One more catty, one more attribute point

The scorching wind blew directly into the face, whipping up gravel that stung the skin with every gust. Su Heng squinted slightly and soon adjusted to the fierce light within the tomb. This was a desolate wasteland, the sky clear and cloudless, with a black sun suspended above, radiating light.

The surroundings were dominated by rising mountains, obscured by dust, and with the swirling heatwaves distorting the air, they appeared somewhat blurry, indistinct.

In the center of the secret realm stood an ancient tree looming high.

This large tree somewhat resembled the totems they had seen at the entrance. It was two massive trees entwined and fused together. Its dark, gnarled branches spread out in all directions, like a canopy, obstructing the sky and sun.

Green leaves and red flowers should have grown on the trunk, but now, tainted by the breath of the demon gods, all had withered, leaving nothing but a view of scorched yellow. Yet even so, this mountainous tree exuded an imposing aura, a vast presence that felt as if it upheld the heavens and earth of the entire secret realm.

"Leaves like mulberry, also with fruits, blooming red flowers. Two trees, intertwined from the same root, reliant on each other; hence, they are known as Fusang trees."

A look of awe was plastered on Qin Shunying's face.

Recalling the records about this place, she turned towards Su Heng and spoke softly, "This is the legendary Fusang Sacred Tree, a pity that it has withered over the long years, devoid of vitality, leaving only a husk behind; otherwise, the spectacle before us would be even more magnificent."

"It indeed is a fine view," nodded Su Heng.

The Fusang Sacred Tree was a kilometer tall, standing before them as if it were a towering mountain.

Standing before this tree, Su Heng felt as minuscule as an ant, a rare moment when he experienced his own insignificance.

"But there's just one thing…" Su Heng stroked his chin, frowning, "Where is the Golden Crow?"

"Perhaps atop the Fusang Sacred Tree?" Qin Shunying was also uncertain.

After all, a thousand years had passed since the fall of the Golden Crow, and Qin Shunying had no idea what the current situation inside the tomb was. Maybe there were never any records to begin with, or perhaps they had been lost over the lengthy passage of time—all possibilities.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"Let's go up and have a look first," suggested Su Heng.

"Right." Qin Shunying nodded, then whispered cautiously, "Be careful, something's off about this place."

"I understand," Su Heng nodded in agreement, his expression growing more serious.

Under normal circumstances,

the Golden Crow would have sealed the demon god after burying itself within the tomb.

Yet now that the tomb had reopened, signs of demonic contamination were everywhere, which clearly wasn't right.

If indeed some terrible calamity had occurred, then there was no doubt that the depths of the tomb, where Su Heng and Qin Shunying currently stood, were the source of the calamity. Although at a glance, all seemed tranquil. But in truth, this could well be the most dangerous spot within the entire secret realm.

Even with confidence in his own abilities,

when facing matters involving extraterrestrial demon gods and ancient divine beasts, Su Heng did not dare to be careless and heightened his vigilance to the extreme. His Gravity Sense was fully expanded, ensuring that within a three-hundred-meter radius around him, no movement, no matter how slight, could escape his perception.

And Qin Shunying enhanced her specialized Heavenly Deceit hyper senses to their limit, her eyes gleaming with a faint red light.

Clutching the phoenix spear in hand, she carefully followed behind Su Heng.

Whoosh!

Together, they landed.

And quickly arrived at the branches of the Fusang Sacred Tree.

The Fusang tree, being a kilometer high, had branches tens of meters thick. They could easily accommodate over a dozen carriages side by side, making walking on them as easy as crossing a large avenue. They followed the robust branches forward, and at the very end was an immense black bird's nest.

The nest, over a hundred meters in diameter, was situated at the very heart of the Fusang Sacred Tree.

Built from some sort of black branches, it looked extremely sturdy, reflecting a dense metallic luster under the sunlight.

Thump, thump!

Su Heng knocked on it with his hand.

A sound like metal striking gold resonated from the raised bird's nest.

Turning to look at Qin Shunying, Su Heng leapt once more, landing on a raised branch at the edge of the nest. It was empty inside, with traces of blood and feathers left at the bottom, all black and giving off a foul odor, obviously contaminated.

"The Golden Crow isn't here…" Qin Shunying, following at Su Heng's side, wrinkled her brow, her expression slightly changing.

Su Heng's eyes narrowed, and he sniffed slightly. The smell of blood came from all directions, and despite the passage of thousands of years, it had not completely dissipated. He lightly tapped his toe, using gravity to float in mid-air, gazing in the direction from where the smell emanated.

Sure enough—

On the desolate yellow-brown trunk devoid of life, numerous black bloodstains seeped through.

An image flashed in Su Heng's mind: the Golden Crow, mortally wounded and contaminated by the breath of a demon god, lying in the nest, gasping for breath.

Tearing off its own tainted flesh, blood spurted out, staining the kilometer-high Fusang Sacred Tree red. In the end, the contamination in the blood penetrated the tree, stealing its vitality, causing it to wither and decay over time, turning it into its current state.

"So, the whereabouts of the Golden Crow would be…"

Boom!

A flash of light streaked through Su Heng's mind.

"In the sky!" Qin Shunying and Su Heng had the same thought and both simultaneously looked up at the sky.

In the gray and dim sky, a black sun was suspended, emitting a searing light. A pair of blood-red pupils emerged within the sun, staring down at the two people on the Fusang Tree. Qin Shunying felt all the hairs on her body stand on end, and although she was in such a scorching environment, a chill spread in her heart.

"The Golden Crow, it's still alive!?" Qin Shunying's eyes trembled with disbelief.

From the black sun, she felt an onslaught of fierce and bloody aura, and then something even more terrifying happened.

The black Golden Crow within the sun let out a piercing screech.

Its wings spread, generating overwhelming flames that melted the void, and then with a flap of its wings, it came rolling toward Su Heng and Qin Shunying.

The Golden Crow was already enormous, with a wingspan of over two hundred meters. Coupled with the sky-high flames, its presence was like a galaxy pouring down, signaling the end of times. Qin Shunying felt like she was a small animal facing a natural disaster, unable to resist or struggle.

All she could do was shiver in fear, waiting for the ominous sign of obliteration to descend upon her.

"It had died a thousand years ago; what remains now is nothing but a carcass possessed and tainted by demonic aura," Su Heng's calm voice came through the howling wind. Then, his figure flickered, and he appeared in front of Qin Shunying, "But even so, it is certainly a formidable opponent."

Looking at the towering figure in front of her, the immense pressure brought on by the transformed Golden Crow suddenly dissipated.

"Huh..." Qin Shunying's chest heaved with heavy breaths.

Only then did she feel her heart beating in her chest again, gradually coming back to her senses. She then noticed a layer of cold sweat on her forehead, and her slightly curled strands of hair were sticking to her fair skin.

"I'll take care of what's next," Su Heng said, with a hint of ease in his voice despite facing a formidable enemy.

He was not afraid of encountering danger within the secret realm.

On the contrary, he had worried that the Golden Crow would disappear into the long years. Now, with the Black Sun falling, his concerns were dispelled. And the stronger the Golden Crow's displayed might, the more it showed the robustness of its physique, which would be more beneficial to his subsequent practice of the five viscera.

"Then I'll leave it to Brother Su," Qin Shunying replied quite straightforwardly without trying to act brave.

"It's best to be careful."

She whispered a warning and then with a flash of her figure, she rapidly retreated backward. She wanted to clear space for the two of them and avoid being affected by the destructive aftermath of the battle.

"The legendary divine beast, the Golden Crow..." Su Heng's hair lifted as he raised his head to face the pitch-black Golden Crow rushing towards him from the sky, "If it were in its prime, it might truly be an unbeatable opponent. But now, compared to me, you are far too lacking. Rest in peace."

Boom!

With a thunderous noise, he activated his Dragon Blood.

Su Heng's body swelled, with smoke billowing, and the pitch-black force, like a tidal wave, rapidly swept to every side.

In the sky, thunder roared as Su Heng clenched his five fingers into a fist, his arm rapidly swelling with congestion.

He then threw a punch forward—

"Domineering Dragon·Shaking Sea!"

The two massive forces clashed in the void, pressing against each other and triggering a violent explosion. Swaths of black flames were extinguished, and rings of scorching wind spread outwards. Below Su Heng, the thousand-meter-high Fusang Tree remnants shook violently, with cracks spreading and large branches trembling as they fell.

The Golden Crow had been extinguished for over a thousand years; now, only a corpse remained.

Its might was still astounding, but the vitality within its body was gone. As the two forces collided and the void-burning black flames were put out, Su Heng's energy was unceasing. It came in waves, one after another, crashing against the Golden Crow.

The Golden Crow burst forth with another cry, piercing the clouds and shattering rocks, its sharp cry sweeping through the void like an invisible sword.

Crack!

The thick branch that Su Heng stood upon was cut off, and he fell along with it.

But with a tap of his feet, he shattered the air and with roaring gusts flew into the sky. Then, with a rapid succession of punches, he created long cone-shaped air blasts that bombarded the body of the Golden Crow. Black feathers flew chaotically, and the Golden Crow fell, colliding with the huge remnants of the Fusang Tree.

Afterward, nothing could be seen clearly.

The aura of the Golden Crow Corpse collided with the energy emanating from Su Heng.

An unprecedented explosion occurred between the two, the sweeping winds destroying everything. The remains of the Fusang Tree shattered inch by inch, with debris hurtling in all directions. The ground's layers of gravel were whipped up, forming a pitch-black sandstorm, and under the vast expanse of the sky, a series of horn-shaped tornadoes formed, mighty and majestic.

Before the battle started, Qin Shunying had already sensed danger and kept a distance.

But the space in this secret realm was limited after all, and every corner was filled with the aftershocks of their battle. She could not avoid them and was directly hit by the gust, crashing heavily into a steep mountain wall far away. The mountain wall collapsed, rocks falling together with Qin Shunying's body, creating a field of ruins.

A moment later, Qin Shunying crawled out from under the rubble with a dusty face.

"That's really exaggerated!" As she felt the intense trembling of the ground, Qin Shunying shuddered. Her hair was covered in dust, looking quite disheveled. But as a cultivator of the Heavenly Deceit Realm, her physique was so strong that she wasn't seriously injured by the impact.

Qin Shunying pushed the soil and rocks off her body and climbed out.

Just as she was about to find another place to hide,

She suddenly stopped, a look of surprise on her face.

The view of the secret realm was gloomy and lifeless.

But this area near the cliff was filled with white flowers and green grass. As she got closer, she could faintly hear the sound of running water from the other side of the rock wall. A fresh, invigorating vitality wafted out, starkly at odds with the surrounding environment. Qin Shunying sensed something was amiss, touched the rock wall before her, and then pushed hard...