When the banquet finally ended and Ou Yangming made it clear that he was leaving, neither the imperial family’s representatives nor the local representatives from Canghai City dared to force him to say.

Putting aside everything else, the sheer fact that Hong Feiyu was standing by the young fellow was enough to keep everyone else on the periphery.

Nonetheless, when Ou Yangming just boarded the carriage, Feng Yiyuan hurried over and said from afar, “Master Ou, please stay.”

Ou Yangming furrowed his eyebrows and was feeling rather annotated. He had made himself clear earlier but if the great ancestor insisted on pestering him, he could not be blamed for being harsh.

Feng Yiyuan seemed to have noticed how displeased Ou Yangming was, but he did not say a word. He directly presented a jade box to the young fellow and said, “Master Ou, you ended the Humans’ disaster and protected the people in Canghai City. There’s no way I can repay you for that, so please kindly accept this supreme treasure handed down in my family.”

“Senior Feng, you’re being too polite. Since it’s a supreme treasure that has been passed down, I dare not accept it.” Ou Yangming was slightly stunned.

“Master Ou, the great sirs specifically told me to give it to you.” Feng Yiyuan bent forward a little.

Ou Yangming was moved, and he looked deeply at the great ancestor. “If you insist.” He shook his wrist and accepted the jade box.

‘The only people that Feng Yiyuan will address as great sirs are probably powerhouses from that place.’

Nevertheless, Ou Yangming was confused. ‘Can the Feng family communicate with the people from that place so smoothly? In comparison, the Ni family seems to be worse in this…’

After traveling slowly by carriages, Ou Yangming and his companions returned to their residence. Hong Feiyu was very interested in the jade box received by the young fellow but instead of expressing it out, he immediately returned to his room to rest. On the other hand, Big Yellow wagged its tail and followed Ou Yangming into the room. It carefully looked at the little red bird and noticed that the bird was not going to shoot it away, hence it sat in a corner cheerfully.

Judging from the big yellow dog’s posture, unless it was being driven away, it would certainly stay inside the room.

The little red bird looked scornfully at the dog. Given that it was such an arrogant being, it could not be bothered about such a trivial matter.

Ou Yangming retrieved the jade box and pondered for some time. He had accepted the item because he understood what Feng Yiyuan meant, but he also knew very well that it was not an easy gift.

“What are you doing?” The little red bird hopped on his shoulder several times.

“This box probably contains a warning from a certain force in the upper realm, so I don’t know if I should open it.” Ou Yangming grinned.

The little red bird shrieked, “What warning? Hmph… Let me do it!”

Ou Yangming laughed and stopped it. “Forget it. Since it’s meant for me, I’ll have to settle it, so why should you do it?”

The little bird blinked as though it wanted to defend itself, but it finally chirped and stopped being persistent.

After comforting the little fellow, Ou Yangming reached out and opened the jade box firmly.

A black jade pendant could be found inside the jade box. Its color was incredibly rare, but it gave off a strange feeling when one looked at it; it was as if something on it could attract one’s soul.

Ou Yangming was astonished. He was sure that the jade pendant’s material was nothing like he had ever seen, and he believed that the substance was unique to the upper realm.

‘But why did Feng Yiyuan give me a jade pendant?’

Just as Ou Yangming was bewildered, a black light was released from the pendant. Following that, an extremely powerful force spread, and it was so mighty that even he could not resist it. As such, it grunted and staggered backward.

The force was exceptionally strong. As far as he remembered, apart from the dragon and the phoenix that never really appeared, only the Insects’ Ghost-clawed Venerable One could match it.

He instantly understood that it was the power of a supreme powerhouse.

A vague figure floated above the jade pendant and slowly opened his eyes. The universe seemed to have lost all colors at that instant, and the pair of eyes became the ruler of this space.

“You’re Ou Yangming?” A faint and cold voice was eventually heard.

Ou Yangming inhaled deeply and forced himself to calm down.

He gritted his teeth and straightened his body under the fearsome pressure. Big Yellow simply curled up its body, and it only peeked at the figure above the pendant through its round eyes.

It did not want to try to be brave to resist the force.

“I’m Ou Yangming. How should I address you, senior?” Ou Yangming was neither haughty nor humble.

The figure looked quietly at Ou Yangming as if he was deep in thoughts, but his silence was the exact reason the atmosphere in the room became tenser.

Big Yellow cried bitterly but after slowly adapting to the potent force, it straightened its body, pressed down its forelegs, and lifted its butt to be ready to attack at any time. Needless to say, the big yellow dog was not confident about hurting the figure, but it would be content if it could somewhat obstruct him.

“I’m Zhiming the Venerable One from the Feng family,” the figure answered after some time.

As his voice was heard, the pressure in the air suddenly weakened, and he sounded friendlier too.

“I see, Zhiming the Venerable One, let me greet you.” Ou Yangming bowed to the ground.

“Mm, you’ve advanced to Spirit Grade, so you indeed have the capital to act presumptuously in this realm.” The figure of Zhiming the Venerable One put his hands behind his back and spoke proudly, “The fact that you’re able to break through the limit of this world and advance to Spirit Grade proved that you’re exceedingly talented, but your cultivation base will become stagnant if you continue to stay in this small world.”

“Yes, I understand,” Ou Yangming responded sternly.

The figure lowered his head and stared at Ou Yangming. “You want to enter the upper realm?”

“Yes!” Ou Yangming did not hide his wild ambition at all.

This was his biggest goal so far, and he did not know what his next target would be if he managed to get to a higher level.

“I can help you if you’d like to come to the upper realm, but you have to worship me once you succeed,” that figure noted.

After hearing his junior’s tearful complaint, he initially planned to frighten Ou Yangming with the force of a Venerable One because he wanted to let the young fellow know that his life or death was only a matter of thought to him. That said, when the figure saw Ou Yangming through a secret technique, had another thought right away.

‘This young fella actually advanced to Spirit Grade?!’

Entering Spirit Grade was not rare at all in the upper realm. The figure had seen roughly a thousand such cultivators so far, and the Feng family in the upper realm had plenty of them too.

However, this was the lower realm.

If a cultivator could break through the lower realm’s limit and advance to Spirit Grade, how great would his or her potential be in the upper realm? How far could that person go… The thoughts gave one an upsurge of emotions.

Moreover, if the figure could take in such a talent, that person would be so valuable that he or she could be considered a fruitful reward for the figure even if he or she could not be compared with acquiring the entire lower realm.

Ou Yangming was startled, and he thought, ‘What’s this figure talking about? Why does he suddenly want to take me as an apprentice? This doesn’t seem right…’

He was not gauging the heart of a gentleman with his mean measure, but he must take necessary precautions. Besides, he could not guess the thoughts of Zhiming the Venerable One, thus he did not know how to deal with the situation at the moment.

Zhiming the Venerable One frowned when he noticed that Ou Yangming was hesitant. “Why? You’re not willing to?”

Next, the pressure that seemed to have eased in the air became immensely forceful again.

Ou Yangming scoffed coldly. He could sense the chillness on his body right away, and it felt like an icehouse was collapsing.

The force of a Venerable One was so remarkable. It was worth noting that this was even delivered between realms, but Ou Yangming felt like he could not withstand it anymore. If he was directly faced with the force, he did not know how he should resist it.

He had obtained nearly invincible abilities in this realm, but his resulting confidence and pride were being crushed by the Venerable One’s force.

Countless thoughts crossed Ou Yangming’s mind. He somehow lost the capability to make decisions, so he was hesitant if he should show his true colors or pretend to comply with the figure.

Although he faced similar pressures in the past, it came from the dragon and the phoenix and was not directed at him. It also came from the Insects’ Venerable One, but it suppressed its force on purpose because it was afraid that its powers would alert the world.

On the contrary, Zhiming the Venerable One borrowed power from an item and fully released his force as a Venerable One in the small room.

It was a small range, but it was the exact reason the world’s power could not be triggered at all, allowing him to fully unleash his force.

If Ou Yangming quickly backed away and stayed roughly 35 meters away from the jade pendant, he would not sense any power at all. The problem was he was right next to the pendant, and his mind was being seized by the Venerable One’s pressure, causing it difficult for him to advance or retreat.

At the spur of the moment, the little red bird on Ou Yangming’s shoulder flapped its wings and looked coldly at the illusory figure.

Zhiming the Venerable One looked strangely at the little bird too. He was curious because it did not seem to be affected by his force at all.

He did not bother at first when he glanced at the little red bird, but he was struck dumb at once. Subsequently, the figure looked up and carefully looked at it again.

The little red big lifted its head proudly and was indifferent toward the figure.

Through a certain secret technique, Zhiming the Venerable One finally confirmed the little red bird’s identity.

The figure’s mouth trembled a little, and his firm body seemed to have become discernible too.

‘What’s going on?

‘How can it be in this realm?

It’s also standing on this young fella’s shoulder, but what does that mean?’

Zhiming the Venerable One was appalled when he recalled what he said earlier.

All of a sudden, the figure became firm again, the tense atmosphere in the room disappeared, and he had a bright smile on his face.

“Hehe, Lil’ Friend Ou, I was only making a joke—a totally harmless joke…”