Ou Yangming left the secret realm with the Phoenix Fire Bamboo's branch.

He was overjoyed at this moment. It was not only because he had just obtained Fat Antelope's wool but most importantly, he was also looking forward to a better future.

When Fat Antelope was a low-rank spirit beast, its wool already had a powerful yet mysterious use, where it could help Ou Yangming hide from even Venerable Ones. If the fat antelope advanced into a middle-rank spirit beast, would its fur have more wonderful uses?

At this point, the young fellow even wanted to help Fat Antelope reach the highest rank in one go by undue haste.

Nonetheless, he flashed and left the secret realm.

Ou Yangming looked around and subconsciously strode toward the Beast King Sect, but he froze all of a sudden after he was 100 meters away from the secret realm's entrance.

The environment around the secret realm was still the same, but he somehow sensed danger.

It was an indescribable feeling, and it was extremely strong.

Before Feng Xiang left, it used its abilities to temper Ou Yangming's Heavenly Phoenix Fire. Although the young fellow's strength did not improve significantly, he gained unimaginable advantages due to the phoenix's demonstration.

As at this moment, when Ou Yangming left the secret realm and returned to the Spiritual Realm, he instantly sensed a vague evil intention lingering in the area.

Even though he did not spot any signs of danger with his eyes, the mystifying feeling haunted his mind.

Ou Yangming's body tensed up subconsciously, and he looked around warily.

As he attempted to take another step forward, his face changed. The strong sense of danger gushed into his heart like surging seawater.

Without any hesitation—almost the instant he sensed the chillness—he soared into the sky and flew toward the secret realm's entrance behind him.

Ou Yangming had always trusted his instinct because his sensing ability had helped him avoid many troubles and even fatal disasters. In actuality, the sense of crisis that emerged crazily earlier was the strongest that he had experienced so far. Back when he faced Ghost-clawed Venerable One, it was not as intense.

Therefore, he immediately made the best choice.

As long as he went back into the secret realm, he was certain that he could get away from any powerhouse.

Nevertheless, the second Ou Yangming jumped and escaped backward, a red light appeared around him.

The red light spread at an unbelievable speed as though it formed an inescapable net as soon as it showed up, causing Ou Yangming's ways out to be blocked completely.

Ou Yangming flashed fast and as nimble as a monkey, but even the greatest body technique required a certain space to be executed. No matter how the young fellow struggled and dodged, he could not seem to break free from the large red net.

It took only a brief moment for the red net to block off the path behind Ou Yangming.

At this moment, Ou Yangming suddenly recalled the Inescapable Trap that he encountered in the lower realm; this big red net reminded him of it.

He flashed again and tried to escape through the side instead of the path behind him.

Since he could not go backward, he decided to flee in another direction. Given the situation, he would not get himself into a dead end.

Even so, just as his body went past the red net's border, a power surged toward him.

It was a queer yet forceful power, and it was unbelievably violent. Moreover, the power appeared as fast as lightning and attacked at a wonderful timing, such that Ou Yangming could not react at all.

"Boom…"

Following a thunderous sound, Ou Yangming's body flew out like a kite with a broken string.

Being struck by such a magnanimous power, none of the young fellow's defenses were useful.

He fell to the back hard as if he had just crashed into a mountain, so much so that he could not deal with the emergency at all.

'A Venerable One!'

This was the first thing that Ou Yangming thought of after he was hit away.

Even a top-grade Spiritualist would not possess such a fearsome power, so the only being with such an oppressive strength would be a Venerable One that could communicate with the universe and fly in the sky.

The only thing was that this Venerable One's actions were despicable.

'How can a Venerable One lie in ambush to go against an Intermediate Spiritualist? What about his image as a Venerable One?'

A mighty power was moving toward Ou Yangming head-on. The Venerable One's power was not only limited to the moment it struck him, but it kept hitting every part of his body through various mysterious ways. The Venerable One's power constantly surged in the young fellow's body, to the extent that he could not stand anymore.

With that, a thud was heard as Ou Yangming fell to the ground.

It was not that he was careless or had too low of a cultivation base, but his opponent was too potent.

The problem was no longer whether he could resist his opponent as he would likely be crushed.

Ou Yangming's body shivered as he lay on the ground; numerous enormous energies were striking different parts of his body without any restraint. He had used all of his abilities, but he still could not suppress them.

After all, there was a huge disparity between him and his opponent, by which it was unbearable for him.

Ou Yangming could even feel his meridians contracting and expanding continuously. In fact, they were showing signs of rupture.

'I'm not resigned to this—I'm not resigned to this!'

The young fellow kept yelling internally, but he still could not stop the external forces from attacking his body.

Blood could be seen flowing out from the corner of his mouth. This was the result of his body constantly being battered by immeasurable powers. If the situation continued, he would only end up being killed.

This was the real strength of a Venerable One. There was only one hit, but it was enough to kill a Spiritualist.

Ou Yangming gasped for his breath and closed his eyes slowly. It was at this moment his waist sash generated heat, where an indescribable warm current gushed out and into his body without a sound.

Furthermore, the discomfort in his meridians faded away once they were touched by the warm current, and they slowly recovered; the destructive energies left his body along with the current. The young fellow looked badly beaten as though he was going to die, but the truth was that his situation was getting better.

It was the Substitution Waist Sash.

The remodeled treasure, which was now made of a part of the Wutong Tree, finally unleashed its powers at this moment, allowing Ou Yangming's injuries to be transferred to it.

It was worth noting that the Wutong Tree was the only powerhouse that could use part of its essences as a material for a waist sash.

If Ou Yangming was still wearing the waist sash that he had brought from the lower realm, it would have been crushed into pieces by the monstrous power long ago.

Ou Yangming's body recovered, but he did not try to escape right away. Instead, he continued to lie on the ground and groaned in pain as if he would pass out at any time and could not get up anymore.

Before long, a figure walked out from its hiding spot. It was the Venerable One that dealt a heavy blow on his just now.

The young fellow widened his eyes while he coughed.

It was the 10,000-legged Venerable One—the Insects' supreme powerhouse. It was staring sinisterly at Ou Yangming.

"Heh, 10,000-legged, you went too far. If he dies just like that, our plan will fail." A weird voice could be heard coming from another direction, and it came from a seemingly illusory figure. It had transformed itself to have a substantial body, but it still looked like it could not be perceived.

Ou Yangming's mind trembled when he spotted the figure through the corners of his eyes. Despite that, it was not a feeling of fear, but an unconventional throb.

The giant head that was deep inside his sea of consciousness floated and released an aura similar to hunger to Ou Yangming.

Energy—it needed energy, and the red figure was the most delicious energy for it at this time.

Needless to say, Ou Yangming did not make any extra moves. He did not know the origin of the peculiar figure, but he could see the way it treated the 10,000-legged Venerable One.

It was at least a Venerable One as well. If Ou Yangming dared to pounce on the figure, it must be because he was tired of living.

The 10,000-legged Venerable One looked coldly at the figure and said, "Blood Shadow, I've injured this fella severely, so quickly do whatever you want to." It paused for a moment as though it was wary of something, then it reminded the figure. "Remember to not leave any trace behind."

Ou Yangming made out that the 2 powerhouses must know that he was the Phoenixes' messenger, which was why they chose to sneak an attack on him in such a quiet place.

Since they had taken this step, it meant that he would likely be doomed.

Blood Shadow drifted slowly toward Ou Yangming and circled him a few times before it asked, "Tell me—what's hidden inside that secret realm?"

Ou Yangming gritted his teeth as he pretended to be in immense pain. "Treasures… It's a secret realm with endless treasures." He paused for a while before he pleaded with the figure, "Let me go—I'm willing to give you all of the treasures!"

Blood Shadow sneered. "You're already in my hands now, and yet you still want to negotiate with me?" A bright light could be seen in its eyes as it questioned further, "Which powerhouse is watching over the realm inside?"

Its voice was ever-changing, and it had a unique spell that could trick one's mind.

The 10,000-legged Venerable One looked at the secret realm behind it in confusion.

'Is there really a mysterious powerhouse inside there?'

Ou Yangming twitched his mouth. Just as the formidable Venerable Ones thought that he had been bewitched to tell them the truth, he suddenly quivered and flew away unexpectedly...