Chapter 14: Catching Birds
As an outsider, Gong Mengbi is not a rising star, so he is not planning to make a big splash and is planning to develop in a low-key manner first.
He observed the weather yesterday and found a good place to hide temporarily.
To the southeast of his favorite Baofeng Mountain, there is a Bamboo Ridge.
Wild bamboo grows in clusters with lush branches and leaves.
Gong Mengbi carefully restrained his breath and hid in the bamboo ridge, following the breath of the monster in the mountain.
The bamboos in the Bamboo Ridge have grown into trees that can be hugged by two people. Among these thick bamboos, there is a colorful bird foraging in the bamboo forest.
This is a bamboo sparrow, an intelligent monster. Its diet consists of insects, fungi, and berries found in the bamboo forest.
Gong Mengbi had already activated his illusion technique to its fullest and did not expect the form-concealing technique to be able to conceal his form.
The eyes of the bamboo sparrow are sharper than the ghosts and gods raised by Xu Banxian. Unfortunately, it is not strong enough and has not yet entered the rank, so it is not difficult to deal with.
Gong Mengbi opened his mouth and let out a bird call, the sound of a bamboo sparrow, full of aggression and provocation.
The bamboo sparrow that was pecking at the bamboo green leaves let out a sharp cry, dropped the half-eaten bamboo green leaves, and flew towards Gong Mengbi.
When the bamboo sparrow saw another of its kind with brightly colored fur pecking at a bamboo rat on the ground, it immediately became furious.
The monster's territorial consciousness drove it to flap its wings and grab at its fellow on the ground like a falling arrow.
As its claws fell, the sharp bird claws immediately tore the earth apart, tearing the bamboo shoots and bamboo tendrils underground into pieces.
But the claw missed.
Not only that, the falling claw was also pulled to the ground by the extremely cold true qi through the underground water vapor and turned into ice ropes.
The bamboo sparrow struggled continuously, but unless it could release the Taiyin True Qi in seconds, it would not be able to break free with brute force alone, unless it could pull out the underground water veins.
Gong Mengbi was already pressing down on the bamboo sparrow, pressing his sword against its throat: "Shh—don't struggle, I'm afraid I'll kill you by mistake."
It is obviously a fox, but it can speak bird language.
The bamboo sparrow's feathers exploded all over its body, making it as fluffy as a ball of wool.
The icy Master's Blade pressed against its throat, its chilling aura carrying a deadly aura. The Master's Blade itself was unsharpened, serving only as a ritual instrument to control the Five Ghosts. However, the Taiyin Qi condensed within it had given it an unbearable edge.
The bamboo sparrow is not a wild beast. Beasts have no intelligence and may fight to the death, but the monster is smart enough to know that it has no chance of turning the tables.
Gong Mengbi was stronger and smarter than it, so it gave up struggling, folded its feathers, and bowed its head, saying, "Spare my life."
Gong Mengbi did not believe it easily.
Beasts don't lie, but monsters do.
He put a grass ring woven from sedge around the neck of the bamboo sparrow, silently recited a spell, and the grass ring tightened.
Gong Mengbi performed the art of spirit parasitism in the grass ring, deliberately using it to cast a spell and control the bamboo sparrow.
The spell of using a straw man to summon the grass-headed god also requires the participation of the spirit-sending technique. On a more advanced level, Taoist spells such as turning beans into soldiers also require the spirit-sending technique.
Small tricks have their own charm. Although simple, they are very useful.
After the grass ring was tied around the neck, Gong Mengbi put away his sword and stood still on the ground. The ice rope that had locked the bamboo sparrow's claws also dissipated like mist.
The bamboo sparrow was free, and it flapped its wings quickly, distancing itself from Gong Mengbi and circling in the woods.
Gong Mengbi was not afraid that it would escape, so he let it circle for a few times before it finally landed on a short bamboo.
The bamboo sparrow looked at Gong Mengbi and asked, "I'm just a bird, why are you arresting me?"
"How come you are just a bird? You are clearly the spirit of wood and bamboo." Gong Mengbi's blue eyes had already seen through the bamboo bird.
This bamboo sparrow looks like a bird, but it is actually the essence of bamboo. It is the spirit transformed from the vast bamboo sea with the essence of heaven and earth. It just finally turned into a sparrow and lives in the bamboo sea.
It looks like an ordinary bird, but in fact its foundation is much stronger than Gong Mengbi's.
The bamboo sparrow screamed and flapped its wings suddenly to fly away. Only then did it truly feel the danger and fear.
If you use the same skills you use against birds to deal with it, the worst that can happen is you can just give up your bird form, recuperate for a while, and then transform back into a new form. But if you see through its true nature and use the same methods you use against wood and bamboo spirits to deal with it, then that would be truly dangerous.
The bamboo sparrow flapped its wings and tried to flee, but Gong Mengbi was not in a hurry. The bird flew into the forest for only a moment before returning to Gong Mengbi.
When it saw Gong Mengbi, it was frightened and changed direction and continued flying.
But before long, it flew back to Gong Mengbi for some unknown reason.
The bird then realized that it had been under a spell and could not escape.
The bamboo sparrow landed in front of Gong Mengbi again and asked angrily, "What did you do to me?"
"It's just a little trick," Gong Mengbi said with a hint of smile in his eyes, "Don't panic, I just want to ask you a few questions and borrow your bamboo forest to stay."
Zhuque felt relieved at this moment: "Just ask if you have anything to ask."
Gong Mengbi asked, "I'm not a local fox. I just came to Longpan Mountain and I know nothing about this place. I wonder if you have any information to provide me?"
The bamboo sparrow twisted its neck, racking its brains, and said, "So you're a fox from outside. I wonder what your plans are in Longpan Mountain? Are you here to collect herbs or mine? Are you staying here for a short time, or are you going to settle down?"
Gong Mengbi said with a smile: "I have come this far, but I haven't decided what to do yet."
The bamboo sparrow didn't believe it at all. How many truths could a fox say?
But Gong Mengbi had no intention of letting it believe it.
Zhuque had no choice but to explain: "Longpan Mountain has 5,224 peaks and ridges, some of which are owned, some of which are unowned. If you want to collect herbs or minerals on unowned peaks, it's fine; just go ahead and collect. But if you want to collect on owned land, you must pay a courtesy or exchange it with someone else."
"Most peak masters are easy to talk to, but for those who are difficult to get along with, we need to find other ways."
"You are staying here for a short time, so you don't need to bother to build a cave. You can rest in my Bamboo Ridge and keep me company. If you want to settle down, you will need to find a suitable mountain forest to build a cave."
Gong Mengbi smiled and said, "What if I like someone else's cave?"
Zhuque froze up and said repeatedly, "There's nothing else in my Bamboo Ridge except bamboo. There's no treasure. Why don't you go look somewhere else?"
Seeing that it was so frightened that its fur stood up, Gong Mengbi comforted it kindly: "I was just saying, and you are right. You are the only treasure in the whole Zhuling. Don't worry."
You should be more worried!
The bamboo sparrow dared not speak out its anger, and flattered him: "I am still useful to you. Although I am weak, I am blessed by the plants and trees, and I can get information for you."
Gong Mengbi stroked his chin with his slender fingers: "It is indeed useful, please continue."
Seeing that Gong Mengbi seemed quite satisfied, Zhuque continued, "If you've set your sights on someone else's cave, you can only rob it, or see if they're willing to share the mountain with you and become friends. Otherwise, robbing someone else's cave by force will often lead to a life-or-death struggle. If you can't keep the owner, they might keep thinking about it and wait for an opportunity to retaliate."
Gong Mengbi nodded: "I have an idea. Are there any powerful people near Zhuling?"
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