Chapter 234: The White Cranes Mysterious Master

Chapter 234: The White Crane's Mysterious Master

The white crane once again crashed into the grass, wings scorched and riddled with holes.

Thick smoke rose from its body and its feathers released a pungent smell of sulfur as if soaked in molten lava.

The white crane tried to stand on its thin, trembling legs and take flight.

However, its legs were injured and could no longer support its weight.

Thud!

It collapsed back into the grass.

"You little wretch! How dare you attack me! I won't let you off!" The white crane shrieked and cursed spitefully.

Pang Jian approached atop his spear.

Seeing the white crane gravely injured and close to death, Pang Jian leaped down from his silver spear, still maintaining his icy protective shield.

Pang Jian’s left hand reached out from his protective shield to grab the white crane by its long neck.

He then slapped both sides of its slender, feathery face with his right hand, having had enough of its foul mouth.

Each strike landed with a loud smack, sending sparks flying.

"Dog thief!"

Whack! Whack!

"Lowly scum from the lower world!"

Whack! Whack!

Every time the white crane dared to utter a word, Pang Jian would swiftly slap its beak.

He hit its beak so hard it became misshapen. Each slap stripped away some of the feathers on its face, gradually turning it bare.

The wicked white crane fell silent after receiving dozens of slaps, its beak numb from the beating.

Pang Jian held the white crane by its neck, forcing its hate-filled eyes to meet his. "When I ask you something, you will answer truthfully. Understood?

"Now, where did you come from?"

The exhausted white crane spat a blood arrow at Pang Jian.

Bang!

The blood arrow hit Pang Jian’s protective shield but failed to penetrate it.

Pang Jian’s expression turned cold, and he slapped the crane until its neck twisted, leaving it on the brink of death.

"I–I come from the Pure Land Sect of the Western Loam. I'm the Sacred Crane of the Pure Land Sect!" The white crane said desperately. It no longer dared to hurl insults, choosing to glare venomously at Pang Jian as it weakly hissed, "The master I serve is the new Saintess of the Pure Land Sect!

"She is the chosen one, a cultivation genius the likes of which hasn’t appeared in the Fourth World for a thousand years! The day she left the Fourth World, the remains of our avian spiritual guardian, the Celestial Phoenix, shattered, and she was chosen as the heir to its legacy.

"A naturally formed lightning vortex exists in her spiritual sea, making her perfectly suited for the lightning cultivation method!

"That accursed ancient Thunder Dragon was an accomplice in the attack on the Celestial Phoenix all those years ago, which is why the Celestial Phoenix chose her. The Celestial Phoenix intends to help her ascend to godhood through the Dao of Lightning.

"The Celestial Phoenix wants her to slay the ancient Thunder Dragon and reclaim the divine path that has been dominated for ten thousand years!

"The master I serve is under the protection of the Pure Land Sect, which is why her name isn't widely known yet. But it won't be long before her fame spreads across the many worlds of the Abyss!"

"My master..." the white crane trailed off, glaring menacingly at Pang Jian.

"Even if I die, the Pure Land Sect won’t let you off, and my master certainly won’t! I’ll remember you, Luo Yuan of the Sword Pavilion!" it frantically insulted, determined to curse Pang Jian until its last breath.

Unlike before, Pang Jian did not slap its beak.

"It’s over. It’s really over. He’s not even hitting me. He's definitely going to kill me this time." the white crane lamented.

To its surprise, rich life energy flowed from Pang Jian's palm into its most grievous wound, mending its ruptured meridians.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Life energy spread throughout the white crane’s body and healed its injuries!

The white crane stared at Pang Jian in bewilderment. Its stream of curses abruptly stopped.

The white crane’s spirits lifted as its strength was partially restored and it arrogantly remarked, "Heh, brat, you’ve finally come to your senses, haven’t you? You’ve realized you can’t afford to offend the one backing me!

"It’s not too late. After all, I'm still alive. I'm willing to overlook your earlier offenses.

"You were ignorant, so you’re not to blame. You’ve recognized your mistakes and are willing to correct them, I’ve decided not to hold your earlier pursuit against me."

The white crane slowly stood up.

Some of its white feathers had fallen to the ground, but the continued infusion of life energy and the white crane's own strange abilities meant new feathers were already growing in their place.

"Luo Yuan, is it?" The white crane, satisfied with Pang Jian’s actions, nodded haughtily and said in a friendly tone, "You’re not bad, unlike those little brats from the Demon Sect, the Black Valley Sect, and the Celestial Lagoon Sect.

"I'll put in a good word for you when I return to the Pure Land Sect and meet my master. If you ever come to the Pure Land Sect in the First World In the future, just mention my name and say we were old friends from the lower world.

"But you mustn’t speak of my master’s name nor mention it to anyone for now! My master’s existence is a great secret of the Pure Land Sect. This is to avoid provoking that ancient Thunder Dragon too soon."

The white crane was extremely pleased as it watched Pang Jian carefully tending to its wounds.

When it thought about how it had lured Pang Jian to the Lightning Retribution Grounds and tried to strike him down twice with the surrounding lightning, it could not help but feel a twinge of guilt.

The five leaves in Pang Jian's chest withered and came back to life several times. Every time Pang Jian drained their life energy, the little tree would repeatedly replenish them.

"That should be enough," Pang Jian eventually said, grabbing the crane by its talons and tossing it into the air. "Maybe we’ll meet again, you foul-mouthed creature."

Pang Jian waved the white crane goodbye.

The white crane flapped its wings and realized it had been healed enough to fly.

It gave a few more arrogant flaps and said haughtily, "Luo Yuan, you're not bad. If you ever find yourself out of favor with the Sword Pavilion, you can come to the Pure Land Sect and look for me.

"I carry some weight in the Pure Land Sect as I have my master's protection."

It then flapped its wings and soared into the sky.

Pang Jian squinted as he watched it ascend.

"Pang Lin and that Rank Ten Thunder Dragon in Dragon Lair Sect are destined to clash when she attempts to slay the dragon and ascend to godhood. It’s my duty as her brother to help her."

The ancient Thunder Dragon in the Dragon Lair Sect had become a target for Pang Jian to eliminate.

Pang Lin could not become a True God as long as the Thunder Dragon lived.

Therefore, the dragon had to die.

Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!

The lightning array in the lake weakened once the white crane left.

Taking one last glance at the lake, Pang Jian decided not to get involved with the disciples from the Second World and instead flew off to find Lei Kun.

An hour later, when Ye Fei, Lu Xiangyi, and other disciples from the Second World finally emerged from the lake, they caught sight of a luxurious Cloud Sail, filled with beautiful women, setting sail from Cloud Lightning.