Chapter 44: Entering the Valley of Spirits

“Uncle Master, after Sui Yanfang was so humiliated in public today, do you think he’ll seek revenge?” Ji Jiuxuan asked, a little worried.

“Don’t worry, he won’t,” Min Chengjun replied.

Ji Jiuxuan trusted Min Chengjun’s words; if he said it wouldn’t happen, then it wouldn’t. Before the Spirit Valley entrance ceremony, Sui Yanfang had been nothing but friendly when he saw them—so much so that Ji Jiuxuan had been astonished, recalling what she’d read about the Hammer Rock Sect.

This sect generally used hammers as their main weapon. Their temperaments were straightforward, but some members, like Sui Yanfang, could be quite fierce and unreasonable.

Although Hammer Rock Sect’s overall strength was considerable, it was still subordinate to the Beast Taming Sect. Ji Jiuxuan wondered if their attendance at this Spirit Valley event meant they had also produced a rare Heaven-Spirit Root and were thus exceptionally allowed to select a spirit beast egg.

But what gave them the confidence to act so aggressively in the dueling arena? They seemed completely unconcerned about offending Meng Chengfang.

Catching Ji Jiuxuan’s curious glance, Meng Chengfang guessed what she was thinking and whispered, “It’s because they’re wary of the power your Second Uncle Master controls! He’s the future heir of the Xuantian Sect, not to mention his vast business empire.”

Seeing her lingering doubts, Meng Chengfang added with a touch of schadenfreude, “You probably don’t know this! Once, a family offended your Second Uncle Master. All he did was give a word that his businesses would no longer deal with them. Can you guess what happened?”

Ji Jiuxuan pondered. By all accounts, that family must have suffered greatly, possibly even fallen apart.

Thinking along those lines, she answered directly. Having learned the art of secret transmission, she sent her reply to Meng Chengfang, who couldn’t help but give her a thumbs-up upon hearing it.

Sensing something, Min Chengjun turned his head to look at them. Ji Jiuxuan simply grinned and stopped her little antics.

By the time they arrived, the disciples of Beast Taming Sect were already present. The Spirit Valley entrance ceremony began swiftly. Several elders of the Beast Taming Sect took their places at different positions, forming seals with their hands as spiritual power converged. Soon, a swirling vortex of spiritual energy formed in the air between two mountain peaks.

Array patterns shimmered on its surface, and the rich spiritual energy emanating from within made everyone instinctively take a deep breath.

At that moment, Ji Jiuxuan sensed the ring on her left hand growing hot. Though the heat didn’t harm her, it was impossible to ignore.

“Suiyi, what’s wrong?” she asked. Ever since the Spirit Valley formation had been activated, she’d felt something was off.

“There’s something inside the formation,” the shadowy figure’s voice sounded even more ethereal than usual, betraying a hint of unease.

“What’s so special about it?” If it could heat the ring, it must be extraordinary.

“I don’t know. I can only sense that there’s something in there closely connected to me.” The gaps in his memory left him bewildered, but he could feel how important that thing was to him.

“All right, since we have to enter anyway, we’ll check it out,” Ji Jiuxuan agreed. The shadow had once saved her life, and she was always one to repay kindness; this small favor was nothing to her.

“Enter the Spirit Valley!” came the announcement from a Beast Taming Sect elder.

Those selected to enter the valley and choose a spirit beast egg surged toward the gate of spiritual energy.

Ji Jiuxuan saw Fei Hanxiao and Qin Yuzhou beside her each take out a flying artifact—Fei Hanxiao’s was a flower, Qin Yuzhou’s a tiny boat.

Only then did Ji Jiuxuan realize she’d completely forgotten to research flying artifacts—these items allowed those who couldn’t yet fly on swords to soar into the sky.

Fortunately, she had already examined the items she’d received, and among them were several flying artifacts. She picked a leaf, temporarily bound it with her spiritual sense, and watched it transform into a small flat boat.

Throughout the process, Min Chengjun had been watching her, reading the embarrassment on her young face.

“I forgot before,” Ji Jiuxuan admitted awkwardly.

The little girl usually acted so mature, always executing everything flawlessly. It was rare to see her like this.

He smiled, ruffled her hair, and said, “No matter. Go ahead! I hope our dear Jiuxuan finds her ideal beast companion.”

Min Chengjun’s smile made the surrounding female disciples blush, amazed that he had smiled today.

“Just wait, Uncle Master!” Ji Jiuxuan leapt onto the single-leaf boat and flew toward the formation.

The closer she got, the more intense the spiritual energy felt, swirling through her body with increasing speed. After a flash of white light, Ji Jiuxuan found herself sitting on her flying artifact, gazing in awe at the endless hillsides covered with spirit beast eggs.

How many eggs must there be to fill such a vast expanse? She couldn’t even see the end.

Artifacts were prohibited inside Spirit Valley, so Ji Jiuxuan landed and put away her little boat.

“Suiyi, can you sense where that thing is? We’ll head in that direction,” she asked the shadow. With so many eggs, it didn’t matter where she started.

Once inside the valley, she noticed the ring on her hand was not only hot but glowing, the light forming a compass-like needle of red pointing eastward.

“Is it where the red light points?”

“Yes,” the shadow replied. The feeling grew clearer, so intense that he had the urge to fly straight there. Yet, instinctively, he knew that only by bringing Ji Jiuxuan along would he achieve the best result.

“All right,” Ji Jiuxuan said, following the red needle.

The path was smooth as she made her way to a relatively open area. Thinking the place was safe, she paused to rest—only to have a massive spirit beast egg topple toward her.

The egg, the size of a grown adult, rolled at her like some giant boulder. In panic, Ji Jiuxuan quickly used her Shadowstep technique to dart away.

After some time, she managed to steady herself, gasping for breath, relieved to be safe.

But before she could recover, another huge egg rushed at her from the distance with alarming speed.

Ji Jiuxuan hastily activated her techniques again, running toward another open space. Yet the two eggs chasing her showed no sign of stopping, and even more spirit beast eggs began to move.

“What’s going on? Have these spirit beast eggs gone crazy?” It was as if they all wanted to smash her—she couldn’t believe her misfortune.

What Ji Jiuxuan didn’t know was that everything inside Spirit Valley was being broadcast onto a spiritual screen outside, and the onlookers couldn’t help but cry out in shock.

“That’s a Fire Phoenix egg! It’s been in the valley for over eight thousand years without a stir, and today it moves!”

“And that— isn’t that the Abyssal Beast? Its speed is unmatched in the world, and it’s lain dormant here thousands of years—now it’s moving too!”

“Heavens! The Spirit Channel Horse! A creature of such grade is rarely seen in the world, and it’s been here for tens of thousands of years!”

As each spirit beast egg began to move, Ji Jiuxuan wasn’t the only one feeling beset; those watching outside were utterly astonished.

What kind of talent must this girl possess to draw so many spirit beast eggs, each eager to form a contract?

After a few inquiries, the crowd learned that this was none other than the granddaughter of Xuantian Sect’s leader, Qi Shuoyuan, and the daughter of Ji Minghuai.

Everyone marveled—she was truly worthy of her parentage.

The people of Beast Taming Sect were especially relieved that their ancestor had long ago set a rule: each entrant could contract only one spirit beast egg and take nothing else.

Otherwise, they feared the Spirit Valley might have been completely emptied.