Chapter 109: Beheading the Crow King

Chapter 109: Beheading the Crow King

You Jiu's cultivation had been sealed by the crow king, and his physical body had been chained. He sat quietly by a corner of his tent. Two days went by in relative peace, and he couldn't help but feel anxious.

Just then, three clouds of black smoke were sent into the air from afar. The sudden phenomenon caused the gathered black-armored cultivators to grow alert.

At the same time, a group of crow spirits fled back to the camp, a golden crow spirit among them seemingly heavily wounded and bleeding all over. They cawed loudly, summoning the crow king.

"What's the matter?" the crow king asked, frowning.

The wounded golden crow quickly recounted what had happened at the cave.

"Nanfeng? Didn't he die to that cursed effigy? And Yu'er? They still dare show themselves? Did they encounter you all by coincidence? Very good, very good. I won't let them get away this time!" The crow king soared into the air, heading straight for the other valley.

A group of crow spirits accompanied their king in an imposing retinue, serving as scouts to prevent Xiao Nanfeng from hiding.

You Jiu's eyes lit up. It was clear that Xiao Nanfeng had succeeded. He took a deep breath; then, his whole body trembled. With a few dull clinks and clanks, You Jiu freed himself of his seals with a secret technique.

"What are you doing?" one black-armored guard shouted, noticing the disturbance. He turned to see You Jiu stand straight up, the chains binding him having fallen to the ground. You Jiu was free!

"You Jiu's going to run!" the black-armored guard shouted in fear.

You Jiu flashed to his side, thrust a finger through the center of his forehead, and snatched his weapon away.

"Catch him! No, delay him! Quick, inform the crow king immediately!" one cultivator shouted.

You Jiu's eyes flashed with frost. He flashed from one cultivator to another. Screams filled the forest. You Jiu's suffering and resentment from his captivity transformed into explosive force. At that moment, he seemed the very personification of death.

The crow king rushed to the mountain cave where Xiao Nanfeng had been, but he and Yu'er had long since vanished.

A few crow spirits that had remained by the cave immediately reported all that had happened.

"You useless pieces of trash! Did you just watch Xiao Nanfeng flee into the forest without doing anything?" the crow king thundered.

The crows squawked and cawed in grievance. They were too fearful of the Immortal Cicadas to give chase, and had lost track of Xiao Nanfeng as a result.

The crow king stared at the three smoking clumps of wet grass. It suddenly grew alarmed. "Did Nanfeng release these plumes of smoke?"

The crow spirits nodded immediately.

"He kidnapped You Jiu's sweetheart and even sent a signal with these flares. Could he be in cahoots with You Jiu? Damn it!" The crow king reacted instantly, taking to the skies again and heading straight back to base camp, where You Jiu was located.

"You Jiu, you're dead meat now! I was wondering just why you spent so long in the illusory realm—so it was to broker an alliance with that bastard! Damn it!" the crow king thundered in rage.

It flew quickly back to camp, but by the time he had returned, all the black-armored cultivators, nearly two hundred of them in all, had perished. Corpses were strewn all over; the camp had become like hell itself.

The crow king was shocked. It had left for just a moment. How could You Jiu have killed them all so quickly? How was that possible? Even though the few Ascension-realm cultivators had left with the young master, even if all the black-armored cultivators remaining were only at Immanence, he shouldn't have been able to do so this fast! Were there no survivors?

Before the crow king perished, it turned toward Xiao Nanfeng. Even in death, it couldn't believe that he had killed it. Its eyes widened, capturing Xiao Nanfeng's visage as it fell in a pool of its own blood.

"How are you, Senior Sister?!" Xiao Nanfeng rushed forward.

"I'm alright, but my Immortal Cicada has been shattered," Yu'er replied, an aggrieved look on her face.

Xiao Nanfeng sighed in relief.

Suddenly, the crow spirits all over began to squawk and caw in panic, none of them able to believe that the crow king would die so suddenly. They didn't know what to do next.

Xiao Nanfeng's Immortal Cicada rose into the air and took down huge swathes of the crow spirits. There were two more golden crow spirits among their number, but they were so shocked that they didn't dare attack. Rather, they flew off in fear.

Only then did Xiao Nanfeng turn to You Jiu, who had collapsed in a pool of blood. He frowned. "Didn't you see my signal? Why did you start fighting against the crow king?"

"Right! If I hadn't come to save you, my Immortal Cicada wouldn't have been destroyed, either!" Yu'er's cheeks puffed up in exasperation.

You Jiu lay weakly in his blood with a wry smile on his face. "I once successfully assassinated a Spiritsong-realm clan head. I underestimated the crow king's strength."

Xiao Nanfeng was rather surprised. Was You Jiu that skilled at assassination?

"How's my companion? Ahem, ahem!" You Jiu coughed out even more blood.

"We saved her, but she's currently unconscious. Let's leave this place for now in case the serpent appears," Xiao Nanfeng suggested.

"Let's," You Jiu replied.

On the mountain peak where Emperor Wei's tomb was located, the serpent looked afar at the crow spirits' valley, which was being ravaged by a firestorm. Even after four hours, it hadn't gone to investigate—not because it didn't want to, but because it couldn't. The serpent had been bound to the ground with several chains of energy. It was unable to move; it looked around in shock.

"Xiang Kun? You? How could you be able to manipulate the formations laid out over this mountain peak? That's impossible!" the serpent cried out.

"You were here to absorb spiritual power, while I was there breaking a formation. We could have each accomplished our own goals—so why were you trying to stop me? Do you want to die?" You Shi asked coldly.

The serpent was frightened. From Xiang Kun's gaze, it could sense an utter lack of compassion, as though Xiang Kun were really willing to kill it—all while it was unable to resist.

"Xiang Kun, no, Sir Xiang, I didn't mean anything by it! Please forgive me. I'll do anything you want, anything!" The serpent immediately cowered in fear.

"Young Master, you really are amazing to be able to manipulate all these formations with your artifact! This serpent forced the marquis to give it countless treasures. You must be about to reclaim them!" one black-armored cultivator cried out.

"I'll hand it all back, all of it! I hid the treasure in a secret location. I'll bring you all there," the serpent offered.

You Shi glanced coldly at the serpent. If not for the fact that he wanted to take advantage of the black-armored cultivators and not reveal his identity, he would already have killed the serpent.

"Very well. Detain it here. We'll deal with it on the way back. Let's keep working on the formation," You Shi commanded.

"Yessir!" the black-armored cultivators chorused.

The group of cultivators departed, leaving the serpent shaking with fear.

"What's going on? I'm supposed to be an envoy of the divine domain, inviolable and profoundly powerful! How could I have been insulted and snubbed in turn by that damn champion-killing brat, that cursed effigy, and even Xiang Kun? Am I dreaming? This can't be happening!" The serpent slammed its head against the ground, as though attempting to wake from a dream.The original appearance of this chapter can be found at Ñøv€lß1n.