Chapter 45

On the street, Zhou Ye stood in front of Mu Chen, his sharp, eagle-like gaze scanning the surroundings. After a while, his body gradually relaxed as he could faintly feel the vague killing intent start to dissipate.

Whoosh!

Dozens of figures also rushed over, surrounding Mu Chen and Zhou Ye. "Young Master, Lord Zhou."

"Xiao Mu, are you alright?" Feeling the killing intent fade, Zhou Ye also let out a sigh of relief and turned to ask.

Mu Chen shook his head with a smile and said, "Fortunately, Uncle Zhou came quickly."

"What happened? As soon as I received the message from Su Ling, I immediately led people to North Spirit City. Who were those people? Why would they attack you?!" Zhou Ye's face turned somewhat gloomy. Mu Chen was the young master of the Mu Domain; who would have the audacity to attack him directly in North Spirit City?

"They are probably from the Liu Domain," Mu Chen said.

"The Liu Domain?" Zhou Ye's expression changed, then he became somewhat puzzled: "Although our Mu Domain and the Liu Domain have always been at odds, we have generally been restrained. Why would they..."

"Uncle Zhou, let's go back to Mu City first. I messed up their plans a bit," Mu Chen smiled. The commotion here was significant, and North Spirit Academy people would likely arrive soon. Although Mu Chen knew it was the Liu Domain's doing, they had no evidence, so this matter would likely end without resolution.

"Alright."

Hearing this, Zhou Ye nodded, waved his hand, and led Mu Chen to the city's transmission spirit array. With Zhou Ye's protection, there were no further issues. It seemed the Liu Domain also knew the situation was hopeless and could only temporarily give up.

...

In Mu City, at the Mu residence.

"The Liu Domain attacked Xiao Mu?"

In the living room, when Mu Feng heard Zhou Ye's words, his originally smiling and resolute face instantly turned cold, and he stood up abruptly.

"What are the Liu Domain trying to do? Do they want to completely break ties with our Mu Domain?!"

"They probably don't want to completely break ties yet. Otherwise, they wouldn't have first asked Ji Zong to act, and only resorted to their own actions when forced," Mu Chen said with a smile from the side.

"Ji Zong?" Mu Feng's face darkened, and Zhou Ye also frowned, saying, "He also attacked you?"

"Yes, I was trapped in his array, but I managed to break it, and he left," Mu Chen nodded.

"You broke his array?" Mu Feng and Zhou Ye were momentarily stunned, looking at Mu Chen with surprise. They had heard of Ji Zong's reputation; although his early-stage Spirit Wheel Realm strength wasn't much, his status as a first-level Spirit Array Master was quite troublesome. Yet, the array he set up was actually broken by Mu Chen?

"I'm at the late-stage Spirit Movement Realm now, after all," Mu Chen saw their surprised expressions and smiled.

"Late-stage Spirit Movement Realm?" Mu Feng was surprised again, then nodded in satisfaction. Although Mu Chen had been delayed for a year in the Spirit Road, his talent was indeed good, and he was now truly catching up.

"Late-stage Spirit Movement Realm? If Ji Zong uses his array, even late-stage Spirit Wheel Realm people would find it difficult. Can your strength break the array?" Mu Feng, though satisfied, couldn't stand Mu Chen's slight pride and scolded with a smile.

"Ji Zong had the same thoughts as you, Dad, so he was broken by me," Mu Chen pouted.

"It seems Xiao Mu took advantage of Ji Zong's underestimation." Zhou Ye smiled, "Such mental fortitude is truly remarkable."

"What's there to praise about this kid?" Mu Feng laughed for a moment, then became serious, "Why did the Liu Domain attack you? And in North Spirit City? If discovered, it would anger North Spirit Academy. Given their style, they wouldn't do something so reckless, especially since the 'Five Academies' quotas are about to be announced. Offending North Spirit Academy at this time would be unwise."

"Earlier, the Blood Slaughter Gang stole something from the Liu Domain and was pursued all the way to the North Spirit Plain..." Mu Chen detailed what happened on the North Spirit Plain, then showed the wrist with the芥子镯 (Jiezi Bracelet): "I secretly took this thing, and they probably know. They were afraid I would bring it back to the Mu Domain, so they had to act in North Spirit City."

"Oh?"

Mu Feng and Zhou Ye exchanged glances, both seeing a hint of seriousness in each other's eyes. They had heard about the Blood Slaughter Gang and the Liu Domain, but hadn't paid much attention. However, seeing the Liu Domain's level of concern, it seemed to be quite significant.

"The Jiezi Bracelet has some value, but it's not enough to make the Liu Domain so concerned." Mu Feng smiled, "Is there something inside?"

Mu Chen nodded, clasped his hand, and an ancient copper plate appeared: "It's probably this. I checked it, but didn't find anything special."

Mu Feng took the ancient copper plate from Mu Chen, rubbed the patterns, pondered for a moment, then turned it over. When he saw the black bird pattern on the plate, he paused, as if in deep thought.

"This thing... looks like..." Mu Feng muttered, then his pupils constricted: "It looks like... the Nine Nether Sparrow?"

"The Nine Nether Sparrow?" Zhou Ye was startled, "No way?"

"The Nine Nether Sparrow..." Mu Chen's eyes also showed surprise, "Is it the one ranked eleventh on the Earth List of the Ten Thousand Beasts Record?"

"From the looks of it, it's extremely similar," Mu Feng nodded. He thought for a moment, then suddenly clasped his hand, and a scorching flame gathered in his hand, forming a palm-sized fire hawk. The fire hawk had extremely sharp eyes, wings like dragon wings, and sharp talons covered in fiery red dragon scales, exuding a powerful aura.

"Is this the essence of the Dragon Flame Hawk that Dad refined?" Mu Chen looked curiously at the exquisite fire hawk. This was a true Heavenly Beast, ranked eighty-fifth on the Earth List of the Ten Thousand Beasts Record, far more powerful than Master Mo's Golden Thunder Wolf and Master Xi's Stone Turtle Lion.

The Dragon Flame Hawk stood on Mu Feng's palm, then gently approached the ancient copper plate. When it saw the black bird pattern on the back of the plate, its sharp, chilling eyes showed a hint of panic, and it quickly retreated, showing extreme fear and aversion.

"Something that can make the Dragon Flame Hawk so fearful, and with this appearance, is likely the Nine Nether Sparrow," Mu Feng concluded upon seeing this.

The Nine Nether Sparrow, born in the Northern Abyss, has wings that can block mountains, and its Nether Light can swallow the sun and moon.

This description of the Nine Nether Sparrow flowed through Mu Chen's mind, making him involuntarily smack his lips. Such power was truly hard to imagine.

"If it's really the Nine Nether Sparrow, no wonder the Liu Domain is so concerned... If a Soul Essence Realm expert could obtain the essence of the Nine Nether Sparrow, their strength... would be quite monstrous," Mu Feng sighed.

"But if it's really the Nine Nether Sparrow, does the Liu Domain have the strength to challenge it?" Mu Chen frowned. If it was really the Nine Nether Sparrow, even if the Liu Domain used all their strength, they couldn't capture it.

"The secret must be on this copper plate."

Mu Feng smiled faintly, and a powerful spiritual energy surged out, flooding into the copper plate like a flood. Mu Chen had also tried this before, but with no response.

However, Mu Chen's failure didn't mean Mu Feng would fail. After all, the latter was a genuine late-stage Soul Essence Realm expert, one of the top in North Spirit Region.

The powerful spiritual energy poured in, and the previously quiet copper plate finally showed some movement. Light emerged from it, forming a light screen in the air.

In the light screen, there seemed to be a vast, black forest. In the depths of the desolate mountains and waters, a gigantic black bird was seen, its head tilted back, emitting a piercing cry. Black light surged from its body, covering the area, seemingly blotting out the light.

The black light grew denser, eventually forming black flames that enveloped it. Its piercing cry grew more intense, and the scene shifted. The massive body of the black bird rapidly shrank in the dense black flames, and with a mournful cry, it transformed into a large black egg, flying into the deepest part of the black forest.

The scene ended, and a complex route appeared, looking like a map.

"It is indeed the Nine Nether Sparrow..."

Mu Feng took a deep breath, his eyes showing unhidden shock, "And it was trying to evolve... but it failed..."

Mu Chen's heart skipped a beat. The Nine Nether Sparrow was already powerful; if it evolved, it would have the potential to challenge the Heaven List of the Ten Thousand Beasts Record.

"It seems the Liu Domain is indeed after the Nine Nether Sparrow. We can't let them get it," Zhou Ye said with a serious expression. If the Liu Domain obtained the Nine Nether Sparrow, their strength would skyrocket, and given their nature, they would no longer tolerate the Mu Domain.

"Then let's take it!"

Mu Chen's eyes flickered, his gaze fixed on the ancient copper plate.

"Dad, where is this place? It looks somewhat familiar."

Mu Feng smiled lightly, his eyes sharp.

"Of course it looks familiar, because it's in North Spirit Region. From the looks of it, it should be the Black Nether Abyss in North Spirit Region..."

(Seeking recommendations and collections, thank you all!)