Chongming crashed into the secret realm. Failing to control its momentum, it rolled twice and tumbled head over heels. Its sharp, long beak was embedded straight into the ground.

Full of disgust, it shook its head. “The smell is still so revolting! Just you wait! Once I recover my cultivation, you damned scoundrels are done for! Reckless fools!”

At the sight of the crimson mist filling the sky, its gaze instantly grew frigid.

“You dare meddle with this stuff? Just as I thought!” The more it spoke, the angrier it became. “I shouldn’t have come today!”

Just then, it seemed to remember something and sighed. “Forget it. If it weren’t for Little Yun, I couldn’t be bothered with whether you live or die! You brought this all upon yourselves! You deserve to die!”

As it spoke, it slowly walked deeper. Threads of red mist continuously drifted over, only to be repelled by its multicolored, five-hued feathers. The divine power, which made countless people tremble in fear, actually had no effect on it at all.

All of a sudden, it seemed to sense something. “Hmm? This aura... Something’s wrong! How did even something like this get in! You really won’t let me have a moment’s peace!”

With that, it instantly transformed into a streak of light and vanished.

***

On a small hillside, Zhi Xuan caressed the small white jade bottle in her hand. Delight filled her as she held it, unwilling to let go.

She was smiling from ear to ear, her eyes almost curving into two crescents. “Hehehe! Divine essence! With this, I can save myself a lot of effort! How wonderful! If it weren’t for you, who knows how long it would have taken me to obtain this divine essence—”

In the next moment, she suddenly stiffened, dropping the jade bottle. Chongming slowly emerged from the rolling mist, walking toward her.

Upon seeing Zhi Xuan, it seemed momentarily dazed before quickly regaining its solemn, imposing demeanor.

“Audacious!” Light shimmered across its multicolored, five-hued feathers. As it emanated a faint, terrifying pressure, its pupils split into two. “Petty demoness! I can tell with just one glance that you are not human!”

Even its tone was vastly different from before—sacred, majestic, and not to be profaned. Chongming’s aura erupted, suppressing Zhi Xuan so thoroughly she had not a shred of power to resist.

Her face turned deathly pale as her eyes filled with terror. ”How can this be...?”

As much as she wanted to flee, she couldn’t muster an ounce of strength in her entire body. Even her proud, formidable soul power was useless. The rooster before her gave her a feeling completely different from Gu Tian.

If Gu Tian’s effect was more of a suppression based on hierarchy, then Chongming was her natural nemesis. The creature seemed to inherently and overwhelmingly counter her, surpassing mere strength and level. Just one glance from those double pupils made her feel like her soul would scatter.

Chongming slowly approached.

“Consider yourself unlucky to encounter me, you little demon!” It spread its wings, soared into the air, and roared, “Great and mighty...”

A sacred aura descended. Her eyes flickered with despair as she reverted to her original form. Gu Han would have recognized her at a glance.

It was Liu Ying, the demoness! She sighed softly and closed her eyes. Facing her natural enemy, she simply had no chance to survive. However, just as she accepted her fate, the anticipated destructive blow never came.

Chongming hovered in place. Not only had its sacred aura vanished, but its pupils had also returned to normal.

It scratched its head, muttering to itself, “Great... Great what was it again? How did I forget again? Why does this address sound so familiar? Forget it!”

Then, it slapped its head. “I’m not going to think about it! It’s not the first time I’ve forgotten! First, let’s take care of business—huh? She ran away?”

When it regained its senses, it had already lost the demoness.

It snorted coldly. “Consider yourself lucky! Next time you bump into me, you won’t be so fortunate!”

Saying so, it fixed its gaze on the jade bottle. “Divine power essence? Not bad, my trip wasn’t in vain this time!”

It opened its beak and sucked in the jade bottle before starting another round of complaints. “Little Yun is really something. Handing this thing over to those greedy people is just a waste, isn’t it? What kind of damn talents can a broken place like this produce? Better to—huh?”

Suddenly, a terrifyingly powerful might instantly spread over. The space itself began to distort.

Its eyes immediately narrowed. “Saint realm? Daring to use such power here? If you shatter the secret realm, all of you will be done for! Bunch of bastards, truly beyond saving!”

In the next moment, it disappeared again.

***

The indifference in the divine emissary’s eyes had been replaced by boundless shock and fury. A group of monsters had gathered behind him, kneeling on the ground, continuously channeling their power into him.

Not far ahead, a fist-sized sphere of light hovered. Its gentle appearance hid a violent, destructive force. In fact, that was how the divine emissary lost one-third of his body. Just the slightest contact dealt so much damage.

This was Chu Kuang’s hidden trump card, a Saint Weapon. Even with divine power reinforcement, the divine emissary simply couldn’t withstand it.

Chu Kuang burst out laughing.

“Who’s the ant now?! Not just you, but also you!” Suddenly, he shifted his gaze to Gu Han in the distance. “You are also an ant!”

Gu Han’s heart sank and he instinctively retreated. “Fellow Daoist Chu, what do you mean?”

Chu Kuang stared intently at him. “You are quite the schemer! Whether it’s Gu Han or Jiang Xuan! Today, all of you shall vanish into nothingness for me!”

Following his will, a trace of power separated from the sphere of light and flew toward Gu Han. How could Gu Han possibly withstand the power of the Saint realm? He spat out a mouthful of blood.

Without hesitation, he erupted completely. Even though his cultivation had advanced to the fourth stage of the Spirit Profound realm, it could only slightly slow the grinding speed of that blow. Once his spirit power was exhausted, he would inevitably be worn away.

Chu Kuang saw through him right away. “So you really are Gu Han! I don’t know how you did it, but I have ultimately underestimated you! This has cost me greatly! My plans are in shambles because of you! Even my backup plans have been forced out! How should I repay you?”

Although his tone was calm, the hatred within was palpable to anyone.

Gu Han gritted his teeth, his spirit power visibly being worn away. “No need for that! I am naturally kind-hearted!”

Yuan Gang’s face was dark. “You’re still bragging shamelessly! Facing death and still talking tough!”

Meng Xing staggered to his feet, filled with venomous resentment and unwillingness. “Gu Han, savor it well! This feeling of despair, death creeping closer, and no way to flee!”

Now, besides hatred, he also felt a slight fear toward Gu Han. After all, he was so close to being destroyed by Gu Han.

Suddenly, the divine emissary’s roar sounded again in the distance. “My god shall not be defiled!”

With only half of his body remaining, he simply gave up resistance. Kneeling on the ground, he murmured incessantly, “Please bestow power upon your servant! Exterminate all these ants!”

The surrounding red mist seemed to gain life. With violent momentum, it surged toward him, wrapping him in a gigantic blood cocoon. Meanwhile, the monsters behind him remained motionless, their bodies withered. They never stopped channeling their core power into the blood cocoon.

For a moment, the blood cocoon’s might surged, showing signs of contending equally with the Saint Weapon. The collapse of the secret realm instantly accelerated.

Yuan Gang’s heart sank. “This is a disaster! Junior Brother, this—”

Just then, a streak of light flew in from the distance and plummeted to the ground.

Chongming pulled its head out, vigorously shook its wings, scattering all the red soil from its body. “Next time, I mustn't fly so fast!”

Yuan Gang and Meng Xing were instantly dumbfounded. Even in the midst of a life-and-death crisis, Gu Han couldn’t help but do a double take. A chicken? Where did this chicken come from?

No one noticed Chu Kuang trembling slightly at the sight of Chongming.

Staring back and forth between the sphere of light and the blood cocoon, Chongming erupted in fury.

“Who did this?! You’ve turned a perfectly good God-Slaying Formation into this ghastly mess! I won’t let you off—huh?” It suddenly fixed its gaze on Chu Kuang. “I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before...”