Wei Zhong Jun.

Yao Jun was currently standing in a small heap of insectile body parts, his body drenched in light green blood. He had wandered deeper into the forest when he was suddenly attacked by a swarm of flying Demonic beasts that resembled large and fat flies, each one the size of his torso.

The flies managed to evade being spotted by all the insects that Yao Jun had put under his control using his mental energy, so he had not noticed them until they swarmed him. They were too fast at changing direction for his lightning to catch them, and moved too fast for him to catch them using his control over darkness. But with his control over wind, he managed to kill them using the wind created by their own wings, slicing their bodies apart.

"There are people not far from here who have spotted me? And they are making their way towards me? Do they seem hostile?"

A mosquito landed on Yao Jun's shoulder, releasing a small buzzing sound as it gave him information. They were not Demonic beasts, so he could not understand what they were saying. But by invading their heads with his mental energy, he could read their thoughts and understand what they were trying to say.

This particular mosquito told Yao Jun that there were a group of five people who had spotted him as he fought with the flies, and that said group was making their way towards him. In response to his question the mosquito released several more buzzing sounds as it flapped its wings.

"No? Fleeing now would only look suspicious, so lets pretend that I have not yet spotted them."

Yao Jun furrowed his eyebrows, his thoughts moving rapidly. According to what the mosquito had seen, the people did not hold any hostile intentions. Yao Jun was also uncertain about how strong the people who had spotted him were, but since they had managed to spot him despite the short battle, it was reasonable to assume that they were fairly powerful. In that situation, waiting and seeing what they wanted was the best option he could come up with.

Yao Jun pretended that he did not know about the five people coming towards him, digging out the Demon Crystals from inside the large flies that he had just killed. After a little less than an hour, five people walked out from the dense forest around Yao Jun.

"Don't panic, we are allies!"

Yao Jun pretended to be shocked, taking several steps backwards and looking at the five people who had just arrived. A man who seemed to be the leader of the group stepped forward and raised his arms, trying to calm down Yao Jun.

Upon seeing the man who stepped forward, Yao Jun's pupils shrank til they were the size of pins. The man who stepped forward was tall and muscular, his body burly and rugged, he had deep crimson hair that reached down to his shoulders, and wore a robe that revealed his muscular and scarred chest. Yao Jun had seen this man once before, he was the future patriarch of the Wei clan.

"I am Wei Zhong Jun, these are my allies, Wei Yating, Sito Yanyou, Lin Hanying, and Jing Huo."

The tall man, Wei Zhong Jun, introduced himself calmly and pointed at the four people who were traveling alongside him. Three of the four people were clearly from the demon race, with various traits that showed what type of Demonic beast was their Soul Beast.

Wei Yating was a rather short woman who had the same deep crimson hair as Wei Zhong Jun, her body was slim, but it clearly contained a great power just waiting to burst forth. There was a large scar going from over her right eye and down to her cheek, rendering her right eye completely unusable.

Sito Yanyou was a woman with average looks and long black hair. But her eyes were orange in color, she had a small and cute fox tail growing behind her, as well as two orange fox ears growing out from her head. It was clear that she was someone from the demon race who had a fox type Demonic beast as her Soul Beast.

Lin Hanying was tall and muscular, just like Wei Zhong Jun. His face had clearly defined features, like they had been chiseled in stone. His arms were especially muscular, almost twice as thick as Yao Jun's thighs. His face and arms were covered in black fur, so Yao Jun guessed that he might have a gorilla type Demonic beast as his Soul Beast.

The last person in the group, Jing Huo, was the one who looked the least human. If Yao Jun had to describe how he looked, he could only call him demonic. He was slightly short, his brown hair cut short, and his upper body hunched forward. Rather than normal legs, he had two hairy goat like legs. He had two curled horns poking out from the side of his head, and his pupils were not round, but rather rectangular. He clearly had a goat type Demonic beast as his Soul Beast, and was heavily influenced by it.

"I have discovered a place that holds a great amount of rare treasures, but it is guarded by a strong Demonic beast that controls a small horde of weaker Demonic beast. Because of that I have gathered allies in an attempt to force our way into that area."

Right after introducing himself and his allies, Wei Zhong Jun started talking about why he had come, not bothering to beat around the bush or mincing his words. Just like Peng Qing said, he was someone who was completely straightforward, almost honest to a fault.

"Sounds reasonable, but what does it have to do with me?"

Yao Jun knew what Wei Zhong Jun was implying, but he chose to play dumb for the moment, still looking vigilant. All the people Wei Zhong Jun brought with him had higher cultivation than Yao Jun, with the weakest being Jing Huo, who was only at the 3rd Mortal Earth.

"I would like you to join us in our attempt. Your control over wind was great enough to easily kill the Demonic beasts around here, so you clearly possess great strength that is well suited towards group combat."

Wei Zhong Jun pointed at the dead flies around Yao Jun. He had spotted Yao Jun easily slay the flies thanks to his control over wind, so he wanted Yao Jun to join them and help hold back the weaker Demonic beasts that were controlled by the guardian of the treasures.

"Do I get a cut of the harvest? Exactly where is this place located? And what are the chances of success?"

Yao Jun narrowed his eyes slightly as he asked. He was more interested in finding out what was resonating with his Demon God's Gate, but if he could take advantage of Wei Zhong Jun to acquire a few treasures, would that not also be good?

"Everyone will get a fair share, the place is located a few days away from here, inside that large mountain over there. As for the chances of success, about 80% chance that we will succeed if everything goes according to plan. If things go awry, we should still have around 60% chance of success, with a 90% chance of fleeing safely."

Wei Zhong Jun earnestly nodded his head at Yao Jun's questions, pointing at a mountain in the distance that was barely visible through an opening in the tree crowns.

Yao Jun did not put much faith in Wei Zhong Jun saying that everything would be shared fairly. After all, it was easy to say that things would be split fairly, but once the treasures were in front of them, how many would care about fairness?

"Very well, count me in. I am Xue Jun, a wandering cultivator. I look forward to working with you."

Yao Jun pondered over it silently for a short while, before nodding his head and giving out a new fake name. If he could take advantage of Wei Zhong Jun's strength to acquire some treasure, it would be worth it. And even if he got none of the treasures, just the meat from the guardian Demonic beast would be worth a lot to him.

With Yao Jun agreeing to join them, the other people in the group once more introduced themselves, and they set out towards the mountain. While walking through the forest, whenever they encountered a Demonic beast, Wei Zhong Jun would appoint someone in the group to battle against it. This made it so that everyone in the group got a chance to show off their strength as well as allow the others to see if that person had any weaknesses.

Thanks to her bloodline, Wei Yating could control blood, while her own power was to control the wood in her surroundings, perfectly suited for this forest. Sito Yanyou's Soul Beast seemed to excel in illusions, as she would use illusions to confuse her enemies before killing them with a three pronged spear.

Lin Hanying's Soul Beast excelled in strength, so he would use overwhelming brute force to simply smash and crush any Demonic beast he fought. Jing Huo's Soul Beast possessed the ability to produce and control small amounts of fire, so Jing Huo would coat his axe in flames to increase its power.

Yao Jun only used his control over wind when he fought, not showing off his control over lightning, darkness, or mental energy. He also did not use his sword when he fought, trying to keep as much of his own power hidden. Of course, he still controlled as many normal insects as he could, using them to stealthily keep an eye on the surroundings.

As night rolled around, the group cut down a few trees to create a small clearing. Yao Jun and Jing Huo set up a few tents, Wei Zhong Jun focused on boiling some soup and roasting some meat, while Wei Yating, Sito Yanyou, and Lin Hanying spread dried Demonic beast feces around the camp. This dried feces was used to make Demonic beasts think that this area was under the control of a strong Demonic beast, causing them to avoid it.

"So Xue Jun, what is up with that large scar on your chest? It doesn't look normal."

After everything was set up and the group was gathered around the campfire, Lin Hanying pointed at the large scar on Yao Jun's chest, the one in the shape of a dog trying to eat the moon. Yo Jun's body had several scars, but none as special or strange as the one on his chest.

"Indeed. It was carved into my chest using a special corrosive poison, forever marking me."

Yao Jun nodded his head and responded. There was no need to fabricate a story about how he got the scar, marking others by using poison was common. Some organizations would often use this method to mark their slaves, so it only seemed like Yao Jun used to be a slave for an organization that used this mark.

"What happened to the one who planted it on you?"

Wei Zhong Jun was the one who continued asking. Yao Jun walked around with a bare upper body, so all the scars on his upper body were clearly visible. Wei Zhong Jun felt that while Yao Jun looked slightly thin, it was not because he was weak, but because his body had been forced to suffer terrible torture. On the contrary, he felt that there was great power hidden within Yao Jun's body, simply waiting to burst forth, like a sleeping monster.

"He is still alive, but I will have my revenge one day."

Yao Jun slightly narrowed his eyes as he responded. Guo Jiahao and Guo Zhe, he had never forgotten these two names. They were two people he would kill no matter what, the two people that had tortured him. Guo Jiahao was also the person who had taken the interspatial ring that was a gift from his mother, and contained the sword that had been a gift from his father.

"So, Wei Jun. What type of Demonic beast is guarding the area you mentioned?"

Jing Huo changed the topic, turning towards Wei Zhong Jun. None of them bothered calling his full name, so they only called him Wei Jun whenever they spoke to him.

"It is a spider type Demonic beast that seems to be loosely related to the guardian of ZhiZhu Shen Valley. But it's strength is much weaker than the one in ZhiZhu Shen valley. It can not only control other insect type Demonic beasts, but it carries terrifying venom. It's strength is around the middle stage of the 6th Houtian Sky, but thanks to all the Demonic beasts under its control, it is difficult to fight it."

Wei Zhong Jun had a serious expression as he spoke. He had accidentally stumbled upon the place where the rare treasures were, but before he got the chance to grab them, he had been attacked by the Demonic beast that guarded them.

"What is ZhiZhu Shen Valley?"

Yao Jun's pupils shrank slightly as he heard what Wei Zhong Jun said, and he could not help but ask. The place where he had first arrived when he was transported to the Guanyu continent was a place called ZhiZhu Shen Valley. It seemed highly unlikely that there just so happened to be two places with the same name, especially such a strange name.

"Right, I forgot that you are a wandering cultivator, you probably don't know about it. The Grand Quan continent is not the only continent on this planet, there are three more, although they are much smaller than the Grand Quan continent. The Liang continent, the Yang continent, and the Guanyu continent."

Yao Jun had introduced himself as a wandering cultivator, so Wei Zhong Jun did not find it strange that he did not know about the other continents. He gave a quick description of the three other continents before he continued his explanation.

"While there are a large amount of demon race on this continent, their true headquarter is placed on the Guanyu continent, not far from ZhiZhu Shen valley. The reason for their headquarter being placed there rather than in the middle of the Cloud Wilderness is because their guardian beast, a terrifying spider type Demonic beast, lives inside one of the mountains of ZhiZhu Shen Valley. That is how it got its name."

Wei Zhong Jun's face was grave as he spoke, showing just how much he feared the guardian living in ZhiZhu Shen Valley. Hearing his explanation, Yao Jun recalled that he had seen white threads covering the forests of the plain outside ZhiZhu Shen Valley, as well as round holes in the ground. Could these have been left behind by the weaker spider type Demonic beasts that were controlled by the guardian of ZhiZhu Shen Valley?

He also remembered the two mountains inside ZhiZhu Shen Valley, the light green and the pale white one. There was a large cave on the pale white mountain that had filled Yao Jun with the feeling of death whenever he looked at it. Could that be where the guardian made its home?

"As long as that spider still lives, it is impossible for anyone to breach their headquarter. Not even the patriarchs of the four clans are willing to battle it. Luckily, the spider is very lazy and does not leave ZhiZhu Shen Valley."

Wei Zhong Jun shook his head as he spoke. It was impossible for anyone to breach the headquarter of the demon race, so anyone within the headquarter was completely safe. They also felt that they were lucky that the spider never left the valley, for if it ever did, numerous cities would vanish, countless numbers of people dying.