My disciples are all villains.

Lu Zhou watched from the side as the canyon was filled with the tracking talismans.

Kong Wen leaped into the air, and the talismans scattered to every corner of the canyon. Starting from the south, he searched everywhere and moved north.

Then, a strange scene suddenly appeared.

All the talismans suddenly converged.

Kong Wen's three brothers hurriedly flew back to his side and watched the strange scene in shock.

Yu Zhenghai, Yu Shangrong, and Mingshi Yin flew back as well and looked at the place where the talismans gathered.

The talismans fluttered like butterflies as they were drawn by some kind of force in the same direction.

"Strange." Kong Wen frowned before he flew out.

Lu Zhou rode on Whitzard's back and flew out as well as everyone followed from behind.

When the talismans reached the edge of the canyon, they flew out beyond its boundary.

"What's going on?" Mingshi Yin asked.

"I don't know either. It's my first time seeing something like this," Kong Wen replied.

"Don't tell me we found some incredibly precious treasure?"

"Not necessarily," Kong Wen said, "This doesn't seem like some divine treasure. These talismans will only disintegrate when they encounter a certain type of energy. Perhaps, it's some kind of formation that absorbs vitality energy…"

Everyone continued following the talismans.

Suddenly, the tracking talismans swooped down and entered a hidden hole in the ground.

"Be careful," Kong Wen reminded everyone.

Everyone came to a halt and looked down from the sky.

Nothing could be seen except for darkness in the hole; it was just like the Black Water Mystic Cave.

Lu Zhou activated the ability of the Netherwolf King and looked down. He saw the talismans continue to fall as though something was pulling them. It was rather strange. Following that, he pressed his hand down.

In just an instant, a golden palm seal fell from the sky into the hole, illuminating it in just an instant.

After falling for a moment…

Boom!

The palm seal hit the side of the hole.

Lu Zhou raised his hand again.

A palm seal that was bigger and stronger than the one before fell into the hole again.

Screech!

A sharp and ear-piercing cry suddenly rang from the hole. Following that, a ball of fire shot out from the hole into the air.

"Fire Phoenix!" Kong Wen cried out.

The scorching energy made everyone retreat immediately.

When the ball of fire reached high above the sky, it suddenly increased by hundreds and thousands of times in size. Then, flaming wings that spanned thousands of feet long unfurled, covering the sky.

The darkness from the black fog was instantly chased away by the Fire Phoenix's flames. It was as bright as daytime!

"It's a Fire Phoenix!" Kong Wen said excitedly.

Lu Zhou and the others were surprised as well.

Lu Li said with a frown, "This is the appearance of a divine bird… I don't know if the Fire Phoenix's appearance heralds a disaster or a blessing…"

Yan Zhenluo said, "I didn't expect I'd be able to see a divine bird like the Fire Phoenix. I've only read about it in ancient books…"

Due to surging flames, only a general outline of the Fire Phoenix could be seen such as its head, tail, and wings. Its size was huge, and its flames were scorching hot and incomparably bright. It made one wonder how the Fire Phoenix survived such heat. In comparison, humans truly looked weak.

The Fire Phoenix screeched again before it flapped its wings.

Fire rained down in all directions in just an instant.

All the fierce beasts on land and the flying beasts in the sky were burnt to crisps.

"Dodge!"

Lu Zhou erected an energy barrier to keep the rain of fire at bay.

At this moment, the Fire Phoenix flew north. As it flew, the flying beasts and fierce beasts scattered in fear. It illuminated the darkness within a radius of 10,000 meters as it flew and dried up the water in its wake.

Kong Wen said sheepishly, "O-old sir… I didn't expect to draw out the Fire Phoenix. Please forgive me."

Lu Zhou shook his head and said, "No, you did a good job."

Kong Wen, who had been praised, was baffled. After thinking about it for a while, he hastily asked, "O-old sir, you… are you planning to take the Fire Phoenix down?"

Lu Zhou maneuvered Whitzard and said, "Follow me."

Lu Zhou was certain this was the red light he saw through the Heavenly Writing's power of sight.

Kong Wen was stunned. He did not know if he should follow Lu Zhou.

"Brother?" Kong Wu nudged Kong Wen.

With this nudge, Kong Wen regained his senses and said decisively, "Whether this is a blessing or a disaster, we can't avoid it. Follow me!"

With that, the four brothers chased after Lu Zhou.

…

The Fire Phoenix was really eye-catching with its flames and size.

Lu Zhou really felt like using a few Deadly Strike Cards to take it down immediately. However, this was the Fire Phoenix that was also known as the Immortal Bird. It had a special ability; it could be reborn from the ashes.

"How strong is it?" Lu Zhou asked.

"It's rumored that the Immortal Bird was a divine beast from the Great Void. Later on, for some unknown reason, it hid in the Unknown Land. From the looks of it, this Fire Phoenix doesn't have its full strength. However, it's likely as strong as a beast emperor at least," Kong Wen replied as he tried to suppress his excitement.

"Is this why all the Venerable Masters rushed here?" Lu Zhou asked.

Kong Wen said, "When the Fire Phoenix was at its peak, it was the noblest and highest level fierce beast. Naturally, it's weakest when it's reborn. However, since it's still comparable to a beast emperor, it's only natural that all the Venerable Masters want its life heart. Every year, the four Venerable Masters would send men to search for beast emperors. However, the Unknown Land is too vast, and beast emperors usually hide in the heart of the Unknown Land. They're intelligent and won't easily be found. Now that the imbalance phenomenon has happened, how could the Venerable Masters let go of such a good opportunity?"

Yan Zhenluo asked worriedly, "Pavilion Master, the target is too conspicuous. Should we continue to chase after it?"

"Continue," Lu Zhou said decisively. Even 100 mystic microstones could not compare to this Immortal Bird; how could he let it go?

…

After an hour, the Fire Phoenix swooped down. Its flames disappeared as it entered a huge mountain crevice.

Just as Lu Zhou was about to follow, a group of cultivators rushed over from the distant horizon.

"The 49 Swordsmen," Kong Wen reminded Lu Zhou.

The 49 Swordsmen of the Northern Mountain Range were well-trained. They flew in a formation as they rushed toward the mountain crevice.

"It's not just the 49 Swordsmen…"

Cultivators were flying toward the mountain crevice from all directions.

A few cultivators came to a stop and looked at the sky. "The 49 Swordsmen arrived first…"

Groups of cultivators gathered in the distance. Many of them were waiting for the flames to appear again. Clearly, they were planning to rush over as soon as the Fire Phoenix appeared.

"Great, another group has arrived."

"The imbalance has made things more lively. There are so many who are unafraid of death…"

Lu Zhou swept his gaze across everyone; all their details appeared in front of him. He discovered there was quite a number of black lotus cultivators present who were at the Thousand Realms Whirling Stage. There were very few red lotus cultivators present, and those who were present were weak. There were some white lotus cultivators and purple lotus cultivators as well. However, more than half of them were from the green lotus domain.

While the cultivators waited, they discussed animatedly among themselves.

"Those at the Hundred Tribulations Insight stage can only pick up trash here…"

"No matter what, there are always people who are unafraid of death."