Lord Shenxiu
Chapter 415: Five Fire Seven Feather Fan (Happy Second Day of Lunar New Year!)

Chapter 415: Chapter 415: Five Fire Seven Feather Fan (Happy Second Day of Lunar New Year!)

"Ancestor, spare my life, Ancestor, spare my life!"

The black crow was quite shrewd and knew that the man before it possessed astonishing divine powers, so it couldn’t help but speak in human tongue, begging for mercy.

"You, this bird, dared to block my path, a sin deserving of death, but seeing that your Flying Escape ability is somewhat decent... would you be willing to atone for your offense and become a plaything for this old ancestor?"

Zhong Shenxiu truly felt that keeping a bird for entertainment wasn’t a bad idea, and although this crow was unsightly, wasn’t it also in Core Formation? It could be put to work controlling the Carefree Pavilion, serving as labor.

When there was no need to manage the Carefree Pavilion, it could also serve as a pageboy or a mount.

As for its unappealing appearance? At most, teach it a transformation technique, and when the time comes, let it change into whatever it needs to be.

What about parrots, cuckoos, mynas... or even peacocks and roc, green phoenixes and phoenixes? Not impossible either.

"Quack quack... My demon clan shall never be enslaved, nor serve as a cultivator’s lackey!"

The crow demon had previously caught and eaten some humans, especially one storyteller who loved to speak tales of unyielding scholars, which greatly pleased it. It held on for full seventeen days before being depleted of stories and thrown into the pot. Remembering this, it figured it should emulate those scholars. Haven’t the histories of old condemned those who surrendered too quickly as spineless, while those who remained steadfast received the treatment worthy of a revered guest thrice invited to someone’s cottage? Therefore, even if it were to kneel, it needed to kneel with dignity, promptly assuming an unyielding stance.

"What a steely integrity!"

Zhong Shenxiu clapped his hands and caught the crow demon, plucking seven of its tail feathers along with traces of its lifeblood.

Although the crow demon had reached Core Formation, each tail feather was an artifact of life cultivation; one alone was worth at least thirty years of cultivational practice.

Having seven plucked all at once left it completely dispirited, and it nearly found itself unable to speak.

"Since you refuse to comply, your death shall contribute to my artifact refining. Apart from that demon core, the only other parts of you worth noticing are these seven feathers."

Zhong Shenxiu said languidly, and summoned with a gesture:

"Fire come!"

Instantly, Undying Heavenly Fire transformed into nine fiery dragons, coiling and dancing in midair.

Following the Void Refining Treasure Technique, he took materials such as Green Phoenix Wood and heavenly silkworm threads, and cast the seven crow feathers into the flames to commence the refining of the Five Fire Seven Feather Fan.

With Zhong Shenxiu’s Grandmaster-level artifact refining skills, it was as easy as stretching out his hand.

In no time, a multicolored feather fan emerged from the flames with an emanating divine charm, exuding a majestic aura that filled the surroundings, clearly a rare and powerful spiritual treasure.

"It’s a pity that the true Five Fire Seven Feather Fan, crafted from the feathers of seven spiritual birds – phoenix, green phoenix, roc, peacock, white crane, swan goose, and owl – and forged with the five fires of sky, stone, wood, thunder, and various other sources, once existed in ancient times with unlimited power, a true Spiritual Treasure!"

"I hastily began working on this, and although I’ve used your two hundred years of cultivation for assistance, it’s merely a treasure with thirty-six layers of restrictions completed."

"Moreover, it’s an expendable treasure, which after being used seven times, will be destroyed... unless I reforge it with lifebound feathers from Core Formation Birds..."

After all, this was an artifact hastily refined through shortcuts, and Zhong Shenxiu didn’t have the patience to commit arduous efforts to its lengthy ritual crafting.

Even so, if the artifact refining masters of this world knew, they would be astoundingly shocked.

Zhong Shenxiu purposely refined the crow’s black feathers, altering many colors, and now the Five Fire Seven Feather Fan indeed displayed a splendid array of colors, extremely attractive to behold.

Holding it in his hand and fanning himself, he felt quite stylish.

The crow demon, on the other hand, was on the verge of tears, watching its life’s cultivation of more than two hundred years transformed into a treasure, the frustration enough to make it cough up blood.

"Hmm, this demon bird’s demon core, along with its myriad offspring, could indeed be used to refine another artifact called the Ten Thousand Crows Pot..."

Zhong Shenxiu stroked his chin, talking to himself.

The crow demon eagerly struggled and said, "This little one is willing to submit, willing to submit!"

"But I still think the Ten Thousand Crows Pot is better..."

Zhong Shenxiu’s face wore a smile that wasn’t quite a smile. Having teased the bird enough, he casually refined a ring and slipped it onto the right claw of the crow demon, laughing, "This has my prohibitions on it. If you harbor any rebellious thoughts, I could still be thousands of miles away and with a flick of a spell, roast you with true fire!"

"The Ancestor commands, and the little demon dare not disobey!" the crow demon hastily cried out.

"Well then, transform into human form first."

This genuine transformation into human form was something only a Core Formation Demon could achieve.

Upon hearing this, the crow demon rolled on the spot and transformed into a big man in black, with a face like a misshapen fruit, resembling some strangely shaped creature—simply too hideous to behold.

"Hey, I’ll teach you a cultivation technique. If you still look like a monster after transforming into a human, then I’ll just kill you and use you for artifact refining."

Zhong Shenxiu spoke sharply, tossing a spell over, which happened to be a profound cultivation technique from the Taixu Sect.

Now, provided with proper inheritance, the aura of the cloaked old crow became much purer, and with a sudden roll, its grey and black feathers fell off.

In no time, all that was left in its place was a black-robed youth with rosy lips and white teeth, looking around eleven or twelve years old, the picture of innocence.

The child joyfully kowtowed, "Thank you, Ancestor, for passing on the technique."

"Hmm, from today on, you shall be called Crow Child? Black Child? ...Never mind, you’ll be known as Yu Tongzi."

Zhong Shenxiu, adept at handling such bird demons, soon had the demon completely tamed. He then ordered it to take charge of operating the Carefree Pavilion, saving himself a great deal of effort.

As expected, Yu Tongzi carried out the duties of managing the Carefree Pavilion diligently every day, not daring to slack off.

Originally a Core Formation Demon familiar with the vast mountains and possessing Golden Core Divine Power, and an Escape Skill among them, operating the Carefree Pavilion was also efficient for Yu Tongzi. It even bypassed several dangerous areas.

After a rough calculation, Zhong Shenxiu realized that it had only been three months since he had set out, and he was about to reach the region of Da Jing.

For ordinary Core Formation Ancestors, passing through these vast mountains often required years of flying escape skills.

This was partly because their flight was too slow and partly because they weren’t familiar with the terrain, or they needed to take detours to avoid certain perilous areas.

However, Zhong Shenxiu didn’t need to do that. He traveled effortlessly, spending his days boiling tea and savoring it at Bihai Chaosheng Tingyu Tower, leisurely making his way to the border of Da Jing.

Da Jing was a vast kingdom with boundless territories, composed of ninety-nine provinces. Even a Core Formation True Man would find it difficult to traverse them all in a lifetime.

Within this country, the practice of cultivation was highly esteemed, hailed as the world’s premier Holy Land for cultivation.

After entering the territory of Da Jing, Zhong Shenxiu took down the Carefree Pavilion and had Yu Tongzi transform into a green sparrow, assuming the guise of a common Loose Cultivator. They rode on a light of escape, taking a tour among the mortals first.

This place was called Zhen Nan County, situated at the border of Da Jing, mainly guarding against demon beasts that might emerge from the vast mountains, therefore, the population was sparse, but the people were valiant, with many Cultivators mingled among them.

Zhong Shenxiu only inquired briefly before he learned of the nearest gathering place for Cultivators, which was Feitian Square in Xuankong Mountain.