Chapter 130

The scene was... awkward. In fact, it couldn’t be more awkward.

Si She stared at the absurdly dramatic entrance of the jet-black rooster, sweat forming on his brow.

“Ahem...” the big black-feathered rooster cleared its throat and nimbly got back on its feet. It didn’t seem to notice—or care about—the tension in the air.

With a flap of its nearly featherless wings, it soared up to a branch of the Nether Tree and puffed out its chest proudly. Though it looked rather mangy, its demeanor was full of swagger.

“You brat, you're not that little girl Qiao’er. Who are you?” the rooster demanded, one wing planted on its side while the other pointed accusingly at Si She, its posture practically screaming: I saw through your act the moment you showed up. Trying to mess with Lord Chicken? You're not even qualified.

Si She remained calm, clearly unfazed by the ridiculous display. “Who I am doesn’t matter,” he said flatly. “What does matter is this—why is there a Foundation Establishment stage rooster roosting on the Nether Tree in the Changshou Sect? Don’t bother feeding me some nonsense about getting lost. I don’t have time for this kind of crap.”

“Shut it!” the black rooster snapped, roaring with fury. “I have a name! I’m Lord Hei Feng! A direct descendant of the Phoenix bloodline! My third grand-uncle’s fourth cousin’s eighteenth brother once shared a teacup with a true phoenix! My blood carries the fire of nobility, and you dare speak to me like this? I’ll swallow you whole!”

He pointed his wing like a sword, puffing himself up with rage, trying to overwhelm Si She with sheer bluster.

“Ohhh, is that so...” Si She folded his arms and nodded like he was hearing something profound, yet his eyes remained full of disinterest. According to his master’s intel, this Hei Feng was nothing more than a common rooster that had accidentally eaten a mysterious spiritual object and gained intelligence. Like Jiu Tong, he was just another spiritual beast who had evolved—not some noble phoenix descendant.

“Don’t you ‘ohhh’ me!” Hei Feng snapped. “Don’t think you can look down on me just because you’re a puppet. I’ve walked across the Divine Continent, swum through the Spirit Sea, traveled through Southern Barbarian Lands and even soared into the heavens! I roam freely across the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths! Insult me again, and I’ll make sure you understand why flowers bloom red!”

He arched his neck so far back it looked like it might snap from the attitude.

“You snuck in here, didn’t you?” Si She asked coldly.

That struck a nerve.

Hei Feng instantly tensed up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, his eyes darting around nervously.

Three seconds later, when he confirmed no one else was around, he puffed out his chest again.

“Snuck in? Please! This is called resource optimization. Those Changshou brats have no idea how to utilize the Nether Tree’s spiritual energy. They just let it go to waste every day. I’m doing everyone a favor by absorbing a tiny bit. Waste not, want not! Lord Hei Feng doesn’t sit idly while resources rot!”

He crossed his wings, speaking with such conviction you'd almost believe he had the moral high ground.

“A tiny bit?” Si She’s tone grew sharper.

“Yes! Just a bit—bit by bit!” Hei Feng stood tall, feigning dignity.

“Bit by bit?” Si She’s gaze turned cold. “You turned a ten-thousand-year-old Nether Tree into a thousand-year-old one by ‘just taking a bit’? What, do you have a whole world in your gut to hold that much spiritual energy?”

The intel Han Luo had gathered was clear: during the previous intrusion by the Changshou Sect into Luoxian territory, he had started investigating their secrets. At first, he hadn’t believed it himself—who could drain a ten-thousand-year tree like that?

But the truth didn’t lie. And the culprit was this very rooster, proudly calling himself Lord Hei Feng.

“You... you... nonsense!” Hei Feng stuttered. “If it really was ten thousand years old, how could it regress to just a thousand? If I had time-reversing powers, why would I be stuck cultivating in this godforsaken place? I’d be raiding that damn Golden Crow’s nest!”

Even as he argued, his eyes darted evasively. It was obvious he’d been caught red-clawed.

“Still denying it?” Si She narrowed his eyes.

“There’s nothing to admit!” Hei Feng huffed. “What are you going to do, huh? You’re just a puppet. You can’t touch me. If you call the old ghost from Changshou here, I’ll just end you before you make a sound.”

“Alright,” Si She said, expression unchanged. “If you won’t admit it, then let’s ask the spirit of the Nether Tree. I’m sure it has a lot to say to you.”

The mention of the tree spirit made Hei Feng jump like he'd stepped on burning coals. He started bouncing around the branches in panic.

Seriously? Si She thought. Could he be any more obvious?

“W-what spirit of the Nether Tree? I don’t know what you’re talking about! Get lost! Don’t disturb my cultivation—or I’ll eat you and turn you into droppings!”

Hei Feng flapped his bare wings menacingly, trying to scare Si She away.

“Your black crown... that's the spirit of the Nether Tree, isn’t it?” Si She said suddenly.

At those words, Hei Feng froze. A visible shiver ran down his spine.

He didn’t need to answer. His body already had.

“You know too much. I can’t let you leave.”

Hei Feng’s expression turned sinister. With a loud cry, his cultivation surged—Foundation Establishment stage, mid-tier—transforming the surrounding area into a realm of Yin energy, a pseudo-underworld. Si She was immediately enveloped by the oppressive atmosphere.

Inside this pseudo-realm, spiritual consciousness was heavily suppressed. Weaker beings would collapse instantly.

But Si She remained calm. Though a bit pressured, he was still composed.

After all, he held twenty percent of Han Luo’s strength—enough to handle this situation.

“No big deal,” he said with a shrug. “You can destroy me, but I’m just a puppet. My master will find out everything that happened here. And once he tells the Changshou Sect you drained their ten-thousand-year-old Nether Tree, they’ll probably boil you into soup.”

Si She was unbothered. As a puppet, he didn’t understand fear. Besides, everything was going according to Han Luo’s plan.

He just needed to follow the steps.

“You little bastard! How dare you threaten me!”

Hei Feng was livid. He was used to threatening others—this was the first time someone dared to threaten him, let alone a puppet.

“Look, coal-burner, I don’t have time for your theatrics. Let’s cooperate. What do you say?”

Hei Feng immediately tensed, wary.

This puppet had shown up out of nowhere, knew far too much about him, and even tried to negotiate like they were equals. It made his feathers itch.

“What kind of cooperation?”

“Simple,” Si She replied. “You follow my lead, and I’ll let you keep drawing spiritual energy from the Nether Tree to heal yourself.”

“How do you know I’m injured?” Hei Feng gasped, eyes wide, his aura locking directly onto Si She.