There was no real way of telling how much time passed within the underground ant hive, the only source of light available to the people present were the orbs of fire that the peach-haired and golden-eyed Ming Chang could conjure up. They were currently hiding underground, but this was still an area close to the center of the forest, the density of Qi here was quite a bit greater than it was in the outskirts of the forest, it was even a slight touch better than when Huang Ying activated the array within his room back at the academy.

With such a vast amount of Qi at their disposal, cultivating for one day within the cavern would be the same as cultivating ten or so days in a different location. This dense Qi also meant that Ming Chang could keep her orbs of fire up at all times with no problem, illuminating the cavern and causing the days to blur even more.

The cavern was constantly rocked by loud sounds coming from the outside, the rampage of the Demonic beasts only growing wilder and wilder after the overlord at the top of the trees descended. And just as a loud rumbling sound from above caused the entire ant hive to tremble, Huang Ying smashed into the wall of the cavern where they were resting.

He powerlessly slid down the wall, his upper body stained with the fresh blood that poured forth unceasingly from his now shattered nose. He fell to the ground and just barely managed to turn his body so that he landed on his back, breathing heavily while occasionally spitting out some of the blood that pooled in his mouth. While he was lying on the ground and practically gasping for air, a relaxed and even somewhat amused voice came from a bit in front of him.

"Bzzt, lost again. But that was a good try, you actually managed to last for almost 70 or so moves this time around. If you're like that, you should be capable of defeating someone at the 1st Stair of Ascension. Ming Chang's up next, let's hope you last more than 10 moves this time around."

Huang Ying didn't even bother trying to raise his head to look at the one who spoke, the silver-haired and brown-eyed Lang Zan. He could hear a faint dripping sound coming from her direction, it most likely came from his own blood dripping down from her fists. He spat out a bit more blood to clear his mouth, giving a weak wave of his hand while cursing softly.

"Yeah yeah, fuck off, won't ya? I'll show you who won't be able to last 10 moves next time we meet."

Huang Ying had done just as he said he would after they entered the cavern, he engaged Ming Chang and all the others in duels. He made sure that none of them held back, an act that resulted in him ending up flat on his back after each and every duel, blood staining his body. Luckily, the dense Qi in the area allowed him to heal his wounds rather quickly by just engaging in a bit of cultivating, meaning that the could quickly return to dueling.

Huang Ying had only reached the 6th Mortal Step while the others in the group had all reached at least the 2nd Stair of Ascension, so he had practically no hope of winning in any of the duels. But winning had never been his intention in the duels, his intentions had always been to increase his own fighting skill, have some fun, and to digest the many memories containing scenes of battle that were gathering up within the sea of stars in his dantian.

With each duel, his strength would increase a little bit, his control over his energy would get a bit smoother, and he would become a bit more proficient with his skills and techniques. This fact was abundantly clear to Lang Zan and the others, causing them to quietly mutter about just what sort of freakish thing Huang Ying was.

As Huang Ying was lying on his back and quietly cultivating the Dark Moon's Whisper cultivation technique that Li Jun had given him, a few drops of water dripped down from the ceiling of the cavern and landed on his face. Huang Ying glanced at the spot on the ceiling where the water had come from, his gaze landing on several dark spots that were constantly dripping with water. Huang Ying knew what these wet and dark spots were, quietly talking with Li Jun inside his mind.

"Geh, even more water has started to seep through the earth, that Behemoth sub-type really isn't a joke. And there might even be another such bastard hiding within the forest, isn't that just some sick joke? Speaking of which, you said that the true Behemoth is one of the nine Demonic Deity races and is thus capable of contending with the nine Ancestral Gods, right? Baku said that I could increase my number of elements by devouring blood or Qi that came from creatures tied to the Ancestral Gods, but what if I absorb the blood or Qi of the Ancestral God that has one of the two elements that I already have?"

The group was currently more than 100 meters underground, yet the water of the Behemoth sub-type was still capable of seeping down so deep that it reached the ceiling of their cavern. If such a beast couldn't be called terrifying then Huang Ying didn't know what could. And he hadn't forgotten the shriek that had torn open the clouds summoned by the Behemoth sub-type, meaning that there was likely at least one more such beast here in the forest. Huang Ying continued to stare at the dark spots on the ceiling while cultivating, the confident voice of Li Jun soon sounding out within his mind.

"You don't have to worry about another beast carrying the bloodline of one of the nine Demonic Deity races residing within this forest. I've been keeping an eye on the outside for the month you've been down here, and while there was indeed another such beast in the forest earlier, it has already left. I don't know exactly what sort of person is capable of something like that, but the winged lion beast was actually brought here by a young man, it left the forest when he did, only engaging in a short fight with the Behemoth sub-type."

Li Jun's response to the first question only caused Huang Ying's mouth to curve up somewhat bitterly. He wasn't quite certain what was worse, there being another beast with the bloodline of the nine Demonic Deity races running around in the forest, or that there was actually someone capable of controlling such a beast. For someone to manage that, they must surely have reached a level of strength above even the beast. And if that was really the case, just what was such a person doing in a forest so far away from the main part of the continent? Had he perhaps come to add another such beast to his collection? Curiosity swirled around within Huang Ying's mind, but he pushed it down somewhat as Li Jun went on to answer the other question he had posed.

"As for your other question, there is no need to worry about that either as none of the Ancestral Gods rule over wind or earth. The nine Demonic Deities are the ones who rule over the elements, the five I know of are the Behemoth of earth, the True Dragon of fire, the Leviathan of water, the Roc of lightning, and the Stag of Wood. The last four I can't say I know much about, I never managed to encounter a beast with their bloodline, nor did I bother to check up any texts about them."

"And while the nine Demonic Deities rule over the elements, the nine Ancestral Gods rule over concepts. I only know of four of the Ancestral Gods, Baku of devouring, Lingyu of speed, Nisha of heat, and Qiuxu of movement. The powers of the Ancestral Gods are of a higher tier than the powers of the Demonic Deities, but while this makes them stronger in most situations it also makes them harder to master, somewhat evening it out."

This was the first time Huang Ying had asked Li Jun about the Ancestral Gods and their counterparts so it was the first time he learned a bit more about them. Baku could only be called less than helpful in this particular aspect, it hadn't even told Li Jun how many Ancestral Gods there were. Huang Ying felt like rubbing his chin after learning about the powers of the few Ancestral Gods that Li Jun knew about, his mind already working on coming up with ways to use their laws. Of course, he didn't forget to focus on his cultivation at the same time, raising his head slightly while addressing the others.

"Oy, quick question to you lot. Would any of you happen to know about anyone who's probably super strong and can control a Demonic beast in the form of a winged lion?"

Huang Ying knew about the various academies that Han De and the others were from, they were from the far larger main part of the continent. As such, he guessed that they might know a bit more about the various famous and strong people that roamed the continent so they might know something about the one who could control a beast with the Demonic Deity bloodline. But what he didn't expect was that the expressions of all of the others would distort slightly upon hearing his question, the brown-haired and pink-eyed Guo Shui clicking her tongue after a short moment.

"You ask if we know about him? Well, most of us wish we didn't know about him. There's only one person on this planet with a winged-lion as his beast and the man's like a massive mountain pressing down on the shoulders of all other junior cultivators, his mere existence is suffocating. His name is Yao Long Chi and he is a disciple of the grand Sea's Horizon Academy, he's one of the Six Heavenly Kings that are currently repressing just about all other cultivators on the planet. In the face of their talents and skills, no one other than someone else among the Heavenly Kings can stand tall. He should only be in his early twenties but he's already reached the peak of the Nine Mountains of Immortality, he and the other Heavenly Kings are all utter monsters that steal the spotlight of all other cultivators."

Guo Shui spoke quite bitterly about Yao Long Chi, the pressure that his existence brought to other cultivators seemed to be rather suffocating. Of course, hearing about such a supposedly supremely powerful cultivator, Huang Ying simply lowered his head again and rested it against the ground, muttering quietly to himself.

"Six Heavenly Kings, huh? They'd probably be incredibly fun to fight, I should look for them in the future."

Guo Shui nearly burst into a violent coughing fit when she heard Huang Ying's soft mutter, looking at him in sheer disbelief. The Six Heavenly Kings were like bright suns in the sky, blinding all who looked at them and so far out of reach that none could reach them. Just ignoring their grandeur to focus on cultivating was hard enough, and yet here Huang Ying was, already thinking about dueling them in the future.

Huang Ying returned his focus to his cultivation so that he could finish healing his wounds to prepare for the next duel. The sounds of rampage from above were dying down slightly, but he should have enough time for a few more duels before they could leave.

His guess was quickly proven correct, the sounds of rampage from above dying down more and more as time passed. And by the time he finished his 11th duel after learning about the powers of the Ancestral Gods and Demonic Deities, all sounds of rampage from above vanished. Finally, after almost a month and a half spent underground, the group could return to the surface. Huang Ying could finally return to the academy so that he could deal with those who should be dealt with.