Thousands of Fire Crows, each at least comparable to a human cultivator at the first level of the Spirit Realm. The more powerful among them boasted strength equivalent to the third or fourth level.
At this scale, the Fire Crows released their spiritual energy in perfect unison, beating their crimson wings. The combined force of their fire-attribute spiritual power instantly formed a boundless surging tide. Trees surrounding the cliff faces withered, dried, carbonized, and crumbled to ash at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Waves of scorching heat rolled outward. Even though Jiang Chen was over a thousand zhang away, he could still feel the searing blast washing over him, pricking every inch of his skin with the sting of countless needles.
*These Fire Crows are releasing their spiritual energy to form this fire-attribute spiritual field. They must be answering the call of their leader. It seems the king of the Fire Crows is about to appear.*
Jiang Chen was inwardly alarmed. The destructive power of these several thousand Fire Crows absolutely surpassed the million-strong Sword Bird army he had commanded before.
After all, that army of a million Sword Birds had all been ordinary-grade fierce birds comparable to humans in the True Qi Realm. They had not reached Spirit Grade and were unable to form a powerful spiritual energy field.
Their destructive capability naturally could not compare to the field generated by several thousand Spirit Grade Fire Crows.
What was more, this flock of Fire Crows had a clearly far more powerful king preparing to emerge.
"Kyeee!"
A piercing cry sliced through the sky, sharp as a whistling arrow seemingly capable of piercing through the void itself, brimming with boundless majesty.
The force of that single cry actually set the surrounding mountain ranges howling in response, echoes rolling back and forth like thunder cascading across the heavens, unbroken and unending.
The moment Jiang Chen heard that sound, his expression changed sharply.
With this kind of majesty, the Fire Crow King's cultivation could not possibly be lower than the Gold-Munching Mouse King's.
Judging solely from the overwhelming presence of that single cry, the Fire Crow King had likely already reached the half-step Yuan Realm.
Jiang Chen didn't know whether to be shocked or frustrated.
He had never imagined that competing for a single extraordinary herb would stir up commotion of this magnitude.
Sure enough, a fissure suddenly split open within the cliff face. A spectacular burst of firelight surged forth, sending a towering pillar of crimson clouds billowing into the sky.
The red clouds rolled across the void and cradled within them a Fire Crow King whose body was as massive as an ancient mammoth.
The Fire Crow King spread both wings, and their span was astonishing—they could have shrouded an entire small mountain beneath their shadow.
Every feather on the Fire Crow King's body was crimson red. At first glance, the creature appeared to be bathing in a sea of flames, its entire form wreathed in a crimson halo of light. It looked like the mythical Vermilion Bird reborn through fire—majestic and imperious beyond compare.
Kyeooo—
Another long cry rang out. The Fire Crow King beat its wings once, its body forming a graceful aerodynamic arc as it shot skyward like a massive column of flame rising into the high air—a truly spectacular sight.
Below, the thousands of Fire Crows cried out in excitement, piping their own cries in response. They seemed to worship the Fire Crow King utterly.
As if in their hearts, that Fire Crow King was their totem, their god.
Seeing this, Jiang Chen silently prayed: *Leave, just leave. Take your children and grandchildren and wander the surrounding area. Give me just half an incense stick's worth of time, and I'll find a way to harvest that extraordinary herb.*
Jiang Chen had not given up hope. That kind of extraordinary herb was something one could encounter but never seek out across all the Sixteen Kingdoms. He absolutely refused to let it slip away.
Miss it once, and you'd regret it for the rest of your life.
But he also knew that this Fire Crow King's exact cultivation was hard to gauge. Simply from that imperious bearing alone, he could tell it was not to be trifled with.
Provoking the Fire Crow King would absolutely bring catastrophic trouble—trouble no less severe than being surrounded by the rat tide had been.
"My children, the day the Cloud Flame Ginseng blooms is the day I ascend to Saint Grade! Detestable—lowly humans have invaded our territory and defiled the peace of Mingmie Valley. Tell me, is that not hateful?"
"Hateful!"
"Worthy of death or not?" the Fire Crow King roared.
"Worthy of death!" the thousands of Fire Crows cried in unison.
These Fire Crows had entered the Spirit Realm and possessed spiritual awareness. They spoke in the ancient Beast Language.
Hearing these words, Jiang Chen felt every hair on his body stand on end. A single thought blazed through his mind—*every mortal martial artist inside Mingmie Valley is about to be in terrible danger.*
Jiang Chen understood that the two provocations by those two groups of martial artists had thoroughly enraged the Fire Crow clan. Even the Fire Crow King had been roused. It seemed they intended to bathe every human inside Mingmie Valley in blood.
"In my name as the Fire Crow King, I command you: burn a hundred miles! Not one mile less! Wherever you go, leave nothing but scorched earth!"
The Fire Crow King's voice rang out with overwhelming authority as it issued its decree.
"Burn a hundred miles…"
"Burn a hundred miles—leave nothing but scorched earth!"
Every Fire Crow grew frenzied with excitement. Receiving the Fire Crow King's command, they shot off in every direction like arrows loosed from bows, transforming into streaks of flame as they spread outward to cover a hundred-mile radius.
Watching this, Jiang Chen's heart sank.
*Disaster! Once the Fire Crows unleash their fire-attribute spiritual energy and burn across a hundred miles, everything in their path will be reduced to scorched earth. Nothing alive will survive!*
An overwhelming sense of crisis surged through Jiang Chen's entire body without warning.