Chen Yu had been in the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Nest for more than half a year.
During this period, his White Tiger Sky Splitting Claw had reached perfection, and he had begun cultivating the Vermilion Bird Burning Sky Wings. Additionally, the Soul Imprint left in the Ten Thousand Dragon Crown was on the verge of being completely erased.
Deep into the night, Chen Yu focused all his Soul Power to battle the last trace of imprint left within the Ten Thousand Dragon Crown.
Hiss!
Moments later, the last trace of the Soul Imprint turned to ash and dispersed.
"It’s done."
Chen Yu’s face lit up with joy.
Buzz!
The Ten Thousand Dragon Crown vibrated, freed from the shackles of the Soul Imprint, it became an ownerless object and instantly flew away.
"Trying to escape?"Chen Yu released the Profound Meaning of Space to confine it.
But just then, golden light erupted from the Ten Thousand Dragon Crown, dragon shadows soared out, and a dragon’s roar shook the heavens and earth, accompanied by a soul-suppressing power that surged in all directions.
Chen Yu hadn’t expected the Ten Thousand Dragon Crown to suddenly unleash such powerful soul force. It caused his head to throb as if his soul was being torn by a giant dragon.
Swish!
The Ten Thousand Dragon Crown shot out of the cave and broke through the barrier, escaping to freedom.
"Looks like this thing had been planning to escape ever since its Soul Imprint could be erased."
Chen Yu recovered and instantly dashed out.
The Ten Thousand Dragon Crown was fast, but Chen Yu was no slowpoke either.
Whoosh boom!
A red glow burst from Chen Yu’s back, transforming into a pair of blood-red wings spanning dozens of feet, exuding the aura of a Holy Beast.
At this moment, Chen Yu activated the Vermilion Bird Burning Sky Wings, and his speed erupted instantly, rapidly closing in on the Ten Thousand Dragon Crown.
"Stay!
Chen Yu once more manipulated the Profound Meaning of Space, forming a closed space barrier around the Ten Thousand Dragon Crown, imprisoning it.
This time, the Ten Thousand Dragon Crown did not break free.
It was merely an artifact, requiring the absorption of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi to wield its power.
But Chen Yu had continually kept the Ten Thousand Dragon Crown sealed within his heart’s internal space, its accumulated power nearly exhausted.
"Huh? What’s that?"
Chen Yu put away the Ten Thousand Dragon Crown and suddenly sensed an unusual aura coming from near the cave’s Spiritual Medicine area.
Mobilizing his Spiritual Sense and channeling the Profound Meaning of Space, he perceived a strange scene.
...
Shi Yao, wearing the Hidden Star Clothes, was digging up the Earthfire Ganoderma.
But suddenly, a dragon’s roar accompanied by formidable soul force spread in all directions.
Already in a state of high tension, Shi Yao’s soul was affected, his entire body momentarily paralyzed, and the effect of the Hidden Star Clothes diminished, causing some disturbance.
When Shi Yao recovered, he sensed Chen Yu far off in the sky, his deep, calm eyes trained on him.
"Not good, I’m about to be discovered."
Shi Yao’s mind jolted, and he turned to leave.
This time, Zhu Cangyan’s plan was to stealthily steal spiritual materials and then frame Chen Yu.
If Chen Yu found out, the plan would fail, and Zhu Cangyan would surely harshly punish him.
Whoosh!
Shi Yao turned and left, taking out a token.
This token could allow him to pass through the Spiritual Medicine Garden’s barriers unimpeded.
"Where do you think you’re going?"
Suddenly, a cold shout came from behind.
Shi Yao’s Spiritual Sense swept back, his face instantly turning pale, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.
So fast!
Earlier, Chen Yu was clearly four thousand feet away from him. After he reacted, before escaping a hundred feet, the other had already arrived.
Is this the speed of a Mid-stage Star Condensation Peak? It should be at least a Four-star King!
Moreover, when Shi Yao saw Chen Yu’s wings, he was completely stunned.
"Vermilion Bird Sacred Wings?"
His heart pounded fiercely, and he was utterly shocked.
The Vermilion Bird Sacred Wings were possessed only by the Vermilion Bird Sacred Clan, and apart from that, the Vermilion Bird Sacred Clan had a core Secret Technique to cultivate the Vermilion Bird Sacred Wings, but this Secret Technique wasn’t easily taught; even Shi Yao couldn’t obtain it.
Yet, right now, Chen Yu actually revealed Vermilion Bird Sacred Wings! What on earth was going on?
But this wasn’t the time for shock; he absolutely couldn’t let Chen Yu catch him.
Shi Yao didn’t give up and swiftly fled.
The void showed no trace of his figure, but with Shi Yao’s full-speed escape, there were spatial ripples in the void, allowing Chen Yu to easily lock onto him.
Boom!
Space power descended, and silver light flickered around Shi Yao.
It was clearly visible—a translucent human form inside a light silver cube.
Boom hum!
Shi Yao’s internal energy burned, and his bloodline power was also activated as his body expanded, transforming into a transparent giant bird, emitting a fierce firelight, breaking free from Chen Yu’s constraints.
"Late Stage Star Condensation, huh."
Before, with Shi Yao wearing the Hidden Star Clothes, Chen Yu couldn’t gauge his cultivation, having thought it was just a handyman stealing spiritual medicine. Yet, who would’ve thought his cultivation was so high?
"You think you can leave with just Late Stage Star Condensation?"
Chen Yu snorted coldly, activating the White Tiger Sacred Claw and gently swiping through the void, producing five thunderous golden-white marks, domineeringly unmatched as if to destroy everything.
"Not good..."
Shi Yao sensed a strong threat, unable to dodge this strike and could only struggle to counter.
Boom hiss!
The endless flames Shi Yao spewed from his mouth were shattered by Chen Yu’s claw, then struck Shi Yao.
"Ah..."
Shi Yao’s scream resounded, his body crashing to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"I want to see who is secretly targeting me."
Chen Yu floated down from the sky.
In the giant pit lay a huge bird beast, its two wings severed by Chen Yu, apart from that, there were three deep wounds visible to the bone.
This late-stage Condensed Star bird beast was severely injured by just one claw of Chen Yu.
If Chen Yu’s attack had hit a vital point, it could have faced life-threatening danger.
"No... I..."
Shi Yao muttered unwillingly.
He failed!
He tried to frame Chen Yu but ended up being caught instead.
Moreover, Chen Yu’s strength had significantly increased compared to before, Shi Yao couldn’t even withstand a single claw from him.
Looking at the pitiful giant bird in the crater, Chen Yu remembered his White Tiger Sky Splitting Claw had perfected, with a casual strike, he severely injured a late-stage Condensed Star creature.
If he had attacked with full force earlier, this big bird would probably be dead.
"Shi Yao!"
Chen Yu closely examined the situation and based on the aura, he determined the true identity of this big bird.
Shi Yao opposing him was understandable, but given his status, how could he freely access here? Clearly, there were higher-ups involved.
"Isn’t this Brother Shi? Coming here at night, are you looking for me?"
Chen Yu wore a playful expression.
"I... I came here to look for a friend, Chen Yu, how dare you attack me without reason, you’re violating the rules of the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Nest."
Shi Yao held a glimmer of hope and believed Zhu Cangyan would come to his rescue.
"Oh? You’re looking for a friend, then why were you digging up the spiritual materials here? Don’t tell me those Earthfire Ganoderma are your friends!"
Chen Yu’s expression turned severe, his entire aura spread out.
At that moment, he activated the White Tiger Sacred Claw and Vermilion Bird Sacred Wings, the imposing aura rendered Shi Yao immobile, as if ten mountains were pressing on his body, blood oozed from his wounds.
Shi Yao was at a loss for words, unable to argue.
He sneaked in at night, some spiritual materials disappeared from the Spiritual Medicine Garden, and he happened to have them in his storage space, unable to argue his way out — caught red-handed.
At this moment, some attendants rushed over.
"What happened?"
"Manager Chen? This is... Brother Shi Yao?"
Most attendants passed out from the soul attack earlier, a few managed to endure and arrived here.
The attendants instantly deduced the situation: Shi Yao came here to steal spiritual materials but was caught by the upright Manager Chen, and the soul attack earlier was surely a method Shi Yao used in resistance.
"Sneaking into the Spiritual Medicine Garden, stealing spiritual medicines, accompany me to the Law Enforcement Hall."
Chen Yu grabbed Shi Yao and flew towards the Vermilion Bird Law Enforcement Hall.
On the way, Chen Yu suddenly remembered something and tore off the clothes from Shi Yao’s body.
"What are you doing?"
Shi Yao stared at Chen Yu in terror, covering his chest with his hands. Chen Yu suddenly undressing him, could it be some kind of fetish...
Chen Yu ignored Shi Yao, inspecting a transparent garment in his hand, under the moonlight occasional star patterns flickered on it.
Based on previous observations, this garment could turn invisible and also conceal the aura.
"This garment is my trophy."
Chen Yu spoke righteously.
"You..."
Shi Yao was furious, Chen Yu was blatantly robbing him.
Soon, Chen Yu and Shi Yao arrived at the Vermilion Bird Law Enforcement Hall, immediately alerting the Law Enforcement Team and the Law Enforcement Elder.
After all, this incident involved the talented disciples of Heavenly Martial Sect and Vermilion Bird Heavenly Nest.
From the depths of the hall, a red-faced elder emerged, his eyebrows raised, eyes fierce; as he appeared, the temperature inside the hall sharply dropped.
"What is going on?"
The elder’s slightly sinister voice echoed.
"Elder, please make a decision for this disciple, I was passing by the Spiritual Medicine Garden when Chen Yu suddenly rushed out and attacked me violently."
Shi Yao spoke up suddenly, as if he suffered a great injustice.
His actions were mainly to stall for time, waiting for Zhu Cangyan to rescue him.
"Chen Yu, did this happen?"
The elder’s eyes immediately glared at Chen Yu, his gaze like two ice-cold swords piercing through.
Clearly, this elder also disliked Chen Yu, leaning towards the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Nest’s disciples, directly intimidating him.
If they could pin such a charge on Chen Yu and punish him severely, the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Nest and numerous Demon Races, would cheer with joy.
"Reporting to the elder, this is utter nonsense. My position at the Spiritual Medicine Garden and my character are well-known among all the attendants."
Chen Yu responded firmly, upright, his voice loud.
"Then why did you injure Shi Yao?"
The elder pressed further.
"This person sneaked into the Spiritual Medicine Garden late at night, stealing precious spiritual materials. I discovered him, but he resisted and tried to escape, so I had to fight back and injure him. But I didn’t expect this thief to be so weak, injured this badly by me."
Chen Yu spoke truthfully.
Beside him, Shi Yao’s face flushed with anger; Chen Yu reported the incident, not forgetting to humiliate him.
"Oh? What evidence do you have?"
The elder continued to ask.
As long as Chen Yu couldn’t confirm, the matter was easy to settle.
"Recently, the number of precious materials in the Spiritual Medicine Garden has been constantly decreasing. I’ve been suspecting a thief, and today I caught him, unexpectedly it was Shi Yao."
"So far, the Spiritual Medicine Garden has lost fifty Earthfire Ganoderma, fifty Three-star Blood Flame Grass, ten Red Cloud Bamboo; I request the elder to investigate thoroughly and punish this thief."
Chen Yu’s voice was loud.
Shi Yao originally planned to argue, stall for time, but after listening to Chen Yu’s words, he immediately sensed something wrong, then was left dumbfounded, his expression changing drastically.
This... isn’t right!
He only dug a few Earthfire Ganoderma, just a few.
"This is unjust, elder, this time it’s truly unjust..."