In the midst of roaring flames and a sea of fire, thousands of warships soared through the air.

The hot wind raged, and black smoke billowed.

Heaven and earth were connected by a haze of firelight, blurring the view.

This was none other than the entrance to the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Scenic Tower Demon Realm!

When Hong Yuan stepped into the interior of the Demon Realm, he saw numerous Strange Fires burning fiercely and several valiant and powerful birds of prey.

Hong Yuan paid them no attention.

The next moment, a heaven-reaching white light guided him.

Amid many envious gazes, Hong Yuan’s figure slowly faded away, arriving at the Vermilion Bird Saint Palace.

The Green Dragon Saint Palace was a towering pagoda, and the White Tiger Saint Palace was a vast complex of palaces. In contrast, the exterior of the Vermilion Bird Saint Palace resembled a golden phoenix tree. Each leaf represented a layer of legacy, and each branch signified a grand stage.

As someone with the status of the Vermilion Bird Overlord, Hong Yuan was directly transported to the most central area of the Vermilion Bird Saint Palace—the Phoenix Nest!

Such rich Tao Marks of the Fire Tao.

Hong Yuan held the Vermilion Bird Order in his hand and surveyed the area, a flash of brilliance in his eyes.

Inside the Phoenix Nest, all kinds of mysterious and powerful Strange Fires seemed to be sentient, leaping continuously.

Yet, at the highest point, the golden phoenix egg being scorched by numerous Strange Fires seemed to fall into dead silence, as if... it was undergoing nirvana?

Through his Divine Power of the Myriad Silence Realm, Hong Yuan could sense that the abnormality of the Vermilion Bird Saint Palace was created by none other than this golden phoenix egg.

This mysterious egg, with an aura of the same level as Tianli from the Heavenly Horned Ant... is it a phoenix? Or the Vermilion Bird?

Hong Yuan wondered in his heart.

Although he could see the true form of the golden phoenix egg from afar, he was very clear that if he dared to approach it, these terrifying Strange Fires would devour his Demonic Body without mercy.

The Demon Clan, capable of contending with the Human Race for so long, might not be as simple as he imagined!

After observing for a while, Hong Yuan no longer paid too much attention to it.

When this golden phoenix egg hatched, his Demonic Body would either survive this Human Race’s deadly plot and reign supreme, or it would turn to ashes and scatter.

Thinking further was futile!

"BUZZ—"

Hong Yuan crushed the Vermilion Bird Order, closing his red eyes.

Then, layer upon layer of hidden white light spread out from the blue Immortal Cave Phenomenon, extending towards the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Scenic Tower Demon Realm.

At the same time, the damaged Fortune True Dragon above his head also roared.

Hong Yuan was repeating what he had done in the White Tiger Heavenly Scenic Tower Demon Realm.

"Phoenix Blood Red Gold, Soul Burning Grass, Bone Yout Cold Fire..."

All sorts of rare treasures from the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Scenic Tower Demon Realm arrived in front of Hong Yuan, piling up like a mountain.

Furthermore, a bright and magnificent Golden Phoenix Crown appeared in front of him.

The Golden Phoenix Crown was exquisitely and elegantly crafted, with a comfortable texture. It was extremely soft to the touch, like holding jelly.

Hong Yuan did not put it on, for it was clearly a Holy Artifact meant for a female Saint’s use.

However, he could tell that it was a Holy Artifact designed for comprehending the Tao. Its offensive powers were decent, but it was best used for cultivation.

First refine it, using the mastery of a Refining Tao grandmaster to decode the secret methods of refining the Golden Phoenix Crown. Then transform it into nourishment for the Tao Marks of the Food Tao.

With this thought in Hong Yuan’s mind, black Tao Marks of the Refining Tao flowed out.

Watching the Golden Phoenix Crown floating up and down in the void, sometimes emitting various Strange Fires, a look of reminiscence flickered in Hong Yuan’s eyes.

Years ago, he harbored a "dream of a painter."

Even now, this "painter’s dream" still remained in the deepest recesses of his heart.

Initially, Hong Yuan simply thought about resolving issues such as changing ink colors to create silver notes unique to the Phoenix Creek Sect of the Daxuan Dynasty.

But then he found that the currency exchanged among martial artists was the Energy Stone, which contained Essence Qi, and thus his first plan fell through.

Yet, when he finally managed to level up his casting master’s rank and was prepared to flaunt his skills, to benefit the masses by providing high cost-performance Instruments to every Martial Artist, his Sword Tao incarnation ascended to immortality. Energy Stones became of little use to him, and thus his second plan also ended in failure.

And now, feeling that his Refining Tao mastery had reached a master level and that he also controlled the secret methods for refining multiple Holy Artifacts, the long-dormant ideas within Hong Yuan began to resurface.

However, Hong Yuan glanced at the level of his Painting Skills and had to suppress that crazy thought.

Casting can approach the Tao and elevate to Refining Tao. In the same way, Painting should also be able to approach the Tao and elevate to... Painting Tao?

After surviving this Human Race massacre, I want every Saint in Treasured Yellow Heaven to go mad for me, with each desiring to use Holy Artifacts!

The corners of Hong Yuan’s mouth twitched slightly.

As an Artifact Refiner, it’s perfectly reasonable to leave a few tricks up one’s sleeve in the Holy Artifacts they refine, right?

And for semi-finished products—Instruments that haven’t reached the Holy Artifact rank yet but possess some of a Holy Artifact’s great power—to be called sub-Holy Artifacts, that’s also reasonable, isn’t it?

The fact that these so-called sub-Holy Artifacts, being new to the market, are prone to failure, that’s reasonable too, right?

At this moment, Hong Yuan recalled those smartphone manufacturers from the past and hummed in satisfaction.

Indeed, people eventually become the very thing they despise.

...

...

In the Eastern Wilderness Divine Continent, at the Eastern Wilderness Academy.

It was night.

The sky was overcast with dark clouds, obscuring the stars.

Kong Yande, the Elder of the Eastern Wilderness Academy, slowly walked out of his bamboo cottage and approached a waterfall that had a stream flowing beneath it.

He rolled up his trouser legs, stepped into the stream, and walked step by step towards a Bi jade slab being constantly bombarded by the waterfall.

On the Bi jade slab lay a pitch-black feather fan, quietly resting as if it had not been waved for a long time.

Instead of being dispersed by the tremendous force of the waterfall, it seemed to be washed even smoother and more lustrous.

"With the rise of the Demon Star, our Human Race’s Purple Micro Star should also emerge."

I wonder which one of us five old men will become the ordained Protector of this era...

Great Dream Emperor, the strongest Great Emperor from ancient times to the present, proficient in all factions. Great Dream, Great Dream, Dream Tao...

Kong Yande picked up the pitch-black feather fan, his gaze resolute as he looked up at the starry sky.

The Human Race is powerful, the Demon Clan is humble.

Hence, it is often the Demon Clan’s Destiny that emerges first, and then the heroes of the Human Race determine their Destiny.

Those qualified to guide the Human Race Destiny and solve problems for the Human Race Destiny are called Protectors.

Protectors are commonly selected from among the current Five Great Academy Elders.

Their responsibility is significant. They bear the duty of suppressing the rapid growth of the Demon Clan Destiny.

The struggle between the Demon Clan Destiny and the Human Race Destiny was like adding two fast-acting catalysts to the world. This accelerated the world’s self-revolution, promoting the prosperity and development of various factions towards a more perfect transformation. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

After all, it is often during times of war that new things emerge the fastest.

This secret has become an unspoken consensus among the age-old survivors of the Human Race and the Demon Clan.

It is just a pity that the principle—’those not of our race will inevitably harbor dissent and must be purged’—holds true even in this world.

The Human Race will neither trust the Demon Clan nor let the Demon Clan grow stronger.

The Demon Clan will not forget the years of oppression and dare not entrust their clan’s heritage to the goodwill of the Human Race.

In the countless years of struggle, who is right and who is wrong has become irrelevant.

What truly mattered was the absence of the other!