Chapter 2797: Killing Fei Heng

In the Source Realm, the Feathered Race was considered a powerful faction, occupying a vast territory near the Cage Sea. As the Grand Elder of the Feathered Race, Fei Heng naturally held a position of great power and prestige. It could be said that throughout the entire race, his status was the highest, second only to the Clan Leader and a few Half-Sages.

However, not long ago, all of this underwent a drastic change. In the battle to attack Long Cloud Island, his son was killed first, causing him profound grief. Then, his cultivation partner, who had been with him for countless years, perished, cutting him to the core. This was followed by the defeat in the war, which resulted in heavy losses for the Feathered Race's army. Even he himself was severely wounded and nearly died; if not for a human Half-Sage intervening, he would never have made it back alive. Although he narrowly escaped death, upon returning to the clan, his status plummeted. Given such enormous losses, the Feathered Race's Half-Sages naturally demanded accountability, and even as Grand Elder, he could not escape blame. He had now been stripped of his Grand Elder status and demoted to an ordinary clansman. If not for his formidable strength, making him a rare talent within the clan, he would likely have been executed by the Half-Sages as a warning to others.

Subsequently, the Feathered Race reorganized its army, preparing to attack Long Cloud Island again. In the history of the Source Realm, no race had ever suffered such a significant loss at the hands of humans during a hunt. The Feathered Race naturally could not tolerate this affront, nor could they afford to lose face. However, before their army could even depart, scouts reported that Long Cloud Island was deserted, with millions of humans having vanished without a trace. This enraged the Feathered Race's Half-Sages, further worsening Fei Heng's already precarious situation.

Therefore, when a Blood Race expert came to find him, telling him that they had captured the culprit responsible for his downfall and were ready to hand him over for judgment, Fei Heng followed without a second thought. It wasn't that he hadn't had suspicions; if the other party had truly captured the culprit, there would be no need for such stealth and secrecy; they could have been more open. But his strong desire for revenge led him to overlook certain considerations. Furthermore, the Blood Race expert who sought him out was quite renowned in the Source Realm, with a status comparable to his own within the Feathered Race. Thus, Fei Heng believed there was no reason for them to deceive him. The other party also stated their condition: after the deed was done, they would require three spirit treasures as compensation. Fei Heng readily agreed.

"Brother Xuen Fei, where is the person?" Having already left the Feathered Race's territory, Fei Heng grew impatient, eager to see the detestable human and kill him with his own hands. The "Xuen Fei" he spoke of was the person Xue Jiu was impersonating—an elder of the Blood Race. Xue Jiu had met him a few times and wasn't too familiar with him, but the disguise wasn't difficult to maintain. "Almost there. Look, isn't he right there!" Xue Jiu said, pointing downward. Fei Heng looked down and indeed saw a figure sitting below, gazing upwards. The face in his sight perfectly matched the image in his mind. Who else could it be but the culprit who had caused the death of his wife and son that day? A chilling killing intent immediately erupted. However, in the next instant, he sensed something was wrong. The human showed no signs of being restrained or bound. Upon seeing him, the human slowly stood up, placed a hand on the hilt of the blade at his waist, and his eyes also radiated a cold, murderous intent. Blood-red energy surged, and a sea of blood suddenly unfurled. Fei Heng was greatly alarmed: "Brother Xuen Fei, what are you doing?" From within the sea of blood came Xue Jiu's sinister cackle: "Who is your Brother Xuen Fei? Look again, who am I?" He hadn't expected Fei Heng to be so easily fooled. He actually had several backup plans, knowing that even if this trick failed, there would be another, always an opportunity to lure Fei Heng out. Now that things had come to this, there was no longer any need for pretense.

Hearing the altered voice, Fei Heng panicked: "You're not Xuen Fei. Who are you?" "The one who will end your life!" Fei Heng's face changed drastically: "No matter who you are, my Feathered Race has no enmity with the Blood Race. If you kill me today, the Half-Sages of my Feathered Race will certainly not let it go! Moreover, this place is near my Feathered Race's territory. If you act, the Half-Sages are bound to notice. I advise you to stop immediately before causing great calamity. I can pretend today's events never happened."

Xue Jiu sneered: "The Half-Sages of various races are currently gathered together, plotting important matters. You can forget about them!" Fei Heng's face turned pale. He had no idea about this; after losing his Grand Elder position, he was completely cut off from the secrets of the clan's high-ranking members. As they spoke, the two had already begun to fight. If Fei Heng had been at his peak, he and Xue Jiu would have been evenly matched, their strengths nearly identical. However, in the previous battle, Fei Heng was severely wounded, and his body was further corroded by potent poison, making it difficult for him to display his full power. Moreover, during their clash, the strange power lingering in his wounds would occasionally erupt, distracting him. What should have been an earth-shattering battle ended in just thirty breaths. When the sea of blood dissipated, Xue Jiu was holding Fei Heng's corpse. The former Grand Elder of the Feathered Race had unseeing eyes, wide in death. Perhaps in the moment before he lost his life, he still couldn't understand why a Blood Race member would ruthlessly kill him.

"Let's go!" Xue Jiu called to Lu Ye, and with a surge of blood-red light, he flew off in one direction. Although the place was remote and secluded, it was ultimately on the periphery of the Feathered Race's territory. It was possible that the recent commotion might have attracted someone's attention. It was naturally unwise to linger in such a problematic area.

A little over half a day later, in a cave, Xue Jiu gleefully sorted through his spoils of war, at the same time tossing a spirit treasure to Lu Ye: "I want to verify the changes in the Myriad Poison Orb again!" He had previously claimed to be helping Lu Ye vent his anger, but in reality, he had his eyes on Fei Heng's spirit treasures. Ordinary Feathered Race cultivators were not qualified to possess spirit treasures, but how could Fei Heng, as the Grand Elder of the Feathered Race, not have them? If the Myriad Poison Orb could indeed devour this spirit treasure and its power increased, then it would prove that Lu Ye's words were true! "What are the Half-Sages of the various races doing now?" Lu Ye asked, taking the spirit treasure. He had overheard the conversation between Xue Jiu and Fei Heng just now, and that matter concerned him greatly.

Xue Jiu scoffed: "Do you think Xue Tianxing would tell me? I only overheard some information by chance; I don't know the specifics." Lu Ye thought that made sense. Like himself, Xue Jiu was new here. Although he was a member of the Blood Race and his situation was much better than Lu Ye's, he couldn't become a high-ranking member of the Blood Race in a short time and naturally wouldn't have access to many secrets. "If Blood Lord wants to verify, of course there's no problem. But even if the verification is correct, what can you do? If you're unwilling to part with the Azure Dome Mirror, then there's no point in discussing anything else," Lu Ye changed the subject. Xue Jiu replied, "Let's verify it first." Lu Ye remained calm, knowing that Xue Jiu was clearly tempted by his proposal. Honestly, Lu Ye didn't know if the Myriad Poison Orb, when fully restored, could affect a Half-Sage, but he figured that the power of a supreme treasure would not be easily resisted, so the chances were quite high. If this succeeded, regardless of whether Xue Jiu benefited, Lu Ye would certainly gain a great deal.

"Then Blood Lord, just watch," Lu Ye said, gripping the spirit treasure. He activated the power of the Talent Tree, and invisible roots spread, burrowing into the spirit treasure. Xue Jiu stared intently. At first, he didn't notice anything, but soon he was startled: "You've already started?" Because he clearly felt that the spirit treasure in Lu Ye's hand had undergone some mysterious change, as if its spiritual essence had vanished in an instant. Lu Ye nodded. Xue Jiu's eyes widened, clearly wanting to see where the Myriad Poison Orb was and what it looked like, but no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't discern anything. A moment later, the spirit treasure in Lu Ye's hand suddenly turned into a pile of dust. Xue Jiu immediately regarded Lu Ye as a divine being: "How did you do that?" Spirit treasures were born from supreme treasures, incredibly durable and difficult to damage. In all his years, he had never witnessed such a sight. Lu Ye opened his palm, letting the dust fall through his fingers, and shook his head: "I didn't do it. The Myriad Poison Orb itself has this ability."

Xue Jiu stopped talking nonsense and extended a hand to Lu Ye: "Come on!" Lu Ye didn't hesitate, immediately activating the Myriad Poison Orb's power. Just like before, a verdant green light drifted towards Xue Jiu. Xue Jiu cautiously enveloped it with his power and meticulously examined it. For a long while, there was no reaction. Devouring one spirit treasure wouldn't bring a massive improvement to the Myriad Poison Orb's fruit, but there would definitely be a change. So, as long as Xue Jiu was careful enough, he would certainly notice it. Lu Ye wasn't worried about this. Instead, he was quite surprised that Xue Jiu had gone to lure out and kill Fei Heng this time. Last time, if Si Shengya hadn't suddenly appeared and intervened, he definitely wouldn't have spared Fei Heng's life. But supreme treasures couldn't be seized, so on that day, he could only watch the Grand Elder of the Feathered Race depart.

"What are you going to do next?" Xue Jiu, who had discarded the poison in his hand, suddenly asked. His verification had undoubtedly yielded an answer, but he showed no explicit reaction. But Lu Ye knew that the more he acted this way, the more he was feigning indifference, likely weighing the pros and cons and potential risks in his mind. "Are you still following me?" Lu Ye looked at Xue Jiu with a disgusted expression. Xue Jiu chuckled: "I told you before, we must advance and retreat together now!" Lu Ye gave him a deep look, knowing that there was no way to shake this guy off. Xue Jiu had clearly decided to stick with him and wouldn't leave until a decision was made. Since that was the case, he could only let him be. Without another word, he got up and walked out. Xue Jiu immediately followed suit.

Two days later, the two figures arrived at a peculiar place. From high above, it appeared to be a deep abyss, like a wound on the earth. It stretched for thousands of miles, its depth unknown. This was Lu Ye's destination for this trip, the location indicated by Si Shengya on the map. From his high vantage point, Lu Ye observed for a moment, then flashed downwards, diving straight into the abyss. He continued to fall, the light from above growing steadily dimmer until no trace of illumination remained.

"What are you doing here?" Xue Jiu asked, puzzled. The place looked strange, but there didn't seem to be anything special about it. At the very least, Xue Jiu hadn't found anything of value nearby throughout their journey.