Old Ancestor Wu Qian slowly and stiffly turned his head to gaze at the skull above.
He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he felt as if a gaze had appeared in the originally hollow eyes, looking at him.
Old Ancestor Wu Qian hurriedly stopped reversing his spiritual energy, bowed, and coughed twice.
The black smoke also paused for a moment due to the beast's roar, then lunged at Old Ancestor Wu Qian with even more arrogance. However, this time, before it could even hit the shield, it was shattered by a punch.
Old Ancestor Wu Qian stared in astonishment at the phantom standing before him, his memory of a towering figure gradually merging with it.
So this was the true form of that monstrous beast.
The phantom was the same height as him, but nearly twice as broad.
A tiger's head, a human's body, a snake's tail, and wings...
Old Ancestor Wu Qian's gaze swept over its body inch by inch, his heart filled with surprise as to what kind of existence it was.
"Roar!"
The monstrous beast roared and charged to the front of the black smoke, shattering the newly condensed black smoke once more.
The black smoke that rendered Old Ancestor Wu Qian powerless was, in front of this monstrous beast, utterly helpless.
After more than ten breaths, the black smoke completely dispersed, and the oppressive aura that had been shrouding Old Ancestor Wu Qian's body finally vanished.
Old Ancestor Wu Qian could no longer hold up his injured body and weakly collapsed onto the skull.
However, before he could breathe a sigh of relief, the phantom of the monstrous beast suddenly turned and walked towards him.
Old Ancestor Wu Qian held onto his last breath, trying his best to appear somewhat solemn.
Just as he was contemplating how to converse with the phantom beast, the phantom stopped beside him and then, with the force of thunder, delivered a powerful punch.
Boom!
A violent collision was followed by a sound of fine shattering.
Old Ancestor Wu Qian shifted his attention from the phantom and excitedly watched the runes on the skull crack and crumble inch by inch.
As if in a dream, he seemed to hear a furious howl.
Old Ancestor Wu Qian couldn't help but curve his lips.
A few breaths later, all the demonic patterns on the skull vanished, leaving only the smooth, delicate bone.
"Fellow Daoist, you..."
Old Ancestor Wu Qian cupped his hands, carefully choosing his words.
However, the phantom of the monstrous beast merely glanced at him from within the skull.
Old Ancestor Wu Qian coughed awkwardly twice, his curiosity about this being's identity growing even stronger.
Crack, crack, crack!
The crisp sound of breaking made Old Ancestor Wu Qian's eyes tremble.
He looked up to see the massive skull beginning to disintegrate from the top, turning into white bone dust that scattered in all directions.
While astonished, Old Ancestor Wu Qian also felt a sense of sorrow.
Perhaps the skull felt its mission was complete and did not wish to linger.
He once again cupped his hands in salutation.
Regardless of who the skull's owner was, they were a senior worthy of his respect.
He silently watched the skull disappear bit by bit, his expression growing increasingly solemn.
"I am the Beast King."
Just as the last speck of bone dust drifted away in the cold wind, a majestic voice echoed in Old Ancestor Wu Qian's mind.
"Beast King."
Old Ancestor Wu Qian repeated the two words, a thoughtful expression gradually appearing in his eyes.
"Master, Master!"
In the distance, the Sect Leader of Qinglian saw that Old Ancestor Wu Qian could still stand steadily and almost wept with joy.
He had thought...
It was truly good that his Master was alright.
"Qinglian?"
Old Ancestor Wu Qian, seeing the Sect Leader of Qinglian appear, quickly snapped out of his reverie. There was a more important matter to attend to now.
He closed his eyes to sense, then took out the five copper coins again.
This time, after spinning in the air for a moment, the five copper coins immediately found the entrance to the hidden secret realm without any resistance.
The entrance to the secret realm was forcibly opened, and bright light shone through from the entrance.
Old Ancestor Wu Qian nodded to the Sect Leader of Qinglian, and together with the Elder Zui Yue and Elder Qu, who arrived shortly after, they quickly rushed into the secret realm.
...
When Long Haotian opened the Immortal Thunder Bottle, he felt as if all his spiritual energy had been drained by it.
This was followed by a severe burning sensation and hot energy coursing through his meridians.
Long Haotian's vision began to blur, and his limbs grew weak.
He bit down hard on his tongue. The scorching blood surged out instantly, forcing him to regain his composure.
He had to ensure that the immortal thunder struck Jin Biao accurately before he could collapse.
Upon seeing the Immortal Thunder Bottle, Jin Biao felt a strong sense of unease.
He hadn't expected the other party to actually possess a treasure that could threaten him.
Jin Biao was furious. If he had known this, he would never have given the other party any opportunity.
He glanced sideways at the people huddled within the defensive shield, then at Long Haotian, a sinister smile suddenly flashing in his eyes.
After all, no matter what happened, he still had a backup plan.
Boom boom!
The turbulent thunderous aura surged through the entire secret realm at this moment.
Both Xu Yi and Ji Buwang, who were rushing towards the Xuanqing Sect disciples, and the cultivators surviving in other corners of the secret realm were all shocked by this thunderous roar.
One had to understand that although this secret realm looked no different from the Nine Continents Continent, it was actually another space. Outside tribulation lightning could not enter a secret realm.
Just like how Xu Yi was trapped within the secret realm for two hundred years, her cultivation remained at the late Golden Core stage because the tribulation lightning, essential for becoming a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, could not enter the secret realm.
Yet now, a tribulation lightning of immense power had directly entered the secret realm, how could people not be surprised?
Even some astute cultivators suspected that a new treasure had appeared in the secret realm.
Many were tempted, and some began to move, either quickly or slowly, towards the source of the thunderous roar.
"Hurry, Ji Buwang, take me with you!"
Xu Yi had a feeling that this thunderous roar was related to the Xuanqing Sect disciples, so she simply abandoned her own travel and let Ji Buwang envelop her with his spiritual energy to travel together.
Ji Buwang said nothing, directly dividing a stream of spiritual energy to carry Xu Yi.
At the same time, a pillar of thunder, like a heavenly pillar, descended from the sky of the secret realm, its target directly aimed at Jin Biao.
The Xuanqing Sect disciples held their breath, their gazes complex.
Although they also wished for this person impersonating Senior Brother Jin to meet his demise,
They also realized that this body belonged to the real Senior Brother Jin.
If this person were truly reduced to ashes by the immortal thunder, then Senior Brother Jin would forever disappear from the Nine Continents Continent.
Two conflicting emotions tore at their hearts, leaving them exceptionally silent.
"Hahahaha! You can't kill me! You can't kill me..."
To everyone's surprise, Jin Biao did not dodge. Instead, he stood his ground and laughed wildly until the power of the thunder completely engulfed his body.
"Did it work?"
Ma Wencai murmured dazedly, unable to believe that this person had been dealt with so easily.
The other disciples said nothing; their moods were even more complex than before.
Wang Yi'an and Lu Zi'ang frowned tightly. They had a feeling things wouldn't end so simply.
Long Haotian was closest to Jin Biao's position. When the thunder descended, he was already retreating but was still caught in the unrestrained power of the lightning.
His outwardly strong but inwardly weak body was stimulated by the intense current, and Long Haotian felt that life was worse than death.
But this pain didn't last long before it suddenly disappeared.
Then, Long Haotian's vision went dark, and his consciousness sank into darkness.