The Winds Rise Overseas – The Zhi Yang Bird

Chapter 432: The Winds Rise Overseas – The Zhi Yang Bird

Staring at the bloody, bone-white hand that had pierced through his abdomen, Hu Yue’s eyes were wide with disbelief.

With a crack, the blue orb was crushed to powder. The bone hand vanished instantly.

Hu Yue let out a muffled grunt. As the hand withdrew, his body went limp and collapsed to the floor. Blood gushed from the gaping wound, and the stench of gore filled the great hall.

He was not yet dead, but hovering on the edge of final breath.

The cries of Jin Qing and Shi Die, the sounds of explosions, the whistling of magical treasures—all reached his ears in fragments. His life’s experience surged before him like a lantern show.

A childhood of poverty. His family’s joy when he was discovered to have spiritual roots. The helplessness when the senior female disciple he admired married another. The pride and ambition of successfully forming his core. The vast hunger to one day condense a Nascent Soul. All of it seemed to be slipping away with the growing coldness of his limbs…

But Hu Yue was not willing to give up.

He had cultivated three flying blade treasures. In battle, he usually only released two to fight, keeping the third always on his person.

That third blade was refined through a secret method. Though its offensive power was only average when flying, it far surpassed ordinary treasures in spiritual awareness and automatic body protection.

He had poured a vast amount of effort into refining this treasure. Not long ago, he had even managed to raise it to the level of spiritual intelligence.

Against a sneak attack, even without his explicit command, the blade should have sensed the killing intent and activated its automatic defense.

“Unless… the one attacking was…”

This last thought flashed through Hu Yue’s mind. With the last of his mortal strength, he stubbornly twisted his head to catch a glimpse of what lay behind him.

A blurry white shadow was locked in pursuit of Jin Qing. Jin Qing, wrapped in a silver light, was dodging and retreating, firing his own treasure relentlessly at the shadow, as though he was terrified of it.

On the other side, Han Li and the others were trapped within a large cloud of black mist. But Han Li had unfurled a fiery red scroll. Countless fist-sized fire swallows were flying out from it, forming a huge ring of fire that continuously battered the black mist, keeping it at bay.

Qu Hun and Shi Die stood close behind Han Li.

Qu Hun’s body was wreathed in a bloody light, and he fired purple flames from both hands to disperse the black mist that broke through the fire ring.

Shi Die clutched a gleaming white orb that radiated light, keeping the occasional wisps of stray black mist from approaching her, though panic still showed in her eyes.

Hu Yue did not pay the black mist any mind. With great effort, he focused on the white shadow chasing Jin Qing.

It was as he had suspected. That white skeleton, dead for who knew how many years, was the culprit. It was now wreathed in white mist, leaping and moving with terrifying agility. It was no longer a lifeless corpse.

Hu Yue smiled a bitter, defeated smile.

A Core Formation cultivator like himself, ambushed and killed by a dead man’s skeleton. What a ridiculously ironic end.

With this self-mocking thought, Hu Yue’s consciousness faded into eternal darkness. The bitter smile lingered at the corner of his mouth.

Just as Hu Yue breathed his last, Han Li’s face was dark with contemplation. He scanned the surroundings continuously.

Moments ago, when the skeleton had launched its ambush, a vast cloud of Yin-cold ghost fog had burst forth from the nearby walls, trapping them all within it.

But Han Li had been somewhat prepared. Without hesitation, he had activated the newly acquired scroll. From within it, countless fiery spirit birds had flown out.

These “Zhi Yang Birds,” as they appeared in the records he had read, resembled common swallows but were wreathed in demonic flames.

They were born from the essence of pure fire and had a particular appetite for Yin spirits and fierce ghosts—renowned as a natural bane of all things Yin.

These birds were long extinct in the cultivation world. The scroll only contained a fraction of their original soul essence, capable of unleashing mere “Zhi Yang Bird” clones.

These clones looked identical to the real thing, but their power was an entirely different order of magnitude!

Otherwise, this black ghost fog would have been devoured utterly, not merely dispersed.

Han Li was not particularly worried about this clinging fog. Either his Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords or the Gold Devourer Beetles could destroy it with ease.

What made him uneasy was the master of the fog, who was still hiding, yet to make a move.

As for the skeleton, he had seen it clearly. It possessed no true intelligence. It was clearly a puppet being manipulated by someone. The only peculiar thing was that it had withstood Jin Qing’s treasure-bombardment for so long without being destroyed. There must be some other secret at work.

As Han Li was thinking this, a ghostly wailing sound, intermittent and broken, echoed from all around.

This hair-raising sound was neither male nor female—sharp, piercing, and causing one’s blood to churn and one’s mind to waver.

Han Li’s heart tightened. He immediately expanded his spiritual sense to its maximum, enveloping the entire hall. With a gentle flick of his finger, two emerald-green small swords appeared before him and began to orbit slowly.

“What fiend dares to play tricks and refuses to show himself?” Jin Qing, clearly agitated by the ghostly sound, suddenly roared.

His voice was not loud, but it caused the entire hall to vibrate with a low hum. The ghostly wailing actually ceased immediately.

Not only that, but when he smashed his treasure into the skeleton again, the skeleton shattered under the blow, no longer holding its form.

Jin Qing was both surprised and delighted!

At the same time, the ghost fog that had been tightly binding Han Li and the others let out a rushing sound and rapidly withdrew back into the surrounding walls.

Han Li was greatly surprised. He did not believe Jin Qing’s roar alone could have such an effect.

Just then, Shi Die, who was standing behind Han Li, spun around. Seizing the opportunity, she bolted for the stone steps leading back to the tunnel. In the blink of an eye, she reached the steps and set foot on them.

Seeing this, Han Li’s expression remained neutral. Jin Qing, however, changed his expression drastically. Rage burned within him.

This woman was fleeing the battlefield!

Although her cultivation was low, the orb in her hand was clearly effective against the ghost fog. He could not let her escape just like that.

With this thought, Jin Qing opened his mouth without thinking to shout for her to stop.

But just then, another change occurred!

Shi Die had only taken two steps up the stairs when a wall to her side suddenly flashed with green light. A terrifying ghost claw shot out without warning. The claw had ten long, sharp fingers, a vivid green color. It plunged into the female cultivator’s chest at a speed too fast for the eye to follow.

Shi Die screamed in agony. She desperately urged the light of the orb in her hand, trying to break free.

But the ghost claw seemed utterly unafraid. Instead, pitch-black ghostly qi surged out from the claw, enveloping Shi Die in an instant.

Her screams were cut abruptly short.

A moment later, a desiccated corpse, skin and bones, was hurled out from the black qi. It landed right at the feet of Han Li and Qu Hun.

Han Li lowered his head to look at the corpse, stripped of all flesh, and his face turned slightly pale.

Jin Qing was already devoid of color. He could only grip his White Seal treasure tightly, scanning left and right in panic.

“Heh heh! I need a suitable vessel. Which of you three would care to offer yourselves?” An icy, mocking voice came from all around the hall, oozing contempt.

Hearing this, a cold light flickered in Han Li’s eyes. He suddenly unfurled the scroll again. The many fire birds that had been flying around him rushed back into the scroll like homing swallows. Han Li’s face darkened as he formed a hand seal.

With a whoosh, a giant Zhi Yang Bird, over ten feet long, flew out from the scroll. Its flames were dazzling. After circling once above Han Li’s head, it spread its wings and shot toward a certain stone pillar in the hall.

Bang!

Just as the giant bird was about to strike the pillar, a green light flashed. A black mist serpent flew out from the pillar and clashed with the fire bird.

The fire bird spat out scorching white essence flames. The serpent spat out jet-black cold qi. A battle of bird versus serpent unfolded within the hall.

“Remarkable! I didn’t think anyone in the Chaotic Star Sea still understood the long-lost Art of Spirit Driving. It seems I have underestimated you.” As the voice finished speaking, a strange shadow slowly emerged from the stone pillar.

Han Li and Jin Qing both focused their gazes.

It was a green humanoid silhouette. Its entire body shone with an emerald light, making its true face impossible to see. Several bands of black fog, as thick as an arm, coiled around its torso. Its eyes were as red as dripping blood.

The strange shadow swept its gaze over Han Li and the others. Both Han Li and Jin Qing felt a chill run down their spines, as if the being had seen through every thought in their minds. They exchanged a glance and saw the same shock in each other’s eyes.

A creature that could exert such pressure with just its gaze… Could it be that this being was a Nascent Soul stage cultivator?

But the strange shadow did not look like a living person. It looked more like a ghost or fiend.

If it were a fierce ghost, however, how could it speak with such clarity and show no signs of having lost its mind?

(Hehe! There will be another chapter tonight. I hope everyone can contribute some recommendation votes. This book is in short supply right now!)