Chapter 563: Secret Plan

"When have I ever been afraid of anyone! That thing is just... a little stronger than I am... Even if I can't eat it for now, I'll definitely be able to cripple it, and if I can't do that... Well, I still have you, don't I?" Jin Tong's voice became quieter and quieter as she spoke, and by the end, it was nothing more than a whimper.

"Right now, I'm definitely no match for it. If Yohu hadn't been on that battlefield, we would've been in a great deal of trouble," Han Li sighed.

"Before we ran into that thing, I only had a vague sense of it, but after being in such close proximity to it,' it's already completely locked onto my aura, so we won't be able to get away from it unless we leave the primordial land altogether," Jin Tong said with a dejected expression.

Han Li heaved a faint sigh and shook his head upon hearing this.

𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

In the face of a Gold Devouring Immortal that was far more powerful than herself, Jin Tong instinctively wanted to devour them, but she also instinctively feared being devoured herself.

Jin Tong tugged on the corner of Han Li's robe in an uneasy manner, hoping to get some reassurance, and Han Li sighed, "We're in a pretty bad situation right now... We haven't received the maps of the primordial land from Chief Nuo yet, so even if we leave this place, we'll just get lost right away, and even if we do receive the maps, there's no way we'll be able to get out of the primordial land in a short time."

"What do we do then?" Jin Tong asked with a concerned expression.

"Even though I was able to temporarily seal that thing's nascent soul, given its powers, it won't be long before it manages to undo the seal. The next time it attacks, even if Yohu and I join forces, we still may not be able to defeat it.

“Prior to that, I have to work harder in my cultivation to see if I can make some more progress, and at the same time, I'll do my best to recover the power of my Mantra Treasured Axis. That way, we should have some chance of victory," Han Li mused with tightly furrowed brows.

"I knew you would have a way, Uncle!" Jin Tong exclaimed as her eyes lit up. "What are our chances of victory?"

"I'd say about 10%," Han Li replied.

Jing Tong's face immediately fell upon hearing this. "That's terrible!"

"Even then, that's a very optimistic estimate. 10% is already quite high," Han Li said with a wry smile.

Jin Tong was silent for a moment, following which a thought suddenly occurred to her as she asked, "Uncle, do you have any other treasures like that cauldron from before? If you could get me a few of those to eat, maybe I'll be able to beat that thing after I take a nap!"

"Those types of treasures are extremely rare. Besides, I didn't even get to examine it before you ate it, so I don't even know what type of treasure it is," Han Li replied with a shake of his head.

At this point, Jin Tong was desperate, and she turned to Xiao Bai as she urged, "Xiao Bai, try and sniff out some treasures nearby!"

Xiao Bai merely rolled its eyes in response.

......

Several months later.

In a large palace at the foot of the waterfall in the Dark Star Canyon were dozens of large chairs placed around a bonfire, several of which were currently occupied by foreign beings.

While there weren't many of them present, all of them were chiefs of some of the largest tribes in the entire Beast Race, making them the most powerful figures in the Beast Race with the exception of the true spirits.

"Chief Nuo, you made a decision to summon our king on your own without waiting for all of the tribes to assemble. How are you going to explain yourself?" a purple-skinned man asked as he turned to Nuo Qinglin.

"What explanation do you require from me, Chief Deng Gui? What would you have done if the insect spirit had suddenly stormed onto the territory of your Night Owl Tribe with such a formidable army?" Nuo Qinglin countered.

"Don't pin the blame on Chief Nuo, it was Master Suliu who summoned our king," Ulu chimed in as he took a displeased look at the purple-skinned man.

"Let's not descend into senseless bickering. There's no way the insect spirit will just give up, so we have to devise a plan for retaliation."

This time, it was a white-robed woman with a near-transparent body that had spoken.

Her facial features were quite similar to those of a human, and there were faint azure patterns around her eyes, which were extremely large and shimmering with a peculiar, seductive light.

"Chief Yinmei is right, let's have a constructive discussion. Chief Nuo, I heard that a human played a major role in forcing the insect spirit into retreat. Is that true?" a man who resembled a humanoid boar with sharp black spikes all over his body asked.

While he had a hideous appearance, he possessed the highest cultivation base out of everyone present, and everyone immediately turned to Nuo Qinglin upon hearing this.

"That's right. He saved my daughter and the Longneck Tribe back on Bright Deer Hill, then escorted them back to the Dark Star Canyon, so I allowed him to stay in the canyon," Nuo Qinglin explained.

"Have you gone senile, Chief Nuo? I can't believe you would accept another human into your ranks," the purple-skinned man sneered.

"I've already issued orders for him to be placed under tight surveillance. All he wants are some maps of the primordial land, and once I've compiled them and given them to him, he'll be on his way," Nuo Qinglin replied in a cold voice.

"How was a mid-Golden Immortal cultivator able to play such a major role in forcing the insect spirit into retreat?" the boar-like man asked with a perplexed expression.

"Have you considered how much of a coincidence it was that the insect spirit attacked right after he came to the Dark Star Canyon? Perhaps they agreed on this plan in advance to put on an act, and once we're all here in the Dark Star Canyon, the insect spirit will return to wipe us all out," Deng Gui speculated as he raised an eyebrow.

His speculation wasn't backed with any evidence, but it immediately sowed a seed of doubt in everyone's hearts, and all of them turned to Nuo Qinglin for an answer.

"He's not just an ordinary mid-Golden Immortal cultivator. He has a spirit pet that possesses the aura of a primordial true spirit, and there are also many types of true spirit bloodlines in his body. Do you think the insect spirit would be willing to work with a human that possesses beastly true spirit bloodlines?" Nuo Qinglin retorted.

"He possesses true spirit bloodlines?" Deng Gui exclaimed with a surprised expression.

"I wouldn't have allowed him to set foot in my Dark Star Canyon otherwise," Nuo Qinglin replied with an indifferent expression.

"What do you think of this, Chief Ze Wushi?" Yin Mei asked as he turned to the boar-like man.

"If he possesses true spirit bloodlines, then there's no way that he could be working with the Insect Race. However, there's no way that we can trust a human. If he can be used, then we'll use him, but if he can't, then we have to make him leave as soon as possible," the boar-like man mused.

Yin Mei nodded as she agreed, "Given his powers and his cultivation base, it would be best not to make an enemy out of him."

"I have no objections," Deng Gui agreed with a shrug.

"In that case..."

"Hold on a second," an elderly voice interjected before Nuo Qinglin had a chance to finish his sentence.

Everyone immediately turned to the chair that was directly facing Ze Wushi's, and an elderly man with a head of white hair and wrinkles all over his face leaned forward slightly before standing up from his chair.

At first glance he appeared to be no different in appearance for a human, but upon closer inspection, one would discover that there were eight or nine fist-sized lion heads growing around his face.

While everyone had been in discussion earlier, he had been leaning back against his chair with his eyes closed, looking as if he had fallen asleep and had only just woken up a moment earlier.

"What do you think, Senior Yin Shen?" Nuo Qinglin asked.

This man was the previous chief of the Menace Lion Tribe, so he was a very senior figure in the Beast Race. He had already passed down his position to his only son so that he could focus on cultivation, but his son was killed during a conflict with some human primordial hunters.

He had immediately stormed out of seclusion in a fit of rage and pursued those human cultivators for millions of kilometers, chasing them all the way to the northern city wall of Primordial Origin City, where he finally slew the final primordial hunter. After that, he had returned with several hundred human heads and piled them all up in front of his son's grave before assuming the role of chief again.

"As I'm sure you're all aware, the insect spirit's physical prowess and regenerative abilities are even superior to those of our king. Not only was our Dark Star Canyon not prepared for this attack, the Insect Race also wasn't able to draw upon all of its power on such short notice.

“Once it makes a recovery and attacks again with the Insect Race army, our king most likely still won't have recovered from his injuries, so how will we be able to stop it?" Yin Shen asked in an expressionless manner.

Everyone fell silent upon hearing this.

"Don't try to build suspense, Chief Yin Shen. If you have a solution, then lay it out for us."

The person who had spoken was a wizened elderly woman with a head of white hair. Her ears were extraordinarily large, and her nose was elongated into a trunk.

She was comparable to Yin Shen when it came to seniority, and she was the chief of the Divine Elephant Tribe.

"Indeed, Senior Yin Shen. Please tell us your plan," Ze Wushi also urged.

"Seeing as that human possesses true spirit bloodlines, I don't think I need to tell all of you how we can maximize his usefulness to us," Yin Shen said as he took a glance at Nuo Qinglin.

Deng Gui's eyes immediately lit up upon hearing this. "You're suggesting that we refine the true spirit bloodlines out of his body to speed up the recovery of our king?"

"We can't do that! He may be a human, but he's helped our Beast Race on several occasions, we can't repay his kindness with such atrocities!" Nuo Qinglin immediately exclaimed with tightly furrowed brows.

"Have you forgotten how your wife met her demise, Chief Nuo? You must be insane if you think humans are deserving of any trust or empathy!" Deng Gui scoffed.

"We're weighing up the life of a single human and the existence of our entire race here. Surely you know what choice must be made, Chief Nuo," Ze Wushi said.

"Our king was only able to force back the insect spirit with his help, so there's no way that our king would agree to this," Nuo Qinglin protested.

"That's where you're wrong. I wasn't actually sleeping just now. Instead, I was communicating with our king, and he agreed to this plan," Yin Shen said with a smile.

Nuo Qinglin was silent for a moment, then sighed, "In that case, I have no objections."

"Alright, let's discuss how we're going to trap and kill him..."