As the creepy voice rang in the air, two monsters that looked like minotaurs with black mist surrounding them appeared before Zhu Lu Qi.
At the same time, Zhu Lu Qi discovered that apart from the dark sky and blood-red moon lighting it, the dead trees in his surroundings had disappeared. He was at a valley. The two monsters stood in the air before him, and they were glaring at him with their red eyes.
"You… Who are you?" Upon seeing the two monsters, Zhu Lu Qi felt chills running up his spine. The two monsters emitted a dangerous vibe. Moreover, the Devil Qi in their bodies was even purer than his even though he was a Devil Cultivator!
"Human?" The two monsters looked at each other in shock when they heard Zhu Lu Qi speak.
"H-he asked us who are we?" One of the monsters said excitedly.
"Yes." The other monster was excited as well. "When I cast the art of charm, I discover the Devil Qi in his body isn't pure. As it turns out, he's human!"
"Why would a human appear in the Exiled Realm? Could he be from the legendary Saint Province Realm?"
"According to the ancient legends, apart from the Devata Realms and the other mundane realms, only the Saint Province Realm next to our Exiled Realm has humans!"
"However, isn't there a space barrier between the Exiled Realm and the Saint Province Realm? Powerhouses from the Exiled Realm have dreamt of breaking the barrier for hundreds of thousands of years but they've never succeeded."
"Could it be that this human has discovered a tear in the space barrier and came from the Saint Province Realm?"
The two minotaur-looking monsters discussed among themselves as though there were no one else present. Their words confused Zhu Lu Qi. He had heard of the Devata Realms and the mundane realms. However, he had never heard of the Exiled Realm or the Saint Province Realm! He could faintly guess the Saint Province Realm the minotaurs mentioned referred to the Dao Martial Saint Land. He had never heard of the Exiled Realm in the Dao Martial Saint Land!
Zhu Lu Qi took a deep breath and mustered his courage before he asked, "You're not human. What are you?!" He was curious after all.
Based on their words, they were not human. Zhu Lu Qi did not think they were Saint Beasts. Saint Beasts would usually be in their beast form or human form. They would not be in such a weird state. It was his first time seeing these minotaur-looking monsters. Not only was this his first time seeing such creatures, but he had never heard of the existence of half-human half-beast creatures.
"He just asked us what are we?"
The monsters began to talk among themselves again.
"Hasn't he heard about devils?"
"That's possible. Otherwise, he would've known we're devils."
"If he can't even tell we're devils, he definitely doesn't know we're from the Ox Devil Clan."
"That's for sure!"
Zhu Lu QI heard the monsters' words and his expression instantly changed.
"Devils? You're from the Devil Clan?" Zhu Lu Qi looked as though he had seen a ghost. He said, "If you're from the Devil Clan… Then, this place should be the Land of Exile that people spoke of in legends in the Dao Martial Saint Land?"
Zhu Lu Qi had only learned about the Land of Exile when he was in the White Tiger Sanctum of the Fire Worship Sect's Four Symbols Sanctums. Apart from cultivating, he liked reading ancient books. While he was in the White Tiger Sanctum, he had once read an extremely old book about the Land of Exile. According to legend, there was once a great Human-Devil War that happened in the Dao Martial Saint Land a very long time ago!
There were all kinds of Devil Clans that invaded the Dao Martial Saint Land during that era. That era was known as the Human-Devil Era! The Land of Exile was where the Devil Clans came from!
During the Human-Devil Era, the great Human-Devil War had wreaked havoc in the Dao Martial Saint Land. Humans eventually defeated the devils during the war. Ever since then, the devils were no longer seen on the Dao Martial Saint Land. It was during that time that the three great sects and Devil Cultivators began to appear. The Devil Cultivators were humans who managed to master the Devil Clans' cultivation technique.
The devils all retreated back to the Land of Exile. The days turned peaceful and people gradually forgot about the devils who had once invaded the land. Soon after, the Dao Martial Saint Land was divided into the Upper and Lower Province.
At that time, people began to forget about the Land of Exile. What remained was only some information recorded in books that were kept in the three great sects.
'In the legend, it was said that devils managed to invade the Dao Martial Saint Land from the Land of Exile was because they had spent millions of years to set up a powerful Devil Formation that destroyed the space barrier between the Land of Exile and the Dao Martial Saint Land!' Zhu Lu Qi recalled the information he had read. 'After that, the Great Human-Devil War happened, but the devils suffered a huge defeat and was chased back to the Land of Exile… Back then, those powerful figures had paid with their lives to set up the Grand Seal Formation and forcefully closed the opening in the space barrier! If the devils want to invade the Dao Martial Saint Land again, it would take them several hundreds of thousands of years or even several million years to make an opening in the space barrier. Only tens of thousands of years have passed since the Human-Devil Era! Was I sent here by mistake?' Zhu Lu Qi's expression turned grim when he thought of this. He did not expect he would be so unlucky to be transported here.
The Land of Exile was not a good place.
"The Dao Martial Saint Land?" The two monsters heard Zhu Lu Qi's words, and they looked at him.
"The Dao Martial Saint Land is rumored to be the main continent in the Saint Province Realm!"
"It seems like he's really from the Saint Province Realm… We should bring him back to the clan. Maybe the Ox Devil Clan can find the entrance to the Saint Province Realm through him!"
"According to legend, the Saint Province Realm is extremely rich in resources. Not only is their cultivation environment many times better than ours, but they even have Saint Stones and Saint Veins!"
The two monsters' eyes were shining brightly as they looked at Zhu Lu Qi.
As soon as they finished speaking, Zhu Lu Qi began to move in an attempt to escape. However, he merely managed to take a few steps before one of the monsters had caught him.
Their strength was not at the same level!
Both of the monsters have a strong physique, and they were three meters tall. One of them held Zhu Lu Qi as though he was a piece of luggage.
"Let's go! We'll bring him back to the clan."
Following that, the two monsters left with Zhu Lu Qi who was defenseless before them. After listening to their conversation, he knew they were members of the Ox Devil Clan, and they were Ox Devils.
'Duan Ling Tian, I'm afraid I can't help you pass the message…' Zhu Lu Qi thought to himself helplessly. He was certain he would die now that he was caught by the Ox Devils. He hoped Duan Ling Tian would somehow discover that he had failed to deliver the message to his family, and he would personally go to the Lower Province to warn his family. Naturally, he knew the chances of that happening was slim.
As the saying went, 'When it rains, it pours'. While Zhu Lu Qi was captured by the Ox Devils back to the Ox Devil Clan, the Black Turtle Sanctum's First Silver Flame Elder Li An and the men given to him by the fifth elder of the Northern Plethora Sect had arrived in the Lower Province of the Dao Martial Saint Land.
"Greetings, my Lords!" When the Dao Martial Saint Land's Watcher saw Li An and the other men, he bowed respectfully.
He was merely a Martial Cultivator at the Quintessential Saint Stage. The people before him were at the Saint Celestial Stage at least.
"Have you seen this man before?" Li An raised his arm and unfolded a portrait, revealing the portrait of a handsome young man.
It was Duan Ling Tian's face after he had disguised himself. This was his appearance in the Fire Worship Sect.
"It's very likely that he's from the Lower Province… If he's from the Lower Province, you must have seen him before. Do you have any impression of him?" Li An said in his deep voice. At the same time, he released his aura, causing the Watcher to turn pale. However, the Watcher shook his head and spoke truthfully, "I've never seen him before."
"He's called Duan Ling Tian… Are you sure you've never seen him before?" Li An asked once again.
"Duan Ling Tian?" The Watcher was stunned when he heard the name. A hint of surprise could be seen in his eyes.