Jiang Chen stared, completely bewildered, at the figure blocking his path.

Little White bared his fangs, his eyes glinting with an intense, cold light as he looked at Jiang Chen, as if asking: ’Should I just swallow this guy whole?’

Only Lui Yifa, upon seeing the newcomer’s face, froze for a moment before his expression turned to shock. "Y-Y-You’re Yulan Tianpeng?"

"Yulan Tianpeng?"

Jiang Chen was also taken aback.

This wasn’t the first time he’d heard that name from Lui Yifa. This person was the only son of the Yulan Mansion Master, a man of astonishing talent. He had entered the Saint Martial Sword Sect five years ago and had now returned from the Sword Sect to represent the Mansion Master’s estate in the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm hunt. His cultivation had long since broken through to the True Martial Realm.

He was one of the most powerful individuals in this Celestial Demon Ancient Realm hunt!

Yulan Tianpeng, who was holding a Long Spear and poised to slay the Fiery Fire Sparrow King, froze. He turned to look at Lui Yifa, revealing a delicate face with a touch of baby fat.

A look of confusion flickered in his bright eyes, giving him a cute, dazed expression.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?"

Before Jiang Chen and the others could reply, an anxious look appeared on Yulan Tianpeng’s fair, baby-fat face. "You all need to go, quickly! That Fiery Fire Sparrow King is incredibly fast and very hard to deal with. Only a True Martial Realm Powerhouse who has mastered levitation can even fight it. It’ll take some effort even for me to kill it, and I won’t have a free hand to protect you. Hurry and get out of here!"

Yulan Tianpeng had a serious expression and clear eyes. He wasn’t trying to steal the Fiery Fire Sparrow King; he was genuinely concerned for the safety of Jiang Chen and his companions.

Lui Yifa’s expression shifted slightly.

He had been against provoking Black Cloud Valley from the start. Now, hearing Yulan Tianpeng’s warning, he couldn’t help but look toward Jiang Chen.

"Hey, hey, hey! What’s your problem? This Fiery Fire Sparrow King is our prey! How can you just stick your nose in it?" Little White’s fiery temper flared. The Fiery Fire Sparrow King was prey he had claimed, and now some meddler had appeared out of nowhere. How could Little White not be furious?

The pure white fur all over his body stood on end. The tuft of long fur on his forehead stood straight up, glowing with a faint golden light like a crown.

He was glaring at Yulan Tianpeng, his bright, jade-green eyes wide open!

Yulan Tianpeng paused, looking at Little White with a flash of surprise in his eyes. He clearly hadn’t expected such an adorable little creature to be a Tier One High-level Demon Beast that could speak human language.

Seeing Yulan Tianpeng staring intently at him, Little White let out an angry "GRRR," and several sharp claws extended from his right paw. He snarled, "Pretty boy, what are you looking at? Haven’t you ever seen a Demon Beast lord as wise, mighty, and handsome as me? Keep looking, and believe it or not, I’ll claw your eyes out!"

"Uh..."

Yulan Tianpeng’s mouth fell open in surprise. He blinked and was about to speak when a sharp, piercing cry echoed from the valley.

His expression changed abruptly. "Not good, the Fiery Fire Sparrow King is here. You guys... I just told you to leave, but you insisted on staying. Now that it’s here, you can’t escape even if you want to. Remember to stay close to me in a bit. Otherwise, if the Fiery Fire Sparrow King launches a sneak attack, I might not be able to protect you in time!"

"Who needs your protection!" Little White retorted defiantly.

Jiang Chen gently rubbed Little White’s head, calming his frantic mood, and said with a smile, "It’s fine. We’ll just watch from the side for now."

At first, Jiang Chen had also thought Yulan Tianpeng was a meddler who had shown up to snatch his prey. But from their brief exchange, it seemed Yulan Tianpeng was simply trying to rescue them.

This was easy to see from the fact that even after sensing the Fiery Fire Sparrow King’s arrival, he still remembered to warn them.

"Hahaha, humans! There’s a path to heaven, yet you refuse to take it; there are no gates to Hell, yet you barge right in. This king hasn’t eaten human flesh in a while. Today, I’ll use you to whet my appetite!" The Fiery Fire Sparrow King’s grating voice came from mid-air. Its arrival caused the temperature at the entrance of Black Cloud Valley to suddenly spike by more than ten degrees.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

The Fiery Fire Sparrow King was wreathed in scorching flames. It beat its wings, blotting out the sun. Its cold eyes swept over Jiang Chen and the others before finally landing on Yulan Tianpeng.

The Fiery Fire Sparrow King’s intelligence was no less than a human’s. It sensed a powerful surge of vital energy from Yulan Tianpeng. "A human True Martial Realm Powerhouse?"

"Vile beast! Since you know that I am a True Martial Realm Powerhouse, why don’t you retreat at once?" Yulan Tianpeng held his Long Spear, his brows knitted tightly, radiating killing intent.

However, when that ferocious expression was paired with his baby-fat face, it held no intimidating power whatsoever. Instead, it just added a comical touch.

"Hahaha, so what if you’re in the True Martial Realm? It’s not like this king has never fought a human in the True Martial Realm before. I admit I am not your match, but do you think you can stop me from attacking your companions?" Flames surged around the Fiery Fire Sparrow King, the red glow illuminating half the sky. Its savage gaze fell upon Jiang Chen, Lui Yifa, and Little White.

Yulan Tianpeng thought, ’This is bad.’ His face darkened, and he roared, "Vile beast, if you dare to slaughter the innocent, I will cut you down with my Red Snow Spear!"

"Foolish human! You can only watch as this king captures your companions and devours their flesh and blood!"

The Fiery Fire Sparrow King let out a long cry to the heavens, its screech shaking the sky. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

With a powerful flap of its wings, its speed exploded. It swept forward in a wave of heat, its first target being Jiang Chen. "Human boy, come with me obediently!"

Two sharp talons, like iron hooks, extended from beneath its abdomen, incredibly sharp.

A single grab was enough to crush a thousand-pound boulder into dust!

Yulan Tianpeng’s expression changed in an instant. He turned to chase after the Fiery Fire Sparrow King, but how could his speed possibly compare to it?

Helplessly watching the sharp talons about to seize Jiang Chen, Yulan Tianpeng’s delicate, baby-fat face flushed beet red as he shouted anxiously, "What are you standing there in a daze for? Are you waiting to die? Dodge, quick!"

"Hahaha, this fellow has been scared stupid by my fearsome might!" the Fiery Fire Sparrow King gloated.

Yulan Tianpeng closed his eyes in defeat. ’Sigh, coming to the Bluestone Mountain Range with such weak strength... isn’t that just asking for death? You fool, if you had just listened to me and left obediently when I told you to, you could have at least saved your own life! Now, even I can’t save you. But don’t worry, I will definitely kill the Fiery Fire Sparrow King to avenge you...’

However, the scene Yulan Tianpeng expected—Jiang Chen being torn apart by the Fiery Fire Sparrow King’s talons—did not happen.

Just as the Fiery Fire Sparrow King, wreathed in burning flames, was about to touch Jiang Chen with its talons, Jiang Chen, who had been standing motionless, suddenly glared.

Two beams of brilliant light shot out from his pitch-black eyes.

A long, cyan sword had appeared in his right hand at some unknown moment, and he slashed it out at the fiercely diving Fiery Fire Sparrow King!

"Wh-what is this? S-so fast... a sword! Stop, I have to stop... No, I can’t stop, no...!" Facing this sudden sword strike, the Fiery Fire Sparrow King completely panicked. It flapped its wings violently, trying to dodge. But only then did it discover that Little White, beside Jiang Chen, had spat out a dozen water spheres, blocking its escape route.

The Fiery Fire Sparrow King was filled with immense regret.

At this moment, it had lost all the majesty of a Beast King diving for its prey. Instead, like a moth to a flame, it crashed headlong into the sharp sword light.

PFFT—

One slash. From head to tail, the Fiery Fire Sparrow King was split clean in two!