章 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.
Inside the volcano's crater, endless magma churned. Floating on the magma was a small island, drifting without melting, adding to the eerie atmosphere.
On the small island, there was a grand palace surrounded by several smaller buildings. The plaque above the grand palace bore three large characters: "Wu Huang Palace."
Inside the Wu Huang Palace sat four individuals. Wu Huan, Turtle Shou, and Lu Gui Tian were sitting in three directions, meditating with their eyes closed. They all bore varying degrees of injuries, focused on healing themselves.
In the center of the trio was Wu Jiutian. He was trapped in a large golden birdcage emitting a faint golden light that seemed to solidify the space inside, rendering Wu Jiutian immobile. His long hair was disheveled, and his face bore several unhealed wounds. Sitting cross-legged, he appeared to be meditating, resisting the cage's confinement. Suddenly, a purple character "Yao" appeared on his forehead.
Wu Jiutian's face contorted in pain as he gritted his teeth, trying to expel the "Yao" character from his forehead. However, it seemed deeply rooted, refusing to be forced out despite his efforts. Over and over, Wu Jiutian struggled against the character.
At this moment, Wu Huan, facing Wu Jiutian, opened his eyes and scrutinized him from head to toe. His eyes briefly flashed with a sinister gleam, but he quickly masked it with a serious expression, focusing on the "Yao" character on Wu Jiutian's forehead.
"Lu Gui Tian, what's the deal with that prince of yours, Prince Lietian?" Wu Huan asked, frowning.
Not far away, Lu Gui Tian slowly opened his eyes, also frowning. "What do you think?"
"I think Prince Lietian is quite a monster! He's been hiding his true strength all along. If Daoist God Crow hadn't brought him along, I wouldn't have known he was so formidable. Among all of us, he's the only one unscathed. Even Daoist God Crow was heavily injured, yet he's fine?" Wu Huan said, clearly puzzled.
At this point, Turtle Shou also opened his eyes and spoke slowly, "He remained uninjured because Nie Fancheng's final counterattack targeted only Daoist God Crow and not the others."
"But we're all injured, and he's perfectly fine? Moreover, he played a major role in capturing Wu Jiutian and even placed some sort of curse on him! Look at Wu Jiutian now, completely immobilized!" Wu Huan remarked, frowning.
"Wu Huan, I advise you not to have any designs on Wu Jiutian," Turtle Shou warned, glancing at Wu Huan.
Ignoring the warning, Wu Huan looked at Wu Jiutian, a lecherous smile appearing on his face. "Prince Lietian sure knows how to enjoy himself, capturing the Phoenix Supreme as a pet? Too bad I can't have that kind of fun!"
"Lietian is not as superficial as you," Lu Gui Tian shook his head.
"Is that so? Then why did he imprison Wu Jiutian?" Wu Huan frowned.
"I believe he went to Phoenix Island to subdue the entire island," Turtle Shou speculated.
"Impossible. The Phoenixes are a proud race. They obey no one but their Supreme," Lu Gui Tian shook his head again.
"But here we are, with their Supreme captured. If the Phoenix Supreme is enslaved, the rest will fall in line," Wu Huan said with a wicked smile.
"However, I have a feeling that things have been too smooth. There's an eerie sense about all of this," Lu Gui Tian said, frowning.
"Smooth? You call this smooth?" Turtle Shou raised an eyebrow.
"Nie Fancheng shouldn't have died so easily," Lu Gui Tian mused.
"But he did die, his body and soul completely annihilated. You saw it with your own eyes, turning to ashes and scattering into the sky! And it resulted in us being heavily injured, even Daoist God Crow wasn't spared," Turtle Shou said solemnly.
"Daoist God Crow heavily injured? Perhaps," Lu Gui Tian sighed softly.
While the three were discussing the events of that day, their pupils suddenly contracted simultaneously as they looked up at the sky.
The sky was rapidly covered with dark clouds, casting an ominous shadow over the entire Wuchao region. Ghostly figures floated within the black clouds, creating an eerie and foreboding atmosphere.
"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.
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