Bai Xiu slept soundly in the wilds of North Africa, where beasts roamed freely.
Lin Chen engaged in a fierce, bloody battle with local gangsters in the port city.
Chen Bing appeared at the edge of the polar region, shivering from the cold.
An Yi, meanwhile, walked his dog into a five-star hotel, enjoying steak while taking in the night view.
They all had bright futures ahead.
The night passed without incident.
The next morning, An Yi casually bought a car and sped off from Changchun City toward Jiangbei City.
By the time he arrived home, it was already afternoon.
The vast villa stood empty and silent.
An Yi felt a faint unease creeping in.
After scanning his fingerprint to unlock the door, he found no one inside.
"Sorry, the number you have dialed is currently switched off."
The dial tone echoed—Shen Muxuan's phone was unreachable.
An Yi then called Aunt Zhou.
"Hey, you brat! Where the hell have you been? Not a single call for days!" Aunt Zhou snapped impatiently.
An Yi coughed. "Ah, got caught up with some things. Aunt Zhou, why aren’t you home? Where’d you go?"
"It’s too quiet here with just me. I recently leased a supermarket—business is booming now, busier than ever!" Aunt Zhou replied cheerfully.
An Yi raised an eyebrow. "What about Muxuan? Isn’t she with you?"
"Didn’t she tell you? She said she was going back to her hometown with her cousin for three months."
Aunt Zhou paused, sounding puzzled.
"Back to her hometown?"
Hearing this, An Yi immediately hung up and rushed into the villa.
"Damn it! I didn’t even bring him inside!"
Caught off guard, the colossal beast Hongtian got its chain stuck in the villa’s closing door.
The chain tightened, yanking its entire head up and slamming it against the door, leaving the dog dangling.
"Woof! Woof! Woof!"
"Goddammit!"
An Yi barged into Shen Muxuan’s room, his expression blank.
The room was empty—no trace of her remained.
On the nightstand lay a single sheet of paper.
An Yi picked it up gently. Neat, delicate handwriting covered it:
"An Yi, I’m returning to the Immortal Sect. Don’t worry—I’ll be back in three months. Take care of yourself, eat on time, and know that I’ll miss you."
The words were few, but An Yi read them over and over.
Three months.
His expression turned wistful.
Not too long, yet not too short either.
Staring at the hollow emptiness of the villa, An Yi felt an inexplicable tightness in his chest.
Living under the same roof day and night, he had grown accustomed to having that silly girl by his side.
Shen Muxuan’s sudden departure left him feeling as though a piece of his heart had been torn away.
Noticing an uncollected long dress on the bed, An Yi picked it up, brought it close, and inhaled deeply.
The faint, elegant fragrance of her body still lingered on the fabric.
This familiar scent—
It was as if she had never left, as if she were still right beside him.
Plop!
A soft sound.
A generously sized bra tumbled out from the folds of the dress.
An Yi: "..."
Expression darkening, An Yi strode out of Shen Muxuan’s room.
"That woman Mu Qingyi—unbelievable!"
As a master, why the hell was she changing clothes in her disciple’s room? And not even cleaning up afterward!
Returning to his own room, An Yi flopped onto the soft bed, staring at the ceiling, ready to wallow in melancholy—
Nah. The mood was ruined. Couldn’t even feel sad anymore.
"Woof... woof..."
A weak bark echoed from outside.
An Yi’s eyes shot open. "Shit!"
In a flash, a set of silver needles flew through the air, landing precisely on the dog’s body.
Human and canine meridians were different, but An Yi, skilled and bold, applied the Nine Yang Divine Needles to the dog with remarkable effect.
Hongtian was a five-thousand-year-old dog—but that wasn’t important!
What mattered was the Soul Chain around its neck.
Letting it die like this would be a waste.
As An Yi channeled energy into the needles, the colossal beast Hongtian finally opened its crimson eyes.
Staring at An Yi, it swore inwardly:
"Goddammit! One day, I’ll devour this brat!"
"Here’s a spirit core—consider it a reward."
An Yi casually tossed a spirit core from his storage space toward Hongtian.
The beast’s red eyes gleamed as it eagerly snapped its jaws around the core.
In the past, Hongtian wouldn’t have spared such a thing a glance.
But times had changed. Not only did it lack even a trace of spiritual energy, but this world was also in the age of withered magic—where spiritual energy was pitifully scarce.
A single spirit core was now priceless.
After swallowing the core, Hongtian’s body visibly expanded, its once-scrawny frame now exuding a fiercer aura.
"Goddammit, you little brat! Hanging me on the door like that—almost strangled me to death!"
Hongtian buried its snout in a pile of takeout, gnawing on a meaty bone while grumbling, "Don’t think a meal will make me forgive you! I’m telling you, this isn’t over!"
After these past few meals, Hongtian had an epiphany.
Why bother eating humans?
Sour, gamey, and tough—nothing compared to the seasoned, tender beef and lamb dishes.
Having consumed two spirit cores, Hongtian had regained enough strength to speak.
And once it started, the curses never stopped.
An Yi grinned. "Hey, Big Hong, you seem to know a lot about physiques."
"What do you wanna know?" Hongtian paused mid-bite, instantly wary.
It knew all too well—unexpected kindness always hid ulterior motives.
"What’s the secret behind my Chaos Physique?"
An Yi understood that despite barely cultivating in his twenty years of life, his spiritual energy grew at an alarming rate—all thanks to his innate bloodline.
He had assumed the Chaos Divine Body only granted this advantage.
But in the secret realm, he had awakened the Indestructible Battleform ability.
Sure, the Indestructible Battleform had its flaws—
Like draining massive amounts of spiritual energy to heal wounds.
Or the fact that fatal blows to the heart or skull could still kill him.
But none of that diminished its sheer power.
As long as those two vital spots remained unharmed, he was practically unkillable.
Yet, from Hongtian’s tone, the Chaos Divine Body’s potential seemed far greater.
Hongtian chewed leisurely before answering. "Do you understand the meaning of ‘Chaos’?"
"All things in heaven and earth originate from Chaos. The Chaos Physique’s rapid regeneration stems from devouring spiritual energy to reconstruct the body—but that’s just one aspect."
"Ever wonder why your body can harbor two types of spiritual energy at once?"
An Yi frowned. "No clue. Stop stalling—spit it out!"
"Dark spiritual energy is merely the elemental vein you were born with. Fire spiritual energy was forcibly awakened after you absorbed the Fire Spirit Origin. But with the Chaos Physique, theoretically, you can harness all nine elemental energies—metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, thunder, light, and dark."
Hongtian gnawed on the bone, dropping a bombshell that left An Yi stunned.
His Chaos Physique could wield all nine elemental energies?
He had thought two was already pushing the limits!
Clearly, the power of this bloodline far surpassed his imagination.
"One more question—what’s the deal with the Heavenly Yin Meridian?" An Yi pressed.
Hongtian kept chewing, unfazed. "A short-lived meridian. Not even immortals can cure it. Those who have it don’t live past twenty."
"What?!"
An Yi’s pupils constricted violently.
An Yi grabbed Hongtian's dog leash and lifted him off the ground, prompting the latter to yell, "Hey, kid! What the hell are you doing?! Put me down right now—I mean it!"