"False kings huh? They sound like really big deals?" Zheng Hu at some point had already shown up at Yang Qing's table with Feng Xin not far behind with a bowl filled with the barbecued rapid snapper cottonmouth.
Yang Qing who had been focused on the false kings had his attention stolen as he gulped with his gaze glued on the piping hot crispy brown thin stripped meat. Luckily at the back of his mind, he still remembered that he was the host as he handed out green smooth bamboo chopsticks and divided up the rapid snapper cotton mouth in round wooden shaped bowls.
"Bolin I'm not too sure if you want any?" Yang Qing cautiously asked. This was a grey area for him. On one hand, spirit beasts killed and ate each other but on the other, he didn't know maybe they had some sort of friendship so it may be odd to offer a friend for him to eat. He wasn't sure where spirit beasts drew the line on eating each other.
"I humbly accept your gracious offer master Yang Qing and you too master Feng Xin for preparing it," Bolin as he cupped his fists in thanks.
"The rapid snapper cotton mouth was no friend of mine. One could even consider us enemies due to our relations though if he was a friend I'd still eat him with no qualms. For spirit beasts, though I don't speak for all but in the green fog region we do mourn our lost compatriots but we will still eat them after. It's not that we are heartless but once we reach the core formation realm it takes almost a century before our body decomposes and in that time some other spirit beast may eat us. If that's the case better a friend eats me than a stranger. We think of it as the final thing we can do to help a friend on both sides of the table. One friend helps the other get stronger and increase their survivability and the other gives his/her friend the dignity of passing by doing a noble deed and not end up in some rival spirit beasts stomach," Bolin added seemingly reading Yang Qing's thoughts.
"That's an interesting culture," Mao Yunru said. She had arrived at some point when the barbecued meat of the rapid snapper cotton mouth was being served. She decided to join Zhang Qingge in petting the celestial nesting weaver.
Yi Jie came too with his cauldron in hand. Though it had morphed into an almost human size wine gourd. It had reached half his height and was propped in between one of his elbows.
The rest of the guests as if they had a prior agreement started moving their tables and chairs closer to where Yang Qing and the rest were. Before this, the tables were widely spread over the abnormally large porch however currently they all seemed to circle the fireplace like a close-knit campfire with only a few feet of gap for someone to pass through.
Yang Qing on seeing this raised his palm which had a small half-moon symbol appearing on it and pointed it towards the dining table that had all the food spread about. The table started moving gently towards them before stopping a few feet from them.
"Yi Jie the wine," Yang Qing greedily said as he cozily sat down with the bowl of barbecued rapid snapper cotton mouth in hand.
Dai Chen's eyes also lit up at the mention of wine as he ferociously licked his lips as Yu Huifang shook her head at his current look.
"Pour for it one too. It hates to admit it but it likes your wine," Yang Qing said as he pointed toward the celestial nesting weaver.
"Good human servant," the celestial nesting weaver thought as it gave Yang Qing a nod of approval one would give an underling for perfectly doing a menial task. Yang Qing chose to conveniently ignore it.
POP
Yi Jie uncorked the wine gourd as he skillfully poured a crystal clear wine that had tinges of blue in it onto the wine urns placed around the table. The scent of the wine was refreshing and adding the nature look of Yang Qing's abode it made one think they were laying lazily on the grass to the sound of a gently flowing river by their feet.
"Yi Jie you really outdid yourself….When you get time please make another barrel for me," Dai Chen who couldn't hold himself back excitingly said as he took another sip of the wine.
The wine was gentle and mellow but it also had a pleasant heaviness to it. Everyone present couldn't help but have their eyes light up when they had a sip except for Cao Ying and his friends who couldn't have any due to their low cultivation realm.
The hundred-leaf sugarcane wine may be gentle but should anyone below the core formation realm drink even a sip of it they would feel like an exploding volcano filled with turbulent energy. The energy contained in the wine was too much for Cao Ying and the rest to handle. Thus they could only look on enviously as they munched on the spring rolls and some ginseng tea. Though Feng Xin was kind enough to give them a few pieces of the rapid snapper cottonmouth.
"Yi Jie you can stay in my nest for a month," the celestial nesting weaver offhandedly said as it rolled over to take another sip of its wine. It couldn't be bothered to hold the wine urn with its wings when it could conveniently roll over with little effort.
"Thanks," said Yi Jie as he nodded in gratitude.
"This lazy thing must have really been pleased with the wine..well that works well for me since I had intended for it to let Yi Jie stay over to increase his chances of breaking through to the palace stage faster. This saves me the treasures that I would have spent convincing it," Yang Qing gleefully thought.
"So the false kings who are they?" Zheng Hu asked. The rest paid apt attention too as they ate their barbecued meat with the hundred leaf sugar cane wine.
The Order had no presence in the green fog region and it wasn't only them but other organizations and sects too. The green fog region was recognized as a spirit beast territory that no human would dream of conquering not unless the two holy lands tried their hand. Though with the map drawn by the soul formation adventurer highlighting the region's power distribution, it was a doubt that even the holy lands would dare try their hands in that place especially considering there was a zone that even the soul formation expert didn't dare step into. Just the boundary itself had made the soul formation expert stay rooted for a month before he used every willpower he had just to move. It, therefore, became evident how dangerous the green fog region could be.
"They are the rulers of the region we stay in. They are spirit beasts who have won the approval and fear of all the spirit beasts in the region due to their ferocious might. There are three in total and the youngest of them is Li Lun, the green flash viper, followed by Liao Ying the black cosmos caiman, and lastly Su Gen the dystopian gaze turtle.
Dong Gen is the oldest of the three. As far as I can remember he has always been a false king for the past three thousand years firmly retaining his position while Li Lun and Liao Ying rose into prominence in the past hundred years or so," Bolin paused a bit to take a sip of the wine as he felt a bit unnerved having so many pair of eyes on him.
"So the green flash viper is a false king. Explains how he managed to escape me," said Feng Xin.
"Could you gauge his realm?" Kang Huilang asked as he ate the rapid snapper cotton mouth with relish.
"Probably just broke through to the 9th stage core formation realm," Feng Xin said as he held his chin in contemplation.
"If he is at the 9th stage and he is the youngest then the rest might be at the 10th stage maybe the dystopian gaze turtle is at the peak stage of the core formation realm since he is the oldest and has retained the title of false king the longest. Has your friend Li Lun ever met the turtle, if so what did he say the turtle's realm was?" asked Zheng Hu.
"Li Lun met him once when his renowned got far and wide for him to be dubbed a false king. He had gone to challenge the dystopian gaze turtle however not a single word of what happened in their duel got out including even the location. When I asked Li Lun what happened, he never gave a response but his whole attitude changed. He got more reserved and reigned in himself. He mostly concerned himself with cultivating instead of making a name for himself.
I can only guess something must have happened in the duel to make him change so much. Though he wasn't even injured from the duel which made it even stranger.
Of the three false kings, Dong Gen is not only the oldest but also the most mysterious. He has no subordinates and no fixed territory to speak of," said Bolin.
"That turtle may not be simple," said Yi Jie.
"With their strength why are they false kings though?" Cao Ying asked as his eyes shown in excitement. He had not yet decided which route he would go once he finished his studies. Hearing the tale of the green fog region had him leaning more to the inquisitor's side so he could see the sights and make a name for himself.
"It's because though they are strong they are not the strongest. There is a true overlord of that region that I think even the three of them combined can't hope to defeat him.
I saw him once when I broke through to the core formation realm. Just his gaze alone knocked me unconscious. I'm not even sure why he left me alive. Maybe I was beneath his attention. That was the scariest moment of my life. It was why I became a recluse," Bolin self-deprecatingly said. He still gets terrors and blackouts when he thinks of that experience.
"The green fog region is really as dangerous as the senior said. Feng Xin, you may be lucky you didn't stumble onto it as even you might have to go all out to escape it. What's a spirit beast of that level doing in the eighth zone? I wonder if…," Yang Qing said as his eyes flashed.
"What about the second false king, the black cosmos caiman how is he?" Cao Ying asked completely engrossed in the power scaling.
"Treacherous, violent, bloodthirsty, greedy, maddened with power, cunning and cowardly. He is more.." Bolin was already trembling with anger before he hurriedly closed his mouth because his next words wouldn't bode well for the present company.
"Human than spirit beast is what you wanted to say," Yang Qing said as he playfully smiled.
"Master I..I..I…," Bolin stammered not knowing what to say.
"It's okay you are not wrong we are that way. It seems the one to be wary of is the black cosmos caiman and not the rest," gently said Yang Qing.
…
A million miles away in a foggy forest, a creature could be seen limping and wheezing as it painfully dragged something by its mouth. The area was filled with destroyed trees and broken ground like a terrifying battle had just taken place.
"Li Lun I can't believe you hid your power so well,"
