"Senior, what are you asking of us? We would gladly go through fire and water without hesitation," the ten great demonic beasts said in unison, seemingly showing great respect to Zhou Hong.
"I don't have any specific instructions, but I do need you to show some sincerity now. Do you have any treasures to offer?" Zhou Hong asked directly, assuming that after ruling their respective forests for so long, these ten demonic beasts must have accumulated some wealth.
Whether demonic beasts or humans, to break through faster, they all needed spiritual herbs.
"Replying to Senior, this is my spiritual herb stash," one of the demonic beasts said, quickly taking out a bag from its body. The bag looked somewhat like a snakeskin bag.
Zhou Hong opened the snakeskin bag. Inside were seven or eight spiritual herbs. The lowest grade among them reached the sixth rank, while the highest reached the ninth, or even tenth rank.
Zhou Hong was ecstatic. Just this bag of spiritual herbs, if presented among human cultivators on the Zi Xiao Continent, perhaps not many could produce such a collection. Only the King of the Zi Xiao Empire might be able to offer them so generously.
At this moment, the second demonic beast also stepped forward, taking out a bag of spiritual herbs from its body.
This bag of spiritual herbs was similar to the previous one, with the lowest grade being fifth or sixth rank, and the highest reaching ninth or tenth rank.
And so it went, the ten demonic beasts stepped forward one by one to offer their gifts.
Ten bags were placed in front of Zhou Hong. Zhou Hong was inwardly ecstatic. This was a magnificent gift, enough to drive everyone on the Zi Xiao Continent into a frenzy. If his guess was correct, these were their long-hoarded savings, spiritual herbs they had intended to use at crucial moments of breakthrough. Now, they had all been presented to Zhou Hong.
"Thank you, all you Demon Kings. I shall not be polite and accept this humble gift," Zhou Hong said indifferently, his eyes conveying a look of disdain, as if he was reluctantly accepting it out of respect for them.
"Thank you, Senior, for accepting our humble gift."
With a wave of Zhou Hong's hand, the ten bags instantly entered his sub-world.
In Zhou Hong's mind, the Dark Golden Crow said, "Zhou Hong, don't be in a hurry to let them go. Establish a soul connection with them. That way, you can contact them even if they are far away."
"Okay." Zhou Hong immediately said to the ten ferocious beasts, "All of you come forward and extend your heads towards me. I will establish a soul connection with you, so we can communicate soulfully in the future."
"Yes."
The ten ferocious beasts stepped forward one by one. Zhou Hong placed his hand on their heads and established individual soul connections with them.
Of course, this method of soul communication was naturally the Dark Golden Crow's skill. Zhou Hong himself wouldn't know such an advanced soul communication technique.
"Very good. You can return to your territories. If I need your help in the future, I will notify you through your souls. Of course, if you have anything you wish to report to me, you can also call me in your minds."
"Yes."
The ten demonic beasts nodded. Nine of them walked out of the cave dwelling, while one remained behind because the cave dwelling belonged to it.
"Purple Gold Demonic Ox, this cave dwelling is returned to you. I will take my leave now," Zhou Hong said to the last demonic beast that had not left.
"Farewell, Senior."
"No need for politeness." Zhou Hong instantly departed.
"Brother Golden Crow, thank you so much. If it weren't for you, how could I have ruled the Sunset Mountain Range?" After leaving, Zhou Hong burst into hearty laughter.
"Don't celebrate too early. Although you have now obtained a wealth of spiritual herb materials, cultivation is not simply a pile of spiritual herbs. The spiritual herbs those ten demonic beasts gave you were all their personal treasures, intended for use during critical breakthroughs. Therefore, you must use them wisely and not waste them."
"Of course." Zhou Hong nodded. Zhou Hong had only recently broken through to the late Fusion stage ten days ago, so he had no desire to break through for the time being. Even if he were to use all the spiritual herbs he had obtained, they would have no effect and would only be wasted. It was only at the most suitable juncture, when reaching the bottleneck of a breakthrough, that their use would be most effective.
"Brother Golden Crow, since I don't have the desire to break through right now, how can I achieve a breakthrough?" Zhou Hong asked.
"Participate in more battles, experience more events, such as a life of great ups and downs, and so on."
"But it's hard for me to have life-or-death battles now, because I know I have you as my backer," Zhou Hong said with a wry smile, unsure if it was a blessing or a curse.
"It doesn't have to be a life-or-death battle. Dominating others and satisfying your own ego can also cause your state of mind to fluctuate. In short, don't just cultivate alone."
"Understood. Then I should head home now."
"Mm."
Zhou Hong's home was in the capital of the Zi Xiao Empire, a city with a population of over a hundred million. Upon returning, he would naturally come into contact with more people and events. After a few months, he would go to participate in the assessment of the Eternal Ancient Academy. Anyway, Zhou Hong now had plenty of spiritual herbs, and as long as there was an opportunity for breakthrough, he would be able to advance rapidly.
Giving it no further thought, Zhou Hong immediately began his journey home along the original route.
At this very moment, at the entrance of Zhou Hong's home, a pair of eyes were secretly watching. The one watching was sent by the Qing Feng family. Once they saw Zhou Hong returning home, they would immediately report back.
Thus, about half a month later, Zhou Hong returned to the capital of the Zi Xiao Empire.
Zhou Hong's family resided in a corner of the capital. Although it occupied a considerable area, it was in a very ordinary corner.
Although Zhou Hong's family was not the most powerful in the Zi Xiao Empire, they were not weak either. This was because several members of Zhou Hong's family held official positions in the empire, with the highest-ranking minister reaching the third rank.
Zhou Hong's second brother was also serving in the army and was reportedly already a captain within his unit.
Originally, Zhou Hong's eldest brother was also in the Zi Xiao Empire's army like his second brother. However, unfortunately, during the period when Zhou Hong had traversed Earth, he had perished in a war. It was precisely because of this that Zhou Hong's second brother had been promoted to a small captain in the army. If things continued to develop this way, Zhou Hong's second brother also had the potential to become the pillar of the Zhou family.
As is widely known, to thrive in the Zi Xiao Empire, one must have connections in the imperial court.
"Patriarch, Young Master Zhou Hong has returned," upon Zhou Hong's arrival at the family's main gate, a servant quickly ran in to report.
At this moment, in the shadows near the main gate, the person who was watching immediately went back to report to his master upon seeing Zhou Hong's return.
Zhou Hong was unaware that disaster was about to befall him, as a certain family suspected that Zhou Hong possessed heavenly or even divine-grade magical artifacts.
This family was the Qing Feng family. They had not made a public announcement, because if Zhou Hong truly possessed such powerful magical artifacts, it would inevitably draw the attention of many more people. Therefore, during this period, apart from sending people to keep watch, they had not disturbed any members of the Zhou family.