The Azure Flame Profound Turtle seemed to sense his thoughts, letting out an excited, mournful cry. Its form dissolved and then violently swelled a thousandfold, carrying Zong Shou toward the direction of that peak as it sped away.

Meanwhile, inside Zong Shou's sleeve, another resonant tremor sounded. "It's Hanxi. It's about time she woke up—"

Hanxi was a naturally born anomaly, not belonging to the lineage of divine beasts, possessing no inherent bloodline inheritance. Among the few guardian spirit beasts, she should have been the first to awaken.

Zong Shou twitched his sleeve, and sure enough, a streak of silver light darted out from within. Focusing his gaze, he saw that not only was her entire body wreathed in silver-white flames, but she was also veiled within a halo of light, making her features indistinct. The six pairs of luminous wings were even more expansive now, spreading out a hundred zhang, spilling forth radiant light in all directions. Though she was something inherently fierce and violent, she appeared instead holy and magnificent, as if wrought by the heavens themselves—

And her face was no longer covered by carapace; it was now perfectly human. Looking closely, her features bore a faint resemblance to Kong Yao, equally exquisite. Zong Shou tentatively reached out a finger to touch her; the sensation felt just like human skin. "Strange—"

He knew that this Holy Fire Ant Queen had always placed immense value on her carapace, diligently protecting her body within the insect armor. That she would voluntarily abandon it now was truly astonishing. Unless this little thing was now confident it could fight without diminishing its power, even without its thick armor.

He couldn't help but muse that this naturally born anomaly, while lacking bloodline inheritance, was truly a creation born from the world's violent energies—a product of heaven itself. Its connection to the world's origin might not be inferior to many Saint-tier Venerables who had achieved the state of 'Unity Between Heaven and Man.' This period of slumber might have truly led to some profound realization—

A thread of true power probed inward, spreading throughout Hanxi's body. Zong Shou's eyes cleared with understanding. "As expected, she is also on the verge of achieving the Core Formation stage—"

The limitless supply of vow power, combined with the impact of the Marrow-Fueling Blood Spirit Art, had propelled Hanxi's strength from the mid-stage of the Spirit Realm straight into the late stage. Her mastery over the Great Dao of 'Light' showed particularly alarming progress. Only half a step, one crucial nexus, separated her from ascending directly to the Immortal Rank.

The confusion resolved, Zong Shou smiled again. He found the sensation in his hand quite pleasant and couldn't resist squeezing gently once more. He then curiously observed Hanxi's chest; that area, too, was bare of carapace, her entire form radiant, like a celestial fairy veiled in a mist-like halo. He wondered if the rest of her felt this real, too.

Hanxi, always maintaining a cold expression, allowed his actions for a moment. Finally, she could bear it no longer; her silver eyes flashed with predatory light as she fixed her gaze upon Zong Shou’s fingers. She seemed to be debating whether to sever this hand immediately.

Zong Shou offered an awkward laugh and quickly withdrew his hand. He inwardly mocked himself for having such low moral standards, shamelessly taking liberties even with his own spirit pet. It was a pity that this time, it wasn't Xiaori who woke first; otherwise, she could have lent him a hand—

Although Hanxi was powerful now, she might not be able to intervene effectively in a battle of this scale. Rummaging through his Cosmic Pouch for a long time, Zong Shou finally found a piece of silver-white sheer gauze and tossed it over to her. "Since you choose to take human form, you ought to possess a sense of human modesty—"

Hanxi did not refuse, draping the light fabric over herself. This item was something Zong Shou had acquired from an unknown source—a mid-grade magic treasure capable of adjusting its size. It was likely a spoil from the battle against the Daoist Sect, of fine quality, which Zong Shou had treasured but never found a use for until now. When worn, it served both to cover her body and offer protection.

Zong Shou paid Hanxi no more mind and paused his footwork. The Azure Flame Profound Turtle immediately unfurled all twelve pairs of its icy wings. Although the giant turtle's body appeared massive, its speed in flight was astonishingly swift. In mere moments, they arrived outside that mountain peak. A thousand li across from them lay the Tianyan Prefecture.

This area was heavily guarded by restrictions; beyond the fire clouds, countless killing formations lay hidden, and dozens of times the usual magnetic force enveloped the region. Constant fluctuations in weight made it impossible for any being, man or beast, to fly here; movement was restricted to ground travel. It seemed designed to flaunt the supreme status of the Tianyan Prefecture in this realm.

Zong Shou had no intention of concealing his arrival. It was best to strike hard and catch this entire nest of snakes and rats in one sweep. He intended to charge directly in using the might of the Azure Flame Profound Turtle, but a sudden jolt in his heart made him sense another presence. "Jingyin—"

A familiar aura emanated from beneath that giant mountain, hundreds of thousands of li away. Zong Shou smiled, wasting no thought. Sword energy burst forth within his body, and his majestic will expanded, unrestrained and brazen. With pure sword intent alone, he forcefully tore open a breach in the surrounding restrictions.

Seeing this, the Azure Flame Profound Turtle instantly let out a booming laugh, appearing immensely delighted. Its azure flames burned fiercely, complementing its thousand-zhang body, radiating towering might. It soared through the sky without slowing down at all, then, like a meteor, crashed with a 'boom' right into the myriad restrictions.

In an instant, countless spirit runes flashed from every direction, and the scarlet fire clouds swept over them. The Azure Flame Profound Turtle ignored everything, barreling forward with brute force. It unleashed its chilling power and azure flames, preventing any of the fire energies from approaching within a hundred thousand zhang. Within that radius, a world of ice and snow manifested.

The grand formation could initially resist its onslaught, but after only a moment, under the tyrannical impact of the turtle's immense power, one protective barrier after another collapsed. The thousand li distance was covered in a single breath. Finally, someone within the towering fire-pillar mountain reacted. Hundreds of war chariots ascended in succession. "Arrogant beast! Since your intelligence has awakened, you should know this is the restricted territory of my Tianyan Prefecture—"

Zong Shou's figure was too small for them to notice. Countless javelins and arrows rained down upon the Azure Flame Profound Turtle. The turtle paid them no mind. It had once been a beast king, a true ferocious beast of the wilderness! While following Zong Shou brought many benefits, its true nature had been suppressed, leaving it feeling stifled for a long time. Now, relying on Zong Shou's prestige, it knew that within this realm, as long as it didn't anger the one on its back, it could rampage freely. It also dimly understood Zong Shou’s intent to slaughter everything here, and its ferocious nature became even more uncontrollable. It decided it would vent thoroughly.

It brandished its two massive shields. With a casual sweep of the left shield, it batted away all the incoming arrows and javelins. The right shield was swung directly toward the chariots. The brute force smashed a hundred war chariots, along with their occupants, into bloody pulp. Then, the massive shield fragmented, splitting into thousands of spinning shields and countless rotating saw-blades. With one sweep and twist, hundreds more flying chariots were shredded, scattering blood rain.

The remaining forces finally realized this turtle was not to be trifled with and hastily retreated back into the great mountain. The Azure Flame Profound Turtle, however, was unwilling to stop. Its fierce eyes glared into the mountain, ready to pursue and slaughter those inside. Just as it was about to follow, it felt another tremor from its back. Knowing its master was displeased and wanted it to calm down, it reluctantly halted, suppressing its escaping light and descending toward the foot of the mountain.

There, countless people were gathered, all kneeling at the base of the mountain with pale faces. A rough estimate showed millions. The Jingyin Zong Shou sought was among them. They seemed shocked by the commotion above the peak, their eyes wide with confusion and bewilderment as they stared at the colossal azure turtle overhead.

Zong Shou glanced once and then dismissed them. With a casual grasp, he plucked Jingyin from the crowd and drew her onto the turtle's back. The girl's cheeks were streaked with tears, her eyes shimmering like rain-drenched peonies, pitiful to behold. At first, she looked dazed and bewildered, but when she saw Zong Shou standing nearby, her gaze sharpened, turning to utter astonishment. "It's the Young Benefactor—"

Then, she recalled the havoc the turtle had wreaked in the sky moments ago, brutally slaughtering nearly a thousand people from the Tianyan Prefecture— Zong Shou standing on the turtle's back made it obvious whose possession this giant beast was. Her small face immediately turned ashen, tinged with faint dread. "This is the Tianyan Prefecture—"

She knew Zong Shou's strength must be extraordinary; she had seen glimpses ten days prior. But just a few days ago, this man she had chanced upon and rescued was severely injured, unable to move his limbs— While his vital energy had improved, it was still faint!

"I know this place belongs to the Tianyan Prefecture, ruled by the Realm Lord Lu." Zong Shou nodded, acknowledging the fact, then asked, "Did you weep just now? Does that mean those children have already been sent up?"

Jingyin quickly wiped her tears. "I wanted to go with Master to plead with the Lord of Tianyan Prefecture for mercy. But Master refused—" Her heart raced with anxiety; why did this person have the leisure to ask such things? If they fled now, there might still be time.

She looked up, and the last trace of color drained from her face. Along the mountainside, streams of spiritual light flickered, spreading out in all directions. Even with her limited experience, she recognized the signs of a grand formation being activated. Tens of thousands of war chariots ascended in succession, followed by twelve thousand cavalry soaring into the sky. Jingyin recognized them: the Scarlet Flame Burning Cavalry, the Sixth-Rank Dao Soldiers of the Lu family.

Zong Shou, however, seemed utterly oblivious, frowning instead as he gazed down at the dense crowd at the base of the mountain. "Why are all these people here?" He could have unleashed his power without restraint, but with these people present, he felt constrained, needing to avoid harming the innocent. It was truly troublesome—

"You still have the mind to ask that? Benefactor, if you don't leave now, disaster will strike!" Jingyin was somewhat exasperated, but as the words left her mouth, she saw Zong Shou showed no intention of departing. The turtle below also looked lethargic.

Seeing that thousands of Sixth-Rank Dao Soldiers had already encircled the area, forming layers upon layers of barriers dense within a hundred thousand zhang around the mountain, Jingyin completely lost hope. With a pale face, she replied, "They are all our own children, selected by those evil demons. They came to the base of the mountain, holding onto the sliver of hope that they might beg for mercy. There used to be more people, but they keep dwindling now. They know begging is useless—" (To be continued. If you like this work, please come and cast your recommendation votes and monthly passes. Your support is my greatest motivation.) RQ