Suddenly, a giant head exploded, and Long Chen came flying out of a rain of blood. An enormous headless python’s corpse then tumbled down the ground.

“How did I end up so unlucky?” Long Chen cursed as he gazed at the python’s corpse before swiftly sending it into the primal chaos space.

“It really was a bit unlucky.” Even the Earth Cauldron couldn’t help sighing.

Long Chen found himself transported to a location right in front of that python, as if he had sent himself right to its jaws. Instinctively, the python tried to swallow him, but it hadn’t expected that this fat piece of meat wouldn’t go down so easily.

Just like that, a Divine Venerate realm devil beast lost its life.

“Where is this place?”

Long Chen found himself in a dense forest where the treetops completely blocked the sun. Immortal mist also swirled in the surroundings, limiting his vision and even affecting his divine sense.

“I don’t know either, but there is definitely something you need here,” answered the Earth Cauldron.

At this time, a heaven-shaking roar echoed out in the air, followed by a rumbling sound that rapidly grew closer.

Long Chen instinctively suppressed his aura and hid on top of a tree. As soon as he hid himself, a humanoid figure shot past next to him like a bolt of lightning.

This humanoid lifeform had wings and held a blood-red fruit in its hand. Long Chen was shocked when he spotted the fruit and the markings on it.

“Blood Rune Vermilion Fruit!”

It was a famous fruit capable of extending a person’s longevity. Regardless of race or bloodline, it could greatly increase the user’s lifespan.

This was a heaven-defying treasure, especially for cultivators who were stuck in a bottleneck and were reaching the end of their longevity.

Long Chen reacted so strongly to it wasn’t due to its effects on longevity but because it was an important ingredient to refine the Nirvanic Charge Pill. While not a core ingredient, Long Chen had been unable to gather any information on it despite extensive searching, which showed just how rare they were. He hadn’t expected to run into an important ingredient here.

BOOM!

Suddenly, a giant lizard jumped out of the forest and blasted countless trees apart. Its giant mouth closed on the winged lifeform.

Just as it appeared, that lifeform’s wings flashed with light, and it seemed to teleport, appearing miles away.

The winged lifeform turned back with a mocking sneer, revealing a human-like face. “Fool, no matter how long you guard it, in the end, it isn’t yours.”

Suddenly, his pupils contracted as he spotted Long Chen standing not too far from the lizard.

Long Chen had hidden himself quite well and hadn’t expected to be noticed. This person’s senses were extremely sharp.

The winged lifeform had a bad feeling. Just as he was about to use his divine ability once more, he realized that a rope-like tongue had somehow bound his legs.

“Fool.”

On the other hand, Long Chen had seen everything clearly. After the lizard missed its attack, it directly struck with its tongue, easily binding his legs while he was distracted by Long Chen.

With his legs bound, his expression changed. He was horrified to find that the tongue was too tough for him to break free.

“Here!”

The lifeform suddenly threw the Blood Rune Vermilion Fruit at Long Chen.

Long Chen reached out and caught it with an odd smile. After that, he directly tossed it into the primal chaos space.

BOOM!

Just then, the lizard’s tail swept toward him, blasting the earth and trees apart with its power. However, Long Chen had easily escaped just before it landed.

After that, a silent arrow appeared behind him like a viper striking from the shadows.

Long Chen effortlessly caught the arrow, noting its metal construction. Its head was black and oozing with some liquid, unmistakably poison.

“Although I know you only gave me the Blood Rune Vermilion Fruit to make me a target, I still owe you a favor. But then you attacked me, canceling out the favor. If you dare to attack me again, I won’t show any mercy,” declared Long Chen sternly.

That lifeform had made a big show of tossing the Blood Rune Vermilion Fruit at Long Chen to divert the lizard’s attention to him. Once the lifeform no longer had what it wanted, the lizard’s grip on him weakened, and he escaped. He then attacked Long Chen once he regained his freedom.

For this person to react and come up with this plan so quickly showed that he was quite experienced. However, Long Chen wasn’t so easy to deal with.

Long Chen chose to not attack the lifeform, so he could keep the Blood Rune Vermilion Fruit in good conscience. With his plot exposed, the winged lifeform gritted his teeth resentfully and shot away.

Just as the winged lifeform fled, the lizard attacked Long Chen again, trying to devour him. Long Chen swiftly responded by stomping down on its upper jaw.

Unexpectedly, this action actually destroyed its jaw, causing blood to flow.

Long Chen himself jumped in shock. He knew that this lizard was strong, and its body was extremely robust. Hence, he had only been planning on slamming its mouth shut, not expecting the stomp to crush its jaw.

“When did I get this strong?” Long Chen stared in disbelief.

“You’re only realizing it now?” If the Earth Cauldron had eyes, it would have rolled them.

Only now did Long Chen realize that he had undergone a complete transformation after visiting the Sovereign clan’s Ten Thousand Dragon Nest.

Back then, the middle-aged man had wiped the floor with him, preventing Long Chen from grasping the growth of his power. However, after crushing the lizard with a single foot, Long Chen finally grasped the magnitude of his newfound power—a power that he even found terrifying.

Just then, distant rumbling echoed through the air, accompanied by a wave of flying dust that caught his attention. Swiftly, Long Chen summoned his lightning wings and soared toward the source of the commotion.