I haven't decided on a name for my Pokémon trainer yet.

Ye Feng had no intention of doing something so dangerous.

Anyway, according to what Dream said, once Arceus finds a few stone tablets, it can regain some of its power and wake up. As for the rest, just let it find them on its own.

As for where it sleeps... it's still in this world. Finding Arceus is easier than finding the stone tablet, right?

After a brief discussion, the first stop on this trip was naturally to find Ho-Oh, something Marshadow had been clamoring about for days.

Using the connection left by Ho-Oh to Mew, the group (Pokémon) arrived at the secret realm where Ho-Oh was located.

Marcia was overjoyed; it could finally see Ho-Oh, whom it had been longing to see!

The secret realm where Ho-Oh resides is formed by the fusion of the secret realms of Entei, Suicune, and Raikou.

"What brings you here?" On Mount Tianqing, the Phoenix King stood atop a withered giant tree, looking down at Ye Feng and the others.

"Uh..." Ye Feng felt a considerable pressure and quickly pushed Marshall forward, "This guy claims to be your loyal subordinate and is insisting on seeing you..."

"Hmm?" Ho-Oh looked at the small, black Marshadow with a puzzled expression on its face.

“Phoenix, Phoenix King…” Marshall looked a little nervous and could barely speak.

Little Huba perched on Ye Feng's head and chuckled.

"?" Ho-Oh couldn't help but glance at Hoopa, an elf he'd never seen before...

"Who are you, and what do you want with me?" Phoenix King asked Marcia.

"Lord Ho-Oh!" Marshadow shouted, "You may not remember, but Marshadow will always remember that you saved me! So, I have always wanted to repay you!"

"Marshad?" Ho-Oh looked thoughtful, as if recalling something for a long time, and slowly said, "If I remember correctly, a long time ago, a group of elves was attacked by evil elves. I happened to be passing by and helped out, but unfortunately only one little guy survived. Could it be that you..."

“That’s right!” Marshall was overjoyed; he hadn’t expected Ho-Oh to remember this.

"I see..." Ho-Oh nodded. "Then what do you want from me?"

"Marshad has always wanted to be Ho-Oh's most loyal subordinate!" Marshad shouted.

"I don't need any subordinates," Phoenix King said calmly.

“But…” Marshall looked at the three holy beasts standing quietly to the side, hesitant to speak.

The three sacred beasts revealed sharp eyes and exchanged glances.

Lei Gong: It seems like some guy is trying to steal our jobs?

Emperor Yan: It's alright, we are guards, and it is his subordinate. Our positions are different.

Suijun: That's right, bodyguards are much more prestigious than subordinates.

"They're not my subordinates, they're... guards, I suppose," Ho-Oh said uncertainly. It felt that perhaps the word "assistants" would be more appropriate, but saying it that way seemed to lower its prestige.

Although the three legendary beasts have always been known as Ho-Oh's guardians, this was not Ho-Oh's original intention in reviving them. Therefore, Ho-Oh has never had much contact with the three legendary beasts, only encountering them once or twice when going out to take photos (not really).

However, something happened later that changed Ho-Oh's mind.

At that time, the secret realm where Ho-Oh was located was about to collapse. Although it could escape, the Pokémon inside would suffer. Ho-Oh was unable to spare any attention and could only send out a message for help to the outside world.

The three legendary beasts, resurrected by the sacred fire, naturally had the closest connection with Ho-Oh. Upon receiving the information, they immediately rushed to help and successfully assisted Ho-Oh in transferring the Pokémon inside.

After this incident, Ho-Oh accepted the presence of the three legendary beasts as its protectors. The three legendary beasts provided Ho-Oh with a secret realm to live in when it was "homeless." Ho-Oh simply merged the secret realm together, and the four Pokémon lived in it together.

Ho-Oh discovered that sometimes being powerful doesn't mean it can do everything; sometimes, a few reliable guards can still provide considerable help.

These things were beyond Ye Feng's knowledge—he still thought the Phoenix King was trapped by some kind of seal.

“Then I can be Ho-Oh’s guard too!” Marshall exclaimed.

"You?" Before Phoenix King could speak, Flame Emperor stepped forward, looking at Marshall with disdain. "With your meager strength, you can't even protect yourself. How can you be worthy of being a guard?"

Marcia was so angry that her face turned red, and she stammered for a long time without being able to speak.

Its weakness left it speechless.

"Alright, Emperor Yan." Phoenix King stopped Emperor Yan, who was about to say something, and looked at Marshado, saying, "I don't need any guards or subordinates. However, this secret realm is very large, so you can stay here."

Emperor Yan curled his lip.

The secret realm where Ho-Oh now resides is a fusion of the original secret realms of the three Holy Beasts. Its scale has surpassed that of a large secret realm. Not to mention a single Marshado, even an entire Marshado clan could easily be brought here.

"Thank you, Phoenix King!" Marshall shouted happily.

I need to increase my strength quickly, to become stronger than Emperor Ent and the others, so I can definitely become Ho-Oh's subordinate...

No, they should be called guards!

Thinking this, Marshado felt full of energy, and a red light flashed in his eyes.

This ray of red light was detected by Ho-Oh, who had been observing Marshall.

However, since Marshadow's eyes were originally orange-red and it was looking up at itself, Ho-Oh didn't think much of it, assuming it was just too excited or due to light reflection.

···

After resolving the issue with Marcia, Ye Feng and Meng Huan embarked on a journey to find the stone tablet.

Chapter 307 An Encounter in the Forest

Heilongjiang Province, the Greater Khingan Mountains primeval forest, roughly in the center.

As Ye Feng rode his Arcanine and gazed at the towering ancient trees, he couldn't help but look at Little Hoopa.

Hoopa blinked and looked at Gyarados. Gyarados paused for a moment, then looked at Arcanine. Arcanine turned to look at Ye Feng.

What kind of weird closed loop is this? Ye Feng was speechless and couldn't help but tap Arcanine on the head.

Around them lay a pile of Bug-type Pokémon, their bodies charred black and unconscious; the surrounding area was a mess, marked by both fire and water damage.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Ye Feng asked.

Little Hoopa scratched his head and said, "Dream was talking about this place, but the area is too big, so Hoopa could only choose the very center."

Ye Feng sighed.

Following the location given by Mew, they teleported here using Hoopa's Teleport Ring, but before they could even get a foothold, they were attacked by a large group of Bug-type Pokémon.

In a panic, Arcanine unleashed a torrent of flames, managing to repel the Bug-type Pokémon, but at the cost of setting the forest ablaze. Ye Feng reacted swiftly, immediately releasing Gyarados to spray water and extinguish the fire.

Setting fire to a mountain will land you in jail for life; setting fire to a forest is about the same, isn't it?

Fortunately, this city is far from human habitation and almost no one comes here, so there's no need to worry about being discovered.

"Speaking of which, we've really arrived at a... very remote place." Ye Feng tugged at his collar and asked Rotom to check the location, only to find that he had actually arrived in the Greater Khingan Mountains in northern China.

This is a vast primeval forest, an undeveloped and sparsely populated area teeming with wild creatures, making it a relatively dangerous region.

Ye Feng was no longer a novice trainer and had extensive experience in wilderness survival. After repelling the first wave of Bug-type Pokémon that suddenly attacked, he released Gardevoir and Togekiss to keep watch.

The Dream Helper trained Togekiss in using Aura, and now Togekiss's perception ability is even stronger than Gardevoir's.

After all, waveguides are more comprehensive in their ability to perceive things than superpowers; everything has waveguide capabilities...

When waveguides perceive, it's as if a map appears in the mind, presenting everything perceived like a holographic image—this is Ye Feng's guess; he doesn't know exactly what it looks like, since he doesn't know how to use waveguides.

Anyway, that's roughly how it's portrayed in the animation.

"Alright, we'll just have to look for it slowly. Little Huba, you can go back now," Ye Feng said.

"Okay, remember to call me if you need anything." Little Huba waved and left through the fishing ring.

Ye Feng had a lanyard wrapped around his wrist, left behind by Xiao Hupa, specifically for communication.

Watching Little Huba leave, Ye Feng couldn't help but mutter, "That Dreamy guy actually said he had other things to do and told me to find it myself. What a joke, this place is so big, how am I supposed to find it?"

"Pokekiss, have you found anything?" Ye Feng asked Pokekiss.

“Keepes…” Tokiss closed his eyes and began to sense things with his waveguide. After a while, he opened his eyes in a daze.

"What? You're saying there are waveguides made of stone slabs all over here?" Ye Feng was dumbfounded.

What's going on? The game *Fantasy Westward Journey* never mentioned this situation.

Could the stone slabs have transformed into the earth? Or a forest? Stone slabs with ground-like properties? Or perhaps stone slabs with grass-like properties? What a fantastical turn of events!

"Is there anything special about it?" Ye Feng was at a loss; there was simply no way to find something like that.

"Kiss!" Pokkis pointed north—or maybe north, Ye Feng couldn't quite place the direction.

Are there many humans there? Ye Feng narrowed his eyes.

Who would come to a place like this? Could it be some adventure team looking for resources?

"Let's go take a look," Ye Feng said. "Be careful not to get spotted."

Before confirming the other party's identity, Ye Feng decided not to alert them.

If the trainer is from China, it's fine; communication shouldn't be a problem. But if it's from abroad, they might start fighting.

Ye Feng did not let Pokkis go up to observe from the sky, as there were tall trees everywhere, and the branches and leaves blocked out everything.

Following Pokkiss's instructions, Ye Feng approached the group without making a sound.

Along the way, they encountered many traps, all of which would sound an alarm if touched. However, with Togekiss by his side, Ye Feng easily avoided those traps.

These people have a lot of experience in the wild. Ye Feng thought to himself, they don't seem to be ordinary trainers.

However, since they've set a trap, it means they don't have any Pokémon that can sense it, so there's no need to worry about being discovered.