"Blood Shadow, what's that?" The 10,000-legged Venerable One was taken aback and wary as it stared at the secret realm entrance, which suddenly appeared.

It was naturally together with the formidable yet mysterious Blood Shadow.

Blood Shadow was Sky-devouring Devil God's followers. Nobody knew his cultivation base but judging from his performance, he seemed to be at least a Venerable One. Moreover, he was adept in various rare and queer abilities, which was valued by the insect Venerable Ones the most.

He kept quiet for some time before he answered, "That should be a secret realm's entrance."

"A secret realm's entrance?" The 10,000-legged Venerable One looked at it seriously and asked, "Isn't that an interspatial passage?"

Blood Shadow explained, "A secret realm's entrance is also considered a type of interspatial passage, but it has existed for a longer time."

The 10,000-legged Venerable One scoffed. "You knew—no wonder you're not anxious at all."

Ever since Ou Yangming left the Beast King Sect, they had been following him while lying low from afar. They had many opportunities to make a move along the way, but the young fellow was more cautious than they imagined.

They would have attacked long ago if they were up against an Intermediate Spiritualist. Given their strengths as Venerable Ones, as well as Blood Shadow's endless tricks, it would be effortless for them to take down an Intermediate Spiritualist.

Nonetheless, Ou Yangming was the Phoenixes' messenger, after all. Since Feng Xiang valued him so much, nobody knew if it left leeway for him. Therefore, before they were completely sure, even Blood Shadow dared not act rashly.

They planned to follow Ou Yangming closely and spy on him so that they could decide after perceiving his abilities.

Who knew, Ou Yangming summoned an interspatial passage out of nowhere. The 10,000-legged Venerable One and Blood Shadow almost could not believe their eyes when they saw what happened.

It was worth noting that the interspatial passage could exist for a long time; it was not a fragile passage that was activated from a secret technique during an escape.

Such a passage could not be mentioned on equal terms with the permanent passage that was built between the Spiritual Realm and the lower realm, but it was not something that could anyhow be created by the 2 Venerable Ones.

This was why they regarded the young fellow higher than before after witnessing what happened.

"Ah, it'll be great if I can perceive that young fella easily…" Blood Shadow smiled bitterly.

The 10,000-legged Venerable One fell silent for a brief moment before it asked, "What do we do now? Are we going inside?"

Blood Shadow shook his head. "There's something extremely dangerous inside the secret realm, so I won't suggest that."

"What is it?" The 10,000-legged Venerable One's eyes lit up. Danger and opportunity usually coexisted, so perhaps it would be highly rewarded if it could overcome the danger inside.

Nevertheless, Black Shadow looked at it and said, "I don't know what it is but the closer I am to the entrance, the more I can sense the danger." It paused for a while before it added, "It's not something I can resist but of course, you can go ahead if you don't believe me."

The 10,000-legged Venerable One widened its eyes. It looked back and forth between the secret realm's passage and Blood Shadow, then it finally scoffed and asked, "If we don't go inside, how can we capture him?"

At last, the 10,000-legged Venerable One overcame its greed and chose to believe in Blood Shadow.

In actuality, given its cultivation base, it was not afraid of danger anymore.

Having said that, Feng Xiang's sudden appearance left a deep impression in the Spiritual Realm, causing the 10,000-legged Venerable One to be frightened like never before. This was why the Venerable One chose to flinch at this time instead of braving forward.

Blood Shadow sneered and reminded the Venerable One. "Don't forget that it's a secret realm's entrance, so he'll definitely come back."

The 10,000-legged Venerable One shook its body to slowly sink into the ground. It was soundless throughout the process, such that it did not cause any energy fluctuation as though the ground sank automatically, which was strange.

Although it agreed to help Blood Shadow achieve some goals, it still had its way in terms of handling matters.

Seeing as the 10,000-legged Venerable One disappeared, Blood Shadow had a weird look on his face. "The Phoenixes—hmph, the damn Phoenixes…" His voice eventually faded away, and the same was happening to his body, which vanished together with his voice.

※※※※

After entering the secret realm, Ou Yangming took a deep breath. He felt refreshed as he sensed the air flowing in his lungs.

He had expected a phoenix to descend this time, and he was well-prepared.

Ou Yangming had stumbled upon the Wutong Tree's secret realm by accident, but he knew very well how valuable it was.

The young fellow was not Feng Xiang,hence he did not know what it would do if it found out about the secret realm. This was the reason he made a prompt decision to keep it a secret.

Before the phoenix arrived, he immediately ordered the Wutong Tree to close the secret realm's entrance.

Due to the contract between them, the Wutong Tree executed his order right away.

Feng Xiang's abilities were divine, but its power could not cover the whole Spiritual Realm. Once the secret realm's entrance disappeared, it could not sense the Wutong Tree anymore.

Ou Yangming went through all the trouble for one thing, which was to keep the Wutong Tree's secret realm a secret so that it could become his base.

Now that the phoenix had left, it would not return anytime soon. As such, after Ou Yangming left the Beast King Sect, he chose a remote area to contact the Wutong Tree to reopen the secret realm.

Ou Yangming could not help but lament as soon as he set foot in the secret realm.

He did everything possible to keep this place a secret because he was afraid of the Phoenixes' strength. They would only have to say a word or make a move, and he might have to present them with the most precious thing to him.

If that was really the case, it would be the greatest sorrow for Ou Yangming.

Now that he managed to keep the foundation, the Wutong Tree's secret realm would truly belong to him from now on.

"Woosh, woosh, woosh…"

A strong wind surged in the air as if a message was being sent from a distance away. It kept drifting around the young fellow.

Ou Yangming calmed down and listened carefully for some time before he laughed.

The Wutong Tree, which was the secret realm's core, was congratulating him. The sounds of the wind kept echoing in the air, and they sounded like music to his ears. He never thought that they could be so moving.

He laughed out loud and felt enlightened. Furthermore, he became more receptive as he experienced an upsurge of an immense yet indescribable feeling of joy.

From this point onward, the secret realm that contained countless treasures belonged to him.

Ou Yangming strode toward the massive tree at the center of the secret realm in a flash. A strong wind was constantly lingering around him.

At last, he arrived in front of the humongous tree. As he continued forward, every branch made way for him. They even bent slightly as if they were humans that were bowing at him with respect.

Before long, a vivid face appeared on the tree wall.

"Master, welcome back."

Ou Yangming nodded and uttered, "You know already."

"Huh, what?"

"I'm sure you know." Ou Yangming sighed.

The Wutong Tree kept quiet for some time before it responded, "Master, whether I know or not, it doesn't matter."

Ou Yangming stared at the face on the wall and asked, "Do you regret this now?"

"Heh, Master, you're overthinking." The face on the wall looked down and expressed, "It's my honor that I met you instead of wasting my time any longer, so why would I regret this?" It paused for a moment before it continued, "Besides, your Heavenly Phoenix Fire's purity isn't lower than that sir's, so what's there for me to regret?"

The young fellow was dumbfounded. "What? My Heavenly Phoenix Fire's purity is on par with Feng Xiang's?"

He obtained the Military Fire, but he was a normal human, after all, thus he could not imagine his fire being on par with that of Feng Xiang.

Despite that, the Wutong Tree replied to him firmly, "Master, I'm a Wutong Tree, so I'm probably much more sensitive toward Heavenly Phoenix Fires as compared to the Phoenixes. Your fire's exceptionally pure; it's the purest and the most potent Heavenly Phoenix Fire. It's my honor of a lifetime that you chose me, so I won't betray you no matter what."

Ou Yangming twitched his mouth and fell silent for some time before he sighed.

Following that, he turned his wrist to retrieve the half-dead Interspatial Spiritual Tree.

Ever since Ou Yangming acquired the spiritual tree, he had been giving it sufficient immortal liquid and concentrated immortal liquid every day. Due to the nutrients, while the tree was not full of life yet, it was no longer dying.

Subsequently, a rattan extended out from the Wutong Tree to take the Interspatial Spiritual Tree away.

Only one living thing could live at the center of the secret realm, and it was the secret realm's owner—the Wutong Tree.

The Interspatial Spiritual Tree was previous, but it could not share soil and water with the Wutong Tree.

However, Ou Yangming knew that since the spiritual tree was now in the Wutong Tree's hands, its life would not be a worry anymore.

Afterward, Ou Yangming turned his wrist again to retrieve a jade bottle. "Wutong, this is a Phoenix Fire Bamboo. I'd like to plant it here and take a part of the bamboo away once it grows, so pick a spot and start planting it now."

The face on the tree wall was delighted. "This is great—the Phoenix Fire Bamboo is also one of the precious items that I didn't get to collect. Master, how did you find it?"

"I didn't find it; someone gave it to me." Ou Yangming smiled bitterly and mumbled, "I'll really become a farmer for a month…"