Sacrifice

Qian Renxue slowly woke in Poison Douluo's secondary residence, her eyes still clouded with confusion.

After a while, she suddenly rose to her feet and warily surveyed her surroundings.

When she spotted Chen Yu not far behind her, she staggered back, crossing her arms over her chest as she nervously said, "You... what are you trying to do? I... I'm warning you, don't do anything reckless."

Chen Yu was somewhat speechless. Did he look like the sort of person who would act recklessly?

As if he had heard something utterly absurd, Chen Yu laughed in anger and retorted, "What, does Her Highness Qian Renxue think I would do something reckless?"

Although Qian Renxue was very beautiful, Chen Yu would not go looking for trouble. Given the strength of his current body, if he did that with Qian Renxue, he would be the only one left suffering in the end.

Qian Renxue frowned slightly. Was she truly not the least bit attractive to him? She was not bad-looking, was she?

Could this be his way of attracting her?

Or was it that he... couldn't?

Qian Renxue's suspicious gaze swept over Chen Yu, lingering covertly at a certain spot for several seconds.

Chen Yu caught her supposedly secretive actions in full view. He was so angry he nearly laughed, his cheeks twitching sharply as the urge to "teach her a lesson" surfaced in his mind. In the end, he merely gave a cold snort.

"Put away those little tricks of yours. Don't make me angry. And whatever I tell you to do, you do it. There's no room for bargaining. You can leave only after I get what I want," Chen Yu said irritably.

Golden Crocodile Douluo moved quickly. The items were delivered in just one day.

"Your Highness Qian Renxue, you're welcome to come make trouble for me again next time."

With the goods in hand, Chen Yu naturally had no reason to keep Qian Renxue. Before she left, he did not forget to tease her.

Qian Renxue's face instantly darkened like iron. She abruptly turned around and strode away, each step swift and heavy as though she wanted to crush the ground beneath her feet—this bastard had actually made her serve tea and run errands, ordering her about like a servant! It was an unbearable humiliation.

She had to grow stronger. She must grow stronger.

Three days later, Chen Yu appeared at the frontier, which was also a border region between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire.

After reviewing the information Golden Crocodile Douluo had sent over, Chen Yu immediately set his sights on a kind of Soul Beast—the Nether Evil Crow.

Nether Evil Crows fed on corpses, and they often appeared where the two great empires clashed.

Ordinary people did not dare provoke this kind of Soul Beast because its attacks were extremely rare soul attacks. One could be struck without even realizing it.

Many Soul Masters had once tried to hunt Nether Evil Crows for their Spirit Rings, but very few had succeeded.

Spirit Hall's records stated that Nether Evil Crows never appeared alone. They usually emerged in flocks to forage, led by high-level Soul Beasts. This was also the main reason humans rarely obtained Nether Evil Crow Spirit Rings.

Chen Yu was currently standing atop a mountain, while the Soul Beast corpses he had hunted lay below. He was using these corpses to lure the Nether Evil Crows.

Spirit Hall had no records of the Nether Evil Crows' habitat either, so he could only wait using this clumsy method.

He planned to wait for one month. If no Nether Evil Crows appeared within that time, he would hunt other Soul Beasts.

There were several kinds of Soul Beasts he had his eye on, but he only knew their general ranges, not their exact locations. At least the Nether Evil Crows could be found with this crude method; for the others, he could only search himself.

[Xiao Yan: @Yan Lingji, @Huang Rong, @Lu Xueqi, are you three sisters free? My Xuner wants to learn cooking, fire control, and swordsmanship from you.]

[Chen Yu: Does the dignified young miss of the Ancient Race need to learn such things from others?]

[Ye Fan: Clearly, the drunkard's interest lies elsewhere.]

[Xiao Yan: ...]

[Chen Yu: I'll bet one Gold Soul Coin that if the Chat Group could invite people, Xiao Yan definitely wouldn't invite Gu Xuner.]

[Ye Fan: Brother Chen, you're looking down on him a little too much. I'll bet one Pure Source.]

[Xiao Yan: That's enough, you two.]

[Huang Rong: Xiao Yan, are you really not going to invite Xuner?]

[Xiao Yan: Don't talk nonsense. I never said I wouldn't invite Xuner.]

Chen Yu chatted with Xiao Yan and the others as he waited for the Nether Evil Crows.

Twenty days slipped quietly away between the rising and setting of the sun and moon. Then, as expected, a flock of Nether Evil Crows arrived. They were no ordinary crows; their entire bodies were a lustrous black that reflected purple or blue-green metallic sheens beneath the sunlight. Some were small, less than a meter long, while the larger ones measured several meters.

However, Chen Yu did not focus on the flock. His Divine Sense detected several Nether Evil Crows dozens of meters in size behind them, each with a cultivation of ten thousand years.

Chen Yu did not alert them. He quietly watched the flock forage.

His target was Nether Evil Crows with higher cultivation, so he intended to wait for them to finish feeding, then follow them back to their nest and see whether there were any with even greater cultivation.

The Nether Evil Crow's attacks were soul attacks. Judging from the previous attempt by a remnant soul to possess him, his Sea of Consciousness was absolutely impregnable and unafraid of soul attacks. That was the confidence that allowed him to enter the Nether Evil Crow flock's habitat. Otherwise, he would not dare provoke Nether Evil Crows with higher cultivation, since those soul attacks were not to be underestimated.

The flock of Nether Evil Crows spent a full seven days foraging before returning. Chen Yu flew high in the air, his Divine Sense continuously locked onto the flock below.

Following the flock to an area shrouded in dense fog, the visible range dropped to less than three meters.

After flying through the mist behind the flock for another half day, he finally reached their nest.

Within Chen Yu's Divine Sense, it was a valley filled with bare trees. Deep within the valley stood four Nether Evil Crows, each around a hundred meters in size. Even if they were not Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, they definitely had eighty or ninety thousand years of cultivation.

"Caw, caw..."

The four hundred-meter Nether Evil Crows suddenly cried out, followed by the other Nether Evil Crows in the valley. For a time, the entire valley was filled with cawing.

Yet Chen Yu remained entirely unaffected, calmly watching their performance. He guessed that the four enormous Nether Evil Crows had already discovered him, and that these cries were likely their attacks.

The Nether Evil Crows cried out for quite some time before finally falling silent.

"Human Soul Master, since you are here, come out."

A somewhat aged voice rang out. Chen Yu was not surprised. When Tang San awakened his Blue Silver Emperor bloodline, even the Blue Silver King could speak. Naturally, the Nether Evil Crow King could speak as well.

Chen Yu's figure appeared deep within the valley, calmly watching the four massive creatures before him.

"Human, do you want Spirit Rings from my clan?"

Chen Yu nodded. Why else would he come to this godforsaken place if not for their Spirit Rings?

The four Nether Evil Crows fell silent. This person was unafraid of their soul attacks, so they certainly could not defeat him. Now, it only depended on whose Spirit Ring he wanted.

After a while, that aged voice sounded again. "Human Soul Master, I can sacrifice myself to you, but you must not harm my people, nor may you reveal our clan's location."

A sacrifice?

Chen Yu's eyes lit up. This would do nicely. He only needed one Spirit Ring and had never planned to slaughter them all.

"Fine, I agree."

The largest of the four Nether Evil Crows flew before Chen Yu.

"Caw—"

The Nether Evil Crow gathered all the energy in its body, and a ring of red light enveloped Chen Yu.

A flash of delight passed through Chen Yu's eyes at this sight. It was actually a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. Did that mean the other three were Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts as well?