Lord Shenxiu
Chapter 88 Death

Chapter 88: Chapter 88 Death

High in the sky.

Clouds and mist intertwined, forming the shape of a flying carpet, upon which several people were seated.

The White Bone Scholar and Fei Luan Daoist were among them. In addition, there was a man and a woman—the woman was Fei Luan’s sister, Hua Ye, and the man was named Zuo Erlang. He, too, possessed the cultivation of the Divine Power Realm, but his appearance was obscured by a swath of Black Fog, making it difficult to discern his features.

This man, like Young Master Shen Xiu, had emerged as a Loose Cultivator quite suddenly, becoming famous a dozen years earlier than Zhong Shenxiu. However, he had always been elusive and enigmatic, his Divine Skills strange and unsettling. It was suspected that he might be a cultivator of a different race.

"Eight Gates Golden Lock, hehe... Although this formation is simple, it’s practical and without major flaws..." The White Bone Scholar, looking toward the direction of the Poison Dragon Pond, said with a chuckle, "Yan Beiling and Hao Yunzi, like us, chose to use the most straightforward method to break the formation. While the formation appears to spread across the eight gates and seems unfathomable, each gate is actually a weakness. As long as one is willing to attack every point and commit a large force, it will eventually thin out the formation’s power and reveal an opportunity!"

The Fei Hua sisters nodded in agreement, speaking softly, "Indeed it is a well-acknowledged truth that any formation has its limit; otherwise, the world would be dominated by those who specialize in formations."

"We have long heard that the elixir pills of the Supreme Dragon and Tiger Sect are wondrous, even capable of refining major elixirs that assist in the condensation of Primordial Pills. Could it be that this Zhang Taiyi has truly inherited the complete teachings? If that is the case, our Primordial Pills are hopeful, promising a longevity of five hundred years..."

The Fei Luan Daoist muttered to herself.

"There’s absolutely no mistake about that, but to especially wait for such an opportune moment, and to have information about Zhang Taiyi succumbing to his Heart Demon and becoming immobilized, we must thank fellow Daoist Zuo Erlang."

The White Bone Scholar looked toward the Loose Cultivator whose face was covered by Black Fog.

Zuo Erlang possessed a Divine Skill called ’Soul Hosting,’ which was exceedingly bizarre. It allowed him to split his Divine Soul and hide it within objects, elixir pills, and the bodies of animals and beasts.

It was different from a Yin God; even upon careful inspection of the possessed object, it would be impossible to detect.

Previously, it was this very Divine Skill that enabled him to host a part of his soul within the Five Fire Six Qi Furnace and obtain many critical pieces of information.

The only concern was that during the furnace’s transport, it was collected using Void Divine Power by Dragon and Tiger True Man and taken into the cave dwelling, where sealing barriers prevented discovering the location of Dragon and Tiger True Man’s hiding place.

"I must also thank the White Bone Daoist friend for promptly finding Zhang Taiyi’s hiding place; otherwise, even if I managed to eavesdrop on this man’s dire state, nearing the brink of succumbing to his Heart Demon, failing to break through to Primordial Pill and facing imminent death, there would be no thoughts to conceive..." Zuo Erlang’s voice was hoarse, as if a multitude of voices were overlapping, making it hard to distinguish the original tone.

"I only happened to be at the right place at the right time. Young Master Shenxiu suddenly contacted me, sending out this message... It’s a shame he never came to collect that half of the White Bone Dao Book; otherwise, if we could have drawn him into our group, our assurance would have increased by several folds..." The White Bone Scholar seemed rather regretful.

"Humph, if you ask me, that person harbors ill intentions, right? Otherwise, how could it be that just after he informed us, the Protector Mansion got wind of it?"

The Fei Luan Daoist let out a cold chuckle, "He probably wants to muddy the waters. He might even be lurking nearby."

"How foolish is that?" The White Bone Scholar sighed, "Could it be that joining hands with us, he wouldn’t get a share of the benefits?"

Such matters, in the end, are inevitably about comparing strengths.

Based on their estimates, although Young Master Shen Xiu was formidable, he was just another cultivator with Divine Skills and wasn’t overwhelmingly powerful.

"What surprises me even more," spoke Hua Ye, the younger sister among the Fei Hua sisters, "is the mystery of this person’s origins..."

The woman appeared to be in her late twenties, charming and pleasing to the eye, clothed in a lotus green dress, with two ribbons shining jade green, fluttering in the wind.

"It is indeed a bit strange..." The tone of Fei Luan turned colder, "But what’s even more bizarre is this Dragon and Tiger True Man, naturally born with a Daoist constitution who yet failed to condense his Primordial Pill... Not only did he fail, it appears he also developed a Heart Demon and fled from the sect."

"While the details of this situation are certainly curious, it also demonstrates the desperation of this breakthrough attempt... Now that we are making our move, he is like a flickering candle in the wind, not a concern at all. What we need to consider are the Poison Dragon Venerable and the Divine Power Practitioners from the Protector Mansion like Hao Yunzi..."

The White Bone Scholar looked towards the moonlight, suddenly exclaiming in surprise.

"What happened?"

The eyes of the several cultivators turned to look.

"No harm done... one of the chess pieces we sent out has been destroyed... If we want to reap any benefits, we must enter the fray ourselves."

The White Bone Scholar pinched his right thumb and forefinger together, showing no concern whatsoever, "The more people who die and the quicker it happens, the sooner this formation will break..."

The cultivators present remained composed, all feeling the cruel impartiality of the great Dao, the beings of the world but mere playthings.

...

A little earlier in time.

Within the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation, atop a deserted island.

Quack quack!

The harsh cries of crows pierced the air all around.

After the paper effigies were suppressed by Feng Xixi’s Willow Leaf Flying Knives, suddenly, many crows appeared in the sky, cawing with raspy calls.

Zhong Shenxiu blinked, seemingly spotting numerous black feathers descending from the sky.

His eyelids felt as heavy as if he was lifting a great weight, and his body seemed to bear the burden of a small mountain.

Of course, this anomaly was dispelled in an instant by the "Pastor’s" abilities.

But as he watched the surrounding soldiers fall one after another, he immediately followed suit and fell to the ground.

’This seems to be a kind of soul-suppressing technique, crushing the opponent directly through the soul and spirit, highly effective against those whose cultivation is weaker than one’s own...’

"Big Crow Sky Suppression Technique?!" exclaimed Feng Xixi, her Five-Colored Feather Robe fluttering as she leaped high into the air, "You are Wu the Third from Black Wind Ridge! How bold of you to make an enemy of my Protector Mansion!"

Among the multitude of crows, the largest one let out an aged human voice, "This old one has no choice... I beg the Colonel to forgive me."

As soon as the voice faded, the aura of the crows in the sky shifted, and they swooped down in a unified attack.

Feng Xixi danced gracefully like a proud phoenix amongst the flock of white and black paper crows, intermittently spitting out Willow Leaf Flying Knives and breaking apart a paper crow.

But whenever she attempted to blitz the Crow Elder within the flock, the large crow always evaded her.

The skirmish between the two sides lasted only a moment before Feng Xixi clenched her teeth and flung out several talismans.

Boom!

Lightning flashed, thunder roared, shattering the flock of crows—it was the Five Thunders Technique!

Seizing the opportunity as scraps of paper fluttered down like cascading snowflakes, Feng Xixi pointed with her bare hand, and eight Willow Leaf Flying Knives merged into one long sword, targeting the central crow.

Pff!

Sword light surged like a rainbow piercing the sun, the flight of that crow faltered and it fell apart in pieces.

"Not good!"

Without a word from Zhong Shenxiu, Feng Xixi was already startled because she could not find a cultivator’s Yin God amidst the scraps of paper.

Pff!

Below her, a beam of crow light suddenly shot out from the ground.

The light was restrained, transforming into a White Bone Yaksha with a hideous grin, wielding a white bone fork and aiming to shatter Feng Xixi’s vestment robe fiercely.

’White Bone Yaksha Soul Emergence Method? This person has indeed sided with the White Bone Scholar...’

On the ground, Zhong Shenxiu, who was feigning sleep, saw this scene and thought of how Feng Xixi had previously protected him, and he acted on a whim.

The bone fork of the Yaksha hit the robe only to be blocked by a shield of darkness that had appeared out of nowhere.

On the Yaksha’s face, the once-joyful expression of the Crow Elder instantly turned to one of horror and ferocity.

Feng Xixi would not miss this opportunity, slapping another Five Thunders Talisman directly onto the face of the White Bone Yaksha.

Boom!

When a cultivator’s Yin God emerges, there are few things more dreaded than thunder, which ranks in the top three.

After the loud boom, the White Bone Yaksha was reduced to ash, and the Crow Elder’s divine soul scattered, leaving him nothing more than a shell even if his body remained.

Only a lonely voice echoed slowly in the spot: "Divine power... the Great Dao..."

Feng Xixi, with a puzzled face, landed on the ground, unable to fathom the situation for a long time.

Zhong Shenxiu, however, sighed quietly to himself. The Crow Elder could have lived freely as a Loose Cultivator, but due to a fixation on Divine Skills, he fell into this trap and now his soul is scattered—whether he regrets it or not is unknown.