Meanwhile, the Wisdom Tree Essence Soul in Su Zhou’s Soul Space chirped with glee, "Good! Hungry, hungry, hungry!"

"Stop yelling about being hungry. Tsk, now you’re making me hungry too."

Forced to drop his serious demeanor, Su Zhou gulped. His eyes fixed longingly on the seemingly new-grown peaches in the grove before him, and he muttered, "Not now... We have other tasks. We’ll come back later to... ’communicate’ with these peaches... no, with this Divine Wood."

With that said, he prepared to press on, intending to fly across the Jade Pool toward the Five Mountains of Kunlun, which were now just a short distance away.

However, with the WHOOSH of a great wind, a gale suddenly whipped up from the far side of the Jade Pool. It rode the wispy clouds and rapidly approached Su Zhou’s position.

This newcomer’s intentions were hostile.

’It didn’t take instinct, just a little common sense, to know that the being within the gale wasn’t coming over for a friendly chat.’

Sure enough, the gale carried the clouds across the Jade Pool before descending in front of Su Zhou.

As the clouds dissipated, they revealed a crowd of burly Evil Beasts.

Each Evil Beast had the ferocious look of a predator—like a jackal, wolf, tiger, leopard, bear, lion, or Eagle Owl—but they all seemed to have been modified through some special method. Despite possessing Awakened Level strength, they showed no signs of Intelligence, their eyes a savage, blood-red, filled with pure bestiality.

Now, all the Evil Beasts lay prostrate on the ground in submission. At the center of the gale and clouds, a massive golden shadow shimmered and transformed into a petite, golden-haired figure who landed on the ground, guarded by the beasts.

The figure landed gracefully, her golden hair falling to her ankles and fluttering in the Strong Wind. A closer look revealed that it wasn’t hair at all, but a single mass of golden down, which stored a terrifying amount of Spiritual Power. By Su Zhou’s rough estimate, it was at least five hundred Zhou Buyi!

Her exposed skin was fairer than snow, and someone with poor eyesight might have thought it delicate enough to break with a touch. But Su Zhou wasn’t blind. He could see with perfect clarity that beneath her seemingly fragile skin lay a Spiritual Power structure likely tougher than tank armor. Deeper still, her muscle tissue was like twisted carbon fiber, having become fully-fledged Spiritual Power Organs. This meant her strength was nothing like the fragile facade she presented.

’As for her looks, they were pretty good—almost on par with his own.’ The girl’s features were fine and beautiful, but her aura was sharp and dauntless. She had an extremely keen, predatory air about her.

Most importantly, however, a desire Su Zhou knew all too well burned within the figure’s golden eyes.

It was hunger.

"You want to eat me?"

It was rather amusing. Even though he had figured out that the girl before him was likely the human form of the Golden-winged Roc he’d anticipated, and that she possessed at least mid-to-High Tier Extraordinary strength, Su Zhou still found the situation entertaining. "Is it instinct? Or am I just food in your eyes?"

"I’m a little tempted. You smell delicious—but I’m not hungry, so I won’t eat you," the golden-haired girl said with surprising honesty. Her voice was pleasant, but her accent was so archaic that Su Zhou had to concentrate for a moment to parse her words. "More importantly, member of the Dragon Race, are you the leader of those remnants from the Immortal Realm? Or are you just a scout, driven here to explore these ruins?"

She seemed to want to know what status he, a member of the Dragon Race, held among the so-called ’remnants of the Immortal Realm’.

The golden-haired girl and the Evil Beasts around her had formed a classic battle formation.

黑黑黑黑黑

黑黑金黑黑

"Remnants of the Immortal Realm? I had no idea we Earth People had such a high-profile reputation in other worlds." Su Zhou didn’t answer her question immediately. He clicked his tongue in amusement at their formation before asking in return, "So you’re the one who stole the authority for the Kunlun Secret Realm? Take my advice and hand it over sooner rather than later. Don’t say I didn’t warn you."

"Not for now. There are still many answers I need to find," the golden-haired girl replied, tacitly admitting she held the authority before firmly refusing. She narrowed her eyes, sizing up the man before her. He had broken through nearly ten dangerous Arrays, yet showed no lack of Spiritual Power or any sign of fatigue. "It seems you really are the leader... I suppose I shouldn’t be surpr—"

BOOM! The sound of clashing Spiritual Power erupted in the empty space between them.

Their Spiritual Powers probed and clashed. A dangerous aura began to rise from them both. An invisible gale churned in the space between them, kicking up small whirlwinds. The golden-haired girl’s voice was grave. "Interesting. A member of the Dragon Race, and you’re not afraid of me?"

"Cut the crap. Before we start fighting, I have one question."

Su Zhou, however, had no intention of playing by her rules. Thunder Light began to flicker and coalesce around his body, forming blinding arcs of electricity. ’He’d been an internet troll for over a decade; there was no way he’d let someone else control the conversation. Besides, judging by her aura, this wasn’t a problem that could be solved with words.’

’Might as well beat them up first.’

On the other side, the pack of beasts had begun to pant heavily, ready to charge at any moment. The golden-haired girl frowned, her own Spiritual Power surging as her long hair spread out like a pair of wings. Facing them, Su Zhou asked calmly, "Hey, you."

"Have you ever eaten anyone?"

「Meanwhile.」

On the other side of the Kunlun Secret Realm.

The four-person team led by Su Zhou was sprinting through a massive, abandoned palace complex.