Chapter 196
Chapter 196: Nanfei Who Cannot Fly Away
Blood spilled onto the white snow . The white snow was tinted red .
It was still snowing heavily .
Snowflakes kept falling from the sky . But they melted into water because of the heat .
A bird with a soft silhouette and red fire plumes was flapping its wings in the air . Its sharp beak was like the sharpest knife in the world, sharp enough to smash anything without much effort .
The red fire phoenix with its soft silhouette brushed past the Black Dragon and left bloody claw marks on the latter . The Black Dragon’s scales fell to the ground with some clanking sounds .
This was a fire phoenix, a fire phoenix many times stronger than the previous young phoenix .
It was the second transformation of the Nine Phoenixes Transformation, Phoenix Plume .
Everyone in the Imperial Garden was shocked . Yuwen Xiu’s eyes widened and he clenched his fists tightly .
His Black Dragon was injured!
Lil Phoenix One, already having reached the Phoenix Plume Realm, grew fire plumes . As it flapped its wings, its burning fire became even more powerful, almost as if it could control the wind .
A loud and clear chime rang through the air .
Lil Phoenix One, like the burning sun, stared at the Black Dragon . It opened its beak and called in a sharp voice .
The Black Dragon did not growl or respond . It just continued staring at Lil Phoenix One . The Black Dragon and the fire phoenix were confronting each other in the Imperial Garden .
Shapeless energies seemed to be colliding .
The Nine Phoenixes Transformation was a mysterious method . Even Lu Fan could not identify its grade, which was enough to prove how powerful it was . And since the method was capable of causing Lil Phoenix One to transform, it was certainly a powerful method .
Lil Phoenix Two and Lil Phoenix Three had not transformed yet .
It wasn’t at the moment they could not transform . It was just Bai Qingniao was unable to make them transform yet .
Blood had oozed from her nose and mouth after she had coaxed Lil Phoenix One into its second transformation of Nine Phoenixes . If she really made Lil Phoenix Two and Lil Phoenix Three reached the second realm as well, she might lose her life there .
Jiang Li hit the ceiling . He rushed at Bai Qingniao as soon as she fell .
“Retreat!” Jiang Li shouted in a low voice while the Black Dragon Guard and the Black Dragon were confronting Lil Phoenix One .
He scooped Bai Qingniao up in his arms . Without Bai Qingniao’s control, Lil Phoenix Two and Lil Phoenix Three were a little confused, like two muddleheaded baby chickens .
Jiang Li looked at the girl . Blood was still flowing out of her mouth and her nose . His eyes turned red .
All of a sudden, he was eager to be strong .
Since he had not been strong enough, he failed to protect those he wanted to protect . Bai Qingniao even tried to protect him instead .
He jumped onto Lil Phoenix Two’s back .
Luo Cheng was fighting even while they were retreating . He jumped up to grasp Lil Phoenix Three’s paws . The two fire phoenixes flew into the sky, stirring the snow from the ground .
“Don’t let them go!” Yuwen Xiu yelled coldly with his eyes wide .
The Black Dragon Guard came to themselves . They charged again . The Thirteen Black Dragon Armored Men ran extremely fast and jumped up into the air .
On the ground, archers carrying bows on their backs pulled their bowstrings and shot arrows .
Densely-packed arrows shot at the fire phoenixes in the sky .
Jiang Li waved his knife to parry the arrows . The arrows broke . They were shot by ordinary people, so it was easy to parry them .
Luo Cheng stared at the archers and threw his knife over . All of the arrows fell .
“Useless things!”
One of the Thirteen Black Dragon Armored Men grabbed an archer’s bow . He took an arrow and pulled the bowstring .
He breathed out slowly .
The bowstring was taut .
He let go of the arrow . The bowstring trembled so violently that the bow in his hand exploded .
The arrow with feather fletching was shot into the air with a high-pitched sound . It flew out at high speed .
Towards Bai Qingniao, who was in a coma .
This man had discovered that it was Bai Qingniao who was controlling the three fire phoenixes . As long as the girl died, this fire phoenix that was strong enough to confront Black Dragon would absolutely panic .
Jiang Li, on Lil Phoenix Two’s back, was astonished .
The arrow flew at them in a blur .
Jiang Li’s pupils shrank .
He activated his Spirit Qi to stop this arrow . However, the enemy had injected Spirit Qi into it . It was almost impossible to resist arrows shot by cultivators .
And the arrow’s target was Bai Qingniao below .
Jiang Li could not stop it . So, he turned around to stop the arrow with his own body .
Splat!
The arrow pierced through Jiang Li’s body . Its cold arrowhead pierced through his body and showed up in front of Bai Qingniao’s pale face . Warm blood kept dripping on the girl’s long eyelashes .
Lil Phoenix Two and Lil Phoenix Three flew out .
Lil Phoenix One flew back after another collision with the Black Dragon . It flapped its wings and soared at a high speed like a flame .
It came under Lil Phoenix Two and Lil Phoenix Three in one second .
The two flew onto Lil Phoenix One’s back . After the second transformation, Lil Phoenix One’s body was much bigger . It was even big enough to carry Lil Phoenix Two and Lil Phoenix Three on its back .
Flapping its wings, Lil Phoenix One flew across the sky over the Imperial City like the burning sun, its call a loud and clear chime .
However, it fell as soon as it left the Imperial City because of exhaustion .
Lil Phoenix Two and Lil Phoenix Three, lying on the snow ground feebly, turned back into two furry baby chickens again .
Luo Cheng sprang to his feet from the ground . After all, as a cultivator, he was much stronger than before .
He helped Jiang Li, whose body had been pierced through by the arrow, to stand up right away .
“Go,” Jiang Li said with a calm face .
Luo Cheng narrowed his eyes . Then, he nodded . He picked the three baby chickens up and put them into his collar .
Carrying his knife, he ran fast to leave the capital city .
“Yuwen Xiu won’t let us leave the Imperial City . He will definitely send troops from the capital city to chase after us . But he should have just given the order . We should still have the time to leave if we act fast enough,” Jiang Li said .
Carrying Bai Qingniao in his arms, he was running with steady steps .
His shoulder was bleeding .
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The sound of horse hooves came after them .
The horsemen from the capital city were sent as they had expected . On the long street of the capital city, civilians had been hiding in their own houses . There were few people on the street .
Luo Cheng was running away ahead of Jiang Li .
Great Zhou’s horsemen came .
Luo Cheng’s face flushed because of the cold air . He kept looking back . Great Zhou’s elite soldiers were closing in on them .
He turned pale .
This time, there was no way out .
Would he, Luo Cheng, die here this day?
His father had not seen him get married yet .
Gnashing his teeth, Luo Cheng was reluctant to die . At this point, the person that came to mind was not his father, Luo Yue, but the Daoist nun he saw walking away from the city tower .
Luo Cheng was spooked by his own thoughts . He slapped across his own face to clear his mind and stop daydreaming .
Jiang Li was a little pale because he had lost too much blood .
He did not have to think to know that the Great Zhou’s horsemen chasing after them were large in number and densely packed behind him . He, with plenty of experience in leading armies, could even tell these horsemen had begun the chase about twenty seconds later than in usual drills .
“Luo Cheng, let’s keep going!”
Jiang Li did not give up . Carrying Bai Qingniao in his arms, he kept trekking through the snow .
He had promised Bai Fengtian he would take good care of Bai Qingniao so that she could live a peaceful life . But right now, Bai Qingniao was so heavily injured… He would be too guilty to face Bai Fengtian even if he lost his life now .
Therefore, he could not die . He had to get Qingniao out of this chaotic capital city .
Luo Cheng looked back . At the sight of Jiang Li’s determined face, his lips, chapped by the wind and snow, trembled involuntarily .
“There is no way ahead…” Luo Cheng said .
“Since there is no way, we’ll make a way out,” Jiang Li said, panting .
“I regret not having cultivated earlier . If I had, maybe I wouldn’t be so helpless today .
“Overlord was right . Strength is fundamental in this world today . This is a world where even miracles can be cultivated . ”
Taking a deep breath, Jiang Li continued trekking through the snow .
Blood spilled onto the white snow . The white snow was tinted red .
Luo Cheng gnashed his teeth . Grasping his knife, he ran ahead, exerting the power of the dragon’s blood to the full .
Well, since it was impossible to outrun the horsemen, he would just kill them .
Old Nie and Ning Zhao had killed thousands of troops before . So could Luo Cheng .
After all, the current Luo Cheng was no weaker than Nie Changqing and Ning Zhao had been in the past .
However, it took time to kill people . If he could not finish this quickly, it would be really impossible to leave when the Black Dragon Guard and the Thirteen Black Dragon Armored Men arrived .
Only cultivators could deal with cultivators . It made sense .
The power of the dragon’s blood had spread through his system .
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Luo Cheng grasped his knife . The Knife Qi was vaguely oscillating behind him .
All of a sudden, just as Luo Cheng was ready to risk his life, a heavy creak came from behind him .
Luo Cheng looked back, feeling incredibly heady . He saw the city gate of the capital city suddenly open .
A startled look came over Jiang Li’s pale face . Carrying Bai Qingniao in his arms, he looked at the city tower in the distance in surprise .
Before the city gate, two senior armored soldiers of Great Zhou pushed the heavy vermillion city gate open .
They had removed their helmets and looked at Jiang Li calmly .
They were just looking at him silently . However, an unspeakable air was lingering between the city towers somehow .
Luo Cheng was dumbstruck .
Jiang Li had an emotional look on his face .
He looked up and saw one after another, armored elite soldiers of Great Zhou on the city towers . They had all been trained by him .
The archers who had pulled their bowstrings taut also lowered their bows .
Gazing at Jiang Li from above, they took off their helmets out of respect .
Jiang Li was really touched .
Behind him, the horses’ hoofbeats also fell away .
Jiang Li looked back and saw Great Zhou’s armored horsemen standing in the distance of the long street of the capital city .
Their unsheathed knives and swords were all pierced into the snow ground .
All the soldiers were staring at Jiang Li in the heavy snow . Their breaths were visible and their faces went rosy in the cold .
Jiang Li, carrying Bai Qingniao in his arms, was covered with blood . His face was extremely pale from blood loss . However, despite the paleness, he was obviously touched . He seemed to guess these soldiers’ intentions . He felt as though his heart had been struck by a heavy hammer .
A warm current was flowing through his blood vessels . He could not help the tears that ran down his face as if his tear ducts were reacting to the cold .
He recalled the days he and Great Zhou’s elite soldiers had guarded Yuanchi City . They ate meat and drank alcohol like crazy in those days . Despite the crisis then, Jiang Li had never given up . He inspired every soldier under his command .
Who said these soldiers were heartless?
Jiang Li gnashed his teeth . He did not waste any time . Lifting Bai Qingniao in his arms, he turned his back on Great Zhou’s elite soldiers and the armored horsemen . Then, Spirit Qi gushed out from his soles . The snow on the ground suddenly exploded .
Pushed by such a power, he ran out of the city gate quickly .
Gradually, he was farther and farther from the army .
He was so far away, it was impossible to go back again .
Luo Cheng sheathed his knife . Carrying the knife in the snow, he charged out of the capital city .
While passing by the two senior soldiers who opened the city gate for him, Jiang Li could hear them speak in a hoarse voice with an accent of the capital city, “General, stay alive .
“We would like to be your soldiers again in the next life . ”
Bang!
The snow under their feet exploded . Jiang Li and Luo Cheng had finally left this ancient city .
Outside, everything was covered with snow .
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Twenty Black Dragon Guards rode their horses through Great Zhou’s elite army to chase after Jiang Li .
“Who told you to open the city gate? Are you courting death?!” a Black Dragon Guard snarled with his eyes wide .
He brandished his knife on the horse . The two senior soldiers’ heads flew into the air .
The snow before the city tower was stained with blood .
The Black Dragon Guards were chasing Jiang Li on their horses . Great Zhou’s elite soldiers exchanged a look . They pulled their weapons out of the snow unhurriedly and then jogged out of the city .
However, they were not very motivated .
Gazing at the white snow before him, Jiang Li felt a little dizzy .
Luo Cheng followed him, gnashing his teeth, gripping his knife tight .
Behind him, the horses’ hoofbeats approached . Twenty Black Dragon Guards charged at them on horses .
Although they were already out of the capital city, it was still very dangerous .
All of a sudden, in the snow, a blurry figure stumbled over, murmuring something that sounded like poetry .
It was an unkempt scholar holding a wine jar . He would drink from the jar after taking every two steps .
The unkempt scholar was followed by a teenager carrying a spear on his back . The teenager was also wearing a Confucius robe, but he was holding two sealed wine jars in his arms .
In this way, the unkempt scholar and the teenager with the spear showed up on this dangerous battlefield in snow, like two square pegs in a round hole .
Luo Cheng’s eyes narrowed . The sight of the unkempt scholar standing in their way gave him goosebumps .
He felt extremely spooked .
Jiang Li, carrying Bai Qingniao in his arms, was dumbstruck .
Behind him, the twenty Black Dragon Guards pulled on their reins . Their horses lifted their front legs, stirring the snow from the ground .
“Who are you? The Black Dragon Guard of the capital city is capturing important criminals . Irrelevant people, get out of here!” the Black Dragon Guard leader demanded .
The unkempt scholar took another swig from his wine jar .
Suddenly, he threw the wine jar down on the ground, hard .
He lifted his hands to push the shaggy hair on his forehead aside, and a face familiar to the people showed up .
“Haoran Sect, Kong Nanfei… Nanfei who can’t fly away, hic . ”
“I’m here to pick up an old friend . Whoever stops me—hic—will die . ”
The teenager carrying the spear behind the unkempt scholar thought for a second .
Then, he said, “Meng Haoran, Haoran Sect…”
The unkempt scholar turned his head to give the teenager a squint as soon as the latter finished speaking .
The teenager was speechless right away . He hurried to hand over another wine jar to the unkempt scholar .
The air turned extremely cold in a second .
There was only the sound of wind and snow .
Looking at that unkempt man, Jiang Li could hardly believe what he was seeing .
Was that really Kong Nanfei?