From start to finish, almost no one else had anything to do with the events in the entire cave dwelling.

It was all about that Fierce Beast from the beginning.

Now that everything had quieted down, no one dared to go and check. Who knew what might happen next?

The appearance of the Black-robed Demon Cultivator, for instance.

"Junior Sister, we should head outside," the Black-robed Demon Cultivator said to Witch Dan Xue.

Witch Dan Xue asked curiously, "Senior Brother, what has you so scared? Didn’t you say that with your mastery of the Nightmare Space, not even a Tier Five could catch you?

"If that’s the case, why are we running?"

"...Because Po Xiao is here. If I’m not mistaken, the one who just killed that Fierce Beast was Po Xiao.

"All I can say is that those people miscalculated. They never expected someone here would be able to kill that Fierce Beast," said the Black-robed Demon Cultivator.

Hearing Po Xiao’s name, Witch Dan Xue also frowned.

’This person is indeed extraordinary.’

However, she said, "He won’t attack us for no reason. There’s no need to hide like this. Besides, he definitely isn’t prejudiced against Demon Cultivators, or Mo Yan would have been dead long ago."

The Black-robed Demon Cultivator knew this, of course, but he just didn’t want to run into Po Xiao—not even if Po Xiao currently owed him money.

But speaking of Mo Yan, the Black-robed Demon Cultivator added, "I heard that Mo Yan has gone into seclusion recently to comprehend the Nightmare Space."

Witch Dan Xue was taken aback. "For real? Does that mean her escape abilities are about to become incredible?"

The Black-robed Demon Cultivator nodded. "It’s probably true. The news is real, but it’s hard to say if she’ll succeed."

Witch Dan Xue wasn’t unhappy in the slightest. In fact, she laughed. "So she’s finally learning the ultimate escape move! Now I’ll show her what it means to have nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. I’m going to kill her."

The Black-robed Demon Cultivator asked curiously, "I remember you two never got along, even as kids. What was the reason?"

"I don’t want to talk about it."

"Hmm," the Black-robed Demon Cultivator pondered for a moment before saying, "It’s probably because you wore makeup when you were little, and she said something about it. Then you beat her up. But she wasn’t scared. After she healed, she’d say something again, and you’d beat her up again. This cycle has just been repeating for all these years."

Witch Dan Xue: "..."

Seeing her expression, the Black-robed Demon Cultivator was stunned. "Did I guess right?"

’Even if I’m not spot-on, I must be pretty close.’

In short, Demon Cultivator Mo Yan was the type to forget the pain as soon as the scar healed. She had no idea what repentance even was.

Then, the Black-robed Demon Cultivator froze for a second before grabbing Witch Dan Xue and fleeing the area.

The next moment, a horde of Spirit Beasts roared past. Not a single one was weak, and they came in all shapes and sizes.

Big ones, small ones, fierce ones, poisonous ones—in short, all the Spirit Beasts were following a short-legged dog.

"Brothers, charge with me! Let’s take down that animal!" Yongxi shouted from the front.

That was right. This horde was made up entirely of the Spirit Beasts from the cave dwelling, but most were their descendants; many of the original beasts had not survived the passage of time.

Yongxi was truly formidable. In his prime, he was far more than a mere Tier Five Spirit Beast.

He was practically the most powerful Spirit Beast in the entire cave dwelling.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to escape now; rather, seeing that guy surnamed Jiang take down Chaos so quickly had sent him into a panic.

That was why he planned to use these Spirit Beasts to escape.

Yes, he would have these Spirit Beasts hold up Jiang Zuo to buy himself time.

’With this many Spirit Beasts, that Jiang guy will be occupied for a long time. As soon as the gate opens, I’ll be completely free.’

Only after the Spirit Beasts had passed did the Black-robed Demon Cultivator and Witch Dan Xue reappear.

"These Spirit Beasts are quite rare. Should we catch a few to sell?" the Black-robed Demon Cultivator said, watching the beasts.

"You go catch them. I’m going to see if I can find someone to fight. If I weren’t waiting for Mo Yan, I would’ve reached Tier Three long ago," said Witch Dan Xue.

"Which is why I’ll never understand you."

Witch Dan Xue sneered, "What if I get too strong and that girl Mo Yan chickens out? How am I supposed to fight her then? I have to use this not-quite-so-strong state to truly beat her until she questions her own existence."

"Junior Sister, a serious question. You’re not... into women, are you?"

The Black-robed Demon Cultivator had barely finished his sentence when Witch Dan Xue’s sword came swinging down at him.

******

Jingyue and the others were now walking along a path. For safety’s sake, they no longer dared to stay in the East Courtyard.

There were too many people over there, and fights could easily break out.

They were too weak. Even though they now had a Summoning Ability, they couldn’t afford to waste it.

Even projections couldn’t be summoned without limit.

Just then, Lan Yue suddenly frowned. "A powerful force is approaching from ahead."

Without another word, Lan Yue raised a hand and activated a Shield. This, too, was something her senior brother had left for her.

Few below Tier Six Lower could break it.

Zi Feng was just that kind of person, able to brush off anything with a casual, "You won’t die, anyway."

This applied regardless of gender.

Not long after Lan Yue’s Shield went up, the horde of Spirit Beasts crashed into it.

BOOM!

Many of the Spirit Beasts were sent flying backward, and Lan Yue’s Shield cracked.

If that stampede had hit them directly, they would have been gravely injured, if not killed.

Jingyue frowned. "Spirit Beasts from the Spiritual Control Sect?"

"Human, watch your words! We are free Spirit Beasts. Do not compare us to domesticated animals, or you will become our next meal," a short-legged dog stepped forward and declared.

Lan Yue said, "They’re definitely not from the Spiritual Control Sect. Besides, even a Tier Five from that sect couldn’t summon so many at once. Their summoning slots are limited."

"Humans, you’re lucky to have met us. We’re only targeting certain humans. Now, tell us your surnames, or we’ll tear you all to pieces!" Yongxi said with great bravado.

Su Qi and the others exchanged a glance, then nodded, deciding to give it a try.

Su Qi was the first to speak, as the others didn’t really have a surname to give.

After a moment’s thought, Su Qi said, "My surname is Jiang."

She didn’t want to use her own surname, so she used her husband’s instead, and she did so without the slightest hesitation.

However, upon hearing this surname, Yongxi froze for a second, then roared, "The sight of an enemy makes the blood boil! Brothers, there’s one with the surname Jiang right here! Kill her and clear a path! That Jiang animal is the natural enemy of us Spirit Beasts!

"Kill her!"

ROAR ROAR ROAR!

The pack of Fierce Beasts charged forward to kill.

Hearing this, Su Qi, who had been about to back down, suddenly asked, displeased, "What did someone surnamed Jiang ever do to you?"

"That’s right, a Jiang wronged me! Not just you—your partner, your whole family—anyone with the surname Jiang will not escape the fate of being torn to shreds by us!

"Get on your knees and beg for mercy! Otherwise, your entire family will die, especially your partner! No matter how far, we will hunt them down!

"A Jiang’s partner must die!" Yongxi’s voice was cold and domineering as he spoke.

It was the kind of threat that would have frightened most people.

But Su Qi was furious.

It would have been one thing if these Fierce Beasts just wanted to kill her. But for them to actually dare go after her husband... In that case, she couldn’t let a single one of these Spirit Beasts leave here alive.

Then, Su Qi stepped out from behind the Shield. With a wave of her hand, space began to distort, and a colossal Fierce Beast stepped out from the void.

The moment it appeared, its immense aura instantly suppressed everything in the vicinity.

Su Qi had used her one and only true-form Summoning.

Chaos had arrived.

"Crush them." Su Qi’s cold voice sounded surprisingly melodious.