Willow Deity examined Chen Yao's achievement in astonishment, remaining silent for a long time.
"For this realm to nurture a genius like you is truly rare," Willow Deity said, her tone complicated.
"Willow Deity, why do you say that?" Aman asked curiously.
"As I said before, the key to transcending the Extreme Realm lies in finding your own path. It can be peaceful, or it can mean facing a trial where nine out of ten paths lead to death. The leap brought by the latter is generally far greater than the former. Chen Yao is indeed such a case. The Divine Ability granted by his Cave Heaven Transcendence is far stronger than what he gained through his peaceful transcendence in Blood Moving."
"Most geniuses who find their own path of transcendence choose to rely on resources to reduce the difficulty in the early stages, accumulating foundations for the deadly tribulations ahead. Those resources can even include the true blood of the Ten Fiends. Chen Yao faced a great tribulation directly, yet consumed far fewer resources. That shows he relied more on himself, with talent and a Dao heart far beyond those geniuses. That is why he is so exceptional."
Willow Deity gave him high praise.
"I think so too." Chen Yao showed no hint of blushing.
Aman promptly rolled his eyes, while Shi Hao seemed to have learned something.
"Next, I can send you into the Void God Realm..."
Willow Deity was clearly deeply invested in the three peerless geniuses who had emerged during her time rooted in Stone Village, unwilling to let their talents go to waste. Perhaps this was also the first time in many years that she had encountered such an explosion of good fortune.
So she still decided to send them into the Void God Realm to make their training easier. Unlike in the original story, however, the Reincarnation Immortal Qi had restored a wealth of her memories much earlier, and she explained the realm's hidden treasures and training grounds in detail. After all, she had helped construct both the Void God Realm and the Spirit Realm. As one of their designers, she knew them inside out.
After learning from Chen Yao that Second Under Heaven and the Immortal Gold Daoist were in the Void God Realm, she took considerable interest in them as well. She separated a willow leaf and had Chen Yao and the others carry it inside to contact those two old fellows.
Chen Yao and Aman also successfully witnessed a classic for the ages: the milk-loving brat smashing the passage and registering himself as Loves Drinking Beast Milk, a name that would endure through the ages as an Immortal Emperor's true name.
"Hmph!" Shi Hao hugged his reward Treasure Bone, sulking.
Nearby lay group after group of people who had tried to seize the Treasure Bone, along with reinforcements who had arrived one wave at a time like the Calabash Brothers rescuing their grandfather. Now they were all piled into a small mountain, half dead, with Shi Hao having stripped them of every scrap of wealth.
A record for the greatest robbery in the Blood Moving Realm appeared as a result.
Then, seeing the unchanged name "Loves Drinking Beast Milk," Shi Hao flew into a humiliated rage and smashed the Record Stele with a punch, producing yet another record.
"Pfft, hahahahaha!" This was also Aman's first time seeing Shi Hao unleash his bratty nature outside the village, along with his petty side.
"Big Sis Aman! No laughing!" Shi Hao could not help blushing.
"Hahahahaha! Young fellow, your bone structure is truly extraordinary. This old Daoist is willing to offer one jade coin for the Treasure Bone in your hands. Would you be willing to part with it?" True to expectations, Lord Jade Coin appeared eerily beside Shi Hao, smiling with exceptional brilliance.
Chen Yao silently brushed a hand over the Treasure Bone, imbuing it with Reincarnation Immortal Qi.
Lord Bird, who had leaned closer and was just about to speak, froze. Lord Jade Coin froze too. Then they looked at Chen Yao resentfully and said, "Brat! You're finally here! Do you have any idea how hard it's been waiting for you?"
"So touching this Treasure Bone directly works better than breaking a record? Just what is this Treasure Bone from the Initial Land?" Chen Yao could not be bothered to answer them. Once those two clowns got started on a subject, they never stopped.
The instant Chen Yao imbued the Treasure Bone, they vanished from where they stood, leaving behind a crowd driven mad by the loss of all their wealth. Shi Yi soon arrived after hearing the news, but missed everything. He could only stare at the Record Stele bearing the name Loves Drinking Beast Milk, his mouth twitching, unwilling to admit that this was one of his opponents.
As the saying went, you could accept defeat at the hands of a Kun Peng True Feather Sword, but never the humiliation of being solo-killed by a feather duster.
Shi Yi felt he could never accept the supreme humiliation of losing to "Loves Drinking Beast Milk." He would never allow his opponent even the slightest advantage.
Double Pupils have been invincible since ancient times. Whatever ox-headed demons or snake spirits you may be, you will all lose! After assigning servants to keep watch, he left again.
"Ah, fellow Daoist Ancestral Sacrificial Spirit, it has truly been a long time. I never imagined you had survived too, and from the looks of it, you may even advance further through rebirth." Lord Bird sighed with emotion. The Five-Colored Little Bird on his shoulder instinctively chirped and nodded along.
A strand of Willow Deity's consciousness descended through the willow leaf.
Beside them, Shi Hao exhaled a mouthful of black smoke. Because of a childhood grudge, the sight of that five-colored bird had reminded him of the Five-Colored Sparrow that had toyed with him back then. He had tried provoking her, only to be solo-killed by this Five-Colored Little Bird as well.
At this point in the original story, the two Immortal Kings had been in poor condition. They had not expended the power used to suppress the darkness to awaken and retaliate, so they had been bullied terribly. Now, however, they had recovered considerably, and putting down the milk-loving brat, who had yet to truly rise, was effortless. Those two old fellows had to periodically suppress the Dark Immortal Kings' Primordial Spirits imprisoned in the Void God Realm. No matter how often they lost their memories or fell into a daze, an approaching crisis would certainly awaken them and unleash their power. Had the brat pushed things even a little too far back then, one attempt would have sent him straight to his death.
Since Shi Hao still could not get past this bird, Chen Yao strongly suspected that she was a fragment of the Immortal Phoenix King's Primordial Spirit. The influence he had brought had restored her considerably as well.
Sure enough, Willow Deity turned toward the bird and said, "Fellow Daoist Immortal Phoenix is in very poor condition. Even her Primordial Spirit fragments seem on the verge of dissolving completely into the Dao."
"What? This bird is an Immortal Phoenix?! The Immortal Phoenix of the Ten Fiends?" Shi Hao froze.
"Yes. She was gravely wounded. Even with my protection, she can barely hold on. Perhaps in another few years, her True Spirit will be utterly extinguished, turning into pure laws and benefiting either me or Yellow Dao. Even now, she has little awareness left and obeys me completely. The strength she can display is essentially tied to mine," Lord Bird sighed.
The Immortal Qi had imbued Shi Hao's pile of rewards, including that particularly unusual Treasure Bone, giving Lord Bird and Lord Jade Coin a substantial period of lucidity. Then Willow Deity assisted them as one of the Void God Realm's creators, allowing the Reincarnation Immortal Qi to connect with them further. The effect was immediately outstanding. Now the two Immortal Kings were fully lucid, even steaming out the invading black energy. They were radiant and vigorous, no longer needing to periodically lose their memories and stumble about in confusion.
"Young friend, in a moment, let fellow Daoist Immortal Phoenix merge with Reincarnation and attempt Reincarnation Rebirth. Her True Spirit is about to dissipate, and her Primordial Spirit is essentially an empty shell without awareness. This is the only way to save her. If it succeeds, we will owe you a favor," Lord Bird said solemnly.
"There's no need for that, Senior. It's only a small effort." Chen Yao waved a hand. Following Willow Deity's guidance, he began helping the Immortal Phoenix King's shattered True Spirit and Primordial Spirit fragments undergo a thorough cleansing and fusion, attempting rebirth.
A burst of five-colored true flame rose, and the Five-Colored Little Bird vanished completely like smoke and clouds. Yet a Phoenix Egg shimmering with five-colored light emerged from the Reincarnation Immortal Qi.
There was no mighty cultivation, only the purest Phoenix bloodline of the Ten Fiends, in an entirely newborn state. It was exactly as the legends described: Reincarnation Rebirth, beginning everything anew, retaining only memories and the True Spirit.
The Immortal Phoenix King regained her awareness after her rebirth and conveyed her gratitude through her thoughts. Then radiance gathered, and an origin rune flowing with five-colored divine light and Phoenix fire appeared, flying before Chen Yao. It was clearly his reward.
Ten Fiends Precious Arts-Phoenix Precious Technique!
"Thank you, Senior!" Chen Yao had never expected this and was overjoyed.
"You're welcome. I have no way to repay the grace of being remade." The Immortal Phoenix King responded warmly, then soon fell into a deep sleep, striving to hatch quickly and recover her cultivation.
Chen Yao immediately put the origin rune away with care.
A Ten Fiends Precious Art! An Immortal King-level Dao art!
Qi-State Origin-Flow had always lacked sufficiently outstanding arts to evolve. Now that problem was solved! And it was an Immortal King-level Divine Ability and Dao art right from the start!
Before you continue