When cutting weeds, remove the roots as well.

The Fifth Patriarch quietly retracted his aura. The spiritual power of the mid-stage Saint Realm flowed slowly within his body, attempting to resist the faint lingering pressure of Little Black.

But that power was like a deep-sea undercurrent. Though seemingly calm, it made even a mid-stage Saint Realm expert like him feel his soul tremble.

His heart sank: This aura is at least at the Saint King Realm! To think that Changge, this kid, actually raised such a fierce beast!

His fingertips curled subconsciously, and even his breathing became extremely light.

He originally thought he would need to intervene to protect Xiao Ruobai during this secret realm trip. Now it seemed he had underestimated Changge's arrangements.

Little Black's combat power was so great that perhaps not even a Saint King could match it. It was just that Changge had hidden it so deeply; for so many years, no one had noticed the true background of this fierce beast...

Recalling how he used to secretly observe Purple Bamboo Peak, occasionally catching glimpses of Little Black shrinking on Gu Changge's shoulder—who could have imagined that the seemingly docile little bird hid world-destroying combat power?

Seeing that no one dared to make another move, Little Black's crimson vertical pupils gradually returned to calm. With a gentle flap of its wings, it shrank back to the size of a fluffball. Fluttering its wings, it landed on Xiao Ruobai's shoulder and rubbed its sharp beak against his fingertips, as if the scene that had just awed the entire audience was merely an illusion.

Only then did the cultivators on the periphery of the valley dare to slowly breathe a sigh of relief. Yet, they still dared not move carelessly, only using their peripheral vision to quietly size up Xiao Ruobai and Fang Hanyu, their eyes full of awe and wariness.

No one dared to guess their origins anymore, let alone mention the thought of snatching the secret realm's inheritance.

To have such a terrifying existence accompanying them, the backgrounds of these two were definitely not something they could afford to provoke.

Shi Wanshan, at this moment, was filled with a completely different emotion.

The way he stared at Little Black was astonishingly bright. The corners of his mouth curled up unconsciously, and the little abacus in his heart was crackling with calculations.

Good heavens! This Little Black is too incredible! Slaying a King Realm expert was like pinching an ant! I must interact more with that kid Ruobai in the future. Maybe I can bask in Little Black's protection. Who would dare mess with my Qingyue Peak in Xuan State then?

He even started plotting what spiritual fruits and spiritual wines he should bring next time he saw Xiao Ruobai to subtly curry favor with this formidable little bird. That eager intention almost spilled out from the depths of his eyes.

Li Xuanfeng's hand gripping the sword hilt repeatedly tightened and loosened. The thin sweat seeping from his palm soaked the scabbard.

He looked at Little Black's seemingly harmless fluffball appearance, but his mind kept replaying the scene of it crushing a King Realm patriarch with one claw. His heart pounded wildly, and even his breathing grew scorching hot.

This is the spiritual bird raised by Martial Uncle Gu? When I saw it at Purple Bamboo Peak before, I thought it was just an ordinary little bird. I never expected... I never expected it to be this terrifying!

With a turn of his thoughts, his entire body suddenly trembled, and his eyes filled with an unbelievable light.

To make such a fierce beast obediently listen, what level must Martial Uncle Gu's cultivation be at? Little Black can casually slay even a King Realm expert; Martial Uncle Gu has probably already stepped into the Saint Realm. Otherwise, how could he possibly subdue such a great terror?

That must be it! Before, Martial Uncle Gu never revealed his cultivation in the sect. It turns out he was hiding it so deeply!

The more he thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. His fingertips trembled slightly, and his grip on the sword hilt grew heavier. Only one thought remained in his mind: Our sect actually has a Saint Realm expert. I must hold tightly onto this thick thigh!

Meanwhile, in the bamboo pavilion of Purple Bamboo Peak, Xuanyangzi looked at the instantly reversed battle situation in the water mirror. He stood up abruptly in shock, the teacup in his hand dropping to the ground with a clatter. Scalding tea spilled all over the table, but he remained completely oblivious.

Pointing at Little Black in the water mirror, his voice trembled: Junior Brother Changge! Just what is the background of this Little Black? That aura just now was even more terrifying than the Saint Realm pressure of the Holy Land's old ancestor!

Gu Changge held another unspilled cup of tea, taking a shallow sip, his tone as flat and unrippled as ever.

It's just a little bird I picked up before and raised for a few days.

Xuanyangzi opened his mouth, unable to speak for a long time. A little bird he picked up?

A little bird that could shatter a saint weapon with one cry and destroy a King Realm expert with one claw?

Looking at Gu Changge's breezy and unbothered appearance, he suddenly felt that his junior brother's trump cards were never just sufficient, but rather an excess that could crush opponents into the ground.

In the valley, Xiao Ruobai finally recovered his senses. He raised his hand and gently stroked Little Black's feathers, his tone full of amazement: Little Black, I didn't expect you to be so incredible.

Little Black rubbed against his fingertips and let out a crisp chirp, as if claiming credit, yet also seemingly saying, This is nothing.

Xiao Ruobai stroked Little Black's feathers, looking up to sweep his gaze over the crowd: The matter of the secret realm is concluded. Everyone should leave as soon as possible.

As his voice fell, the crowd acted as if they had received a pardon, cautiously retreating backward. They even kept their footsteps extremely light, for fear of disturbing Little Black on his shoulder.

Gu Changge lightly twisted the teacup between his fingertips. The warm tea mist curled and dispersed. His plain tone carried a sense of decisiveness: To pull weeds, one must remove the roots.

Just as Xuanyangzi was about to ask further, the image in the water mirror suddenly changed.

Above the sects of the Devil Heaven Sect and the Blood Soul Sect, the originally clear sky was suddenly swallowed by clouds as thick as ink. As the clouds rolled, a pressure far exceeding the peak of the King Realm swept down like a tidal wave.

It was so oppressive that the spiritual energy of heaven and earth stagnated. Low-level disciples were directly crushed to their knees, lacking even the strength to lift their heads, letting out muffled groans of pain from their throats.

Within the mountain gate of the Devil Heaven Sect, the remaining disciples were cultivating step by step. Several elders gathered in the hall, holding spiritual wine and daydreaming.

Once the patriarchs bring back the Heaven-Reaching Tower, our Devil Heaven Sect will be able to dominate the surrounding states!

Suddenly, a loud boom rang out. The foundation of the mountain-protecting grand array, the Ten Thousand Devils Array, cracked. Black runes peeled off the array wall like broken glass.

The crowd rushed outside the hall, instantly terrified by the sight before them.

A giant cyan hand covering half the sky slowly reached down from the clouds. The palm prints were as clear as the veins of mountains and rivers, and the knuckles glowed with faint spiritual light. Before it even touched the mountain gate, the demonic runes on the array wall melted at a visible speed, like snow meeting a raging fire.

Enemy attack! Activate the grand array!

The remaining Grand Elder roared and lunged toward the array core. But the giant cyan hand merely pressed down gently, and the Ten Thousand Devils Array shattered like paper. The violent backlash of spiritual power shattered the meridians of dozens of demonic cultivators, and screams rose one after another.

Some disciples tried to flee to the secret passage in the back mountain, only to find that the giant cyan hand had already covered the sky above the entire sect. Wherever the palm wind swept past, halls and towers collapsed with a crash like building blocks.

Deep palm prints several feet deep were crushed into the hard bluestone ground. Even the demonic core mineral veins buried underground for a thousand years completely collapsed from the shock of the palm force, leaving behind only a scorched earth billowing with black smoke, without half a trace of the sect remaining.

At the same time, the Blood Soul Sect's stronghold was still a scene of bustle.

Disciples were cultivating the Blood Soul Great Art by the blood pool. Blood-colored mist lingered. The sky suddenly darkened, and a pressure of the same origin as the one above the Devil Heaven Sect enveloped the earth. Even the blood water in the blood pool stopped boiling, rippling with fine ripples.

Everyone looked up to see a giant azure palm slowly descending from the clouds. A faint spiritual light shimmered across its surface, and a power that made their very souls tremble flowed through the lines of the palm.

The Blood Soul Sect's Blood Soul Grand Array instantly activated of its own accord. Tens of thousands of vengeful souls condensed within the array roared as they lunged at the giant palm. However, the moment they touched the wind of its descent, they dissipated like melting ice and snow, fading away without leaving even a single scream behind.

With a sharp crack, the blood-colored crystal at the array core shattered. The entire grand array instantly lost its luster, turning into a sky full of fragmented light.

The defending elder turned deathly pale. He spun around, intending to detonate the Blood Soul Pearl in the treasury, but the giant azure palm merely pressed down from the void. The palm's force crushed down with the weight of a falling mountain. The entire Blood Soul Sect stronghold collapsed in an instant. The grand halls, blood pools, treasury, and every single demonic cultivator were crushed several zhang deep into the scorched earth.

When the palm's force finally dissipated, only a massive palm print remained. Green smoke rose from the charred black earth, and not a single trace of blood-colored mist remained. The once fiercely renowned Blood Soul Sect had been completely wiped from the map of Xuanzhou.

Before the water mirror, Xuanyangzi watched, utterly dumbfounded. The teacup in his hand had long since grown cold.

This was clearly Gu Changge's doing!

He looked over at Gu Changge, who was still taking light sips of his tea, as if annihilating two great sects was no more effort than casually brushing dust off his teacup.

Xuanyangzi swallowed hard, suddenly realizing the truth: from the very beginning, Gu Changge had never intended to leave the Demon Heaven Sect and the Blood Soul Sect any way out.