The two enforcers turned their heads to see the sacred beast blotting out the sky. They were thoroughly astonished, but recovered very quickly. Disbelief poured forth from their eyes.

“The Vermilion Bird?” Both enforcers instantly blurted out. They knew the Eternal Sacred Land well, including any difficult opponents to be found there.

The Vermilion Bird was at the top of that list. In fact, they considered it more dangerous than the sacred land’s forefather.

The bird’s aura and appearance left no doubt in their minds

—

this was that sacred bird in the flesh.

“How is the Vermilion Bird here?”

“Didn’t it follow Jiang Chen to Sandplain? Could it have stayed to hold down the fort? That…” The two enforcers traded another perplexed glance.

However, they had no time to hesitate whatsoever. The sallow cultivator was shrieking in pain.

The enforcers couldn’t understand why their underling couldn’t move. The bird hadn’t touched him yet, right?

“Master enforcers, please come help me. This spirit creature is weird! It seems to have controlled my body’s movements. My limbs feel heavier than lead.”

It made them only more and more curious. The Vermilion Bird was a fire attribute creature. It was very adept at manipulating and attacking with flames.

Did the bird have an ability that could weigh someone down too? That was rather unheard of!

The enforcers slowed in their steps toward the sallow cultivator. Not that they wanted to abandon him to his fate, but they weren’t quite sure what would happen if they got close.

What if the Vermilion Bird could, inexplicably, weigh people down? They couldn’t deal with that possibility. They’d suffer a crushing defeat if that was the case!

“Masters, I have always been completely loyal to Master Lightford. You can’t leave me to die!” The sallow cultivator panicked when the enforcers didn’t come for him. He moaned and groaned in protest.

The bald cultivator ran over at the sound.

“What are you doing here?” the enforcer in gold robes called out. “Don’t forget your responsibility. If you let the Eternal Sacred Land’s people escape, you will have committed a grave sin!”

The bald cultivator glanced at the Vermilion Bird’s humongous form with apprehension and fear. He drew in a sharp breath. A bird as scary-looking as this was definitely stronger than them!

He felt a visceral dread that his companion was in this bird’s grasp, but was unable to do anything.

The Eternal Sacred Land was an eerie place indeed.

Suddenly, a pillar of light blasted up from the ground. The sallow cultivator vanished into thin air, caught up in its path.

Rather than be upset, the Vermilion Bird swept toward the two enforcers without missing a beat. Its eyes were as wide as dinner plates, glowering provocatively toward its enemies.

“Er…” the two enforcers were even more taken aback. They could see that the light hadn’t come from the Vermilion Bird.

Why didn’t the bird mind someone else interfering in its fight? Was it really the proud beast it was famed to be?

The duo didn’t understand anything that was happening at this point.

Still, they couldn’t just ignore the Vermilion Bird’s challenge. The enforcer in gold harrumphed, then called out, “Daoist Vermilion, Master Lightford has heard of your name. What right does Eternal have to use you like a guard beast?”

The man was clearly no stranger to sowing discord.

“Our master has far greater strength and wealth than this Eternal Sacred Land. Why not come to the light and serve our master instead? He will surely grant you amazing opportunities in the future that you can’t imagine. Isn’t that better than working for Eternal?”

The Vermilion Bird typically spoke ancient beast language. It understood the human tongue, but didn’t care to speak it. However, it broke force of habit out of displeasure for the two men in front of it.

Snickering, it retorted in heavily-accented human, “Who do you think your master is? Is he stronger than the ancient leaders of humanity? Has he fought demons?”

As a survivor of that bygone era, its horizons were far broader than those of the cultivators in the present era. It was totally uninterested in this so-called ‘Master Lightford’.

Jiang Chen alone satisfied its vision for a man of quality.

“Heh, no one knows how strong the ancient human leaders were. However, our master is fourth level divine realm without a doubt.”

“Cultivators of all stripes strive to be of service to our master, both human and other alike. For them, it is an honor to be useful at all.”

Mocking laughter suddenly echoed forth from thin air.

“Your master has quite the reputation. As a human cultivator, I personally don’t see what honor there is in working for your master.”

The speaker was Jiang Chen, of course.

He had finally made it in the nick of time, arriving specifically when Divine Kasyapa had attacked the sallow cultivator.

Taking the opportunity open to him, he sent out the Vermilion Bird and Black Tortoise in a sneak attack.

Two sacred beasts against an injured initial divine realm cultivator was a trivial victory. Now, the enemy only had three gods left.

As soon as Jiang Chen’s voice was audible in the air, everyone in the sacred land began to cheer. Huang’er was especially overjoyed.

Brother Chen hadn’t let anyone down after all. A deliverer out of the blue, he had emerged at this crucial moment once again to save the day.

Despite Jiang Chen’s imperfect strength, the others nevertheless felt purpose return to their lives. They were inexplicably sure that the crisis would quickly pass with him here.  

In fact, the sight of the young man was as reassuring as the venerated forefather himself!

Jiang Chen’s voice reached Divine Kasyapa in the distance as well. The divine had intended to run a few circles around the four gods after him, choosing a wise strategy of skirmishing and drawing attention rather than taking any serious engagements.

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