Chapter 326: Ambushed by a Large Black Pot
Some distance outside Qifeng City—
Boom!
A deafening explosion resounded, echoing far and wide.
At the epicenter of the blast, brilliant lights intertwined in the sky, making it impossible to discern what lay within.
"Damn it! What are you idiots blasting at?! That damn thing is still so far away! Do you think your attacks will even reach it?!"
A furious voice roared within the radiant chaos. "We're not in Sword Province right now! If we cause any damage here in Xuanyuan Province and alert the Royal City folks, they'll tie us down. How the hell are we supposed to keep chasing that Soulblade Specter then?!"
"Shut up already! I know what I'm doing! If we don't make a move now, once that Soulblade Specter enters the city, we'll be even more restricted!"
"Enough! Quiet down!" another voice interjected. "We all have the same goal here. Stop arguing at such a critical moment. If that special Soulblade Specter escapes, this entire trip will have been for nothing!"
"Agreed," a third voice added. "I suggest those of you who want to fight each other step outside and settle it there. Don't drag the rest of us down! And you, young man in the back—do you think your mastery of the Dao of Light is impressive? My old eyes are practically blinded! Tone it down already!"
"Indeed," someone chimed in. "That halo of yours has been far too ostentatious from the start…"
From within the blinding light, voices argued back and forth. Eventually, the last remark seemed to take effect, as the dazzling glow began to dim, revealing nearly twenty cultivators within.
These cultivators had little in common in terms of appearance, but the sheer spiritual pressure they emanated with every movement and their ability to step through the void marked their terrifying strength.
This was a group of nearly twenty Nascent Soul Realm cultivators!
At the back of the group, a white-robed cultivator with a scholarly demeanor retracted his halo. Though his face was a mix of embarrassment and frustration, he refrained from saying anything further.
Meanwhile, at the front of the group stood a red-faced man clad in green robes. The very air around him seemed to warp and expand, showcasing a level of power that surpassed anyone else in the group.
He was the sole mid-stage Nascent Soul Realm cultivator among them.
The red-faced man glanced to his side, where three other cultivators stood. Each of them bore phantom images of flying leaves, flames, and waves around their hands.
"Are you sure this is the special Soulblade Specter you encountered outside Daybreak City?" the red-faced man asked in a low, rumbling voice.
The three looked at one another uneasily before the fire-affinity cultivator cupped his fists and replied, "We cannot be certain it is the same one… After all, we personally witnessed that special Soulblade Specter being defeated outside Daybreak Mountain by an unknown—"
"—Golden Core cultivator?" the red-faced man interrupted, his brows furrowing as he glanced at the trio from the Three Elemental Clans, who nodded reluctantly.
"Setting everything else aside, just based on the Soulblade Specter's demonstrated combat prowess, it was clearly at the level of a mid-stage Nascent Soul Realm…"
What kind of Golden Core cultivator could defeat such a Soulblade Specter?
The red-faced man found it hard to believe, though he had heard similar rumors more than once now—from the various groups that had arrived from Daybreak City during the pursuit of the Soulblade Specter at Jianlin City.
However, the versions of the story varied widely. Some claimed that the Golden Core cultivator was a storyteller at the peak of the Golden Core realm, who had single-handedly defeated five Nascent Soul Realm cultivators with one strike. Others said he was secretly a Tribulation Crossing Realm expert hidden in the mortal world, refining his heart.
On the other side, the three Nascent Soul Realm cultivators of the wood, water, and fire affinities couldn't help but let out bitter chuckles as they noticed the red-faced man's skeptical expression.
After some thought, the water-affinity cultivator spoke up, "It's also possible this isn't the Soulblade Specter we're familiar with… The back-to-back appearance of two Heaven-grade Soulblade Specters is highly unusual. Perhaps this one is the missing Soulblade Specter from Jianlin City."
"You mean…" the red-faced man's expression shifted slightly. "The one that vanished after being taken away by the Six Sword Daoist?"
The Nascent Soul Realm cultivator with wood affinity stroked his chin thoughtfully. "It's not entirely impossible… but unfortunately, by the time we found him again, he had gone completely mad, and the Soulblade Specter was nowhere to be seen..."
Even as he spoke, the three cultivators exchanged knowing glances.
There was something they hadn't mentioned: the massive broken sword carried on the shoulder of the Soulblade Specter they were currently chasing looked disturbingly familiar…
"Why on earth would that Soulblade Specter steal our personal swords?!" one of them blurted out angrily. "It already has that huge broken sword made of black mist—doesn't it have enough?"
"Damn it to hell! That Specter took my only sword that was this close to becoming a high-grade Artifact! If it doesn't spit it out, I'm not letting it go!"
Another voice, filled with anguish, wailed, "Do you know how hard it is for me as a rogue cultivator?! Getting to the Nascent Soul Realm stage has already drained me of all my resources! That sword, barely good enough to qualify as high-grade, was everything I had!"
The sorrowful voices in the group carried a shared frustration.
Even the red-faced leader, a mid-stage Nascent Soul Realm cultivator with the deepest pockets of the group, had turned visibly darker in complexion.
He had lost not one but two high-grade Artifacts.
Suddenly, someone cried out in alarm. "Look! That thing seems to be slowing down!"
At this announcement, an elderly cultivator with eyes as round as bronze bells reacted faster than anyone else.
"Excellent! At this distance, there's no way I'll miss! If I can't use my sword techniques without my blade, then let's see how it handles the power of the secret treasure I acquired from the Ancient Heavenly Gate's Kitchen God Palace!"
With a quick hand seal, the elder unleashed a pitch-black object that transformed into a streak of light, shooting straight toward the giant shrouded in black mist.
But just as the object was about to hit its target, it suddenly wobbled, veered off course, and made a small turn in midair.
Then, like a stray dog off its leash, it spiraled wildly in the opposite direction.
The elder: "???"
Wasn't this secret treasure supposed to only fly in a straight line, which was why its accuracy wasn't great to begin with?
<+>
Meanwhile, near the summit of Xiaofeng Mountain—
Breathing in the relatively fresh air, Luo Wusheng's heart filled with disappointment.
Even after making it this far, the Ancient Phoenix Essence on his body showed no reaction.
'Did I guess wrong? Does the appearance of that spiritual chicken have nothing to do with that white-haired loli? But when the chicken dissolved into smoke, I definitely sensed a similar aura to the Ancient Phoenix Essence…'
If things kept progressing like this, the situation was going to get a lot more complicated.
"Speaking of which, there seem to be plenty of ordinary spiritual chickens around, but we haven't seen any trace of that special one," Luo Wusheng sighed.
If he could catch that special spiritual chicken again and study the source of its Ancient Phoenix-like aura, he might find some useful clues.
"It is a bit of a pity~ We ran into it by chance before, but now that we're specifically looking for it, it's nowhere to be found…" Bai Xiaoyao echoed his sentiment with a slight, carefully feigned disappointment.
In truth, while catching another one of those chickens might slightly enhance her cultivation, the side effect of extreme hunger was a serious hindrance to maintaining her image as a calm, graceful, and elegant junior sister.
Luo Wusheng murmured in agreement, as though suddenly struck by a thought. His gaze shifted toward another companion—Lu Yuliu.
The young maiden blinked her large, curious eyes, sensing his gaze.
'Why is he staring at me all of a sudden…?'
Could it be that he was about to ask for her blessing again?
The girl rolled her eyes in an adorable display of exasperation. "I've already said, it's not that easy to encounter it again unless it magically falls from the—"
Duang!
Thud!
A series of loud noises interrupted Little Yuli's sentence.
A large, succulent-looking chicken fell from the sky, landing heavily on the ground in front of them.
Hovering above it, a pitch-black pot spun joyfully in the air, almost as if it were celebrating its victory.