Chapter 104: Three Days to Break the Spiritual Beast Deadlock—Danger.

Chapter 104: Three Days to Break the Spiritual Beast Deadlock—Danger.

The monument of sins crumbled, the earth shattered.

"Huh..."

As a flood of white light surged before her eyes, the Paper Effigy Boy openly cheated, swiftly passing messages and snitching to Fu Yu.

"Something's off with this seal! The sealed world down there seems alive—undead alive! It has its own will!"

The Foxtail Grass Spirit shrieked while falling, "What does 'undead alive' even mean?!"

Living is living, dead is dead, and 'undead alive' sounds freaky as hell.

Fu Yu: "In plain English, it's a ghost."

The Foxtail Grass Spirit's eyes shook wildly: "Aaaah, the world down there is a ghost?! How huge is that ghost—"

Its voice trailed off into the wind.

As she landed in the secret realm, a heavy weight landed on Fu Yu's shoulder.

A large hand, with long, slender fingers and knuckles as hard as iron.

Taken by surprise by his grip, it felt like being caught in a beast's claws, the sharp tips nearly digging into her skin.

At the same moment, the blinding white light suddenly vanished.

A blindness-like darkness overwhelmed her, and Fu Yu forced her eyes wide open, unable to see a single ray of light.

She glanced around.

Every direction was just pitch-black darkness, with no light or shadow. Her sense of self grew faint, as if she and her shadow had dissolved into the endless darkness.

The hand on her shoulder... it was still there.

Fu Yu stayed composed, cleared her throat softly: "We're here."

He didn't release her. His fingers gripped tightly, heavily, bony and hard to the extreme, each finger felt like a cold, sharp talon, the feeling of restraint was clear and sharp.

He moved.

He moved past her, pulling her behind him.

Fu Yu staggered a little, unconsciously opening her eyes wide—her vision was still pitch black, she couldn't see his outline.

He was protecting her, without asking for her input.

Jun Bu Du, who was no longer human, seemed to have shed his former cold restraint and godlike aloofness.

His demeanor now carried a layer of dominance and aggression, a dangerous desire for control spreading wildly in the darkness, making her heart race with unease.

Fu Yu instinctively held her breath.

"Clang—thud!"

A sharp clang of metal cut through the darkness.

A blinding light suddenly burst in, and Fu Yu instinctively shut her eyes and turned her head away.

Around her, gasps and quick breaths came and went.

"I, Xie Wuchou of the Tianshui Xie Clan, am here! What demon dares to be so bold!" A voice that sounded fierce but was weak inside came from behind her left.

Fu Yu raised an eyebrow, opened her eyes a crack, and turned to look back.

"Tch..."

She couldn't quite describe what she was looking at.

Golden, fluffy, three-legged... chickens?

The three-legged chicken that spoke lifted its head, sporting a small, tender red comb, opened its small, yellowish beak, and let out a voice that was both childish and pretentiously mature.

The other chickens turned their heads at the sound, saw its appearance, trembled, and looked down at themselves.

"No—" Soon, another three-legged chicken burst into a mournful cry, "I've spent my life teaching and nurturing, with students all over the world, diligently studying the sages' texts—how could I end up reincarnated as a beast?!"

"Heaven is unjust!"

One chicken after another wailed in anguish, "Where is justice?! Where is justice?!"

"Heaven has wronged me! Heaven has wronged me!"

A flock of three-legged chickens flapped their fluffy, featherless little wing stubs vigorously, stomping their clawed feet.

Fu Yu: "..."

This scene was really... chicken-ly hilarious.

She lazily turned her head back and swept her gaze around.

Three chickens stood beside her, each one out of place—a silly-looking white chicken, a listless black chicken with drooping wings, and a lively grass chicken hopping around in play.

Fu Yu: "Where's the monkey?"

The white chicken, black chicken, and grass chicken exchanged glances.

The monkey was gone.

Fu Yu lifted her right foot and gently swayed it: "It has its own karma."

Just like in the Human Emperor's tomb secret realm, where others were eunuchs, the former Human Emperor had to face his own fate.

After confirming her companions, she casually raised her eyes and looked straight ahead.

Where the light shone, a figure stood tall and graceful, exceptionally striking.

He had broken through the darkness, his silhouette edged with a golden glow from the light.

He tilted his head slightly, his demeanor calm and in full control.

Fu Yu's heart surged with emotion.

It had been far too long since she had fought alongside him; she had almost forgotten what a sense of security it was to have such a powerful Dao companion by her side.

She took a deep breath, casually stepped forward, and walked toward him.

Suddenly, a ruckus broke out behind her.

"Quick! Follow that chicken! It found a way out!"

"It's obviously not like us—that's a real chicken!"

Fu Yu: "..."

Jun Bu Du's vibe was so unique, she didn't even clock he was also a Three-legged Chicken.

No wonder his hand on her felt like a claw.

Ten breaths later,

Fu Yu stood on a green jade brick carved with mystic patterns, craning her neck to look up at a massive purple-gold cauldron that stretched to the ceiling.

It was a giant Alchemy Cauldron, with firewood already stacked underneath.

"Whoosh—awk!"

Another Three-legged Chicken shut its eyes, flapped its wings, and hopped out through a hole in the cauldron's belly.

This Famous Scholar forgot his dignified status, flapping his wing roots like crazy, his voice cracking as he yelled.

He stumbled on landing, tumbling head over heels a few times, but his round, fluffy body and thick down saved him from getting hurt.

The White Chicken, Black Chicken, and Brown Chicken cackled mercilessly.

Soon, the Three-legged Chickens trapped in the cauldron were escaping one by one.

"What the hell is going on here?"

"I just remember everything collapsing..."

"Being reborn as a bird is bad enough, but now it looks like we're gonna be cooked and eaten?"

One chicken who knew his stuff said, "This is an alchemy cauldron."

The chickens exploded: "Using living people for alchemy? That's insane! Inhumane! Who! Who did this!"

The Black Chicken muttered darkly: "Are you even a person?"

The chickens: "..."

Fu Yu quietly sidled over to Jun Bu Du.

This Evil Spirit, even as a Three-legged Chicken, was anything but ordinary. He stood tall, covered in sleek black feathers that shimmered with a dark light, giving him a real "crane among chickens" vibe.

She lifted one claw and tapped the brick under her feet.

Jun Bu Du looked down, met her eyes, and got it right away.

This was the Daoist Sect.

"Clap, clap, clap!"

A Paper Effigy Boy clapped his little hands as he squeezed through the gap in the big carved window.

"You've got three days to solve the Spiritual Beast death game. Fail, and you all die~"

He paused creepily for a long moment.

His eyeless eyes darted around frantically, desperately trying to hint, to cheat.

But a stronger force held him back. After a bit, he gave up helplessly and recited the rules obediently: "Anyone caught not being a Spiritual Beast dies."

"Anyone who hurts someone dies."

"Anyone who refuses the game dies."

The Paper Effigy Boy clapped again.

"Got it? Then, the game begins!"

He walked out, glancing back every few steps.

"Spiritual Beasts?" A Three-legged Chicken trembled, flapping its wings. "I was born a human, upright and dignified, and now I've sunk to being among beasts..."

The Paper Effigy Boy turned back menacingly: "You refusing the game?"

The Three-legged Chicken flinched: "No! I'm not!"

He was just running his mouth.

The Paper Effigy Boy left the alchemy hall reluctantly.

"I get it!" said a Three-legged Chicken with a crooked comb. "This is the Daoist Sect's crime of brutality! They killed Spiritual Beasts, and now all Spiritual Beasts are getting revenge! Look!"

He angrily raised a wing and pointed at the giant cauldron. "Ironclad evidence!"

Another Three-legged Chicken habitually raised a wing to stroke the non-existent long beard under its beak, shaking its head. "The Evil Path is the Evil Path, not like the Divine Court, which loves all beings."

"So the way out is to escape the Daoist Sect?"

The chickens flapped their wings, all raring to go.

"The two saints aren't here... I think they'll come to save us. We just need to hide somewhere, and when we see them, we can reveal who we are and be saved!"

Fu Yu let out a sudden laugh.

This chicken was indignant. "What are you laughing at?"

Fu Yu said lazily: "At how brainless you are."

The chicken fumed: "Why are you insulting me like that!"

Fu Yu: "First rule: anyone caught not being a Spiritual Beast dies. If you wanna die, go ahead, but don't drag the rest of us down."

The chickens were spooked.

"Then... what do we do... we'll have to think this through!"

Having shut up the noisy bunch, Fu Yu exchanged a glance with Jun Bu Du, and they both headed for the hall's exit.

A group of Three-legged Chickens quietly followed.

Fu Yu: "I've got a bad feeling about this."

Solving the Spiritual Beast death game probably wasn't gonna be as simple as this group of Three-legged Chickens getting out alive.

Five thousand years later, there are almost no more Spiritual Beasts in the world—perhaps this is the true "Spiritual Beast Deadlock."

Three days? Break through?

Jun Bu Du gave a faint smile and nodded. "Mm-hmm."

Fu Yu sighed, looking up at the sky. "But when you think about it, it's not so bad."

Jun Bu Du stayed calm. "Yeah."

They exchanged a look, understanding each other without a word.

Both of them were back—what couldn't they pull off?

With a faint smile, they turned away, their eyes drifting to the side.

The chickens were like, "..."

The White Chicken lifted a wing and poked the Black Chicken. "What's with the cryptic talk? You get it?"

The Black Chicken replied listlessly, "Whatever, who cares."

The White Chicken then poked the Speckled Chicken. "What do you think?"

The Speckled Chicken, dazed, stared at the two figures, grinning like an idiot. "What a pair! What a pair! Perfect together! Even as chickens, they're a match!"

The White Chicken was like, "..."

Everyone around it was either nuts or dumb.

The chickens pressed against the temple wall, stepping over floating azure jade bricks, until they reached the temple door.

They looked up at the massive, dark, heavy gate.

Suddenly, a vaguely familiar voice came from outside.

"Senior Brother, I've said it before—those not of our kind will always have different hearts. You and Master are way too soft-hearted."

Behind the huge, lacquered temple door, several Three-legged Chickens couldn't help but flap their wings. "The Saintess! That's the Saintess!"

Helan Yunyi stamped her foot and continued, "Since we know the Three-legged Golden Crow is the ringleader of these troublemaking spiritual beasts, why not just kill it cleanly? Without a leader, let's see what trouble they can cause!"

A steady, deep voice responded, "Junior Sister, the ancestors left a decree: only kill spiritual beasts that hurt people. The Three-legged Golden Crow hasn't broken any rules; they lost their kid and are just anxious."

Helan Yunyi let out an unhappy snort. "You're always so wishy-washy. If this leads to disaster, don't come crying to me!"

The Senior Brother chuckled soothingly. "Rest assured, Junior Sister. I'll go out and resolve this matter now."

With a shift in the wind, he vanished.

The chickens behind the door were about to move when they heard Helan Yunyi speaking to someone else. "Come out."

"Senior Sister Helan," a greasy male voice came from even closer. "I'll refine the pill right now! Let's see how Niu Bao deals with those beasts!"

"Creak—"

A blinding light flooded in as the temple door was suddenly pushed open by a pair of pitch-black hands.