Chapter 677: Is This a Trap?

Chapter 677: Chapter 677: Is This a Trap?

During the flight, with Zhong Shan's comforting presence, Nie Qingqing's emotions gradually stabilized. Glancing at the hand held by Zhong Shan, her face reddened. She tried to pull her hand back but couldn't, making her blush even more as she looked at Zhong Shan's face.

Zhong Shan, however, was deep in thought. His greatest strength was his love for pondering over things. Even if something seemed clear to others, Zhong Shan would mull it over multiple times.

He sensed something unusual from the moment Nie Qingqing went to Lingxiao Heavenly Court. This feeling had only grown stronger, culminating in the collapse of the Great Li Celestial Empire and the death of Nie Fancheng. Zhong Shan was now certain of his suspicion.

This was a trap! It wasn't as simple as it appeared. But what kind of trap was it?

Zhong Shan furrowed his brows in thought, but the clues he had were limited. It was too simplistic to deduce the nature of the trap just from what the Phoenixes had said. Moreover, it seemed like he had been pulled into this trap too. Everything felt eerie!

Unable to figure it out for now, Zhong Shan knew he needed to question the key figures. The Phoenixes' words were not to be taken to heart, and most of the key figures were adversaries. Only by questioning Wu Jiutian, the Supreme of the Phoenix clan, could he uncover more.

Having clarified what needed to be done next, Zhong Shan exhaled deeply.

At this moment, he felt a tugging at his hand. Looking down, he saw that he was still holding Nie Qingqing's hand for comfort. Now that she was gradually recovering, Zhong Shan released her hand, noticing her slightly reddened face.

"Feeling better?" Zhong Shan asked.

"Mm!" Nie Qingqing nodded.

But as she thought about the Holy Capital of Li Fire, her face darkened again.

"Everything will be sorted once we rescue Wu Jiutian," Zhong Shan reassured.

"Mm."

Twenty days later, the group stopped in front of an endless forest. Countless crows flew in the sky, not just ordinary crows but also fire crows and ice crows, making it seem like a sacred ground for crows.

"This place is called Wuchao, the former headquarters of the crow clan. After the crows became the national beast of the Taishui Celestial Empire, the powerful crows migrated out, but this place hasn't been abandoned," Zhong Shan explained.

"Your Majesty, are you saying Wu Huan, Turtle Shou, and Lu Gui Tian might stop here to heal their injuries?" Wang Ku asked.

"Mm. Being heavily injured, they need a place to recuperate. Traveling while injured would be too risky. This place has the best terrain. With the wisdom of Turtle Shou, Wu Huan, and Lu Gui Tian, they would think of this place," Zhong Shan said with a cold smile.

From Zhong Shan's tone, Wang Ku could sense his disdain for the wisdom of the three Heaven-Realm experts, but Wang Ku expressed no opinion.

"Wuluo, stay here and protect Nie Qingqing. Wang Ku, we're going in!" Zhong Shan ordered.

"Yes!" Phoenix King Wuluo responded immediately.

"Be careful!" Nie Qingqing said with concern.

"Mm. Don't worry!" Zhong Shan nodded solemnly.

Then, Zhong Shan and Wang Ku's forms flickered as they moved into the depths of Wuchao.

Deep in Wuchao, there was a massive volcano. Around the volcano, countless crows flew, but none flew higher than the volcano itself. Surrounding the volcano were numerous buildings. Some beast crows, in human form, looked at the volcano with reverence in their eyes.

"Wang Ku?" Turtle Shou raised an eyebrow in recognition.

The three figures immediately shot out of the volcanic crater.

"Caw~~ Caw~~ Caw~~ Caw~~ Caw~~!"

Countless crows screeched and flew into a frenzy, angrily charging at two figures high in the sky.

The two figures were Zhong Shan and Wang Ku. Zhong Shan did not make a move, allowing Wang Ku to act. As Wang Ku spread his "Heaven" domain, the world turned dark, and endless yin energy surged from the ground.

"Crack, crack, crack, crack~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"

Suddenly, the sound of earth being overturned echoed across the land. To the astonishment of all the crows, enormous skeletons quickly emerged from beneath the soil.

Countless crow skeletons and numerous humanoid skeletons surfaced, exuding an eerie yin energy from their emergence points, creating a sinister scene.

"Caw~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"

The countless crows were seeing this for the first time, crying out in disbelief.

The bones emerging from the ground belonged to the ancestors of the crow clan, buried here long ago, now summoned by Wang Ku.

As the Skeleton King, Wang Ku's control over skeletons far surpassed even that of Master Shi! With a single move, endless skeletons emerged from the soil.

The skeletal crows spread their wings and floated eerily into the air.

Seeing this, the living crows' feathers stood on end in shock and horror.

"Expel them!" Zhong Shan commanded calmly.

"Yes!" Wang Ku nodded.

Countless skeletal crows rushed towards the living crows.

"Caw~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"

A fire crow launched a blast of flames, shattering a skeletal crow instantly. However, more skeletal crows swarmed in.

Although there were many living crows, the number of skeletal crows buried beneath was even greater. With generations of burials in Wuchao, the underground was filled with endless skeletal crows. As they continuously emerged, they replaced the destroyed ones, quickly equaling the number of living crows.

The entire area was shrouded in an aura of death.

At this moment, Turtle Shou, Lu Gui Tian, and Wu Huan emerged, standing high in the sky, directly facing Wang Ku and Zhong Shan.

"Zhong Shan, you've got some nerve!" Lu Gui Tian said coldly.

"I've never hidden anything. It's only now that you realize it," Zhong Shan replied with a cold smile as he looked at Lu Gui Tian.

Around them, the battle between the living crows and skeletal crows raged on, but Zhong Shan, Wang Ku, Turtle Shou, Wu Huan, and Lu Gui Tian paid it no mind, their attention focused solely on each other with serious expressions.