From waterfowl, it began to transform into the Great Sun Golden Crow.

The fire raged and the earth cracked.

The spot where the hexagonal salamander had sunk had long since dried up into black soil. Its massive, sunken foot rose from the ground.

The shattered scales looked as if they wanted to devour Gu Heting alive.

"Brother, is it too late for me to apologize now?"

Salamanders roared, and flames filled the sky.

The exploding fire serpent spread across the entire body of the fire salamander in a bizarre shape.

The flames emanating from his body turned completely blue.

In an instant, the power of the Core Formation stage demon was no longer concealed.

What exploded from that body was the oppressive aura of a superior.

"It seems it's too late."

A ring of fire burned along the earth. The fiery salamander stomped down, scattering the flames from its body.

Countless small fireballs rose from the ground.

Flames soared into the sky, engulfing the entire swampy area.

A raging fire spread, burning everything in sight.

Swarms of fiery meteors rained down from the sky. They carried intense heat and indiscriminately attacked the entire swamp.

—Meteor shower.

This was almost a full-force attack from a powerful demon at the Core Formation stage.

"Isn't that unnecessary, brother?" Gu Heting was dumbfounded. He kept shifting his body, dodging the falling meteor.

They also need to periodically draw upon their own water elemental energy to prevent being burned by the falling fire rings.

At this moment, the system in Gu Heting's retina was frantically alarming.

[Alert! Alert!]

[A powerful demon at the Core Formation stage is attacking you with all its might. Your chance of a direct counterattack is 98%. Please prepare to retreat.]

"I know."

"Do you even need to tell me? I'm curious, where did the remaining 2% come from?"

Even now, Gu Heting is still spouting nonsense.

His feathers had been burned to a crisp, like roasted chicken. Half of his body was already bald. If it weren't for his speed surpassing that of most creatures in the Dongting Blessed Land...

He would have been killed long ago by this indiscriminate attack.

Gu Heting's perspective was frozen at the last moment.

He saw the fiery salamander raise his burning palm.

Three fiery claws adorned his palm, spreading out in a graceful, unrestrained manner.

This strike coincided with the sun in the sky.

At that moment, a series of images suddenly flashed through his mind.

This fantastical feeling is subtle.

It's like eating too many poisonous mushrooms.

"Wow, this is like a time machine. Why don't I have any memories of my past life? I only have these seven months as a bird."

He ate seaweed for the first month.

In the second month, he was chewing on small shrimp.

In the third month, when a female bird courted him, he kicked her away...

The memory was dreamlike. He always felt that the fire salamander's attack was very slow, like a slow-motion scene in a movie.

—With a bang.

Gu Heting was slapped away. In his dying moments, he heard a system notification.

[A raging fire, burning away even the most sparse and wild grass.]

[Having reincarnated once, he was no match for a Core Formation stage demon. Life is unpredictable and full of changes.]

[Host, can you please be a little more composed?]

[Evaluation: Early stage of Qi Refining, yet dares to challenge a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator. Host, you're just a complete idiot.]

"Forehead....."

Gu Heting was speechless. His body was like a kite with a broken string. His body had been slapped so hard it seemed to have spread across several acres of land. His body swayed in the air like a fledgling goose that had just taken flight.

The confused mind lost its senses in an instant.

In just a moment.

He remembered nothing. Gu Heting only remembered that he was flying, flying very high.

Dark clouds loomed overhead, and the air grew noticeably more humid. The fiery salamander remained enraged. A light drizzle began to fall.

Large raindrops pelted its body.

Soon, water vapor rose from the fire salamander's body.

As the temperature plummeted, its rage finally subsided. The Core Formation demon snorted, not even glancing at Gu Heting who had flown away.

The fire salamander turned around and looked back.

Only the dried-up swamp remained. With the replenishment of rainwater, this land formed a new swamp.

Dongting Blessed Land, on the outer side of Shenzhou Island.

A giant river-swallowing fish swam out of the water. At this moment, the river-swallowing fish seemed somewhat listless, as it silently gazed at the calm water, its huge fish eyes dangling outwards.

A few days ago.

It fought against a blue-eyed serpent of the same level. The giant serpent's venomous fangs damaged its very core.

There was also a piece of rotten flesh infected by venom in the abdomen of the river-swallowing fish.

They are currently resting quietly by the river. Suddenly, a sonic boom was heard in the distance.

A black object flew towards him.

The river-swallowing fish glanced at him.

He flicked his tail high into the air. Soon, a huge ring of water appeared in mid-air.

The water ring enveloped the water vapor, forming a thin film.

The thin film collided with the black thing.

It was just a brief encounter.

The water-colored bubbles then enveloped the black substance. The River-Swallowing Fish looked closely and saw a small water bird with dislocated bones. The bird was still whimpering, still possessing a sliver of strength.

Gu Heting awoke in a state of confusion.

Dryness, itching, pain, and cracking bones.

He didn't even have the strength to lift his hand. He could only hang his head and glance upwards.

It would have been better not to look. But upon closer inspection, one could see the sun gleaming with golden light.

This is not golden light.

It was an enormous eye, blinking. He could even see the black pupil. Gu Heting's image was reflected in the pupil.

"I...I've been resurrected by a cheat system. Is this the River Nara in the Underworld? Why aren't there any spider lilies blooming in the Underworld?"

The enormous eyes turned their gaze toward Gu Heting.

Those eyes blinked, sending a chill down Gu Heting's spine.

"Yesterday I heard the roar of a lizard. Young man, did you do that?"

"A four-legged lizard, the fire lizard you mentioned?" Gu Heting answered casually. But suddenly he felt something was off. He looked up at the figure in front of him.

A gigantic fish, like a whale.

The fish was staring at him with wide eyes.

Gu Heting remembered this fish. Wasn't this the River-Swallowing Fish that confronted the Blue-Eyed Ringed Serpent?

and many more?

Something's not right. Why can this fish talk?

"You can talk?"

The two spoke in unison.

Gu Heting's voice was softer, while Tun Jiangyu's voice was deeper. Their voices blended together.

The River-Swallowing Fish blinked its big eyes as it spoke to the little beast before it, simply because it had been too long and was bored.

But to its surprise, the little water bird actually responded to it.

"Strange? You little beast, your intelligence isn't a state of complete chaos. And you're not a newly awakened being. It shouldn't be like this; if you've awakened chaotic intelligence, why is your cultivation level so low?"

"Forehead"

Gu Heting was speechless. He tugged at the bird's beak, unsure how to respond.

Judging from the situation, it seemed that the River-Swallowing Fish had saved him. Gu Heting looked around. Only then did he realize that he was floating in mid-air. His entire body was enveloped in a water sphere, with only his bird head protruding.

The moisture is quite subtle.

It was perfectly compatible with his water elemental root. The water floating around him enveloped him in layers.

It was as if all his fatigue had been washed away.

"You...you...save me?"