His entire body was riddled with countless wounds, some deeper ones piercing to the very marrow of his bones.

Zong Shou, however, paid them no mind; such trivial pain was utterly incapable of moving him.

When the storm finally dissipated, Zong Shou’s first glance went directly to Han Xi.

He saw that the Saint Fire Ant Queen was completely unharmed.

He had already observed earlier how Han Xi’s movements seemed to anticipate the spatial rifts, allowing her to shift to a safe position with perfect timing, every single time.

This left Zong Shou deeply unnerved. Temporal and spatial power was the most inscrutable force; rifts appeared without the slightest warning. Even spirit beasts with the strongest wild instincts should have been helpless against them.

Yet, Han Xi appeared entirely unconcerned by the phenomenon.

He wondered just what kind of essence from ancient insects was contained within that Myriad Insect Essence Bloom, to have caused such a metamorphosis in the Queen of the Demon Fire Crystal Ants.

Frowning, Zong Shou shifted his gaze forward. As the clusters of crimson mist completely vanished, what greeted his eyes was a scene of utter devastation.

Innumerable corpses of fire birds lay before him, all incomplete and fragmented; a portion of them had likely been annihilated within those spatial tears.

The surging tide of crimson that had overwhelmed the area was completely gone, leaving behind only three or five severely wounded Tier Seven fire birds occasionally letting out mournful cries, clearly weakened and critically injured.

It was precisely at this moment that the cry of a phoenix sounded again. It still carried infinite resentment, but this time, it was laced with profound pleading.

Zong Shou ignored it. He first took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his chest. Then, resting his chin on his hand, he stared intently at the scene, calculating carefully.

“—Zong Er, do you think this haul is worth thirty thousand merit points?”

The Zong Er he addressed was Zong Yuan, who now stood there in stunned silence, gazing at the destruction.

If he hadn't witnessed it firsthand, it would have been impossible to believe that such a catastrophe was triggered by just three Chaos Spirit Annihilation Talismans.

Xuan Ye, too, was momentarily frozen. After a long pause, she let out a sigh.

Looking at the mass of bird carcasses, she had to exert all her willpower to suppress the avarice surging within her.

—More than thirty thousand? If one were to total the materials and beast cores from these corpses, even using the most conservative estimates, the value would easily exceed fifty thousand!

Heavens above, she reflected. Back when Xuan Ye first came to the Azure Life Celestial Realm, she often earned only twenty or thirty thousand merit points in an entire year. Only recently, after breaking through to the Celestial Rank, had her income significantly increased.

Could this be the 'fortune' spoken of in the old texts? It truly inspired envy, jealousy, and deep resentment—

※ ※ ※ ※

Cleaning up the bird carcasses took nearly half an hour, completely filling one small Qiankun Bag. The Golden-Winged Fire Phoenix did not reappear, instead screeching mournfully from a distance for a full half-hour before vanishing without a trace.

A few hours later, when the three of them followed the Spirit River down and returned to the Spirit Sea, the several hundred Azure Life disciples gathered there stared at them with expressions of intense strangeness.

The tremors transmitted from afar had certainly been felt here at the Spirit Sea, and they could faintly hear the intermittent sounds of the phoenix cry.

But no one knew exactly what had transpired.

However, they could all vaguely surmise that whatever it was, it must be connected to these three.

Zong Shou remained perfectly composed, walking back toward the Celestial Realm entrance alongside Zong Yuan, deliberately enduring the numerous scrutinizing gazes.

Xuan Ye, however, paused with an odd expression near her fellow disciples, remaining silent throughout the entire time.

Yong Qin’s pupils constricted, her eyes blazing with bitter intent. Wasn't this the very person who used the Sealing Return Illusory Technique, leaving her in agony for several nights?

Chen Rou also looked puzzled. “Is this Tan Qiu! Senior Sister, what exactly happened?”

Xuan Ye stayed silent, only occasionally patting her own small Qiankun Bag. Although that Tan Qiu had a terrible temperament, he was undeniably generous. On the pretext of compensating her for his injuries, he had forcibly pressed about thirty thousand merit points worth of fire bird corpses into her hands.

But having accepted his benefits, certain matters required her to keep quiet on behalf of this 'elder' of her sect.

Suddenly, a clear, male voice spoke up from nearby: “Is this perhaps the person who recently took charge of the Alpha Courtyard?”

Xuan Ye started, turning to look back, her sword-like eyebrows immediately lifting in displeasure. “Luo Shi? Yes, it is. Why do you ask?”

“Just trying to gauge this person’s depth!”

Luo Shi smiled faintly. “Since he is a future opponent, how can I not understand him a little? Speaking of which, I don’t know what happened just now, but the great formation of the entire Azure Life Celestial Realm was shaken. Since you were with him, Senior Sister, what was your impression?”

He then smiled toward Yong Qin and Chen Rou. “I know you two sisters once tried to scheme against that person and seemed to lose quite badly. Even from this distance, I could hear groans. Being able to break your Bewitching Demon Art and remain unaffected by the Charm Heart Art—this person, after breaking through to Tier Seven, might actually be worth my personal attention—”

Yong Qin’s face instantly flushed crimson again. Xuan Ye, hearing this, simply rolled her eyes, utterly speechless. She wondered if Luo Shi was looking for a death wish. She had harbored similar thoughts earlier, but now that notion was completely dismissed. The qualification to be a true disciple would have to be sought through other means.

—Even without breaking through to Tier Seven, Tan Qiu’s combat power likely surpassed her own.

Waiting until he had broken through and could unleash his full fighting strength while shielded by his artifacts before challenging him? That would surely lead to defeat.

Looking at the overconfident Junior Brother Luo, Xuan Ye felt a strange sense of relief. At least she wouldn't be the one making a fool of herself later.

Zong Shou had barely returned to the Azure Life Celestial Realm when he noticed Chu Xue and Ruo Shui waiting at the exit of the Spirit River.

Seeing Zong Shou appear, Ruo Shui was fine, but the girl Chu Xue immediately burst into tears, throwing her arms around Zong Shou in a flood of snot and tears.

This drew the attention of everyone passing by, earning him countless disdainful looks, as if he had done something terrible to the young girl.

After finally managing to comfort Chu Xue, Zong Shou headed straight for the Merit Hall. He felt a little relaxed and pleased; with this display, the silly girl Chu Xue had likely forgotten all about him potentially destroying that small courtyard.

The manager of the Merit Hall was an inner disciple of the main hall, possessing Eighth Tier strength. His surname was Fu, a middle-aged man around forty years old who favored a perpetually stern expression. Zong Shou had encountered him twice before without ever seeing any change in his demeanor.

However, when Zong Shou walked directly to the highest, third floor and opened his Qiankun Bag, letting a cascade of shattered Tier Seven fire bird corpses spill onto the floor with a loud rattle, the cold-faced middle-aged man finally showed emotion. He suppressed the pungent smell of blood, glanced over, and then frowned deeply.

“Fellow disciple, the rule of the Merit Hall is that points can only be awarded for kills made by yourself in the Spirit River. If another person acts on your behalf, it cannot be counted—”

Zong Shou’s lips curled slightly upon hearing this; he had fully anticipated this objection. He offered no rebuttal, remaining silent, and began sweeping the spilled contents back into the bag.

But just as he started, an elderly voice cut in from the side: “These things were indeed obtained by him, through his own efforts, inside the Spirit River. I can vouch for him on this matter!”

Zong Shou cursed inwardly, wondering which busybody this was. The voice sounded remarkably like the senior brother from the Scripture Repository Hall B.

Turning his gaze, he indeed saw Han Fang, standing by the staircase entrance with an ambiguous half-smile. The middle-aged man surnamed Fu looked over, first showing surprise. “May I ask who you are, Senior?”

It seemed as if he had never met Han Fang before. A moment later, however, as if realizing something, he bowed deeply. “Ah, so it is a senior from the Azure Life Dao visiting. Fu offers his respects. Since a senior vouches for it, the matter is naturally true.”

Yet, his tone carried a measurable degree of disbelief.

Zong Shou sighed inwardly, forced to continue opening the mouth of the Qiankun Bag, pouring out the carcasses of the Tier Seven fire birds. Before long, they piled up into a small mountain.

Fortunately, the third floor of the Merit Hall had also been reinforced with spatial enchantments, making the area vast enough to accommodate the growing heap.

When Zong Shou estimated the haul was worth around sixty thousand merit points, he was about to close the bag’s opening.

Unexpectedly, after a smile, Han Fang suddenly reached out and grasped Zong Shou’s hand. “Junior Brother, you are being quite unfair! That Red Fire Golden Phoenix consumed a great deal from the great formation of our Azure Life Celestial Realm. Furthermore, shouldn't Junior Brother already know the rules of the Azure Life Dao when entering? All spoils hunted within the Spirit River must be exchanged with our Azure Life Dao.”

Zong Shou was speechless, forced to let the Qiankun Bag continue to empty. He had originally thought he could rake in a fortune, but now that hope was dashed.

The Azure Life Dao did indeed have such a rule, but when he entered, he hadn't anticipated such immense gains.

He only needed thirty-five thousand merit points. Wouldn't it be far better to sell these bird corpses for actual currency?

What use was converting them into Azure Life Dao merit points?

Thirty thousand Azure Life Dao merit points, when taken outside, not even counting the beast cores, the materials alone from these bird corpses could fetch at least one thousand Tier Seven beast crystals, enough to buy countless items.

Collecting the haul had taken half an hour. When all the bird corpses were finally emptied, it took a full hour. Fu Wu was utterly stunned, remaining motionless for a long moment before coming back to his senses.

He first looked at Han Fang in disbelief, and seeing the unknown sect elder nod, Fu Wu’s expression became distant as he began calculating the merit points.

It took him a full two hours to complete the tally. He took a deep breath. “Fellow disciple’s gains this time amount to approximately forty-nine thousand merit points. Fu Wu must thank Junior Brother sincerely. With these materials, our Azure Life Dao will not lack Tier Seven spirit artifact materials for low-ranking disciples for three years. This will surely help our sect grow stronger.”

This gratitude was genuinely felt. Even an Immortal Realm expert could not find such a large quantity of Tier Seven fire birds in such a short timeframe. Moreover, experts of that level rarely had such idle time.

Zong Shou only felt helpless and reluctantly took out his sect token.

Upon seeing the inscription on Zong Shou’s token—‘Third Generation True Disciple’—Fu Wu’s expression shifted again, followed by a look of sudden realization.

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