Chapter 1155: Adolescent Beast

The Silver Horn Rhinoceros being could see that Han Li was a little distracted by his thoughts, and he attempted to move ever so slightly.

Han Li immediately snapped back to his senses before stomping down with mountainous force, causing the Silver Horn Rhinoceros being to sink even further into the ground.

"I did say that I won't kill you, but that doesn't mean that you should test me," Han Li warned.

The Silver Horn Rhinoceros being shuddered before falling still, not daring to move again.

"Which one of the eight regal bloodlines does that adolescent beast possess?" Han Li asked.

"I don't know," the Silver Horn Rhinoceros being replied.

"Looks like searching your soul will be more convenient, after all," Han Li harrumphed as he raised an eyebrow.

"I'm telling the truth! At the moment, the adolescent beast is in a strange state where it looks like it's been encased in a rock, and it's not giving off any aura fluctuations at all, so I can't tell what it's supposed to be," the Silver Horn Rhinoceros being explained.

"In that case, how do you know that it possesses a regal bloodline?" Han Li asked.

"Beings that possess regal bloodlines are naturally able to exert dominance over other primordial beings and evoke an urge to pledge subordination. You're a human, so you won't know about that," the Silver Horn Rhinoceros being explained.

As it turned out, Han Li actually was rather familiar with this concept. It was just like how his Heavenly Phoenix bloodline allowed him to naturally subjugate many species of avian demon beasts.

"Take me to the adolescent beast," Han Li ordered.

The eight regal bloodlines were most certainly all very powerful bloodlines. At the moment, Han Li was still missing two types of true spirit bloodlines in his Twelve Awakening Transformations, and if he could obtain one of those bloodlines from the adolescent beast, then that would certainly be very welcome news.

"You said you would release me once I answered your questions, yet you're blatantly going back on your word now! I knew you humans can't be trusted!" the Silver Horn Rhinoceros being yelled in a furious voice.

"Who told you that I'm a human?" Han Li asked.

"You're not a human? That's impossible!" the Silver Horn Rhinoceros being denied with a shake of his huge head.

Han Li offered no response, choosing to let his actions do the talking as he channeled his true spirit bloodlines and transformed into a giant Lightning Bird.

At the same time, he withdrew all of his Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords back into his body, revealing his Lightning Bird form to all of the surrounding Silver Horn Rhinoceros beings and Cloud Spot Tiger beings.

Han Li knew that there was no way that the Silver Horn Rhinoceros being would be willing to take a human to see the adolescent beast, and he didn't want to have to wipe out these two tribes, either, so he had to resort to trickery.

All of the primordial beings present were instantly rooted to the spot upon sensing the true spirit aura emanating from Han Li's body.

"You... What... How is this possible?" the Silver Horn Rhinoceros being stammered in disbelief.

"I bear no ill will toward the adolescent beast. You say that it's currently in a strange state of slumber, right? Perhaps I can even help it," the Lightning Bird declared in a thunderous voice, then spread its wings and soared into the heavens.

Without Han Li weighing him down, the Silver Horn Rhinoceros being was able to clamber to his feet, and after a prolonged period of contemplation, he acquiesced, "Alright, I'll take you to see it."

After that, Han Li woke up the unconscious leader of the Cloud Spot Tiger Tribe, and following a brief conversation, he learned that the Silver Horn Rhinoceros being's name was Sang Tu, while the Cloud Spot Tiger being's name was Yun Bao.

Thus, what was supposed to have been a battle to the death reached a premature conclusion thanks to Han Li's intervention.

Shortly thereafter, all of the primordial beings had returned to their respective tribes, leaving only seven or eight people behind to accompany Sang Tu and Han Li to the place where the adolescent beast was being kept.

Before long, the group arrived at a small mountain, where Sang Tu led Han Li to a semi-concealed cave entrance.

As soon as Han Li reached the cave entrance, he was immediately struck by an aggressive wave of heat alongside a strong, sulfurous odor.

"It's in there?" Han Li asked with slightly furrowed brows.

At the same time, he swept his spiritual sense through the interior of the cave, but didn't discover any special auras inside.

"Inside this cave is a lava lake, and my tribesmen often enter the cave to collect materials to forge our axes. Normally, we wouldn't enter the deepest part of the cave, but one of our tribesmen inadvertently fell in, and that was how the adolescent beast was discovered," Sang Tu explained.

"Alright, lead the way," Han Li instructed, and Sang Tu nodded in response before making his way into the cave entrance.

Now that the battle was over, Sang Tu had reverted back to his normal form, which was only around ten feet in height and far less imposing than the form that he had displayed on the battlefield.

As it turned out, not only did the Silver Horn Rhinoceros beings adopt an alternate physical form in battle, the same applied to the Cloud Spot Tiger beings as well. In their normal form, all of them walked in a bipedal, upright fashion, and much of the stripes on their heads had faded away, making them far less animalistic in appearance.

Han Li followed Sang Tu into the cave, and he discovered that the interior of the cave was very spacious.

On top of that, the walls and the ceiling above had all been chiseled smooth.

There was a path in the cave that was over ten thousand feet in length and gradually sloped downward, and at its conclusion, the path tapered to a round hole that was roughly seventy to eighty feet in size.

Beyond the hole was another cave that was illuminated by fiery, red light, and that was the source of the intense heat and sulfurous odor.

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"That's where we discovered the adolescent beast," Sang Tu said as he pointed into the round hole.

"Take me inside," Han Li replied with a nod, and Sang Tu did as he was told, leading the way into the cave.

Han Li followed him inside, and he was greeted by the sight of a giant, underground lava lake.

The lava in the lake wasn't flowing. Instead, there were huge slabs of hardened, black rock over its surface that were formed by cooled and solidified lava. Bright, red light could be seen shining through the gaps between the slabs of rock, and that was coming from the still molten lava below.

Han Li swept his gaze over the surface of the lake, and he quickly spotted what appeared to be a black rock hovering above the center of the lake. It resembled a black dog that was curled up into a ball, and he immediately flew toward it with an intrigued expression.

As he arrived at the "rock" and was able to take a closer look, a peculiar feeling suddenly welled up in his heart.

Meanwhile, Sang Tu and the others had all involuntarily lowered their heads in a submissive manner, and it was clear that this dog-shaped black rock was the adolescent beast that Sang Tu had spoken of.

Han Li took a glance at them, then returned his gaze to the rock, and the more he inspected it, the more pronounced the look of befuddlement in his eyes became.

"Something's not right," Sang Tu said in a puzzled manner as he arrived by Han Li's side. "The last time I was here, the lake was still very active, and there wasn't anywhere near as much black stone on the surface."

"Was this adolescent beast always this color?" Han Li asked.

"It was black when we first found it, but I distinctly recall that its coloration definitely wasn't as dark as it is now," Sang Tu replied in a confident manner.

Han Li reached down to gently stroke the creature, and he immediately felt a cool sensation on his fingertips.

"It seems like this beast was severely wounded by an ice-attribute attack, and it had no choice but to completely seal itself away in order to save its own life. Right now, it's using the heat of the lava lake to help ward off its injuries," Han Li explained.

"So that's why so much of the lake's surface has cooled and solidified," Sang Tu mused with an enlightened expression.

"Alright, I'll be taking it back with me now," Han Li declared.

"I can't let you do that!" Yun Bao objected as he stepped into Han Li's path.

Han Li cast his gaze toward Yun Bao, and a hint of fear immediately flashed through the latter's eyes, but he stood his ground as he said, "If it's staying here to ward off its injuries, then won't we be endangering it by taking it away from here?"

"Your concerns are not unwarranted, but rest assured, I have a way to save him," Han Li replied with a nod, then spread a hand open, and a bright, silver flame appeared over the palm of his hand, giving off incredible heat that was hundreds of times more potent than that of the lava lake.

Sang Tu and the others all reflexively sprang back in retreat in the face of the unbearable heat.

"Can I take it with me now?" Han Li asked.

"My apologies, I shouldn't have doubted you," Yun Bao conceded in an apologetic manner.

"Alright, let's take it back to the Silver Horn Rhinoceros Tribe," Han Li decided, and Sang Tu was ecstatic to hear this, while a concerned look appeared in Yun Bao's eyes.

Han Li had noticed both of their reactions, but he didn't say anything.

Shortly thereafter, the group departed from the cave.

......

The Silver Horn Rhinoceros Tribe's territory was situated on the bank of a large river, and it consisted of clusters of tall, tent-like buildings constructed from rocks, beast hide, and wood, presenting a stunning sight to behold.

Upon the return of Sang Tu, all of the Silver Horn Rhinoceros beings emerged from their tents to greet their leader, only to involuntarily bow their heads in the face of the bloodline pressure that they felt from the adolescent beast.

However, fierce killing intent then surfaced in their eyes at the sight of Yun Bao and his subordinates, and the situation could've easily spiraled out of control had Sang Tu not stepped forward to keep his tribesmen in check.

Sang Tu led everyone to his tent, and the adolescent creature was set down onto his beast hide bed.

With a sweep of his sleeve, Han Li released the Essence Fire Child, and as soon as it appeared, the temperature in the tent instantly spiked drastically, forcing Sang Tu and the others to back out of the tent in discomfort.