After staying with the Heavenly Spirit Crane Clan for half a month, Zhu Cangyan went alone to the Phoenix-headed Parrot Clan.
"The two of you stay here, investigate the Heavenly Spirit Crane Clan, and see if what the Clan Leader described is true. I will lead the team to the Phoenix-headed Parrot Clan to gather intelligence."
Zhu Cangyan instructed Chen Yu and Zhu Lingyu as the team leader.
"A few days ago, Clan Leader He Shan seemed to have given him many valuable treasures. I guess my useless brother intends to rake in more at the Phoenix-headed Parrot Clan."
Zhu Lingyu exposed him on the spot, leaving Zhu Cangyan without any dignity.
"Stop talking nonsense, you two stay here and don’t slack off."
Zhu Cangyan’s face turned ugly, leaving in anger.
He left alone for the Phoenix-headed Parrot Clan, indeed to make more gains, and the second reason was to get away from Chen Yu and Zhu Lingyu, as he was really troubled by them these days.
"Chen Yu, don’t you want to compete with me?"
As soon as Zhu Cangyan left, Zhu Lingyu asked.Chen Yu was already immune, ignoring her, and returned to his residence.
As for the task Zhu Cangyan assigned, both of them listened with one ear and let it out with the other.
"Hey, don’t go."
Annoyed, Zhu Lingyu followed.
Since childhood, she was pampered and talented, conquering all difficulties, trampling the geniuses of her generation under her feet, and even humiliating Zhu Cangyan without mercy.
Originally, she was just curious about the talents of the Human Race and wanted to compete with Chen Yu, but Chen Yu’s indifference and disregard repeatedly frustrated her, making her even more eager to "conquer" him.
As Chen Yu was returning to his residence, he suddenly paused, his pupils shrank, revealing a deep glow.
"What’s wrong with you?"
Zhu Lingyu grew curious seeing Chen Yu suddenly behave like this.
"It’s nothing."
Chen Yu’s expression returned to normal, continuing forward.
Zhu Lingyu felt a little frustrated, certain that Chen Yu thought of something but just wouldn’t tell her.
This made the intensely curious Zhu Lingyu uncomfortable, wanting to inquire about the details.
After returning to his residence, Chen Yu’s expression grew serious again.
"Why would the Blood Race appear here?"
Moments ago, his mysterious heart suddenly sensed the Blood Race!
"I didn’t expect that after coming to the Demon Race, the Blood Race would still target me."
Chen Yu was now very sensitive to the Blood Race, knowing they were determined to obtain the "Eternal Heart."
However, he was relatively safe within the Heavenly Spirit Crane Clan.
The Heavenly Spirit Crane Clan had extraordinary heritage and strong overall strength. Besides, with Zhu Lingyu there, unless the Blood Race dispatched someone at the Xuanming Realm this time, Chen Yu wouldn’t be in much danger.
The mysterious heart could not only sense the Blood Race but also roughly gauge the enemy’s strength.
Chen Yu speculated that the Blood Race nearby had not reached the Xuanming Realm; otherwise, he would have left immediately and returned to the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Nest.
"No, the Blood Race’s target may not necessarily be me."
Chen Yu frowned slightly.
Though he hadn’t managed anything these days, he knew some things about the mission. He felt the situation with the Heavenly Spirit Crane Clan and the Phoenix-headed Parrot Clan was quite complex, possibly with hidden circumstances.
"It seems I need to investigate thoroughly."
Chen Yu began to take the task seriously.
...
In mid-air, an elder and a youth flew swiftly.
The elder had long white hair and a celestial demeanor. Beside him, the youth had fair skin, a slightly chubby figure, and a pair of blood-red, sinister eyes, with a cold and eerie aura.
"I never expected such a small clan to hide such a big secret. If this works out, you’ll reap plenty of benefits."
The youth’s tender voice carried an aura of authority, somewhat inconsistent with his appearance.
"Thank you, Lord ’Holy Blood King.’
The white-haired elder complimented with a smile.
After flying for a while, the two suddenly slowed down.
The youth, the "Holy Blood King," took out a blood-red talisman, its enigmatic symbols flickering faintly, forming a beam pointing far away.
"Chen Yu is here?"
Seeing this, the white-haired elder showed a hint of surprise.
This time they came to the Demon Race mainly for Chen Yu.
But Chen Yu stayed within the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Nest, which was hard to penetrate. By accident, they obtained another piece of information, prompting them to trek to the Heavenly Spirit Crane Clan.
Unexpectedly, Chen Yu was with the Heavenly Spirit Crane Clan, a sheer coincidence.
"Hahaha, that’s great, saves us the trouble of searching for him."
The youth, the "Holy Blood King," laughed wickedly with a sinister and ferocious smile.
"But, Lord Holy Blood King, according to the elders in the clan, Chen Yu can sense our presence. If we approach, he will discover us.
The white-haired elder hesitated to say.
"So what? If he hides in the Heavenly Spirit Crane Clan, we’ll ambush and assassinate him. If he leaves, we’ll intercept and kill him. In the face of absolute power, he stands no chance but to be crushed."
The Holy Blood King sneered with full confidence.
"That’s true. With Lord Holy Blood King here, my previous concerns were entirely unwarranted."
The white-haired elder laughed and flattered.
Though his words were slightly exaggerated, the white-haired elder indeed did not think Chen Yu could escape the grasp of the Holy Blood King.
He himself was a four-star King, while the Holy Blood King was one of the oldest and strongest Kings of the Blood Race, now a five-star King!
Days later.
The two members of the Blood Race successfully infiltrated the Heavenly Spirit Crane Clan.
"This Chen Yu is quite bold, knowing we are nearby, yet he didn’t flee."
The white-haired elder commented.
After infiltrating the Heavenly Spirit Crane Clan, he changed his appearance, but not too different from before.
"Firstly, he has Vermilion Bird Heavenly Nest’s genius Zhu Lingyu by his side, so he is confident. Secondly, he might have already requested help from Vermilion Bird Heavenly Nest."
The Holy Blood King’s voice was icy.
"So what do we do?"
The white-haired elder appeared somewhat apprehensive.
If Vermilion Bird Heavenly Nest intervened, they would have no choice but to flee.
"I’m afraid other forces have already set their sights on the Heavenly Spirit Crane Clan, so we should put aside Chen Yu’s matter for now and focus on extracting the clan’s treasures."
The Holy Blood King advised, his eyes glowing with an excited blood light.
...
Time passed.
After Zhu Cangyan left, Chen Yu treated his tasks seriously, which piqued Zhu Lingyu’s curiosity.
No matter how she asked, Chen Yu wouldn’t say anything or pay her any attention.
"There are only two members of the Blood Race, and neither of them have a cultivation level beyond the Xuanming Realm, so there’s no need to worry too much."
As Chen Yu investigated the mission details, he kept an eye on the Blood Race’s situation.
He was nearly certain at this point that the Blood Race had infiltrated the Heavenly Spirit Crane Clan.
During his investigation, Chen Yu found several suspicious points in the conflict between the Heavenly Spirit Crane Clan and the Phoenix-headed Parrot Clan.
He decided to inquire about the Phoenix-headed Parrot Clan’s situation with Zhu Cangyan.
Yet under his communication attempt, there was no response. Whether Zhu Cangyan was ignoring Chen Yu’s messages or had encountered some mishap was unclear.
That very day.
Bad news arrived at the Heavenly Spirit Crane Clan; the Phoenix-headed Parrot Clan had captured Elder He Shan’s son and wanted to negotiate.
Clan Leader He Shan deeply loved his younger son and, to avoid falling into a trap set by the Phoenix-headed Parrot Clan, led several strong high-ranking members to the meeting.
"What’s going on? What’s my useless brother doing with the Phoenix-headed Parrot Clan?"
Even Zhu Lingyu, who usually ignored everything, sensed that something was amiss.
Suddenly.
The sound of explosions mingled with the cries of agony erupted within the Heavenly Spirit Crane Clan.
"Enemy attack!"
"There’s an enemy attack, Elder He Yuan has been killed!"
Chen Yu and Zhu Lingyu were startled and dashed out of their quarters.
The sudden assault on the Heavenly Spirit Crane Clan was it the Phoenix-headed Parrot Clan or the Blood Race?
"The Blood Race is rapidly closing in here."
Chen Yu’s mysterious heart sensed the Blood Race approaching swiftly.
Were they planning to target him right here in the Heavenly Spirit Crane Clan? This seemed a bit too reckless.
Swish!
From afar, another streak of dark light suddenly approached, emanating an evil aura that gripped the soul.
"Surrender, disciple of the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Nest."
A dark-robed man materialized from the shadow, wielding a black scythe, his mouth curling into a sinister smile.
Snicker!
The scythe swung, plunging the world into darkness as a black crescent moon hundreds of meters long, oozing sinister magic intent, pierced through the sky.
"Four-star King!"
Chen Yu instantly assessed the enemy’s cultivation level.
Buzz!
His body’s star acupoints shone, his fists enveloped in dazzling white light as he punched fiercely.
When facing an enemy, Chen Yu showed no mercy; this punch was delivered with all his might.
Boom!
The brilliant white pillar of light collided abruptly with the black crescent moon, a destroying storm swept through, ravaging all nearby structures, killing many Heavenly Spirit Crane Clan disciples on the spot.
"Huh? You boy, are you hiding your cultivation? How is your strength so formidable?"
The dark-robed man looked astonished.
Could a mere late-stage Condensed Star Realm cultivator actually contend evenly with him? It was somewhat incomprehensible.
At the same time, Zhu Lingyu on the other side was also under attack from a four-star King.
"Who dares to ambush this lady?"
Zhu Lingyu shouted defiantly, engaging in a clash with a giant man as tall as a mountain, also resulting in a stalemate.
"You’re not Blood Race?"
Chen Yu stared at these two sudden aggressors.
"What Blood Race?"
The dark-robed man raised an eyebrow, unsure of what Chen Yu referred to.
Just then.
Deep within the Heavenly Spirit Crane Clan’s ancestral core, a tremendous blast echoed, violent blood light soared skyward.
"What the hell, who dares to make a move on the treasure the Young Master is eyeing, right under our noses!" .
The dark-robed man cursed out loud.
"Seems others have caught wind of the news, taking advantage of our unpreparedness, wanting to snatch the treasure."
The giant said.
Swish! Swish!
The two exchanged glances, immediately heading towards the Heavenly Spirit Crane Clan’s ancestral grounds.
Their previous target was Chen Yu and Zhu Lingyu, yet the treasures in the ancestral grounds were far more precious.
They attacked Chen Yu and Zhu Lingyu to ensure a more secure seizure of the treasure.
"Interesting, seems there’s significant treasure hidden in the ancestral grounds, with two unknown forces intervening, no wait, including us, that makes three."
Zhu Lingyu’s eyes sparked with fascination, showing keen interest.
"Come on, Chen Yu, let’s go check it out."
"Those two four-star Kings just now, were not ordinary, and gave me a loathsome feeling, they don’t seem to belong to the Demon Race."
Zhu Lingyu said as she pulled Chen Yu towards the ancestral grounds.
Chen Yu pieced everything together at this point.
The ancestral grounds of the Heavenly Spirit Crane Clan certainly hid some treasure, attracting the Blood Race as well as the dark-robed man and other forces’ covetous eyes.
The conflict between the Heavenly Spirit Crane Clan and the Phoenix-headed Parrot Clan was likely intentionally stirred, aimed at weakening the Heavenly Spirit Crane Clan. Now, Clan Leader He Shan led several high-ranking experts away, and the dark-robed man suddenly made a move, killing several Condensed Star Elders.
At this moment the Heavenly Spirit Crane Clan was in a state of unprecedented vulnerability, exemplifying the principle of having wealth being sin itself.
Chen Yu also felt curious about what treasure might be hidden there, but sensed danger in the matter.
As for Zhu Lingyu, the unexpected events wholly sparked her curiosity, pulling Chen Yu along towards the ancestral grounds.