The small child immediately caught Xu Ke's attention.

His eyes widened as he stared at the child, curiously approaching and reaching out to pinch the child’s cheek. He asked with great curiosity, “Are you also human? How did you end up on this Beast Mountain?”

The child tilted his head and raised his hand to pinch Xu ke's face in return.

"Who says humans can’t live on Beast Mountain? Aren't you a mere mortal, yet you arrived here safe and sound?" the child replied seriously.

Xu ke was momentarily stunned but then quickly agreed with the child’s words.

Clapping his hands in delight, he said, “You’re right! Humans and beasts can live in harmony.”

“That’s how it is in our sect.”

“I imagine it must be the same here in the Nanming Beast Mountain.”

The child looked at him with a hint of innocence in his eyes and shook his head. “The Beast Taming Sect? I’ve heard that the human cultivators in your Beast Taming Sect rely on the Beast Control Technique to forcibly bind and control the beasts.”

“Many beasts don’t willingly become their companion beasts. They are just controlled by techniques and have no choice.”

“Is that what you call harmonious coexistence?” the child asked seriously.

Xu ke, hearing this, quickly waved his hands in protest, flustered, "It's not like that..."

He opened his mouth to refute, but for a moment, he didn’t know where to start.

Suddenly, something occurred to him. He grabbed the small black creature perched on his head and proudly presented it to the child like a treasure. "Look, this is Xiao Hei-(Little Black) We have a great relationship!"

“Even though he became my companion spirit beast due to the Beast Control Technique,” Xu ke continued, “our bond is real. Isn’t that right, Xiao Hei?”

Xu ke shook his hand, trying to make Xiao Hei show approval.

However, Xiao Hei merely flew back to perch on Xuke’s head and gave him a sharp claw to make him quiet down in pain.

Ignoring Xu ke’s antics, Li Fan kept staring at the child, who was as exquisitely beautiful as jade, with growing suspicion in his heart.

His intuition told him that this child had a significant background and was not as simple as an ordinary mortal.

Yet, there was no trace of a beast’s aura on the child.

Even when Li Fan used his innate powers to observe, the child’s fortune pillar looked as ordinary as that of a mortal, which left him perplexed.

Seeing how well the master and servant in front of him were getting along, the child giggled, seeming very happy.

“Follow me; the paths in the city are complicated. Be careful not to get eaten,” the child reminded again.

With that, the child turned and walked inside.

Xu ke hurriedly followed.

The surroundings were eerily quiet, with no trace of other beasts.

The beasts that had been with them earlier had all disappeared without a trace.

Only the sound of two pairs of footsteps echoed in the empty city, one pair ahead of the other.

They climbed several dozen flights of stairs, and after an unknown amount of time, the child led Xuke into a room.

As they entered, the walls instantly became transparent.

It felt as if they were suspended in mid-air.

The view was magnificent, with the surrounding scenery laid out before them.

Below, the space was densely packed with countless beasts of various shapes and sizes.

They seemed to be engaged in a heated debate.

“Silence!”

Below where Xuke stood, several large orbs of light hovered.

Within the light, faint silhouettes could be seen.

The speaker was a Crimson nine-headed bird.

Its voice was harsh and grating, like metal scraping against metal. However, its status among the beasts appeared to be high, for as soon as it spoke, the beasts fell silent.

“Everyone, let us welcome the great Emperor One, who, after many years, has once again summoned the ten thousand beasts to convene the council!”

Boom!

At its words, the entire space erupted as all the beasts simultaneously roared with excitement, expressing their joy.

In the sky, a massive shadow descended.

A wriggling mass, with heads intermittently emerging and disappearing, like a grey "flesh mound," loomed over the gathered beasts like a cloud.

All the beasts present fell silent, bowing their heads in respect.

"This... this is Emperor One Beast?" Xu ke stuck out his tongue as he stared at the flesh mound below.

“Why does it look… so ugly…”

He lowered his voice, cautiously whispering.

The child next to him heard this and wasn’t angry. Instead, he nodded in agreement with a giggle, “Hehe, I think so too. It is quite ugly!”

Li Fan’s heart skipped a beat.

To dare call the most revered beast in the heart of the Beast Mountain ugly, in the heart of the beasts’ territory—this child…

Before Li Fan could think further, the words of the Emperor One Beast below drew his attention.

"My fellow kin, I have summoned you here today because the time has come to decide the life and death of the beast race."

Emperor One’s voice was peculiar.

It came from all parts of the flesh mound, as if it was made up of thousands of overlapping voices. Yet, when carefully listened to, the voices were indistinguishable, merging into one seamless tone.

It sounded mechanical, yet lively, a strange combination.

Emperor One continued, “The great calamity of the Xuanhuang Realm is approaching. This disaster will be more brutal than any before.”

“Not only humanity but we beasts, and even the entire world, face an existential crisis. Even though our bloodline memories hold abundant experience in dealing with calamities, I fear we will not escape this one unscathed…”

Hearing this, the beasts below erupted into another uproar.

The flesh mound shifted, and light and shadow flickered above the heads of the beasts.

The beasts quickly quieted down again.

“So, for the future of our race, I need to hear your thoughts.”

From the orbs of light below the flesh cloud, a beast that bore a striking resemblance to Emperor One, also a round ball-shaped creature without facial features, spoke up. “Emperor One, whatever you say, we will follow.”

“I, Zi Wushou, will always be your most loyal subordinate!”

With Zi Wushou’s declaration, many beasts below chimed in, echoing their support.

“Oh? What if I decide to lead you away from the Xuanhuang Realm in search of a new home?” Emperor One suddenly asked coldly, surprising the beasts.

“What?” Zi Wushou was clearly caught off guard by Emperor Yi’s statement and stood there dumbfounded.

Before it could respond, an elderly Azure Divine Dragon beside it quickly spoke up.

“Emperor One, why would you do that? With the strength of our beast race, are we really unable to survive this so-called great calamity?”

“Exactly. We’ve survived countless disasters. Besides, even if we leave, where would we go?”