Chapter 621: Cheeky Gumiho

The news of the mysterious disappearance of Bai Chengsheng and Lin Feng slowly began spreading through the human army as several months passed since they vanished.

Multiple scouting units, containing hundreds of cultivators, were deployed in search of the duo. Every search ended in a dead end. There was no clue of them at all. It was as if they had never even existed in the first place.

Lin Feng’s disappearance wasn’t particularly worrying. He was just a commander of a battalion. What caused unrest within the human faction was Bai Chengsheng’s disappearance.

He was the War Marshal, a Demi-God, and an indispensable part of the human army. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that he alone represented twenty percent of the army’s strength.

As the search for him became more desperate, the news naturally leaked to the beast clans as well. It caused the beasts to become more aggressive in the war, causing the human army to suffer losses at other strongholds.

Now that only two active War Marshals remained in the human army, the balance shifted towards the beasts.

The humans had no choice but to retreat. An unannounced truce settled between the two races, which would most likely remain in place for several years until either Bai Chengsheng come back or a new Demi-God arise.

---

"Master, is Bai Chengsheng’s disappearance your doing?" Gumiho asked Maximilian, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

The duo were sitting at the peak of the mountain, which was filled with spirit animals and plants.

The leaves glowed with a faint emerald light. Flowers of different shapes, sizes, and colors were spread across the lush ground. White deer in translucent forms danced around a pond, moving through the air. A golden tiger slept peacefully beneath the shade of a tree while a herd of large red elephants moved through the forest.

The entire mountain seemed like a place that had been separated from the heavens and brought down to earth.

Maximilian moved his gaze from the sight towards Gumiho, who was sitting beside him. "You are certainly overestimating me," he shrugged, feigning ignorance. "I’m only a True Sage Cultivator. How can I kill a Demi-God?"

"I never said that you killed him," Gumiho’s voice grew even more suspicious. She released a small gasp as she continued, "Does that mean you actually killed him?"

’This little fox is annoyingly perceptive,’ Maximilian muttered to himself. His fingers reached her forehead and flicked it. "If you say that to anyone else, I might get hunted down by the entire human army. Demi-Gods have a vast lifespan. Disappearing for a dozen years is completely normal for them if they find a sudden insight and go into seclusion to cultivate. Not to mention, it has only been eight months since Bai Chengsheng disappeared."

"And it happened exactly after you said that you would do something to make sure the situation wouldn’t escalate between humans and beasts," Gumiho retorted, clearly not believing him. "The timing is too perfect to be a coincidence."

"Y-you little brat," Maximilian raised his hand again, but Gumiho immediately skidded away from him, holding her forehead with both hands.

"Are you trying to silence me now that I have caught on to your lie?" she asked in a smug tone.

Maximilian pressed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger. After a brief pause, he revealed, "I planned to rebuild the destroyed array of the Baihu Stronghold to increase its defences so the human army wouldn’t push further into the beasts’ territory. For the past eight months, I’ve been working on it together with Lord Vyomendra and a few array masters from the Tiger Clan. Bai Chengsheng’s disappearance has nothing to do with me."

"O-oh," Gumiho finally seemed convinced. She rose to her feet as she continued, "That actually makes sense. You are just a True Sage. If you really fought Bai Chengsheng, you would have died a dog’s death."

The moment she said those words, she tried to make a run for her life. She had only taken a couple of steps when Maximilian grabbed her by the back of her neck.

"I see that you are becoming increasingly disrespectful to your master," he muttered, his golden eyes narrowing at her. "I must have been too lenient with you."

"M-master, it was just a jest," Gumiho murmured, taking a nervous gulp. "Gumiho really respects Master. You aren’t petty enough to punish your disciple, right?"

Her words only caused Maximilian’s gaze to turn even more intense. "When a disciple is out of line, the best way to teach them discipline is through a good old spanking."

Gumiho flinched, her fluffy ears turning straight. "A-Anything but that, Master," she whimpered. "Only children receive spanking. It would be too humiliating for me to receive one at my age."

She joined her hands as she pleaded, "At least take my title as a Goddess into consideration."

She blinked her eyes twice. "Pwease~"

"Hah...." Maximilian released a sigh, removing his hand from her neck. He turned back and returned to his spot. "Come here and tell me about your cultivation progress."

Maximilian couldn’t see it, but he could feel that she was grinning from ear to ear behind her veil. She came back beside him, practically bouncing on her toes.

"My master~" She grabbed his arm with both hands, rubbing her cheek against it. "You are the best. When I grow strong enough, I will teach a lesson to everyone who bullied you."

"Enough with your fake love and tell me about your growth," Maximilian demanded with a frown. He would never let her know that he secretly liked her cheeky behaviour.

"It isn’t fake," she retorted before explaining, "I have successfully formed a connection with the World Seed. When I cultivate by channeling my Soulforce into it, I can see several places on Vyoman that I have never seen in real life. The experience of learning about this beautiful world has increased my cultivation speed at an unprecedented rate."

For the next full hour, she blurted out every last thing that she had experienced during her eight months of continuous cultivation.