Mason Rhodes had it the worst. His entire fortune was cleaned out, and the Storage Ring on his hand was gone.

No, it would be more accurate to say everything in the room was gone. A single glance revealed a space so empty that even a mouse would flee.

He stood in the empty room, his eyes wide.

"Where’s my huge Thousand-year Cold Jade Bed?"

"My Storage Ring."

As for himself, he was left with nothing but a pair of underpants. When the reality of it hit him, he started screaming and charged right out the door.

"AHHH! DAMN IT ALL!"

"Who the hell did this?! Dad! A thief stole my things! They didn’t even leave my clothes... Dad! Mom, help me!"

As it turned out, the looks on their faces were uglier than if they had seen a ghost.

In the Cultivation World, no one was afraid of things like demons or ghosts, but they would definitely fly into a rage if their treasures were stolen.

When Raymond Rhodes learned that it wasn’t just him who had been robbed, but also the Sect’s elders and his own son, he was utterly enraged. He roared, "Investigate! You must find this thief for me."

Seeing Mason Rhodes left with nothing but his underpants, he felt his Dao heart waver and finally couldn’t stop himself from spitting up a mouthful of blood.

"What a disgrace!"

After this incident, everyone’s first suspect was Victor Rhodes.

After all, he had left the Falling Snow Sect in a very abrupt and final manner.

"Could that boy, Victor, have done it?"

Raymond Rhodes replied, "That defiant son! It must be him! He’s retaliating against me. Does he really think his wings have hardened just because he’s latched onto the Demonic Sects? There’s not a single decent Demon Cultivator out there. Scheming with tigers will only lead to a day of regret for him."

Mason Rhodes grew furious upon hearing this, his expression a mirror image of Raymond Rhodes’. "Dad, big brother is just jealous that I have your favor! He’s jealous that the elders treat me well! Dad, you have to stand up for me!"

Upon hearing this, Raymond Rhodes said, "That’s because he’s intolerant! As an older brother, what’s wrong with looking after his younger brother a little? Anyone else would, but not him. He even colluded with that Enchantress from the Demonic Sects and married into their ranks. He’s a complete disgrace to our Immortal Sect. Don’t worry. If it really was him, I’ll be the first one to make him pay."

Raymond Rhodes thought of Victor Rhodes, who was never on the same page as him. He pictured the image of his son stubbornly marrying into the Demonic Sects.

That defiant son was an ungrateful wolf he had raised.

Just as detestable as his mother.

This had better have nothing to do with him, or he wouldn’t be spared.

Soon, someone came to report.

"Sect Leader, elders, we found this Token near the corner of the Sect’s wall. The thief must have dropped it when they left."

The Token was brought before them.

The elders immediately snatched it.

Seeing the Token, Mason Rhodes, trying to be clever, said, "Dad, I know this! It’s a Token from the Thousand Rivers Sect! Damn it, I can’t believe it was them. I’ll take some men and go find them. We have to demand an explanation. These people are shameless! To think they’d steal from my Falling Snow Sect, and..." He glanced down at himself. "They didn’t even leave me my clothes! They deserve to die!"

So many of his Magic Treasures and Cultivation Resources had been stored in his Storage Ring. Now that the ring on his hand was gone, he had nothing left.

Raymond Rhodes and the others, of course, recognized it.

"Could it be a misunderstanding? Or maybe someone is deliberately trying to frame them. We can’t suspect them based on a single Token."

Mason Rhodes looked indignant. "Dad, I know! It must have been Wyatt Quinn! He must resent me for stealing his opportunity in the Secret Realm last time. And the time before that, I stole the girl he liked."

Raymond Rhodes pointed at him. "Shut up, you useless brat! How dare you bring that up?"

Raymond Rhodes was well aware of his son’s talent for stirring up trouble. It was possible that the other party was retaliating against them for exactly these reasons. However, he couldn’t dismiss the possibility that his defiant son, Victor Rhodes, was the one behind this.

No, this matter had to be investigated thoroughly.

"Someone, go and investigate for me! Also, send people to the Thousand Rivers Sect to gather information."

"Oh, and have the disciples find out what that defiant son has been up to lately."

As for what Victor Rhodes and the others had done, Elder Lawson and the others at the Bloodfiend Den found out about it immediately. Thus, it was destined that the people from the Falling Snow Sect would never be able to trace it back to Victor Rhodes, even if they investigated until their deaths. Instead, the Bloodfiend Den provided them with numerous convoluted clues that all pointed toward people within their own sect or members of other Immortal Sects. In short, after going in circles, they found nothing, their efforts completely wasted.

「That night.」

A red glow, accompanied by flames, lit up the sky above Bloodfiend City.

"SWOOSH..."

A cry echoed across the heavens.

Hearing the sound and feeling the scorching power in the air, Celeste Grant leaped onto a rooftop and looked up at the sky.

’Is that Vermilion?’

’That fat little bird is out of seclusion.’

Vermilion’s true form was no longer that of a chubby bird. It had grown up and was now beautiful, with crimson feathers and flames burning around it as it soared with outstretched wings.

Vermilion saw her. After circling once in the air, it flew directly toward her.

Ruby was finally no longer a fat little bird. It flew a few vain circles around her, showing off.

"This aura... Ruby, you’re a Seventh Rank Divine Beast now! In the next stage, you’ll be able to take human form."

Vermilion spoke directly in human language, no longer needing to communicate through consciousness.

"That’s right, chirp! Master, isn’t my true form beautiful?"

Celeste Grant gave it a thumbs-up.

"Beautiful."

’As long as it’s my Divine Beast, it would be beautiful even if it were a bald chicken. I would never find it ugly.’

"Wait, you can talk now."

Ruby replied, "That’s right, Master! I’m a Vermilion, a Primal Spirit Beast. We can speak human language once we reach the Sixth or Seventh Rank. I can sense that little master is still in seclusion. When is he coming out? Ruby misses him."

Although it called Celeste Grant and Javier Sinclair "Master," Aaron Sinclair was the one with whom it had truly signed a contract.

It called them "Master" because they were its true master’s parents; out of love for the house, it loved the crow—they were its masters, too. Plus, Celeste Grant treated it extremely well, so there was genuine affection.

"Your master is in the Forbidden Land doing his Cultivation. You can go find him, but you have to watch over him quietly and not disturb him."

"I know."

"I’m going now, then."

With that, it circled around her once more and flew off toward the Forbidden Land. It hadn’t seen its master in a long time and wanted to go see him.

Spirit Beasts are very loyal to their masters.

It liked Celeste Grant, but it wanted to be with its own master even more.

Suddenly, someone appeared beside her.

Celeste Grant glanced at him.

"Don’t just pop up out of nowhere. It’s scary."

"It’s not the first time. You should be used to it. That little chicken has grown up quite a bit."

Celeste Grant didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

"It’s a Vermilion, a Divine Beast! Show some respect."

Speaking of which, she remembered the first time they caught Ruby, when the Archfiend had wanted to strangle it and make soup.

Back then, it had been so scared its eyes were brimming with tears as it trembled.

"Hahaha! You’re so mean! You wanted to strangle it and make soup, and you scared Ruby so much it almost couldn’t fly."

Javier Sinclair thought back to that time and let out a soft chuckle. "Hah! I wasn’t joking. At the time, I really was thinking of stewing it to help you recuperate."

Celeste Grant rolled her eyes at him.

"Oh, thank you so much. If I had drunk that, I’d probably be visiting my great-grandma in the afterlife."