Chapter 606: Golden Crow Inheritance
Tian Xuan Continent, Cang Feng Kingdom.
"Your Majesty, I have ascertained the reason why the five kingdoms refuse to send troops. As the rumors say, before the Shenhuang Empire invaded our Cang Feng, they indeed signed identical ceasefire treaties with the Canglan Kingdom, Heisha Kingdom, Kuishui Kingdom, Tianxiang Kingdom, and Jialuo Kingdom! And the term of these treaties is as long as three hundred years! The content of the treaties is that during the Shenhuang Empire's attack on our Cang Feng, as long as the five kingdoms do not lend assistance, then the Shenhuang Empire guarantees that for at least three hundred years, it will not invade those five kingdoms!"
A woman in a luxurious phoenix robe, elegant and peerlessly beautiful, faced a painting, silent for a long time. The painting depicted a young man; every line and stroke had been drawn by her own hand.
Receiving no response from her, the general clad in golden armor remained kneeling with his head bowed, unwilling to disturb her.
After a long while, she turned around and said softly, "The principle of survival—that when the lips are gone, the teeth grow cold—they have completely abandoned it for the sake of three hundred years of peace."
The general known as Feng clasped his hands and said solemnly, "For the Shenhuang Empire to go so far as to sign treaties with those five kingdoms in order to invade our Cang Feng, they must have some ulterior motive! But I have yet to uncover it. There are rumors abroad that this invasion by the Shenhuang Empire is retaliation because our Cang Feng made them lose face during the Seven Kingdoms Ranking Battle, and they are venting their fury... but I believe such talk is not credible."
"Retaliation?" Empress Cang Yue's snow-white face flushed with anger: "My husband, the Imperial Consort of our Cang Feng Kingdom, saved their Shenhuang Empire's Snow Princess, yet lost his own life on the Primordial Mystic Ark! Their Shenhuang Empire did not utter a single word of thanks, but instead launched a massive invasion, encroaching upon our territory, killing my Imperial Father, and poisoning the lives of tens of millions of our Cang Feng subjects! What face do they have, what right do they have to speak of 'retaliation'!"
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger!" General Feng's expression was firm: "Born a man of Cang Feng, dead a ghost of Cang Feng, I swear to live and die with Cang Feng! As long as I have but a single thread of life, I will slaughter every last Shenhuang dog!"
A faint fluctuation of Profound Force came, and Empress Cang Yue turned her gaze: "Is there news from the front? Check it immediately."
"Yes!" General Feng quickly took out a Sound Transmission Jade. After reading the newly arrived sound imprint, his expression shifted slightly, and he said to the Empress, "Your Majesty, the forward intelligence force has sent a transmission. The Shenhuang army has suddenly made an unusual move."
"Unusual? What do you mean by unusual?"
"The Shenhuang army is currently only one thousand seven hundred li from our Imperial City. But today, the main Shenhuang force suddenly split off thirty percent of its troops, heading straight east! According to intelligence, their target is actually Liu Yun City in the east! And they are marching very quickly; they can be at the gates of Liu Yun City in no more than twenty days."
"What? Liu Yun City? Why would they divert their forces to Liu Yun City?" Empress Cang Yue's voice suddenly became urgent. The name Liu Yun City made her heart and soul tremble violently, because it was Yun Che's hometown... and also the place where Xiao Lie and Xiao Lingxi were currently living, having fled there to avoid the war.
Liu Yun City was the smallest, most insignificant, and most lowly city in the Cang Feng Kingdom. A large portion of the Cang Feng populace didn't even know the name "Liu Yun City." That was precisely why it was so hard to understand and so bizarre that the main Shenhuang force, which had been directly attacking the Cang Feng Imperial City, would suddenly divert its forces to Liu Yun City... and even divert as much as thirty percent of its troops.
"I, too, am completely baffled!" General Feng frowned. "Liu Yun City is remote and extremely impoverished. Capturing it would be completely worthless and would only increase the army's burden... Or perhaps this is a feint to the east and an attack to the west by the Shenhuang army?"
Empress Cang Yue smiled bitterly: "With the Shenhuang Empire's national strength, they have taken sixty percent of our Cang Feng's land in just two years. Their main force is overwhelming, pressing straight towards our Cang Feng Imperial City... Why would they need any feint to the east and attack to the west! Their sudden advance on Liu Yun City must have some purpose."
Empress Cang Yue's breathing became rapid. She pressed her hand to her chest and said with some difficulty: "...General Feng, immediately send a transmission to City Lord Yuwen of Liu Yun City. If the Shenhuang army reaches the city walls, they must not resist on any account. Open the city gates wide and surrender immediately."
"Why?" General Feng lifted his head sharply, his face full of confusion.
Empress Cang Yue closed her eyes and said, "Liu Yun City and its surrounding area have no stationed troops. Facing the wolf-like Shenhuang army, they would have no power to resist at all. Forcing a fight would only increase the enemy's ferocity and bring suffering to the people of Liu Yun City..."
General Feng slowly raised his hands, then slowly lowered them again, and said somewhat dejectedly, "I obey your order." Then he slowly withdrew.
Empress Cang Yue's gaze fell once more upon the portrait she had drawn with her own hands. Every day, she would stare at this portrait for hours, each time losing her soul, and each time ending up in tears...
"Husband... wait for me a little longer... After I have guarded the last shred of Cang Feng's dignity... I will come to keep you company..."
....................................
Huan Yao Realm, Jinwu Thunder Flame Valley.
Bang!
The red-gold barrier enveloping Yun Che and Xiao Yaohou suddenly shattered at this moment. Simultaneously, nine points of dazzling golden light, too bright to look at directly, descended from the sky and landed on Xiao Yaohou's body. Before Yun Che could react, Xiao Yaohou's body was completely enveloped in golden flames, and then, just like that, she vanished before his eyes.
"Hahahaha..." The Golden Crow Soul Spirit's laughter rang out from the sky: "Truly worthy of one possessing the Dragon God's Bloodline, to have taken only forty-seven days. But this daughter of the Demon Emperor has also opened this Venerable One's eyes. For a virgin, she is absolutely wild. This Venerable One is suddenly a bit curious: did she do everything in her power to obtain the power of vengeance, or is this simply her nature from the bone? Hahahaha!"
"Where have you taken her?" Yun Che's voice was somewhat urgent. Before, he had cared about whether Xiao Yaohou lived or died, even risking great danger to save her life, mainly for the sake of the Yun Clan. If Xiao Yaohou died, the Yun Clan would either decline or perish. But now, things were different. Xiao Yaohou was no longer just the Demon Empress to him; she was also his woman... even if the process had been a bit... strange...
"She has lost her virgin yin, and her body has been amply nourished by your primal yang. Now, neither her flesh nor her life force can be easily incinerated by the Golden Crow's Flame Force. Even her life pulse has been completely restored, much smoother than this Venerable One anticipated. I have just bestowed nine drops of the most primeval Golden Crow Blood into her bloodline. She is now within the Golden Crow Secret Realm formed by my power, gradually drawing upon all the source power within, and during this process, she will comprehend my Golden Crow lineage's supreme profound art—the Golden Crow World-Incinerating Record!"
"To draw out all the source power will take seven days, at which point she will achieve Half-step Divine Xuan! But if she wishes to emerge from the secret realm, she must comprehend at least the third layer of the Golden Crow World-Incinerating Record. If her aptitude is dull and she cannot do it in three years, then she will simply die within!"
"..." This Golden Crow Soul Spirit did not possess the awe-inspiring yet relatively gentle nature of the Phoenix Soul or the Dragon God's Soul. Not only was its temperament violent, but it also forcibly sealed people at every turn, refusing to let them leave until they achieved its goal.
It acted entirely on its own whims, completely disregarding the will of others... It was utterly overbearing and tyrannical to the point of being inhumane.
That was what Yun Che thought in his heart... but of course, he dared not say it out loud.
Yun Che knew full well what the consequences would be for Xiao Yaohou in accepting the Golden Crow's power. At this moment, his heart burned with an intense desire to stop it, but he knew even more clearly that he could not stop Xiao Yaohou... Forcing a halt would only make her hate him for the rest of her life.
"Yun Che, do you know why this Venerable One is helping her?" The red-golden pupil opened in the sky, its gaze bearing boundless pressure as it shrouded Yun Che.
"She is a successor of the Golden Crow bloodline. Helping her... could be considered only natural, right?" Yun Che said.
"This Venerable One helping her is only natural? Hahaha, ridiculous! Her ancestor obtained my bloodline inheritance and used it to dominate the Huan Yao Realm! I have shown them boundless heavenly grace, never owing their clan a single thing. On what grounds do you say that me helping her is only natural? If I had wanted to help her, I would have acted long ago when she was forced into a corner that day! The reason I am helping her now has nothing to do with her bloodline or race, but solely because of you!"
"Because... of me?" Yun Che pointed at himself, momentarily stunned.
"You are merely a mortal, yet you have obtained the Evil God's inheritance, allowing you to induce a Profound Force Frenzy, releasing several times, even dozens of times, your divine might! You also obtained the Fire Evil Seed, granting you the world's only unique Evil Flame Body, capable of controlling all fires in the world! Not only that, your body even possesses the bloodline of the ancient Dragon God, granting you a divine physique surpassing that of mortals! Thus, you can be said to be the most suitable being in this world to inherit the Golden Crow bloodline and control the Golden Crow's Flame! I bear the will of the Golden Crow, guarding this place for countless years, and now... I have finally found the most perfect inheritor!"
The Golden Crow Soul Spirit's words caused Yun Che's originally tense mind to relax rapidly: "You mean... you want me... to inherit the Golden Crow bloodline?"
"Correct! Your aptitude is millions of times better than that of the Demon Emperor Clan! There is no one else in this world more suitable than you to inherit the Golden Crow bloodline! The Golden Crow's Flame in your hands will surely unleash boundless heat! Yun Che, are you willing to accept the Golden Crow Inheritance that this Venerable One bestows upon you!"
According to Mo Li's description, the Golden Crow's Flame was the strongest divine flame, even surpassing the Phoenix Flame. When he had first heard Xiao Yun describe the existence of the Golden Crow Inheritance, the desire to obtain the Golden Crow's Flame Force had immediately sprouted in his heart, but Mo Li had quickly poured cold water on it.
But now, the Golden Crow Soul Spirit before him was actually offering to bestow the Golden Crow bloodline upon him!
Yun Che naturally had no reason to refuse, and immediately said, "To receive the inheritance of divine power is the dream of every Profound Adept. I thank the Golden Crow Sacred Spirit for this blessing."
Just as Yun Che finished shouting, a cold laugh echoed in his heart from Mo Li: "You're celebrating too early!"
"Excellent!" The Golden Crow Soul Spirit's voice finally gained a shred of gentleness. "You really do not disappoint this Venerable One. Since that is the case, then allow this Venerable One to first erase the Phoenix bloodline within your body!"