Chapter 112: Black Crow

Creak!

A dry branch snapped underfoot, producing a low, muffled sound.

The surrounding gray mist churned, carrying a chill and an eerie, sinister atmosphere. Combined with the twisted, grotesque black trees and their strange branches, it seemed as if the limbs of some unknown ferocious creature were wildly waving around.

Wu Ming and the other reincarnators trudged along the narrow mountain path, each with a gloomy expression.

After entering the Black Mountain Range, a heavy pressure had settled heavily on everyone’s hearts. The entire mountain seemed to exude an aura of hostility so intense it could suffocate ordinary people.

Not to mention that this forest and thick fog were the ideal habitat for ghosts, spirits, and mountain yokai.

For Wu Ming and his companions, every step forward required extreme caution, vigilance against enemies, and immense mental effort.

After walking for half a day, everyone needed to rest.

Several people worked together, quickly setting up a few simple tents. In the center, they lit a campfire. The bright yellow flames leaped upward, bringing warmth and light, seemingly even dispersing some of the thick fog in the surrounding darkness, giving everyone a sense of security.

Hanging over the fire was an iron pot, bubbling with a delicious stew made from dried meat brought by the group and some wild vegetables gathered nearby. Of course, everyone had carefully identified the ingredients to ensure they were non-toxic and unaltered.

“It’s hard work keeping watch at night. Have a bowl to warm yourself up!”

Wu Ming was leaning lazily against a tree on the outskirts, arms crossed, observing the surroundings, when Gong Yunshang approached with a wooden bowl.

Inside the bowl was freshly ladled meat soup, carefully skimmed, clear and transparent. The dried meat inside had fully expanded, displaying enticing textures.

“Thank you!”

Wu Ming reached out to take it, when suddenly a warhorse’s neigh pierced through the fog nearby, accompanied by the sounds of a charge.

“What is that?”

Gong Yunshang shivered, instantly turning around, drawing her sword, exuding an aura of determination, completely different from her earlier gentle demeanor.

“Don’t worry, it’s just the City God’s yin soldiers coming to assist us…”

Wu Ming remained still, glancing at Gong Yunshang with slight surprise before looking up at the moonlit sky: “On a night like this, it’s the perfect time for yin soldiers and generals to operate!”

He was well aware that although they seemed to be fighting alone, there were always ghosts and deities accompanying them.

Moreover, if not for the City God’s divine power concealing them, and the constant patrols by yin soldiers and generals clearing out the Black Mountain spirits and monsters, their group would have already been discovered and attacked.

“No wonder I often felt like I was being watched!”

Gong Yunshang patted her chest in relief: “Fortunately, we’ve been very careful in our conversations and set up protective barriers. Otherwise, if our presence had been leaked, our lives would have been in grave danger!”

“Separated by the boundary between the living and the dead, it’s not that easy to eavesdrop on information!”

Wu Ming’s eyes flickered slightly: “Still, this three-hundred-mile Black Mountain Range is the domain of the Black Mountain Lord. No matter how carefully we concealed ourselves before, now that we’ve come this deep, we’re inevitably going to be discovered…”

“Quack! Quack!”

Following Wu Ming’s gaze, Gong Yunshang saw three crows perched on a nearby dead tree.

These crows had pitch-black feathers, blood-red eyes, and an eerily human-like expression of cruelty and cunning that sent chills down one’s spine upon closer inspection.

Bang!

Wu Ming slightly raised his hand and snapped his fingers, launching several stones. With sharp whistling sounds, the stones sparked mid-air and suddenly struck two of the crows.

As a flurry of black feathers fell, the third crow proved remarkably agile, dodging the stones. Even so, its wing was grazed, letting out an increasingly piercing cry as it fled for its life.

“Tonight probably won’t be peaceful…”

Seeing this, Wu Ming’s eyes flickered slightly.

Beside him, Gong Yunshang was also somewhat surprised. This display of marksmanship, whether in terms of eye precision or control of force, was executed with perfect precision. She was no stranger to martial prowess and naturally understood that Wu Ming must have put in considerable effort in his cultivation.

Even so, one still managed to escape, meaning it must be a specially bred variant, perhaps even a demonic creature.

“Let’s go!”

Without hesitation, Wu Ming activated his body techniques and chased after it.

“Pressing the advantage decisively? Truly admirable resolve and decisiveness!”

Gong Yunshang’s eyes sparkled: “Could it be… that the earlier miss was intentional, meant to lure out the mastermind behind the scenes?”

Seeing the camp was also alerted, she lightly chuckled, moving like a startled swan treading lotus blossoms, a fragrant breeze trailing behind her as she followed Wu Ming.

“Quack! Quack!”

The single crow ahead flapped its wings desperately, crying out in pain. Due to its injured wing, it occasionally dropped downward, its speed not very fast.

Wu Ming ran like the wind, the gray mist and dead trees whizzing past on both sides, yet he still had plenty of energy to spare.

His martial cultivation had reached the Xiantian (primordial) stage, and his physical body was naturally very powerful. Now he had also activated his Daoist techniques, refining qi into essence. Despite being busy all day, he showed no signs of fatigue.

The crow above cried more and more desperately. After flying for over ten miles, it turned behind a cliff.

“Hmm?”

Behind the cliff was an open space where a Taoist priest in black robes stood gazing into the distance. A larger crow perched on his shoulder. Seeing the injured one fly in, his face showed a pained expression: “Only one returned? Where are Ya Ba and Ya Jiu?”

“Quack! Quack!”

The injured black crow landed on the Taoist’s hand, squawking loudly as if complaining.

“Ahh… Ya Qi, you’ve suffered much. Don’t worry, I’ll definitely avenge you!”

The Taoist seemed to understand the bird’s language. His face showed anger as he took out a bright yellow gourd, poured out a pill, dissolved it, and carefully applied it to the crow’s wound.

This Taoist called himself “Black Crow,” having spent all his resources in the Primordial Temple to obtain the “Black Crow Dao Technique!”

The key to this technique was to capture crows with spiritual potential, continuously refining and cultivating them into ancient rare species known as “Thunder-Fire Black Crows.” The practitioner and the bird would share a deep mental connection; the more powerful the spirit bird became, the more it would enhance the Taoist’s cultivation.

This technique required immense effort to cultivate a single Thunder-Fire Black Crow. However, with enough accumulation, one could form the “Black Crow Formation!” This formation was extremely formidable. Gathering nine crows was merely the beginning, and only when eighty-one were assembled could it be considered moderately complete. If one could truly gather three hundred and sixty-five Thunder-Fire Black Crows and set up the formation, it would truly blot out the sky and earth, exuding terrifying ferocity, so much so that even a true immortal would dare not challenge its might!

Of course, the Black Crow Taoist had not yet reached even moderate completion of this technique, having barely refined six crows so far, insufficient to form the full formation.

Nevertheless, with six spirit birds, he could conduct reconnaissance and assist in combat, making his power formidable indeed. Therefore, he had been recruited by the Blood Oath Alliance and had already risen to a mid-level position.

“Alas… Never thought two of my spirit crows would be ruined. Fortunately, there are plenty of spirit birds to be found in this vast Black Mountain.”

The Black Crow Taoist’s face darkened slightly but then regained some vigor.

This three-hundred-mile Black Mountain was truly a blessed land for him. This time, he volunteered to take on the task of patrolling the mountains precisely to search for suitable spirit birds to cultivate.

In just a short time, he had already found three rare species, all with strong foundations that could be refined into Thunder-Fire Black Crows.

After all, within the Black Mountain, there were already many spirits and monsters. Ordinary spiritually gifted crows were nothing special.

Unfortunately, after just one refinement process, when he sent them out, they were attacked, instantly killing two!

To the Black Crow Taoist, this was as painful as having flesh torn from his body!

“However… there are still living humans within the Black Mountain? And they managed to injure my two spirit birds… It must be those righteous sect members indeed…”

The Black Crow Taoist felt some regret, realizing that the three crows sent to scout were new ones, only able to convey vague information.

Otherwise, if he had already fully refined his spirit birds to the point of perfect synchronization, he might have directly seen the scene, making his certainty even stronger.

“Immediately report to the elders and have that yellow-skinned monster take action…”

The Black Crow Taoist was somewhat cautious about personal danger. Naturally, he had no intention of risking himself now. After all, he was merely a mountain patroller; having discovered the enemy was already completing his mission.

“Hehe… When the time comes for the attack, I’ll make sure none of you escape. I’ll have to disembowel and extract your hearts to feed my beloved pets, only then can I slightly relieve my anger!”

With spirit birds scouting from above and being in the hostile territory of the Black Mountain, there was a ninety percent chance they wouldn’t escape.

“Quack! Quack!”

Just then, as the Black Crow Taoist was about to leave, two magnificent crows flew down. Their feathers shimmered with faint blue electric light, and their bodies were significantly larger than Ya Qi, the messenger crow. They cawed loudly.

“They actually followed here?”

The Black Crow Taoist’s face changed as he looked at Ya Qi on his arm and suddenly understood: “Incompetent!”

“Gugu!”

Ya Qi trembled, letting out a pitiful cry, clearly feeling wronged, its spiritual nature indeed extraordinary.

“Only two people?”

At this moment, more detailed information emerged from the consciousness of the two rare crows, causing the Black Crow Taoist to smirk coldly: “Fine! Let me see what you’re made of!”

His reputation as the Black Crow Taoist was not just empty boasting.

Even if he wasn’t as powerful as the elders of the Blood Oath Alliance, how could ordinary reincarnators stand against attacks from several spirit birds?

At this moment, he stroked his goatee, his eyes flickering slightly, then took out two bright yellow talismans from his bosom and lit them.

“Quack! Quack!”

From different directions in the mountains, three more spirit birds cried out and rushed over.

“Hmph! My treasures have been recalled, and I’ve sent a signal to the elders. Everything is perfectly arranged!”

After completing all his preparations, the Black Crow Taoist now calmly watched the two approaching figures.

“Reincarnators!”

At first glance, the unnatural aura they exuded, the calamity aura surrounding them, and the absence of their original life force immediately revealed their identities to Wu Ming: “Members of the Blood Oath Alliance!”

“Didn’t expect…”

At this moment, the Black Crow Taoist’s expression also changed slightly: “To run into enemy reincarnators just like that!”

Compared to the natives of the original world, reincarnators naturally made him more wary. His eyes narrowed slightly, releasing sharp and piercing glints: “So it was you who injured my beloved pets?”

“Just a bird-loving wild Taoist…”

Wu Ming cast a sinister glance at the Black Crow Taoist’s crotch: “If your own treasures got broken, what’s that got to do with me?”