PCJ – Chapter 779 Capturing the Celestial Crane

Zhang Jiaohua suddenly leapt into the air, turning into a blur as he shot upward, heading straight toward the celestial crane.

“Chirp!”

The crane let out a sharp cry filled with killing intent.

But Zhang Jiaohua did not retreat—instead, he moved even faster. His figure flickered and vanished, and in the next instant he was already right beside the crane. A flash of spiritual light appeared in his hand—a Binding Immortal Rope shot out, streaking toward the crane.

This crane was no ordinary creature. Its aura was actually slightly stronger than Zhang Jiaohua’s—its cultivation should be one stage higher. However, Zhang Jiaohua had his own advantages: he possessed a large number of spirit tools and talismans. Even if he simply piled magic items on it, he could still exhaust the crane. And although the crane was stronger, it wasn’t strong enough to completely overwhelm him. Zhang Jiaohua valued his life—he would never take reckless risks.

This Binding Immortal Rope had been refined from the tendons of a peak Refining-Spirit earth dragon within the Immortal Beast Mountain Range. Blades and swords could not cut it. Even Zhang Jiaohua himself would need effort to break it.

The crane, though a Returning-to-Void-stage immortal beast, was still a beast. It didn’t recognize how powerful the rope was. It arrogantly thought it could simply peck it apart. Instead of dodging, it jabbed its beak at the rope.

The crane’s strike was fast as lightning. Zhang Jiaohua tried to maneuver the rope to avoid the peck, but it still connected. However, instead of the rope being snapped in two, something unexpected happened—the rope continued forward and wound tightly around the crane’s body, binding it firmly. Its own movement caused its beak to be pulled down and tied against its chest. The crane had strength, but now had no way to use it.

Fortunately, its wings were still spread open, so the rope could not bind them yet. Otherwise, the crane would have dropped straight down from the sky.

Zhang Jiaohua had never expected one rope to be enough to restrain it. He did not allow the crane a chance to struggle. He took out another spiritual tool—a metal staff that looked like an ordinary steel rod, but was actually a powerful spirit weapon. He struck the crane directly on the head, leaving it dazed and unable to use its spells to break free.

The crane had simply been unlucky. In this abandoned region, no one had ever dared to attack it, so it had become arrogant. It never expected someone would dare to try to capture it. Because it was careless, everything had unfolded exactly as Zhang Jiaohua had calculated.

Several more Binding Immortal Ropes appeared, tying the crane completely. That still wasn’t enough—Zhang Jiaohua sealed the crane’s spiritual sea, plunging its consciousness into darkness. Its wings were tied tightly so it could no longer fly. If Zhang Jiaohua hadn’t been holding it, it would have fallen off the cliff.

When the crane opened its eyes again, that man was standing beside it with a smug expression. Seeing its enemy, it became furious. It opened its beak, intending to release a mystic flame to burn him alive.

“Gah!?”

A strange croak came out—but no flame appeared.

The crane froze. Its spell had failed.

Zhang Jiaohua burst out laughing. Beside him, three small naked children laughed even harder. A little girl with two long braids looked at the crane sympathetically.

“You shouldn’t struggle,” the girl said. “This is his domain. If he wants you to go east, you cannot go west. If you resist, you only hurt yourself.”

This little girl was the Demonic-Pupil Spirit Fox, now completely subdued as Zhang Jiaohua’s spirit pet.

“Chirp—! Just forget it!” the crane cried angrily—and then its form shifted, transforming into a beautiful young maiden. She was covered in soft white feathers, like wearing a feathered dress. Her beauty was breathtaking—but her eyes were full of hatred toward Zhang Jiaohua.

“The arm cannot overpower the thigh. I advise you to just accept it,” said the spirit fox.

“Even if I die, I will never be his spirit pet!” the crane-maiden shouted.

Zhang Jiaohua felt a little guilty. The crane had done nothing to provoke him. But to return to Earth, he needed a high-level spirit beast to assist him. So he steeled his heart and said calmly:

“I need to open a dimensional passage. My own power is not enough, and I have no patience to wait. If you submit, I will repay you in the future.”

“How will you repay me? You’re just a thief! Shameless! Your cultivation is lower than mine—if not for trickery, you could never have captured me. I will never submit!” she shouted.

Since negotiation failed, Zhang Jiaohua didn’t bother arguing.

“Then stay here and think quietly. I don’t believe you have reached your level without ever killing those weaker than you. Since you lost—accept it.”

After Zhang Jiaohua left, the three little beasts began “disciplining” the crane-maiden. The fat cat, the chubby monkey, and the leopard had no concept of pity. Inside the cultivation diagram, their full strength was unrestricted, while the crane’s cultivation was suppressed. Although she was stronger in the outside world, here she was weaker than any of them. Fortunately, her physical body was strong, so although she became very disheveled, she was not seriously injured.

Meanwhile, Zhang Jiaohua continued searching Mount Descending-Immortal for a portal leading back to Earth. With the formation gone, the true form of the mountain appeared. The towering snow-covered peak looked unreal—its summit hidden beyond the clouds.

“Only one way to find out.” Zhang Jiaohua rose into the sky, flying toward the summit. The snow mountain’s features were exactly like the one Wan Jiqing described near the teleportation array in the Immortal Beast Mountain Range—but despite searching there so long, he never found it.