After bestowing the gifts on the two little ones, Chu Chen collected them into his Soul Sea, then turned and went back to his room to sleep deeply.

The next morning, Chu Chen arrived early in front of Liu Hong's room to wait.

Before Chu Chen could knock on the door, Liu Hong's voice came from within the room.

"Come in."

Chu Chen was not surprised by this; after all, the other was a Soul Emperor level powerhouse, so it was expected that he would sense Chu Chen's arrival.

Chu Chen pushed the door open and entered, finding Liu Hong sitting cross-legged on a cushion, evidently having just been in cultivation.

"What's the matter?"

Liu Hong asked with his eyes closed.

Chu Chen replied in a low voice, "Elder Liu, I would like to check on Lei Yao's situation."

Upon hearing this, Liu Hong's eyes opened wide, and he stared at Chu Chen, asking sternly, "Did you have a breakthrough?"

Chu Chen nodded at this, saying, "Fortunately, I had a breakthrough yesterday; perhaps it might be of some help to Lei Yao's situation."

Liu Hong couldn't help but frown at Chu Chen's far-fetched reason. A Beast Master's breakthrough doesn't usually affect a Guardian Beast, but as a fellow Beast Master, he understood his feelings.

After a moment of silence, Liu Hong spoke solemnly, "Very well, let Yanyang accompany you on this journey."

Chu Chen did not refuse upon hearing this and respectfully saluted Liu Hong, saying, "Thank you, Elder Liu."

Liu Hong dismissed his thanks with a wave, then clicked a few times on his communication bracelet.

Yanyang's full name was Duan Yanyang, a Soul King level expert, and Liu Hong's prized disciple, currently assisting Liu Hong with the training camp.

Moments later, a burly man entered.

Chu Chen quickly greeted him, "Greetings, Instructor Duan."

Duan Yanyang nodded slightly at Chu Chen and then clasped his fist in salute to Liu Hong, saying, "Teacher."

Liu Hong nodded in response and recounted Chu Chen's request.

Duan Yanyang saluted Liu Hong once more and said, "Understood, Teacher," then departed with Chu Chen.

The two traveled silently, quickly reaching the location of the Fourth-Level Secret Realm using the Teleportation Array.

Dozens of Daoist Soldiers, seeing the two appear in the Teleportation Array, quickly inquired about their origins and intentions.

After a bit of negotiation, the leading Daoist Soldier opened the secret realm's entrance.

Duan Yanyang said solemnly, "My Beast cannot enter the Fourth-Level Secret Realm, so you must proceed on your own. Take care."

Chu Chen nodded in acknowledgment, "Thank you for the reminder, Instructor Duan," and then eagerly stepped into the secret realm.

For Chu Chen, the Fourth-Level Secret Realm posed no danger. The only uncertainty was Lei Yao.

Chu Chen had reasons for his confidence: two months ago, the speed at which Lei Yao gained Slaughter Value had markedly slowed, and a week ago, Lei Yao gained only a few hundred points per day, and only a few dozen yesterday.

From the change in Slaughter Value, it seemed there were few Star Beasts left in this Fourth-Level Secret Realm, indirectly proving Lei Yao's strength.

With a wave of dizziness, Chu Chen came to his senses to find himself in the secret realm.

The first thing he saw were insect-type Star Beast corpses, with some already weathered away to bare white bones, some dried like they'd been visited by vampires, and some that still had maggots, suggesting they hadn't been dead long.

Sweeping his gaze quickly, Chu Chen saw there were no less than a thousand Star Beast corpses around him, shocking him greatly. Could all this have been Lei Yao's doing?

This was a Fourth-Level Secret Realm. Lord Level Star Beasts were not exactly rare, and at least forty or fifty percent were Lord Level, with many even surpassing that in strength. It was hard to imagine to what extent Lei Yao had grown.

Chu Chen slowly closed his eyes, concentrating all his Perception on the contract.

A moment later, Chu Chen's eyes snapped open, and he waved his hand to summon Shadow Kill, pointing eastward, saying, "That way." With that, he leaped onto its back.

Without hesitation, Shadow Kill flapped its insect wings and flew eastward.

Shadow Kill seemed to sense Chu Chen's urgency, flying at an astonishing speed.

Without realizing it, Chu Chen could clearly sense Lei Yao's specific location, indicating they were very close.

Soon, a deep rumbling sound was heard from a nearby place.

Hearing this, Chu Chen frowned. Given the proximity, he could conclude that Lei Yao was indeed the one fighting.

He patted Shadow Kill's back and said solemnly, "Even faster."

Acknowledging him, Shadow Kill flapped its wings even faster, generating sound waves from its speed.

Within a few breaths, they reached the source of the sound.

Looking down, Chu Chen saw a giant ape with crimson golden fur locked in battle with an enormous black beetle.

Both beasts naturally noticed his arrival, but only glanced at him briefly before resuming their fight, clearly not considering Chu Chen a threat.

Chu Chen was not angered by this. Instead, a deep sadness welled up in his heart.

The beetle could afford to ignore him, but that Lei Yao did too showed that it had yet to regain its rationality.

Chu Chen sighed. This was no time for grief; the black beetle before him was immensely powerful, pinning down even Lei Yao.

With a wave of his hand, Chu Chen unleashed several Soul Skills. These skills bolstered Lei Yao's strength enough to barely maintain the stalemate.

Only then did Chu Chen carefully inspect the black beetle.

Its height was about fifty meters, and its length a staggering 100 meters. Its oval body was covered in thick Insect Armor, resembling a heavy armored vehicle.

Chu Chen quickly summoned the Slaughter Atlas to examine the beetle's information.

Star Beast Name: Soul-devouring Beetle

Life Level: Mature Stage

Star Beast Quality: Epic Level

Star Beast Talent: Soul Devourer

Star Beast Level: Ninth Rank Lord Level

Power Talent: A-level

Defense Talent: A-level

Agility Talent: B-level

Physical Talent: B-level

Soul Power Talent: B+ Level

Star Power Talent: B-level

Star Beast Attribute: Undead Element, Dark Element

Star Beast Skills: Tearing Bite (Ordinary Level, Perfection Realm), Dark Claw (Elite Level, Perfection Realm), Black Demon Armor (Elite Level, Perfection Realm), Soul Control (Excellence Level, Perfection Realm), Undead Summoning (Perfect Level, Great Success Realm)

Seeing the Soul-devouring Beetle's information, Chu Chen couldn't help but gasp; it was a rare Undead Element Star Beast. Why hadn't the Daoist School captured it then? Could it be they hadn't discovered it yet?

Little did he know, the Soul-devouring Beetle had extremely stringent requirements for survival, needing to devour a large number of souls every day.

Bringing it outside raised concerns over both its adaptability to the environment and the headache of feeding it.

Thus, the Daoist School had no choice but to leave it there, allowing it to survive within the secret realm. Whenever it bred offspring, the Daoist School would seize the Beast Taming Eggs.

After all, these were Epic Quality Beast Taming Eggs, with rare dual attributes of Undead and Dark.

The value of even one such Beast Taming Egg was comparable to that of an Immortal Quality Egg.

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