“Divine Immortal! Are you here? It must… it must be!” The face of the little girl beside Shen Ying lit up as she got to her feet at once. She turned around and ran toward the peak of the mountain.

　　Shen Ying frowned and glanced at the peak. Is this light… immortal Qi?

　　Just as she was thinking of walking over to take a look, she caught the stone tablet in the corner of her eye. She stepped back, lifted her leg and stomped down on the tablet. With a loud crack, the tablet broke into a thousand pieces.

　　Hmm, this is better!

　　Satisfied, she floated toward the peak.

　　The little girl ran extremely fast toward the peak. During this time, there was already a big pit burned into the hill. More than half of the hill had been blasted off and soil flew everywhere. Even the fields at the bottom of the peak were affected – more than half of the fields were destroyed. All the villagers were running for their lives – only that little figure moved steadily toward the peak. Panting as she ascended, the little girl’s vision filled with colourful rays and the floating soil. There was no way she could make out what was happening.

　　Suddenly, everything fell silent. She began to feel nervous, but her desire to see the divine immortal kept her there. She sucked in a deep breath and walked amidst the chaos. Weakly, she called, “Divine… Immortal?”

　　Roar!

　　As she called out, she heard a loud, angry roar. In front of her, huge figure appeared. It opened its blood-filled mouth and a strong smell of blood rushed toward the girl.

　　“Ah!” The girl was so frightened that her legs went jelly and she fell to the ground. She could not even think about running away.

　　That was when she managed to get a good look at the beast in front of her. The beast was almost as tall as the original hill and it looked extremely ferocious. It had sharp teeth which were taller than the length of the girl’s entire body. It was making its way steadily toward her; with each step that the beast took, the ground shook. Suddenly, it opened its mouth and bit down toward her.

　　The little girl was scared to her wits. She stared at the beast in shock, absolutely terrified. No… This is not Divine Immortal!

　　She was about to be swallowed. Suddenly, the great beast started, as if it stepped on something. It slipped and fell down into the gigantic pit with a loud roar.

　　The impact sent dust flying everywhere once more.

　　Roar!

　　The great beast had no time to struggle. Suddenly, another great figure appeared, taking this opportunity to jump into the pit. It let out a loud cry and used its claws to attack the other beast. There was the sound of flapping wings and she felt a strong gust of wind which once again sent dust flying into the air. When the dust settled, the girl clearly saw the two beasts in the heat of battle.

　　The other beast was a giant bird covered in flames. Under it was a great four-legged beast, with the head of a panther, the tail of a snake, and the claws of an eagle. Its body was covered entirely in scales and its mouth filled with sharp teeth. It looked injured – a lot of the scales from its body had been scratched off. It lay motionless at that moment, under the firebird.

　　“Hahaha, Biao Ting, you dare call yourself a Celestial Emperor when your cultivation level is this pathetic. It cracks me up!” The fire bird kept mocking the other beast. “I think you’d better go back to your Cave of Celestial Teachings. Don’t embarrass yourself any further. Return the Qing Han continent to me.”

　　“Blackbird!” The other beast struggled with all its might but could not release itself from the claws of the firebird. It could only keep roaring. “You are a prominently rotten bird. Today, I am at your mercy only because of my negligence. Cut to the chase. If you want to kill me, do it now.”

　　“Hmph.” The firebird used one of its wings to slap the other beast, then stopped attacking it any further. Instead, it stepped back. There was a flash of immortal light around the bird. It transformed into a green-robed man who was staring at the great beast coolly. “You think I am as stupid as your beast race? Talk! I have nothing against you. Why did you destroy my Phoenix Palace?”

　　“Pfft! You call yourself a Heavenly Emperor. If you hadn’t shamelessly stolen my Six-Flame Pearl, I wouldn’t bother myself with your rotten place.” Biao Ting gritted his teeth and said, “An eye for an eye! It was kind of me to destroy your nest.”

　　“Who stole your Six-Flame Pearl!” Blackbird’s expression hardened. “I don’t care for your stupid pearl!”

　　“Don’t even try to deny it!” Biao Ting was getting angrier. “Your bird race has always enjoyed collecting sparkly things. There is no lack of pearls in your rotten nest. What’s more, among the ten Heavenly Emperors, only you are fire-elemental. If you didn’t steal it, who did? You dare to do it, but you do not dare to admit it. IF you don’t kill me now, I will definitely settle the scores with you soon!”

　　“Forget it if you don’t believe me. I know I did not take your pearl,” Blackbird was clearly agitated too. “Do what you please. I am at your mercy; do you think I am afraid?” After he finished speaking, he reached out and plucked a whisker from the panther’s face.

　　“You!” Biao Ting was fuming now, but he could not do anything because of the injuries he sustained. He did not lurch at the green-robed man. Instead, he transformed into a black-robed man, who was glaring at the green-robed man with rage. “Don’t think I can’t win you. If not for the fact that someone stepped in today and distracted me, I wouldn’t…”

　　As if recalling something, he turned to look at the girl seated on the floor. His eyes widened and he glared at her, as if ready to kill her in his fit of rage. “This wretched mortal is to blame!”

　　The little girl trembled and remembered to make her escape. She stumbled to her feet but was too late. Biao Ting reached out and caused a great burst of immortal Qi to charge toward her. Then, he clenched his fist and, at once, the little girl was thrown into the air. She could no longer control her body. She flew right into his grip.

　　Biao Ting tightened his hold around her neck.

　　The little girl struggled with all her might but could not even reach the other party’s sleeve. How could a mere mortal hurt someone from the upper realm? What’s more, she was only a child. A surge of panic began to rise in her chest, and she began to tear. Using all the energy she could muster, she called out, “Divine… Divine Immortal, protect… me…”

　　“Divine Immortal?” Hearing her address, Biao Ting laughed mirthlessly. “I’m the Divine Immortal you’re talking to!”

　　The little girl stared at him blankly. She was suffocating, but her eyes widened, and she had a sudden burst of energy. Kicking wildly, she said, “No… No, you’re not!” Liar! Her divine immortal was not like that! It can’t be!

　　“Hmph, just a little ant!” Biao Ting ignored her struggles and tightened his grip. He was going to strangle her to death.

　　“Wait!” The firebird Blackbird exclaimed, grabbing hold of his hand.

　　“What, you still want to fight?” Biao Ting looked at him with contempt and mocked, “You’re not thinking of becoming a divine immortal who would help mortals in need, are you? Don’t forget, you ascended to immortality a long time ago but you’re still a demon.” Why would a demon want to save someone?

　　“This child…” Blackbird ignored him. He looked intently at the child in his hand and narrowed his eyes, as if he discovered something.

　　Biao Ting paused, having discovered something out of the ordinary as well. He released his grip and the child fell down onto the ground on her bottom. She coughed and retched, looking as if she was about to pass out.

　　Biao Ting remained unbothered. He released a strand of immortal Qi and touched the child’s forehead. The immortal Qi entered her body and caused the child to scream in pain. Her whole body began to contort from the pain.

　　“It’s a pure Yin body.” Biao Ting was shocked. He laughed lightly, “The perfect build for purifying deviant fires.” He looked at Blackbird in fear and said, “You don’t want her, do you?”

　　“Why? You’re thinking of snatching her from me now that you understand what’s going on?” Blackbird scoffed.

　　Biao Ting pursed his lips, hatred evident on his features. All he could do was grit his teeth and glare at the girl lying on the ground.

　　Blackbird waited for his enemy to snatch the child up from the floor. This mortal did not have immortal bones and would not be able to endure the deviant fire more than a few times, but she was still a rare breed. It was a waste. He lifted his head to look at the fast-closing realm gates. “Biao Ting, I’ll let you off this time. The next time you come down and cause trouble at my Phoenix Palace, don’t blame me for being unkind to you!”

　　He flew up toward the realm gate once he finished speaking. Biao Ting clenched his jaw in anger, yet he had no choice but to swallow his anger. He sucked in a deep breath and followed him up.

　　The girl was panicking after being snatched up. Her tears were now flowing uncontrollably, and she struggled with all her might. “No, let me go… Help, Divine Immortal… I have the protection of the divine immortal… I have the divine immortal… can you hear me?”

　　“Be quiet.” Blackbird frowned in irritation. “Do my bidding and you may be able to live for a few days. I am a divine immortal. Whatever I, Blackbird, fancy in these three realms, I will get. Don’t count on anyone to save you.”

　　“Really?” The moment he finished speaking, he heard a cocky voice just beside him.

　　“…” For some reason, he trembled.