Upon seeing that somewhat dimmed divine chain of order, Chongming’s gaze instantly turned cold. “A bunch of idiots seeking death on their own! Simply and unbelievably foolish!”

The bronze arm struggled even more violently, red light coiling around it as endless blood-red divine power rained down. It transformed into a thick, red radiance that seeped into the dying giant.

The giant roared in pain, pounding the ground with all four thick arms. Even the incomparably hard blood crystals were shattered into countless cracks.

Soon, the giant swelled up once again. One hundred, two hundred, before stopping at three hundred zhang. The five-colored divine flame was also worn away by the endless divine power.

Gu Han could barely speak, resisting the red mist with all his might. Still, he was worried. The giant was stronger than ever! This is bad! Can Master Rooster handle it?

As it slowly rose back to its knees, the giant stared coldly at Chongming. “By the order of our god, we bestow death upon you!”

Chongming turned around, its tone icy. “You’re just a divine servant! It seems like I’ve given you too much face!”

In the next moment, the giant knelt down once more. “Divine retribution!”

Its vertical eye opened once more, releasing a deep red beam more overbearing than ever.

With a cold snort, Chongming charged straight at the beam. It was so fast that its multicolored divine light trailed into a long, colorful ribbon of light.

Gu Han’s eyes widened. The ribbon of light had taken the shape of a sword!

At that very moment, Chongming’s voice came over once more. “Great Might Divine Sword!”

The colorful sword light cleaved straight through the beam and pierced the giant’s vertical eye.

The giant managed only one word before the light in its eyes rapidly faded. “I—”

Then, it collapsed heavily to the ground. Gu Han was completely dumbfounded. Chongming had just used an immensely powerful sword dao divine technique. While his heart was stirred with longing, he was also greatly puzzled. How does a chicken have such profound sword dao attainment?!

Before he could ask, a wave of furious emotion suddenly filled the area. As if sensing the situation below, the bronze arm thrashed with unprecedented intensity. At the same time, the slightly dull chain of order dimmed further, as if it could be torn apart at any moment. The red mist instantly ran amok.

In just a few breaths, Gu Han’s protective spirit light was suppressed to just three cun in front of him. His heart sank. Even if the arm couldn’t escape completely, a snapped divine chain would unleash catastrophic repercussions. The first to suffer would definitely be him.

This is terrible! Master Rooster, it’s up to you!

Struggling, he looked up at Chongming, bathed in swirling five-colored divine light. It looked majestic and overbearing.

Chongming shouted through gritted teeth, “If I let you break free, what face would I have left?!”

Divine light blazed brilliantly as it took a step forward, instantly arriving before that dimmed chain of order. Its double pupils swirled with unceasing five-colored radiance, transforming into two dazzling streams of light that shot straight at the divine chain.

“Great Might God-Slayer!”

In an instant, an additional layer of splendor stabilized the chain. The bronze arm struggled less and less, until it gave up entirely. The countless runes in the sky trembled faintly. Soon, the chains and arm vanished into the void, disappearing without a trace. Having lost its support, the red mist also settled down, solidifying into bright red blood crystals again.

Gu Han exhaled deeply in relief. That was close... That will almost invaded my body again. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Weariness flickered in Chongming’s eyes. The ordeal seemed to have taken a great toll on it.

Chongming glanced casually at Gu Han, only to be captivated by the sword in his hand. “Hmm? Your sword...”

Gu Han was startled. “My sword? What about it?”

Chongming didn’t answer, confusion flickering in its eyes. The double pupils reverted back to normal. Finally, it shot back. “It’s so ugly! I’ve never seen such an ugly sword in all my life!”

The corner of Gu Han’s mouth twitched. He instantly concluded that the old Master Rooster was back.

Chongming took another look. “...Still, as ugly as it is, it’s still a good sword. Also, that sword technique you used earlier, it was guided by killing intent, wasn’t it? Fueled by cultivation, it pursued nothing but pure killing power, with no flair. Although it looks unremarkable, it is the ultimate method leading to the supreme sword dao! Tsk, that’s quite impressive!”

Gu Han’s heart skipped a beat. What Chongming said was almost word-for-word identical to the records in the Great Evolution Sword Scripture.

It only took Master Rooster a glance to grasp the mystery of the Kill Sword?

Recalling the divine ability Chongming had displayed earlier, an idea stirred in his heart. “Master Rooster, you seem to know a lot about the sword?”

Chongming was unusually modest. “Hey! Just a tiny bit.”

Gu Han was dumbfounded. A little bit? Or a billion bits?

Chongming sighed. “Compared to Little Yun, my meager sword dao cultivation isn’t even fit to carry his shoes! What exactly was he—”

“He?”

A touch of melancholy entered Chongming’s tone. “This so-called ’god’ was something he chopped off when he was severely wounded and near death. This God-Slaying Formation is also something he came up with. I’m just picking up crumbs from his table!”

Slaying a god? Near death? God-Slaying Formation? Gu Han’s mind was shaken to the core.

“There’s a rumor that a thousand years ago, a great battle outside the heavens happened. That was Little Yun.”

Gu Han fell silent. He finally understood why Chongming was so familiar with the God-Slaying Formation. The chicken knew the one who made it!

Recalling the past, Chongming sighed wistfully. “I watched him grow up. In less than five years after he started cultivating, he had reached the Transcendent realm. In ten years, he entered the Saint realm, leaving all his peers so far behind they couldn’t even see his shadow.

“He was also the most stunning sword dao prodigy I have ever seen. In less than a hundred years, he forged his own unique path in sword dao. Wherever he was, no one dared call themselves a prodigy! It was just too humiliating!”

Gu Han smiled bitterly. Transcendent in five years? Saint in ten years? The word “monstrous” can’t even describe this cultivation speed!

As for forging one’s own unique path in sword dao, he couldn’t quite grasp that concept yet.

Chongming rarely offered comfort but it did. “Don’t lose heart. You’re actually quite good too. It’s just compared to him, you’re still a billion bits short.”

“A little bit short?”

“Mhm, a billion bits[1].”

Gu Han was confused, but he wisely decided not to clarify. After some thought, he asked again, “Master Rooster, were the senior’s severe injuries related to Chu Kuang?”

Chongming was puzzled. “Chu Kuang? Who’s that?”

“That unlucky fella from before.”

Chongming’s tone was full of disdain. “Ah. A few hundred years ago, that guy accidentally discovered where we lived and got some crooked ideas. That was how he had his dao foundation severed by Little Yun.”

Gu Han suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for Chu Kuang. Even when severely wounded, that senior could still slay a god! To actually provoke someone like him is truly unlucky!

Chongming glanced upward and suddenly cursed, “Damn it! If it weren’t for these damn things, how could Little Yun have—I swear, I won’t let them off!”

Gu Han’s heart stirred. Could it be that the senior’s severe injuries were related to this so-called god?

Nevertheless, Chongming seemed unwilling to say more, so he didn’t press further. Seeing Chongming seemingly immersed in hatred, Gu Han secretly used his sword to poke at the layer of blood crystals on the ground.

It was too hard to poke through. A look of regret appeared on his face. If only these things could be taken out...

Looking up, he just happened to find Chongming tilting its head, looking at him. “Kid, what are you doing?”

Gu Han felt a bit awkward. “Nothing! Ahem... just feeling a bit regretful. With the secret realm gone, we probably won’t have another chance to get that divine essence.”

Chongming flared up in anger. “If it weren’t for those people messing around blindly, would this secret realm be gone?!”

Gu Han nodded repeatedly. “Exactly! My first time in, and I nearly died multiple times, yet I didn’t get a single drop of that divine essence. What a huge loss!”

Chongming didn’t speak, seeming somewhat hesitant. Suddenly, it shook its head. “Forget it, forget it! I’m already so old, I won’t fight a kid like you for opportunities. If Little Yun found out, he’d laugh himself to death!”

Saying so, it opened its mouth and spat out a white jade bottle. “Take it. It’s just right for someone with your cultivation level!”

Gu Han felt somewhat hesitant. “What...?”

Chongming flew into a rage. “What?! Are you looking down on me?”

He immediately clutched the bottle tightly in his hand. “Of course not! Huh, Isn’t this divine essence? Master Rooster, where did you get this?”

The jade bottle held a moderate amount of divine essence, just right. In fact, it was exactly the amount that remained in that small pool. He strongly suspected that Chongming was the one who picked the ripe fruit.

Having let the demoness slip from its grasp, Chongming felt deeply embarrassed and wouldn’t elaborate. “Don’t ask useless questions! Let’s go out first and handle the main issue!”

Gu Han was taken aback. “Main issue? Isn’t it all over?”

Chongming sneered coldly. “The formation is fine, but we haven’t found the culprit yet! I absolutely won’t let him off by making me work this hard!”

Gu Han thought for a moment. “Master Rooster, that culprit is already dead.”

He was quite certain that the anomaly in the formation was definitely caused by Jiang Xuan.

“Dead?”

Gu Han thought for a moment and explained the situation, “That’s right.”

Of course, he glossed over the matter of possession with an excuse.

Chongming’s anger was hard to dispel. “He just died like that? He got off far too easily!”

As if thinking of something, Gu Han’s eyes lit up. “Master Rooster, I think he had accomplices!”

“Who?!”

“The Yang family!”

“Let’s go and find—hmm?” Chongming’s fury was reignited. Suddenly, it caught on and squinted at Gu Han. “Kid, are you cooking up some bad ideas again, trying to use me?”

Gu Han said with absolute certainty. “Not at all! It’s definitely them!”

Who cares if it is or isn’t! He had ample confidence.

Even a blind man could tell the Yang family’s secret realm had problems. That dirty blame didn’t even need to be forced onto them. The Yang family had put it on themselves, and so firmly that no one else could take it away even if they wanted to!

1. A pun where “a little bit” and “a billion bits” sound almost the same in Chinese ☜