Chapter 296 : The Expectations of the Heavenly Crane Elder

Chapter 296: The Expectations of the Heavenly Crane Elder

Inside the Black Flying Boat.

With a single thought, Luo Feng erased the causal mark left on the surface of the flying boat. Emperor Qing sensed it and asked in confusion, “Brother Luo Feng, why did you suddenly erase the mark?”

“I kept the mark earlier so I could trace the follower through causality,” Luo Feng said with a smile. “My clone has already discovered the follower and killed him.”

“Who was tracking us?” Emperor Qing asked.

“Wu Ya, the God Emperor from the Trick Workshop.” Luo Feng shook his head. “The moment I discovered him, I crushed him to death. He probably didn’t discover my identity. Unfortunately, he’s a cultivator from a Source World, so what I destroyed was only one of his clones.”

Luo Feng estimated the spoils he obtained to be worth around twelve million Primordial Crystals—far less than what he had gained from God Emperor Ku Mo.

There was no helping it. God Emperor Ku Mo had no clones, so he carried all his treasures with him and was naturally far wealthier.

“Wu Ya is famously troublesome!” Emperor Qing couldn’t help but say. “And you killed him the moment you discovered him?”

“One move.” Luo Feng smiled. “He might even think a Low-Rank Primordial Lifeform ambushed him.”

Emperor Qing’s heart trembled.

Killed in one move?

Wu Ya was a Mid-Stage God Emperor Comprehender whose accumulation was even deeper than Emperor Qing’s. Yet he had been crushed so easily.

At this moment, Emperor Qing understood even more clearly the gap in strength between himself and Luo Feng.

“Killing him in one move helps conceal as much information about me as possible,” Luo Feng said seriously. “Before I face the Heavenly Crane Elder, the more I hide, the better.”

After all, the Heavenly Crane Elder had reached this level long ago. Although Luo Feng had confidence in dealing with him, he still did not dare underestimate such an opponent.

“We know quite a lot about the Heavenly Crane Elder, but he knows very little about you,” Emperor Qing nodded. “In terms of intelligence, Brother Luo Feng has the advantage.”

Luo Feng nodded.

After chatting for a short while, a blood-colored phantom finally returned to the flying boat and merged back into Luo Feng’s body.

Earlier, Luo Feng had separated nearly half of his energy reserves to hunt down the follower.

“We can speed up now,” Luo Feng urged. “With the follower gone, we can focus on hunting properly. As for the Heavenly Crane Elder… we’ll deal with him slowly after we return.”

“Alright.” Emperor Qing controlled the Black Flying Boat, and its speed immediately soared.

…

Rainlan City.

A pure white flying bird hovered in the sky. It was a flying secret treasure refined from the corpse of an entire Low-Rank Primordial Lifeform and was also the Heavenly Crane Elder’s favorite flying treasure—the Soul-Feather White Sparrow.

Inside the Soul-Feather White Sparrow, the interior space was quite large as Wu Ya, the God Emperor, flew inside.

Within the bird.

The Heavenly Crane Elder sat there in white robes, his calm eyes fixed on Wu Ya.

“Wu Ya, what exactly happened?”

“Reporting to the Deputy Workshop Master,” Wu Ya said, still confused, “I was tracking Luo Feng and Emperor Qing. Not long after leaving the city, the surrounding area should have been relatively safe. But I suddenly suffered an ambush by a Low-Rank Primordial Lifeform.”

“I couldn’t even withstand a single move from it.” Wu Ya looked incredulous. “It felt like a Complete God Emperor-level Low-Rank Primordial Lifeform.”

“A Complete God Emperor level?” The Heavenly Crane Elder frowned. “A Low-Rank Primordial Lifeform at that level should be a top figure within its species. Why would it appear so close to Rainlan City?”

Wu Ya said, “If I encountered a Late-Stage God Emperor Low-Rank Primordial Lifeform, I would still have confidence in escaping. In a frontal battle I could exchange some moves. But this time I couldn’t withstand even one move. I believe it must be a Complete God Emperor-level Low-Rank Primordial Lifeform.”

“The entire battle process,” the Heavenly Crane Elder said with a frown.

“Yes.”

Wu Ya waved his hand.

The full scene of the battle from his memories appeared in midair.

In the memory image, he was flying in his vessel when suddenly a colossal furry claw stretched down from the depths of the sky, covering the entire heavens.

“This gigantic claw…” the Heavenly Crane Elder observed carefully.

The enormous furry claw had soft fur. Its five sharp talons were black-yellow, the surface mottled and faintly emitting a terrifying aura. The instant the claw descended, it sliced through space and formed a spatial cage, trapping Wu Ya’s flying boat.

Then the claw clenched.

All of Wu Ya’s life-saving methods were useless. He died instantly.

“Low-Rank Primordial Lifeforms are strong, but their techniques are usually crude,” Wu Ya said from the side. “Yet this furry claw imprisoned me with a single move. The technique was too exquisite—I couldn’t even resist. Only a Complete God Emperor-level Low-Rank Primordial Lifeform could unleash its innate abilities to such a terrifying degree.”

The Heavenly Crane Elder watched and nodded.

A Complete God Emperor-level Low-Rank Primordial Lifeform possessed an extremely powerful body. Even a casual move would be extremely exquisite. Crushing Wu Ya to death with a single claw was certainly possible.

“It does indeed look like a Complete God Emperor-level Low-Rank Primordial Lifeform made the move,” the Heavenly Crane Elder said slowly. “But it’s too coincidental.”

“You were tracking Luo Feng and Emperor Qing. The moment you left the city you were attacked—too coincidental.”

“And the place where you were attacked was too close to Rainlan City! A Complete God Emperor-level Low-Rank Primordial Lifeform would risk coming so close to the city just to crush a Mid-Stage God Emperor Comprehender like you?”

Wu Ya nodded, realizing the logic.

A Complete God Emperor-level Low-Rank Primordial Lifeform approaching so close to Rainlan City usually meant it had a major scheme in mind.

Just to kill one of his clones?

“I believe there’s another possibility,” the Heavenly Crane Elder said, narrowing his eyes.

Wu Ya looked at him.

“Perhaps an Elder made the move,” the Heavenly Crane Elder said.

“An Elder?” Wu Ya was shocked.

“Luo Feng and Emperor Qing come from a Source World and have some background. Luo Feng refused to give me face and even swaggered out of the city.” The Heavenly Crane Elder smiled faintly. “I had already suspected he must have some support.”

Wu Ya nodded.

“On the surface, the two of them left the city alone. But secretly, there was probably a protector,” the Heavenly Crane Elder said. “That gigantic claw might have been used by this protector.”

The primary materials cultivators used to refine treasures came from countless Low-Rank Primordial Lifeform corpses. So although a treasure shaped like a massive claw was rare, it was not impossible.

“There’s an Elder behind them?” Wu Ya was astonished.

“Interesting.”

A golden gleam flashed in the Heavenly Crane Elder’s eyes.

“He’d rather pay the price to invite an Elder to help than bow his head and offer me fifty million Primordial Crystals? It seems this Luo Feng is quite proud.”

“Deputy Workshop Master, that Elder knows your identity and still dares to interfere. He must have ill intentions,” Wu Ya said worriedly.

The Heavenly Crane Elder spoke calmly.

“I’d like to see which Elder dares to meddle in my affairs.”

So what if it was an Elder?

He had never been afraid.

In the Dark Holy Realm, the minimum threshold for wandering cultivators was the level of a Late-Stage God Emperor Comprehender. The Heavenly Crane Elder had experienced countless battles and killings. Because he came from a Source World, he had never feared conflict.

His experience fighting opponents at the Elder level was extremely rich.

“Even if an Elder intervenes, I will still tear apart one of his clones,” the Heavenly Crane Elder said coldly.

“Qiu Yike,” the Heavenly Crane Elder suddenly called.

“Deputy Workshop Master.” A golden-armored figure nearby responded respectfully.

“Dispatch four raiding squads and set up the Trick Shadow Grand Array outside each of Rainlan City’s four gates. Once Luo Feng and Emperor Qing return, make sure they are sealed and trapped,” the Heavenly Crane Elder ordered.

“Yes.” The golden-armored figure replied, then hesitated. “Deputy Workshop Master, to ensure interception, our Trick Shadow Grand Arrays can’t be too far from the city gates. But if they’re too close, once they escape into the city gates, it will be difficult to pursue them.”

Entering the gates meant entering Rainlan City’s jurisdiction. The city’s rules had to be obeyed.

“Don’t worry,” the Heavenly Crane Elder said calmly. “If there truly is an Elder behind them, a being at that level would disdain fleeing into the city. He will certainly fight me to determine superiority.”

Elders were all extremely proud.

Retreating without fighting would be disgraceful.

“Yes.” The golden-armored figure acknowledged.

“I’ll guard the eastern gate. If they have confidence leaving through a particular gate, they’ll likely return through the same one.”

The Heavenly Crane Elder immediately settled in a cave dwelling near the eastern gate and waited patiently.

“Which Elder is refusing to give me face?” he said with excitement. “I’m truly looking forward to it.”

Killing a junior meant nothing.

But tearing another Elder apart in battle—that would be satisfying.

---

Luo Feng temporarily set the matter aside. Right now, he needed to hunt properly. After all, he was relatively poor and needed enough prey to exchange for cultivation resources.

“It’s deep within that lake.”

Inside the Black Flying Boat, the Simulated Eye of Life and Death in Luo Feng’s forehead gazed toward a distant lake.

He had already seen that a Low-Rank Primordial Lifeform had merged with the lake itself. Its concealment methods were quite impressive—but they could not escape his gaze.

“Whoosh.”

A blood-colored phantom flew out from Luo Feng’s body and instantly merged with heaven and earth.

Soon a massive blood-colored phantom enveloped the entire lake.

It descended like a gigantic net, completely imprisoning the Low-Rank Primordial Lifeform.

“What’s going on?” roared the creature.

It had eight arms, dark skin, and faint cold flames burning across its body. Its triangular head looked fierce and savage. After being trapped by the blood-colored phantom, it struggled desperately to escape.

But as the blood-colored phantom seeped downward, within a single breath the creature lost all signs of life.

Its corpse remained intact, but the Life Core inside its body had cracked.

“The Eight-Armed Mingluo Clan… one of the weakest in its race. Only Early-Stage God Emperor strength.” Luo Feng shook his head lightly.

Prey at this level was too weak.

Luo Feng hadn’t even used any secret treasure. He had only used the Immortal Blood Sea Body—unfolding the Blood Sea slightly and covering the region was already enough to imprison and kill the enemy.

This Immortal Blood Sea Body had been developed by Luo Feng with reference to the blood-red scales of the Star Tower. It was his strongest secret technique and also the one he had spent the most time researching.

This body alone was comparable to a Late-Stage God Emperor Low-Rank Primordial Lifeform. Combined with Luo Feng’s realm and various treasures, its power was naturally terrifying.

“We’ve been hunting for five days now,” Luo Feng said with a frown. “In total we’ve hunted only three Early-Stage God Emperor Low-Rank Primordial Lifeforms. Brother Emperor Qing, we need stronger prey.”

The combined value of these three was only about three million Primordial Crystals—not much.

“Brother Luo Feng, this is how we usually hunt,” Emperor Qing said. “Most prey are Early-Stage God Emperor Low-Rank Primordial Lifeforms. Only occasionally do we encounter stronger ones.”

“What I mean is… should we go deeper?” Luo Feng asked. “According to the intelligence I purchased, the area we’re hunting in now is normally the hunting zone for Mid-Stage God Emperor teams.”

These hunting zones were areas verified through the lives of generations of Rainlan City cultivators.

The stronger one’s strength, the deeper they could hunt.

“This is the hunting region of the Elders.” Luo Feng waved his hand, revealing a map. It recorded some areas where Elders occasionally went hunting. “We can go a bit deeper first and test it.”

The Elders of Rainlan City usually hunted alone.

At their level, they rarely left the city, making it difficult to gather a team. Moreover, since they possessed clone techniques, they typically hunted solo whenever they went out.

Compared with the horrors of the Dark Holy Realm, the danger level of the Jiugang Holy Realm was indeed much lower.

“The hunting region of the Elders?” Emperor Qing felt slightly nervous. “I’ve never tried that before. I don’t have experience.”

“Hunting experience is accumulated slowly,” Luo Feng said with a faint smile.

“Alright! If Brother Luo Feng isn’t afraid, why should I be?” Emperor Qing’s heart burned with excitement.

Venturing into the Elders’ hunting grounds would be a rare experience.