A flicker of alarm suddenly crossed Huo Feng's pretty face. She struggled slightly, her delicate body wriggling, and urgently asked, "What are you trying to do?" Shrugging, Ji Changkong smiled casually and said dismissively, "Don't worry, I mean no harm to the little fellow. I just think my blood might be useful to it."

"Why would you think that?" Huo Feng's complexion regained some color, clearly intrigued by his words.

"You'll see if you just watch." He chuckled mysteriously, opening his hand. The drop of crimson blood on his palm looked like a tiny fragment of ruby, flashing with an intoxicating, seductive red luster. Strangely, this drop of his blood carried no scent of gore; instead, it was filled with an exotic fragrance. Huo Feng's delicate, jade-like nose twitched, and she breathed out softly, "It smells so wonderful!"

The small, crimson bird chirped happily, extremely excited. It flapped its wings and hovered above his palm, its two soybean-sized red eyes fixed intently on the drop of blood within his hand, yet it dared not act rashly. It glanced back at Ji Changkong, as if asking: Are you sure you want to give this to me? Nodding, Ji Changkong gently shook his hand. The drop of blood trembled slightly, and the unusual aroma emanating from his palm intensified.

"Ji Changkong, there won't be any problems with your blood, will there?" Huo Feng sounded deeply concerned. "If you dare harm this little creature, I certainly won't let you off!" Huo Feng's face hardened again, warning him not to mess around.

"Let the little one choose for itself." Ji Changkong completely flattened his palm, offering the drop of blood toward the small bird, and whispered, "I can't be certain this drop of blood will definitely work for you, but my blood is indeed unusual and should offer some assistance. Do you dare take the risk and taste it?"

"Xiao Hong, don't be reckless!" Huo Feng panicked when he showed uncertainty.

Her sharp cry seemed to agitate the little bird more, fearing she might intervene. The bird's tiny body swayed, and it landed lightly on Ji Changkong's thumb. Bowing its head slightly, it swallowed the drop of fragrant, exotic blood in one gulp. "Jee-jee!"

It suddenly cried out excitedly. Light flowed across its delicate body, as if a red flame were burning fiercely within. The bird's fiery-red tail feathers quivered slightly, suddenly elongating, and sounds of "crackling" emanated from the tiny joints within its body.

The little bird flew circles around Huo Feng. With every rotation, its body grew larger. In no time, it had increased tenfold in size. The red feathers covering its body were replaced by plumage of seven colors. As these multicolored feathers shook, a brilliant radiance dazzled the eyes, making it impossible to look directly. Beautiful, vibrant feathers, an elongated body, long tail streamers, and an aura of blazing fire—this was the Eleventh Grade... "A Phoenix!"

Ji Changkong gasped out loud, his expression utterly bewildered. "Huo Feng, your little pet is actually a Phoenix? I couldn't tell! Haha! Such a tiny bird, the size of a palm, turned out to be the Phoenix, a Fire Exotic Beast! Haha!" Huo Feng was even more astonished, staring at him blankly, speechless for a long time.

A mere drop of blood caused the little creature to advance a whole level. Was this man’s blood an Elixir of Creation? What exactly was he, that his blood possessed such miraculous efficacy? "Huh! Why did it only become a Phoenix now?" Ji Changkong asked, perplexed.

Huo Feng rolled her eyes at him, as if he had asked the most idiotic question. "Spiritual beasts like the Phoenix are different from common ferocious beasts. They possess inherent spirituality, making them smarter than most humans. It's incredibly difficult for this type of Spirit Beast to evolve. The little one is merely an infant; it needs to continuously devour the aura of fire essence to evolve..."

Huo Feng explained, then suddenly became serious: "Give me a drop of your blood!" "Huh?" "I want your blood!" In Huo Feng's bright eyes, tiny stars seemed to twinkle, and she murmured almost in a trance, "Your blood can allow it to advance a level; it must also allow my injuries to recover rapidly!" A chill ran down Ji Changkong's spine, and he shook his head repeatedly: "No way! My blood won't do you any good!"

The reason the little creature could advance must be related to the residual essence blood of the Vermilion Bird sealed within its body. The Vermilion Bird is the direct lineage of the ancient inheritance of Fire Exotic Beasts, the Beast Spirit of the primeval Saint Beast Clan, ranking several grades higher than the Phoenix in terms of bloodline. That Vermilion Bird had lived for countless years; it was only natural that its essence blood would affect a nascent Phoenix.

The other reason he felt safe letting the little bird consume it was that the creature had shown immediate affinity for the Vermilion Bird aura inside him. After presenting the essence blood, he had been carefully observing the bird. Only after discovering its intense desire to consume it did he confirm his blood was effective, allowing it to ingest the drop. Huo Feng was different; she wasn't a spiritual beast. Giving her his own blood haphazardly—who knew what consequences might arise?

"Stingy!" Huo Feng huffed angrily. "What's the big deal? It's just a drop of blood! If you won't give it, fine!"

Ji Changkong was about to reply when his expression abruptly changed, and he stood up instantly, without hesitation, sweeping Huo Feng up in his arms.

"What are you doing?" Huo Feng was sulking and hadn't noticed the change in his expression. She strained her delicate body, struggling, and cursed with a flushed face, "Bastard! Trying to take advantage of me again! I won't forgive you this time!"

"Stop fooling around!" he hissed, tightening his grip and pulling Huo Feng close until her body was pressed firmly against his chest. "Your Yang family members are about to surround us! We must leave immediately. By the way, how did they find our location?"

Huo Feng's high, soft bosom was flattened into a soft circle tightly against his chest. Her face was so red it seemed blood might seep out. Gritting her teeth, she cursed under her breath while struggling to answer, "In the Yang family's territory, every peak and every lake is laced with Yang family's Spirit Sensing Formations. They can detect life fluctuations and the presence of unusual energy signatures within a hundred-mile radius. I was so focused on recovering my strength that I forgot to tell you this."

"Damn it!" Ji Changkong retrieved the bell with one hand, urgency in his voice. "We must break out immediately; it will be too late if we delay!"

"How many masters?" Seeing his anxious expression, Huo Feng realized the seriousness of the situation and stopped struggling wildly. "Four masters at the Ruyi Realm, and twelve brutes at the Nirvana Realm. Once we are surrounded, getting out will be difficult."

"Twelve Heavenly Masters at the Nirvana Realm..." Huo Feng suddenly recalled something. "Then hurry up! Those twelve Nirvana Realm Heavenly Masters can form the Yang family's 'Fiery Eyes Golden Mirror Formation.' It can not only pinpoint our location but also strike us across space!"

Without daring to delay, he moved his consciousness. Shaking the bell, he summoned the White Bone Skeleton, waved his hand, and unleashed the power of the starry river, directly shattering the stone gate blocking the entrance of the cave.

Blinding sunlight flooded into the cave, and with the sunlight came a fierce barrage of Fire Lances. These lances were not illusions but solid divine weapons. Each Fire Lance was five meters long, looking as if they had just been pulled from a furnace, glowing red-hot like iron tools, covered in strange inscriptions from which sparks of fire intermittently flew out like a rain of fire, engulfing the area.

Seventy-seven Fire Lances—49 in total—arranged themselves into a peculiar formation in the void, blasting into the narrow cave entrance, sealing the stone door so tightly that hardly a sliver of space remained.

"Be careful!" Huo Feng shrieked. She seemed to know the lethality of the Fire Lances, crying out in alarm, "The Fire Lances will explode! If one explodes, all the others will follow, and the power of each explosion will double!"

His pupils contracted sharply. In that instant, Ji Changkong entered the State of Self-Awareness. The seven-colored soul seal within his sea of consciousness suddenly and eerily projected the entire attack scenario of the forty-nine Fire Lances. Each lance materialized within his seven-colored soul seal, and even their trajectory of approach was clearly visible.

In a flash, the Fire Lances, which seemed lightning-fast to others, slowed down to the pace of a snail in his eyes. He could clearly watch the lances drift slowly toward him; time felt as if it had been stretched. This sensation was so real that he realized it was absolutely not an illusion!

With a casual flick, the Heaven's Net Blood Fiend Web flew out. As the great net spread open, its mesh holes widened, instantly blocking the space before him. His consciousness shifted, and the Heaven's Net Blood Fiend Web ceaselessly repositioned itself, using its mesh openings to catch the incoming Fire Lances. Because the lances moved so sluggishly in his vision, he had ample time to maneuver the Heaven's Net Blood Fiend Web with exquisite skill.

In his ears, Huo Feng's panicked cries were now slowed down by a hundredfold; the gap between one word and the next seemed to last several minutes. It seemed everything had slowed down, except for his consciousness and movements, which remained unaltered.

"Ahhh..." Huo Feng's cry of shock echoed hundreds of times. When the last echo faded, Ji Changkong snapped back to reality.

All forty-nine Fire Lances were precisely caught within the mesh holes of the Heaven's Net Blood Fiend Web. Impeccably accurate—not a single lance managed to pierce the net, nor did any two lances touch each other. It was divine skill!

"W-what is this? Did I see that correctly?" Huo Feng was dumbfounded, then suddenly cried out, "How did you do that?"

"Got lucky," Ji Changkong replied with a strange expression. Taking advantage of the immobilized Fire Lances, he slithered out of the cave like a spirit snake. As soon as he emerged from the opening, he commanded his consciousness, and the Heaven's Net Blood Fiend Web violently shook.

A series of explosions erupted from the peak behind them, sounding forty-nine times before finally ceasing. The towering peak, thousands of feet high, collapsed in the aftermath of these sequential explosions. Stones flew everywhere, blasting many hidden Yang family members out of their cover. Amidst the chaos of flying rock, the Heaven's Net Blood Fiend Web returned, landing back in Ji Changkong's palm.

"Go!" he shouted sternly, clutching Huo Feng as he transformed into a streak of lightning and fled. (To be continued, for future developments, please log on to...m for more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)F