"Although the Heaven Washing Brush is powerful, it can't break this cold iron, because it can only exert one-sixth of its power."

The White Tiger's words were a bit vague, but Zhou Yin and Zhou Chen immediately understood. The Heaven Washing Brush was only one-sixth of the Painting of Mountains and Rivers. Only by gathering all six pieces and restoring the complete map could they split the cold iron.

The Painting of Mountains and Rivers was an ancient supreme treasure, a relic of Nüwa. If even it required completeness to contend with the Upper Realm's cold iron, what other magic weapon in the world could possibly rival the Upper Realm?

The White Tiger seemed to know their thoughts. "Although the Painting of Mountains and Rivers is Nüwa's relic, its value lies not in its destructive power, but in the great secrets of heaven and earth it contains. To split this cold iron, obtaining either Fuxi's Wangshu Sword, Gonggong's Nine Abyss Halberd, or Zhurong's Six Directions Cup would suffice."

The items it mentioned were indeed ancient divine weapons. The crowd had only heard their names, never seen their forms.

These weapons had experienced a hundred thousand years, countless wars, and changes in the world. Let alone obtaining them, it would be difficult to even find clues to their whereabouts.

Zhou Chen said, "After I leave, I'll find a way to come back and save you."

The White Tiger replied, "My spiritual energy is already exhausted. Even if you don't return to save me, I'll perish within a year. So, there's no need."

After saying so much, its strength was clearly waning. It took a breath before continuing, "There are two ways for you to leave. One is to kill me. With my divine form shattered and soul extinguished, the spiritual energy supporting this place will cease to exist, causing it to collapse, and you'll naturally be able to escape. But if you do so, your presence will be noticed by the Upper Realm, and your chances of survival will be slim."

It fell silent after that, not mentioning the other method. Not only did Zhou Chen not urge it, even Yun Zong felt the White Tiger's tragic heroism and remained quiet for a while.

"Demon Beast Ancestors above, I'm deeply comforted to see the descendant of my old friend. I have no other requests. Go, and be careful in all things. Whether the demon beast race can rise again doesn't matter. I only hope that you'll be safe and well!"

Zhou Chen trembled slightly, not expecting the White Tiger to use the last bit of its spiritual power to leave him a final message through telepathy. It wasn't asking him to avenge it, nor to strive to revitalize the demon beast race, but merely expressing a wish.

He had never met his own father, because the uniqueness of the Vermilion Bird was that only one could exist in the world at a time. Only with the death of one could a new generation be born.

The White Tiger's blessing not only represented itself but also his father whom he had never met.

Although the Vermilion Bird belonged to the fire element, he was lazy and indifferent by nature. Since his birth, except for Zhou Yin, he rarely felt moved by anything.

Even after inheriting memories and returning to the demon beast race, he never had any thoughts of avenging the race, because the demon beast race's crushing defeat in the past was not without its own reasons.

And now, with the demon beast race in decline, it was impossible to challenge the Heavenly Court with meager strength. It would be like throwing an egg against a rock.

But now, he suddenly felt an urge, an urge to burn everything to ashes.

Although his expression remained unchanged, Zhou Yin could clearly sense his surging emotions.

At this moment, Zhou Chen was immersed in his own thoughts, making him vulnerable to a sneak attack, not to mention there was Yu Nuo lurking in the shadows.

Zhou Yin casually stood beside him, his body slightly angled back. It was a very subtle movement.

Water droplets slid down the stone walls, dripping onto the protruding rocks below, making a crisp sound.

Here, Zhou Chen had the closest relationship with the White Tiger. Since he didn't move, the others also remained in place.

The White Tiger said, "I'll send you out."

Zhou Chen asked, "Is there no other way?"

The White Tiger shook its head. "No."

With that, it lay down and closed its eyes.

Before the others could comprehend their conversation, they suddenly felt the ground shaking beneath their feet. In an instant, everything spun around, accompanied by a terrifying sound. The surrounding stone walls cracked, and small rocks tumbled down from above.

The White Tiger said in a deep voice, "Hurry up and go. I'm destroying my spiritual power. This place will collapse soon!"

"Let's go!" Zhou Chen decisively commanded.

Zhou Yin summoned the Lingyin Sword, with Yun Zong, Mu Jie, and the others following closely behind as they flew up the cliff.

Rocks crumbled and fell, but everyone had protective barriers around them, preventing injury. However, if this place collapsed and they were buried underneath, those massive rocks infused with the White Tiger's spiritual power would be troublesome. In the darkness, the rocks tumbled downwards. At this point, even if one looked down, they wouldn't be able to make out the form of the White Tiger.

"Brother Zhou!" Behind Zhou Yin, Mu Jie followed closely, suddenly calling out.

Zhou Yin felt that her voice sounded strange, but before he could turn his head, he heard a strange laugh. An arm wrapped around his own.

"Hand over the Heaven Washing Brush and the Sumeru Ring!" Mu Jie's voice was soft and gentle, like a lover's whisper, yet there was an indescribable familiarity to it.

Yu Nuo?! Zhou Yin threw out the talismans in his hand. Mu Jie's figure flashed, and she pounced on him in midair.

Zhou Yin couldn't dodge, because if he did, he would also fall off the Lingyin Sword. As a result, he was caught squarely. Mu Jie hugged him tightly, dragging him downwards.

Yun Zong's Wuchang Blade chopped down towards Mu Jie. Mu Jie let out a miserable cry, and a black shadow split from her body, pouncing towards Zhou Yin again.

Zhou Yin threw out several talismans. Yu Nuo didn't dodge or evade, directly reaching out to grab him.

Seeing that Zhou Yin was about to be dragged down by Yu Nuo, Zhou Chen's eyes nearly split apart. Disregarding everything, he revealed his true form.

A dazzling golden light instantly illuminated the entire space.

The dark cliff and hideous boulders seemed to be dyed golden in an instant.

The colossal golden bird that obscured the sky and sun let out a long cry, spitting out a blaze of fire.

Seeing that he couldn't dodge in time, Yu Nuo directly pounced onto Mu Jie's body, merging back into one with her.

The flames on the Vermilion Bird's body were the unique Nine Heavens Divine Fire in the world. Once the flames were released, there was no way to take them back. Besides, the Vermilion Bird was so furious that it no longer cared who it was.

Mu Jie was immediately burned black, her breath gone, directly falling from midair, her life or death unknown.