Chapter 379: Brother Qiu, look, she

Blood-soaked memories churned in my mind, my whole world reduced to countless scarlet eyes and massive black wings.

I could not dodge, could not escape.

The excruciating pain of sharp beaks piercing flesh, ribs clamped, torn from my body left me nearly breathless.

I had no strength to shout; blood tears streaked my face, ten fingers dug deep into the mud, my whole body trembling incessantly.

A foot stepped on my right hand, pressing hard, a coquettish voice rang above my head: "Brother Qiu, look, she's like a dog!"

It was Feng Lishu.

Feng Lishu leaned in the man's embrace, covering her face and chuckling: "Still Brother Qiu's mighty, still trying this soul‑sacrifice that ruins the spirit bones? Dream on!"

"I'll take the spirit bone," Feng Xianqiu said coldly, "she… go play with it."

Immediately followed the scene I had dreamed of more than once—Tafengcun, Qilin Temple, the great pit…

"Xiao Jiu!"

Liu Junyan's voice burst in forcefully, breaking my train of thought.

I found myself once again fainting in his arms.

I woke, but the memory just experienced had not vanished; it still hammered every nerve.

Many things connected at this moment.

So, back then Feng Linu parted from Liu Junyan on Cangwu Mountain, she had actually prepared for the soul sacrifice.

Not Nirvana.

Feng Linu intended to destroy herself in the Nirvana fire.

Because at that time she knew she had no way out; Feng Xianqiu demanded her spirit bone!

She would rather destroy it than let Feng Xianqiu benefit.

Yet Feng Xianqiu's methods surpassed her imagination—he actually used a formation to draw Feng Linu out of the Nirvana fire.

And this formation should be the "Luan" formation.

Poor Feng Linu, already on her last breath, failed the soul sacrifice; instead her spirit bone was stripped, just as Feng Lishu said—she was like a stray dog, pressed into the great pit by the Qilin formation of Feng Lishu.

If not for the Great Witch's aid, Feng Linu would have had no chance at all.

Her soul, eroded day by day by the Qilin formation, would eventually dissipate between heaven and earth.

How could there be a later me?

Feng Lishu never imagined this would happen; neither did Feng Xianqiu.

At first Feng Xianqiu wanted to use Feng Lishu's hand to kill me, while Feng Lishu coveted my skin, causing Feng Lishu to become useless in Feng Xianqiu's eyes, and he personally ended her.

Then he still wanted to control me.

Who would have thought even Heaven could not stand it, actually sending me to Liu Junyan's side?

Is this fate?

If I and Liu Junyan had missed each other, these two lines could never merge, and Feng Xianqiu could remain eternally invincible.

The foundation of those behind him would grow deeper and deeper, until unshakable.

What exactly does he want to do?

Liu Junyan's hand swayed before my eyes, worried: "Xiao Jiu, feeling better?"

I straightened my body, nodded slightly: "I'm fine."

At that moment the ground gave a violent jolt.

Immediately I felt a surge of qi bursting from the center of Wufu Town, spreading rapidly in all directions, the earth trembled, everyone's bodies swayed.

That sway was not caused by ground vibration but a dizzy sensation.

It felt as if each of our feet stood on a vortex, our bodies swaying with it.

Soon we adapted; the qi wave passed us, already rushing toward Zhu Pan River.

"The formation has been activated." Liu Junyan said.

Wang Pan and Shi Yun successfully activated the formation, meaning this battle officially opened from this moment.

With the formation's activation, dry ground suddenly began to exhale moisture.

The river and rainwater that had been "eaten" finally began to spill out.

Not long after, the Eight Trigrams Well in the front courtyard emitted a gurgling sound.

The water sound grew louder, the water level rose, just as it seemed about to overflow the well, the ground shook again, the water in the Eight Trigrams Well instantly fell back, disappearing once more.

At the same time, bird calls rang out above Zhu Pan River.

In the night, pairs of scarlet or dark green eyes kept flashing, wave after wave of frenzied birds plunged headfirst into the deep ravine.

Immediately after, blood mist rose and gathered above Zhu Pan River into the "Luan" formation pattern.

The pattern's color grew brighter and more solid… with a boom, the blood mist exploded, the ground shuddered violently.

The qi wave that had rushed toward Zhu Pan River was pushed back, continuously retreating toward the center of Wufu Town.

The Eight Trigrams Well again sounded with water.

But this time what rose from the well was not water, but… blood!

Wang Pan and Shi Yun exerted force again; when the qi wave surged out the second time, countless birds flocked in droves, so many they could be described as blotting out the sky.

Our previous deployment was Wang Pan and Shi Yun activating the spell formation to attack the fierce Taotie formation; after one strike our people would rush forward to clear the remnants… we never expected so many birds to appear at once.

This sudden situation is uncontrollable, yet also deadly.

Wang Pan and Shi Yun cannot hold out long; now we need someone to step forward and break the "Luan" formation.

Only at this moment did we vaguely realize what the "Luan" formation is.

It is similar to "hundred birds facing the phoenix."

When the "Luan" formation rises, myriad birds flock in, offering their bodies as sacrifice.

The birds under heaven are endless, but our energy can be exhausted.

What's more, we never could have imagined that, when the second wave of qi burst out, Huang Fan brought a group of people rushing in from the north.

They were one small family after another.

Young parents tightly held their one- to two-month-old infants in their arms, stumbling as they rushed to the Dang Pu's doorstep and knelt down.

Dozens of families, front and back, almost blocked the street outside the Dang Pu.

They kept kowtowing toward the Dang Pu, begging it to take in their children.

Those infants were too small, wailing 'wah-wah'.

The adults felt both heartbroken and terrified.

Only after asking did we learn that they had driven in from the surrounding villages and towns; tonight, the black big birds had gone mad, snatching infants everywhere, so they had no choice but to bring their children rushing to Wufu Town to try their luck.

But Wufu Town was protected by a Formation Array, and they were all blocked outside Wufu Town.

As the bird flock surged forward, two more infants almost came to harm.

Huang Fan rescued people while thinking of a way to bring them over.

In the crowd, a young man holding a child suddenly rushed up to me and knelt down, holding the child out with both hands: "Xiao Jiu Zhanggui, I want to... to be my daughter, alive for three days, no, to be... to be one year, to be one gold yuan..."