338: Chapter 338 Phoenix Cry

Immediately afterward, his gaze continued to sweep through the storage space.

Aside from pills and spiritual herbs, there was also a large pile of various blacksmithing materials stacked in another corner.

There was crimson fire copper, dull meteoric iron, and ores shimmering with starlight.

These were all metals or crystals that Qin Yan could not name at all, but they emitted strange fluctuations.

Qin Yan did not know much about the Dao of Blacksmithing and could not accurately judge the grade and value of these materials.

But even thinking with his toes, he knew that anything collected by Feng Jin was definitely no ordinary item!

The energy fluctuations emitted by some of these materials were not even inferior to those of fifth or sixth-grade spiritual herbs.

"Not bad, not bad. Even if I can't use them myself, exchanging or selling them in the future will be a huge fortune."

Qin Yan nodded with satisfaction.

Finally, his gaze fell upon the Spirit Weapon Gauntlets.

He had personally experienced the power of these gauntlets, and they were indeed extraordinary.

Although he primarily used a spear, a spirit weapon like this would be an excellent bargaining chip, whether kept as a backup or exchanged for other necessities in the future.

"What a bumper harvest..." Qin Yan let out a long sigh of relief, his heart filled with the joy of gain and a more sufficient confidence for the future.

With a thought, he properly stowed away Feng Jin's ring along with the Spirit Weapon Gauntlets on the ground.

"Let's go."

Little Black's branches swayed gently as it followed closely behind.

Xue Ye looked at the pile of ashes that symbolized Feng Jin's final existence with a complex gaze, his heart filled with awe.

A True King Descendant, ranked high on the heavenly pride ranking, had just... completely vanished like that.

...

Several meters away, several foreign heavenly prides who had been attracted by the commotion of the battle had clearly witnessed how that terrifying Black Ancient Tree had toyed with and crushed Feng Jin.

Shock, fear, disbelief...

Various emotions exploded in their hearts like a plague.

Almost at the same time Qin Yan's figure disappeared, these heavenly prides fled the scene at their fastest speed.

And they spread what they had seen and heard through their respective communication methods.

"Feng Jin is dead! He was killed by a suddenly appearing black demonic tree!"

"It's absolutely true! I saw it with my own eyes! That demonic tree is boundlessly terrifying; it summoned three Demonic Qi Flood Dragons. Even after exhausting all his trump cards, Feng Jin was powerless to change the outcome and eventually turned to ash!"

"It's not just the tree! There's also a Black-Robed Person traveling with it, whose methods are equally strange and ruthless. The Phoenix Descendants elites under Feng Jin were almost completely slaughtered by him in the blink of an eye!"

...

Panic was spreading.

The first reaction of all the heavenly prides who heard this news was disbelief.

But as more and more eyewitness details circulated, they had no choice but to believe it.

Especially those races who had clashed with Feng Jin or been plundered by him; amidst their shock, they actually felt a faint sense of gratification—that arrogant plunderer who viewed all races as mere grass had finally kicked a steel plate!

But following that was a deeper fear.

If an Evil Spirit ancient tree capable of easily killing Feng Jin was roaming the Northern World, who could stop it?

The combination of the "Black Ancient Tree" and the "mysterious Black-Robed Person" became a sword hanging over the heads of all the Northern World's heavenly prides.

They were labeled as extremely dangerous.

This led to a consensus quietly forming within the Northern World's heavenly pride circles:

Stay away from the Black Ancient Tree, and stay away from the Black-Robed Person.

They were existences more dangerous and unpredictable than Feng Jin.

...

Qin Yan didn't care about the rumors buzzing in the outside world.

Or rather, this was the result he had intentionally promoted.

Inside a hidden cave, Qin Yan handed a purification ring to Little Black.

"Little Black, take this and go out to hunt.

Targets: any heavenly prides or Evil Spirits carrying points."

*Rustle, rustle, rustle—*

Little Black's branches danced joyfully as it coiled around the purification ring, conveying a clear sense of excitement.

Then, Qin Yan looked at Xue Ye beside him.

"Xue Ye, you go with Little Black. Your task is to scout, lead the way, and handle the trivial matters that are inconvenient for Little Black to deal with."

Xue Ye took the jade ring and nodded with a solemn expression: "Understood."

"Go."

Little Black's branches swayed gently, its demonic qi restrained as it walked out of the cave.

Xue Ye took a deep breath and followed beside Little Black; the person and the tree soon disappeared from before Qin Yan.

With the arrangements made, Qin Yan himself did not slack off.

Most of the time, he remained immersed in hard cultivation, constantly practicing his Spear Technique to gain Skill Points.

Besides his fixed training, he would also go out for "activities."

Still in his black robe, whenever he encountered those heavenly prides, he usually didn't waste words and directly used his overbearing blood qi pressure to intimidate them, saying indifferently:

"Points, or a fight."

Initially, the heavenly prides who encountered the Black-Robed Person were all terrified, thinking a fatal disaster was imminent.

But they soon discovered that this bringer of calamity seemed only interested in points.

As long as they didn't resist to the death or harbor ill intentions, their lives could mostly be spared.

Thus, the rule that "the Black-Robed Person only takes points and is not bloodthirsty" quietly spread.

When latecomers encountered the Black-Robed Person again, although still fearful, most would choose to give up resistance and obediently hand over their points to buy their way out of trouble.

Time passed quietly amidst cultivation, hunting, and occasional "visits."

The end of the Hidden Dragon Assembly was drawing closer day by day.

In the final period before the assembly was about to conclude, two major events that shook all the heavenly prides broke out once again at Canglin Ancient Peak.

The first event concerned a duel between two top True King Descendants—Long Yin of the Dragon Descendants and Fire Lizard of the Fire Lizard Clan.

The two sides had a long-standing grudge, and the forces under them had clashed many times; this encounter could be described as a confrontation between a needle and an awl.

An earth-shaking battle subsequently erupted.

After hundreds of rounds of fierce fighting, Long Yin gradually gained the upper hand.

A killing move heavily injured Fire Lizard, causing him to spit blood and retreat, on the verge of a desperate situation.

However, just as Long Yin was about to step forward to deliver the final blow and harvest the spoils and points, a sudden change occurred!

A streak of sky-piercing sword qi, as blazing as blood, slashed out from the side without any warning!

The sword qi was magnificent and domineering, carrying a heat that burned everything and a cold, inviolable majesty.

With incomparable precision, it pierced through the heavily injured and fallen Fire Lizard!

Fire Lizard, this True King Descendant of the Fire Lizard Clan, didn't even have time to make any further reaction before his breath was cut off in shock and unwillingness.

Immediately after, a red shadow arrived gracefully.

It was a woman dressed in red robes, her face obscured by a mask.

Her movements were as swift as lightning under Long Yin's furious gaze.

With a wave of her slender hand, she took away all of Fire Lizard's Storage Ring, spirit weapon, and points.

"You're looking for death!"

Long Yin was absolutely furious; having the cooked duck snatched from right under his nose was no different from blatant provocation and humiliation.

He gave a thunderous roar, and the long spear in his hand, wrapped in billowing golden light, fiercely stabbed toward the Woman in Red Robe.

The Woman in Red Robe, however, was unhurried, as a longsword engraved with phoenix patterns hummed out of its sheath.

Facing Long Yin's wrathful strike, she shifted her sword stance, and streaks of crimson sword qi blossomed, accompanied by the faint sound of a phoenix's cry!

*Clang—!*

The spear and sword collided, erupting with a deafening boom.