Appearing before Mu Chen was a colossal, jet-black rock, over ten zhang tall. The stone had scattered holes, but perhaps due to erosion by molten lava, the giant rock had a peculiar sheen.
Mu Chen gently touched the colossal rock. His other hand clearly felt the bronze piece heating up to an abnormally scorching temperature.
"Could the Nine Netherbird be inside?"
The thought occurred to Mu Chen. His gaze immediately darted towards Liu Mubai on the other side. He clenched his fist, and the dark spiritual energy in his palm activated, revealing a Senluo Purple Seal.
"Boom!"
Mu Chen drew his arm back to his waist and powerfully unleashed a punch, instantly creating a resounding rock-shattering sound, striking the colossal rock with immense destructive force.
"Bang!"
Mu Chen punched the rock. The sound of fracturing rock echoed, and the colossal rock trembled slightly as tiny cracks rapidly spread.
"Crack, crack..."
Stone fragments continuously fell from the colossal rock. The cracks crawled faster and faster, covering the entire stone.
Mu Chen cautiously retreated at the sight. When he had punched the colossal rock earlier, he had also noticed a faint light emanating from within.
The large rock continuously vibrated, and fragments quickly scattered. As Mu Chen watched intently, his pupils suddenly constricted. A streak of darkness abruptly flashed from a crack on the colossal rock.
The commotion on this side immediately drew Liu Mubai's attention. He, too, stared in horror at the trembling colossal rock, a mix of fear and joy evident in his expression.
Streaks of darkness emanated from the cracks. Suddenly, Mu Chen detected a spiritual energy fluctuation. He heard a "boom," and the colossal rock exploded violently.
Stone fragments shot out in all directions. Many whizzed past Mu Chen's body, but fortunately, they posed no threat. He remained focused on the center. The colossal rock was shattered, and an inky black light silently rose, gently hovering at the bottom of the abyss in the volcano's mouth.
The light shimmered. Within it seemed to be an object like a black egg, about one zhang in circumference. The black egg was glossy, its shell adorned with mysterious, indescribable patterns. Upon closer inspection, it was a black bird spreading its wings, covering and protecting the egg.
"This is..."
Mu Chen looked at the streaks of darkness flashing from the black egg. He was stunned at first, but then overjoyed. The image on the bronze piece perfectly matched. It seemed that when the Nine Netherbird transformed into an egg, this was the egg before him.
When Mu Chen saw the black egg, Liu Mubai also noticed it. Greed was evident in his eyes, and he immediately moved, flashing towards the black egg's location.
Mu Chen saw this and his eyes flashed, but he did not rashly charge forward. He did not believe that the Nine Netherbird could be so easily captured.
Liu Mubai quickly approached the egg. When he was about one zhang away, a streak of darkness suddenly surged out.
"Bang!"
The fierce streak of darkness attacked Liu Mubai's body. His charging figure was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, slamming into the cliff face and spitting blood.
"Ooooooo...!"
After attacking Liu Mubai, the egg seemed to activate something. Rings of dark spiritual energy radiated around it, then slowly left the bottom of the abyss and flew into the air.
Mu Chen saw this and hurriedly turned to run up the cliff, quickly returning to the volcano's summit.
"Ooooooo...!"
The black egg floated in the air above the volcano's mouth. Streams of dark rings continuously poured out, causing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to suddenly become violent.
Such a huge commotion quickly attracted attention from below. Mu Feng and Liu Qing Tian, after pushing each other back with one strike, did not fight again, their astonished gazes fixed on the mysterious black egg that had just appeared.
"Father, that black egg is the Nine Netherbird transformed, quickly seize it!"
Liu Mu Bai, having just struggled to climb to the peak, urgently shouted.
"Nine Netherbird?"
Liu Qing Tian's eyes widened upon hearing this, his heart secretly overjoyed. He transformed into a blurry figure, swift as lightning, and shot towards the black egg in the air.
Seeing this, Mu Feng was unwilling to fall behind and immediately followed closely.
The two powerhouses moved at extreme speed, reaching the mountaintop in the blink of an eye, extending their greedy hands to snatch the mysterious black egg.
"Father, retreat!"
Mu Chen glared at the black egg, suddenly remembering the forest of white bones in the Black Nether Abyss valley below. Feeling uneasy, he quickly shouted.
Mu Feng halted upon hearing the shout, his heart startled and alarmed. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to retreat.
Although the opportunity was right before his eyes, he had always trusted his son, so he patiently suppressed the rising greed in his heart.
But as Mu Feng paused, Liu Qing Tian merely sneered. One of his fingers had already touched the mysterious egg. Just as he was about to fully embrace it, his expression drastically changed.
"Rumble!"
A strange sound emanated from the mysterious egg. Liu Qing Tian's finger, which had just touched the eggshell, instantly turned black and charred. An excruciating pain shot up from his fingertip, making him grimace horribly.
This sudden turn of events caused Liu Qing Tian's expression to change dramatically. He struggled frantically, but became even more terrified when he discovered his finger seemed to be stuck to the egg. No matter how much he struggled, he couldn't pull it free. The spiritual energy in his body flowed into his finger, quickly pouring into the mysterious egg like flowing water.
"Damn it!"
Liu Qing Tian roared in anger, his eyes turning vicious. He raised his other hand and brought it down, forcefully severing the finger stuck to the egg.
His finger broke off, blood gushing out. Liu Qing Tian gritted his teeth, enduring the pain, and retreated in a panic.
The sudden event unfolded like lightning amidst the clouds. Mu Feng, being the closest, clearly saw the scene unfold, his eyes wide with shock as he looked at the egg. The object, though not large, was terrifying. Fortunately, Mu Chen had called him back, otherwise, the price to pay would likely have been no less.
"Elder Brother!"
Liu Zong looked in horror at Liu Qing Tian, who was rapidly retreating. He also rushed over to surround him, and upon seeing that he had lost a finger, his eyes twitched in terror.
"Be careful, this damned thing is very strange!"
Liu Qing Tian circulated spiritual energy to stop the bleeding from his severed finger, his eyes dark as he grumbled, looking at the egg.
Liu Zong and the others nodded like chickens pecking at rice. It seemed the Nine Netherbird was indeed not something that could be easily obtained.
Mu Feng had also descended by this time, regrouping with his subordinates from the Mu Domain. His heart pounding, he patted Mu Chen's shoulder, forcing a smile, and said:
"It's a good thing I brought you along."
Mu Chen's face was serious, his eyes still fixed on the black egg in the air. He said softly:
"Father, be a little more careful. I feel there's something not quite right about it."
Mu Feng could only nod. The Nine Netherbird was not an ordinary spiritual beast, but a super-class spiritual beast ranked 11th on the Ten Thousand Beast Record's Earth Chart. Compared to it, the Blazing Dragon Eagle was nothing.
The atmosphere suddenly turned strange. The two groups of people, who had just been fighting to the death, unwilling to give the other side any chance to gain an advantage, were now silent. No one dared to make a move, all vigilantly casting greedy gazes directly at the black egg.
A gentle breeze blew from afar, adding a touch of eeriness to the scene.
Mu Chen, who had been staring intently at the egg, suddenly shivered. He had noticed that the patterns on the egg had just flickered slightly.
A strange fluctuation silently emanated from within, quickly spreading outwards.