This was a group of very young cultivators, all male, with a few individuals who could even be considered outstanding talents, possessing decent aptitude.
They were also riding the eagle beast to travel deeper into Shenwang Valley.
The central figure among them was a man wearing a jade crown, dressed in elegant white robes with a purple-gold silk belt tied around his waist. He carried an air of refined grace and exceptional talent, appearing quite handsome and distinguished, subtly serving as the leader of the group.
Many of the young cultivators revolved around this person, though they did not speak, maintaining a quiet and disciplined atmosphere.
They were likely from a certain sect.
This was the general assessment the others had of these young cultivators.
Not long after, another group arrived—this time a group of young women, each one exceptionally beautiful.
Especially the leading maiden, who appeared to be no more than twenty years of age, was as lovely as a flower, stunningly beautiful and breathtaking. The other women paled in comparison, showing a noticeable gap.
This woman had a cool, aloof temperament, and her group numbered roughly the same as the earlier group of young male cultivators.
The two distinct groups of young men and women glanced at each other, each showing some surprise and suspicion. Clearly, they did not know one another. After a brief exchange of glances, they each nodded slightly.
Both groups proceeded to pay their spirit stones, all of them high-grade spirit stones, indicating their extraordinary backgrounds.
Later, several more batches of cultivators arrived one after another.
After roughly a few moments, the number quickly reached a hundred people. Among them, the two distinct groups of young men and women were notably present.
Whoosh—
A fierce gale suddenly rose as the massive eagle beast, carrying over a hundred people, soared into the sky.
The eagle beast was already enormous, and with its wings spread, the space on its back became even larger, easily accommodating a hundred people.
Inside the pavilion on its back, Ye Chen found a seat near a window, looking down from above to survey the vast expanse of Shenwang Valley below.
From the forests and mountains below, roars and howls occasionally rose and fell, highlighting the dangers lurking within.
However, flying demonic beasts had their advantages—soaring high in the sky, as long as they maintained sufficient altitude, they could avoid many ground-based demonic beasts.
Even if they encountered some flying demonic beasts native to Shenwang Valley, there were corresponding methods to deal with them.
Precisely for this reason, many cultivators chose to pay spirit stones to ride flying demonic beasts to save time.
The eagle beast flew higher and higher, and soon, Luo City shrank to a size smaller than a palm.
The cultivators riding the eagle beast seemed accustomed to this, remaining quite quiet. There was little conversation within the pavilion.
"Fellow Daoist, would you mind if this young lady sits here?"
At that moment, a clear and melodious voice rang out. Ye Chen turned to see a stunningly beautiful woman speaking gracefully, her lips as red as cherries, her appearance captivating and moving. She was the leading maiden from the earlier group of young female cultivators.
Her temperament was cool and aloof, and even her speech carried a hint of spring-water-like chill.
The pavilion on the eagle beast wasn't particularly large, with exactly one hundred seats. About half had been occupied one after another, and the seats near the windows were all taken. Only Ye Chen's area still had a few empty spots.
"Agreed," Ye Chen nodded slightly before turning back to gaze at the mountain forest scenery below, seemingly indifferent to the woman's breathtaking beauty.
The stunning maiden's eyes flickered with a trace of surprise, as if taken aback by Ye Chen's calm demeanor in the face of her beauty.
She had always been quite confident in her looks, yet this person before her seemed to ignore them entirely.
She could tell that he wasn't deliberately trying to attract her attention but genuinely didn't care, which piqued her interest somewhat.
She then lightly shook her head, dismissing these thoughts.
After all, her purpose for coming here wasn't to understand this person before her.
Accompanying the stunning maiden were three other female cultivators. One was an elderly woman with grayish-white hair, dressed in a Daoist robe. She appeared quite transcendent, like a recluse expert, clearly a figure of considerable strength.
The elderly woman kept her eyes slightly closed, as if meditating and conserving her energy, but she was obviously aware of everything happening around her.
The other two young female cultivators, however, kept staring at Ye Chen intently.
They seemed curious about who this person was, capable of remaining completely unfazed by the stunning maiden's beauty.
At that moment, footsteps approached as a group arrived. The leader was none other than the jade-crowned youth from the earlier group of young male cultivators. Elegant and refined like jade, he cupped his hands in salute toward the stunning maiden and her companions. "I am Gu Xuan from Qinghua Sect of Qingfeng Ancient Country. Seeing that you fellow Daoists and senior look familiar, I took the liberty to approach."
It must be said that Gu Xuan was indeed a remarkable figure. He smiled before even speaking, his attitude gentle and humble, giving people a feeling of a spring breeze brushing their faces, instantly increasing their favor toward him.
As soon as his words fell, gasps of astonishment echoed throughout the eagle beast pavilion—
"Gu Xuan from Qinghua Sect? Could he be that Gu Xuan ranked on the Heaven's Pride List?"
"There's only one person named Gu Xuan in Qinghua Sect—it must be him."
"I never expected Gu Xuan to come too. He's currently a super Heaven's Pride in the Divine Transformation Realm. Did he come here to hunt demonic beasts for training?"
"Impossible, right? Gu Xuan is a super Heaven's Pride of Qinghua Sect. There are even rumors that he's the next sect master, hailed as the Young Sect Master. With so many training grounds available, why would he come here? He must have a deeper purpose."
"Don't forget, this is Shenwang Valley. If it's just the peripheral demonic beasts, they pose little danger to a super Heaven's Pride like Gu Xuan. But what if he enters the core region?"
"Enter the core region? Don't forget how terrifying that Ancient Desolate Dragon is. Even if Qinghua Sect's great ancestor personally came, it would be extremely dangerous. Although Gu Xuan is a super Heaven's Pride ranked on the Heaven's Pride List, wouldn't he be seeking death by rashly going there?"
"No, you misunderstand. Based on my speculation, Gu Xuan must be heading to the core region. Because he's in the Divine Transformation Realm, and I've heard he's about to reach Demi-Saint, or even become a Saint. With his talent, achieving Heavenly King is only a matter of time—at most two or three hundred years, and he could struggle through the crossing of Samsara to become a Heavenly King. And I've heard there's a supreme divine fruit in Shenwang Valley that allows one to directly cross Samsara. Perhaps Gu Xuan came for that Samsara Divine Fruit."
"Even if he wants to struggle through the crossing of Samsara, he should wait until he's at the peak of the Saint Realm. Coming now, even if he's a Demi-Saint, is extremely dangerous. The core region houses the Ancient Desolate Dragon, after all."
"Because besides the Samsara Divine Fruit, there's also a Saint Fruit in the core region. It's extremely useful for forging a Saint Realm divine body, making it even stronger. It can even promote the awakening of potential during Samsara, breaking through the shackles of the Nine Heavens to achieve the Tenth Heaven. Gu Xuan's goal is likely to obtain both divine and saint fruits in one go."
"If Gu Xuan really obtains these two fruits, he'll probably be able to charge straight into the top ten of the Heaven's Pride List, perhaps even sweep through everyone undefeated."
...
Discussions buzzed throughout the pavilion, but without exception, they all expressed deep shock and various degrees of awe toward Gu Xuan's background.