Chapter 8: Running Away from Home

"No, no, if I drag this on any longer, my life is surely forfeit!"

"That big fat bird is currently breaking through its cultivation realm. If I don't leave now, when will I ever have another chance?"

"Hmph, I won't play your games anymore!"

"The day I return shall be the day you all meet your demise!"

Watching Jiang Xuan wailing ahead of him while his cultivation base surged upward, the Demon Lord made a firm decision.

The tides of fortune turn; one cannot simply rely on luck. In this world governed by the law of the jungle, only those who survive can speak of the future.

A tree that stands above the forest is the first to be broken by the wind. In the Demon Lord's eyes, although Jiang Xuan’s strength was skyrocketing to an absurd degree, things that are too rigid are easily snapped. Perhaps he wouldn't even need to act himself; Jiang Xuan might perish at the hands of other monsters first!

In short, the most important thing now was to make a swift escape!

Keeping his back to Jiang Xuan, the Demon Lord didn't even dare to flap his wings, instead tiptoeing gingerly toward the edge of the nest.

Planting his feet on the rim, the Demon Lord sneered and leaped straight into the bottomless abyss below!

Not long after, he appeared dozens of yards away from the nest, fluttering his wings to land atop the cliff.

The Empress watched all of this unfold.

"Third tier already. This little black bird is clearly no ordinary creature. But can it really survive out there alone?"

"I, too, shall wait until I reach the fourth tier before leaving this godforsaken place!"

"That big fat bird does nothing but eat and sleep, and now that it has reached the fifth tier of cultivation, it surely has no time to bother with me."

"The top priority is to enter seclusion!"

No sooner said than done, the Empress crouched in the nest, immediately circulating the "Emperor's Hegemony Technique" within her body.

As her cultivation grew, she found the "Emperor's Hegemony Technique" to be increasingly miraculous; her rate of cultivation had actually increased several-fold!

She, like the Demon Lord, had now reached the third tier of monster cultivation!

And after this first session of practice following her breakthrough, this supreme technique of the world clearly gave the Empress immense confidence!

Surpassing those who started before her was no longer just a dream!

"Whew! I'm exhausted! The essence blood of the Golden Crow is truly domineering!"

"Just one drop, and it forcibly pushed my realm to the Great Perfection of the fifth tier. The power of a Holy Beast is terrifying indeed!"

"However..."

After completely fusing with the drop of Golden Crow essence blood, the pain and fatigue from the process vanished.

In their place was an endless supply of vigor surging through Jiang Xuan’s body!

Jiang Xuan’s gaze slowly shifted to his golden wings.

They were hard as iron and covered in the fire of the Extreme Yang. If he were to strike some unsuspecting great demon with these, wouldn't it leave them covered in bruises?

"Hahaha! It seems being reincarnated as a bird isn't such a bad thing after all!"

"Give it time, and wouldn't dominating this forest of monsters be an effortless task?"

"No, no, those who are arrogant will eventually be reined in by the heavens—not to mention I am just a little bird."

"I was worked to the bone in my past life; in this one, I’d better stop dreaming and get some sleep."

After fusing with the Golden Crow essence blood, Jiang Xuan no longer felt particularly tired.

But as soon as he realized his mindset was straying, he immediately planned to go back to lying flat.

He could increase his cultivation just by sleeping; he would stay hidden until he was invincible, and by then, no one could do anything to him.

He laid down and squinted his eyes.

"Ding!"

"Host, your younger brother has run away from home. You have an obligation to bring him back!"

"Please leave the nest immediately to find your brother. Upon task completion, you will be rewarded with the physical talent 'Steel-Reinforced Bones'!"

"What? Ran away from home? Has my mind-reading ability stopped working?"

He looked sharply toward his backside and lifted his tail feathers, only to realize, holy hell, it was true! The little black bird was gone!

That shouldn't be! Didn't he have the mind-reading function?

"Host, just now your mental energy and focus were entirely concentrated on fusing the Golden Crow essence blood, so the mind-reading function was passively deactivated."

"As your cultivation increases, the range of your mind-reading ability will expand to three meters."

Good grief, Jiang Xuan only then realized there was a reward involved?

Looking at it this way, his siblings causing trouble for him wasn't such a bad thing.

It was just a bit of a hassle...

"That little black bird is really a troublemaker; I can't even have a peaceful nap."

"Fine, fine. Since I'm the big brother, and there's a reward..."

With that, Jiang Xuan stood up and flapped his wings twice.

Instantly, flames scattered, and wind blades cut through the air.

"This, this, this! So powerful!"

"That... could that be the power of the Golden Crow!"

The Empress, who was in the middle of seclusion, was shocked beyond measure; her jaw nearly hit the ground.

The connection within her bloodline told her that it was undoubtedly the power of the Golden Crow!

The violent flowing fire, the fierce gale—as the human supreme, she couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine!

"Ah! You scoundrel!"

Just as she was frozen in shock, Jiang Xuan took off, creating a hurricane that sent her tumbling several times within the nest.

The Empress cursed loudly, but by the time she steadied herself, Jiang Xuan was nowhere to be seen.

Meanwhile, the Demon Lord was humming a tune, hunkering down in the bushes at the edge of the monster forest.

"This place is a decent hiding spot, though it's only a temporary stay; it's still too close to the nest."

"There seems to be a smell... so pungent. It smells like a snake demon."

"Whatever, the priority is to reach the fourth tier of monster cultivation!"

"My 'Ten Thousand Demon Heart Sutra' is one of a kind. With this technique, I’m sure I can kill my way back within a few days and tear that fat bird to shreds!"

The Demon Lord’s eyes were sinister and vicious, a cold sneer playing on his lips.

But just then, he seemed to hear something.

He looked ahead. The dense bushes blocked the sunlight—already sparse due to the towering trees—plunging the Demon Lord’s line of sight into near darkness.

But the rustling sound made his heart skip a beat for some unknown reason.

"You... you carry the scent of my children!"

"You ate my children! Damn you! Damn you!"

"You wretched little hawk-monster, you haven't even grown your full feathers, yet you killed my most beloved son!"

"I shall have my vengeance!"

Suddenly, the Demon Lord saw two eyes larger than his entire body!

The pupils were vertical, glowing with a sinister, terrifying green light!

The point was, this was the aura of a fifth-tier monster!

Before he could even move out of fear, a massive snake-demon body appeared before him.

It was impossibly huge!

"You, I didn't eat them! It was another bird! Are you misunderstanding something?"

"Misunderstanding? Then why do you carry the scent of my children—no, even my wife!"

"Ah! You killed my wife and children! I will grind your bones to dust! I will avenge them!"

Fifth tier! A Golden-Armored Snake Demon!

This scent... it was the family of those two Golden-Armored Snake Demons!

Just as the Demon Lord realized what was happening, a gust of wind reeking of foul breath rushed toward him.

He hurriedly opened his eyes, raised his wings, and unleashed all his spiritual power to defend himself!

When he opened his eyes again, the surroundings suddenly brightened.

The bushes for dozens of yards around... were completely! Gone!