Crow Immortal: I Can Duplicate Infinite Resources

Chapter 196: Life Ends Here

Sect Leader Qi swept the room with his Divine Sense as the group of five entered.

Directly opposite the door sat the familiar black coffin of the Great Zhou Crown Prince.

Attendants hurried to the sides of the casket, slowly helping the occupant to his feet. The Crown Prince was dressed in magnificent brocade robes, but his face was bloated and pale, his expression one of dull, sluggish misery.

“Sect Leader Qi…” the Crown Prince wheezed, cupping his hands with jerky, uncoordinated movements. “Long… time… no see…”

“The Crown Prince is polite,” Sect Leader Qi nodded coolly. “You have returned to the market. May I ask what important matter brings you here again?”

Qi’s gaze sharpened as he looked the royal over. “You used the Hundred-Year Spiritwood Heart. Did it not alleviate your condition?”

The Crown Prince remained silent, his eyes glassy.

The Foundation Establishment puppet of the Traveling Merchant laughed awkwardly. “Ah, this is rather embarrassing to discuss in front of outsiders. However, since it involves His Highness’s privacy and the nature of the trade, I must explain.”

The merchant lowered his voice. “After obtaining the Hundred-Year Spiritwood Heart from Wanchun Valley, His Highness thought that since the backlash could be suppressed, why not continue cultivation? He hoped to reverse his mortal fate and force a miracle.”

The merchant paused, offering a pained smile. “As you can see… he failed.”

Sect Leader Qi and the elders exchanged glances of disbelief.

This mortal Prince was truly relentless in his pursuit of death. It was eye-opening. No wonder the Hundred-Year Spiritwood Heart hadn’t worked; he had burned through its protection by immediately attempting to cultivate again.

“Let me guess,” Sect Leader Qi said, turning his gaze to the merchant puppet. “You intend to use Qi Refining Spirit Boosting Pills and Jade Spirit Berry seeds—items for low-level cultivators—to trade for our sect’s strategic resource, the Thousand-Year Sunkwood Heart?”

The merchant puppet waved his hands. “No, no, Sect Leader Qi, you misunderstand. My business with your sect is to trade intelligence on the Central Heaven Domain for your resources. I am not involved in His Highness’s transaction this time. I merely brought him along.”

The merchant stepped back, washing his hands of the affair. “Whether the deal succeeds depends entirely on His Highness’s offer and your satisfaction.”

Sect Leader Qi nodded slowly and turned back to the bloat-faced royal. “What does the Great Zhou Crown Prince require? And what do you offer in exchange?”

The Crown Prince took a ragged breath. “I… am willing to offer one thousand Spirit Stones… collected from my treasury… to Wanchun Valley.”

He paused, wheezing. “When I become Emperor… I will cede half my territory to your sect… I want no Hundred-Year hearts… I only seek… the Thousand-Year Sunkwood Heart.”

His eyes bulged with desperation. “I hope… Sect Leader Qi… will agree…”

Sect Leader Qi didn’t even blink. “Impossible.”

One thousand Spirit Stones was a fortune to a Qi Refining disciple, but to a Golden Core sect master, it was pocket change. As for territory? Wanchun Valley had no interest in managing mortal kingdoms.

More importantly, the Thousand-Year Sunkwood Heart was tied to the Ancestral Tree Earth Vein and the sect’s Guardian Formation. With powerful enemies looming, they wouldn’t trade it for the entire Great Zhou Dynasty, let alone half.

“Sect Leader Qi…” The Crown Prince took a stumbling step forward, ready to beg.

Sect Leader Qi raised a hand, cutting him off. “Say no more.”

The merchant puppet chuckled, breaking the tension. “It seems the deal is off. In that case, Sect Leader Qi, please follow me to Room Jia. We have our own business to conclude.”

Sect Leader Qi nodded. He turned and left without a backward glance at the pleading eyes of the Crown Prince.

The man was digging his own grave. Sect Leader Qi had no obligation to hand him the shovel.

Han Yu followed the group out. Just as he crossed the threshold, his Sword Heart twitched.

A gaze.

Someone was watching his back.

He turned his head sharply.

The room contained only the pathetic Crown Prince and his cluster of bowing attendants. Who among them would have the presence of mind to watch him with such intensity?

The door began to close. A eunuch attendant holding the handle looked at Han Yu with confusion, silently asking why he hadn’t left yet.

Han Yu’s eyes swept over the faces in the room one last time.

Strange.

None of these attendants matched the ones from the previous visit. The Crown Prince had brought an entirely new entourage?

Han Yu frowned, committing the anomaly to memory, before turning and walking away.

Even if there’s a scheme, it likely doesn’t concern Wanchun Valley. We aren’t giving them the wood heart.

The door clicked shut.

The attendants immediately swarmed the Crown Prince, helping him lie back down in the black coffin.

Just as they were about to slide the lid halfway shut, a heavy sigh echoed from the box.

“Is this… where my life ends…?”

“Why… can I not buy the heart…”

One of the attendants peeked over the rim and saw tears streaming down the Prince’s fat cheeks. Terrified, the servant dropped to his knees. “Your Highness! Please do not grieve! You must preserve your health!”

“You are heaven-blessed! There is always a way! You will inherit the throne and reign for ten thousand years!”

The other attendants joined in the chorus of kneeling and wailing, some squeezing out fake tears to show their loyalty.

But the sighing inside the coffin did not stop.

After a long moment, the Crown Prince’s voice rasped out. “Enough. All of you, withdraw.”

The attendants bowed and retreated. As they reached the door, the voice spoke again.

“Little Li, stay. Bring me tea and snacks.”

The room emptied. The door was bolted shut.

Only one attendant remained—a man with his head lowered respectfully.

The moment the room was secure and the isolation formation hummed to life, the atmosphere shifted instantly.

The “Great Zhou Crown Prince” sat up.

The bloated, sluggish movements vanished. He hopped lightly out of the coffin, sitting on the edge with a casual, agile grace. He crossed his legs and grinned, his dull eyes now sharp and mocking.

“So, Little Li,” the ‘Prince’ said, his voice completely different—smooth and cynical. “How is my carefully prepared avatar?”

The attendant, ‘Little Li’, straightened his spine. The servile posture evaporated, replaced by the dangerous aura of a predator.

“I have to admit,” Little Li chuckled, “the transformation techniques of the Central Heaven Domain are miraculous. Combined with your pills, even a Demonic Cultivator like me can walk in the light. And you… wearing his skin like a suit of clothes. Impressive.”

“One must have multiple identities when traveling,” the ‘Prince’ said, grabbing a pastry. “If I wasn’t absolutely certain, would I dare take the risk?”

He chewed thoughtfully. “It’s a pity this identity has an expiration date. The Great Zhou Crown Prince is about to become ‘disheartened’ and commit suicide. A tragic end.”

The ‘Prince’ smirked. “Fortunately, before we left, we accepted all the assassination bounties on the Crown Prince’s head. We also milked the Second Prince and the Third Princess for everything they had.”

“With that done, this treacherous royal has finally outlived his usefulness.”

“If he has a spirit after death,” Little Li laughed, “he will regret ever offending you.”

The ‘Prince’ smiled darkly. “Some things are not for him to decide. They are for me to decide.”

He brushed crumbs from his brocade robes. “By the way, Little Li. Why were you staring at that ‘Spirit Crow Cultivator’ earlier? That kid is sharp. He noticed.”

Little Li’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Yes. He is unusual.”

“So young, yet carrying such a heavy reputation. A true genius of the righteous path,” Little Li mused, his voice dripping with false admiration. “It makes one… envious.”

He shook his head, changing the subject. “How did your other avatar fare with Wanchun Valley?”

The fat ‘Prince’—who was revealed to be yet another puppet of the Traveling Merchant—grinned.

“Naturally, it went very smoothly.”