After leaving the fissure, Su Qing emerged from the rock wall, his face flushed as he gasped for breath.
First he had called down an abnormally powerful bolt of lightning, then used the Five Elements Escape Technique, which he had yet to master. It had thoroughly drained his strength.
Still, he had successfully achieved his aim.
He had avoided the trap the Liu Domain had laid for the Mu Domain and turned their own methods against them, costing the Liu Domain a Divine Soul Realm expert and nearly half their men.
A resounding success!
When Su Qing returned and told everyone what he had accomplished, another round of cheers erupted, sending their morale soaring.
The Mu Domain party then skirted the fissure and set out toward the depths of the Black Nether Abyss, trailing the Liu Domain forces from afar.
Before long, they emerged from the gullies onto a plain, with a vast basin at its center.
A volcano stood in the middle of the basin, surrounded by black fragments of lava rock. Yet no smoke rose from its crater; it seemed to have gone dormant.
Strangely, however, broad patches of the volcanic rock nearby showed signs of having been scorched again. Along the edges of many broken stones, they could see where the rock had melted and solidified once more.
Of course, most shocking of all were the heaps of bleached bones scattered throughout the basin. Their features revealed that they were all the remains of spirit beasts.
Every skeleton faced the volcano at the center of the basin, as though on a pilgrimage!
The Mu Domain party fell silent at the sight. It truly sent a chill down their spines.
By the time the Mu Domain party reached the edge of the basin, Liu Qing and his men had already arrived at the foot of the volcano.
They knew that, in their team's current state, they would face utter defeat if the Mu Domain caught up with them.
Their only option was to stake everything on one throw, using their head start to obtain the Nine Nether Sparrow before the Mu Domain arrived.
As long as they obtained the Nine Nether Sparrow and brought her back to the Liu Domain, this expedition would be a success.
The sight of the volcano immediately reminded Mu Feng and the others of the scene on the Copper Fragment. The two were clearly identical.
Both the identical scenery and the Liu Domain men climbing its slopes confirmed that the volcano at the center was where the Nine Nether Sparrow lay.
Su Qing was in no hurry when he saw the Liu Domain party begin climbing the volcano. He knew this was a pitfall-one the Nine Nether Sparrow had dug herself.
Su Qing raised a hand to stop Mu Feng and the others. "There's no need to rush. Sometimes, arriving first isn't a good thing."
Faced with their puzzled expressions, Su Qing claimed that, while retrieving the Spirit-Insect Flute, he had found the final letter left by that senior and learned of the Nine Nether Sparrow's intentions.
After hearing him out, Mu Feng and the others broke into cold sweats, all remarking on how treacherous the scheme was.
"What if that senior's letter was false?" Mu Chen couldn't help asking.
"Then we'll just snatch her from the Liu Domain." Su Qing smiled faintly.
"Your dad and Uncle Zhou can keep Liu Qing occupied. The rest are nothing but clay chickens and earthen dogs."
"We have almost twice as many people as they do now. If we still let them escape, we'll have only ourselves to blame."
"Besides," Su Qing continued excitedly, a fierce gleam in his eyes, "I have another spell waiting for them, one perfectly suited to this place."
Mu Chen considered it for a moment, then agreed with Su Qing's plan. It made a great deal of sense.
Liu Qing and his men left a few people halfway up the volcano to give warning and briefly hold off the Mu Domain. Everyone else entered the crater to search for the Nine Nether Sparrow.
Liu Qing had been prepared to fight the Mu Domain for her, but unexpectedly, the Mu Domain remained quietly outside the basin, clearly ready to wait by the stump for the rabbit to come to them.
This left Liu Qing riding a tiger he could not dismount. He had no choice but to steel himself and continue searching.
Su Qing had been wondering whether the Liu Domain party could find the rock concealing the Nine Nether Sparrow without the Copper Fragment to guide them.
Before long, however, a tremendous tremor rang out from the volcano, accompanied by the spiritual energy in the earth growing increasingly wild.
After the tremor, Su Qing and the others saw an enormous black egg float out of the crater and hover in the air.
The enormous black egg finally came to rest above the crater. Waves of black light spread outward as mysterious patterns on its surface gradually lit up.
After the enormous black egg rose into the air, the Liu Domain party also leaped out of the crater one after another.
Liu Qing's face was pale. As he moved, faint flecks of blood could be seen falling from him. Clearly, he had suffered at the enormous egg's hands.
The Liu Domain party no longer dared to act rashly, instead watching the enormous egg in the air warily.
Mu Feng and the others watched from the edge of the basin as well, waiting tensely.
Under the gazes of both sides, the glowing patterns on the black egg grew brighter, pulsing between light and darkness as though breathing.
When the patterns on its surface reached a certain brightness, streaks of black radiance shot from the egg amid a series of vibrations.
The sky above the basin, already somewhat gloomy beneath a thin layer of death miasma, grew darker still.
At that moment, panic seemed to break out among the Liu Domain party.
Mu Feng addressed everyone solemnly. "That black egg is absorbing our spiritual energy."
"We're farther away, so it isn't as noticeable. Over where the Liu Domain is, it's probably absorbing much more."
"Good thing we listened to Qing and stayed away," Zhou Ye said beside him, relieved.
As they spoke, a clear cry rang out from the black egg, and the earth suddenly began to shake violently.
Countless lights flared throughout the Black Nether Abyss as ferocious spirit beasts came charging over. Among them were even more than a dozen high-rank spirit beasts.
At that moment, ten thousand beasts thundered across the land.
Fortunately, the Mu Domain party had followed Su Qing's directions and climbed onto a rocky outcrop early, avoiding the beast tide surging out of the valley.
Meanwhile, their vigilance toward the Mu Domain had inadvertently kept the Liu Domain party out of the beast tide's direct path. They turned, preparing to rush toward the edge of the basin. Evidently, they had noticed their spiritual energy draining away.
The time has come.
Seeing the Liu Domain party turn, clearly intending to retreat, Su Qing knew this was the perfect moment to strike. He let out a fierce shout.
"Heaven's Wrath, descend upon these fiends!"
Black clouds churned like ink across the dark sky, threads of lightning gathering within them, poised to strike.
Though the volcano beneath the Liu Domain party's feet had long fallen dormant, traces of lingering fire remained among its rocks.
Lightning kindled the earthfire!
The enormous silver beast behind Liu Qing shattered beneath the lightning strike, and his back slammed hard into the scorching ground. He stared at the thunderclouds that had yet to disperse overhead.
Hah! To think a mere stripling could bring me to this!
Enduring the searing pain in his arm, Liu Qing rolled to his feet and led his few remaining men toward the rocks, joining those he had left halfway up the slope to guard against the Mu Domain.
The beasts charged into the basin amid rolling clouds of dust, trampling the heaps of bones to powder.
These spirit beasts paid no attention to the people, instead charging straight toward the crater.
Another clear cry rang out. The already dim sky darkened further, and a wave of black light spread outward, reaching the onrushing beasts.
Every spirit beast touched by that wave of black light, regardless of its cultivation, froze instantly. Flesh and blood peeled away, leaving skeletons to scatter across the basin.
Streams of light flowed from those bones, streaking toward the enormous black egg hovering in the air, which absorbed them all.
Though the Mu Domain party had expected something like this, they still sucked in cold breaths at the sight.