Chapter 654

Chapter 654: “Paying the Price (1)”
It can be said, the Yan Country had become the mightiest power in the Lower Realm. The Yan Country was fond of warring and it had previously carried out several successful war campaigns. It was not until the last major war a century ago that sealed their reign of supremacy that the Yan Country gradually tempered their lust for war.
The Yan Country’s efforts were now concentrated towards developing their economy and their people kept well skilled in battle, to maintain their unshakable reign.
Jun Wu Xie pondered over the facts. The treasure map leading to the Dark Emperor’s tomb comprised a total of eight separate pieces. The existence of one of the pieces was not known to the Twelve Palaces as it was hidden from them and currently in Fan Zhuo’s hands. The remaining seven pieces were separately held by seven of the Twelve Palaces in unspoken defiance of the revered might of the Dark Emperor and the overpowering dominance held by the Dark Regiment.
The Twelve Palaces were afraid of carrying the unpardonable crime of disturbing the eternal rest of the Dark Emperor and hence had sent their men to liaise with the various powers of the Lower Realm, handing the precious maps over to men within the powers they were grooming, to secretly assist them in locating the Dark Emperor’s tomb.
Up to that moment, Jun Wu Xie knew of three of the maps. Besides the hidden one held by Fan Zhuo, one was in the hands of the largest clan, the Qing Yun Clan. The other was within the top three academies throughout the lands, the famed Zephyr Academy. With a quick analysis of the two previous examples, it was not difficult to conclude that all the scapegoats the Twelve Palaces had picked were some of the strongest and most influential powers in the Lower Realm. Weaker powers would not have adequate resources to challenge the trials at the Heaven’s End Cliff anyway.
The palaces involved in it, totaled seven in number. Jun Wu Xie did not know what kind of actions the other five palaces had taken, but she only knew that every individual palace who were involved in this all had vested interests in the various powers they had roped in.
And the Yan Country could very well be one of the powers one of the seven palaces had chosen.
“The Yan Country’s Crown Prince.” Jun Wu Xie glanced at the archer prostrated limply upon the ground before her and she knew that he had divulged everything he knew.
There would not be anymore more information that she would want to get out from the man.
“Will….. will you…… re….. release us now……” The archer pleaded, snivelling on the ground, his body trembling.
Jun Wu Xie stared at the bow in the archer’s hand that his ring spirit had morphed into.
“Give.”
The archer was baffled a moment before he realised Jun Wu Xie was staring at his ring spirit. He did not hesitate in the slightest and quickly handed hours bow over.
Jun Wu Xie studied the bow a moment before she said to the little black cat upon her shoulder: “Try it.”
The little black cat immediately gave out an obedient meow.
The archer looked blankly at Jun Wu Xie, completely not understanding what Jun Wu Xie was doing.
However, in the very next moment, he was stunned into stupefied silence by what he saw right before his eyes!
The tiny little black cat raised its paws and held one end of the bow, slowly pushing it into its tiny little mouth.
The seemingly sturdy bow was suddenly bitten off by a chunk and with the little black cat’s sharp teeth and quickly swallowed up!
Before the archer could recover from the shocking sight, the agony of having one’s ring spirit forcibly torn out struck him heavily and he suddenly found himself sprawled upon the ground twitching violently!
The torment assaulted his body relentlessly, making his face turn green and he was soon foaming at the mouth.
“Meow?”
[It is….. edible afterall, but the texture is rather different from a beast spirit]
The chunk that was bitten off turned into a shapeless spirit form in the little black cat’s mouth. It did not need to chew and the little black cat just swallowed it down into its belly.
The little black cat had previously swallowed up Mo Xuan Fei’s Golden Lion and this was the first time it was devouring a weapon ring spirit. Jun Wu Xie had only wanted to test it out and had not thought that it would be successful!
The little black cat devoured the weapon spirit bit by bit and the archer was by then already slumped in a heap, his body twitching incessantly on the ground, his eyes rolled over showing only the whites, and his breath was coming in short sharp gasps.
Huddled together in a bunch, the archer’s other companions could do nothing but watch with their eyes wide at all that was happening, their hearts gripped in overwhelming and paralysing fear!