"Southern Lord, you're too kind with your words. As fellow Ancient Elves, this is simply what I should do."
"Besides, merely triggering the Ancient Immortal Needle? That's a piece of cake for me — nothing worth mentioning." This Ancient Elf truly was young, around the same age as Chu Feng, barely into his twenties.
Yet his cultivation far surpassed Chu Feng's — he was a fifth-rank Martial King. What's more, although he was an Ancient Elf like any other, his attire was somewhat distinctive.
On his person there was a special emblem, woven from unique plant fibers. Because its color matched the green cloak he wore, ordinary people would never notice it.
But the Ancient Elves knew the significance of that emblem — and that was one of the reasons the Southern Lord treated this young man with such respect.
It was only one reason, however. The other was that this Ancient Elf named Xian Kun was a prodigy who possessed the ability to trigger the Ancient Immortal Needle.
"Lord Xian Kun speaks truly. But my Southern Domain has failed to trigger the Ancient Immortal Needle for many years now. To put it bluntly, it has brought shame upon our Ancient Elves."
"Now that Lord Xian Kun has come, if you can successfully trigger the Ancient Immortal Needle, I will be able to hold my head higher before the other lords at the tribal assembly."
"So regardless of everything, I must thank Lord Xian Kun. This modest gift is but a small token of my sincerity — please do accept it." As he spoke, the Southern Lord handed a Universe Bag to the Ancient Elf called Xian Kun.
Xian Kun took the Universe Bag, a satisfied smile curving across his lips. Tucking it away, he said confidently, "Rest easy. I nearly triggered the golden Ancient Immortal Needle back in the Kingdom — let alone your silver one here."
"Naturally." The Southern Lord nodded with a smile, and at the same time cast his gaze toward the distant Ancient Immortal Needle, his eyes filled with anticipation. He was eager to see that needle once again fill the skies of the Southern Domain with green lightning.
"Oh, by the way — has the Princess not returned yet?" Xian Kun suddenly asked.
"Her Highness said she wished to sense the presence of the Ancient Immortal Blossom on her own and would not allow our people to accompany her. So we don't know where she went," the Southern Lord replied.
"Mm. The Princess is still young, after all — it's perfectly natural for her to be playful. Though the Immortal Pool is about to open and quite a few humans and demon beasts have slipped in, I trust that with their meager abilities, none of them can harm the Princess."
"Still, starting from today and for the next three days, the energy within the Ancient Immortal Pool will be at its most concentrated of the entire year. To let these humans and demon beasts enjoy it — what a waste," Xian Kun said with a frown.
"There's nothing to be done. These are rules passed down from our ancestors. If anyone is to blame, it's that human Qing Xuantian of old was far too powerful. He not only defeated our forebears but also saved our race — making him a great benefactor of the Ancient Elves. That is why, even to this day, successive kings have honored the covenant between our ancestors and Qing Xuantian," the Southern Lord said.
"Hmph. Have ten thousand years of letting them enjoy it not been enough?"
"When I become a Martial Emperor and earn the title of Grand General, I will petition the King to revoke humanity's and the demon beasts' access to our Ancient Immortal Pool."
"And those Ancient Immortal Pools that humans have occupied — I will reclaim them with my own hands." As he said this, a fierce, domineering gleam flashed through Xian Kun's eyes.
Chu Feng and the others knew nothing of the conversation between the Southern Lord and Xian Kun. Once the barrier houses were constructed, they settled inside.
Because Elder Gongsun had said that the Ancient Immortal Pool was extremely taxing on one's stamina, Chu Feng and the others went to sleep early.
The next day, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, Chu Feng was woken by a burst of crisp bell chimes from outside. When he stepped out of his barrier house, he saw that several more barrier houses had been erected around the entrance to the Ancient Immortal Pool.
From those barrier houses, groups from every faction were streaming out. By rough estimate, after a full day and night, nearly four thousand people had made it through the jungle. Given the pressure inside that jungle, this number was quite impressive — meaning that close to half of all participants had passed the Ancient Elves' trial.