The Extreme Alchemist of the Mighty Cauldron

Yang Wanshan came over leisurely, a smile graced his features. Four middle-aged men followed persistently behind him, all dressed in official robes. Clearly, they were esteemed officials of the Daqian court. Otherwise, they would not be qualified to accompany Yang Wanshan.

Fang Lin and Yang Pojun both rose to their feet, bowing their fists in respect to Yang Wanshan.

“Brother, we were just chatting,” Yang Pojun respectfully said.

Yang Wanshan looked at Fang Lin, then turned his gaze to Yang Pojun, and laughed, “It’s a good coincidence to run into you guys. How about we go to the Imperial Beast Garden together?”

“Imperial Beast Garden?” Fang Lin’s face appeared puzzled.

Yang Pojun explained, “A garden has been constructed within the palace, where many rare and exotic beasts are kept. It’s an excellent place for leisure.”

Yang Wanshan smiled and said, “As Fang Lin’s first visit to the capital, he should explore it properly. Otherwise, wouldn’t the trip be in vain?”

Hearing this, Fang Lin didn’t refuse. After all, he had nothing to do. It would be lovely to visit.

Immediately, the group headed towards the Imperial Beast Garden. On the way, Fang Lin met the four middle-aged men following Yang Wanshan, all of whom indeed held high positions in the court.

Furthermore, Fang Lin noticed that these four officials seemed to be Yang Wanshan’s most trusted advisors, all showing deference to him in their speech and conduct.

Moreover, Fang Lin noted a subtle hostility towards Yang Pojun from the four men. Although it was faint, Fang Lin could still detect it.

As a common soldier, Yang Pojun was not as perceptive as Fang Lin and did not notice anything amiss.

It took the group over half an hour to reach the so-called Imperial Beast Garden.

Gazing at the entrance of the garden, one could see numerous guards clad in red armor, all exuding an extraordinary presence.

“The Imperial Beast Garden is a vital place, guarded by experts to prevent beasts from escaping,” explained Yang Wanshan, noticing the surprise on Fang Lin’s face.

“There are Demon Beasts inside?” Fang Lin exclaimed, even more surprised. He thought the Imperial Beast Garden only housed rare and exotic beasts, but he hadn’t expected Demon Beasts as well.

“Haha, without Demon Beasts, this place wouldn’t hold much appeal for us,” laughed Yang Wanshan.

Fang Lin nodded, agreeing. Initially, he wasn’t particularly interested in the Imperial Beast Garden. However, hearing that there were Demon Beasts inside, his interest was piqued, and he looked forward to exploring it.

“Greetings to the two princes!” The team leader of the guards in red armor at the entrance of the Beast Garden greeted Yang Wanshan and Yang Pojun.

Yang Wanshan nodded and said, “We’re here to visit. Please open up the garden, Leader Mo.”

The towering Leader Mo nodded, pulled out a Token and placed it into a beast-head sculpture beside the entrance, which matched perfectly.

A flash of light blinked, the golden light curtain originally covering the entrance disappeared.

“Princes, please.” Leader Mo cleared the way and made an inviting gesture.

Yang Wanshan led the group, with Fang Lin and Yang Pojun behind him, and Yang Wanshan’s four confidants at the end.

Yet, one of the middle-aged men exchanged a glance with Leader Mo, and both had a certain depth in their eyes.

Upon entering the Imperial Beast Garden, it felt like an entirely different world.

Everywhere they looked was filled with lush forests. As they walked the cobblestone path through the woods, faint roars of ferocious beasts could be heard.

“This Imperial Beast Garden comprises of three layers, the outer being home to common mountain beasts, the next tier houses rarer, exotic beasts, and the innermost confines Demon Beasts,” Yang Wanshan explained as they walked.

“As we’re walking here, no beasts will leap out to attack us, will they?” Fang Lin blinked and asked.

Yang Wanshan gave a slight smile. Before he could reply, a spotted leopard suddenly sprang out from the thick forest next to them, rushing directly towards the group.

Fang Lin was about to take action, but noticed that the others remained motionless.

Bang!

The leopard crashed into a light curtain, whimpered and scurried back into the forest disheartened.

“So,there is an array on both sides of this road,” Fang Lin exclaimed in surprise.

“This is the royal garden after all. Naturally, all measures are put in place,” said Yang Pojun.

“Prince Yang Qianjun is right; this is just the outer layer, where the strength of the array is ordinary, aimed only at preventing these beasts from rushing out. If we reach the inner layer, the array there is quite secure. However, the Demon Beasts will often attack the array, trying to escape from the garden,” said one middle-aged man.

Fang Lin asked curiously, “Has any Demon Beast ever escaped?”

That middle-aged man smiled and shook his head, “As far as I know, there hasn’t been.”

Yang Wanshan interjected, “Actually, one has. Several decades ago, a highly dangerous Demon Beast escaped from the inner layer, massacring a team of royal guards. However, it was eventually subdued and killed by palace experts.”

Yang Pojun added, “But that was decades ago. Since the incident, the array in the inner layer has been strengthened, and no Demon Beasts have escaped in the following years.”

The group continued to chat while walking, the atmosphere extremely pleasant. Before they knew it, they had reached the inner layer.

“Huh? What’s that?” Asked Fang Lin, curiously observing an exotic beast perched on a tree nearby.

The beast had three arms, but the third one was on top of its head. Outwardly, it appeared to be a hand, but describing it as a feeler seemed more appropriate.

“This beast is known as Touching Sky, extremely rare, and was brought here just five years ago. It’s still immature,” explained Yang Wanshan.

“It’s so ugly,” Fang Lin grimaced.

The others were speechless. This was a rare and exotic beast; despite its strange appearance, it was highly valuable and had potential to become a Demon Beast.

“Wow!” Suddenly, Fang Lin let out a shout and ran up to a fluffy little creature nearby, then squatted down and stared intently at it.

Before Fang Lin, a tiny fur ball, the size of a fist, lay on a rock. Its round eyes were full of curiosity as they gazed at Fang Lin.

The furball had two tiny legs. If one didn’t look closely, they could hardly notice its legs.

Fang Lin’s face was filled with delight, his eyes seemingly glowing. It looked like he wanted nothing more than to touch the fluffy little creature.

The little creature wasn’t scared at all and stared at Fang Lin through the array barrier, blinking its eyes from time to time.

The rest walked over and saw Fang Lin, like a child, laying on the ground, having a staring contest with the tiny furball. They couldn’t help but hide a smile.

“What is this little guy?” Fang Lin asked without turning his head, seemingly afraid that shifting his gaze would make the adorable furball disappear.