The mysterious Elder Universe was probably the only person in the prefecture who could occupy a huge area of land for a vegetable farm.

Most of the people on the farm were ordinary people, whereas people from different forces dared not extend their forces into that area.

Ou Yangming hastened to the vegetable farm. Just as he was looking for someone to inform the elder of his arrival, the faces of the people who saw him changed, and they immediately fled.

'Do I look that scary?' Ou Yangming was puzzled as he touched his face.

Since he could not find anyone to deliver the message, and he did not want to waste time outside, he stomped his foot and entered the farm without permission.

As soon as Ou Yangming stepped into the courtyard, he sensed unusual energy brushing past him. It was a mental power scan, which was automatically activated as though he had touched a switch when he entered.

Ou Yangming furrowed his eyebrows because he sensed a familiar feeling from the power.

It was not that he was familiar with the mental power's source; he was familiar with its operation mode.

The Runes Secret Technique.

It was definitely an operation mode for the Runes Secret Technique.

Ou Yangming was struck with a thought, 'Could Elder Universe be a great Runes Master too?'

"Hmph, why have you come?" A familiar voice was heard as Elder Universe had unknowingly appeared near Ou Yangming.

Ou Yangming shivered a little because he did not realize how the elder had appeared.

Needless to say, had he already been on guard and entered the integration of Heaven and man, as well as the thoroughly meticulous state, he certainly would have noticed. Nonetheless, Ou Yangming did not do that recklessly because it would mean that he was challenging Elder Universe's authority.

The young fellow took a deep breath and greeted, "Greetings, senior."

"You're excused." Elder Universe looked at him in confusion and asked, "Why did you come here by yourself? You're not here to set a fire, are you?"

"It looks like the elder regards me as an arsonist.' Ou Yangming's face darkened a bit. Nevertheless, when he recalled the previous incident, he felt like he had brought this upon himself.

Ou Yangming cleared his throat. "Elder Sister Ying is in isolated cultivation with her elder, so I came here alone."

Elder Universe studied him for a while and said, "Young fella, did that little girl tell you that you can't come in here as you wish? Heh, the last person who came in was a young fella in Extreme Grade. Do you know how he ended?"

'A young fella in Extreme Grade?' Ou Yangming was stunned.

He smiled bitterly. "Senior, I initially wanted to ask someone to inform you of my arrival, but they fled far away the moment they saw me. I can't force them, so I could only enter without permission. Please forgive me, senior."

Elder Universe scoffed. "When you set the fire back then, you made it look like a devil had reincarnated, so it's natural that the ordinary people became afraid of you."

'If you recruited a few martial artists, the awkward situation wouldn't have happened,' Ou Yangming cursed while he forced a smile. Out of curiosity, he questioned, "Senior, what should the other people do if they can't make their presence known?"

"Of course they'll have to wait outside." Elder Universe rolled his eyes.

"How long do they have to wait?"

"It depends on my mood. If I'm not in a good mood, they'll have to wait forever," Elder Universe answered casually.

'Is that appropriate?' Ou Yangming twitched his mouth. Despite that, when he thought about how the elder referred to a Supreme Great Ancestor as a young fella in Extreme Grade, it seemed like everything else did not matter.

Elder Universe waved his hand. "Forget it, forget it. You're as dumb as a cow, I wonder what the little girl sees in you. Hmph, what do you have to say? Tell me quickly and get lost after that!"

Ou Yangming instantly curbed his thought and asked, "Senior, I'd like to ask—what does 'the man possesses Iron Blood Loyal Heart while the lady sacrifices for a noble cause' mean?"

"What'?" Elder Universe tensed up abruptly, and his eyes looked fierce at that moment.

A mighty and irresistible power spread in the void at that instant. It was Elder Universe's aura, which was as heavy as a mountain, and it was spreading far and wide without being restrained at all.

Ou Yangming quivered and subconsciously entered the state of the integration of Heaven and man.

Inside his spiritual world, he somewhat sensed a wall.

It was a wall gathered from one's aura. Not even the slightest gap could be found on the wall, and it was incredibly terrifying because it was about to crush him.

Ou Yangming's face changed, and he identified right away that he would not end well if he fought the aura rashly.

Without having to think, Ou Yangming's essence, energy, and spirit rose once more. Everything around him seemed to have undergone a subtle change, even the wall of aura was approaching him at a slower speed.

It was the thoroughly meticulous state. After having entered the microscopic world numerous times, Ou Yangming had better control over the wonderful power.

The wall of aura still existed and the enormous pressure did not reduce, but Ou Yangming could now spot the cracks and weak points on the wall.

Bacteria, which was invisible to the naked eye, was plainly visible under a microscope.

Similarly, Ou Yangming seemed to be wearing microscopic glasses when he entered the thoroughly meticulous state. As such, the world that he saw was entirely different from the world through an ordinary person's eyes.

Ou Yangming's body began to shake at an extremely strange frequency. In just one breath, he swayed more than ten times from different angles.

Of course, from a normal person's point of view, he had only swayed once.

That said, the sway was all it took for a fearsome wall of aura to penetrate his body, and it could no longer affect him.

Even though Ou Yangming passed the test, deep down he was in awe of Elder Universe.

The elder's aura alone was so powerful that it was even tougher for Ou Yangming to resist than Chen Dishou's spear. Was a Supreme Great Ancestor at the peak of Extreme Grade that frightening?

Elder Universe's aura did not go on for long. He shook his head and came back to his senses, then his aura disappeared as he glanced at Ou Yangming. However, he had an unexplainable look in his eyes.

"Your reaction is pretty good; you didn't take even half a step back when you were faced with my aura." Elder Universe laughed and remarked, "Most of the young fellas in Extreme Grade can't withstand it."

Ou Yangming flashed a smile and said, "I was just lucky. I'm still far from you, senior."

Elder Universe sneered. "Why did you ask me that?"

Ou Yangming hesitated because he did not know how to explain himself.

Even so, Elder Universe seemed to have guessed it. He asked slowly, "Did the He family from Linlang County send someone here already?"

"You really know!" Ou Yangming looked up in a flash.

"I don't just know about it. Heh, I'm afraid that I'm the only person who truly experienced what Linlang County and Changlong County went through." Elder Universe sighed.

Ou Yangming bowed deeply at the elder. "Senior, please enlighten me."

Elder Universe shook his head. "Since you already know and have come to ask me about it, could that… Could that little girl be the lady this time?"

Ou Yangming was anxious, but he dared not urge Elder Universe.

The elder pondered and raised a question, "Young fella, do you know where the immense forest at Changlong County's border leads to?"

"I don't." Ou Yangming shook his head dumbfoundedly.

"Heh, for countless years, nobody knew where the depths of the immense forest led to," Elder Universe noted with a deep voice, "but once in every hundred years, a spirit beast will come and drive large groups of ferocious beasts out the forest to invade the Humans' territories. We call it the beast tide, and it's the greatest disaster that threatens the Humans."

Ou Yangming inhaled deeply and asked, "I've stayed in the Immense Forest Military Camp for a long time, but why have I never heard of it?"

Elder Universe chuckled. "The beast tide occurs once in a hundred years, so most ordinary people won't encounter it at all. If that's the case, why should we let them live in fear?"

Ou Yangming was struck dumb because he realized that it was reasonable.

"Senior, what exactly are spirit beasts? I've seen many half-spirit beasts, but how are spirit beasts as compared to them?" Ou Yangming inquired about the creatures.

"Spirit beasts are powerful beings that are detached from the world's power. They're so mighty that the world can no longer accommodate them." Elder Universe took a slight glance at Ou Yangming, then he looked in the distance with hollow eyes. "Every spirit beast is a disaster!"

Elder Universe's strength was considered by Ou Yangming to be unfathomable. In that case, how powerful would something that is called a disaster by the elder be? For some reason, a chilly intent rose from Ou Yangming's heart and his spine began to turn cold.

Ou Yangming uttered as he was moved, "I understand."

"You understand?" Elder Universe had a strange look on his face. "What did you understand?"

"I learned the Suit Runes Skill from the Ni family and found that they came up with the Runes Secret Technique, which could upgrade Common Grade arm guards into Good Grade arm guards. However, instead of profiting from it, they searched for ways to present the technique to Master Lu and even promoted it in the military," Ou Yangming expressed, "I couldn't understand why they did that, but now I do."

Elder Universe giggled. "When a bird's nest is overturned, no egg can remain intact; the three fellas from the Ni family are well aware of this."

Ou Yangming nodded then suddenly focused and spoke sternly, "Senior, since the spirit beasts appear once in a hundred years, the Humans surely have a way to resist them. Could it be related to the He family and the Ni family?"

Elder Universe stared at the young fellow and responded with a grim look, "You're right. The He family's man possessed Iron Blood Loyal Heart while the Ni family's lady sacrifices herself for a noble cause; this is the only way for Changlong and Linlang to kill the spirit beasts."