“I believe what you said to be true,” Yan Song said quickly. His words caused Li Tian to frown. The eyes of Mo and Wang flickered. “That’s because the treasure is in fact here! It hasn’t gone anywhere!”
Meng Hao’s expression was the same as ever, but his heart filled with vigilance.
“If you’re talking about the Spirit Severing Pill,” said Li Tian grimly, “then where exactly is it?!”
“It will appear on its own,” said Yan Song. He suddenly turned, his eyes glowing with avarice. He was looking in the direction of the great tree. He suddenly lifted his right hand up, within which appeared a jade bottle. He crushed it, causing a black liquid to emerge from within, along with a rotting stench.
Within the black liquid could be seen a maggot-like bug roughly the size of a finger. Its segmented body was wriggling, and as soon as it appeared, it lifted its head up and let out a shrill cry. Its body turned into a black streak that shot toward the top of the tree.
The sight of the thing shooting toward the treetop caused Meng Hao’s face to flicker.
Suddenly, a sound could be heard like that of metal scraping against metal. It drifted out from the top of the tree along with a billowing golden light. The weakened Golden Crow suddenly flew out to meet the black bug and prevent it from getting near the great tree. A rumbling sound filled the air as the Golden Crow opened its mouth. A golden glow appeared that surrounded the black bug. It shrieked as it was submerged and then crushed into ash.
The Golden Crow’s body was now flickering, clearly weakened further. However, its eyes were filled with sharpness and dignity as it glared around at everyone. Behind it was the great tree, which it apparently would sacrifice anything to protect.
“The legendary Golden Crow Pill is real!” said Yan Song, laughing. “After it was created that year, it acquired a spirit and transformed into a Golden Crow. At one time it had the chance to achieve Immortal Ascension, but in the end it chose to grow weak. Instead, it used its life force to protect a great, dead tree!” His eyes glittered with greed as he stared at the Golden Crow.
Li Tian’s eyes also glittered, and by now, he was completely ignoring Meng Hao. His breathing came in pants as he stared at the Golden Crow. In his mind, he was looking at a Spirit Severing Pill from ancient times, something that could arouse a wild frenzy among countless Cultivators.
The eyes of Mo and Wang were also shining brightly.
“It’s been weakened to the point that it resembles little more than the Nascent Soul stage,” said Li Tian. In a meaningful tone that lacked his previous hostility, he continued, “Fellow Daoists, this is good fortune for us. Let’s catch it quickly and then discuss how to divide it up. Don’t let it get away!” Laughing loudly, he strode forward.
Yan Song chuckled. “The pill won’t flee, not with the tree here. Even though it’s dead, the pill won’t leave it.” He, too, began to walk forward. Mo and Wang transformed into beams of light as well. All four began to converge on the Golden Crow.
At this point, none of them were paying any attention at all to Meng Hao. He remained off in the distance, a complex expression on his face. He could leave now, and no one would stop him. However… he was currently hesitating.
Booming sounds filled the air as the four ganged up on the Golden Crow. It let out a metallic cry which turned into a golden shield that enveloped the area around itself and the great tree.
The booming sounds were coming from the attacks the four levelled against the golden shield. Blow after blow was causing the shield to slowly shrink. A look of exhaustion filled the eyes of the Golden Crow. Its life force was simply too faint. It looked back at the great tree, a look of profound longing in its eyes.
More booms could be heard, and the shield shrank even further, forcing the Golden Crow to back up. Even the tree seemed to be decaying; its illusory life force was fading, and it was now starting to look more and more like nothing but a dead, dried-up tree.
“Look!” called Yan Song. “The only thing it can do is protect the tree. Be careful, though. Logically speaking, the Golden Crow can’t possibly be THIS weak. Something strange is going on….” Booms continued to echo out.
However, the four attackers all had various thoughts running through their heads. Also, they were clearly not attacking with full strength, but were rather being guarded in their moves. They seemed to fear this Golden Crow. Such a bizarre spirit would no doubt attack back before it died, most likely with ferocity that could leave them dead.
The Golden Crow looked at the withering tree and seemed to sigh. It flew up to perch at its top, trying once again to use its life force to restore the tree. Unfortunately, it just didn’t have enough life force at its disposal. Its actions caused the golden shield to grow even weaker and weaker. Its body trembled.
Meng Hao’s hands clenched into fists, and veins of