Chapter 643: Small Town
2 figures flashed in a cave as Ou Yangming and Big Yellow returned to the secret realm’s entrance without a sound.
Ou Yangming lamented as he looked around him. He definitely gained a lot from his trip to the secret realm this time. Whether it was the Concentric Knots, the poisonous pills, or the various spiritual realms, they were rare treasures, such that even just one of them would have made his trip worthwhile.
Needless to say, nothing else would be worth mentioning as compared to being acknowledged by the Wutong Tree.
The only thing was the Wutong Tree was overly powerful, and there was a huge disparity between Ou Yangming’s powers and that of the tree. As such, the young fellow could not borrow its powers.
“Lil’ Ming, we’re out.” Big Yellow wagged its tail with excitement.
It was trembling with fear below the Wutong Tree in the secret realm, by which it dared not be offensive nor disobedient.
The big yellow dog knew the giant Wutong Tree was extremely important to Ou Yangming, hence even though it disliked the oppressive place, it stayed by the young fellow’s side.
“Yes, we’re out. Hehe…” Ou Yangming nodded and smiled faintly. Although there were constant setbacks, they finally had the best outcome.
“Lil’ Ming, why didn’t you take some treasures from it?” Big Yellow blinked and asked all of a sudden.
Ou Yangming grinned and asked the big yellow dog in return, “Do you know what they are?”
Big Yellow quickly shook its head and answered, “How would I know?”
“You don’t know them, and neither do I recognize them,” Ou Yangming expressed helplessly, “We must be careful of those items with unknown origins. Besides…” He hesitated for a while before he spoke as if he was talking to himself, “It’s better not to keep its things for now.”
The big yellow dog was startled for some time, then it asked curiously, “Why?”
Ou Yangming smiled without saying a word. He shook his head and walked into the distance. As for Big Yellow, it tilted its head but could not understand why, so it gave up wondering and followed the young fellow.
With that, the human and the dog left the area and went back by the way they came.
Nonetheless, Ou Yangming did not want to return to the Beast King Sect just like that. Xia Zizhen was not a top-notch figure from the sect, but he was a part of it. Moreover, Bai Zhiyi knew about them going on an adventure together to explore the secret realm.
Now that Xia Zizhen died, Ou Yangming felt cornered because he did not know how he should explain to Bai Zhiyi.
He could not tell the truth, of course, because he could not reveal the situation inside the secret realm.
Under the circumstances, his best option would be hiding in the secret realm to cultivate. Once more time passed and people forgot about this matter, he would then come out to the outside world.
However, Ou Yangming was worried about the lower realm, thus he could not stay in the secret realm and pretend as though nothing happened.
After walking for a day and a night, Ou Yangming identified the direction and headed elsewhere.
He wanted to go around the Beast King Sect’s boundary to explore the other areas. Perhaps he could find out about the people from the lower realm through the other sects.
Throughout their journey, they walked past a small town, which was of an average scale as it housed hundreds of families. Furthermore, the young adults from every family had great physical strength and courage, where they carried auras unique to martial arts powerhouses.
Ou Yangming did a quick visual assessment and was rather surprised.
There were no Spiritualists in the small town, but most of the martial artists were equivalent to Yang Grade cultivators in the lower realm.
Yang Grade cultivators were incredible combat powers for any clan in the lower realm. On the other hand, it seemed like they could be seen everywhere in the Spiritual Realm. It was worth noting that Ou Yangming had only chosen a direction by random instead of being served by the Beast King Sect along the way.
Therefore, what he was seeing this time was probably the normal situation for the Humans in the Spiritual Realm.
The small town was bustling with noise as if a festival was being held. A cheerful aura filled the air.
Ou Yangming joined the people happily and went inside a luxurious restaurant.
The restaurant’s decoration was normal, but it was certainly second to none in the small town.
When Ou Yangming brought Big Yellow, which was much bigger than him, upstairs, he immediately sensed tens of people staring…. At the big yellow dog behind him.
Big Yellow naturally sensed those looks too. It bared its teeth as it was displeased, and it glared at the people. Upon seeing the big yellow dog’s fierce look, most of the people looked away and were slightly afraid.
A spirit beast—spirit beasts were the only ones with such a ferocious look and momentum.
At the spur of the moment, there was a heavy atmosphere in the restaurant, and the people lowered their voices as they spoke.
A waiter seated Ou Yangming respectfully and laid out a gorgeous rug for Big Yellow.
Ou Yangming was slightly stunned. He did not think that the restaurant would have such good hospitality where a customer’s pet would be treated so well.
Big Yellow lay on the rug approvingly. After walking with Ou Yangming for such a long time, it was finally time to enjoy.
Once Ou Yangming made an order, delicious dishes were sent to him one after another, and he tasted all of them. Every place had its specialties, and it was the same here. Nevertheless, the dishes here were not to the young fellow’s liking, whereas Big Yellow ate delightfully.
Out of the blue, Ou Yangming raised his eyebrows. He was sitting by the window, where his back was facing the aisle. Even so, he could sense through his mental conception that an enormous aura was appearing on the aisle.
He was shocked. ‘Are there Spirit Grade cultivators in this small town too?
‘As many Spirit Grade cultivators as there are in the Spiritual Realm, they can’t be everywhere, can they?’
The entering person walked up and scanned the place, then he instantly fixed his gaze on Big Yellow. It was inevitable because of the big yellow dog’s build and formidable aura. Unless one was blind, one would not be able to ignore it.
“Elder Teng, you’re here.”
“Welcome, Elder Teng!”
“Elder Teng, everything has been prepared for you. Please…”
Ou Yangming could not help but turn to look.
Over there, over 10 people came up in succession. Other than the white-haired elder—a Spirit Grade powerhouse—at the front, the rest were equivalent to Supreme Great Ancestors in the lower realm.
Seeing how everyone greeted the elder, Ou Yangming knew he was surely a local resident in this small town.
This was only a small town for the Humans, but there were so many powerhouses. While Ou Yangming had once helped 1,000 over powerhouses at the peak of Yang Grade advance to Extreme Grade, he was deeply in awe.
If every town for the Humans had such a large scale of powerhouses, how fearsome would their overall combat power be?
Perhaps the powerhouses from 2 to 3 towns combined could run amuck in the lower realm.
This was the gap between the Spiritual Realm and the lower realm, and it was an irreparable discrepancy.
Elder Teng nodded at the people, then he hesitated for a while before he approached Ou Yangming with a smile. “Hehe, I’m Teng Liangpeng. How should I address you, little brother?”
Ou Yangming beamed and answered, “I’m Ou Yangming. Greetings, Elder Teng.”
Teng Liangpeng laughed out loud. “Oh, Brother Ou, you’re being too polite. You flatter me!” He glanced at Big Yellow again with a bright smile on his face, but he was secretly alert.
‘This big dog carried an immensely strong aura. If I were to go against it, I might not be able to defeat it at all.
‘On top of that, there’s also this mysterious young man. Given that he’s with such a formidable spirit beast, even if his cultivation base is inferior to that of the dog, he can’t be much weaker.’
Teng Liangpeng curbed his thought and smiled politely. “Brother Ou, have you come to join the Hunting Meet?”
Ou Yangming was dumbfounded, but he responded, “I passed by the town unintentionally and noticed the liveliness here, so I came to take a look. As for the Hunting Meet that you were talking about, I know nothing about it.”
For some reason, Ou Yangming sensed that the martial arts cultivators around them seemed to be relieved.
Teng Liangpeng looked regretful, and he sighed. “That’s such a pity. If you could join our town’s Hunting Meet, you’ll definitely get an excellent ranking.”
Ou Yangming grinned. “I’m not familiar with this place, so it’ll be better for me to stay put instead of moving around. I guess I’ll just take a break here.”
The elder did not try to persuade him. He later suggested, “Brother Ou, since you came to our town, it must be fate. How about you join us for a chat?”
Ou Yangming pondered for a brief moment and asked, “My companion…”
Teng Liangpeng laughed out loud. “Since it’s your companion, we’ll naturally treat it equally.”
The young fellow looked deeply at him. It turned out that it was not rare for spirit beasts and humans to travel together in the Spiritual Realm. The people from the Beast King Sect’s boundary found it normal, and it was also the same case in places far from the sect.
Invited by Teng Liangpeng, Ou Yangming and Big Yellow joined the most luxurious table in the restaurant.
The elder did not hide anything about the town. He sincerely introduced everything to Ou Yangming, who finally understood the culture of towns.
It turned out that the few towns here would hold an annual Hunting Meet, where people would hunt on a mountain ridge not far away.
The strongest person with the most quarries would not only be envied and praised highly, but would also earn the Hunting King title.
Of course, given Teng Liangpeng’s identity and age, he would not participate in the competition. In fact, in all of the villages, powerhouses that were 40 years old and above would automatically withdraw themselves.
At this point, Ou Yangming finally understood why the young martial arts cultivators were hostile toward him.
He looked at Big Yellow and laughed internally. ‘Without this mighty spirit beast by my side, the other people wouldn’t have stared.’