Boss Luo's expression changed dramatically as he watched the blade edge conjured from the Vermilion Bird's feathers slice through the air, one stroke after another, cutting off every avenue of escape in every direction.
Moreover, that blade force was so savage that it was far beyond what someone of his, Luo's, strength would dare to meet head-on. He had a gut feeling that with this blade's momentum, forget about clashing with it directly—even a single graze would be enough to kill him ten times over.
Seeing Boss Luo driven back by the blade edges conjured from just a few feathers, Lu Che and the others, who had still been harboring a sliver of hope that they might seize the chaos to flee, had that notion completely extinguished.
They all realized with a jolt that this Vermilion Bird's divine abilities were absolutely far beyond their own—in truth, it could annihilate them with a mere flip of its hand.
Lu Che also fully understood that his Yin Silkworm Life-Draining Threads had definitely been destroyed by this Vermilion Bird.
The five from Little Soup Island were all deathly pale, not a trace of blood in their faces. Boss Luo in particular was terrified out of his wits, shrieking nonstop.
"Lu Che, are you just going to stand there and watch? Once I'm dead, you're next! Everyone work together—break through and run! Whoever escapes, escapes!"
Boss Luo was clearly still clinging to a thread of desperate hope, wanting to drag a few others down with him even as he faced death.
But at this point, Lu Che and the others had already lost all will to fight. No matter how Boss Luo tried to goad them, how could their hearts be moved?
They weren't fools—they could clearly see that Boss Luo was nothing but a candle guttering in the wind, his life hanging by a thread, liable to be snuffed out at any moment.
Under these circumstances, stepping forward to help would merely be throwing their lives away for nothing.
Besides, Boss Luo was the chief culprit who had offended their enemy. Perhaps once he was dead, the five of them might stand a slightly better chance of survival.
"Little Xuan, this one is mine!" The Vermilion Bird divine bird suddenly shifted its true form, opened its massive beak, and a crimson radiance swept across the void. Boss Luo's dharma body was seized completely beyond his own control, engulfed by a powerful current.
The next instant, the Vermilion Bird sucked in a breath, and Boss Luo's dharma body was devoured outright.
This bloody, horrifying spectacle left Lu Che and the others trembling in terror, their eyes filled with dread.
Thud! Thud!
The five of them dropped involuntarily to their knees. Clearly, in the face of such divine might, they understood better than anyone that resistance was nothing but a guaranteed death sentence.
Under these circumstances, only begging for mercy offered even a sliver of a chance.
Jiang Chen eyed the five of them coldly, his gaze locking onto Lu Che. "A mere Little Soup Island—it may have a modest reputation in those surrounding waters, but it's nothing particularly powerful. And yet you have so many high-stage Heavenly Spirit Realm cultivators here. Tell me—how is that possible?"
Jiang Chen voiced the doubts in his mind.
"I'll talk, I'll talk! Little Soup Island is different from the other islands. As a hub, it's an extremely prosperous port. Many of the transactions in the surrounding sea regions are conducted at Little Soup Island—especially the shady dealings that can't see the light of day. Those all basically happen on Little Soup Island. We were recruited by the Island Master of Little Soup Island to join its Enforcement Hall. In truth, we're not natives of Little Soup Island."
Lu Che spilled everything without holding back.
"Hmph. Even if Little Soup Island has some resources and engages in some unsavory business, it can't possibly be bold enough to go that far, can it? Weren't you afraid of offending a genius from one of the Ten Great Divine Kingdoms and having Little Soup Island destroyed in the blink of an eye?"
Lu Che forced a bitter smile. "You may not know this, but within Little Soup Island, the shadows of the Ten Great Divine Kingdoms are present as well. Which kingdom the Island Master actually belongs to—we subordinates don't know for certain. However, we suspect that the Island Master of Little Soup Island may well have the backing of not just one kingdom. Behind him, several divine kingdoms could very well be supporting him."
"What? A mere little island like Little Soup Island—is it really that exaggerated?" Jiang Chen found it hard to believe.
"From what I've observed, Little Soup Island truly is as I describe. The Silver Sword Gang is nothing more than a tool the Island Master uses to amass wealth. That's also the reason Boss Luo had the nerve to challenge us—he had the backing of the Island Master of Little Soup Island." At this point, Lu Che was like pouring beans from a bamboo tube, dumping everything out in one go.
Jiang Chen's expression cleared. He finally understood how all the pieces fit together.
"Just as I suspected—the Silver Sword Gang committing every evil under the sun does indeed have someone backing it. I never would have guessed that the one supporting them was the Island Master of Little Soup Island." Jiang Chen let out a cold laugh.
However, he had no intention of meddling further in Little Soup Island's affairs. One way or another, he had already killed quite a few from the Silver Sword Gang.
This breath of anger was mostly vented now.
As long as Little Soup Island didn't come looking for trouble again in the future, he had no spare attention to deal with them for the time being.
His gaze drifted slowly over these men, and Jiang Chen wore an odd smile. "Tell me—should I eliminate all of you together, or give you a chance?"
Lu Che hurriedly spoke. "Please give us a chance, my lord! We can all see that you are no ordinary person. We're willing to follow you—to serve as your beasts of burden, to be your servants. Even if you implant a slave-seal imprint in our minds, we'll have absolutely no complaints!"
Lu Che and the others were all rogue cultivators. They had joined Little Soup Island in the first place to pursue wealth, power, and privilege.
Rogue cultivators who had risen from such humble origins understood better than anyone the art of reading the situation, and that survival came first.
So no matter how humiliating the terms, as long as they could live, they would accept.
As rogue cultivators who had managed to cultivate to this level, they were naturally all afraid of death—none of them wanted to die just like that. Especially not dying on behalf of Little Soup Island; that felt even more worthless to them.
Jiang Chen nodded. "Very well, then. I'll give you a chance."
Lu Che and the others were overjoyed and quickly bowed in salute. "Your servants greet their master! We thank the master for the mercy of sparing our lives!"