Chapter 87 Don't call her when you're hunting birds! I just want to be with you...
The cold wind howled, chilling me to the bone.
Bai was alone, spending the entire night on the watchtower.
The good news is that the night was quite peaceful, without any large-scale monster attacks. Only two or three scattered groups of flying monsters tried to approach, which she easily swatted away with a few fireballs.
The bad news was that she kept replaying Zhong Jiuli's final expression of shaking his head and sighing, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt that she might have really angered her wife.
This caused Bai to be quite anxious and restless all night.
As soon as it was light, she couldn't wait to run into the cabin.
When they reached Huo Lan's door, Bai also moved quietly and lay down by the door, trying to see through the crack whether the person inside had gotten up.
"Why don't you use your divine sense to probe and find out?" Xiao Wang suggested.
"What level of cultivation do you think she has? The moment my divine sense entered the room, she was immediately able to detect it."
【Then take a look with your Eye of Insight.】
"She could feel it too."
【But kid, it's really unseemly for you to be sneaking around at someone's door like that.】
"Isn't it because you said she would be angry that I rushed to see if she was angry?" Bai muttered softly.
Based on her experience, angry women can't sleep at night and usually find something to do, such as cleaning the house or ordering takeout for a big meal.
For example, she was angry last night, so she went to fight monsters. Now that the room is so quiet, Zhong Jiuli shouldn't be angry anymore.
Just as she was lost in thought, the door was opened without warning.
Before Bai could react, he lost his balance and fell straight into the room, landing on the ground with a thud.
Before her stood a pair of plain white boots embroidered with gold cloud patterns, the soles of which were snow-white; it looked like they were wearing them for the first time today.
"Ahem~" Bai coughed awkwardly, then simply turned over, lay flat on the ground, and looked up to meet Huo Lan's eyes, who was looking down at her.
"Good morning, Fellow Daoist Huo, your shoes are quite nice."
Huo Lan didn't respond to her comment.
Bai also asked to himself, "Did you sleep well last night?"
Huo Lan raised an eyebrow, gathered her clothes, and squatted down beside her. "Very good! If you don't sleep well, you'll become ugly, won't you?"
"I misspoke yesterday," Bai quickly tried to make amends. "Even if Fellow Daoist Huo doesn't rest for ten or a hundred years, he will still be the most handsome cultivator in the Nine Provinces."
"You're so glib." Huo Lan chuckled and scolded, then got up and ignored her. "Get up and go to bed. Don't lie on the floor like that, or someone will see you."
Bai watched her leave the room, then glanced at the bed and immediately spotted the little turtle sleeping sprawled out on its back.
She immediately stood up angrily; that brat had actually slept with her wife all night.
Bai, still seething with resentment, rushed to the bedside and lay down next to Jiao Jiao, pulling the little turtle into his arms. "If she sleeps with you, I want to sleep with you too!"
While Jiao Jiao was half asleep, she felt someone choking her. She opened her eyes and saw that it was Bai Ye. She then relaxed her paws and snuggled into Bai Ye's arms.
The man and the tortoise slept soundly in bed, and when they woke up, it was night again.
Bai also woke up and took over the shift from Huo Lan. This time, with Jiao Jiao keeping watch with her, it wasn't so boring.
......
The journey took a swift turn, and several days passed in the blink of an eye before the group finally arrived at Flame Mountain.
Along the way, they weren't just traveling; they were basically fighting monsters every day.
However, overall, it was still somewhat scattered, mostly involving the younger disciples.
For Huo Lan and Ye Rugo, having them clear out these scattered monsters would be a waste of their combat power.
The spirit boat stopped when it was still dozens of miles away from Fire Mountain.
Bai also gazed at the volcano in front of him; the mountain truly lived up to its name.
The entire mountain resembled semi-solidified magma, its surface a dark reddish-black. A few twisted, black trees stood sparsely among the trees, but there was no other vegetation; it was as barren as if it had just been burned down.
The mountain's surface is covered with jagged boulders, and red lava can be faintly seen flowing from the cracks. From a distance, the entire mountain resembles a crouching beast, ready to pounce and devour anyone it may.
Even though they were dozens of miles apart, the people on the spirit boat could feel the rising temperature. The fire elemental energy in the air was much more turbulent than that outside.
"Why is the fire elemental energy here so turbulent? It feels like I'll catch fire if I breathe in too much," Bai said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"Perhaps some kind of mutation occurred in the mountains, causing the fire elemental energy to lose its balance and surge rapidly. This place should be the source of the fire poison's restlessness in the desert," Ye Rugo said.
“Yeah.” Bai nodded. “But we haven’t seen a single Ghost-faced Bird.”
Huo Lan gestured for her to look at the half-sunset sun on the horizon. "The ghost-faced birds are nocturnal and hide during the day. The sun hasn't set yet, so they should still be resting in those crevices."
"Still asleep? Then it's the perfect time to go in and take them down!" Bai said, gripping the large shield he had snatched. This thing, taken from the young master of the Hundred Refinements Sect, was truly useful.
Ye Rugo looked at the group of Burning Heaven Valley disciples behind her and said, "You set up an array along the outer perimeter of Fire Flame Mountain first, and we'll go in to scout the situation."
"Yes, Young Master," the disciples replied in unison.
After arranging things outside, Ye Rugo greeted the two of them, then, carrying her pipa, transformed into a streak of light and rushed straight towards the Flaming Mountain.
Huo Lan followed closely behind, and Bai quickly put Jiao Jiao, who was on his shoulder, onto the deck. "Jiao, you protect everyone on the ship. The mountain is full of flames. You'll suffer if you go there."
"Don't worry, Jiaojiao will protect everyone!" Jiaojiao patted her chest and assured her.
Little Fire jumped into Bai Ye's arms immediately, "Take me with you, I can protect Big White."
"Alright, let's take our little fire to show those ghost birds who the real master of fire is." Bai spread his wings and quickly caught up with the two.
Huo Lan and Ye Rugo had already landed on Fire Mountain, and Bai also flashed to their side.
The three walked several hundred meters on the mountainside when they heard a rustling sound all around them, followed by a sharp whistling sound, like a baby crying, coming from all directions, which was terrifying.
Bai looked around at the ghost-faced birds, which were all black but had white faces, and laughed, "It seems that even Fellow Daoist Huo has times when his information is inaccurate. Ghost-faced birds can come out during the day after all."
Huo Lan chuckled, "Your little tiger smells delicious, how can they resist?"
"Don't be so ambiguous," Bai said, feeling a chill run down his spine.
By this time, the sun had mostly set, the sky was dark, and the mountains were pitch black. The ghost-faced birds were hidden in the night, with only their pale ghost faces floating in the air, making them look like a group of lonely ghosts.
Being stared at by so many ghostly faces, Bai didn't want to be seen as a delicious roast meat in their eyes.
"That's about enough, get ready to make your move!" Ye Rugo shouted in a low voice, her slender fingers plucking the strings of her zither. The melodious music resounded through the mountains and forests, and an invisible ripple spread outwards from Ye Rugo in all directions.
The approaching flock of ghost-faced birds froze in place.
Having worked together before, the three were already perfectly in sync. The moment Ye Rugo took control of the situation, Bai Ye and Huo Lanru, like two sharp swords, pierced straight into the flock of birds.
Bai Ye was surrounded by the true fire of the sun, the golden flames making her look like a war goddess descending to earth. Holding a shield in one hand and a sword in the other, she flapped her golden wings and frantically reaped the lives of the ghost-faced birds as if they were nothing.
Huo Lan wielded two swords in unison, and wherever the sword light touched, black feathers flew and blood and flesh splattered.
The scene was filled with the clash of swords and the flying of blood and flesh. In just a few breaths, hundreds of mutilated corpses of the Ghost-faced Birds were piled up on the ground.
The three men's frenzied slaughter enraged the Ghost-Faced Bird King. A sharp cry echoed from the depths of Flame Mountain, and the flock of Ghost-Faced Birds instantly broke free from the music's control.
The surviving ghost-faced birds let out mournful cries and rushed towards Ye Rugo like a black tide. Clearly, these creatures also knew the principle of taking down mages first in a team fight.
"Hey, your opponent is here!" Bai Ye shouted, flapping his wings and landing in front of Ye Rugo amidst raging flames.
She held the shield with one arm, and the true fire of the sun instantly condensed on the shield. She then slammed the shield down from above her head.
"If you want to harm my family's mage, you'll have to get past me first!"
With a deafening roar, golden flames erupted from the point where the shield landed, bursting forth like a tsunami and transforming into a raging inferno that swept across the surrounding area.
The ghost-faced birds within a radius of a thousand feet were shaken and soared into the air.
"Burn you to death!" Little Taihu roared fiercely, throwing out two blue-white flames that merged into the true fire of the sun.
When the sun and moon, two fires, merge in the sky, their destructive power increases exponentially.
Ye Rugo lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes casting a faint shadow on her cheeks, seemingly oblivious to the great battle raging around her.
Her slender fingers danced across the strings like butterflies, and the pipa music suddenly turned rapid, transforming from its previous clear and melodious tone into a fierce and warlike sound.
Countless translucent sonic blades shot out, sweeping towards the flock of ghost-faced birds in the air like a whirlwind.
Almost instantly, all the suspended ghost-faced birds were shredded into pieces by the sonic blades, and black feathers and flesh fell like raindrops.
"Hey, that's a bit too violent." Bai exclaimed, grabbing Ye Rugo's arm and leading her away from the area where blood was raining down.
Ye Rugo paused slightly, holding her pipa, her gaze falling on the mess on the ground. "The quantity is too small, far from the scale recorded."
"It's rare." Huo Lan sheathed her sword and quickly walked to the two of them. "You both heard that sudden cry just now, right? It must have been the Ghost-Faced Bird King?"
Bai also looked up at the dark forest in the night and chuckled, "This bird king is quite patient. We've killed so many of its subordinates, yet it's managed to hold back from coming to settle scores with us. It's very composed! Since it won't show itself, shall we go deep into the mountains and destroy its lair?"
"No, back off!" Huo Lan suddenly grabbed Bai Ye's arm and leaped into the air with her.
Ye Rugo reacted very quickly; almost the instant Huo Lan spoke, she had already leaped up gracefully.
As soon as the three of them left the ground, the earth below began to tremble violently.
Deep underground, it seemed as if ten thousand horses were galloping, the entire mountain was twisting and deforming, and jagged cracks spread through the mountain, with scorching magma gushing out and rising nearly a hundred feet high.
The night sky was ignited by this shockwave, turning blood red, as if it were the end of the world.
Bai looked down at the hellish scene below and exclaimed, "Good heavens, this is like an earthquake and a volcanic eruption combined!"
Before the words were even finished, another unexpected event occurred.
The lava in the sky solidified into a giant, fiery bird that blotted out the sun.
It still vaguely retains the outline of the Ghost-faced Bird, but there is no longer a trace of flesh or feathers on its body; its entire body is composed of violent fire elemental energy.
Its enormous wings fluttered slowly in the night sky, and countless streams of fire fell from its wings, as if they could ignite even the air.
"Bah!"
The giant firebird opened its beak and let out a sharp, long cry!
The sound waves, mixed with the violent fire elemental energy, swept over, causing Bai Ye's blood and qi to surge and his protective aura to tremble wildly.
"So that's how it is!" Ye Rugo said suddenly. "I understand now. Fire Mountain must have been inhabited a long time ago. It was absorbing the fire spiritual energy in the desert on its own, which is why the fire poison in the heart of the desert became more and more agitated."
"Then why did it rush out at this time?" Bai asked, stabilizing his protective aura. "Shouldn't it lie dormant and develop slowly after we leave?"
Huo Lan stepped in front of Bai Ye and said in a low voice, "Because of Tai Huo, look at its eyes, its gaze is always locked on Tai Huo."
Little Fire nodded and said, "Yes! It wants to eat me!"
She didn't say it, but she was actually also envious of that huge fire spirit.
For naturally born spiritual beings like them to grow, they either need to spend countless years slowly accumulating strength, or they need to devour another powerful flame, seize its origin, and make it their own.
"What?!" Bai was furious. "How dare it covet my Little Fire! I'll make sure it gets its hands on me!"
Enraged, Bai was engulfed in flames. The sky, which had been glowing red by the giant firebird, turned crimson and gold with the addition of this golden light, and the surrounding temperature soared to a terrifying level.
Bai Ye's longsword trembled suddenly, and a golden sword light slashed through the sky, heading towards the body of the giant firebird.
She herself transformed into a sharp sword, following closely behind the sword's edge, piercing straight at the giant firebird.
"This guy! He can't beat us but he still charges so fast!" Huo Lan cursed under her breath and quickly followed after him.
She swung her twin swords in rapid succession, the cross-shaped blade beams sweeping across with absolute dominance.
The giant firebird soared high in the sky, a hint of disdain flashing in its eyes, which were formed from flames.
It looked down at the two tiny humans below, too lazy to even dodge or defend itself, arrogantly hovering high in the sky, letting the sword light and blade light strike its fire spirit body.
Sword and blade beams slashed into its body one after another, tearing out a hideous rift. But in the next instant, endless fire spirit energy surged in like rivers flowing into the sea, and in less than a breath, its body was repaired.
"Screech, you insignificant cultivators, you have no idea what kind of being I am!" The giant firebird shrieked.
It spread its fiery wings and flapped them fiercely.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
The sound of air being torn apart rang out one after another, and countless crimson feathers formed from fire elemental energy shot towards Bai Ye and Huo Lan in a massive, overwhelming rush.
Each feather was engulfed in crimson flames, moving so fast and covering such a vast area that it almost completely enveloped the space.
"Pah!" Little Taihu puffed out his cheeks, opened his little mouth, and spat out a cluster of pure white, almost transparent flames.
The moment the flames appeared, the surrounding temperature plummeted.
Countless ice crystals condensed in the air, and from the pure white flame at its center, an extreme chill that could freeze even the soul spread out.
The fiery feathers that shot towards them suddenly slowed down the moment they entered the icy area. A thick layer of white frost quickly covered the surface of the fiery feathers, and they hovered in front of the group.
"snort!"
Little Taihu stood with its hands on its stomach, its small body ramrod straight, and said fiercely in a cute but adorable way: "You little fire spirit, how dare you be arrogant in front of my Taiyin True Fire! I'll freeze you into a big block of ice!"
She stretched out her chubby little hand and waved it forward in a rather comical manner.
The frozen frost feathers instantly changed direction and returned along the same path at an even faster speed than they had come, retaliating against the giant fire bird.
"Bah!"
The giant firebird sensed the extreme cold contained within the pure white flames; it was a suppression of a certain level, a temperature that could absolutely freeze its very essence.
It sensed a deadly threat, and its enormous wings flapped wildly, sending out even more fiery feathers as if they were free.
Flame feathers and frost feathers collided in mid-air. The flame feathers, which seemed to have an overwhelming numerical advantage, quickly dimmed when they touched the frost feathers.
The domineering Taiyin True Fire assimilated these fiery feathers, claiming them as its own, and transformed them into even more frost feathers, which it then shot towards the giant fiery bird.
Bai Ye watched this scene with some surprise, "Is the little flame that strong?"
Then why were you forced to hide deep in the lake and dare not come out? When she attacked you, you could only defend passively.
Huo Lan chuckled upon hearing this, "The Taiyin True Fire is one of the top-ranking rare fires in the world. It is the Yin and Yang of the Taiyang True Fire that you control, each reaching its extreme, and neither is superior to the other."
"But my Sunfire seems... not as strong as hers!" Bai lowered her voice, a little embarrassed. She was afraid that if Little Fire heard her, the little girl would be harder to manage in the future.
“These two are not the same,” Huo Lan explained. “You have only mastered the method of using the true fire of the sun, while Tai Huo is the true fire of the moon, which is formed by the rules and is the fire of origin. She is naturally different from you.”
"Alright, it seems this little guy is indeed strong." Bai nodded, completely relaxed, and chatted with Huo Lan while watching Xiao Tai Huo hunt birds.
In the center of the battlefield, Little Fire held an absolute advantage.
That giant fire bird, despite its enormous fire elemental energy and size, was terribly crude in its control of fire elemental energy compared to the Taiyin True Fire, the supreme fire among all fires.
Each of Little Fire's attacks struck the Fire Spirit Core within its body, causing it to howl in pain.
If the battle hadn't taken place deep in the desert, surrounded by an almost inexhaustible supply of fire elemental energy, this guy definitely wouldn't have lasted much longer.
But it's almost too late.
In just a short while, the giant bird that had once blotted out the sky was hammered down by the fire and reduced to only the size of a fist, its fire spirit essence trembling and floating in the air, no longer as fierce as before.
Little Firefly leaped forward, grabbed the little firebird in his hand, and said threateningly, "Hmph, you featherless bald bird, weren't you making a lot of noise just now? Why aren't you making noise now? Are you still going to make noise?"
The fire elemental essence burned quietly in her palm.
"Tsk, boring!" Little Taihu pouted, casually stuffed the ball of pure fire spirit essence into his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it.
Huo Lan looked at Xiao Tai Huo's smooth and ferocious manner and couldn't help but facepalm. She glared at Bai Ye with annoyance, "You've corrupted Xiao Tai Huo!"
Bai looked at her innocently, "Huh? What did I do wrong? What's wrong with her?"
She thought Xiao Taihu acted very decisively and efficiently! His harsh words were also very skillful!
Little Fire, dragging its little belly, wobbled as it flew towards them, interrupting their conversation.
She nestled into Bai Ye's arms with practiced ease, and yawned lazily, "Da Bai, I'm so sleepy, I want to go to sleep."
"Are you full?" Bai also lifted her up to his eyes and looked her over.
"No, I just need to take a nap and properly digest the fire spirit's energy. I'll wake up once I've digested it." She muttered softly, transforming back into a white jade hairpin and flying into Bai Ye's hair.
The once extremely noisy and churning Fire Mountain gradually quieted down as the fire spirit disappeared.
A major battle was resolved so easily thanks to Xiao Taihuo's intervention.
Bai Ye, Huo Lan, and Ye Rugo flew back to the spirit boat.
Ye Rugo landed on the deck, made hand seals, and sent out several beams of spiritual light to summon back the disciples who were scattered throughout the Flame Mountain setting up large formations.
Seeing that the matter had been resolved, Bai stretched and tugged at Huo Lan's sleeve, leading her into the cabin. "Let's go back to sleep. Ye Rugo can keep watch tonight."
Huo Lan was practically dragged into the room by her.
As soon as he entered the room, Bai acted as if he were at home, lying down on the bed without any hesitation and sinking into the soft mattress.
She put her hands behind her head and sighed contentedly, "It didn't take much effort, but lying down feels so comfortable! Humans should lie down!"
Huo Lan stood by the bed, her eyes lowered, giving the guy who was so self-righteously occupying her bed an annoyed look.
"If you want to sleep, go back to your own room." She put on a somewhat fierce look. "What's the point of staying here?"
Upon hearing this, Bai Ye, without the slightest fear, rolled over onto the bed, clearing most of the space. She then considerately reached out and smoothed out the wrinkles on the spot where she had just lain.
After doing all this, she raised her eyes, her bright, star-like eyes fixed on Huo Lan, and said with utmost sincerity, "Fellow Daoist Huo, there's no need to be so formal. When traveling, one should keep things simple. Why bother with all this talk about 'yours' and 'mine'? This room and this bed naturally belong to everyone."
Huo Lan gave her a silent eye roll, but a barely perceptible smile quietly appeared on her lips.
Seeing that she ignored him, Bai continued to pester her, "Look, this bed is wide enough. Not only can it accommodate the two of us, but it can also fit another person, right?"
"Fellow Daoist Bai is right!" Huo Lan nodded, turned around and pretended to walk out, "I'll go and invite Fellow Daoist Ye to come and rest together."
Bai Ye flashed to the doorway, blocking the way. She looked down at Huo Lan with a wronged expression, "Don't call her here! I just want to stay with you!"
She walked forward as she spoke, until she was close to Huo Lan, then reached out and wrapped her arms around her waist, holding her tightly in her embrace.
"Please don't call her over, okay?"
Huo Lan looked at this guy, who was like a spoiled big cat, gently rubbing against her neck, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but slowly turn up.
She knew it; how could she possibly not be able to control this guy!
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