Translator: CinderTL
Jiang Chao stared coldly at Song Wen. "Ai Kun, you didn't flee? You dare to mock me? Aren't you afraid of death?"
Song Wen replied, "Afraid? Of course I am. But you can't kill me. And I, on the other hand, can kill you."
Jiang Chao pulled the flag from the dwarf's body and pointed it at Song Wen. "Just you?"
Song Wen said, "I can't kill you. But the person behind you can easily eliminate you."
Jiang Chao was half-convinced. He suspected Song Wen was feigning mystery to distract him and seize the opportunity to escape. Still, he cautiously extended his Divine Sense behind him.
His Divine Sense could only reach a hundred yards. There, within the poisonous mist, a figure truly emerged.
The figure was enveloped in a ten-yard-tall green Phantom Shadow. The green was hazy, only vaguely outlining a nine-headed serpent. Under the serpent's protection, the deadly mist was pushed aside, unable to touch the figure's flesh.
Jiang Chao's eyes widened in shock.
It was because he noticed the person behind him looked exactly like Ai Kun.
"Who are you!"
Jiang Chao spun around abruptly, his gaze fixed on the newcomer with wary suspicion.
Song Wen replied, "I am naturally Ai Kun. The one who ascended just now, only to be captured by your Jiang Family and forced to become an outsider. The one publicly humiliated by a mere nascent soul cultivator of your Jiang Family and sent to Rotting Miasma Ridge to risk his life searching for Nine Deaths Grass!"
Song Wen, who had been observing the battle between the three, realized that Divine Transformation cultivators in the mystic realm weren't as formidable as he had expected. Moreover, Spirit Treasures were quite rare, not possessed by every Divine Transformation cultivator.
Among the three, Song Wen only truly feared the mid-stage Divine Transformation dwarf, but he had already been severely wounded by Jiang Chao's schemes.
"You're Ai Kun! Then the one being besieged by the yin spiders..."
Jiang Chao's face was a mask of shock, disbelief etched across his features.
But he quickly regained his composure.
"Hmph! Ai Kun, I don't care what secret art you used to create this perfect doppelganger. You've only just ascended, and your cultivation probably hasn't even fully stabilized. How could you possibly be a match for me..."
Crack!
Before Jiang Chao could finish speaking, a thunderclap from above interrupted him.
A bolt of purple lightning pierced through the thick poisonous mist, striking directly at him.
Jiang Chao's expression instantly turned grave. He sensed the threat of death within the purple lightning.
He urgently waved his azure flag, unleashing a surging gale.
The gale resembled a raging azure flood, rushing to meet the descending lightning.
The azure gale and purple lightning collided violently in mid-air, producing a deafening explosion.
The purple lightning, like a sharp divine sword, tore through the azure gale and continued its unstoppable descent toward Jiang Chao.
Jiang Chao's Spiritual Power surged through his body like a tidal wave, pouring into the flag.
As he continuously channeled his Spiritual Power, the flag emitted blinding light and rapidly expanded, instantly transforming into a hundred-foot-tall shield above his head.
The purple lightning, weakened by the gale, struck the flag with only thirty to forty percent of its original power.
Under the lightning's bombardment, the flag surface churned violently like ocean waves but remained unbroken.
Before Jiang Chao could catch his breath, a Phantom Shadow in the shape of a ring hurtled toward him.
Jiang Chao raised his banner to block the Phantom Shadow of the ring, but found it passed through his banner as if it were nothing.
The Phantom Shadow flew above his head and descended, encasing his chest.
Jiang Chao immediately felt a powerful binding force surge through him, causing his Spiritual Power to stagnate, unable to flow freely.
Terrified, Jiang Chao channeled his Cultivation Technique with all his might, attempting to break free from the Phantom Shadow's restraint.
Veins bulged on his forehead, writhing like earthworms beneath his skin.
"Break!" Jiang Chao roared.
The Phantom Shadow shattered in response, dissolving into nothingness.
His Spiritual Power regained its freedom.
But just then, nine transparent blades shot toward him, already at his face.
Jiang Chao's eyes widened in terror, but he was helpless. He could only watch as the nine blades pierced his forehead.
"Aaaah!"
A bloodcurdling scream tore from Jiang Chao's throat.
It felt as if countless steel nails had driven into his skull, mercilessly tearing at his Sea of Consciousness.
The excruciating pain of his divine soul being torn apart clouded his consciousness, leaving him unable to control the flow of his Spiritual Power.
The banner's imposing aura vanished, shrinking into a half-zhang-tall flag that slowly drifted toward the ground.
With life and death hanging in the balance, Jiang Chao couldn't let his consciousness sink. Clinging to the last vestiges of clarity, he fought with all his might against the searing pain in his Sea of Consciousness, desperately trying to regain control.
His struggle wasn't in vain.
He managed to suppress the agony in his Sea of Consciousness and once more sensed the world around him.
But the first thing that met his eyes was a withered, claw-like hand.
The claw pierced his chest, crushing his heart.
"Why was Jiang Lanruo searching for the Nine Deaths Grass?" Song Wen asked.
The excruciating pain from his Sea of Consciousness, combined with his shattered heart, made it agonizingly difficult for Jiang Chao to even speak.
"I... I don't know..."
"Useless trash!" Song Wen snapped, echoing the earlier rebuke.
A thick aura of killing intent emanated from Song Wen, locking onto Jiang Chao.
A primal fear of death surged through Jiang Chao's heart.
"You... can't kill me! If you kill me, the Jiang Family will never let you go."
Song Wen placed a hand on Jiang Chao's head and began to search his soul.
To his disappointment, however, perhaps because he had only recently reached the Divine Transformation realm, his divine soul, though at the same level as Jiang Chao's, was slightly weaker. He failed to complete the soul search.
Song Wen was about to devour Jiang Chao's divine soul and blood essence when he suddenly stopped.
After a moment's hesitation, Song Wen retrieved a Soul Bottle and captured Jiang Chao's divine soul within it.
Then, with a flick of his finger, he unleashed a strand of Spiritual Power, drawing the severely injured and dying dwarf toward him.
The dwarf gazed at Jiang Chao's corpse, a triumphant smile spreading across his face.
"Well done," he sneered.
Song Wen's expression remained cold as he asked, "Why was Jiang Lanruo seeking the Nine Deaths Grass?"
The dwarf's answer was identical to Jiang Chao's.
Disappointed, Song Wen shook his head and repeated the process, using another Soul Bottle to capture the dwarf's divine soul.
Next, he produced two Corpse Coffins and sealed the dwarf's and Jiang Chao's corpses within them.
Song Wen then retrieved the jade bottle containing Shu Sheng's divine soul and released it.
"What connection do you have to the Chi Family?" Song Wen asked.
After being ambushed by Jiang Chao, Shu Sheng had used an earthen-yellow Talisman to block the fatal blow from the sun-chasing spear.
At the time, Jiang Chao had exclaimed, "A Thick Earth Talisman from the Chi Family!"
From Jiang Chao's reaction, it was clear that the Thick Earth Talisman was quite valuable, and the Chi Family would not easily part with it.
Shu Sheng replied, "I have no connection to the Chi Family. It's just that Chi Qi, a Void Refinement Stage cultivator from the Chi Family, promised me that if I could seize the Nine Deaths Grass and deliver it to him, he would not only ensure my safety but also reward me with a thousand high-grade spirit stones."
(End of the Chapter)
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