The Nether Blood Evil Orchid was a rare and sinister treasure—an herb born of extreme Yin and overflowing with toxic and cursed energy. By any normal classification, it couldn’t even be considered a medicinal ingredient. It was pure poison.

However, when refining pills of extreme Yang, such supplementary ingredients were vital. Without the balancing power of Yin, the pill wouldn’t take form at all.

Yin gives birth to Yang, and Yang gives birth to Yin. Neither could thrive alone. After all, true pill refinement required balance. The mutual nourishment and resistance between ingredients would bring chaos to harmony.

If an alchemist refined a pill simply with one medicinal ingredient, it would not be a pill, but simply a ball of refined essence.

“This thing’s a real treasure... Any alchemist would lose their mind for it.”

Long Chen’s eyes sparkled. He was practically drooling. Not only was the Nether Blood Evil Orchid invaluable, but it was something he urgently needed right now.

But the problem was... the Cursed Spirit Blood Crow. Its divine sense was still locked onto the orchid. If Long Chen disturbed it, the crow would go berserk.

Long Chen climbed back up to keep an eye on their battle. The Sovereign Lords were unleashing various divine abilities, pouring their divine energy into Brahma Divine Diagrams and Daynight Furnaces. They had set up a formation that was temporarily trapping the Cursed Spirit Blood Crow.

“This is a good chance!” Long Chen exclaimed.

With a flash, Long Chen rushed back to the cave and plucked the Nether Blood Evil Orchid, tossing it into the primal chaos space.

BOOM!

Instantly, the Cursed Spirit Blood Crow went crazy, and flames exploded out of its body.

“Reinforce the formation! If it escapes, we’re all dead!” shouted the sixth Heavenstage Sovereign Lord.

They had barely managed to suppress it with great difficulty. If it broke free now, they’d stand no chance.

“Ignite your faith energy! Burn your Sovereign bodies if you must—don’t let it break out!”

All of them roared and pushed their divine power to the limit. Their divine weapons trembled violently, and their faith energy surged like a flood.

Meanwhile, Long Chen dashed into the nest and found a tiny blood pool. Within it were four eggs, faintly glowing with runes.

Long Chen said, “So it was using its own essence blood to nourish them... No wonder it’s not at full strength.”

Without hesitation, Long Chen swept up the four eggs, flared his Kunpeng wings, and shot off like a comet.

A heart-wrenching cry rang out behind him.

The Cursed Spirit Blood Crow let out a roar of despair, its flames soaring skyward.

“What is going on? Why is it going crazy?!”

“Don’t let it escape! Burn your longevity! We cannot fail here!” ordered the sixth Heavenstage Sovereign Lord.

The Cursed Spirit Blood Crow struggled crazily but couldn’t escape their bindings. Suddenly, its body inflated.

“Shit!”

Their faces paled. They instantly recalled their divine seals and ducked behind their weapons.

BOOM!

A blast of destructive power surged across the land as the Cursed Spirit Blood Crow exploded in a final act of fury, shattering the mountains and void.

The Brahma Divine Diagrams and Daynight Furnaces took the brunt of the blast, shielding their masters. When the Sovereign Lords emerged, their faces were filled with horror.

Their hair had grayed, and wrinkles had appeared. They felt heavy and frail, as if they were bedridden old men.

“It’s the curse of aging!”

The sixth Heavenstage Sovereign Lord looked at himself in terror. “We burned our longevity—and that bird used its death to curse us! If we don’t resolve this quickly, we’ll die of old age! Quick, we have to return to Pill Valley. Only the Divine Venerate’s divine pool can save us now.”

“Should we return to Pill Valley? But... the divine son will punish us,” said Elder Mingfeng hesitantly.

“To hell with him!” snapped the sixth Heavenstage Sovereign Lord. “Send word that Long Chen is nearby and let him deal with it. We’re not his dogs. We came on Long Can’s orders, not his.”

Fan Ji had treated them like dogs, and his disrespect had long since angered them.

Now that their lives were in danger, they no longer cared. Fan Ji’s arrogance and impulsiveness had put them in this situation.

Without another word, the elders vanished in retreat.

The entire mountain range had become a land of death—tainted by the crow’s self-detonation. For countless years to come, no lifeform would dare set foot here without risking a swift death.

By the time the blood crow exploded, Long Chen was long gone. He didn’t even hear the full blast.

If Long Chen had known that the self-detonation had failed to kill any of the old bastards, he definitely would’ve cursed the bird for being useless.

Still, he had no sympathy for either side. The blood crow and the Brahma dogs could kill each other for all he cared. None of them was worthy of pity.

Half an incense stick later, Long Chen reunited with the original devil race.

When he pulled out the four massive eggs, Yue Xiaoqian gasped in horror. “You... you actually stole the Cursed Spirit Blood Crow’s eggs?! Are you insane?!”

Seeing her pale with fright, Long Chen said, “Don’t worry, the Cursed Spirit Blood Crow is already dead. These kids don’t have a mom anymore—you’ll have to raise them.”

Yue Xiaoqian’s shock turned into delight. These eggs were about to hatch, and even as hatchlings, the Cursed Spirit Blood Crows possessed shocking curse energy. Even Divine Emperors would struggle to resist them.

With proper care, they would grow rapidly. Soon, the original devil race would have four terrifying little guardians.

Yue Xiaoqian looked at Long Chen with a teasing smile. She said, “I’ll let you in on a little secret. The incubator wasn’t their mother... it was their father.”

“Oh? Then let me tell you a secret too...” Long Chen leaned in and whispered in her ear. “What do I do if I don’t know how to incubate eggs?”

Yue Xiaoqian blinked. Then her face flushed bright red, and she glared at him.

Long Chen stared at her, amused. With her cheeks red and her flustered eyes, she looked like a ripe apple he wanted to take a bite out of.

Seeing Long Chen stare at her blankly, Yue Xiaoqian blushed even more. She had a thousand things she wanted to say to him. And judging by the way he looked at her, he felt the same.

But now wasn’t the time.

“Cough...”

An elder coughed awkwardly. “Sacred daughter, Mister Long Chen... should we keep moving? Any direction would be appreciated.”

Long Chen solemnly said, “The Cursed Spirit Blood Crow’s self-detonation should have been enough to kill your pursuers. They won’t dare to run around crazily like before. Now that they’ve slowed down, we don’t need to feel as much pressure. However, it would be troublesome if they gathered more experts here, so we can’t stop. We should begin moving slowly and cautiously, resting as we do so. In other words, we have taken the initiative.”

Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief. The relentless tension they had carried for so long finally began to ease.

But just then—

Crack. Crack.

Sounds came from within the eggs.

Long Chen’s eyes widened. “Quick! Before they hatch—seal them with slave marks!”