After the stream of light that was Hei Yao surged into Shen Haoran’s body, a scorching heat radiated from within, instantly drenching his clothes in sweat.

"Ngh..."

Shen Haoran then felt an unbearable, itching pain on his back, as if thousands of ants were gnawing at him. It felt like something was about to burst out of his body!

"THUMP..."

A moment later, with a muffled thump, a pair of enormous, fiery wings—to Elder Yan’s utter shock—suddenly unfurled from Shen Haoran’s back. A casual flap stirred up a powerful gale, sending the surrounding rubble flying.

"This..." Staring at the fiery wings, whose patterns were as distinct as a real bird’s, Elder Yan was shocked speechless.

Beside them, Changmao stared in disbelief at the fiery wings on Shen Haoran’s back. An imperceptible flicker of nostalgia crossed his eyes. He could feel a familiar aura coming from them—the bloodline of the Vermilion Bird, one of the Four Great Divine Beasts!

"HUFF... HUFF..."

Shen Haoran gasped for breath. The moment the fiery wings had appeared, he had felt an immense pressure originating from the depths of his soul. Under its influence, he seemed to see a vision: the Divine Vermilion Bird being reborn from flames. In that instant, the heavens and earth warped, and a myriad of fires consumed the world. It was utterly terrifying!

After a long moment, Shen Haoran finally snapped back to his senses. He was startled when he saw the pair of lifelike, fiery wings on his back.

’Are these the Vermilion Bird Wings Hei Yao mentioned?’ With a thought, Shen Haoran made the fiery wings on his back beat. A scorching gale erupted, and his body actually began to levitate under its force.

However, Shen Haoran didn’t know how to balance himself like a bird. He staggered and fell right out of the air.

"These things are really hard to control!" Shen Haoran said through gritted teeth, rubbing his backside, which felt like it had been split in two.

"Haha, flying was never going to be that easy!" Elder Yan boomed with laughter. Changmao, however, pounced right onto the fiery wings and began to nuzzle between the feathers.

Shen Haoran stroked the soft, fiery wings, a flicker of emotion in his eyes. ’This gift from Hei Yao is truly precious.’

At his words, Elder Yan fell silent. He gazed at the Vermilion Bird Wings with a complex expression before saying softly, "I hope you won’t disappoint him."

Shen Haoran nodded solemnly. He would never forget this debt.

"Alright," Elder Yan said, pushing aside his sorrow. "Now that you have the Fire Spirit Pearl, you need to focus on improving your strength. There’s less than half a month until the Secret Realm closes. You should strive to break through to Tier Seven Spirit General!"

’Less than half a month?’ Shen Haoran thought in surprise. ’It feels like only a few days have passed. It seems one really does lose track of time during Cultivation.’

"I need to find Long Mo and the others quickly. I wonder how they’re doing," Shen Haoran muttered to himself as he stood up and brushed the dust off his clothes.

"Time to go hunt some Primordial Beasts. It’s the perfect chance to test out this Qilin Arm and these Vermilion Bird Wings and see what kind of power they really hold!" A grin spread across Shen Haoran’s face. With a flap of his wings, he wobbled his way out of the grand hall. Behind him, Elder Yan and Changmao hurried to keep up.

...

Meanwhile, deep within a dense forest somewhere in the Sect Secret Realm, several tents were pitched in a few hidden clearings. Dozens of disciples were gathered, speaking in hushed tones. Among them were Long Mo and his friends.

"Sigh... It’s been over ten days. Just about every disciple from the Sect who entered the Secret Realm is here, but we still haven’t seen a trace of the boss. I wonder where he ran off to," Zi Mo said sullenly, his brow deeply furrowed. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

At his words, Shui Ruolan and the others also frowned, lost in their own thoughts. Ten days after entering the Secret Realm, most of the Sect’s disciples had gathered together. They had formed a team and were heading for the palace ruins at the center of the realm. However, even after everyone had assembled, Shen Haoran was still nowhere to be found, leaving them all deeply concerned.

"I heard from Xiaoyou that she saw Brother Shen," Shui Ruolan said gravely. "To save her, he lured away a Level Five Origin Beast all by himself. We don’t know if he’s alive or dead."

"A Level Five Origin Beast!" Everyone was stunned. They had all witnessed the power of such a creature. Just two days ago, they had encountered one, and it had taken the combined efforts of Long Mo, Zi Mo, and Shui Ruolan to finally wear it down and kill it. All three had been injured in the process. The fact that Shen Haoran had dared to lure one away by himself... His chances seemed slim.

"He’s definitely still alive," Long Mo said calmly. "A Level Five Origin Beast would be troublesome for him, but he could still escape." He had absolute confidence in Shen Haoran’s abilities, especially his terrifying speed. It was highly unlikely a Level Five Origin Beast could actually kill him.

"I agree," Shui Ruolan said softly. "Brother Shen must have been caught up in something, which is why he couldn’t get here sooner. I’ve been leaving marks along our path. If he sees them, he should be able to find us."

At her words, everyone’s eyes lit up. They looked at Shui Ruolan with admiration. ’Ruolan is always so thoughtful!’

"Alright, everyone, gather up! Xue Gong has an announcement!" a voice called out, interrupting their discussion.

Hearing the call, Zi Mo shot a disdainful look toward the largest tent. "Why is Xue Gong the leader of this team, anyway?" he grumbled. "In terms of strength, Long Mo is miles ahead of him. In terms of wits, one Ruolan is worth ten of him. I really don’t get why we have to listen to his commands. It’s infuriating!"

The other members of the Yao Sect nodded in agreement with Zi Mo.

Shui Ruolan, however, just smiled. "Brother Shen always said that when you’re away from home, the most important thing is to lay low and get rich. It doesn’t matter who the captain is, as long as we get our cut."

Long Mo nodded as well. While the Yao Sect members had ostensibly joined the larger squad, they operated as their own unit when hunting Primordial Beasts. Xue Gong may not have liked it, but the Yao Sect group was the strongest one there, so all he could do was grin and bear it.

"Yao Sect! Time to assemble, didn’t you hear? Don’t think you can ignore Brother Xue Gong just because you’re strong! He’s the captain of this team now, so you’ll listen to his orders!" one of Xue Gong’s disciples yelled, annoyed at their slow response.

Hearing the disciple’s shout, Zi Mo’s face darkened. "He’s really asking for it. Watch me teach this punk a lesson!" he snarled, rolling up his sleeves to march forward, but Shui Ruolan stopped him.

"Don’t be rash. This squad is full of Xue Gong’s people. Let’s just wait until Brother Shen gets here."