Chapter 130: The Might of the Crow (Part One)

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After hearing the Crow’s heartless reply, Bai Qi withdrew his question sullenly and stood in silence, watching the puppets depart.

His instincts told him that these puppets were nothing less than walking embodiments of sheer power. Beneath their heavy armor lurked an explosive strength. By any measure, each of them was at least as powerful as an Earth-grade cultivator.

As the few puppets gradually faded from sight, the rune formation that had been concealed suddenly began to ripple. The white light that had filled the area splashed outward like water struck by a stone. Then, like a curtain falling at the end of a performance, the radiance dispersed, revealing the figures of the two men and the bird in full.

The puppets that had already walked some distance away stopped at once. After exchanging glances, they abruptly turned around and retraced their steps.

As the puppets drew nearer, their senses clearly detected the flesh and blood of human beings ahead. Excitement flooded their “minds.”

At the same moment the rune formation cast by the Crow vanished, the two men and the bird immediately understood that they could not remain there. They hurried away in the opposite direction.

The wind roared past them as they raced onward. Gradually, the heavy breathing and the cold metallic scraping sounds grew closer and closer.

Bai Qi glanced back and was startled to see that the five puppets now possessed scarlet eyes. Even though their faces were concealed beneath pitch-black helmets, nothing could hide the bloodlust blazing in their gazes.

“Not good!” Bai Qi shouted. “The puppets are after us! Crow, hurry—use the same trick as before!”

At that moment, the Crow felt as though ten thousand galloping horses were trampling through its heart. It cursed furiously, “You little brat! Do you think this Saint is a god? That I can come and go whenever I please? Damn you! I never imagined that being trapped here for so many years would nearly ruin the one skill I rely on to save my life.”

“What do we do now?” Xie Tu immediately asked.

“These puppets rely purely on physical strength when they attack. Their only vital point is their heads, but every one of those monsters is wearing a hard helmet. We have no way to strike them there,” the Crow replied hurriedly.

Bai Qi was speechless. He had only just escaped one predicament, yet now he had fallen into another deadly situation. Turning to the Crow, he said, “Aren’t you a sacred beast? Don’t you have any ideas?”

At those words, the panic on the Crow’s face vanished. It became solemn and composed instead. After hesitating for a moment, it said, “There is a way, but it will take time.”

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Bai Qi wasted no more words. “How long?”

“A quarter of an hour.” A hint of determination shone in the Crow’s eyes as it stared at Bai Qi, as though the two sides were now truly in the same boat.

Bai Qi looked toward Xie Tu. Although the injuries on their bodies had recovered, directly confronting five puppets—each of them an Earth-grade expert—would still be difficult.

He nodded toward Xie Tu, conveying his intentions. Xie Tu understood immediately. As one of the three great powers of the Ghost King Sect, how could she retreat before a few insignificant puppets? Pride, confidence, and conviction filled her heart, silently telling her that these opponents did not even count.

The two men and the bird suddenly stopped and turned around in unison. They watched as the puppets drew closer. Bai Qi’s gaze hardened, as though the enemies approaching were nothing more than a pack of weaklings.

Without turning his head, he asked the Crow in a low voice, “Are you ready?”

“Mhm. We can begin. As long as you hold them off, I can restrain them. Once that happens…”

Before the Crow could finish, Bai Qi interrupted, “I hope I haven’t misjudged you this time.”

Then he turned to Xie Tu. A trace of tenderness mingled with his resolve as he said, “You take two. I’ll take three. Okay?”

His strange parting words left Xie Tu momentarily stunned. By the time she recovered, Bai Qi had already launched himself toward the puppets.

Xie Tu paid no attention to his odd phrasing. She followed close behind, fixed her gaze on her targets, and unleashed her most powerful techniques.

Bai Qi clenched his fists. White radiance enveloped them as he surged forward like a falling meteor, smashing into the three puppets at the front. Xie Tu followed immediately, first flinging two powerful blasts of spiritual energy at the two puppets behind them. The attacks glowed crimson, like beams of light piercing through every obstacle.

Bang!

The violent impact sent sparks flying. Bai Qi’s fist struck one of the foremost puppets with tremendous force, yet after several blinks, the puppet showed no reaction whatsoever. Bai Qi looked up and saw it standing as steadily as a tree stump, without the slightest sign of injury.

A terrible feeling rose in his heart.

Sure enough, the puppet’s icy claws came crashing down upon him.

“Bang!”

With a muffled impact, Bai Qi’s body was sent tumbling. Yet he did not pause for even an instant because of the pain. The moment he fell, he used the ground to twist his body around, gathered his spiritual power, and attacked with both hands, striking at the other two puppets.

The white spiritual energy found their leg joints. The two puppets on either side staggered backward, their bodies tilting as they were forced back several steps.

Bai Qi did not stop. His fists thundered forward again and again before transforming into palms. Layers of palm imprints overlapped, building to five layers—no, six. The sixth layer represented another realm of the Crushing Defense Palm, another interpretation of its power.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

One attack after another slammed into the puppets’ abdomens. The deafening explosions echoed throughout the foothills.

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On the other side, Xie Tu watched Bai Qi fight with such reckless determination, and her heart tightened with worry. Such an emotion had never before appeared within her. After all, the cold and sinister Sect Master of the Evil Sect should not have been troubled by such strange feelings.

She quickly gathered her thoughts and focused on attacking the two puppets before her. The clang of metal against metal made her realize that their impenetrable armor was their greatest defense.

Then she would have to fight poison with poison.

One must not forget that the Sect Master of the Evil Sect had another title: the Poison Woman.

She could poison people invisibly, kill without a trace, and make life worse than death—or death worse than life.

Suddenly, Xie Tu waved her delicate hand. A cloud of grayish mist spilled from her sleeve and spread toward the puppets, enveloping their indestructible armor.

The poison drifted like dust and clung to the armor. Almost at once, it began to corrode the metal, emitting a hissing sound. In the blink of an eye, a layer of the armor had been eaten away, while the poison that seeped inside the puppets’ bodies began to release its full power.

Turning her head, Bai Qi glanced at the Crow, which was still twirling about in place as though performing a dance. Its graceful body could not conceal the fact that one of its wings was bald, yet that slender wing continued to trace mysterious strokes through the air, as though writing the strange runes it had drawn earlier.

In the midst of the chaotic battle, Bai Qi managed to steal a moment to roar, “Damn it, Crow! Are you dancing? Are you finished yet?!”