Volume 1 Volume 6 Chapter 93

Volume 6 Chapter 93: Fate and Choice (1)

While Zhang Xusheng was fighting against the fourteen masters of the Righteous Alliance alone, Xu Qingfan activated the "Sky Escaping Talisman" and had already escaped two thousand miles west of the "Black Glory Valley."

The "Black Glory Valley" was already close to the Western Desert of the Shenzhou Continent. This time, moving two thousand miles west again, the wind and sand between heaven and earth grew even stronger. Although he had not officially entered the Western Desert, Xu Qingfan was already facing a vast area of yellow dust.

Finally leaving Zhang Xusheng’s stronghold, Xu Qingfan let out a breath. Although he hadn’t experienced any major battles, the cleverness and courage shown during this time made Xu Qingfan feel it was no less than any battle he had faced before.

So, after finally escaping, Xu Qingfan couldn’t help but collapse to the ground. Adding in the previous battles and schemes with the demons, Liu Ziqing, and Zhang Yi, he truly felt mentally exhausted.

Turning to glance at the position of the "Black Glory Valley," Xu Qingfan frowned and thought about his next steps.

"My luck isn’t completely terrible; I managed to escape and even caused some trouble for Zhang Xusheng before leaving. I suppose the Righteous Alliance will have an easier time dealing with Zhang Xusheng now?"

"If I’m not mistaken, the masters of the Righteous Alliance have likely found the location of Zhang Xusheng’s stronghold. Zhang Xusheng’s men were so busy before; they probably realized a big battle was about to happen."

Xu Qingfan thought to himself.

"If the masters of the Righteous Alliance arrive, the main army will likely come soon, too. Anyway, I have nothing else to do right now. I won’t be able to help in the battle between Zhang Xusheng and the righteous masters, so I might as well join the main army of the Righteous Alliance."

With this thought, Xu Qingfan flew into the sky and began to head slowly toward the east.

However, just as Xu Qingfan was about to fly, he sensed that Little Black on his shoulder was extremely excited, shaking its body gently and finally squawking loudly.

Xu Qingfan had only seen this kind of excitement twice before; once when he got the green skull filled with death energy, and another time when Little Black first saw Little Gold and wanted to eat its flesh and blood.

The green skull was part of the evil treasure "Purgatory Staff," which could help Little Black evolve quickly, while Little Gold’s flesh and blood could enable Little Black to evolve from an ordinary "Dark Crow" to a bird king, or the "King of Dark Crows."

Now, seeing Little Black so excited, Xu Qingfan was surprised. Could his luck be so good that after using the "Sky Escaping Talisman" twice, he had teleported directly into Zhang Xusheng’s stronghold once and now was near a treasure?

After a long time of bad luck, Xu Qingfan did not think he would suddenly have such good fortune.

He turned to look at Little Black on his shoulder and saw Little Black gazing far away at the Western Desert, with deep curiosity and strange excitement in its eyes.

This excitement was not the greedy kind he felt when seeing the green skull and Little Gold, but rather a gentle nostalgia, as if a traveler was returning home.

Xu Qingfan looked at Little Black, then at the distant Western Desert, and in that moment, he finally understood why Little Black was suddenly so excited.

The "Dark Crow", a demon beast, lives deep in the Western Desert. It is said that the "Dark Crow" is one of the few social demon beasts in the cultivation world. Every traveler who enters the Western Desert fears encountering the "Dark Crow" because this demon beast does not eat flesh or plants; it only absorbs the lifeforce of beings after they die. It is very sensitive to death. If a traveler suddenly notices many "Dark Crows" circling above them, it means their fate has already been sensed by the "Dark Crows." They fly silently above the traveler without attacking, just following and waiting quietly for the moment of the traveler’s death, which is unavoidable.

This is also why the "Dark Crow" is known as the "Death God Clone"; many ordinary people believe that the Dark Crow takes their lives.

And isn’t Little Black’s hometown right in the depths of the Western Desert?

When Xu Qingfan found Little Black, it was still an egg of a demon beast and probably did not know its hometown was deep in the Western Desert. However, since "Dark Crows" have lived in the Western Desert for generations, their familiarity and affection for it are deeply engraved in their souls. So, even though Little Black had never seen the Western Desert or knew it was its homeland, as it approached the Western Desert, it still felt a strange excitement and familiarity in its heart.

Xu Qingfan gently patted Little Black’s feathers, which Little Black loved. This action also helped to calm Little Black’s feelings. Then he softly said, "I know what you are thinking. That is your homeland, with many of your companions. As soon as we have some free time, I will definitely take you to the Western Desert, but not now; we still have things to finish."

As Xu Qingfan was thinking, he remembered that the "Dark Crow," a kind of demon beast, evolved very slowly because it needed to absorb the energy of death. After all, absorbing the death energy from the bodies of creatures that died in the Western Desert was a slow process. However, the "Dark Crow" has one of the longest lifespans among demon beasts, second only to ancient demon beasts. It is said that half of the Dark Crows in the Western Desert have reached Earth level strength.

At that moment, Little Black was already the most powerful presence in the demon beast world, except for heavenly level demon beasts. It was likely the strongest of the "Dark Crow" clan. After consuming the flesh and blood of Little Gold, it became the "King of Dark Crows." When it was still an egg, a human cultivator secretly brought it to the cultivation world, where Xu Qingfan took it as a spirit pet. Although it lost its freedom, it gained incredible strength and change in such a short time, making it hard to say if it was a blessing or a curse.

While lost in thought, Xu Qingfan suddenly noticed powerful auras and incredible Spirit Qi fluctuations erupting from the direction of "Black Glory Valley," thousands of miles away. This kind of aura and Spirit Qi fluctuation was something Xu Qingfan had only seen once before when the masters of the Righteous Alliance worked together to capture "Xuanwu."

Even though they were thousands of miles apart, the aura and Spirit Qi fluctuations remained clear and overwhelming.

Xu Qingfan slowly closed his eyes. After sensing for a long time, he opened them again and gazed toward the direction of "Black Glory Valley," murmuring, "Has the battle between the Righteous Alliance and Zhang Xusheng finally begun? Such a powerful aura and Spirit Qi fluctuation must be the masters of the Righteous Alliance taking action. Zhang Xusheng has managed to resist for such a long time; his strength is indeed astonishing. No wonder Mr. Liu and others were so cautious of him."

While speaking, Xu Qingfan began to fly toward "Black Glory Valley." He was excited about witnessing such a top-level battle between human cultivators. Even though he couldn’t help, just watching would be enough for Xu Qingfan to benefit for a lifetime.

This great battle could only be compared to the shocking battle between the Demon Ancestor and the masters of the righteous path back then.

However, just as Xu Qingfan was about to leave, he felt a sudden vibration in his body and sensed something unexpected.

It turned out that, in the direction of "Black Glory Valley," alongside the overwhelming aura of the battle between Zhang Xusheng and the fourteen masters of the Righteous Alliance, there was another, weaker yet significantly stronger aura quickly approaching Xu Qingfan.

The atmosphere was filled with a sense of fury and danger.

It’s that monster!

Xu Qingfan smiled wryly, not expecting that this monster was still relentlessly chasing him. With the monster’s strength, it truly was a huge problem.

At the same time, Xu Qingfan felt more confusion. Every time they met, they were always at a great distance apart. How could the monster find him so easily again and again?

Xu Qingfan furrowed his brow. If this problem was not solved, he might never be free from the monster.

Suddenly, Xu Qingfan remembered the "Disaster Cloud" he had collected in Zhang Xusheng’s base. Because it absorbed a lot of the rocks and soil from the Blood-Red Valley, this "Disaster Cloud" had an amazing effect of completely hiding a cultivator’s presence.

Xu Qingfan decided to conduct an experiment.

He took out a white jade bottle filled with "Disaster Cloud" and released all of it. Once the "Disaster Cloud" stabilized, he stepped inside.

Once inside the "Disaster Cloud," Xu Qingfan’s presence and energy became undetectable to anyone. The Spirit Qi circulated within the "Disaster Cloud," and as he felt a slight shift in his heart, he realized how to control it. Under Xu Qingfan’s command, the "Disaster Cloud" slowly floated up and blended with the other white clouds in the sky, becoming indistinguishable.

However, even though Xu Qingfan could no longer sense the breath and movements at this moment, he was disappointed to find that the monster was flying quickly towards his location without any hesitation.

Xu Qingfan wondered, his brow tightening further. Wasn’t the monster supposed to be searching for him using the breath and Spirit Qi fluctuations?

Xu Qingfan did not know that Zhang Xusheng had mixed a drop of his blood into the monster’s body. The connection between the monster and him was somewhat similar to the one he had with Feng Qingtian; they could easily find each other without relying on the six senses.

As he sensed the monster’s presence getting closer, Xu Qingfan let out a helpless sigh and took out a "Sky Escaping Talisman" from his sleeve, ready to activate it before the monster arrived.

"Where will the ‘Sky Escaping Talisman’ take me this time? As long as it’s not directly in front of the monster or in the battlefield between the Righteous Alliance and Zhang Xusheng, it will be fine."

Colorful lights swirled around him as Xu Qingfan thought quietly before the teleportation.

In the midst of his thoughts, the space around Xu Qingfan began to ripple, and the next moment, he disappeared from the world.

At the moment Xu Qingfan vanished, the monster arrived at his previous location. Seeing Xu Qingfan disappear before its eyes again, it roared in anger and hurried to where Xu Qingfan would next appear.

The "Sky Escaping Talisman" was limited. After it was used up, and with no more places to escape to, how would Xu Qingfan handle the relentless pursuit of the monster?