"Chen Guan, how about I trade you two legendary pets for your Great Black Heaven Demon Statue?" Qin Ziyu proposed to Chen Guan.
Under normal circumstances, Chen Guan wouldn't refuse Qin Ziyu's request—especially since trading one for two would be to his advantage. There'd be no reason to decline.
But this Great Black Heaven Demon Statue clearly had issues. Moreover, Wang Lian wasn't searching for the remaining parts of The Epang Scripture but was instead fixated on the statue, which made Chen Guan suspicious.
"Ziyu, even if I wanted to trade with you, do you currently have two legendary pets on you?" Chen Guan avoided directly refusing.
"After we leave the secret realm, I'll request them from my family. You won't be shortchanged," Qin Ziyu assured.
"Fine then. We'll trade after leaving the secret realm—payment upon delivery." Though Chen Guan didn't know what had transpired between Qin Ziyu and Wang Lian, he could tell Qin Ziyu was being coerced by Wang Lian. He wanted to avoid direct conflict with Qin Ziyu for now and buy time.
"No! You must hand it over immediately," Wang Lian interjected firmly.
Qin Ziyu frowned slightly, looking troubled as he addressed Wang Lian: "Since Chen Guan has agreed to trade outside, he won't go back on his word. I'll vouch for him. If he breaks his promise, I'll personally retrieve the Great Black Heaven Demon Statue for you."
"That item was stolen from us in the first place! Why should we trade for it? Qin Ziyu, I only want the Great Black Heaven Demon Statue. Help me get it back, and all debts between us will be settled—we'll be even," Wang Lian declared.
"Why are you listening to her? Have you forgotten she nearly got us killed before?" Chen Guan steered the conversation elsewhere, avoiding direct confrontation with Qin Ziyu.
"I haven't forgotten. But she saved my life in Shituo Forest—this debt must be repaid," Qin Ziyu stated seriously.
Hearing this, Chen Guan knew the situation couldn't be resolved peacefully today.
"Why waste words? He stole the fruits of our labor—he deserves death. Let's take him down first," Wang Lian said coldly.
"Ji Nanhong, do me this favor. I'll repay you handsomely later." Without further discussion with Qin Ziyu, Chen Guan suddenly charged toward Wang Lian.
His rabbit spirit pet Rouge hadn't fully recovered from her injuries—especially her heavily damaged legs which still prevented normal movement—so Chen Guan had to act alone.
His logic was simple: since Wang Lian was Qin Ziyu's creditor, if he couldn't resolve things with Qin Ziyu, eliminating the creditor would suffice.
Qin Ziyu moved to intercept Chen Guan but was blocked by a whistling nineteen-section whip.
"Qin Tianwang's Purple-Green Dual Qi Profound Skill—I've long heard of its fame. It's an honor to witness it today," Ji Nanhong said, blocking Qin Ziyu's path to prevent him from interfering with Chen Guan.
"Move aside," Qin Ziyu commanded coldly, gripping his sword.
Ji Nanhong smiled wordlessly, showing no intention of yielding.
Without another word, Qin Ziyu thrust his sword forward. Ji Nanhong immediately met the attack with her whirling nineteen-section whip. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs Novᴇl_Fire(.)net
Ji Nanhong's combat prowess wasn't inferior to Qin Ziyu's. Even with Qin Ziyu's legendary secret skills and treasures, he couldn't quickly overpower her. Ji Nanhong didn't aim to defeat him outright—only to keep him occupied and away from Chen Guan.
Wang Lian, initially apprehensive, quickly realized Rouge wasn't attacking. Upon closer inspection, she noticed Rouge's leg injury and relaxed.
"Chen Guan, do you really think you can handle me? Without that rabbit, you're nothing. Release your mangy dog—today I'll show you my true power!" Wang Lian's hatred for Chen Guan burned fiercely.
Previously humiliated by Chen Guan and even bested by a mere guardian dog, she considered it the greatest disgrace of her life. She believed her earlier defeat resulted from severe injuries and lacking her flying daggers and ox-hair needles.
Now at peak condition and having leveled up to 7 from hunting other legendary mystical spirits, she felt confident about crushing Chen Guan and his dog.
Just as she prepared to unleash her flying daggers and needles, Chen Guan suddenly summoned two mutated Shituos.
These mutated Shituo pets—rare quality level 7 mystical spirits—had been transferred to Chen Guan by Qin Ziyu during their earlier battles in the Shituo horde. While not exceptionally powerful, they possessed decent combat abilities and their signature secret skill: Great Hand Seal.
Unlike Chen Guan's Blood Palm secret skill, their Great Hand Seal was a more common rare-grade technique.
Petrification came in two variants: rebirth-class and revival-class. Rebirth-class petrification reset the mystical spirit to level 1 (like the Great Black Heaven Demon Statue), requiring leveling up again. Revival-class maintained the spirit's original level and abilities for immediate use.
The key difference lay in potential: rebirth-class pets generally had stronger growth potential and possible future awakenings, while revival-class pets had limited potential—difficult to level up and with minimal chance of reawakening (only one in ten revival-class pets might reawaken).
These two mutated Shituos were unlikely to reawaken—only useful before level 10, with no significant growth potential beyond being cannon fodder.
"You think two mutated Shituos can challenge me?" Wang Lian scoffed. Having navigated Shituo hordes unscathed, she possessed excellent countermeasures against them and considered two insignificant.
"These aren't ordinary mutated Shituos—they're premium specimens with potential to become Shituo Kings! Their abilities and potential rank among the top of all Shituos..." Chen Guan activated Cheerleader's Soul and lavished exaggerated praise on the Shituos.
He didn't actually expect them to defeat Wang Lian—after all, she'd escaped Shituo hordes unharmed. He merely wanted them to deplete Wang Lian's daggers and needles, ideally forcing her to reveal her trump cards and uncover how she'd survived the hordes.
But as Chen Guan finished speaking, he suddenly noticed something odd about the two mutated Shituos.