Jin Xin spoke in a mysterious way.
Fang Qiao's brow twitched: "How...mysterious is it?"
“It’s really mysterious, let me tell you.” Jin Xin lowered his voice: “My great-uncle is very brave. Although the village has explicitly forbidden going into the mountains during an earthquake, he still took my two cousins into the mountains this morning. And guess what? They couldn’t get in! They came back and told me that they encountered a ghost wall, and could only keep going around in circles on the outside, unable to get in at all.”
Being trapped in a maze...
Fang Qiao had only heard of it in the Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio in comic books.
Her almond-shaped eyes widened in surprise: "Is that so?"
“I had never heard of this before, but my great-uncle and my two cousins all said so. We spent the whole morning wandering around the outskirts and couldn’t get into the deep mountains.”
"Could they be lost?"
“How could he possibly be lost!” Jin Xin reacted strongly: “My great-uncle has been making a living in Changbai Mountain since he was a child. The road into the mountain is as familiar to him as the road home. How could he not be able to get into the mountain because he got lost? That would be too embarrassing. What’s even more amazing is that my great-uncle said that he saw a big red phoenix flying in the sky.”
"A large red phoenix?" Fang Qiao frowned more and more as she listened. "Are you sure it's true?"
"I'm not sure. After all, it's just my great-uncle's word, and neither of my cousins said they saw it." Jin Xin expressed his doubt: "A big red phoenix? That's too far-fetched. I guess my great-uncle's eyesight is failing."
"Although he spoke very mysteriously, even saying that the mountain god had appeared to me, I don't really believe it."
Jin Xin didn't believe in these mystical things, but Fang Qiao did.
The spiritual energy has been revived; things that were impossible before are now possible.
Phoenix?
Maybe it really does exist.
After hanging up Jin Xin's call, Fang Qiao seemed lost in thought.
If the great phoenix Jin Xin mentioned is real, then Cheng Baidong might really be alright. The reason he can't be contacted might be that he entered a special 'space'.
For example: a secret realm? Or ruins?
Cheng Baidong had told her that in his experiences in other worlds, there were many such special spaces, which might be extremely dangerous, but often contained opportunities.
Although it's dangerous, it's not a bad thing.
After all, cultivating immortality is going against the will of Heaven, and the path of a cultivator's growth is often accompanied by bloodshed and turmoil.
Fang Qiao advised herself to take it easy.
As a powerful cultivator who reached the pinnacle of cultivation in another world, Cheng Baidong possesses the means and ability to handle danger.
Cheng Baidong, whom Fang Qiao was concerned about, did not actually experience anything thrilling.
At this very moment, he and Gao Ping's group were squatting in a huge cave, staring at a bald chicken with beady green eyes? Uh... a bald Vermilion Bird staring at each other.
Although it was this newly hatched Vermilion Bird chick that saved them in the nick of time last night, Cheng Baidong couldn't reconcile the adorable, clumsy way it was munching on compressed biscuits with the celestial bird that led the way in the "Songs of Chu" ("The flying Vermilion Bird leads the way, riding the chariot of Taiyi").
Legend has it that the Vermilion Bird is a mythical bird with an eagle's beak and eyes, strong and fierce, with a red body covered in flames that never go out. It is also said to "not perch on anything but the parasol tree, not eat anything but bamboo seeds, and not drink anything but sweet spring water." But this one in front of us, apart from being bald (crossed out)... with sparse red feathers, has absolutely nothing to do with the Vermilion Bird's habits, whether in appearance or diet.
Seeing that the Vermilion Bird had devoured the last bag of compressed biscuits they had brought, Gao Ping couldn't help but tug at Cheng Baidong's sleeve and ask in a low voice, "Brother Cheng, is this really the divine bird Vermilion Bird? How can it eat so much?"
"So what if it can eat? Even divine birds get hungry."
The bald little Vermilion Bird chick spoke human language, startling Gao Ping.
He had assumed that because they were different species and couldn't understand each other's languages, he was surprised to find that they could understand him and even speak human language.
This is really awkward.
He shrugged and gave Zhuque an awkward smile: "Sorry, please eat, please eat."
So, the little Vermilion Bird swallowed the last bite of the compressed biscuit with satisfaction.
Cheng Baidong put away the communication talisman in his hand. This place was strange; he couldn't enter the space, and the communication talisman couldn't be used.
He turned to Zhuque and asked, "How do we get out?"
The Vermilion Bird spread its wings and flew onto Gao Ping's head. It wasn't very heavy, but it was extremely insulting.
Gao Ping, mindful of having just spoken ill of it, shook his head, daring not to utter a word of anger.
"Go forward along the cave, and there will be an underground river ahead. Jump into the underground river, and you can float out."
Zhuque's words sounded simple, but the problem was that although it was springtime, the snow on Changbai Mountain had not yet melted, and the river water was icy cold. Cheng Baidong was somewhat better off, as his spiritual energy protected him from the river. However, Gao Ping and the others were all mortals. If they jumped into the icy water, they would probably suffer from hypothermia before they could even float out, and the consequences would be dire.
Cheng Baidong asked, "Are there any other methods?"
Little Vermilion Bird shook her head: "I don't know."
When it was still an egg, that's how it rolled out of the hole. As for other methods? It didn't know.
Cheng Baidong said somewhat helplessly, "Didn't you teleport us out last night? Can't you teleport us out again today?"
"No, I've run out of spiritual energy, but I don't have any eggshells left."
The little Vermilion Bird spread one wing and struggled to activate its fire-starting spell.
A few seconds later, a tiny flame, about the size of a match, finally appeared at the tip of its wing. The flame flickered slightly, and then... it went out with a 'pop'.
It pouted pitifully and said, "Without spiritual energy, I can't even start a fire."
Teleportation? Don't even think about it.
The little Vermilion Bird looked so pitiful that Cheng Baidong couldn't bear to ask for anything more.
He sighed.
It's a pity there's no spiritual energy here, and I can't even enter the space. Otherwise, I could just take out any magic weapon to cross the river, which would be better than being trapped in this place.
With no other option, Cheng Baidong bit his finger, used his blood to channel spiritual energy, and cast a spell to create a giant bubble that contained everyone inside.
The giant bubble carried people tumbling deeper into the cave. Little Vermilion Bird found it amusing and plunged headfirst into the bubble.
It entered the bubble as it wished, but the bubble also rolled forward suddenly due to inertia, taking the person inside the bubble with it.
"ah--"
Terrified screams filled the air.
Little Vermilion Bird laughed happily: "Hehehehe..."
With a "plop," the bubble fell into the underground river and was swept away by the rushing water.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
