From what he had sensed on the way here, Chu Ge could actually tell that, although the Vermilion Bird was furious and hateful, it was also somewhat fearful and inclined to retreat.
It was like how some ordinary people might hate their fathers, yet lose their nerve when they actually met face-to-face. Those who could truly bring themselves to strike their fathers ruthlessly existed, but were extremely rare.
Perhaps it had something to do with strength. If the Vermilion Bird had been at its peak and Chu Ge had been weak, perhaps it would have been much more vicious?
Unfortunately, the reality was that the Vermilion Bird's body lay scattered, and its soul was incomplete. Some unknown core fragment was enshrined inside the temple, serving as the vessel for its existence. The power it could exert was nowhere near that of the Four Symbols in the book; its condition was even worse than the Azure Dragon's and Black Tortoise's had been.
Meanwhile, it could not tell what level Chu Ge's and Qiu Wuji's current abilities belonged to, so its first reaction was to retreat.
Ideally, these monks would deal with Chu Ge... Many of the monks here were powerful Espers recruited only recently, including quite a few A-Ranks and S-Ranks...
The outcome clearly disappointed the Vermilion Bird.
These monks alone were obviously no match for the couple. Even the Buddha Ancestor's projection personally taking action was useless. A projection was ultimately only a projection, unable to exert much of his strength.
One of the couple dealt with the Esper Abilities while the other dealt with the Buddha Ancestor. In the space of a single breath, they seemed about to finish the slaughter.
The Vermilion Bird needed no urging from the abbot. It could no longer hold back either, knowing it