There was nothing Zhang Fan could do to force Liu Mu's choice, so he let him have his way.
After some discussion, Zhang Fan and Liu Mu decided to join forces with the man in the star-patterned robe and travel together towards the depths of the Star Lake Forest.
After all, while they were both skilled, they were outsiders. They were unfamiliar with the situation on Great Rock Star or the information about the Star Lake Forest, which would make their actions inconvenient.
Through their conversation, Zhang Fan learned that the man in the star-patterned robe was named Fu Feng, and the woman in the yellow robe by his side was Fu Sisi. They were both from the Fu family, one of the three Nascent Soul families on Great Rock Star.
Fu Sisi was the most outstanding descendant of her generation in the Fu family. She had cultivated a mid-grade Golden Core of the second rank and had reached its peak. Fu Feng's purpose this time was to help Fu Sisi obtain a portion of the Earth's Core Saliva.
If successful, the Fu family might very well produce another Nascent Soul stage expert, and one who had formed a silver Nascent Soul at that.
Therefore, this competition held immense significance for their three Nascent Soul families. Whichever family succeeded would greatly enhance its strength and surpass the other two.
In the Wushan Star Domain, the importance of Nascent Soul stage experts was evident. As seen from the Heavenly Rankings compiled by the Heavenly Secret Pavilion, as long as one's strength reached the Second Tribulation Nascent Soul level, even if only a black Nascent Soul was cultivated, one would qualify for the Heavenly Rankings.
Of course, although the Wushan Star Domain was just an ordinary star domain, the Heavenly Secret Pavilion dared not guarantee that it had collected information on all the powerful cultivators in every star system.
Some Nascent Soul experts had revealed their strength but were not discovered by the Heavenly Secret Pavilion, while others chose to live in seclusion after forming their Nascent Souls, and some had not made a move for thousands or even tens of thousands of years, making it naturally difficult for the Heavenly Secret Pavilion to make an accurate assessment.
Just like the Black Flame King, who had cultivated a silver Nascent Soul and survived four Nascent Soul tribulations, possessing the strength to be ranked on the Heavenly Rankings, yet he was not listed.
Similarly, Zhang Fan, with his current strength, could contend with a Third Tribulation Nascent Soul expert, yet he was also not on the Heavenly Rankings.
Therefore, the one hundred and eight cultivators on the Heavenly Rankings could only be said to be the one hundred and eight individuals who had displayed the strongest power before others. They served as a reference but were not absolutely authoritative.
...
"This time, the three Nascent Soul families of Great Rock Star are all led by Nascent Soul experts. However, with the assistance of fellow Daoist Liu Mu, our chances of obtaining the Earth's Core Saliva are still quite high."
With Liu Mu's addition, Fu Feng's mood improved greatly, and he became much more optimistic.
The Star Lake Forest was extremely dangerous even for ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators, so their Fu family had not brought any other disciples this time, with only Fu Sisi accompanying him.
"I heard that there is a White Cloud Tiger in this Star Lake Forest that has survived three Nascent Soul tribulations. With your strength, wouldn't going to contend for the Earth's Core Saliva be no different from snatching food from a tiger's mouth?" Zhang Fan asked with some curiosity.
Although Fu Feng had cultivated a Nascent Soul, it was a black Nascent Soul, and he had not even survived his first Nascent Soul tribulation. His strength was not much stronger than the deceased Sword Venerable.
And according to him, the leaders of the other two Nascent Soul families were at a similar level of strength. If they encountered the White Cloud Tiger, they might not escape.
Zhang Fan's words caused the yellow-clad girl, Fu Sisi, to glance at him, "Then why do you dare to go when you haven't even cultivated a Nascent Soul?"
Zhang Fan smiled and said nothing. With his Golden Core realm cultivation, his words did indeed carry a hint of presumption.
"Sisi, do not be rude."
Fu Feng raised his hand to stop Fu Sisi and smiled apologetically at Zhang Fan, saying, "With the White Cloud Tiger's strength, even the patriarchs of our three Great Rock Star families would not dare to provoke it lightly. Naturally, it is not something we can deal with."
"However, young friend Zhang Fan, you may not know, but it is rumored that when the lava erupted, the White Cloud Tiger forcibly entered beneath the lava and suffered severe injuries. It has now hidden itself away."
"Otherwise, how would we have any opportunities in this Star Lake?"
"So that's how it is," Liu Mu nodded. The only thing he worried about when entering the Star Lake Forest was the White Cloud Tiger. Since the White Cloud Tiger was injured and in hiding, what else did he have to fear?
"Brother, with me here this time, I will definitely help you get a portion of the Earth's Core Saliva," Liu Mu said confidently, extending his fair and flawless palm to pat Zhang Fan on the shoulder.
Liu Mu felt guilty for taking a bottle of heavenly-grade Blood Spirit Pills from Zhang Fan and thought this was a good opportunity to help him.
...
As they traveled, the closer they got to the Star Lake in the center of the Star Lake Forest, the more human cultivators they encountered, but they were almost all rogue cultivators at the Golden Core stage.
When they reached a location less than three kilometers from the Star Lake, a large number of human cultivators had already gathered. The surrounding dense forest had been completely cleared by human cultivators, opening up a vast space.
Hundreds of Golden Core stage cultivators, and even several strong, hidden auras. Such a powerful force gathered here would not dare to provoke even the notoriously ferocious and cunning Shadow Leopard tribe.
"Old ghost Fu Feng, you're really slow. I thought you were eaten by a monster," a sharp voice called out from a distance. Everyone looked over and saw a somewhat gaunt middle-aged man in a black robe standing in the distance. His eyes were gloomy, fixed on Fu Feng, with a faint smile on his lips.
"This person is Ouyang Ye, the Great Elder of the Ouyang family. His strength is on par with my second uncle's," Fu Sisi whispered to Liu Mu, a hint of fear in her bright eyes.
"You're not dead yet, how could I bear to die?" Fu Feng replied indifferently.
"Gentlemen, since we are all here, it is time to discuss how to break through the encirclement of this pack of Silver Moon Wolves," another middle-aged man chimed in. He glanced at the gaunt man in black and Fu Feng.
"Just a pack of Silver Moon Wolves. With our strength, it wouldn't even be difficult to annihilate them all. What is there to discuss?" the gaunt old man in black snorted.
Zhang Fan knew that the three great families of Great Rock Star – the Fu, Ouyang, and Li families – with the Fu and Ouyang families being the strongest and also the most fiercely competitive.
Zhang Fan's powerful divine sense spread out, scanning the crowd. Although he detected a Nascent Soul expert hidden among them, he did not pay much attention.
The Silver Moon Wolf pack was powerful, but their numbers were not large, only a little over thirty. An adult Silver Moon Wolf had a strength comparable to a cultivator at the peak of a third-grade Golden Core, and the Silver Moon Wolf King's strength was at most comparable to Fu Feng's. Indeed, they could not stop over a hundred human cultivators.
Behind the Silver Moon Wolf pack was a small lake, about a hundred zhang in diameter, which was the Star Lake.
The Star Lake was a treasure of the Star Lake Forest, from which the forest derived its name. Legend had it that the lake water in the Star Lake was always warm, and whether it was humans or demons, as long as they cultivated in the Star Lake, their physical strength would be greatly enhanced.
Unfortunately, the Star Lake had always been occupied by the king of the Star Lake Forest, the White Cloud Tiger. Unless permitted by the White Cloud Tiger, other demonic beasts had a chance to cultivate in the Star Lake.
As for human cultivators, they never even had the chance to get close to the Star Lake. It was only now, with the White Cloud Tiger injured and hidden, that the human cultivators of Great Rock Star dared to approach it.
However, the Star Lake, once beautiful and tranquil, was now covered by scorching lava. Fiery red lava churned on the surface of the lake, with dots of green light appearing within the lava.
Just by glancing from afar, Zhang Fan could recognize that the green liquid was the Earth's Core Saliva.
...