Peng Yanbing asked in a deep voice while keeping a straight face, “Unbelievable natural gift—you’re speaking too highly of him, aren’t you?”
Bai Zhiyi smiled bitterly. “I dare not lie to you, Sect Elder. That fella’s natural gift can indeed be described as such!”
Xu Feiyu scoffed and commented, “Brother Bai, words alone aren’t proof. Heh, aren’t you holding the equipment that he has just smithed for you? How about you show it to everyone and let us see how gifted he is?”
He had seen that Ou Yangming’s foundation was unusually solid indeed, but it only meant that he had great potential for the future. At the end of the day, the elder did not believe that the young fellow could smith anything extraordinary.
In actuality, not only him, but most people except Bai Zhiyi did not believe it too.
Even after witnessing Ou Yangming toss 2 High Agility Spirit Ores into his fire, they did not believe that the equipment was a piece of White Silver Equipment, let alone a layered piece of White Silver Equipment.
“Oh? Let me take a look at it,” Peng Yanbing ordered.
Bai Zhiyi was hesitant at first, but he soon handed the small, round shield to the sect elder.
At this point, he thought regretfully, ‘Why didn’t I appraise it just now…’
He was naturally confident in Ou Yangming’s smithing art, but his mind was in turmoil because the young fellow offended too many people with what he said earlier.
Peng Yanbing held the small, round shield and glanced at it for a while before his face changed abruptly. Following that, he looked up at Bai Zhiyi and asked, “You… Didn’t smith this, did you?”
Bai Zhiyi was struck dumb, then he lowered his head and answered, “I dare not lie to you at all, Sect Elder. It really wasn’t me who smithed it.”
Xu Feiyu and the crowd were surprised. ‘What did Sect Elder mean?’
‘Is Ou Yangming’s smithing art so astounding that he can be mentioned on equal terms with the renowned Bai Zhiyi?’
Peng Yanbing pondered for some time, then a luster was seen in his hands. Before Long, a grave look could be seen on his face.
“How old is that person?”
Bai Zhiyi was startled at first, then he answered with joy, “Sect Elder, Ou Yangming should be in his twenties, but he’s definitely under 30!”
“Under 30…” Peng Yanbing’s face twitched, and he mumbled, “Elder Macaque wasn’t lying to me indeed; there’s such a genius in this world!”
Bai Zhiyi’s eyes lit up. He finally understood why Peng Yanbing came to Mount Copper Furnace at this time.
It turned out that he had not come of his own accord but was invited by the old macaque.
Despite that, Bai Zhiyi found it strange. ‘Isn’t the old macaque too concerned about Ou Yangming? Is its junior incredibly important to it?’
Peng Yanbing fell silent for a brief moment and said, “Go find him now and tell him that the Beast King Sect invites him to join us. If anyone treated him impolitely before this, please ask him not to mind about them.”
“Ah,” Bai Zhiyi uttered. He almost could not believe what he heard.
The sect elder stared at him and shouted madly, “Aren’t you going!”
Bai Zhiyi quickly responded to him and left in a hurry.
Xu Feiyu gasped and looked at Peng Yanbing in disbelief. He mumbled, “Sect Elder, th-this…”
Peng Yanbing scoffed and tossed the small, round shield to him. “See for yourself!”
Xu Feiyu’s forehead was already covered in beads of cold sweat. He knew right away that the equipment had moved Peng Yanbing, causing him to make such a decision.
That said, what equipment must it be to have such an unimaginable effect?
He gritted his teeth and released a white light through his hand.
[Item: Round Guardian Shield]
[Equivalent Rank: Magic Tool, Good Grade, Rank Five]
[Attributes: Toughness +30. Agility +2 (White Silver), Durability 30]
[Skills: Indestructible Defense (Intermediate), Comprehensive Protection (Intermediate)]
Xu Feiyu looked up in a daze. He was utterly shocked.
‘Is this really something that can be smithed by a young blacksmith?’
Chapter 622 - Hide
Ou Yangming returned to his courtyard. He immediately gathered Big Yellow, Fat Antelope, and the Silver Ridge Giant Leopard.
He openly expressed his thoughts to them and told them that he wanted to leave the Beast King Sect.
Big Yellow did not have any opinion. It followed Ou Yangming to the Spiritual Realm, hence it would follow him closely wherever he went. On the other hand, Fat Antelope and the Silver Ridge Giant Leopard were rather reluctant to leave.
Although they were in the Humans’ boundary, the Beast King Sect and the 10,000 Beasts Ridge were closely related. Moreover, the disciples from the Beast King Sect would head to the 10,000 Beasts Ridge and the Beasts’ other territories every year. They would carry out all sorts of refinement tests and try to make private contracts with powerhouses from different races.
In a way, among the Humans’ 9 influential forces in Danzhou, the Beast King Sect was the only supreme force that was welcomed by the Beasts.
From the perspective of Fat Antelope and the Silver Ridge Giant Leopard, they were naturally unwilling to leave.
Ou Yangming could read their mind, so he said with a smile, “I won’t force you to leave if you’re not willing to leave. I’ll smith new sets of equipment for you, and I assure you that you won’t be disappointed.”
When Fat Antelope and Silver Ridge saw the young fellow smiling with his eyes narrowed, they somehow sensed a hint of chillness.
“Master Ou, I left the mountain with you, so you can’t leave me alone!” The fat antelope shook its head and said, “I don’t want new pieces of equipment. I only hope that you’ll bring me along when you leave!”
The Silver Ridge Giant Leopard rolled its eyes and expressed, “Master Ou, I don’t want to leave you too. This place is pretty good but if I’m looking for a suitable place to stay, I might as well return to my territory.”
They had thought it through. The Beast King Sect was 100 times more powerful than Ou Yangming, but how many disciples did they have? How many spirit beasts did they keep? No matter what, they would not get their turn. Since that was the case, they might as well follow the young fellow as they would at least gain some benefits.
Ou Yangming nodded. He finally had a change of heart toward the 2 spirit beasts.
In actuality, if they had not expressed themselves, Ou Yangming would still smith equipment sets for them, but one could imagine the qualities of those pieces of equipment.
“Since that’s the case, I’ll still stay here for a few more days, so I’ll make some preparations for you.” Ou Yangming paused for a while then added, “Fat Antelope, I need your fur, so give it to me.”
Fat Antelope glanced at its fur and sighed as it was reluctant to let it go. “As you wish.”
Next, Fat Antelope’s fur left its body and drifted toward Ou Yangming. It was somewhat disinclined, but its fur could grow again and would not be fundamentally hurt, thus it did not reject the young fellow. Instead, the fat antelope looked at him with anticipation as it did not know what he was going to make.
Ou Yangming gathered Fat Antelope’s fur and was going to smart smithing when Bai Zhiyi visited in a hurry.
He was not surprised when he welcomed the elder into his room. He had reached his limit in smithing art when he smithed the equipment. Apart from slightly inferior quality, whether it was the White Silver attributes of the Dual Skill Attribute attached, the equipment could not be ignored. The young fellow believed that as long as Bai Zhiyi and the others were not dumb, they would know what to do.
Even though he was an outsider to the people from the Beast King Sect, when he displayed overwhelming abilities and might eventually become one of them, it would be unlikely for them to reject him.
Bai Zhiy
i complained as soon as he saw Ou Yangming, “Lil’ Ou, what exactly did you smith for me?”
Ou Yangming was stunned. “Elder Bai, tell me first—why have you come?”
“I’ve come to invite you to join the Beast King Sect and officially become my fellow,” Bai Zhiyi immediately answered.
The young fellow blinked and asked, “Since you haven’t appraised my equipment, why are you doing this?”
“This is because someone that can make the call came.” Bai Zhiyi laughed out loud and told Ou Yangming about Peng Yanbing’s arrival. “Sect Elder’s a man of his words. Since he said that, nobody will stop this anymore. He came because of Senior Macaque, so you must remember to thank Senior Macaque when you meet it next time!”
“I’ll remember to.” Ou Yangming nodded after some thought and said after a short pause, “Elder Bai, I’d like to inquire about something from you.”
Bai Zhiyi smiled and responded, “What is it? You can leave it on me!”
Given the Beast King Sect’s ability, as long as Ou Yangming was not inquiring about confidential news, he could easily find his answer.
Ou Yangming nodded and stated, “I heard that many bosses from Danzhou found a lower realm.”
Bai Zhiyi was dumbfounded, and he had a grave look on his face. “Lil’ Ou, let’s not talk about this for now.”
The young fellow felt uneasy, but he questioned with a curious look on his face, “Why is that so?”
“We’re long aware of the lower realm, but we heard that there was an error during the communication with the lower realm this time, and it led to an accident.” Bai Zhiyi sighed.
Ou Yangming’s eyes lit up right away. “What accident?”
He had experienced the accident himself, but he knew nothing about how Ghost-clawed Venerable One pulled it off. In any case, he was even more curious about where Multi-armed King Kong, the goshawk, and the others went. Why could he not locate them through the soul connections between them?
It was as though they were not in this world.
Bai Zhiyi shook his head and sighed. “I have no idea either, but the Nine Great Sects gave the same order that day such that nobody’s allowed to bring it up anymore.” A look of fear could be seen in his eyes.
No matter what it was, the fact that the Nine Great Sects gave the same order at the same time proved that the matter’s cause and effect were not what he should be involved in.
Ou Yangming was moved, and he could not help but feel disappointed.
He initially wanted to learn about the whereabouts of his companions through the Beast King Sect, but he did not expect the Nine Great Sects to block the matter so strictly.
The young fellow pursed his lips and had countless thoughts crossed his mind. ‘Did the little bird and the others not arrive at the Spiritual Realm? Did they encounter an accident? But with Lil’ Red around, I suppose even Venerable Ones won’t dare to offend it.’
He had experienced the last part many times.
Ou Yangming sighed and held back his questions.
Perhaps Bai Zhiyi’s status in the Beast King Sect was not high enough, or he could at least receive some news.
“Lil’ Ou, why are you asking this?” Bai Zhiyi asked in confusion.
Ou Yangming laughed and curbed his thoughts. “I heard a rumor when I was roaming around. The human powerhouses from Danzhou found a lower realm that can be nurtured, and they’re trying to build a permanent passage.”
“A permanent passage?” Bai Zhiyi was struck dumb, and he looked like he was in a daze.
He uttered after some time, “Several months ago, almost all of the famous Venerable Ones from Danzhou headed to Mount Wuzhi. Perhaps… It was because of this?”
Venerable Ones were the most important powers in a race. There were not many human Venerable Ones in Danzhou; there were over 10 of them in total, but half of them were gathered on Mount Wuzhi. Other than this, Bai Zhiyi could not figure out the reason so many Venerable Ones would act at the same time.
Despite that, something must have happened throughout the process, which was why the different sects hid the truth and would not announce it.
Bai Zhiyi shook his head, then his face changed as he whispered, “Lil’ Ou, you must remember not to anyhow ask about this in the future.”
“Why?” Ou Yangming was shocked.
“Ah, don’t you understand? If they successfully seized the lower realm, they wouldn’t have given the order to hide this matter. Heh, since they’re being so strict on blocking news regarding this matter, it can only mean that they failed.”
Ou Yangming’s face changed. He shuddered with fear when he heard the word “failed”.
He was not the only one in the passage at that time. If the process failed, what would have happened to the others?
The young fellow did not think that they were lucky enough to have found a node from the space of nothingness to enter the Spiritual Realm.
Bai Zhiyi looked at Ou Yangming and asked, “Lil’ Ou, do you… Really have nothing to do with them?”
Ou Yangming smiled bitterly. He suddenly could not bear lying to the elder.
The elder kept quiet for some time and nodded. “I see. Are you from there?”
Ou Yangming still remained silent, but he did not admit it.
Bai Zhiyi sighed. “No wonder I never heard of your name. No wonder.” He paused for a while and continued, “I’ll ask around for you, and I’ll definitely get back to you.”
“Thank you, Elder Bai.” Ou Yangming nodded as he was grateful.
The elder chuckled and said, “You don’t need to thank me. Ah, it looks like you won’t join the Beast King Sect for the time being.”
“Yes, please forgive me,” Ou Yangming rejoined.
Bai Zhiyi waved his hand and noted, “It’s fine, I’d do the same if I’m in your shoes. Ah, I really don’t know what they’re up to. How could they hide this matter too?”
Ou Yangming suggested after some thought, “Elder Bai, I made an appointment with Xia Zizhen, so how about I lie low at his place for now?”
“That sounds like a good idea. If you stay here, some people will bug you every day so that you’ll join our sect. Since you have difficulties, you might as well stay away for now.” Bai Zhiyi agreed with him.
The young fellow laughed and thought, ‘Bai Zhiyi’s a reasonable person indeed. Though he’s being pressured by his sect elder, he’s still letting me go.’
After resting for a day, Ou Yangming left with the 3 spirit beasts the next morning. Bai Zhiyi headed to Mount Cooper Furnace after 3 hours to meet Peng Yanbing, then he informed the sect elder of Ou Yangming’s departure.
Peng Yanbing lectured him furiously and only calmed down when Bai Zhiyi guaranteed that Ou Yangming would return in the future. That said, the sect elder exhorted the elder not to let any other sect snatch such a genius away.
Chapter 623 - Formation Board
After leaving the Beast King Sect, Ou Yangming and his companions were no longer restrained.
Bai Zhiyi did them a great favor by not taking back the badges that he gave Ou Yangming and the others. Instead, he let them carry the badges with them. Although the badges only represented their identities as the sect’s outer sect disciples, they would not be obstructed throughout their journey if they showed the badges.
Nonetheless, Ou Yangming and the spirit beasts did not meet up with Xia Zizhen in a hurry.
They found a remote area, where Ou Yangming began to smith all sorts of equipment.
The young fellow had only conveniently smithed pieces of equipment for Fat Antelope when he first entered the Spiritual Realm, but he put in a lot of effort this time.
When 4 equipment sets were finished, Fat Antelope and the Silver Ridge Giant Antelope looked at each other. They could tell from each other’s eyes that they were glad and delighted. Sure enough, they made the right choice by staying by Ou Yangming’s side, and they managed to gain great benefits.
Not to mention low-rank sp
irit beasts, even for high-rank spirit beasts and even top-grade spirit beasts, the 4 equipment sets would be handy.
Once the pieces of equipment were smithed, Ou Yangming retrieved the antelope’s fur and refined it into a cloak using the cold-and-hot burning method. It was just a shame that even though Fat Antelope had many fur, they could only be refined into a cloak for the young fellow alone.
Ou Yangming’s eyes lit up after he sensed the cloak’s properties. There was a subtle change in his eyes when he gazed at the fat antelope’s bald body.
‘When will this fella’s fur grow again?’
They left the secluded area after everything was well-prepared, then they hastened to Xia Zizhen’s manor.
Xia Zizhen and Poisonous Saber Gentleman were elated upon seeing the arrival of Ou Yangming and his companions. They had been waiting for some time and were afraid that they would one day receive the news of the young fellow joining the Beast King Sect and could not show up anymore.
Therefore, they were relieved when Ou Yangming finally arrived.
In actuality, before obtaining the poisonous saber, they had set their hearts on the matter but were not so anxious.
After receiving the poisonous saber and having a caster’s word, their mentality changed drastically.
Ou Yangming cut to the chase. “Gentlemen, I’m a caster, so I’d like to bring a few helpers along since we’re going to a dangerous place.”
Xia Zizhen and Poisonous Saber Gentleman looked at the 3 spirit beasts behind him. They smiled and agreed with it right away.
Perhaps they would be slightly concerned if Ou Yangming wanted to bring high-rank spirit beasts along, but they did not attach much importance to the 3 low-rank spirit beasts. Instead, they praised the young fellow’s act because bringing greater forces along meant that he was more set on the matter.
Xia Zizhen gave a few orders, then he left the manor with Ou Yangming.
The secret realm that he and Poisonous Saber Gentleman were talking about was quite a distance away and was almost outside the Beast King Sect’s zone of influence.
Immortal Path to Heaven c1-725 Page 367