Twenty years later.
SWOOSH!
A faint Sword Light streaked across the vast sky, piercing through thick clouds and dense miasma before landing on a mountaintop.
The Sword Light dissipated, revealing a figure.
He had the appearance of a middle-aged man, with faint wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, a few white strands at his temples, and a visible air of world-weariness on his face.
His Daoist Robe was tattered and worn, washed countless times. The Spiritual Patterns on it had long been shattered in Combat, losing their protective effects.
Judging from his well-defined features, the man must have been remarkably handsome in his youth. Though he no longer possessed his boyish looks, he had gained a mature air.
This was Zhu Ju, who had journeyed thousands of miles from the East Sea.
"The Ten Thousand Mountains!"
Gazing at the vast, sprawling mountains ahead and listening to the roars of beasts and cries of birds, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of emotion.
"I’m finally here!"
The hardships of traveling alone across the East Sea were difficult for any outsider to imagine.
Over the past twenty years, Zhu Ju had fought all sorts of Demon Beasts and dodged natural disasters and floods, escaping death by a hair’s breadth on several occasions.
If not for his ability to retreat to the Otherworld to hide and lay low, he likely would have died long ago on his journey.
Even so, he was in a wretched state.
He had exhausted all his methods and used up all his Spiritual Objects along the way, barely managing to reach the Ten Thousand Mountains.
The Ten Thousand Mountains weren’t necessarily safer than the East Sea; in fact, they might be even more dangerous.
But at least there was hope in sight.
A dozen or so years in Wind Moon Valley, twenty years on Yunjing Island, and another twenty years after that—all told, it added up to a full sixty-year cycle.
When he first left Dragon Head Peak, Zhu Ju was only in his thirties. Now, he was nearly a hundred years old.
The old friends he once knew...
Few were likely left.
The thought cast a shadow over his heart.
’Unknowingly, I’ve grown old.’
...
Xi Chen, with a Poison Wolf Bow and Wolf-Toothed Arrows on his back, used both his hands and feet to quickly scale the steep cliff face.
Finding a safe spot, he took out a steel piton, hammered it into the rock, and tossed a rope down.
"Grab on!"
"Okay!"
Xi Youyue called back from below. The next moment, the rope went taut, and she felt herself being yanked into the air by a great force.
Soon, the two of them appeared on a protruding cliff ledge, eyeing a flock of Sword-Beaked Pot Eagles not far away with predatory gazes.
"Be careful," Xi Chen said in a low voice.
"I’ll lure them away in a minute. You take the chance to go in. Sword-Beaked Pot Eagles love to eat Jade Lotuses, so there must be plenty in the nest. When you get in, don’t think twice—just stuff everything into your storage bag. As long as you get three or five stalks, this trip won’t have been for nothing."
"Mm," Xi Youyue nodded emphatically.
"Also."
Xi Chen pursed his lips and continued,
"If I wasn’t mistaken last time, there should be the skeleton of a Qi Refiner inside the Eagle’s Nest. His Magical Artifacts and belongings will all be in there. If you find them, grab them too. We might be able to make a small fortune."
Xi Youyue’s eyes lit up, and she nodded vigorously.
"Don’t let your guard down." Xi Chen turned to his sister, his voice laced with concern.
"Your life is the most important thing. If we don’t get the items, we can always try again. If you lose your life, you lose everything."
"You just turned thirteen. I shouldn’t have brought you here."
"Don’t worry, brother, I’ll be fine." Xi Youyue gave him a sweet smile.
"The entrance to the Eagle’s Nest is too small. Even with the Bone Shrinking Skill, only someone with a small frame like mine can get in."
"I’m covered in the blood of a Tier Two Demon Beast, and I have all the life-saving tricks you taught me. I’ll definitely be fine."
"..." Xi Chen took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and gave a firm nod.
"Alright then."
"You have to be extremely careful."
With that, he flipped to his feet, drew his bow, and shot an arrow toward the Eagle’s Nest on the distant cliff.
He was an expert archer. His left hand plucked the bowstring in rapid succession, sending arrows flying out like afterimages.
THWIP!
THWIP! THWIP!
Several Sword-Beaked Pot Eagles were struck and fell shrieking into the canyon.
BOOM!
One of the arrows pierced the rock face and exploded, sending fierce flames sweeping outward.
A Blast Flame Talisman!
It was a Tier One Middle Grade Spirit Talisman, with power comparable to Magic cast by a Five Acupoints Innate expert. It instantly killed several Sword-Beaked Pot Eagles on the spot.
However, the flock was massive, and this act thoroughly enraged them. One after another, Sword-Beaked Pot Eagles flew out from their nest, forming a black curtain in the sky as they dove toward Xi Chen.
"Sister, be careful on your own!"
Xi Chen shouted, flinging out a Chain Dart. He used the momentum to launch himself into the air, heading for the other side of the canyon.
Even in mid-air, he was still able to draw his bow and fire several arrows into the flock.
BOOM!
RUMBLE...
The arrows affixed with Blast Flame Talismans exploded in mid-air, killing more Sword-Beaked Pot Eagles but also drawing even more of the birds.
SCREE!
The strange shriek was piercingly sharp. With wings beating the air, an unknown number of Sword-Beaked Pot Eagles flew out from the nest.
Xi Youyue lay motionless on the ground, counting down in her head.
Ten!
Nine!
Eight!
...
Two!
One!
SWOOSH!
She shot her head up, lunging toward the cliff face like an agile Spiritual Monkey, her body shrinking as she squeezed into the Eagle’s Nest.
The entrance to the Eagle’s Nest was only the size of an adult’s head. Even with her small frame and the use of the Bone Shrinking Skill, she barely managed to get in.
Inside, the nest was much more spacious. A pungent smell assaulted her nostrils, accompanied by the strange squawks of a few hatchlings.
Jade Lotuses!
This was a type of Spiritual Medicine that grew on cliffs, making it incredibly valuable due to the difficulty of harvesting it.
The Sword-Beaked Pot Eagles loved to eat them.
Found them!
With a quick scan, she spotted several stalks of Jade Lotus in a corner, and a look of delight immediately appeared on her face.
She pounced, quickly gathering them up.
Besides the Jade Lotuses, she stuffed all the other Spiritual Medicines on the ground into her bag, whether she recognized them or not.
CRASH...
She wasn’t sure what she bumped into, but a pile of roots and branches to the side suddenly collapsed, revealing a skeleton underneath.
The flesh had long been gnawed clean from the bones, leaving only a Flying Sword and a storage bag beneath the skeleton.
’A Qi Refiner really did die here!’
’I’m rich!’
Xi Youyue’s heart pounded—THUMP-THUMP-THUMP. Her mouth felt dry as she stepped forward to pick up the skeleton’s belongings.
Just then, a fierce gust of wind rushed at her from behind.
SCREE!
SQUELCH!
Caught off guard, Xi Youyue felt a sharp pain in her back as a huge force sent her flying.
She couldn’t see it, but her back was surely a bloody mess, burning with searing pain.
The creature that appeared before her made her pupils contract and her heart nearly stop beating.
"The Eagle King!"
Sword-Beaked Pot Eagles had slender bodies, like longswords, with the sole exception of their larger bellies, which looked like a hanging barnacle.
That was how they got their name.
An ordinary Sword-Beaked Pot Eagle was about three feet long, but the one before her was over ten feet long.
Moreover, the aura it radiated was terrifying.
’Tier Two?’
’Even if not, it must be close.’
’Run!’
Xi Youyue’s pupils shrank. Spiritual Light flared from her body, feet, and forehead as she simultaneously flung several Spirit Talismans straight at the Eagle King.
A Gale Talisman, a Vajra Talisman, a Peaceful Heart Talisman...
The support Spirit Talismans activated.
A Blast Flame Talisman, a Heavy Mountain Talisman...
She threw out the attack Spirit Talismans.
BOOM!
Flames erupted, and a wild gale swept through the narrow cave as a figure shot out from within.
SCREE!
BOOM...
The rock face shattered.
The Eagle King, which had been recuperating in the Eagle’s Nest for who knows how many years, smashed through the cave wall and charged after Xi Youyue, who was leaping through the mountains like a Spiritual Monkey.
However, perhaps because it hadn’t been active for many years, the Eagle King’s flight was wobbly and it had trouble controlling its direction.
*
*
*
"Sister, look out!"
"Brother!"
"..."
Screams echoed through the mountain forest.
A flock of Sword-Beaked Pot Eagles tucked their wings and dove like a rain of arrows from the sky, hurtling toward the two figures below.
THWIP!
THWIP! THWIP!
"..."
These Sword-Beaked Pot Eagles were like Flying Swords spirit-bound by a Cultivator, their beaks exceptionally sharp.
They could pierce through solid rock with ease.
If one were to land on a person...
The result was easy to imagine.
The brother and sister had only just managed to reunite when the flock caught up to them. They had exhausted all their tricks but still couldn’t escape.
"Youyue."
Xi Chen growled.
"I’ll hold them off! You keep running! Jump into the Muddy River and you’ll survive!"
"No!"
Xi Youyue cried out.
"Don’t..."
"Huh?"
As the two were arguing, already prepared for death, they suddenly realized the flock in the sky had stopped attacking.
Instead, they were fleeing in a panic, as if escaping a catastrophe.
Including that fat Eagle King.
’What happened?’
The brother and sister exchanged a look, both completely baffled.
"My two young friends."
A gentle voice came from behind them.
"Do you know where the nearby Cultivation Sects are?"
SWISH!
The two spun around instinctively, tensing up and gripping their weapons.
Somehow, a middle-aged Scholar dressed as a Daoist was standing there, watching them with a faint smile.
"Sen... Senior..."
Xi Chen was the first to recover. He quickly put away his bow and arrow and bowed respectfully.
"Thank you for saving our lives."
The flock’s sudden retreat must have been related to this unfathomably powerful Daoist before them.
"Our meeting is fate. It was a small effort." Zhu Ju smiled faintly. He hadn’t encountered another living person in years, so the sight felt strangely familiar and welcome.
"You two."
"Are there any Cultivation Sects nearby?"
"Yes," Xi Chen nodded eagerly.
"There’s an Immortal Alliance outpost about three hundred li south of here."
’Immortal Alliance?’
’What’s that?’
A flicker of movement in Zhu Ju’s eyes.
...
Decades ago, the cultivation forces within the Dazhou Territory were defeated one by one by the Demon Dao. Some fled to the Ten Thousand Mountains.
The Demon Dao was greedy.
They weren’t satisfied with just occupying Dazhou.
While they assimilated Dazhou’s resources to increase their strength, they also launched an offensive against the Ten Thousand Mountains.
To resist the Demon Dao, numerous cultivation forces jointly formed the Immortal Alliance, establishing a pact of mutual defense that everyone was bound to.
The Immortal Alliance was thus established.
"The strongest powers in the Immortal Alliance are definitely the Profound Clarity Sect and the Celestial Yu Immortal Sect. There are also others like Fengxia Pavilion, the Hundred Flowers Sect, and so on..."
Atop an auspicious cloud, Xi Chen explained,
"The Immortal Alliance recruits disciples every year. I plan to try my luck this year to see if I can enter the Profound Clarity Sect."
"You’re not an Immortal Sect Disciple?" Zhu Ju glanced at him.
"Have the requirements for joining an Immortal Sect become so high?"
Xi Chen was not yet thirty, but he was already at the Innate Four Acupoints realm. Although this was partly due to consuming some kind of Heavenly and Earthly Treasure, it still meant he was exceptionally talented.
He was even more gifted than Zhu Ju himself had been at that age.
’And he still couldn’t enter an Immortal Sect?’
"That’s not it."
Xi Chen scratched his head, a blush creeping onto his face.
"After joining an Immortal Sect, you have to carry out missions and fight against the Demonic Demon People. I was worried my strength was too low, so I didn’t go."
"Now, I can directly become an Inner Sect Disciple. Inner Sect Disciples have special privileges, like being able to delay their missions for a few years."
"I see!" Zhu Ju understood now. He then asked casually,
"Do you know of the Bright Void Sect?"
"The Bright Void Sect?" Xi Chen nodded.
"Of course I do!"
"Thirty years ago, the Demon Dao launched a massive invasion of the Ten Thousand Mountains. The sects on the edge of the mountains rose up to resist. The Bright Void Sect bore the brunt of the attack and was nearly wiped out. Only a few managed to escape."
"I hear... they’re not doing very well..."
His voice trailed off as he noticed the expression on the senior beside him growing increasingly grim.
"Senior, are you a Cultivator from the Bright Void Sect?"
"Yes."
Zhu Ju sighed softly.
"I am a disciple of the Bright Void Sect’s Dragon Head Peak."
「A short while later.」
"We’re here."
Zhu Ju descended from the auspicious cloud. With a light wave of his hand, he changed into the only intact Magic Robe he had left.
Only then did he compose himself and start walking toward the mountain peak above.
As he reached halfway up the mountain, a familiar voice called out from a distance.
"Which fellow Daoist has come to visit my Bright Void Sect?"
A streak of Tunneling Light rose from the summit, crossed a li in an instant, and landed before the three of them. When the light faded, the figure of a beautiful woman was revealed.
The newcomer’s gaze fell on Zhu Ju, and her expression faltered. A change suddenly came over her once-cool eyes.
Like ripples spreading across a calm water surface.
"Zhu... Junior Brother Zhu?"
"Senior Sister Pei."
Zhu Ju sighed softly and clasped his hands in a bow.
"I’ve returned."
"You’ve returned..." Pei Jingque’s voice trembled.
"As long as you’ve returned, that’s all that matters. As long as you’ve returned!"
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