A cheerful cry echoed in the spiritual world. Ou Yangming, who was connected to the world to some extent, could sense the intense joy present. The feeling was like being extremely happy as though a suppressed volcano erupted all of a sudden.

Ou Yangming was moved, but he could not understand why the capable little bird would be so elated over the Thunderbolt-resistant Rune.

The big multicolored bird jumped abruptly. Although they were inside its spiritual world, Ou Yangming was still taken aback.

It jumped into mid-air and spread its wings to soar beneath the dark clouds, not bothered about the incoming dangerous thunderbolts. In actuality, the instant it flew into the air, the huge, dangerous clouds slowly dispersed. Once the bird flew into the clouds, the black clouds turned into unharmful white clouds, which floated quietly in mid-air.

Ou Yangming shook his head and smiled bitterly. He knew everything in the spiritual world was simulated, but he could not notice any loophole at all.

The big multicolored bird flew on its own for a long time before it finally calmed down. It closed its wings and landed quietly, then it looked at Ou Yangming and asked, "Are you willing to hand your rune to Sir Jade Phoenix?"

"Sir Jade Phoenix?" Ou Yangming was stunned and puzzled.

The big bird was rather impatient. "Yes, Sir Jade Phoenix has been in charge of the Phoenixes ever since Sir Heavenly Phoenix went missing. Mm, your Thunderbolt-resistant Rune is incredibly powerful and will greatly benefit the Phoenixes. If you're willing to hand it in, Sir Jade Phoenix won't treat you poorly!"

Ou Yangming chuckled internally because Lil' Red had unintentionally revealed that it was a member of the Phoenixes.

The Phoenixes were recorded in ancient books as an unusually formidable race and had long been concluded as divine beings in legends.

It was said that the Phoenixes and the Dragons were the mightiest races in the world. Any member from the Phoenixes had sufficient combat power to resist a powerhouse from the Dragons, and they were unmatched beings of the same rank.

Ou Yangming took a deep breath and said, "Lil' Red, the Thunderbolt-resistant Rune wasn't created by me…"

"It was you!" The big multicolored big cut him off fiercely at widened its eyes. "If I say it's you, it's you!"

The young fellow stammered and stood in silent tribute for a second for the unlucky parasite, then he uttered spinelessly, "Okay, I was the one that came up with it."

There was a 180-degree change in the big multicolored bird's expression right away. It commented proudly, "It was you indeed; don't be so humble."

Ou Yangming forced a smile and noted, "Lil' Red, I'm more than happy to present the Thunderbolt-resistant Secret Technique to the Phoenixes, but I'll need you to handle everything for me."

"Yes, I won't let you down," the bird responded sternly as it nodded.

Afterward, Ou Yangming cleared his throat and asked curiously, "Lil' Red, the Phoenixes is one of the greatest races in the world… Ah, what are you doing?"

The big multicolored big lowered its head to continuously attack Ou Yangming with its beak, but it showed mercy by not puncturing his body with holes. It kept pushing the young fellow such that he lost balance and kept staggering.

"Hmph, the Phoenixes are the greatest—not one of the greatest!"

"Okay, okay, okay." Ou Yangming quickly restructured his sentence. "Lil' Red, since the Phoenixes are the greatest race, why are you interested in the Insects'... No, in this small thing I came up with?"

"Small thing?" The big multicolored bird reacted as if it had just heard the funniest joke ever. It shrieked and explained, "The Thunderbolt-resistant Secret Technique is marvelous and can be considered a miracle, so how is it a small thing? Hmph, let me tell you—with this thing, it'll increase the chances of the powerhouses from the Phoenixes surviving the thunderbolt attacks by many times in the future. Perhaps…" It dragged out the word before it continued, "Perhaps we won't need to worry about the Heavenly Thunderbolts as the Heavenly Punishment anymore!"

Ou Yangming curled his lips slightly and asked probingly, "Lil' Red, this rune is effective, but the material is flawed. Ah, the Magic Thunderbolt-resistant Suit that I smithed the last time was destroyed by a Heavenly Thunderbolt."

The big multicolored bird replied to him arrogantly, "What material did you use? The fact that such a poor material can endure the Heavenly Thunderbolt… Hmph, you must've been lucky enough, or…" It narrowed its eyes and looked at the young fellow indifferently.

Nonetheless, Ou Yangming was moved, and his eyes were gleaming.

'It turns out that the peculiar stones, which I regard as precious treasure now, aren't rare items to the bird at all.'

Ou Yangming was full of desire at the moment because he wanted to go to the upper realm to see how many more ultimate treasures he had not seen before.

The big multicolored bird pushed him with its beak again and assured him. "Don't worry, I'm only helping you pass it on to Sir Jade Phoenix, and I won't claim your credit at all. If sir rewards you in any way, you can give me some of the rewards."

"Thank you, I won't forget you no matter what." Ou Yangming could not help but laugh.

"I can't contact Sir Jade Phoenix now, so I'll temporarily keep the Rune Secret Technique with me. As for you…" The big multicolored bird nodded and pondered before it stated, "I have no idea why you possess my race's aura but have never learned our secret technique. I've shown you everything I know so go ahead and learn anything you want."

As soon as its voice died away, the environment around Ou Yangming changed drastically.

The sky turned dark, but it was not because the Sun and the Moon were dimmed. Instead, numerous stars appeared around him.

Ou Yangming looked around and immediately understood that every star represented a secret technique. What shocked him more was the secret techniques did not only belong to the Phoenixes; they were infinite and all-inclusive.

It seemed like he could also find the secret techniques of the Dragons, which were as mighty as the Phoenixes.

The young fellow looked at the big multicolored bird in shock. Even though he was not really a part of the Phoenixes, he knew the bird itself could not gather so many secret techniques.

"These secret techniques are my bloodline inheritance, and I can learn them at any time as long as I'm willing to." The big multicolored bird chuckled.

Ou Yangming's face twitched, and an unexplainable feeling arose from his heart.

'This little fella was born with so much knowledge. Poor me—even after having countless enviable encounters, the total number of secret techniques I learned is insignificant as compared to what I can find here.

'Comparisons and odious—is this used to describe me and Lil' Red?

'That said, on second thought, I'm a human while Lil' Red's a phoenix. If I insist on comparing myself to it, I'll be too harsh on myself.'

Ou Yangming shook his head and closed his eyes, then he released his mental conception.

Due to Lil' Red, his mental conception was not expelled by the world, and it merged with the world instead and became one with it.

Ou Yangming did not touch the stars directly because he knew as capable as he was, he could not fully accept every knowledge here. The only thing the young fellow could do at the moment was to selectively accept the abilities he needed.

Next, his mental conception came into contact with the stars, and he obtained the information he was looking for.

He realized that the stars that approached him were the Phoenixes' secret techniques.

Ou Yangming hesitated for a while before he chose a lower-ranked magic art, then he reached out to it through his conception.

The words "the Phoenixes' secret techniques" showed that the techniques were definitely high-end. It would be a worthwhile trip to this world if he could learn even one of them.

'The Aura-changing Secret Technique.

'What magic art is this?' Ou Yangming was startled.

He came to a sudden realization after he carefully read the technique with his mental conception.

It turned out to be an art that allowed one to change one's aura, and it was similar to the goshawk's Concealment Art but with a different approach.

Nevertheless, in comparison, the Phoenixes' magic art was many times more profound than the goshawk's.

Not only could the secret technique allow one to conceal and suppress one's aura, but it also had a reverse derivation function.

In other words, a spirit beast that acquired the secret technique could disguise its aura to be at Extreme Grade or even Yang Grade with a flash of thought. Without prying through the corresponding secret technique, its real aura could not be distinguished at all.

Despite that, the spirit beast could also simulate a Venerable One's aura if it was willing to, causing others to mistake it for a Venerable One.

It would be relatively easy to act weak when one was strong, but it would be very difficult to do the opposite.

However, the secret technique had the nature-defying effect.

Ou Yangming was unknowingly attracted by the secret technique, and he could not help but become immersed in it.

His mental conception slowly analyzed the key points of the secret technique, allowing him to eventually fathom its mysteries.

In actual fact, the secret technique was not recorded in the usual way for humans; it was preserved through a unique method by the Phoenixes. Even so, Ou Yangming's Military Fire automatically shook and released odd energies when he started to study the technique. With the help of the energies, he comprehended the magic art's wonders effortlessly and grasped the technique.

It was almost equivalent to an instinctive reaction, by which it was not difficult for Ou Yangming to learn the Phoenixes' magic art at all.

Having said that, Ou Yangming's was suddenly in a trance after he completely learned the Aura-changing Secret Technique. His vision became blurry, and he retreated from the spiritual world.