Chapter 296: Tianshan Silks Triggering a Misunderstanding

He leaped out, shouting just in time, "Don't come closer! Beware of a trick!"

The old man in green robes was no more than twenty zhang from the Silver-Winged Thunder Roc. Hearing the sudden warning, he was startled but quickly reacted, retreating without hesitation. With a flick of two fingers, the azure rainbow, which had pierced the Thunder Roc, suddenly flew out and aimed for its head.

The Silver-Winged Thunder Roc glared angrily at Jiang Fan. It had been on the verge of luring the old man in green robes into its trap, but then this kid, who appeared out of nowhere, had to give a warning!

Seeing the old man in green robes about to escape the trap's range, the roc immediately spread its wings. Large sections of feathers detached from its body, sweeping towards the old man like a torrential downpour. The first feather to touch him immediately exploded. Large arcs of lightning burst open, incinerating the old man's sleeve!

The old man in green robes' expression changed. "Vile beast!" he snorted coldly. His body trembled, and the pure qi surrounding him transformed into numerous palm-sized swords. As he pointed a finger, these qi-formed swords immediately flew out, colliding with the incoming feathers.

A series of thunderous explosions rang out, echoing throughout the area. All of them detonated far from the old man in green robes, none affecting him.

Seeing its trump card fail, the Silver-Winged Thunder Roc was both startled and enraged. Flapping its wings, it quickly soared into the air, attempting to escape.

Before leaving, it glared resentfully at Jiang Fan. Spreading its wings, it transformed into a streak of light and swooped down, its incredibly sharp claws lunging fiercely at Jiang Fan.

The old man in green robes was still clearing the last of the feathers. By the time he noticed the roc's movement, it was too late; he only had time to shout, "Vile beast, stop harming people!" He launched an azure rainbow, attacking with his sword, but it was futile. The Silver-Winged Thunder Roc was already upon them.

Jiang Fan then realized that this Silver-Winged Thunder Roc had both claws intact, unlike the one he had encountered on the snowy mountain. With a calm expression, he gripped the purple sword on his back, narrowing his eyes as he said, "If your companion were here, it would definitely warn you not to provoke me!"

However, this Silver-Winged Thunder Roc was much more wary than the previous one. Even before the purple sword was unsheathed, it sensed the threat. It decisively ascended, soaring past Jiang Fan's head and into the sky.

Jiang Fan was startled. How could he willingly let this Silver-Winged Thunder Roc escape? He thought of the Tianshan Silk he had just acquired and its sharpness, his eyes gleaming. He decisively took out the Tianshan Silk. With a flick of his finger, one end of the silk flew out and wrapped around the Silver-Winged Thunder Roc's neck.

As the silk in his hand was about to run out, he decisively plunged the purple sword into the ground and tied that end of the silk to its hilt. This created a dilemma: either the Silver-Winged Thunder Roc's neck would be severed, or the purple sword's hilt would break. The answer was obvious.

The Silver-Winged Thunder Roc, rapidly soaring into the clouds, suddenly felt the Tianshan Silk go taut. The incredibly sharp silk, as expected, cut into its neck. By the time the roc felt the excruciating pain and realized its predicament, it was too late to stop. Its powerful momentum carried its body forward, and the silk mercilessly severed its neck! The massive head flew on for a moment, while its enormous body crashed down like a collapsing mountain.

With a resounding thud, the headless Silver-Winged Thunder Roc, spraying blood, crashed to the ground. Jiang Fan was incredibly excited. "This silk really is effective!" he exclaimed. "No wonder the Sect Master of Joyful Union regards it as their signature artifact!"

Overjoyed, he quickly gathered the silk strand by strand, re-coiling it. Just then, the old man in green robes rushed over. At first, he hadn't understood why the Silver-Winged Thunder Roc's head and body had suddenly separated mid-flight. But when he saw the silk thread in Jiang Fan's hand, he had an epiphany. "So it was you, girl," he said. "I was wondering who had suddenly appeared here!"

"Girl?" Jiang Fan was momentarily stunned, about to explain, when a tragic wail suddenly echoed from the sky. He looked up to see another Silver-Winged Thunder Roc, carrying a bird's head in its beak. It glared down furiously at Jiang Fan and the old man in green robes. Upon seeing Jiang Fan, its eyes blazed with fury, emitting an especially hateful, sharp shriek.

Jiang Fan immediately recognized the Silver-Winged Thunder Roc, which clearly had one claw missing, as the one from the snowy mountain. It turned out that Silver-Winged Thunder Rocs come in pairs, and the one just killed must have been its mate.

The old man in green robes snorted coldly, "So there's another one within the territory of the Joyful Union Sect! Fine, I'll take care of both of you vile beasts!" He raised his hand, and the azure rainbow appeared in his grasp.

Sensing danger, the Silver-Winged Thunder Roc with the broken claw decisively soared straight up and vanished into the clouds. The old man in green robes was about to give chase, but a glance at the fallen roc's corpse brought a look of reluctance to his face. Even for him, the remains of such a Silver-Winged Thunder Roc were extremely valuable; otherwise, he wouldn't have pursued it all the way from the Myriad Sword Sect to the Joyful Union Sect. However, realizing this person was the Sect Master of Joyful Union, he felt reassured. "Take good care of this corpse," he instructed. "I'll decide what to do with it when I return." With that, he flew off in pursuit of the Thunder Roc with the broken claw.

Jiang Fan was left murmuring, "Am I close with you? Why should I wait for you to return?"

Although the old man in green robes had pursued this Silver-Winged Thunder Roc all the way here, it was ultimately Jiang Fan's Tianshan Silk that brought it down. The majority of the spoils should rightfully belong to him. So, Jiang Fan didn't hesitate. He took out a pair of jade-like pliers and vigorously began plucking its feathers, one by one. He was only satisfied when the silver-white Silver-Winged Thunder Roc was completely bare. All these feathers would be enough for him to complete the first layer of his cultivation.

Afterward, Jiang Fan circled the now bald Silver-Winged Thunder Roc, which resembled a giant roasted chicken. He was naturally tempted by the two sharp claws on its feet, but the object was too massive and inconvenient to carry. After some thought, he used his sword to cut open the roc's abdomen. After some rummaging, he extracted a silver-white crystal core, its surface flickering with arcs of lightning. It was clearly a demon beast's inner core, far more valuable than the claws. It was an ideal material for refining lightning-attribute magical artifacts. If given to Ouyang Jun, it could be refined into at least a high-grade magical artifact, comparable in quality to Sorrow Frost!

"This is a good item!" he thought, tucking it into his pocket. Jiang Fan quickly slipped away before the old man in green robes returned.

Several hours later, day had fully broken, and the old man in green robes returned, slightly fatigued and empty-handed, his pursuit clearly fruitless. "Good thing this trip wasn't entirely in vain, there's still one..." he muttered, then froze, staring at the bald, giant roasted chicken before him, wondering if his eyes deceived him. Upon closer inspection, his face twitched with anger. "You cunning Sect Master of Joyful Union," he seethed, "you've plucked all the valuable feathers, not leaving a single one!"

Then, he discovered its abdomen had been cut open, and his expression drastically changed. "You took the inner core too?" he exclaimed. "I painstakingly chased it to exhaustion, creating the very opportunity for it to be killed, and you've taken everything valuable from its body for yourself? Leaving this old man with only a pair of bird claws? This is outrageous!"

Just then, a group of figures rapidly approached. It was Yue Mingzhu, leading a group of Joyful Union Sect elders, who had rushed to the scene. How could the Joyful Union Sect not have noticed such a commotion last night? Early in the morning, Yue Mingzhu had led her people directly to the location.

When she saw the figure of the old man in green robes from afar, Yue Mingzhu's face changed drastically. She hurriedly ran forward, respectfully cupping her hands and bowing. "Senior Xu, why are you here?" she asked. The old man before them was Xu Qingyang, a peerless expert known as the "First Sword King of the Nine Sects." He was the Grand Elder of the Myriad Sword Sect and its previous Sect Master. His swordsmanship had reached its pinnacle; no one in the Nine Sects dared to contend with him. In terms of strength, he ranked among the top three figures in the Nine Sects' lands. As a Sect Master herself, Yue Mingzhu could only humble herself as a junior in his presence.

However, what dumbfounded Yue Mingzhu was Xu Qingyang's response. He snorted through his nostrils, "I can hardly accept that title of 'senior'!"