Chapter 50 Big Brother, I Announce Four Things

"Fine! Very well! You're really fucking playing dumb with me, aren't you?"

"A mere Tier 2 petty demon, yet you dare put on airs before this young lady!"

"If I don't kill you today, my cultivation state of mind shall surely suffer damage!"

"I am going to slice the tender flesh off your face, piece by piece! And then feed it right back to you!"

"Once your wounds heal, I will repeat this process all over again, torturing you to death!"

The Blade Mantis shrieked hysterically.

Fury erupted within her crimson eyes, driving her spiritual power to surge ever more violently.

With this single strike, she poured forth all her strength, solely to take the life of the arrogant female beneath her!

"Go. Kill her for Us."

In mid-air, the translucent snow leopard beast roared as it charged head-on toward the pair of descending giant sickles.

The Blade Mantis was maddened with rage, and her power was incomparably ferocious!

The giant sickles slammed into the snow leopard, tearing it into four pieces instantly!

"Hahaha! Child's play! As expected, unless one is of the snow leopard clan itself, one cannot harness its full potential!"

Seeing this, the Blade Mantis laughed hideously, hurling mockery after mockery at the Empress.

The Empress remained unmoved, her will simply transmitted to that snow leopard.

Visible to the naked eye, the Blade Mantis's laughter abruptly died in her throat as the snow leopard, chopped into several pieces, rapidly reassembled itself!

Yet, incredibly, the snow leopard re-formed into the exact shape of the Blade Mantis!

"Make it a bit larger, lest people think We are being too stingy."

The Empress smiled faintly. As spiritual power poured into it, the ice-composed Blade Mantis swelled in size once more!

It grew even larger than the female mantis herself!

"Wh-What! What is going on?!"

"Hmph! Still mere child's play!"

"Does size matter? How can blades of this clan ever compare to such a counterfeit!"

Roaring wildly, the Blade Mantis slashed her massive pair of sickles forward.

At the same exact time, the ice mantis also waved its sickles and met the attack head-on.

The collision of spiritual power and the clash of sheer force caused a piercing, shattering sound to erupt from the Blade Mantis's pair of sickles!

"M-My blades!"

"Ah! Bitch! I'll kill you!"

"Frost and Ice! Snow Doll!"

Beside herself with rage, the Blade Mantis charged murderously toward the Empress.

Above her head, the ice-formed Blade Mantis known as Snow Doll struck from behind.

In the blink of an eye, its massive sickle completely impaled the body of the Blade Mantis!

Her face was merely half a foot away from the Empress's.

Green blood spilled from the corner of her lips, looking somewhat bizarre.

And within her eyes, the emotions were deeply complex...

"Xiaolan, take her back."

"You got it! Sister Empress! You're so amazing!"

"I haven't even fully comprehended the first form of my demonic sword art yet! And you're already able to execute the second form of the new technique! And with such mastery, too!"

Flattering her profusely, Xiaolan extended one hand, transforming it into a massive wing.

With a few swift motions, she dismembered the proud Blade Mantis and tossed her into a storage ring.

"Let's head back. This meat is fresh, it'll taste better."

The Empress smiled, flying forward with Xiaolan closely trailing behind her.

...

Late at night.

Jiang Xuan was lecturing his group of underlings with the utmost earnestness and patience.

Upon their return, Spotted-Beak and the others had already regained consciousness. Although their bodies were somewhat weak, their spirits were top-notch, and all of them were clamoring for meat.

Upon learning that Glutton had eaten all the meat, the rest of the underlings came close to tearing Glutton limb from limb.

"Eat your share and shut up! Still cursing me out, are you? The worst-case scenario is I'll just share a bit of my resources with you next time!"

"What do you mean 'worst-case scenario'? It's an absolute must!"

"Hmph!"

Glutton crossed his arms and turned his head away, harboring quite a bit of resentment from being chewed out.

Being cursed at was one thing, but the crucial point was—damn it, because of those other underlings freezing him out over the Blade Mantis meat, he hadn't even gotten a single bite!

Bearing the name Glutton and acting as a glutton, that was the ultimate torture for him.

"Alright, alright. Next, Big Brother is announcing four matters."

"I've drawn a blueprint. Take a good look at it and build the houses according to the specifications. That's number one."

They were all birds; building nests was an innate craft etched deep into their bones.

Even when it came to building houses, they had a certain foundation and would definitely do a good job. Jiang Xuan trusted them implicitly.

"Earlier on the road, I took a turn around with Glutton. The Five-Square Profound Iron here is all of medium-to-high grade, and the quality is quite decent. Over the next few days, everyone go out and gather some Five-Square Profound Iron. We should be able to forge storage rings of at least Tier 3. That's number two."

"Next, I will be heading to the Corpse Vessel Swamp. It is enough for me to go alone; you all stay here and complete the first two tasks I just mentioned."

"Corpse Vessel Swamp? What on earth is that?"

"Big Brother, where even is this Corpse Vessel Swamp? How come we've never heard of it?"

"Yeah, is it dangerous? Big Brother, you're our main pillar! If you fall, what are we going to do!"

The third matter mentioned by Jiang Xuan caused a commotion among the crowd.

The underlings chattered amongst themselves, their minds filled with all sorts of doubts.

"Fussing and dilly-dallying, can you lot do anything right?"

"I'm making this trip to find some magical treasures for everyone! Having cultivation techniques alone isn't enough; magical treasures are extremely important too!"

Though he said that, when it all came down to it, Jiang Xuan was ultimately going to find a sword weapon that suited his hand.

Otherwise, while the Ashen Lotus Sword was undoubtedly powerful, damn it, without a suitable magical vessel, the lethality of his moves would be greatly diminished!

If that were truly the case, then keeping the Ashen Lotus Sword in his possession would genuinely be a waste of a heavenly treasure.

"Big Brother, are there really magical treasures in that Corpse Vessel Swamp? How do you know? Is it dangerous?"

"Yeah, Big Brother, are you really going by yourself? You absolutely cannot die!"

"Damn it, Blue Gem, do you have nothing else to say? Spouting such unlucky nonsense to curse me!"

"Shut your bird beaks, all of you! I am informing you of a decision, not negotiating with you!"

Jiang Xuan grew impatient from the noisy chatter of the group and directly laid down the law.

"Now for the fourth matter. When I return, I believe your cultivations will have vastly improved."

"At that time, we shall head to the Hundred Beasts Sect together!"

"What? The Hundred Beasts Sect? Aren't we just going to our deaths if we go there?"

"Walking right into a trap—has Big Brother lost his mind?"

"I'm not going! Isn't that courting death? I don't want to die yet!"

"Shut the fuck up, all of you!"

Enraged, Jiang Xuan stood straight up and let out a loud roar toward those below.

"I'll get you lot some more meat over the next couple of days, so you damn well better ration it! I have no idea how long I'll be gone on this trip!"

"And another thing, during these days, the Empress and the Demon Sovereign, protect them well. Cultivate more when you have time, and stop fucking running around aimlessly for no reason!"

Jiang Xuan's words did not receive a single reassuring response; even the Empress and the Demon Sovereign couldn't help but feel a twinge of worry.

Hanging out with Jiang Xuan, their strength had improved at such a rapid pace.

If this pillar of support were to disappear, the path ahead would surely become even harder to tread.

Seeing them lamenting their fate, Jiang Xuan was left speechless.

"Fine, fine! I will be back in ten days!"

"When that time comes, the Empress and the Demon Sovereign shall come to meet me!"

"Remember, go after ten days! You must not go early!"

"We remember."

"Hmph, this Sovereign agrees, then!"