Chapter 131

Hei Feng had once suffered a grievous injury, so severe it nearly cost him his life. If he hadn’t stumbled upon this ten-thousand-year-old Nether Tree at his lowest point, he’d already be dead.

Yet even with the tree’s help, he couldn’t fully recover. His foundation had been damaged, his cultivation path severed. He had been reduced to a common spiritual beast—forever unable to return to his former peak.

And now, this puppet before him suddenly mentioned his injury.

Could it be... those bastards have come for me? Hei Feng’s thoughts were chaotic, but Si She saw right through him. Watching the battle-ready rooster seething before him, he simply shrugged. “I guessed.”

For a moment, the air froze.

Ten seconds passed.

“Pffft!” Hei Feng spat out a mouthful of blood. “You little brat! Are you messing with me? Are you seriously screwing with me right now?!”

Hei Feng was fuming. He considered himself a seasoned veteran, even if his strength had declined. How could a mere puppet toy with him like this?

Enraged, he stepped forward, clearly ready to teach Si She a lesson.

“Charcoal-for-brains,” Si She waved him off casually, “you drained a ten-thousand-year-old Nether Tree into a thousand-year-old one, yet you’re still stuck at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. Anyone with half a brain could guess you’re seriously injured. If not, you'd have already carved out a domain of your own. Why waste your time arguing with me?”

Si She was starting to wonder if Hei Feng’s brain was part of the injury—his behavior was a bit too ridiculous.

“Huh... that kinda makes sense,” Hei Feng muttered, nodding before realizing something was off. “Wait a minute! You’re tricking me again! You damn brat, this time Lord Hei Feng won’t let you off!”

He flapped his scraggly wings and charged forward, ready to brawl.

Han Luo, controlling Si She, calmly pulled out a spirit talisman. “One use of this and I self-destruct. That explosion will alert the Changshou Sect. With your current strength, do you think you can survive if the old ghost shows up? You’ll be stew.”

“Tch.” Hei Feng didn’t back down. “You clearly don’t know who you’re talking to. I’ve already sealed this place off. That Changshou brat won’t sense a thing. And if your puppet self-destructs, I’ll track down your real body through your bloodline. So go ahead, blow yourself up—I’ll just find you later. And when I do, you’ll regret it.”

He stood proud, confident in his threat. But Si She was unfazed.

“There’s only one Nether Tree like this in the entire cultivation world. Are you really going to walk away from it just to prove a point?”

Han Luo had him pegged.

“Aaargh!” Hei Feng roared, pacing in frustration, his ragged feathers bristling as he hissed in fury. “You’re killing me here! This is killing me!”

He stomped back and forth, his black feathers nearly flying off with rage.

“My offer still stands,” Si She said calmly. “Follow my orders, and you can keep absorbing the tree’s spiritual energy.”

Hei Feng paused and turned to stare at Si She, trying to see beyond the puppet and glimpse the master behind it.

Finally, after a long silence, he relented. “Fine. What do you want me to do?”

“Simple. Stay put and don’t mess with me.”

With that, Si She pulled out a formation plate and began setting up an array.

“That’s it?” Hei Feng raised his wings, exasperated. “I lost half my feathers for this?”

Si She ignored him and continued laying out the formation, following Han Luo’s precise instructions.

Seeing that he was being ignored, Hei Feng grew bored—until he caught sight of the array being set up. His eyes lit up.

“A Tier 3 formation? A Spatial Shift Array?”

Excited, he flapped over and landed right on top of Si She’s head, marveling at the setup. Si She didn’t react, too focused on his work.

“Not bad, kid,” Hei Feng chirped. “You’ve got skills—being able to lay a Tier 3 formation at the Foundation Establishment stage is impressive. And not just any formation, either. The Spatial Shift Array is one of the toughest to construct.”

He paused dramatically, then continued, “But I’ve seen someone even more talented. That guy could lay Tier 3 arrays during the Qi Refining stage! Absolute genius. Sadly, he was eaten alive before he could make a name for himself. Such a shame. Tasted good, though.”

Hei Feng sighed, shaking his head at the memory. The taste of genius really was something else.

Si She didn’t respond. He had more important things to focus on—he needed to finish setting up three forest veins, and this was just the first. Time was tight. He couldn’t let anything derail Han Luo’s plan.

“You’re ignoring me?” Hei Feng pressed. “What, you think you’re too good for Lord Hei Feng?”

He started getting bolder.

“Hey, what’s your name anyway?” Hei Feng asked, then peeked at the array. “Whoa, you’re setting it up wrong. The array plate should go here, and then here... that way it aligns with the heavens properly.”

Clearly unsatisfied with just talking, Hei Feng extended his wing, preparing to “assist.”

“Charcoal-for-brains, touch my array plate and you’ll regret it,” Si She said coldly, eyes gleaming with venom like a viper ready to strike.

“Relax, relax! I was just trying to help. You should be thanking me! I don’t usually give pointers to juniors. You—hey, don’t look at me like that. I know I’m handsome, but staring like that makes me self-conscious…”

And he kept talking. Nonstop. Like he hadn’t spoken to anyone in years.

Which, in truth, he hadn’t.

“You’ve got talent, kid,” Hei Feng continued. “You understand formations and puppetry. Why not become my disciple? I’ll teach you secret arts. In the Eastern Region, you’ll be invincible!”

He rambled on endlessly. Si She eventually muted his own hearing to block out the noise.

But that wasn’t enough.

Hei Feng switched to using divine sense to keep chatting with him.

Despite the chatter, the Spatial Shift Array was finally completed.

With the first setup done, Si She brought Hei Feng to the second forest zone.

Hei Feng didn’t wait for instructions this time.

“Let’s gooo!” he shouted, charging forward.

With a flurry of kicks from his clawed feet, he knocked out all three Foundation Establishment guards on duty with ease.

“Not bad, huh? That’s what I call style. Don’t you feel like becoming my disciple now? If you sign up today, I’ll throw in a deluxe secret technique starter pack! Very powerful!”

Si She didn’t react. He was already setting up the second array.

“Kid, did the Changshou Sect steal your wife or something? Or maybe they slaughtered your parents? You’re really going all out here!”

Hei Feng watched in disbelief. Si She was planning to teleport the entire forest vein. That kind of ruthless efficiency was wild.

Burning someone’s house down, then pissing on the ashes to make sure it doesn’t reignite? That was exactly Hei Feng’s old style.

Si She ignored him and finished the second array.

Then, the two descended to the final forest zone.

Like before, Hei Feng swiftly dispatched the guards.

Once the third formation was laid out, Si She double-checked each one thoroughly. After confirming everything was perfect, he activated a sound-transmission stone.

“Target One is in position. Ready for activation.”