Ou Yangming looked dumbfoundedly in the direction that the 10,000 Beast Venerable One left. That direction seemed to be where Blood Shadow went as well.

For some reason, he vaguely had a bad feeling about this.

He slowly turned to look at the old macaque in a daze and asked, "Elder Macaque, Sir 10,000 Beasts Venerable One isn't going to… Look for Blood Shadow, is he?"

The old macaque chuckled. "That's right. Since Blood Shadow is being so provocative, if we don't counterattack, we'll be letting him step on us."

Ou Yangming opened his mouth and uttered softly, "Elder Macaque, Blood Shadow actually didn't make things difficult for me this time."

The old macaque stared at the young fellow. "Master Ou, I know you're saying this out of good intention as you don't want us to take any risks, but the Beast King Sect and the 10,000 Beasts Ridge aren't to be trifled with. Heh, we don't want to become enemies with the Sky-devouring Evil Remnants, but we don't fear them either." It stroked its beard and added, "10,000 Beast's cultivation base is already at the peak of a Venerable One, so there's rarely anyone in the Spiritual Realm that can be well-matched with it. Don't worry, it'll surely be able to vent your anger for you."

Ou Yangming did not know to cry or to laugh. In actuality, after witnessing the 10,000 Beasts Venerable One breaking the formation, he knew how valiant the 10,000 Beasts Ridge's master was.

At the very least, the 3 insect Venerable Ones would not be able to achieve anything in front of it.

Before this, if the 10,000 Beasts Venerable One were to help Ou Yangming punish Blood Shadow, he would welcome it happily. However, he became hesitant this time because of how the red figure acted.

Would Blood Shadow suffer an undeserved disaster because of the overbearing 10,000 Beasts Venerable One…

"Master Ou, Blood Shadow's no longer here to obstruct us. You can enter the secret realm with a piece of mind to breed the Heavenly Phoenix Fire." The old macaque smiled with its eyes squinted.

Ou Yangming chuckled. "That's right."

Although he had a feeling that something was amiss, Blood Shadow was not considered his friend, after all, hence he did not need to worry about him.

With that, the young fellow and the old macaque advanced once more. Without the Illusion Formation's obstruction this time, Ou Yangming found the secret realm's entrance with ease.

This was the real entrance to the secret realm. Even though Ou Yangming had also set up a small formation to interfere with one's line of sight, the old macaque was sharp-eyed and experienced enough to tell the truth.

The old macaque's face took on a grave look when it sensed the energy that filled the secret realm's entrance. It had become firmer as it aged, and it was also observant and experienced. Upon sensing the energy attribute around the entrance, it immediately felt a strong sense of danger.

Similar to how Blood Shadow dared not set foot inside the secret realm in the past, the old macaque was feeling the same at the moment.

Ou Yangming nodded at the macaque and expressed, "Senior, I'll need to trouble you again to guard this place."

The old macaque laughed. "No problem, you can leave it to me."

Just as Ou Yangming was about to enter the secret realm, the old macaque frowned and warned him, "Master Ou, be careful."

"What?" Ou Yangming turned around and asked in shock.

The old macaque explained in a deep voice, "Master Ou, this secret realm gives me an extremely dangerous feeling. Could Blood Shadow have gone inside and set something up?"

While the old macaque and Yuqi the Venerable One had agreed to not lay a finger on the secret realm, they could not stop Blood Shadow from going inside beforehand.

Ou Yangming could not help but laugh. "Elder Macaque, do you think that this secret realm is very dangerous?"

"Yes," the old macaque answered seriously.

Ou Yangming smiled mysteriously and said, "This secret realm is quite dangerous indeed. I believe that Blood Shadow can sense it too."

The Insects' 10,000-legged Venerable One had pursued him into the secret realm, but it ended up not being able to leave anymore. Ou Yangming believed that as bold as Blood Shadow was, he would definitely not take the risk after learning from the insect Venerable One's mistake. Moreover, from the young fellow's perspective, he hoped that Blood Shadow would take a stroll inside the secret realm.

After all, the more the fellows that could become fertilizers for the Wutong Tree, the better.

The old macaque was slightly stunned. It fell silent for some time before it finally came to a sudden realization. "I see—I understand now."

Ou Yangming was bewildered. He asked, "What did you understand?"

"Hehe, this secret realm was probably left behind by the Phoenixes, right? If that's the case, there's naturally some sort of protection inside." The old macaque grinned. "Venerable Ones like me are probably not much different from ordinary Spiritualists to the Phoenixes. If Blood Shadow dares to enter the secret realm, he'll surely be courting his death."

Ou Yangming was startled for some time. He gave the old macaque a thumbs-up, then he entered the secret realm without turning back.

It turned out that the young fellow did not need to rack his brain to explain certain things. As long as he gave a small hint, even if he had not figured out the reason, other people would still complete it for him.

He flashed and entered the realm.

On the other hand, the old macaque turned to look at its surroundings embarrassedly and angrily.

Outside the secret realm, other than a small area that had a small formation board that was set up by Ou Yangming, the other areas had Illusion Formations that were set up by Blood Shadow.

Blood Shadow had escaped, but the things that he left behind reminded the old macaque of when Ou Yangming was taken away, and it was a huge embarrassment for it.

The old macaque scoffed madly and flashed to launch several hits, causing everything in this area to be destroyed.

※※※※

A long root appeared beside Ou Yangming as soon as he entered the secret realm.

"Master, welcome home," the Wutong Tree greeted him in a deep voice.

Ou Yangming smiled and asked, "Wutong, did anyone come here after I left?"

"Yes."

The young fellow's heart tensed up a little. 'Indeed, Blood Shadow wasn't going to let this be; he sent someone inside to inspect this place.'

"Where are they?"

"Dead," the Wutong Tree answered without any hesitation, "They were already restricted when they entered. Once I captured them, their restrictions self-exploded, so they were bombed until nothing of them was left."

"That's so ruthless…" Ou Yangming mumbled as he furrowed his eyebrows. He became more fearful of Blood Shadow. Given that someone like Blood Shadow could be so merciless toward his people, he would naturally do anything to go against his enemies.

The Wutong Tree swayed its long root and expressed, "Master, as long as you stay here, nobody will be in danger."

Even at this time, the Wutong Tree was still doing everything it could to talk Ou Yangming into staying here, but its wish was destined to not be fulfilled.

Ou Yangming smiled. "Don't worry, I'll live in this universe one day, but that won't be now."

"Why?" The Wutong Tree was rather disappointed.

It had lived for several 10,000 years, but this was the exact reason it treasured Ou Yangming's life more than anyone else. It knew if the young fellow really died an unfortunate death, it might lose its chance to be born again.

This was why the Wutong Tree kept suggesting that Ou Yangming stay though it knew it would unlikely fail to persuade him.

Ou Yangming reached out to pat the root in front of him gently and explained, "There are many things outside that I still don't understand. If I live here in seclusion now, I'll certainly have unresolved knots in my heart."

The Wutong Tree was struck dumb for some time, and it could not help but sigh like a human. "Humans… Are really complicated."

Ou Yangming shook his head and laughed. He later curbed his thought and noted, "Alright, quickly bring me to the Phoenix Fire Bamboo; I need to grow more branches."

The Wutong Tree knew Ou Yangming would leave once the branches were successfully grown, but it understood better that it could not trap him here forever. For the sake of the young fellow's safety so that he would settle down soon, the only thing that the Wutong Tree could do was provide better conditions and resources for him. As such, he could finish settling his worldly affairs soon and focus on cultivating.

Nonetheless, it did not know if the living beings in the outside world knew what it was thinking, they would probably want to burn it into ashes.

Ou Yangming's cultivation speed was so fast that it was almost unprecedented. Despite that, the Wutong Tree was asking for more. Was it giving other people a way to live?

Before long, Ou Yangming arrived at the area when the Phoenix Fire Bamboo and the Interspatial Spiritual Tree were planted.

The 2 plants were rare treasures, but they were far from the Wutong Tree.

Nevertheless, the plants were now full of vigor and vitality under the Wutong Tree's care. In particular, one would hardly be able to associate the Interspatial Spiritual Tree with its dying state in the part.

Ou Yangming thought, 'The Wutong Tree's the best planting master in the world. No matter how hard humans and other living beings work, they can't understand a plant's requirement well enough.'

He approached the Phoenix Fire Bamboo and waved his hand to release his Heavenly Phoenix Fire without any hesitation.

The Wutong Tree cheered. While the fire was not for it and was too weak to let it be born again, it was satisfied with stealing a bit of the fire from the Phoenix Fire Bamboo.

Such an opportunity was incredibly rare.

Due to Ou Yangming's Military Fire, the Phoenix Fire Bamboo underwent a bigger change.

It was growing bigger at a visible speed, where it grew roughly a third of its original height.

In actual fact, the Heavenly Phoenix Fire was marvelous, but it could not cause such a wonderful visual effect. The Wutong Tree was the one that actually contributed; it had only given a significant part of its nourishments to the Phoenix Fire Bamboo, but it managed to cause such a miraculous effect.

Subsequently, both sides of the bamboo cracked, where a tiny branch grew out from each side.

The branches were still quite young when they grew out, but they quickly grew sturdily due to Ou Yangming's Military Fire and the Wutong Tree's nutrients. As a result, they grew into suitable lengths and thicknesses within a short period.

Ou Yangming pulled out the 2 sections and smiled as he was satisfied.

At the spur of the moment, he was moved because he somehow thought about the 10,000 Beasts Venerable One, which had left to pursue Blood Shadow.

He found it odd, so he thought, 'Am I involved in it?'