No one could have anticipated that the immensely powerful Vermilion Bird, one of the supreme divine beasts of heaven and earth, would vanish right before everyone’s eyes.
Even the Qiongqi was completely baffled by what had just happened.
All he sensed was that after the battle ended, the Vermilion Bird’s presence had disappeared entirely from the world.
This realization filled Qiongqi with doubt and dread. His voice even trembled as he spoke.
“Wh—where’s the Vermilion Bird? What did you do to him?”
“You should be able to sense it yourself!”
Ye Wushuang’s words were calm, but to Qiongqi, they sounded like a death sentence. His face paled instantly.
“You… you killed him?!”
In Qiongqi’s perception, the Vermilion Bird hadn’t been transported elsewhere—he had been outright slain by Ye Wushuang.
But how was that possible?
Ye Wushuang was merely a cultivator at the Immortal King realm, while the Vermilion Bird was a true veteran of the Supreme realm!
Even if Ye Wushuang had forcibly elevated his cultivation to the Supreme realm, he shouldn’t have been able to kill the Vermilion Bird outright.
Slaying a Supreme realm expert was no easy feat. Even two Supreme cultivators working together might not necessarily succeed in killing another Supreme.
Yet now, under the joint assault of two Supreme experts, Ye Wushuang had killed the divine Vermilion Bird.
To Qiongqi, this was nothing short of a myth.
A single sword strike annihilating a Supreme? Such a thing was beyond his wildest imagination.
Yet now, he had no choice but to face this terrifying reality.
If Ye Wushuang could kill the Vermilion Bird with one strike, then he could just as easily do the same to Qiongqi—especially since Qiongqi was weaker than the Vermilion Bird to begin with.
Thus, Qiongqi was truly terrified.
The next moment, he let out a panicked scream:
“Disaster has struck! Everyone, stop fighting! The Vermilion Bird is dead—he’s been killed!!”
The moment these words left his mouth, all the demonic cultivators shuddered in shock.
The two other Supreme experts, who had been locked in battle elsewhere, instantly teleported to Qiongqi’s side.
Their eyes bore into him as they demanded:
“What did you say? The Vermilion Bird is dead? How is that possible?!”
“Qiongqi, you’d better not be lying! Even if you and the Vermilion Bird had your differences, you can’t deceive us about something like this!”
“Why would I lie? Just look for yourselves! He—he’s really gone!”
At Qiongqi’s urging, the two other Supreme demons immediately scanned their surroundings, searching for any trace of the Vermilion Bird.
But after a thorough inspection, they fell into grim silence.
There was no sign of the Vermilion Bird anywhere. His life force had completely vanished from their senses.
This was far too abnormal.
“Tell us, how did he disappear? Did the Divine Dragon Royal Family trap him somehow?”
In their minds, it was impossible for the Vermilion Bird to have been killed.
After all, he and Qiongqi had teamed up against Ye Wushuang—a pseudo-Supreme at best.
With two Supreme experts joining forces, defeat should have been impossible.
Thus, they assumed that the Vermilion Bird must have been temporarily sealed away.
All they needed to do was rescue him, and the crisis would be resolved.
But when they voiced this theory, Qiongqi’s expression only grew more despairing—nothing like someone who believed rescue was possible.
“The Vermilion Bird… he wasn’t sealed away. He was killed—slain by Liu Ruyan’s sword!”
“I saw it with my own eyes! A single strike from her, and the Vermilion Bird couldn’t withstand it. He vanished from existence!”
“I tried to save him, but I couldn’t break through Liu Ruyan’s defenses. She blocked every attack I launched!”
“You’re saying Liu Ruyan fought both of you alone… and still killed the Vermilion Bird?!”
Qiongqi didn’t want to admit it.
Doing so would be humiliating beyond measure.
Two Supreme experts ganging up on an Immortal King, only for one to be killed in return?
Such a thing was too absurd to believe.
But the other two Supreme demons were staring at him with piercing intensity, demanding an answer.
With no other choice, Qiongqi had to confess.
“Yes… she really did block my attacks and kill the Vermilion Bird. Everyone here witnessed it!”
As he spoke, he glanced at the other demonic cultivators present.
And indeed, they had all seen Ye Wushuang execute the Vermilion Bird with that single strike. One by one, they nodded in confirmation.
This unanimous agreement made the expressions of the other two Supreme demons darken.
Originally, with four Supreme experts on their side, they had held an overwhelming advantage over the Divine Dragon Royal Family.
If this operation had gone smoothly, they would have easily found a breakthrough and crushed the royal family’s defenses.
Yet now, in the very place they had deemed the weakest, they had suffered a devastating defeat.
Ye Wushuang was simply too terrifying—she had slain one of their Supreme experts in a single blow.
Their gazes returned to Ye Wushuang, who stood there calmly, exuding an aura of undisturbed serenity.
Worse still, they could sense that at any moment, she might strike again—this time targeting them.
After a long hesitation, they issued an order that stunned everyone present.
“Retreat! Withdraw immediately!”
“Retreat?!”
Qiongqi was the first to react in disbelief.
This operation had been a guaranteed victory in their eyes.
Before arriving, Qiongqi had even fantasized about the treasures he would plunder from the Divine Dragon Royal Family.
They had already treated the royal family’s riches as their own.
But now, before they could claim a single prize, they were being ordered to flee?
How could Qiongqi accept this?
Yet the moment he voiced his protest, one of the other Supreme demons roared at him:
“Oh? Then are you confident you could have killed the Vermilion Bird with one strike?”
“Kill the Vermilion Bird in one strike? You know I’m no match for him!”
“Then do you think you could block the sword strike that killed him?”
“That… no, I couldn’t.”
“Then why stay here? To die?!”
“Retreat—now!”
Though the full-scale battle between the demonic forces and the Divine Dragon Royal Family had yet to erupt, the death of the Vermilion Bird had stripped the demons of their advantage.
If they lingered any longer, they would only suffer greater losses.
Thus, the other two Supreme demons wasted no time in ordering the retreat.
Though Qiongqi was filled with resentment, one glance at Ye Wushuang’s icy expression sent a chill down his spine.
In the end, he could only grit his teeth and follow the others as they fled in haste.
