Witnessing this scene, the two spirit birds did not immediately descend in pursuit, but instead circled hesitantly in the sky above the forest. Moments later, a faint red glow surged from the horizon and swiftly reached the vicinity of the two birds, then dispersed to reveal a young woman in imperial court attire, in her twenties, with elegant phoenix eyes and dark brows, a subtle aura of stern determination radiating from her features. "At last, he has exhausted his spiritual stones and can no longer summon his spiritual tools. You two are truly useless—handling a mere body-builder has taken so long. If it weren't for the necessity of suppressing my own spiritual fluctuations, I would have personally intervened to capture him by now. He could have easily evaded me until now." With a cool gaze sweeping downward, the woman then cast an expression of displeasure toward the two birds. To her surprise, the two fierce, imposing leopard-like birds now displayed clear signs of fear, shrinking their wings and trembling under her steady gaze. "Hmph. Our ancestral bloodline cannot be allowed to fall into human hands—no matter what the cost, we must bring that young girl back." Once I capture this Zhao chieftain, I'll know her whereabouts—and it will have truly been worth my journey into the human realm.” The young wife glanced again toward the lower area, yet she showed no intention of acting, her expression instead revealing a faint sense of curiosity. At that moment, a loud crash echoed from a distance within the forest, followed by a rising chorus of cries and a continuous stream of powerful punches, as though a battle had broken out somewhere. The dressed-in-royal-attire young woman and the two divine birds hovered motionless in the air, remaining still. A short while later, the commotion on the ground ceased abruptly, and three clumps of black mist and one cluster of yellow mist surged upward from the forest, rushing straight toward them. These were three additional serpent deities and one massive sandworm, measuring several tens of feet in length. In the hands of the human-headed serpent deity, a human figure lay half-dead—none other than the purple-robed man who had just fled down to the lower area. Yet now, he was covered in blood, one arm missing entirely, utterly powerless. As soon as the four immortals reached the dressed-up young woman, they respectfully placed the purple-robed man before her and then crawled up onto the aura, saying nothing at all. "You've done well this time. There will be rewards for your future efforts," she appraised the purple-robed man, nodding satisfiedly upon seeing that he was still alive. The serpent immortal and the massive sand creature emitted soft, low murmurs, clearly delighted. "Impossible! You are an eighth-level transformed immortal beast—how did you manage to enter our Tianyuan Realm?" The purple-robed man seemed to have regained some awareness, his heart filled with astonishment upon seeing the young noblewoman. "An eighth-level immortal beast? Let's just accept that. But now, it's my turn to ask you questions—not the other way around. And as for my words, I have no time for small talk with a mere mortal." Listen carefully. I wish to know the whereabouts of a person. If you tell me, I will allow you to die peacefully. But should I be displeased, I shall extract your soul using the method of soul-searching, and likewise, I shall learn what I need. As for your fate, there is no need for further explanation. The elegant lady in the palace attire spoke with graceful poise, yet her words were profoundly cold. The noble man in the purple robe, whose face had already been strikingly handsome, now grew visibly more distressed. "You are a distinguished figure among the immortal beings, seeking a humble human bodybuilder like me? Perhaps you have misunderstood—have mistaken me for someone else?" Upon hearing this, a glint of frost appeared in the lady's eyes. With a delicate flick of her slender finger, a crimson streak, as thick as a thumb, pierced through the man's shoulder with a soft 'psssh' sound. The man cried out in pain, and a scent of burnt flesh filled the air. A dark, round hole now appeared on his shoulder. "I believe I have already stated this—wasn't it me who was speaking? Who gave you the opportunity to ask a question?" "If you make this mistake again, I'll cut off all your limbs right away," the young woman said calmly. "I understand, Senior. What would you like to know?" The purple-robed man struggled to regain his composure after a long bout of agony, and now remained silent, no longer daring to speak out of turn. "It's simple—I need to find a young girl named 'Dai'er.' Don't even pretend you don't know her. Isn't she your only granddaughter?" The imperial-dressed woman gazed steadily at the purple-robed man, speaking softly. "Dai'er! You're from the Black Phoenix clan!" The purple-robed man was stunned, his voice rising in surprise. "Correct. It seems you've always known that this young girl carries the bloodline of our Phoenix clan. If it weren't for you, like a turtle, sheltering your granddaughter within the city and never venturing out, I would have had to mobilize several animal tribes to besiege your Anyuan City. Now that the city has fallen, yet I still haven't found your granddaughter—then naturally, I must turn to you for answers." The imperial-dressed woman smiled coldly, and did not raise her hand to punish the "I've known all along. With the vast powers of the Black Wind Demon King, how could this have remained hidden?" The man in purple robes stared into space, murmuring softly. "You know the powers of our family's pillars, don't you? Yet your human race dares send someone to court our young lord of the Black Wind Clan. Dares even bring our sacred lineage back to your human realm secretly. Do you truly believe that merely reaching the third realm in human territory will make our Black Wind Clan silent?" The lady in court attire, her brows gradually arcing upward, spoke with growing sternness. "My daughter has already perished due to Dai'er's fate. What more do you expect from us?" The man in purple robes seemed to have thrown in his lot, gritting his teeth and speaking with growing resentment. "We will certainly bring her back to our Black Wind Palace. Though half-demon, she is of our sacred bloodline. How can she remain here among your humans? The better, the more your daughter's death will be. That way, I won't have to intervene again. Tell me, where is that young girl now? I'm growing impatient." The lady in court attire's gaze toward the man grew increasingly sharp "I don't know!" The purple-robed man's face had been shifting between stormy and calm for a while, and it was only with great difficulty that these words finally escaped him. The court-dressed woman's expression remained utterly unchanged, as if completely unsurprised by his answer. Yet, she raised her hand slightly and gestured into the air, and instantly the man was whisked through the space, his five slender fingers pressing precisely against the top of his skull. "Look once more upon this realm, and you will vanish immediately," the woman said coldly, her five fingers flashing with a blue glow. The purple-robed man blinked once, then lost all consciousness. Hours later, a shriveled corpse, now reduced to a few feet in size, fell from the sky and disappeared into the forest below. "This is quite a problem. This old man has always been a staunch human-centric traditionalist. He not only dismissed his trusted allies, but even issued a command to have his granddaughter executed immediately if they failed to reunite with him within ten days. Everyone always says that tigers don't eat their cubs, yet he truly did manage to be cruel. It seems he would rather see his own bloodline extinguished than have another high-ranking immortal cultivator from our Black Phoenix clan emerge. Fortunately, it was only a mere physical cultivator; if it had been a true cultivator, perhaps they might have become someone noteworthy. Still, when the city fell, he sent his subordinates to escort the young girl out, and he himself did not remain with her. Did none of you see the person I was looking for that day? The lady in court attire glanced swiftly over the surrounding beasts, her voice suddenly sharp. The several beasts exchanged glances and immediately began emitting a series of strange, mournful cries, bowing with utmost reverence. Seeing this, the lady frowned, then flipped her palm, producing a blood-red orb. With a single hand seal, she launched it into the air and silently chanted a few incantations. Then, with a gentle breath, a small clump of her refined blood transformed into a mist and enveloped the orb. Instantly, the blood-red orb shimmered with a layer of bloodlight, which rippled and flowed continuously across its surface. The young noblewoman gazed steadily at the pearl, her eyes never blinking. It wasn't until after a long while that a faint sign of weariness appeared on her face, and she closed her eyes, only to open them again immediately. "The person I am seeking is alive. He has not left this region. No matter what methods you employ, you must find him—and you must do so within three days. If you fail in this task, your very presence in this world will be without value. However, I shall reward those who succeed. Should you capture the governor of Anyuan City first, you shall receive a reward. Take these pills and consume them—enough to preserve your centuries of cultivation. Should you also succeed in locating the young girl, your reward shall be doubled." With a flick of her finger, the young noblewoman sent out several fragrant gusts of wind, and several pale white pills flew toward the nearby spirits. The lower-ranked beasts were delighted, quickly opening their mouths to swallow the pills, then emitting joyful murmurs. Instantly, they transformed into swirling masses of spirit energy and drifted off into the distance. "Truly troublesome. If it weren't for the difficulty of freely drawing upon my divine awareness and magical power, I'd have already attracted higher-tier human cultivators and would never have been so constrained, needing to rely on these rather dull assistants. Nevertheless, we can't stay here much longer—we must swiftly conclude our affairs and depart." The lady in imperial robes sighed lightly, then raised her hand. A flash of crimson light followed, and a silk handkerchief-like artifact enveloped her, vanishing into a mist of pale green smoke at the spot. Ha! This is a rare and golden opportunity. How could I possibly miss it? This corpse can surely be put to good use." The elder chuckled softly, then tossed the dry body into the air, rubbed his hands together, and flung them upward. Instantly, a hazy mist surged forth, enveloping the corpse and gradually absorbing it. To everyone's amazement, the once shriveled form swelled out, regaining its fullness and vitality—its flesh and bones bloomed as if reborn, lush and vibrant, even the previously severed arms regrew. "Heh, with this body, I'll be able to locate that little girl first—though… what now?" "What exactly?" The black-robed elder smiled with a touch of pride, only for a cold, clear voice to echo from behind him. At once, his face paled, and like a rabbit startled and fleeing from its tail being stepped on, he surged forward in a flash of gray light, completely ignoring the now-revived corpse. (First chapter!