Chapter 218: Mutated Black Bird

The cultivators gathered at the foot of the volcano were not very powerful; the dozen or so outer disciples of the Tianxuan Sect were also only at the mid-stage of the Qi Refining phase. Upon hearing Su Che’s question, the middle-aged man with advanced Qi Refining skills showed a hint of impatience. He turned to say something, but instantly realized that Su Che seemed to be a strong cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage. The man was shocked and quickly changed his expression, bowing and saying, “Please forgive me, senior.” This address of “senior” made many around them turn to look, their expressions changing as they hurriedly bowed respectfully to Su Che.

In the world of cultivation, strength and skill meant everything. In the face of those at the Foundation Establishment stage, those in the Qi Refining phase had to be extremely cautious and respectful.

Su Che waved his hand and asked, “What happened?”

The middle-aged man replied in a low voice, “Ten days ago, the Golden Crow Mountain experienced a surge in natural spiritual energy, but it was irregular and chaotic, not like someone of your high status was secluding here. Some rumors said that treasures might appear, so we came here to see what was going on.”

Su Che looked up at the mountain top and asked, “Has anyone gone up there?”

“A few brave cultivators went up a few days ago but never returned. Two days ago, three cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage came here. They said we shouldn’t go up and cause trouble, so we’ve been staying here…”

The man replied with great caution.

Su Che nodded, understanding that these people were here waiting for opportunities. Although they couldn’t climb the mountain to explore, staying at the foot didn’t mean they had no chance—perhaps great fortune might fall to them.

On the path of cultivation, any slight chance should not be easily given up. This was common knowledge.

“Thank you, senior!” The man kept bowing to Su Che’s back, handing over a small porcelain bottle containing a few low-grade pills.

The other cultivators around them looked at him with envy.

Some reward was only fair, after all, he had answered Su Che’s questions and addressed him as “senior” so many times. If he hadn’t shown some generosity, those cultivators would have secretly criticized him as stingy after he left.

After walking about ten zhang forward, Su Che rose into the air under the gaze of hundreds of cultivators and flew toward the mountain top. Although he could have used a Earth Penetration Pill to pass through the mountain directly, he decided it was better to go up first and assess the situation.

“I thought collecting the Golden Sun Heavenly Fire would be the easiest task, but who would have thought such changes would occur?” Su Che could only sigh inwardly—life is unpredictable, and human plans ultimately can’t compare to fate’s will. The Golden Sun Mountain wasn’t very high, only a little over a thousand zhang. When he flew to halfway up the mountain, Su Che found several charred corpses—likely those early practitioners at the Qi Cultivation stage who had unfortunately lost their lives there. “No, it’s not just burning; it’s roasting.” Su Che landed and examined them carefully. “Recently, the Golden Sun Mountain hasn’t erupted with massive geothermal flames. What kind of fire roasted them?” With these questions in mind, he continued flying upward and soon reached the summit. At the crater, he found three more corpses. Could they be those three at the Foundation Establishment stage who came up two days ago? Su Che examined the bodies carefully and confirmed that two were in the early Foundation Establishment stage and one in the middle stage. Their cause of death was also roasting, not burning. Their Qi bags weren’t on them, nor were any magical artifacts left behind. “Just high temperatures can roast Foundation Establishment cultivators to death—there’s no way to escape. Even the Golden Sun Heavenly Fire mentioned by Master Guangwu seems incapable of doing this…” Boom! Just as he was thinking this, a thunderous sound came from within the mountain, as if the volcano was about to erupt. But Su Che knew it was caused by a fierce battle inside. “Let’s go in and take a look!” Without hesitation, Su Che leaped into the crater. Logically, the Golden Sun Heavenly Fire hidden in this volcano was unclaimed property, and anyone could fight for it. But in Su Che’s mind, it had already become a precious resource left for him by Master Guangwu—how could he allow others to get there first? As long as the opponent wasn’t a powerful cultivator in the late Golden Core stage, even if they had already obtained it, he had to retrieve it! After descending five hundred zhang, he saw that the two fighting inside were a human and a bird. A woman wearing a white veil, at the early Golden Core stage, was using water-based spells to counter a giant black bird. That black bird resembled a raven, with a crimson flame running along its back. Su Che immediately recognized it as a mid-level third-grade Fire Raven, whose strength was equivalent to that of a human in the middle Golden Core stage—no wonder it could fight evenly with the woman. It was said that Fire Ravens were descendants of the Three-Feathered Golden Sun and belonged to a noble lineage of demonic beasts. At that moment, Su Che was surprised to see a strand of gold appearing at the edges of the Fire Raven’s black feathers. What did this mean? The Fire Raven had broken through its genetic barriers and was moving toward the path of the Golden Sun!

This principle is akin to a Silver Beard Dragon breaking through its genetic barriers and evolving into a True Five-Clawed Dragon. In the Immortal Prison, Su Che and Old Black often infused the young dragon with Black Stone Clear Flow, aiming to induce genetic mutations so that it could advance further and perhaps even ascend to a True Dragon one day. After all, Black Stone Clear Flow had already enabled the Red-Tailed Fox in the Yin Wind Gorge to break through its genetic barriers, which made Su Che believe such hopes might become reality… But why did this Fire Crow here manage to break through its genetic barriers? At this thought, Su Che’s heart sank: “Could it be that the Golden Crow Heavenly Fire seed left to me by Grandmaster Guang Wu was swallowed by this Fire Crow, causing it to…?” “Despicable!” Old Black shouted, “Master, we must capture it and bring it into the Immortal Prison! Make it spit out twice as much as it swallowed!” Su Che’s arrival surely alerted both sides in the battle. The veiled woman snapped coldly, “If you don’t want to die, leave now!” In her eyes, Su Che was just a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator who would die at the slightest exposure to the mutated fire breath emitted by the Fire Crow. She herself could withstand such extreme heat only because she specialized in water-based techniques. Su Che had already noticed that the veil on the woman’s face was also a treasure—his spiritual sense couldn’t penetrate it, so he didn’t know her true appearance. However, her looks weren’t important; what mattered was that her water spells were extremely refined and powerful, not typical of someone at the Golden Core stage who came from a casual cultivator background. Su Che didn’t respond, remaining suspended in midair and observing quietly. The woman snorted coldly and ignored him further—let him seek his own death; it had nothing to do with others! Whoosh! Suddenly, the giant Fire Crow opened its mouth and spat out a stream of crimson-colored air. Although its target was the veiled woman, Su Che, who was dozens of feet away, also felt an extremely terrifying heat rushing toward him. Whoosh… The stone walls, already scorched countless times by lava, rattled under the intense heat. Fortunately, Su Che was someone accustomed to dealing with fire and had high resistance to flames and high temperatures. He managed to withstand it with his own vital energy. While creating layers of water barriers to defend against the heat, the veiled woman glanced at Su Che in slight surprise, realizing then that his fire vital energy was so pure—no wonder he dared enter the volcano. “If you’re not afraid of fire, then help me! Don’t just stand by and watch.” As she spoke, the woman raised her hand and sent out a pale blue bolt of lightning, striking the Fire Crow dozens of feet away with precision.

“Caw!”
Although the fire crow wasn’t injured, it let out a rather unpleasant cry.
“Sunwater Divine Thunder!”
Su Che was intrigued: “This type of thunder technique seems to come from our sect’s Mysterious Strategy Peak. Could it be that she’s a Golden Core elder from Mysterious Strategy Peak, disguised like me and out on a mission?”
Though he pondered this, he didn’t delay in taking action.
Soul Seize!
A blue beam shot out from his forehead and struck the fire crow mid-air.
The Soul Seize technique would surely be highly effective against demon beasts, as most of them aren’t good at using magical artifacts, let alone possessing top-tier treasures capable of restraining souls. Moreover, the power of their souls or primordial spirits is far inferior to that of humans.
Although this fire crow was at the mid-level of the third tier, its defensive power in terms of primordial spirit was even weaker than that of an early-stage Golden Core human cultivator.
Buzz…
The fire crow froze, as if suddenly struck by a heavy blow, losing even the will to cry out.
Destruction!
A punch was thrown.
Boom!
The fire crow was sent flying by the punch, hitting the stone wall and shattering pieces of rock, only to bounce back.
However, the punch woke it up again. The fire crow instinctively opened its beak, ready to spew fire…
Soul Seize! Buzz… Destruction! Boom!
The fire crow, which had just bounced back, was sent flying once more by another punch, hitting the stone wall again.
Soul Seize! Destruction!
The third punch drove it deep into the stone wall, embedding it firmly there. No matter how strong its body was, it couldn’t withstand such heavy blows.
Swish!
The fire crow disappeared, captured by Su Che and taken to the Immortal Prison.
It was now unconscious, completely unable to resist.
“Wake it up and find out where my Golden Crow Heavenly Fire has gone,” Su Che ordered in his mind.
Lao He responded and immediately began doing what he did best.
The veiled woman not far away was stunned. Though she couldn’t see her entire face, her exposed eyes showed clear shock.
“How is this possible! A mid-level third-tier mutated fire crow was captured so easily with just a few punches and kicks? What about my fierce battle just now?”
Floating in the air, Su Che swallowed a pill to replenish his energy. Turning slowly, he confirmed from her shocked expression that she wasn’t likely a Golden Core elder from Mysterious Strategy Peak. She probably wasn’t from Tianxuan Sect either, because by now, everyone in Tianxuan Sect knew about Tian Yu’s three great divine techniques as the sect’s top disciple. Unless she hadn’t returned to her sect in the past half month…

Seeing Su Che turn around, the veiled woman became extremely nervous and was even scared enough to fly backward more than ten zhang. It was not only out of fear of Su Che’s demonstrated strength, but also because at that moment, Su Che’s face was grayish-blue, his appearance ghostly and truly terrifying. The Fist of Destruction was far too domineering! Not only was its power overwhelming, but its side effects were equally severe. Fortunately, Su Che had endless vitality to constantly repair his body; otherwise, it would definitely be a self-destructive technique that harmed both others and himself.