"Never intended for intruders to get out safely?" Yun Huanling murmured. Then, as though something had suddenly occurred to him, he said, "Is A Jiu not in this real-image illusion realm at all?"
Chu Luohen gave him a cool, indifferent glance, with unmistakable disdain in his eyes.
The Buddha Child explained from beside him, "A Jiu certainly isn't in the illusion realm. Otherwise, Fellow Daoist Chu would have been the first to go looking for her."
Unconvinced, Yun Huanling glanced at Chu Luohen and curled his lip. "He only has the advantage of sharing the same origins as A Jiu. Otherwise, how could he have sensed so quickly whether she was in the real-image illusion realm?"
The Buddha Child gave Yun Huanling a thoughtful look but said nothing more.
Meanwhile, as Yun Huanling spoke, the enormous Vermilion Bird essence had pulled free of the magma. Its wings wrapped around its body, and its eyes were tightly closed, as though it were asleep.
Yun Huanling whispered, "Should we sneak in an attack while we have the chance?"
At his words, Chu Luohen's composure finally cracked. His eyes all but spelled out, Are you an idiot?
Chu Luohen could no longer be bothered with him at all. Only the Buddha Child still had some patience.
"If the Vermilion Bird essence were asleep, we would have no chance whatsoever. The protection surrounding it is beyond our ability to break.
"Besides, it's already awake..."
The instant the Buddha Child finished speaking, the Vermilion Bird, whose eyes had been closed and wings folded, abruptly opened its eyes. Golden flames swirled within its dark-red eyes, and then its wings spread as well.
A wave of fire blotted out the sky as it surged toward them. Although all four had prepared themselves, some were still half a