When Chen Guan and Ji Nanhong arrived at the peak of the fifth mountain, the Great Black Heaven Demon Statue was already on its last legs.
By the time the two reached the back of the crowd, Wang Lian had already dismissed Qin Ziyu and charged alone toward the Great Black Heaven Demon Statue, which was half-kneeling on the ground with black liquid flowing from its seven orifices, looking ready to collapse at any moment.
Seeing that he and Ji Nanhong wouldn't make it in time, Chen Guan immediately summoned Rouge while issuing a command to it.
Before the rabbit even touched the ground, it violently hurled its butcher knife toward the Great Black Heaven Demon Statue with tremendous force.
The butcher knife spun through the air like a wind-fire wheel, flying straight toward the demon statue's third eye.
Wang Lian was just about to deliver the final blow to claim her victory and complete her ultimate objective for coming here when she suddenly heard a whistling sound by her head, startling her into instinctively tilting her head aside.
Even if she hadn't dodged, the butcher knife wouldn't have hit her—it would have simply flown past her head.
As Wang Lian turned her head, she already sensed something was wrong but couldn't react in time. She could only watch helplessly as a blood-red disc flew past her and embedded itself deep into the injured third eye of the Great Black Heaven Demon Statue.
Only then did Wang Lian clearly see it was an unusually wide, thick yet short knife—shaped like a butcher's cleaver but colored blood-red as if drenched in fresh blood.
Recognizing the knife's distinctive style, Wang Lian's pupils constricted sharply. She knew exactly who this weapon belonged to, but instead of turning to look for its owner, she rushed even faster toward the demon statue. Gripping a flying dagger in reverse, she aimed for the same third eye.
Wang Lian knew she had to secure the final blow—otherwise all her meticulous planning would fail at this last step. Without obtaining the complete contents of The Epang Scripture, everything she'd acquired earlier would be useless for cultivation.
As the half-kneeling demon statue slowly toppled over, Wang Lian prayed her strike would still make it in time—that the Great Black Heaven Demon Statue would cling to life just long enough for her to land this final dagger thrust.
Just before the demon statue completely collapsed, Wang Lian's dagger was about to pierce its eye.
But the moment before her blade could connect, the demon statue's body suddenly disintegrated—shattering like tempered glass into countless black particles that swirled through the air like a dark nebula, flowing past the stunned Wang Lian toward someone behind her.
Wang Lian froze completely, her mind going blank from shock.
She couldn't accept failing when success had been literally within her grasp, leaving her momentarily unable to process what had happened.
Everyone else immediately realized what had occurred—the Great Black Heaven Demon Statue had been tamed as a spirit pet! This was a legendary-grade creature, an invaluable treasure beyond price.
All eyes followed the trail of black particles, desperate to see who had stolen the demon statue at the very last moment.
The swirling black particles converged onto a man—one whose appearance seemed unfamiliar to most present.
The man wore oversized sunglasses that obscured his features, though his excellent physique and cold, imposing aura were unmistakable.
What made the scene particularly memorable was the giant Evil Cute Rabbit standing beside him.
"Who is that?" Nearly everyone was baffled, including the elite team members who had previously encountered Chen Guan in Shituo Forest—none recognized him now.
Even Wang Lian, who turned her head like a rusted robot, failed to identify Chen Guan at first glance.
Just some eyebrow grooming and sunglasses had completely transformed his appearance.
Only the presence of the oversized Evil Cute Rabbit confirmed Wang Lian's suspicion about his identity.
"Is this guy my destined nemesis? Why does everything always go wrong because of him, ruining all my plans!" Wang Lian inwardly lamented, forced to attribute this to some mystical misfortune.
Chen Guan was ecstatic—he never expected killing the Great Black Heaven Demon Statue would result in taming it.
Wang Lian's group had slain four other Legendary-grade Mystical Spirits without any taming occurring. Yet he lands one final blow and gets this incredible luck!
Without his sunglasses, his barely-contained joy would have been obvious.
He hadn't even chosen to wear them—Ji Nanhong had insisted after pulling them from her bag.
Earlier, she'd meticulously groomed his eyebrows. Initially pleased with her work, she'd suddenly produced these sunglasses and demanded he wear them.
Fortunately, though feminine in design, their large size didn't look out of place on him. Read complete version only at novel⦿fire.net
Only after all the demon statue's particles had merged into Chen Guan did the crowd notice Ji Nanhong standing beside him—an oversight that puzzled them.
Normally, Ji Nanhong's striking presence made her impossible to miss in any setting.
They chalked it up to the overwhelming shock of witnessing the demon statue's taming.
"Captain... it's such a relief you're safe..." Most elite team members showed genuine happiness at seeing Ji Nanhong.
After a year together, bonds had naturally formed—though a few concealed their disappointment well.
Ji Nanhong acknowledged them with a nod before fixing her gaze on Wang Lian.
Wang Lian was already staring daggers at Chen Guan and Ji Nanhong, unwilling to surrender the demon statue without a fight.
"Qin Ziyu," Wang Lian called out, "you promised to help me obtain the Great Black Heaven Demon Statue. Now that it's with him, what do you propose?"
Qin Ziyu frowned slightly as he studied Chen Guan.
Meanwhile, Chen Guan was reading the demon statue's information with immense satisfaction:
[Great Black Heaven Demon Statue (Legendary-grade): Level 1 Spirit Pet]
[Primordial Energy: 1]
[Innate Talent: Triple Demon Form]
[Secret Technique: Great Freedom Demon Art]
[Secret Skill: Great Black Heaven Hand Seal]
[Treasure: Great Virtue Trident]
[Special Note: The Great Black Heaven Demon Statue's divine nature has been corrupted, its wisdom obscured, and its body parasitized by evil entities.]