The cyan-feathered bird demon had never imagined that in this era there would still be a Yao with such a pure phoenix bloodline. Staring at the blazing phoenix wreathed in flames before her, she said excitedly, “The revival of the Yao clan finally has hope.”

Kun Yu scratched his head, but still obeyed his mother. He bowed low to Lin Mo and knelt. He could clearly feel it as well—after Lin Mo revealed his true form, a submission that came from the depths of his bones rose up uncontrollably. Not just him: almost all the monster beasts of the Kun‑Kun clan had bowed when Lin Mo manifested his Blazing‑Fire Phoenix true body.

Lin Mo thought to himself, “This skin I drew is actually pretty useful.”

When Lin Mo returned to human form, the cyan bird demon also transformed, becoming a beautiful woman in cyan robes.

The beautiful woman gave Lin Mo a slight bow. “For the little master to return to the Yao clan is truly a great blessing for our race.”

Lin Mo helped her up and began asking about the clan’s situation. The woman gave a brief account. “Ever since the great war a thousand years ago, the entrance to the hidden Demon Realm of the Yao has been guarded by our Kun‑Kun clan.”

“I am the current chief of the Kun‑Kun clan, Kun Hao.” In order to familiarize himself with the Demon Realm’s environment, Lin Mo temporarily stayed with the Kun‑Kun clan.

During this time, Lin Mo specifically inquired about Qu Ruyan. Unfortunately, the Kun‑Kun clan had been stationed at the Demon Realm’s outer perimeter for generations, and knew little about the current situation deeper inside.

Kun Hao said apologetically, “Little master, I can send people to inquire about the person you’re looking for.”

Kun Yu, who had been standing to the side, suddenly spoke up. “I did hear that a year or so ago, a girl from the Human Realm came back—ate like crazy, almost ate the younger generation of the Calamity‑Serpent clan into extinction.”

Lin Mo’s eyes lit up slightly. “Where is this girl now?”

Kun Yu thought for a moment. “Back then, the Calamity‑Serpent clan’s chief flew into a rage, said he was going to swallow that girl alive to vent his anger. But for some reason, she was rescued by the Devouring clan.”

“As for what happened after that, I don’t really know.”

A girl who had almost eaten an entire clan—there was a very high chance that was her.

Lin Mo asked, “Where is the Devouring clan located?”

Kun Yu said, “Pretty far from our Kun‑Kun clan. Is the young lady planning to go there?”

Kun Hao slapped Kun Yu on the back of his small head. The force was so great his thin little body almost got driven into the ground. “You should be calling him little master!”

Kun Yu climbed up from the ground, spat out a mouthful of dirt, and immediately changed how he addressed Lin Mo.

During his time with the Kun‑Kun clan, Lin Mo had also learned why these people treated him with such respect.

The phoenix was the king of all birds, and the Kun‑Kun clan was counted among its line. It was said that in the distant ancient era tens of thousands of years ago, the ancestor of the Kun‑Kun clan had possessed one‑eighth phoenix blood.

But as tens of thousands of years passed, the phoenix blood in the Kun‑Kun clan had grown thinner and thinner.

The Blazing‑Fire Phoenix skin Lin Mo had drawn, however, carried the most primordial phoenix bloodline.

If not for the fact that the spiritual energy of this era was far inferior to ancient times, his strength would already have surpassed the immortal grade. One could say that now, as long as Lin Mo revealed his true form, any bird‑type Yao would submit to him.

Kun Hao pondered for a moment, then said to his foolish child, “Since the little master wishes to go to the Devouring clan, you’ll accompany him.”

Kun Yu hurriedly agreed. Because the Kun‑Kun clan had to guard the Demon Realm’s entrance generation after generation, he had to remain at the outer perimeter all year round and was long since sick of it. Now that he had a chance to go somewhere else and breathe a different air, how could he not seize it?

Lin Mo glanced at him, then lowered his head to look at Kun Yu’s face. “I can go alone.”

Kun Yu panicked. “Don’t, little master. The Demon Realm is huge. It’ll be really inconvenient for you to move around on your own.”

Kun Hao said, “Little master, my child is a bit slow in the head, but he’s very familiar with the Demon Realm. He can save you a lot of trouble.”

Since it had been put this way, Lin Mo reluctantly agreed to bring Kun Yu along.

The next day, the two set out.

Along the way, Lin Mo saw many rare monster beasts that weren’t recorded in any texts.

He had thought they were extinct; he hadn’t expected them all to be hiding in the Demon Realm.

Don’t be fooled by Kun Yu’s silly look—his legs were actually quite good.

Lin Mo had tested his speed while using the Blazing‑Fire Phoenix skin; compared to his human body, he was much faster.

Kun Yu’s true form was a bird demon whose whole body was a bluish‑gray, with a tuft of green feathers on his head.

When those little wings flapped, his flying speed was actually pretty decent.

Lin Mo couldn’t be bothered to flap his own wings, so he simply sat astride Kun Yu’s back.

“Little master, hold on tight.”

With Lin Mo riding him, Kun Yu was like a rooster injected with stimulants; his small wings beat even harder.

Watching those little wings working so desperately, Lin Mo couldn’t help but sigh, “Sure enough, as long as the frequency is high enough, being small isn’t that big a problem.”

At that, Kun Yu said, “Little master, are you praising me or insulting me?”

Lin Mo chuckled. “Naturally, I’m praising you.”

Kun Yu said, “Little master, I can fly even faster, but I’ll need your help.”

Lin Mo made a noncommittal sound. “No need. This is fine.”

Kun Yu said gloomily, “Little master, aren’t you curious how I could fly faster?”

Lin Mo had once been a man too, and he could more or less guess what the kid was thinking.

Methods to “speed someone up” were nothing but borderline indecent tricks, so he really wasn’t curious at all.

Kun Yu slanted a glance at the pair of long, fair legs hanging at his sides, and sighed helplessly. “Elder sister’s legs aren’t legs, they’re the spring waters of the Seine. If they could just come a little closer…”

The next instant, a scorching heat rushed over him.

He felt as if his entire body was about to catch fire.

Moments later, the smell of roasting meat drifted up.

Lin Mo controlled the flames on his body and asked with a smile, “So, how’s this scalding spring water?”

Kun Yu yelped in pain and begged for mercy. “Little master, I was wrong, I was wrong.”

After being burned once, Kun Yu no longer dared to fool around.

After flying for several days, they finally reached the territory of the Devouring clan.

Looking down, they saw that for hundreds of li in all directions, there was nothing but densely packed giant serpents.

Kun Yu said in confusion, “The Calamity‑Serpent clan sent so many people. Are they going to war with the Devouring clan?”

Lin Mo was also observing the surroundings.

Finally, amid the sea of serpents, he spotted a familiar figure.

She was currently tending a fire, tossing the corpse of a snake demon she’d just caught onto the flames to roast.

The man standing at the front of the serpent horde flicked his forked tongue, baring his fangs in a grim smile as he watched. “Hmph. Our two clans have always kept to our own, and now you really want to fight us to the death over this little girl?”

The chief of the Devouring clan looked at the girl happily eating roasted snake meat and, seeing she had no sense of the mood at all, was full of helplessness. “Yan, if you have to eat, can’t you at least not do it right in front of them?”

Qu Ruyan stuffed the freshly roasted snake meat into her mouth and wolfed it down. After a few big bites, she sighed in satisfaction. “Grandpa Tun, want some? It’s not quite as good as black flood‑dragon meat, but it’s still pretty tasty.”

Before the Devouring clan’s chief could speak, the snake‑faced man suddenly raised his voice. “You said you’ve eaten black flood‑dragon meat?”

The Devouring clan’s chief was also stunned.

Qu Ruyan blinked, not understanding. “I have. What about it?”

The Devouring clan’s chief said, “Yanyan, do you know that up to now there’s only ever been one black flood dragon in this world?”

Qu Ruyan was still taking huge bites of roasted snake, utterly unconcerned. “So what?”

The Devouring clan’s chief pointed at the snake‑faced man and explained, “Yanyan, that black flood dragon was the former chief of the Calamity‑Serpent clan—and his grandfather…”

Qu Ruyan still didn’t quite react. She swallowing a mouthful of snake meat, looked at the Calamity‑Serpent chief and said, “Your grandpa tasted really good.”

The Calamity‑Serpent chief exploded with rage. “This is bullying the serpents too much! Bullying the serpents too much!”

He glared at the Devouring clan’s chief. “Tun, are you truly going to protect her to the death?”

“This girl has eaten tens of thousands of my clan’s children over the past year. The hatred between us is as deep as the sea of blood. You’d better think this through.”

Among the Yao, different races eating one another was nothing unusual.

But someone like Qu Ruyan, who had eaten another clan to the brink of extinction, was unheard of.

If the Calamity‑Serpent clan didn’t act, at this rate they really would be eaten into oblivion in a few years.

The Devouring clan’s chief already knew that Qu Ruyan carried the bloodline of the Shadow-Serpent Clan.

Even if it meant a fight to the death with the Calamity‑Serpent clan, he would never hand her over.

Watching from above, Kun Yu was also shocked. “That new girl in the Devouring clan is this fierce?”

“Eating Calamity‑Serpent snake demons right in front of their chief?”

“And she even ate the former Calamity‑Serpent chief… who taught her that?”

The culprit sat quietly on his back, watching it all unfold.

Lin Mo had originally thought Qu Ruyan was diligently cultivating in the Demon Realm. He hadn’t expected this girl to treat the place like an all‑you‑can‑eat buffet.

She really was something.

That said, her cultivation had indeed risen very quickly.

When they parted, she had only been at the Nascent Soul realm.

Now she was about to break through to the Divine Transformation stage realm.

It seemed she really hadn’t eaten just few of the Calamity‑Serpent clan’s children.

Seeing that the Devouring clan was determined to shield the girl who was still chomping on snake meat, the Calamity‑Serpent chief launched his attack.

War between the two clans broke out in an instant.

Facing the dense mass of giant serpents, Qu Ruyan instead licked her lips, eyes shining. “So much meat!”

“Six‑Tail Uncle was right—this Demon Realm really is a great place. You can eat your fill here!”

Then her gaze fell on the man leading the Calamity‑Serpent clan. “Are you a flood dragon too?”

The Calamity‑Serpent chief frowned. “I am. What does that have to do with you?”

At his words, Qu Ruyan’s eyes changed as she looked at him, drool gathering at the corner of her mouth. “Flood‑dragon meat tastes better than snake meat.”

The chief: “…”

He couldn’t endure it anymore. In his entire life, no one had ever treated him as food right to his face.

In an instant, he revealed his true form, turning into an ink‑white flood dragon that lunged at Qu Ruyan.

Although Qu Ruyan’s strength had improved a lot, against a flood dragon at the late Divine Transformation stage stage she could only put up a brief resistance before falling into disadvantage.

Just as the dragon’s claws were about to pierce her hind leg—

A figure flashed in front of her and blocked the attack.

The flood dragon’s massive body was sent flying backward.

Seeing who had arrived, Qu Ruyan was first overjoyed, then her eyes filled with confusion. “Senior brother, why are you wearing women’s clothes?”