Breaking out of the cocoon
The scorching air seemed to freeze because of the dark figure, and even the boiling magma seemed to pause for a moment.
A second Zhu Ming? No… it’s not that small. Could it be a Fire Spirit?
She dared not make a move, her heart pounding in her chest, her fingertips instinctively tightening around the Illusionary Moon Chasing Light Fan. Cool, celestial energy emanated from the fan's ribs, slightly calming her mind.
By the dim light of the fan, she finally saw clearly that the thing was not some kind of spirit or monster, but a emaciated figure in tattered black robes! The person was like a living black shadow, moving close to the ground, and at this moment, he was sneakily reaching out his hand, trying to seize the bright red egg that was glowing in the bird's nest!
Countless doubts flooded her mind, leaving Wu Ying unable to attend to them. Only one thought remained clear: if the Zhu Ming Egg was damaged, not only would the Earth Fire Lotus Seed and the Molten Jade Marrow be lost, but she and Yun He would likely also be unable to escape the wrath of this ferocious beast that would burn the heavens and destroy the earth!
She subconsciously waved the precious fan, and a clear, moonlit arc of light shot out, precisely severing the other party's outstretched wrist!
Unfortunately, Wu Ying herself had not practiced any immortal arts, and this fan was purely an immortal artifact. It clashed with the demonic energy in her body, and the man was only knocked back a few steps before his bloodied arm quickly grew back.
"Ugh!" The shadowy figure winced in pain, then abruptly looked up. Beneath the hood, two bloodshot, venomous eyes stared straight at Wu Ying, who had ruined his plans.
This person is definitely not a good person.
With just one glance, Wu Ying came to this conclusion, a chill running down her spine. However, she did not retreat. Instead, she raised her precious fan again, shattering the fissure in the ground and leaping down to the lower level, standing before the Zhu Ming egg to confront the being that was neither celestial nor demonic. The Illusionary Moon Chasing Light Fan cast a gentle glow, softly enveloping the demon girl and the bird egg, yet revealing its sharp edge to the dark shadow.
"This is not something you can covet. I hope you will leave immediately!" She tried to remain calm and used the power of the cloud crane to intimidate the other party and force him to retreat.
The dark figure's gaze lingered on the Illusionary Moon Chasing Light Fan, clearly recognizing its nature and who it belonged to. However, instead of backing down, he let out a few strange, grating cries as if he'd witnessed a colossal joke. His withered arm trembled, unleashing a yellowed bone spur. The demonic weapon was shrouded in ominous black energy, utterly incongruous with this place of extreme yang and strength. The figure then flickered past Wu Ying, swooping towards the bird's nest like a ghost!
Despite her surprise, Wu Ying remained calm and immediately turned around, flinging the precious fan out. The Illusionary Moon Chasing Light Fan seemed to have its own consciousness; after flying out, it shot straight in front of the bird's eggs, its immense immortal power forming a barrier that tightly protected the nest behind it.
"clang!"
The bone spurs and the celestial light collided, forcing the dark figure back several steps by the recoil. Looking at the precious fan, it was now completely unbroken, its radiance even brighter, as if in defiance. The red light in the opponent's eyes intensified, seemingly caught off guard that the Illusionary Moon Chasing Light Fan would obey the orders of a mere demon woman, and for a moment dared not employ any further forceful tactics.
Just as the standoff was reaching its peak, Zhu Ming's angry shriek came from outside the cave, growing louder and clearer as it approached! Clearly, it had noticed an outsider had sneaked into its nest and was abandoning Yunhe to turn back and drive the intruder away.
The man naturally heard the sound of the clouds piercing through the air. He glared resentfully at Wu Ying before Zhu Ming's egg, then his figure swung backward, seemingly melting into the shadows of the rock wall, vanishing without a trace in an instant. But Wu Ying, using the light, clearly saw no passageway on the rock wall.
Their arrival was strange, and their departure was even more bizarre.
Slightly relieved, Wu Ying still dared not be careless. She leaned close to the Illusionary Moon Chasing Light Fan, clutching the Demon Core tightly in her hand, and warily watched the surrounding shadows for a long time until she was sure that the other party had really left, only then did she realize that her back was soaked with sweat.
Almost at the same moment she relaxed, the light and shadow at the cave entrance dimmed, and a fierce fire and wind rushed towards her.
Zhu Ming's massive fiery body filled the cave entrance, its bright golden eyes burning with strange fire. The anger within froze as it swept over the intact eggs inside the nest and the severed arm before Wu Ying. It tilted its head, counted the unborn chicks inside the nest, then pointed at Wu Ying and the Illusion Moon Chasing Light Fan outside. Its raging fury suddenly subsided, replaced by scrutiny and doubt.
It's so hot... It's so fierce... Does it even have a brain?
Feeling flustered by the bird's gaze, Wu Ying could only remain still and not even dare to breathe loudly, for fear that if she made a mistake, the bird would misunderstand.
Fortunately, she only panicked for a moment.
Yunhe landed silently behind Zhu Ming, her blue robes still flowing, her inner energy steady, as if she had merely strolled leisurely. She casually brushed aside Zhu Ming's fiery feathers and walked straight to the midst of the ferocious beasts and demons, stopping in her tracks. Her gaze swept across the cave, confirming Wu Ying was unharmed, before turning her attention to the deep blue egg. After a brief moment of confusion, she understood.
“So that’s how it is…” she nodded. “The Molten Jade Marrow is neither an inanimate object nor the essence of extreme earth fire, but rather an egg formed from the fiery power of the Crimson Bird… No wonder the Mountain Lord only knows one aspect and not the other.”
The Zhu Ming bird, unable to understand human speech, merely lowered its head, first sniffing the Wu Ying and the severed limb, then turning its head to look at the Yun He. Seemingly understanding something, its violent anger gradually subsided. It let out a low but no longer hostile call, folded its wings, and slowly lowered itself, sheltering the eggs within the soft down on its chest and abdomen, murmuring as if to comfort them.
"We originally intended to retrieve a life-saving item from here, but we did not know that it was your bloodline. We are truly sorry." Yunhe stepped forward and bowed slightly to express his respect.
"Coo coo." Zhu Ming probably understood from the body language, and actually lifted his leg to a corner of the giant nest, using his beak to rummage through the rocks to find another egg.
...What rolled out?
This move stunned the two of them. Both Wu Ying and Yun He stood there dumbfounded, not understanding its meaning.
"Coo, coo." Zhu Ming was quite generous; with a kick of his paw, he sent the newly appeared egg rolling under the fan and in front of the two of them.
I ran my fingers around the egg, feeling that its intense light and heat were exactly the same as the one under Zhu Ming's belly, but I couldn't feel the chick's heartbeat—a Zhu Ming egg that couldn't bear new life. I looked up at Zhu Ming again, only to see that the guy had somehow found two new eggs, kicked one to Wu Ying, and then cracked open the remaining one, drinking the golden magma inside—or perhaps the egg liquid?
"Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle." Seeing that the two little ones weren't eating, Zhu Ming tilted his head in confusion, "Gurgle, gurgle?"
It seems they were given unfertilized eggs that wouldn't hatch.
Although there were some twists and turns, the final result was good.
Using magic, Yunhe shrunk the two bird eggs given to him by Zhu Ming to the size of chicken eggs and carefully put them into the lava box. Then, Yunhe bowed deeply to the strange beast: "I will never forget your great kindness. To express my gratitude, please allow me to set up a barrier for the Immortal Abode so that person will not come to disturb us again."
"Gurgle."
Seeing that Zhu Ming did not object, she forced a few drops of vibrant, shimmering essence blood from her fingertips and flicked them towards the octagonal corner of Zhu Ming's nest. The essence blood merged with the magma, and the powerful and stable barrier immediately took effect. After Yun He and the other left, only Zhu Ming was allowed to enter and exit this place. Anything that stepped in would be stunned by heavenly lightning—like the fire monster that had foolishly crawled in, which had already become a delicious meal for Zhu Ming. Even Zhu Ming and the unborn eggs within the formation were affected, and the flames surrounding them became even brighter and purer.
It let out a long cry of comfort, nodded, and flapped its wings. A scorching whirlwind then cut several lotus-shaped plants off at the roots and stuffed them into the arms of Yunhe and Wuying without any hesitation, so many that the two of them could hardly carry them.
Earth Fire Lotus Seeds. With this, the leader of the Red Lotus Cult can also be saved.
After thanking her again, Yunhe turned to Wuying and said, "Well done. We should go back now."
"Yes!" The Earth Fire Lotus nearly drowned Wu Ying's face, but she and the Illusion Moon Chasing Light Fan still followed closely behind. Along the way, she briefly explained the attack by the dark figure.
"Is that so?" Yunhe took the fan, his brows furrowing slightly. "Do you recognize that person's fighting style?"
"That person's movements were strange, able to blend into the shadows to escape... This is not a technique of immortals or demons that I know of."
“Evil arts… It seems the Western Regions are not peaceful either.” Yunhe pondered. “Never mind, we’ll discuss this later. Junior brother and master are together, so there should be no problem… Let’s go to the Red Lotus Sect’s headquarters first, and perhaps we can ask their leader about the strange and mysterious events in the Western Regions.”
Without lingering, the two quickly retreated from Jinran Mountain under Zhu Ming's watchful eye and headed straight for the Red Lotus Sect.
The deepest level of the Demon Abyss.
Mo Yiheng stood alone amidst the chaos, his black robes fluttering in the wind. He couldn't find Yun Shu, nor Yun Hua, and dared not venture any deeper—at best, he would be severely injured by the chaotic power of this place; at worst, he would encounter Yun Hua and instantly meet his maker. He had many affairs to attend to in the Demon Realm, and could only occasionally steal moments to wander here, attempting to capture Yun Shu's familiar and gentle aura.
Although it has never been successful so far.
Yun Shu and Yun Hua seemed to have completely vanished from the world, and no matter how hard he and his subordinates tried, they could not find a trace of them.
“Your Majesty,” Night Asura transmitted his voice from the top of the Demon Abyss, “Yunhua Mountain has responded.”
The seemingly still, decaying wood suddenly trembled: "Speak."
"After discussion, the elders agreed to temporarily cease hostilities with the Demon Realm and jointly seek a way to save the Demon God and the Immortal Venerable. However... they also had conditions."
"speak."
"First, the Demon Realm must reveal the truth about the Demon Abyss incident to Yunhua and promise never to invade Yunhua again. Second, before Immortal Venerable Yunshu and Grandmaster Yunhua return, the Demon Lord must personally go to Yunhua every so often to burn incense and apologize in the forbidden area until the two of them are safe."
Upon hearing this, Mo Yiheng fell silent. The first point was indeed beyond reproach, but the second point... was less of an insult and more of a symbolic punishment and acceptance.
Accept.
Yunhua Immortal Mountain, the elders and disciples are still willing to accept him, this traitor, this infamous current Demon Lord.
...Ha, what kind of punishment is this?
"Granted." After the strange incident that day, he was unusually cheerful. "Issue my decree: Your wicked disciple, Mo Yiheng, will be going there in person soon."
"Yes." Night Demon replied, but then tossed down a secret report, "Also, there are results from Jade Guanyin's side. It is said that the person who instructed that physician, although possessing the immortal sect's inner cultivation method, can also control demonic energy. That person calls himself 'The Faceless Man.' I have already sent people to investigate this person's background."
"The Faceless Man"? Another guy I've never heard of.
A flash of bloodlust crossed his eyes, and he said in a deep voice, "Continue the investigation. Even if we have to dig three feet into the ground, we must dig out this fame-seeking scoundrel and what's behind him."
"yes."
After Ye Xiuluo withdrew, Mo Yiheng once again turned his gaze to the void that had devoured his loved ones. The shattered jade was embedded in his palm, causing a painful discomfort to his skin.
After the void of chaos.
Within the rift of "Primordial Chaos," the chaotic energy remained, but the "egg" protecting Yun Shu became even more stable. The white fox's body had fully recovered, and its snow-white fur was as new as ever, even softer than before its injury.
Beside the "egg," Yunhua stood quietly with his hands behind his back. The demonic aura surrounding him was deep and terrifying, and all traces of his "immortal" nature had vanished. From that day on, he never tried to touch or get close to it again.
Every day, he would keep a safe distance, lean down and press his forehead against the "egg" wall, peacefully close his eyes which were now only empty and chaotic, sing a song from who knows how many years ago, and listen to Yun Shu's steady breathing and heartbeat.
But today, the situation is different.
In a sudden moment, Yunhua looked up, and in his chaotic eyes, the trembling of the "egg" was clearly reflected.
He abruptly took two steps back, clenching his fingers until they turned white and bled, desperately suppressing any potential leakage of demonic power.
Inside the egg, the curled-up white fox's eyelids trembled, and a very faint, drowsy whimper escaped its throat. Its claws and tail moved unconsciously, piercing the supple eggshell, and it fell silently to the ground.
Yun Shu slowly opened her eyes.
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