The Five Elements Grand Cycle grew more and more intense. A terrifying energy, enough to make even Immortals look twice, was brewing inside the Golden-Winged Roc. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

A powerful aura emanated from its body, causing the very heavens and earth to change color.

"What’s wrong with Da Peng?" the Armored Profound Turtle asked in confusion. "Don’t tell me its Three-legged Golden Crow bloodline has erupted, allowing it to completely purify all that Immortal Level Spirit Medicine and convert it into Cultivation?"

They hadn’t heard the conversation between Mo Qi and the Golden-Winged Roc, so they didn’t know the inside story.

The Three-headed Thunder Lion laughed. "Then it’s really hit the jackpot! Its power might even surpass the Boss’s now."

Bai Fa said with a deadpan expression, "If that were really the case, it would be a good thing."

The Armored Profound Turtle and the Three-headed Thunder Lion were stunned. ’Could there be more to this?’

Bai Fa continued, "What I’m afraid of is that the Spirit Medicine has gone out of control and its Energy is leaking. If that’s the case, it’s a dead demon."

"No way," the Three-headed Thunder Lion said, startled. "Da Peng has the Holy Light Purification Ability. It wouldn’t let the Medicinal Power run wild inside its body."

Bai Fa didn’t answer. He didn’t know how to respond, because he wasn’t sure what was happening to the Golden-Winged Roc either.

It wasn’t just him; even the crowd of Immortals and the Wolf Demon were completely baffled.

Only Mo Qi and the one at the center of it all, the Golden-Winged Roc, knew the truth.

CREAK... CREAK...

Strange noises echoed from within the Golden-Winged Roc’s body. It was the Energy from the Five Elements Grand Cycle invading its flesh, blood, and internal organs.

There was far too much excess Energy, and its body couldn’t bear it. It was being assimilated by the Energy, gradually turning into crystal.

Once its entire body transformed into an Energy Crystal, the Five Elements Grand Cycle would spin completely out of control. At that point, all the Energy would erupt in a single instant.

The Golden-Winged Roc didn’t know what would happen to the others after the energy explosion, but it knew one thing for sure: it would die.

"It was you! You must have done something!" The Golden-Winged Roc glared at Mo Qi.

Of course, Mo Qi wasn’t about to admit it. He cried foul, "Me? What could I have possibly done?"

"Your people prepared the Spirit Medicine, and you’re the one who ate it. Besides, I started eating before you did. If something were to go wrong, it should have happened to me first."

"Hey, can you even handle this? If you have a small appetite, you should have just admitted defeat earlier. Now that you’ve eaten yourself into a problem, you’re blaming me? How does that make any sense?"

The Golden-Winged Roc’s life was hanging by a thread. It was in no mood to reason with Mo Qi.

It forced its physical strength to the limit, reverting to its true form.

RIIIP!

Swollen with Energy, the massive movement tore its flesh. For a moment, its skin split open and its muscles gaped, spilling fresh blood all over the ground.

The Golden-Winged Roc gritted its teeth and pushed on, beating its wings and transforming into a streak of light as it lunged at Mo Qi.

"If I’m dying, you’re not getting away alive! We’ll die together!"

WHOOSH!

The Golden-Winged Roc appeared above Mo Qi, its sharp talons clamping down hard on his shoulders.

It wanted to use the explosive force from the eruption of Medicinal Power in its body to blow Mo Qi to pieces along with itself.

The corner of Mo Qi’s mouth curled up. Influenced by the Five Elements Grand Cycle, the Golden-Winged Roc’s speed had slowed considerably. Although it was still fast, Mo Qi had the strength to dodge it.

However, he didn’t dodge. He allowed the Golden-Winged Roc to grab his shoulders.

He wanted a complete Golden-Winged Roc, not bird meat blasted into a pulp.

The Roc attacking him at close range was exactly what he wanted.

"Hmph. To think that I, a dignified descendant of the Three-legged Golden Crow, would die together with a lowly human today. What a disgrace!" The Golden-Winged Roc’s face was filled with grief and indignation, but its eyes held even more unwillingness to accept its fate.

Nearly ninety percent of its body had already turned into Energy Crystals, and the Five Elements Cycle was on the verge of erupting. In half a minute at most, the Energy would be completely out of control.

Mo Qi lifted the Pig Emperor, which had been squeezed into a corner on his shoulder, and tucked it into his robes. He smiled. "Sorry, but you’re overthinking things again. This ’lowly human’ has no plans to die just yet."

Hmm?

The Golden-Winged Roc frowned, wondering where Mo Qi got his confidence.

By its estimation, once the Energy in its body went out of control, forget a mere Vajra Realm cultivator—the entire island would be reduced to ashes in the blast.

"Hehe, these bird claws of yours would be perfect for a stewed dish."

Mo Qi chuckled, placed his hand on the Golden-Winged Roc’s talons, and communed with the Chaos Scripture, activating "Gorging and Drinking."

Before the Golden-Winged Roc could react, it felt a massive suction force from Mo Qi’s hand that completely absorbed all the excess Energy generated by the Five Elements Cycle.

But it didn’t feel any relief, because only the excess Energy had been drawn away. The Energy that had invaded its flesh and blood was still there!

’He’s doing it on purpose! He must be!’

The Golden-Winged Roc recalled Mo Qi’s words and a cold shiver ran down its spine.

’He doesn’t really want to make my claws into a stewed dish, does he?!’

’And Niu Tou!’

’He’s not really going to be boiled into bone soup, is he?!’

’Could it be... this human was after us from the very beginning? Was this competition just a ploy to get our flesh?!’

For some reason, the Golden-Winged Roc suddenly had a premonition. The competition proposed by Lord Wolf Demon was probably a case of lambs walking into a tiger’s den.

Mo Qi was the tiger, and the Demon Race, who thought victory was in their grasp, were the fat lambs.

’No, I have to warn the Boss!’

The Golden-Winged Roc hurriedly turned its head toward Bai Fa and opened its beak to say something. But before it could make a sound, the energy assimilation had reached its end.

Its soul was instantly annihilated. Its body stiffened like an ice sculpture, frozen solid on Mo Qi’s shoulders.

"Disperse!"

Mo Qi let out a low shout. He reversed his "Gorging and Drinking" ability, using force to counter force, and shattered the Energy within the Golden-Winged Roc’s flesh just before it could completely solidify into an Energy Crystal Stone.

The crystalline body reverted to flesh and blood.

SQUEAK... SQUEAK... SQUEAK...

A grating, teeth-cringing sound echoed from within the Golden-Winged Roc.

It was the sound of the Medicinal Power’s energy merging into the Golden-Winged Roc’s flesh.

Living things can be so strange sometimes.

While alive, it couldn’t withstand this Medicinal Power. But in death, it could.

To describe it in Mo Qi’s words, that wasn’t fusion and absorption. That was marination!

"A Golden-Winged Roc marinated with eighty stalks of Immortal Level Spirit Medicine... I can’t even imagine how terrifyingly effective it will be when I make it into Medicinal Cuisine."

Mo Qi grinned in satisfaction and stored the Golden-Winged Roc in the Chaos Scripture’s space.

Everything had happened too quickly and too subtly. Before the crowd could figure out what was going on, the Golden-Winged Roc was dead and had been taken away by Mo Qi.

"Alright, next!"

Mo Qi looked expectantly at the Armored Profound Turtle, the Three-headed Thunder Lion, and Bai Fa.

’If I can take these three as well, it will be Perfection.’

"You... You killed Da Peng too?!" The Three-headed Thunder Lion was both shocked and furious.

"How arrogant! This is too much! Boss, let me go kill him!"

As it spoke, the Three-headed Thunder Lion’s long blue hair began to dance wildly. Countless bolts of lightning slithered like tiny snakes through its strands, emitting a crackling sound.

"This human brat’s methods are bizarre. Let me go instead. He can’t hurt me," the Armored Profound Turtle said in a low voice.