Chapter Forty-Six: A Minor Setback

In the dense forest, the three great shamans and three one-horned black serpents of the Blackwater Serpent Tribe were completely entangled, unable to move. Though Elder Tree Demon, Old Stone, and the Black-Furred Giant Ape were fewer in number, their combined strength was in no way inferior.

Ji Xiao, already uneasy, was caught off guard by a sudden sneak attack from the Bone Fiend. Panic overtook him, and despite his desperate struggles, he could not free himself from the fiend’s iron grip. The ground beneath him was clawed into a massive pit, yet the Bone Fiend still clutched the back of his neck, pinning him so he could not rise.

Dilo, along with Tuo Ba and Tuo Ao, found themselves for the first time facing a true large-scale shamanic rite of the Southern Wilds. Caution overtook them, and they dared not launch any attacks.

Hundreds of Blackwater Serpent warriors surged from the forest, brandishing swords and communicating with each other through hissing sounds.

The fog-shrouded mountain forest was thick with menace. The elite warriors, usually swift and sure-footed, now staggered as if their feet were mired in glue, each step slow and laborious, their speed greatly reduced.

Qing Ying’s laughter echoed from every corner of the woods. With each peal of laughter, ghostly arrows rained incessantly from all directions. Where an arrow flew, a Blackwater Serpent warrior inevitably fell, struck between the eyes. The arrows, tipped with deadly poison, claimed their victims within breaths, reducing once-formidable warriors to nothing but puddles of toxic sludge.

The battle was turning decisively against the invaders; if this continued, annihilation was only a matter of time.

“Ji Xia!” A deep, furious roar came from the trees. Ji Hong, just sent flying by Old Stone’s punch, emerged wielding a massive axe, his body wreathed in golden-red flames, striding forth like a man of fire.

The grey fog recoiled before Ji Hong’s searing heat, vaporizing instantly, and even the strange figures lurking within the mist shrank away in fear. The divine flames, inherited from the ancient Three-Legged Golden Crow, were deadly to spirits and monsters alike. None dared face Ji Hong head-on.

“Hong! Why are you doing this?” Ji Xia’s grip tightened on his spear, the shaft creaking under the force of his hand. “You’ve allied with these demons, even with our Fire Crow Tribe’s arch-enemies, just to kill me?”

His once warm voice was now full of pain and incomprehension. “Have you all forgotten? How many tribes in the Southern Wilds perished in these woods, their strength sapped by civil strife? Not to speak of distant times—just three centuries ago, the mighty Flame Jiao Tribe was wiped out…”

Ji Hong swung his axe with all his might, sending a blazing arc that split the earth for hundreds of yards, leaving soil and rock burning fiercely in its wake.

Dozens of arrows shot at Ji Hong from all sides, but the searing flames around him burned them to wisps of smoke before they could land.

“Don’t speak to me of such things!” Ji Hong bellowed. “Under Brother Ji Shu’s leadership, the Fire Crow Tribe will only grow stronger! The Flame Jiao? Yes, I know of them—they perished because they lacked the power to survive!”

“So, the Bi Fang Tribe is what you call true strength?” Ji Xia’s voice turned cutting. “Since when did the Fire Crow people entrust their fate to unreliable outsiders?”

Ji Hong did not answer, but advanced upon Ji Xia step by step. His skin grew translucent, molten gold and crimson seemed to flow beneath, turning the ground to lava wherever he went and boiling away the thick mist in a wide circle.

After advancing nearly a hundred yards, Ji Hong shouted, “Dilo, my old friend, let’s join forces and end him. Brother Ji Shu gravely wounded him not long ago—while his strength is still low, we should kill him together.”

He paused, his face twisting into a ferocious grin. “You haven’t seen Ji Xia’s woman, have you? Kill him, and she won’t disappoint. She’ll fetch a fine price!”

Fury erupted from Ji Xia. Flames burst from his body, dazzling light spewing from the shamanic apertures in his abdomen and limbs. “Hong, you have left me speechless—today I will end you!”

As Ji Xia roared, Ji Hao already charged forward, spear in hand. With each step, fire blossomed beneath his feet like lotuses, propelling him several times faster than usual.

“Kill!” Ji Hao shouted, spear flashing. In a heartbeat, more than a dozen Blackwater Serpent warriors at the peak of their shamanic power fell, howling as Ji Hao skewered their throats and sent them flying.

Blood splattered everywhere as Ji Hao felled his foes. “Father, why waste words on these madmen?” he cried. “Since they’re here, let them leave their lives behind!”

Almost instinctively, Ji Hao darted close to Ji Hong as he passed.

Ji Hong’s pupils contracted. He swung his axe reflexively at Ji Hao. “Ji Hao, you little wretch—think you’re tough?”

Flames poured from the axe, nearly engulfing Ji Hao. But a sharp screech erupted from Ji Hao’s shoulder. Crow Lord, perched firmly there, let out a furious cry, one talon suddenly swelling to several yards wide, smashing down hard on the axe.

A metallic crash rang out. Ji Hong, unable to withstand the force, staggered back with a shriek.

The Bone Fiend, who had been lurking nearby, shot forward in silence, raising a skeletal foot and pressing it “gently” onto Ji Hong. Ji Hong screamed—though the monster seemed to move lightly, it was as if dozens of mountains crashed down on him. He coughed blood, bits of shattered organs mingling with it.

“Ji… Xia!” Ji Hong wailed, pulling a dark red jade token from his belt and crushing it. A piercing bird-cry shot skyward, and Ji Hong became a streak of fire, soaring out of sight in an instant.

“How shameful!” Ji Hao looked up at the sky. “A Fire Crow tribesman resorting to a Bi Fang talisman to save his life—can anything be more disgraceful?”

Crow Lord’s feathers bristled in rage, his gaze fixed murderously on the fleeing fire-light. Just as Ji Hao said, for a Fire Crow to rely on a Bi Fang shamanic charm was both infuriating and humiliating.

Atop the one-horned serpent, Blackwater Wujiao looked around anxiously. “Where is grandfather? What’s happened to him?”

Dilo, equally uneasy, suddenly shrieked. The third eye at his brow unleashed a whirlwind of blue-green energy, and with Tuo Ba and Tuo Ao, he charged at Ji Xia.

“Serpent-riding savages, let’s kill him together!” Dilo snarled. “At least we have numbers on our side! Let’s see what his woman looks like when we’re done!”

Ji Hao struck again, slaying another dozen Blackwater Serpent warriors, then with a swift reversal, thrust his spear at Dilo’s back.

***

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