Golden sunlight scattered all over the earth as if it had been crushed. It was extremely gentle.
Ou Yangming flew in the sky like a true dragon entering the sea or a bird entering the forest. He felt like a fish in water.
With a flash of thought, he felt the 2 light spots in his spiritual world. He said through telepathy, ‘King Kong, I’ve come out of the Big Ruins. Come to me!’
Due to the contract between them, Multi-armed King Kong could sense his location.
“Yes, Master,” Multi-armed King Kong replied, its tone filled with joy. It had waited for so long in the outside world, and it finally received news from Ou Yangming. That kind of joy could not be described with words. After all, it had a soul contract with the young fellow. If anything happened to him in the Big Ruins, its fate would be tragic.
Ou Yangming did not speak anymore and waited quietly.
After half a day, Multi-armed King Kong rushed over in its mountainous body.
Its aura was dense and oppressive. It was as if a mountain that could suppress everything was standing in front of Ou Yangming.
Big Yellow stood on its shoulder and grinned. In the sky, the goshawk flapped its wings and set off gusts of wind. Countless black gold-like feathers fell and joined together.
King Kong stopped and was stunned for a moment. It asked in surprise, “Master, you… You’ve broken through?” It was truly surprised and happy. It realized that it could not see through Ou Yangming’s cultivation. He was like an unusually deep and unfathomable sea, where every slight movement from him gave off a comfortable feeling.
Ou Yangming nodded slightly and answered with a smile, “I’ve broken through.”
Big Yellow’s eyes were burning as it asked with a smile, “Lil’ Ming, what’s your current cultivation base?” Among the 3 beasts, while its cultivation base was the weakest, in terms of relationship, it was the closest to Ou Yangming. This was because they were brothers. They had faced life and death together, so they could hand over their backs to each other without worries. This kind of feeling that had been honed through life and death was difficult to describe with words.
“A Venerable One!” Ou Yangming responded. There seemed to be a magical power in his voice, causing the 3 beasts to be dumbstruck and terrified.
As soon as he finished, he took a step forward and landed on King Kong’s shoulder.
He said in a deep voice, “Let’s go home.”
With that, the young fellow and the 3 beasts quickly left, leaving behind a sound that pierced through the air.
※※※※
Zhangzhou, the Beast King Sect.
Lush vegetation and abundant spiritual Qi—it was a rare paradise.
The old macaque’s Qi momentum was mellow, its aura was long, and its face was ruddy. After taking the Eternal Pill, its life force reappeared. It and Yuqi the Venerable One looked at each other and sat. Below them was a chessboard that spanned 19 paths. It was clear that they were playing chess. There were black pieces within the white pieces and white within the black. They intersected with each other as the Venerable Ones used the Magic Sword and the Dragon to force each other to a dead-end. They competed with each other like there was no end.
Both of them were powerhouses who had been immersed in the path for more than 100 years. Their chess moves were also known for their bloodlust and killing. Every move they made was fought for.
The old macaque sat upright, and its gaze suddenly focused. It chuckled and said, “Yuqi the Venerable One, you’re still too young.” As soon as it finished, he held a black piece in his hand and took the center point of the board while removing one of the white pieces. With that, the game instantly changed drastically.
Yuqi the Venerable One frowned and made another 10 or so moves. He put down the chess piece in his hand and said discontentedly, “Old and crafty… It’s true that old people have no regard for others.”
The old macaque was displeased. It glared and said, “This is called strategizing and deciding victory ahead.”
At the spur of the moment, a terrifying pressure quickly approached.
This pressure was so strong that even they felt their hearts palpitate. It was the pressure of a superior being, which was qualitatively different in terms of the essence of life.
The two looked at each other and did not hesitate. They turned into light streams and shot into the sky.
Mao Jianbi appeared out of nowhere, and his majestic aura pressed down on the air. He roared loudly, “Who are you? How dare you barge into the Beast King Sect?” The sound wave stirred up a storm and swept out in all directions. Wherever it passed, frightening cracks appeared in the sky, causing many tiny cyclones to gather out of thin air.
“I admire your powerful aura, Elder Mao.” A voice was heard before the person arrived.
Even the whole of Danzhou would be shaken by the mighty figure.
When Yuqi the Venerable One, the old macaque, and Mao Jianbi heard the voice, their faces showed fear at the same time. They said in shock, “Master Ou?” They muttered in their hearts. ‘Could it be that Multi-armed King Kong has broken through again? That’s impossible. How long has it been since it became a Venerable One?
The 3 of them frowned at the same time. They could not figure it out—they really could not figure it out. They never thought that the person who gave off such a majestic aura was Ou Yangming.
After all, when Ou Yangming left for his adventure, he had just become an Intermediate Spiritualist.
It had not been long, so how could he have broken through to become a Venerable One? Would that not be nonsense?
The 3 of them exchanged glances and saw the confusion in each other’s eyes.
In an instant, King Kong’s enormous body appeared in their sights. Its skin was dark, and it looked fierce and awe-inspiring.
Yuqi the Venerable One sighed and remarked, “As expected of having passed 6 Heavenly Thunderbolts. Its pressure is surely not something an ordinary Venerable One can compare to.”
“Yes, its future achievements are limitless.” Venerable Mao agreed. He had overcome 4 Heavenly Thunderbolts, so he felt a faint fear in his heart when he sensed King Kong’s aura. It was as if he had seen a ferocious beast from ancient times.
Multi-armed King Kong took another step forward and landed in front of the 3 Venerable Ones with a simple smile.
Ou Yangming jumped down and greeted sincerely, “Elder Macaque, Yuqi the Venerable One, Venerable Mao, long time no see.” His movements were fluid and smooth without a trace of complexity. He gave people the feeling that greatness came from simplicity.
At this time, the hearts of the 3 Venerable Ones skipped at the same time. ‘What’s going on? Why… Why can’t I see through him?’
The more it was like this, the more they released their strong mental power. Nonetheless, it was like a stone penetrating into an unfathomable ice lake as they failed to detect anything.
Elder Macaque took a deep breath, and a strange look appeared in its eyes. It asked in a trembling voice, “Master Ou, you… You broke through?”
“Yes.” He rolled up his sleeves and nodded with a smile.
“Broke through to become a Venerable One?” Even though the macaque had guessed it, it did not dare to be sure.
Ou Yangming nodded again, and a faint bad thought arose in his heart.
“Hiss, hiss…” When the 3 Venerable Ones of the Beast King sect heard those words, they instantly became confused. Deep down, they thought, ‘I’ve lived my whole life like a dog!’ They were sure that Ou Yangming could break through to become a Venerable One, but… Was this not too fast? How old was he? Besides, when the young fellow previously left, he was only an Intermediate Spiritualist. Was his advancement speed not frightening?
Silence—dead silence. Only the sound of the wind could be heard in the air.
The 3 old figures confirmed at the same time that the majestic pressure from before had come from Ou Yangming.
Now, they had another question. Given the pressure earlier, how many Heavenly Thunderbolts did the young fellow overcome? 6? Or 7?
After a long while, the old macaque asked probingly, “Master Ou, forgive me for being presumptuous, but how many Heavenly Thunderbolts did you pass?” As its voice reverberated, everyone pricked up their ears, afraid that they would miss a single detail.
The eyes of Big Yellow, King Kong, and the goshawk also flashed.
Ou Yangming’s smile grew even wider as he answered seriously, “9.”
“What?” Everyone thought they heard him wrong. Their eyes were dull, and their faces were filled with disbelief. Their minds were muddled, and their thoughts were shattered.
After a full 2 breaths, the old macaque was the first to come back to its senses. It confirmed once again, “Is that true?” Other than Big Yellow and the goshawk, everyone present was a Venerable One, thus they naturally understood the terror of the Heavenly Disaster. What was more, the young fellow overcame 9 Heavenly Thunderbolts. Just the thought of it made one’s scalp go numb.
“Yes!” Ou Yangming’s slightly nodded.
‘F*ck…’ Despite the cultivation bases of the others, they could not help but swear and look at each other. On this day, Ou Yangming shocked them more than they had ever been in their lives.
The old macaque collected his emotions and expressed in a deep voice, “Congratulations, Master Ou, for overcoming 9 Heavenly Thunderbolts.”
Yu Qi and Mao Jianbi also cupped their hands at the same time. “Congratulations, Master Ou, for overcoming 9 Heavenly Thunderbolts.”
Ou Yangming raised his hands and returned the salutations.
All of a sudden, a burning light spot appeared in Ou Yangming’s spiritual world. It was brilliant like a burning star.
Ou Yangming was first shocked, then his eyes revealed a look of pleasant surprise. He did a fist salutation and said, “I still have something important to do, so let’s talk again soon.”
As soon as he said that, he turned into a green streak of light and flew into the sky.
The 3 beasts followed him from afar and did not dare to disturb him.
Yuqi the Venerable One and the others looked at each other, not knowing what to do.
Ou Yangming returned to his small courtyard. After sitting there for a while, a proud phoenix cry was heard.
A red bird flapped its wings and landed on Ou Yangming’s shoulder. It pretended to be mature and said in a low voice, “Hmm, not bad, you’ve already broken through to become a Venerable One. You’re indeed worthy of being my companion.”
“You really haven’t changed at all,” Ou Yangming commented softly as he pointed between its eyebrows.
If someone else had done this, Lil’ Red would have been infuriated.
However, if it was Ou Yangming, it would not have any resistance in its heart. Instead, it felt pleased.
“Senior Feng Xiang didn’t come?” Ou Yangming looked around and asked.
Lil’ Red let out an arrogant cry and appeared to be happy. A ball of fire burned in its eyes as it responded, “My brother sensed the existence of the Dragon’s and the Phoenixes’ powers, so it can’t enter the Spiritual Realm at will. Otherwise…” It paused, wanting to say something but stopped.
“Hmm?” Ou Yangming did not urge it and waited carefully.
Lil’ Red rolled its eyes as if it was thinking. In the end, it decided to tell Ou Yangming.
It said that once the powerhouses from its clan arrived, there would be a certain probability of a great terror being triggered.
Ou Yangming pondered for a moment and nodded.
Lil’ Red jumped from Ou Yangming’s left shoulder to his right shoulder and exhaled a mouthful of white flame. It said softly, “Let go of your mind and let me check.”
Ou Yangming thought for a moment then let go of his mind.
Of course, he trusted Lil’ Red. There were 2 main reasons. First, they had the same source of power.
Second, Lil’ Red had helped him a lot. If it wasn’t for Lil’ Red, he would not know how to solve the great disaster in the Spiritual Realm.
Lil’ Red flapped its wings, and its feathers turned red. A scorching wave of air reversed and spread out as if it could melt everything. Spiritual Qi twisted violently. At the same time, a powerful wave of mental power entered Ou Yangming’s spiritual world.
A dazzling purple color appeared in Lil’ Red’s perception right away.
The purple light was incredibly pure like the most gorgeous color in the world. It pierced through the air and was glass-like, gathering the spiritual and beautiful fortune in the world.
It would not be an exaggeration to describe it as the most magnificent and beautiful word.
This was the Heavenly Phoenix Fire—the master of all fires.
