?

  When Lou heard that he was going to enter the Alien Beast Valley, Lou Zhengming's face also changed slightly.

  "Yes, the Golden Blade Conference is only half a year away. If I don't have a powerful spiritual beast to assist me, it's likely that I'll struggle to stand out at the conference. After all, among the five branches of the Lou family, including those distant relatives, there are many who are evenly matched with me in terms of strength. While I'm confident in my individual combat power and can dominate the five branches, if others have powerful spiritual beasts assisting them, it's likely that several people will be able to surpass me."

  Lou Zhengming's face was solemn, and after a moment of contemplation, he spoke: "In the past, my Lou ancestors possessed two great divine abilities. One was the Thunderbolt Annihilation Knife, and the other was this Beast Taming Technique. This is why they were able to establish Tianhu City in this land overrun by demonic beasts, and ultimately pass it down through generations of the Lou family."

  Lou Zhengming slowly opened his mouth and surprisingly spoke out a secret about his ancestors.

  Lou's face moved slightly with the wind, and he didn't know much about his ancestors' deeds either. He didn't expect his father to bring it up with him today. Without interrupting, he quietly waited for his father to continue speaking.

  Lou Zhengming's face was solemn as he continued: "Later, our ancestors passed through the tribulation of flying ascension and entered the stage of great completion. To preserve the inheritance of the Lou family, they traversed this vast wilderness, searching far and wide in the land of the Youzhou demon tribe for rare beasts from all over the world. Except for divine beasts, they captured 108 kinds of rare beasts that were second only to divine beasts, and thousands of other rare beasts were placed in an independent space opened up by themselves. They hoped that future generations would rely on these rare beasts to pass down the inheritance generation after generation."

  At this point, Lou Zhengming glanced at Lou Sui and found a hint of confusion on his face. He said calmly: "You must be wondering why our ancestors didn't let the Lou family live in this space. There is a reason for this. Only my ancestor and the ancestor of the Winged Wolf City's Du Gu clan survived the tribulation of flying ascension when they followed the Zi Wei Palace to start a business in this desolate beast marsh. At that time, the Zi Wei Palace had four scattered immortals and two highly accomplished experts sitting in it, so naturally, they wouldn't let my Lou family and the Du Gu family rise."

  "If the clan members were to be relocated to the independent space he had opened up, I'm afraid that after his ascension, the scattered immortals of the Purple Wei Palace would take action and destroy this space, erasing my Lou family. Therefore, our ancestors took a compromise approach, expressing the loyalty of the Lou family to the Purple Wei Palace while also leaving behind a legacy for the Lou family to rely on. As for the Winged Wolf City's Dugu family, I suppose their ancestors must have also left something behind for their descendants."

  "However, the Imperial Concubine Zhen still harbored suspicions towards my family and closely monitored our every move, even going so far as to sow discord among us, causing my family to split into five branches, but in any case, it allowed my family's legacy to continue."

  "Our ancestors left a backhand when they opened up that space, which would suppress the cultivation growth of those alien beasts in that space, making it impossible for them to break through the Golden Elixir period. Only by leaving that space could their cultivation continue to grow. They also passed down the Thunder Exterminating World Knife's unparalleled technique and the Beast Taming Technique, so that they could obtain fierce spiritual beasts in that space and have a top-notch technique to cultivate until they transcend tribulations and ascend to immortality. This space is precisely the Alien Beast Valley."

  Lou's face showed a shocked expression, he didn't expect that this Beast Valley had so many secrets. He only knew that it was a secret place owned by the Lou family with countless beasts inside, but he didn't know there were so many stories behind it.

  "The Way of the Beast, after all, is just a means to enhance one's own strength through external forces. To prevent later generations from becoming too reliant on external objects, our ancestors established rules: only members of the Lou family who enter the Beast Valley can obtain spiritual beasts through their own efforts and cannot have others do it for them. The type of spiritual beast they can obtain depends entirely on their own abilities and luck. However, considering that younger generations are relatively weak, entering alone would be too perilous. Therefore, it is stipulated that disciples in the Foundation Building stage can form teams with peers to enter together, but it is strictly forbidden for Golden Elixir stage seniors to do it for them. The Beast Valley is guarded by two Yuan Ying stage ancestors of the Lou family at its entrance, so there's no way to fake it."

  "In order to prevent the leakage of the family's skills, our ancestors created more than a dozen variations of the Lei Ting Mie Shi Dao technique. All members of the Lou family can practice these variations, but only the clan leaders or those who have reached the Yuan Ying stage can practice the original Lei Ting Mie Shi Dao. In fact, before reaching the Yuan Ying stage, the variations are not much different from the original, but after advancing to the Yuan Ying stage, our ancestors left behind a wealth of experience and insights into the heavenly way, which allows those who practice the original technique to gain a deeper understanding of the tribulation stage."

  "In the later stages of Jindan, there are many epiphanies and insights regarding the condensation of Yuanying. The three existing Yuanying cultivators in our Lou family all learned the original Thunder Extinguishing World Knife after becoming the patriarch, which is why they successfully advanced to Yuanying stage. This is why the competition for the position of patriarch in our Lou family is so fierce, as the temptation of advancing to the Yuanying stage or even the Tribulation stage is something that no one can resist."

  Lou was shocked and stunned at this time, hearing so many secrets for the first time. Originally, he was not satisfied with his father's enthusiasm for the position of head of the Lou family, thinking that cultivators should pursue the Great Way wholeheartedly. Unexpectedly, his father's actions were precisely to increase the chances of achieving the Great Way.

  "So, I hope you can win the Golden Knife Conference, which will qualify you to inherit the Western Mansion and participate in the competition for the position of Patriarch in the future. You also have a chance to achieve great things. If you want to enter the Alien Beast Valley, I won't stop you either. However, it's really dangerous inside the valley, and those alien beasts are multiplying rapidly, with countless numbers. In recent generations, no disciples at the foundation-building stage have ever entered."

  It wasn't until much later that Lou Zhengming finally finished telling the whole story.

  Lou was shocked for a moment, and after a long time, he came back to his senses and asked: "Is the purple pupil beast that Lou Jing currently has from that beast valley?"

  Lou Zhengming quickly replied, "Based on my understanding of the large swamp surrounding Tianhu City, there is no other place where such a strange beast would appear. It must have come from that Strange Beast Valley."

  Lou's face showed a few hints of contemplation: "As for Lou Jing's strength, I understand it somewhat. If the Beast Valley is as perilous as Father said, then the possibility of Lou Jing obtaining a spiritual beast from within should be low, yet this point has me puzzled."

  Lou Zhengming smiled slightly: "You can think of this, it's quite detailed, very simple, in this Alien Beast Valley, you can enter with other people, Lou Jing must have found another powerful same-stage cultivator to enter."

  Lou Feng didn't understand: "His move is naturally to win the championship at the Golden Knife Conference, but the Golden Knife Conference allows all Lou family children to participate, and they are all competitors with each other. Those who are more outstanding will not be willing to help him, and those who are mediocre will not be able to help much even if they enter. How can he find someone to help him?"

  Lou Zhengming nodded in approval of Lou Sui Feng's meticulous thoughts: "What you've thought of isn't bad, but in this Beast Valley, disciples who have reached the Foundation Establishment stage can enter with their own guests and followers, not just same-clan siblings. However, there is one requirement: once inside, they must not touch anything carelessly. This Beast Valley has existed for unknown ages, and within it, countless treasures and precious objects have grown. Although those demonic beasts occupy and devour them, it remains a vast treasure trove and the true foundation of my Lou clan. Therefore, outsiders absolutely must not lay hands on its contents."

  Lou said with a sigh: "If that outsider goes in, won't he reveal the secret of the existence of this Valley of Strange Beasts?"

  Lou Zhengming smiled slightly: "It seems that you still don't understand the independent space. The independent space opened up by even Da Cheng Xiuzhe or scattered immortals is an existence detached from this piece of heaven and earth, and there is no accurate entrance at all. If there is no way to enter, it is impossible to perceive its existence. Our Lou family can only know the way to enter through the generations of Yuanying Laozu, outsiders are afraid that only the Ziwei Palace knows that our Lou family has such a space."

  However, apart from the Grand Master of the Great Completion stage, no one else can find or destroy it. For example, if a Grand Master of the Ziwei Palace wants to do harm to my Lou family, our family's Yuan Ying Lao Zu can take the entire family into hiding in this space, and even a Grand Master would have difficulty discovering its existence, let alone attacking and breaking through it. Do you think that my Lou family has no hidden cards and can stand firm for so many years?

  The building fell into deep thought, and after a long time, he finally spoke: "When the child enters it, I want to invite Li Hui to help, but that place is too dangerous. Without paying some price, I'm afraid we can't move him."

  Lou Zhengming hesitated for a moment, then slowly opened his mouth: "If you enter alone, I can't directly help you, but I can give you some life-saving items to ensure your safety. However, with just one person, it's impossible to take down any powerful demon beasts. That's why having someone assist you is indeed the best choice. This Li Hui, as you said, has the ability to severely injure a Golden Core demon beast, and although it might be a newly promoted Golden Core demon beast, this level of strength is still shocking."

  After a moment of contemplation, he spoke again: "Paying some price is only natural, as long as it's not an excessive condition, I can agree to it. You've been in contact with him for some time now, have you discovered any habits or needs he has?"

  Lou thought for a moment and replied, "Li Hui and I haven't known each other for long, but we get along quite well. I found that he seems to be very interested in the way of beast taming, besides flying swords. Today, I even helped him take down a material to help him refine a set of flying swords."

  Lou Zhengming's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and after a moment of contemplation, he spoke up: "Everyone thinks that my Lou family relies on the art of beast taming as its foundation, but they have no idea what our true capabilities are. With so many branches in our family, this beast-taming technique is hardly a secret; aside from a few rare techniques for subduing divine beasts, there are plenty of others circulating outside. This condition can be met, but I'm afraid it won't be enough to move him. In that case, I'll throw in some other treasures - a set of flying swords, for instance. That shouldn't be a problem. You try and see if you can persuade him."

  PS: The second update is seeking collection!