Chapter 687: Chapter 360: Jade Girl’s Methods—Another General Envoy Slain, Dawn Approaches, Annihilation in a Snap!
It was noon.
A dark silhouette suddenly appeared in the sky, the Jingyao Divine Bird landed on the eaves. The elders’ faces were pale, overwhelmed with fear. A few elders’ legs gave way, collapsing to the ground. The divine bird let out a long cry, eyes full of disdain and pride. With a flap of its wings, it stirred a violent wind, and a letter fell to the ground.
In an instant, it flew away again. Zhou Zhengde picked up the envelope, inside it was written: "Three days left, prepare a generous gift, collect it tomorrow at dawn, southeast direction."
At this time, the Flower Cage Sect was already at their wit’s end. Receiving the letter, they felt aggrieved and angry, but completely helpless. Their bodies trembled as they muddled through another day, the next morning, the elders supported each other, stumbling towards the southeastern coast.
The disciples’ defeat had come even earlier. Jin Shichang was dead, the Treasure Tripod had rotted away, two pieces of news spread, the Water Altar had already fallen. The disciples scattered in fear, no longer manageable. The guard towers by the coast were empty, the disciples resorted to alcohol to pass the days, lost in illusion.
When dawn came, a black ship appeared again in the southeast. After half an hour, the black ship slowly approached the shore. On the ship was a wooden box, half as tall and as wide as a person, pitch black and heavy. The elders watched for a long time, but did not dare to approach. Zhou Zhengde shook his head and sighed: "We’ve been in the sect for so long, entering and exiting still requires a guide, yet now a mere child can come and go freely, how should we deal with such a situation?"
He mustered his courage and brought the black box back to the beach. Unlocking its secret latch, it revealed the severed head of Shi Yufei! His eyes were wide open, filled with terror, his face ash white, bloodless, long dead, suddenly appearing before their eyes, shocking Zhou Zhengde into a scream, retreating. The elders came to observe, seeing Shi Yufei’s corpse, a wave of sadness inevitably welled up.
Cries filled the coast, everyone was overwhelmed with grief and sorrow. Ye Cheng’s face turned pale: "Even Chief Shi is dead, it seems our Flower Cage Sect is... on the brink of collapse."
Li Xian gazed afar with a complex expression, thinking: "Chief Shi treated me with great kindness, his sudden death... matters within Jianghu, the cycle of cause and effect, are truly unpredictable."
The black box had a hidden layer, lifting the cover, it was full of ropes. It was the ’Meteor Iron Rope’, very resilient, binding it would crush bones, causing constant pain. Once entangled, it was incredibly difficult to resist.
Zhou Zhengde said with sadness: "Let’s return to the hall!" The elders suppressed their grief forcibly, gathered back at the hall. The atmosphere was heavy, after a moment of silence, Zhou Zhengde slammed the table, with a ’crack’ the table shattered into dust, he said in a deep voice: "Everyone, at this point, escaping is no longer an option, even Chief Shi has fallen into the enemy’s hands, showing how perilous our situation is."
"That little brat initially proclaimed ten days later, she would wipe us out. I thought it was just empty talk, didn’t believe it at all. Now that I’ve seen it firsthand, I’m afraid although she’s young, she indeed has the capability. Now it’s already been eight days, the tenth day is approaching swiftly, and our lives will be within moments."
"Frankly speaking, Mr. Zhou has already lost hope, with Jin’s death, even if we can resist the attack, we’ll be trapped on the island for life. But as the saying goes, a man can die, but he cannot be humiliated. That little brat humiliated us so, after all, she is just a girl, no matter the title of Jade Girl, how big the name, she is still a girl. How can we truly allow this girl to bully us like this."
"It’s just a matter of death, once they land on the island, we must let them know. Although we are ashamed, we still have pride and spirit, at worst we’ll fight to the death. If we can bring down a prodigy, this life would be worth it. Bringing down two, then we would’ve earned greatly."
"Chief Shi treated us with kindness, now his head is here, we swear on his head to fight to the death with those who come, though we may not avenge him, we can at least comfort his soul in heaven, as gratitude for his nurturing."
The elders looked at each other, with bitter faces said: "It can only be this way, when they land, we’ll fight to the death. It’s better than dying under torture."
The elders vowed, eyes bloodshot, veined with red. Li Xian said: "Chief Shi treated me with great kindness, in life I couldn’t repay him, I wish to choose a resting place for Chief Shi, to repay his kindness."
Zhou Zhengde had no time to respond, waved his hand lightly. Li Xian placed Shi Yufei’s head into a jade box, seeking a geomantic treasure site for burial. Searching for half a day, as dusk fell, he had found several excellent sites, but felt they were just not quite right. He thought: "Chief Shi’s sudden death shows the impermanence of Jianghu. He treated me with kindness, this resting place should require more care."
So he searched for another half day, found an exquisite geomantic site. He dug a pit, erected a tombstone, buried the head. Li Xian discovered Shi Yufei’s neck had a ’knife wound’, thought: "If there’s a chance in the future, I must avenge this wrong for you. But this situation is dangerous, I don’t know if I will survive. So be it, do what one can, leave the rest to fate."
He gazed into the distance, thinking: "Around the Water Altar is a First Layer Five Elements Formation. I haven’t been idle these days, I’ve further refined the Five Elements Mysteries. Now we are in the light while they are in the dark, rashly fleeing into the lake might lead to confrontation, they might be near, or even circling the island, ready to land in an instant. After they land, I’ll escape. By then Sister Liuli will surely speak for me, they may not chase me into the lake. As for surviving in the lake, that depends on my own ability."
After burying Shi Yufei, as dawn broke, the ninth day arrived. Suddenly, there was a commotion by the coast, the elders guessed the enemy had arrived, they ran to the coast, prepared to fight, yet saw no enemies, only a few corpses. Zhang Kaixuan, Wang Shouxin, and Qiao Zhenqi.
All died from the Three Shadows Returning Sword. Slain by the Nangong Xuanming Sword.
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