Shi Feiyang had taken Zhong Gan's monstrous bird into Yu's Cauldron. When the Monster bird first landed inside, Divine Gun and the others assumed he was another of Shi Feiyang's disciples. Divine Gun had lived for over eight thousand years, and beneath his rough manner lay a shrewd mind. His earlier battle with Shi Feiyang had shaken heaven and earth, and his life and future now rested in Shi Feiyang's hands. He had to build a good relationship with him.
Earlier, he had mistaken Turtle and Snake for food bestowed by Shi Feiyang and nearly eaten his senior fellow disciple. Even afterward, the thought sent waves of lingering fear through him. Now that he saw the Monster bird, he approached and greeted him politely.
The Monster bird had a fiery temper too. He opened his beak and spat three inner cores straight at Divine Gun's face. Divine Gun's cultivation was profound enough that even this sudden attack left him time to cast a spell in defense. Briefly holding the three gleaming green inner cores in midair, he shouted, "We're all our honored master's disciples! Don't mistake a good Monster for a bad one!"
The Monster bird paid no heed. He drove his inner cores into a furious assault, and Divine Gun could no longer hold them off with spells alone. He had to spit out his own inner core to suppress them.
How formidable was an inner core cultivated for over eight thousand years! Even fighting one against three, it held a firm advantage. Purple-red radiance suppressed the emerald flames as Divine Gun continued explaining, "I told you, I'm also a disciple our honored master recently accepted! Why won't you withdraw your inner cores? Aren't you afraid our master will blame you later?" He turned to Red Snake. "Hurry up