Prince He had raised the notion of an alliance.
Wu Yu saw that Prince Le bore him no enmity, only holding some respect for him.
Therefore, he was giving it serious consideration as well.
"Wu Yu, your thoughts?" Before Prince He"s expectant gaze, he first conferred with Wu Yu.
Wu Yu naturally replied, "I think that there are too many of them, and I don"t know him. Crucially, they are stronger than us. I do not recommend it."
Here in the Ancient Soul Tower, with the throne at stake, Wu Yu felt that no amount of respect for a senior sibling could warrant trust.
But it seemed like Prince Le did not know how to reject him.
Prince He seemed to understand his dilemma, and said with a small smile, "You do not need to feel pressured. I was simply embarra.s.sed on our behalf. These outsiders are motivated to duke it out with us because of the 10,000 Kingdoms Pilgrimage. They want to show us who"s boss, and it"s often them that join forces. Once, I was threatened by multiple parties. Regardless of martial cultivator, ghostly cultivator, demon, or sea region demon, they are all willing to put aside their differences, but we have not yet joined forces. I find this regrettable.
"If this continues, the chances of our princes and princesses obtaining the Yan Huang Golden Bead will be slim. The Yan Huang Golden Bead contains the treasures of the 10,000 Kingdoms Pilgrimage. If that is returned to them, our Yan Huang Tribe"s dignity will be decimated by our generation...."
Saying thus, Prince He gave a deep sigh, an arrested expression on his face.
"Little Le, spare a thought for your seventh brother. He sees how much we are all suffering. All pursuits are hardest in the beginning. We have just made the decision to unite as well. In the future, we will meet more of our own, and we can gather strength together. Even if we do not encounter the Yan Huang Golden Bead, when we are together, we will crush others, and no one will bully us." Prince"s consort, Hua Muchen, regarded Prince Le warmly.
Wu Yu did not comment, but he could see that Prince Le was in a difficult position to turn him down. After all, Prince He was speaking of the Yan Huang Tribe"s dignity and reputation. It was a valid point. If he turned him down at such a time, their relations.h.i.+p might sour, which Prince Le was not willing to see. After all, there were too few like Prince He, who was willing to cooperate with him, amongst their siblings.
Many either looked down on him because of his age, or were envious of him.
Prince He"s att.i.tude was moderate. He was not given to grandiose airs, but sought Prince Le"s consent in a sincere fas.h.i.+on.
Although he did not recommend it, Prince Le made up his mind. He nodded, saying, "Seventh Brother, if that"s the case, let us work together and also gather our other siblings."
Hearing Prince Le"s words, Prince He smiled. He clapped Prince Le"s shoulder and said, "A fitting answer, Brother. Father Emperor"s favor to you is not without reason. Of course, the Yan Huang Golden Bead is open game. When we have it and compete for it internally, I will not back down to you."
"We fight on ability then." Prince Le laughed as well. Of course, his laugh sounded rather carefree as well. But in such an environment, the hints of tension could still be heard.
They were 10. Added to Wu Yu"s group of seven, they were a fairly large group.
After making the decision to join up, Prince Le and Prince He chatted as they moved forward. Prince He learned that Prince Le and the others had gone to Ancient Emperor Dao Palace, but he believed that it would not do much good for him. After all, even Prince Yu had been there before.
"Actually, I was at the sixth level of the Ancient Soul Tower before. Do you know why I came back down to the fifth level?" Prince He asked mysteriously.
Prince Le naturally did not know. He shook his head.
"Logically, the higher one goes, the higher the probability that the Yan Huang Golden Bead will appear. But even at the first level, there is a possibility that it appears. I heard that the Yan Huang Golden Bead appeared just three days ago at the fifth level of the Ancient Soul Tower. Quite a few saw it, but no one could get it," Prince He said.
"Appeared?" Prince Le"s eyes lit up. "What exactly happened?"
Prince He shook his head. "There were no Yan Huang Tribe members in the vicinity at that time, so I"m not sure about the details either. But news got out that it had been attached to a Spirit of the Universe, and it seems like the last few appearances were also on a Spirit of the Universe. Therefore, we"re searching for them now." Wu Yu recalled that all the times he had seen the Yan Huang Golden Bead, it had been on Spirits of the Universe as well. It made sense.
"What Spirits of the Universe are there at the fifth level of the Ancient Soul Tower?" Prince Le asked. Now that they were a team, they should share information. Prince Le"s original intention was to seek someone out for information anyway.
As the two princes spoke, the others did not interrupt. Prince He had provincial lords, army generals, all old foxes with more than 400 years of cultivation under their belts - veterans across the board. Prince"s consort and Su Yeji also looked like there was more to them than met the eye.
Especially Su Yeji. Her perfectly sculpted brows and fiery lips occasionally turned to t.i.tillate Wu Yu, but the Full Moon of Nanshan received it all on his behalf. He was currently making eyes at her.
Prince He very quickly replied, "From what I know, there are two types, both made out of igneous rock. They look like stone, but they harbor volcanoes within. One of them is more commonly seen, it"s a lava hound, roughly equivalent to a fourth tier Dao Querying cultivator. They are numerous, and can crawl out from their hiding spots in the ground at any time. The other type is of a similar make, but it"s at least 10 times as large as the lava hound. It is about a sixth tier Dao Querying cultivator. We call it the lava lion. It"s rarely seen, like the scorpions of the first level. But our hunch is that if the Yan Huang Golden Bead is on a Spirit of the Universe, it is probably on a lava lion. Therefore, we"re mainly searching for lava lions."
Compared to Wu Yu"s group, they were searching in a directed fas.h.i.+on. All they had to do was target the spirits of the universe.
"Three days have pa.s.sed. Would the Yan Huang Golden Bead still be at the fifth level?" Prince Le was doubtful.
Prince He gave a resigned smile. "Who knows for real? After all, the Yan Huang Golden Bead"s appearances have been enigmatically erratic. But we haven"t spotted it going up or down, so it should be here at the fifth level. At least it seems more likely than other places, or we would have gone ahead to the seventh level for a look."
Given their strength, it would probably be a little difficult for them to reach the seventh level of the Ancient Soul Tower.
Since they had teamed up, then Wu Yu did not need to constantly watch out for Prince Le"s safety. He had the Full Moon of Nanshan keeping an eye on things, so he could run rampant ahead of the group. His Eyes of Fire and Gold could see further and spot the Spirits of the Universe from further away.
They had gone for about 20 li and were standing on high ground. Before them was a deep gorge, with a river of magma meandering through it. The magma churned in impressive fas.h.i.+on. The river was at least 30 li wide, and thick, black smoke obscured one"s vision. Those that could not see clearly might think it a sea of magma below.
Wu Yu"s Eyes of Fire and Gold swept past, and he could sense life within the river. The world with nine suns was too hot, and huge bubbles were plopping forth from the magma below.
This usually meant that there was life there.
"A magma river? This might very well be the place where many spirits of the universe appear." It was evidently Prince He"s first time seeing this river as well. The group stood above the gorge. Amongst them, Prince Le"s group of four were coc.o.o.ned within Wu Yu"s Seven Stars Fortifying Design, as they could not withstand the heat of the nine suns.
"Let"s go down."
The group was naturally led by Prince He. The ten-odd members descended. The river was often disturbed by huge lava waves that reached dozens of zhang in height, smas.h.i.+ng back down like a demon"s hand. It was a frightening sight.
"Movement."
Just as they descended, Prince He was on his guard. Wu Yu moved quickly as well. He had the Full Moon of Nanshan take Prince Le and the others a distance away, while Ye Xixi helped as well. With so many people, there was no need for them to fight. If the Yan Huang Golden Bead really appeared, Wu Yu could lunge for it easier if unhindered.
Because numbers might not count for much when catching the Yan Huang Golden Bead. This was also why Wu Yu was unwilling to team up with Prince He. He was worried that Prince Le would fall under their control. If that happened, then things might be tricky even if he obtained the Yan Huang Golden Bead.
But Prince Le trusted Prince He.
Therefore, Wu Yu left one trump card with Prince Le. His Elusive Firefly was in its smallest form, concealed under Prince Le"s robes. If there was any trouble, the Elusive Firefly could deal with things. Prince He could not take the Elusive Firefly down that easily.
Just as Prince Le was deposited in a safe place, the disturbance below exacerbated. The river seemed to explode, lava spurting to the skies. At the same time, Wu Yu saw the lava hounds that Prince He had described!
In short order, a dozen of them appeared. The continued commotion showed that many more lava hounds were waiting below!
The lava hounds were fairly huge. Even at the maximum size of the Lawful Embodiment of Heaven and Earth, they could probably swallow Wu Yu in one gulp. The magma that made up their bodies churned red-hot. Beneath the fiery-red stone, a volcano seemed to reside, angry flames gus.h.i.+ng within. As the lava hounds howled, they could spew molten magma that burnt all that it touched. Prince He and the others all dodged it. Even with the Invincible Vajra Body, Wu Yu would still be injured.
However, the dozen lava hounds were no match for Prince He"s group!