbelievable! No wonder the Ancestor often praised you humans as the most outstanding race in the world, seeing it today, it's truly well-deserved!"

After saying that, Zhu Lu's gaze gradually softened, and even showed a hint of undisguised appreciation.

At this moment, he no longer showed any sign of regarding Wu Ren as an adversary.

His gaze was intense and focused, as if he were examining a priceless treasure.

Wu Ren was stunned by Zhu Lu's sudden change of heart.

He had expected to be greeted with a show of bravado after emerging from the cave, but to his utter surprise, the other party not only uttered not a single harsh word, but also praised him highly.

However, the other person's overly eager gaze was truly excessive.

Wu Ren subconsciously looked around, secretly relieved that it was just the two of them present.

If others were to see Zhu Lu's expression at this moment, they would probably secretly curse them as a shameless pair.

Upon thinking of this, Wu Ren couldn't help but shudder, goosebumps erupting all over his body.

He cursed himself for having such a wicked thought; it was utterly disgusting.

He quickly composed himself and shouted at Zhu Lu, "Hey! Hey you, stop staring at me like that! I may be handsome and dashing, but if you dare to look at me with those weird eyes again, I'm going to hit you!"

Zhu Lu stared blankly at the other person, completely bewildered by the meaning of his nonsensical words.

However, based on his vague understanding, he had a feeling that the other party seemed to be praising him for not launching a sneak attack when the other party broke through.

Thinking of this, Zhu Lu couldn't help but feel a surge of mutual appreciation.

So Zhu Lu said nonchalantly, "Hey, brother, no need to thank me for not pulling any tricks when you broke through. It's nothing at all! We men should walk in this world with integrity and honesty. I don't even look at those despicable and underhanded methods, let alone stoop to using them!"

At this moment, Zhu Lu was full of heroic spirit, like the embodiment of justice.

Although the two were talking past each other, Wu Ren could still sense from their words and expressions that the other was a simple and honest man.

Although this person may be a little slow-witted, their character is absolutely impeccable.

Just then, a very strange thought suddenly flashed through Wu Ren's mind—could it be that the other party was not here to cause trouble, but rather to make friends?

The moment this absurd idea appeared, even Wu Ren himself was startled.

However, there's no denying that at this moment, he had already developed a liking for the slightly flamboyant man before him. (Wow... that's quite a bold and unrestrained thought!)

Seeing that the other party remained silent, Zhu Lu secretly wondered if his words had deeply touched the other party, making them too moved to express their feelings.

Thinking of this, he pressed on while the iron was hot and continued to speak eloquently: "You humans are truly both lovable and hateful!"

Although you have many advantages, there is one thing about you that is really hard to find appealing.

Look at your uniquely gifted, almost perfect innate bodies! They are priceless treasures bestowed by heaven!

But what about you?

They are completely blind to such a valuable resource, and do not know how to cherish and make good use of it.

With such excellent conditions, you have never made good use of them. Instead, you spend your days busy and running around for vulgar things like money and titles, completely wasting this peerless cultivation body that is so full of the essence of heaven and earth!

This is not just a waste of resources, it's downright outrageous!

Zhu Lu became more and more agitated as he spoke, his words filled with a deep sorrow that was far beyond his years. He looked as if he had seen a peerless treasure being carelessly discarded as worthless trash, and he was filled with endless regret.

Wu Ren, standing to the side, couldn't help but chuckle at his precocious and old-fashioned demeanor.

However, despite having some suspicions in his mind, Wu Ren deliberately pretended to be ignorant and asked knowingly, "Oh ho, you keep calling me 'human,' 'human.' So, according to you, you're not human yourself?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Lu nodded without hesitation and replied, "That's right, of course I'm not human."

His answer was so crisp, decisive, and resolute that it caught Wu Ren, who had initially been somewhat playful, off guard.

After all, from any perspective, the expression "not human" doesn't seem like a compliment.

But the other party answered without any hesitation, which made their identity obvious.

Kuang Zheng once said that there are some strange fruit spirits in the Wild Mouth Ridge of Zhuxian. Although they are not human, they can transform into human form just like Zhuxian.

Wu Ren had initially held some hope for this magical fruit spirit, but when Zhu Lu stood alive in front of him, he felt little excitement.

The burly man before him declared without hesitation that he was not human, which sounded utterly absurd. The answer was already clear, but Wu Ren still asked definitively, "Uh... then what are you?"

Zhu Lu grinned, revealing a set of uneven, yellow teeth, and said loudly, "Haha, good question! Since you want to know, I'll tell you."

I am Zhu Lu, the Third Master from Noguchi Ridge, also known in the martial arts world as "Tiger-Headed Spear"!

My eldest brother's name is Zhu Fu. He is currently in seclusion, trying to break through to the Heartbeat stage.

And my second brother, Zhu Shou, is leading a group of men in pursuit of your companions!

Zhu Lu spoke without any restraint, completely unaware that he had already revealed important secrets.

Upon hearing this, Wu Ren felt a pang of anxiety, secretly worrying about the safety of Ying Yue and Kuang Zheng.

However, this moment is an extremely rare and opportune time to uncover the secrets.

Although Kuang Zheng had absorbed the white dragon's memories before, those memories were from ten thousand years ago.

Time flies, and all things in the world have undergone tremendous changes.

Even if the general course of events is similar, more than 10,000 years is not a short period of time.

Therefore, the current situation in Mangyuan differs greatly from the information Kuang Zheng obtained from Bai Jiao's memories, especially regarding the specific circumstances of the three lords, which they still do not have a clear understanding of.

To put it bluntly, everything was based on Bai Jiao's memories plus the three people's speculations.

They had always believed that the legendary Zhu Guo Wang Zhu Xian was at most equivalent to the top level of the late Golden Core stage (peak of the fifth level) in humans.

However, when they witnessed the powerful aura that the other party displayed, they were astonished to find that it was actually a genuine sixth-level realm expert!

They assumed that the fifth level of the beast realm was a huge threshold, just like the Golden Core stage for humans, but they forgot that there is a fundamental difference between human cultivation and beast cultivation.

Although the strength of a Golden Core cultivator and a typical fifth-level beast is roughly equal, the transition from the fifth to the sixth level for a beast is not as difficult as the transition from the Golden Core to the Nascent Soul stage for a human.

After all, wild beasts only need to accumulate power, while humans, in addition to physical cultivation, also have to face the cultivation of consciousness and spirit.

As the saying goes, "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown."

Although humans possess the unique advantages of innate physical constitution, they must also face the dual hardships of conscious and physical cultivation.

Only by breaking through these double constraints can one reach the highest peak!

Fortunately, they encountered a wisp of the other party's divine consciousness by chance. If they had waited until all three of them had successfully broken through to the Golden Core stage and then directly provoked the other party, they would have been walking into a trap and being cannon fodder for nothing.

According to their initial plan, after advancing to the Golden Core stage, they would take the initiative to find Zhu Xian to completely resolve the grudges and entanglements caused by the Zhu Fruit.

Fortunately, they unexpectedly encountered a wisp of the other party's divine consciousness; otherwise, if the plan had been carried out on that day, the three of them might not have returned alive!

This is the deadly threat posed by faulty intelligence. Without accurate intelligence, let alone causing trouble for Zhu Xian, even the desire to cultivate safely is a pipe dream.

Aside from the current situation in the wilderness, what they urgently need right now is detailed information about the current situation of the three great lords.

However, obtaining such important information is by no means so easy.

Unless one personally ventures into the sphere of influence of those three lords, there might be no chance of gathering any useful information.

But with their current meager cultivation levels, how different would it be from rashly heading to such a dangerous place and going straight to their deaths?

Humans are practically walking signal flares in the wilderness. In a wilderness teeming with wild beasts, it's wishful thinking to not stand out from the crowd. To think you can "avoid shooting and sneak into the village" is just plain stupid and unrealistic.