“I'm done. I'm on strike. After flying for several days, my beautiful feathers are starting to shed. If this keeps up, I'll age prematurely,” the Big Red Bird complained, exhausted from days of flying.
“I just fed you a spiritual herb. Now, if you don't move, I'll stew you. It's like stewed chicken with mushrooms, a typical wild delicacy,” Little Brat threatened.
“Go ahead and stew me. I've died a hundred times already. It’s better than suffering,” the Big Red Bird said bravely, realizing that this ruthless child wasn't going to eat it just yet and would still need it for transportation.
“You’re really not going to move?” Little Brat ground his teeth and began pulling feathers from the Big Red Bird, causing the crimson feathers to flutter like a rainstorm.
The Big Red Bird cried out in pain but was determined to fight back for its rights, gritting its teeth and muttering, “It will grow back, it will grow back.”
“Crunch.”
Little Brat took out a pair of golden bone scissors, which transformed into a dragon’s head with jaws that clamped down on the Big Red Bird’s neck, causing blood to flow.
“If you don’t move, I’ll eat you.”
“Help! A ruthless child is eating me!” The Big Red Bird was terrified, thinking Little Brat had started eating it. It flapped its wings and shot straight up into the sky.
“Go ahead and keep scouting,” Little Brat ordered.
The Big Red Bird, dejected and lacking energy, had been tirelessly searching for the Rain Tribe’s whereabouts. The tribe seemed to have vanished into thin air, making them difficult to track.
Although the Fire Cloud Sparrow was still active, it was working reluctantly. Little Brat’s frustration grew as he thought he might be missing something crucial about the Rain Tribe.
“Big Red, I promised to introduce you to a master. Do you remember? If you perform well, I’ll make sure you reach great heights,” Little Brat tempted.
“Ugh, don’t mention that little bird. It’s no bigger than a palm. I won’t serve it,” the Big Red Bird huffed disdainfully.
“Remember what you said. Don’t come crying to me later,” Little Brat warned.
“Stop dreaming. I won’t fall for that. I won’t be tricked by a featherless chick,” the Big Red Bird said, glaring with its white eyes.
“Are you sure you won’t beg me later?” Little Brat asked.
“I’m sure. I’ll never beg you,” the Big Red Bird insisted, raising its head and presenting its back.
Little Brat said nothing, taking out a stone box from his belongings and fiddling with it. He then opened the lid and admired its contents.
“What’s that strange aura?” The Big Red Bird turned sharply, staring at the stone box with wide eyes.
From the stone box emanated a red haze with a special fire-like glow. Although the energy inside wasn’t very abundant, the disturbance it caused was startling. The Big Red Bird, being a bird, felt the sensation even more acutely and shivered uncontrollably.
Little Brat leisurely retrieved a bright feather from the box, holding it up between two fingers and examining it closely.
“What is that?” The Big Red Bird’s eyes widened in awe, rendered speechless.
The feather was blood-red and exuded an aura that made the Big Red Bird tremble. It felt as if it were looking at a supreme being standing above a sea of flames, gazing down upon it.
This was a unique spiritual glow of the bird race. Although it hadn’t seen the little red bird in person, it felt as if it had witnessed the great divine power through this feather.
It landed on a mountaintop and, after Little Brat descended, it turned around and flapped its wings, pleading, “Please let it take me as a disciple!”
“Huh, weren’t you just looking down on me and swearing you’d never beg?” Little Brat sat on a large rock, feigning surprise.
“Well, I haven’t died yet, so please take me as a disciple,” the Big Red Bird said shamelessly, thick-skinned as ever.
“I remember someone saying that little bird,” Little Brat said with a smile.
“I was wrong. That’s my master. How could I be so disrespectful? I will definitely change,” the Big Red Bird said, weeping and lamenting.
“I knew you’d end up like this. You swore you wouldn’t, and look at you now—crying and begging. You’ve proven my point,” Little Brat laughed heartily.
The Big Red Bird, already glowing red, blushed even more but still maintained its stubbornness, saying, “Realizing one’s mistake and correcting it is a great virtue. ‘A prodigal son returns is worth more than gold’—that’s what I am.”
“No ‘good bird’ here,” Little Brat concluded.
“That’s insulting,” the Big Red Bird fumed.
“I’m stating a fact,” Little Brat said, patting its shoulder. “Tell me, Red, when do you think we’ll find that group?”
At the mention of the name Red, the Big Red Bird shuddered but quickly squared its shoulders and said proudly, “Those fools won’t escape. Watch me.”
It then dashed into the forest, howling and creating a commotion, causing a horde of fierce birds and beasts to stir up. It began breathing fire and shouting to ask if anyone knew the whereabouts of the Rain Tribe.
With the appearance of the divine red feather, the Big Red Bird seemed energized, working tirelessly. For the next half-day, it flew over countless mountains, stirring up who-knows-how-many fierce spirits and intimidating them to gather information about the Rain Tribe.
In just one day, it found accurate information, its efficiency vastly improved.
The Big Red Bird, excited, said, “The group went into the desert. They seem to be searching for a great treasure. Let’s hurry and rob it before they get their hands on it!”
This was a golden desert, dry and scorching, with reflective sand that hurt the eyes.
The landscape was starkly different from the lush lakes and rivers in the distance. The vast, dry golden desert was quite disorienting.
After a while, they entered the depths of the desert. Despite the Rain Tribe’s special sensitivity to water, they could vaguely sense something different—a mysterious fluctuation.
“This treasure is definitely a supreme one. The desert here is likely caused by that divine artifact,” the Big Red Bird was even more excited than Little Brat.
Once in the desert, Little Brat tried to separate from the Big Red Bird to search for the Rain Tribe alone. However, the bird stuck to him like a piece of sticky plaster and wouldn’t leave.
This left him speechless. He had initially threatened the bird into submission, making it reluctantly carry him. Now, it wouldn’t even leave when kicked.
“You need to be responsible for me,” the Big Red Bird insisted.
“Get lost,” Little Brat kicked it again, but it flipped over and came back.
“Hey, I smell something,” the Big Red Bird’s keen nose detected a scent of medicine from afar.
“Good. It’s a medicinal treasure,” Little Brat nodded and rushed forward.
Ahead was a patch of green—cacti with sharp spines. This was one of the few plants that thrived in the desert.
A glimmer of silver light shone amidst the cacti on the sandy ground, where a silvery-white flower swayed. Its fragrant aroma filled the air, and it sparkled with radiance, resembling a shower of light.
"It's the legendary Desert Silver, a precious medicinal herb, surpassing ordinary spiritual herbs," the Big Red Bird's eyes immediately reddened with excitement.
Little Brat was even more surprised, as beside the precious herb, a silver-robed youth was crouched down, beginning to harvest it. The distance was too great to intervene in time.
Additionally, there were several huge scorpions on the ground, their silver bodies gleaming and as large as millstones, exuding a fearsome aura.
It was evident that these silver scorpions were guarding the precious herb and would devour it as soon as it bloomed, having lived here for years.
However, these giant scorpions had already been slain.
"It's him." Little Brat's expression turned peculiar. He was not unfamiliar with the silver-robed youth, who had once been struck by him and had received several blows. This was Xiao Tian, the top talent of this generation from the Bu Tian Pavilion.
"Oh no, he's consumed it," the Big Red Bird stomped its foot, seething with anger. The distance was too far to stop him. But it soon shouted fiercely, "He’s consumed the precious herb, so I’ll consume him. That way, the medicinal effect won't go to waste."
At that moment, Little Brat also felt a surge of impulse, wanting to sneak up from behind and give him another blow to take him down. But he held back his urge after some consideration.
The silver-robed youth came from the Xiao clan and was escorted by his clan members, not traveling with Little Brat and the others.
In fact, not only him but also other notable figures like Shi Yi and the Fire Nation Princess were escorted by their respective clans.
Xiao Tian sat down, starting to refine the medicinal herb, his whole body glowing. This was clearly a sign of imminent breakthrough.
"How strong! This guy is still young and is about to open the eighth Celestial Realm. Among the human race, this is an extraordinary talent, extremely rare," the Big Red Bird marveled.
In this era, those who could open the seventh Celestial Realm were considered outstanding geniuses among the human race.
Opening the eighth Celestial Realm was incredibly difficult and exceedingly rare, like finding a phoenix feather or a unicorn horn. As the Big Red Bird said, it was a talent beyond the ordinary human scope.
As for opening the ninth Celestial Realm, that was merely a legend, typically recorded in ancient texts and rarely seen in the world.
Little Brat focused and observed closely, noting that there were seven orbs of light around Xiao Tian, and the eighth orb was indeed forming and about to be opened.
Each person’s Celestial Realms were different and would change in the later stages.
Suddenly, silver light flashed as two giant scorpions emerged from the sand, their pincers icy and their tails menacing, slowly moving toward the silver-robed youth, preparing to strike.
“Let’s go.”
“Alright, when the snipe and clam grapple, the fisherman benefits. We’ll pick up the bargains,” the Big Red Bird said excitedly.
“We’ll assist the silver-robed youth,” Little Brat corrected.
The silver-robed youth was alone in the desert, most likely not wandering aimlessly. This small world was vast and full of places with spiritual beings; there was no need to traverse this desolate area. Perhaps he knew something.
“Crack.”
The golden bone scissors flew out, swiftly severing the two giant scorpions. Their corpses fell, finally alerting Xiao Tian, who also broke through and opened the eighth Celestial Realm.
He immediately understood what had happened. Although he felt the two silver scorpions could not harm him, he still thanked Little Brat for his timely help with a deep bow.
“Brother, you truly have extraordinary talent to open the eighth Celestial Realm,” Little Brat praised, not worried about exposure as he was covered in blood and had deliberately made some changes to his appearance earlier.
Moreover, they had never faced each other directly before; he had only knocked him out from behind, so Xiao Tian wouldn’t be overly sensitive.
“Your forehead is so prominent, it’s clear you’re destined for greatness. You’ll surely soar high in the future,” the Big Red Bird cooperated and praised.
However, when the silver-robed youth heard the words “destined for greatness,” he stiffened. He loathed those words, as a group of people had once criticized and praised him for the large bump on his forehead, a memory he still vividly recalled. It nearly drove him mad.
Little Brat understood his expression instantly, his mouth twitching. He held back a laugh and scolded the Big Red Bird, “What are you saying? There’s no such thing as a naturally destined genius. Everything depends on one's own effort to achieve success. I hate those words.”
In that moment, the silver-robed youth nearly burst into tears. He felt he had finally met someone who understood him. He truly hated those four words.
“Brother, it feels like we’ve known each other forever. Your words deeply resonate with me,” Xiao Tian said, his mood fluctuating wildly. Although he had just met Little Brat, he felt a growing fondness for him.
Little Brat approached and they chatted about various topics, from distant lands and ferocious beasts to customs and traditions, engaging in lively conversation. Xiao Tian continuously nodded, feeling that this youth was very much to his liking, as if he had found a kindred spirit.
Eventually, Xiao Tian said, “I am truly grateful for your help earlier. As a token of my appreciation, I may be able to offer you a great opportunity.”
“What opportunity?” Little Brat asked with curiosity.
“Taiyi True Water,” the silver-robed youth said gravely.
Little Brat was astonished. He had heard of this substance before—it was a sacred item used even by ancient gods to forge weapons. It was priceless, and even a single drop would lead people to fight over it.
“Hundreds of years ago, one of my ancestors discovered clues and left guidance. Therefore, when the Hundred Broken Mountains opened, I came here directly,” Xiao Tian admitted. This journey was not guaranteed to succeed, as the Taiyi True Water seemed to have a life of its own, able to avoid detection and even produce runes.
Little Brat’s eyes lit up. “No matter what, we must strive for it. Missing out on such a thing would be a disaster.”
The silver-robed youth laughed heartily, finding him very interesting.
“This journey won’t be smooth. I’ve noticed that someone has gone ahead. There will likely be some turbulence,” Xiao Tian continued. He was well-prepared and had even arranged for his clan to obtain methods for dispelling illusions.
“In fact, we might not need to act directly. There are already people ahead of us. We can just follow behind them and step in at a critical moment,” Little Brat suggested.
The silver-robed youth nodded in agreement.
Throughout their journey, they chatted and laughed, making Xiao Tian feel more and more at ease with Little Brat. Every word he said made him feel comfortable.
Little Brat was passionate and righteous, declaring that Xiao Tian’s problems were his own, and they would face any challenges together in the future.
The silver-robed youth was quite moved. “To be honest, I do have a great enemy. Although I’ve never met him, he’s extremely powerful. I don’t know if I’ll ever get a chance to vent my anger.”
“Who is he?” Little Brat asked with wide eyes, genuinely curious.
“A wicked little brat. I really want him to appear before me right now so I can grab my hammer and give him a good beating,” the silver-robed youth said through gritted teeth.
“Alright, your enemy is my enemy. In the future, we’ll deal with that wicked little brat together,” Little Brat said with great enthusiasm.
Xiao Tian was touched, realizing that finding a kindred spirit was indeed a valuable experience.
As they continued to converse, the two of them grew more in sync, eventually walking side by side in the vast desert, almost as if they had become one.
The Big Red Bird followed Little Brat eagerly, being very attentive and frequently chiming in to agree with what he said, as it still hoped to be introduced to a master.
They didn’t use the Fire Cloud Sparrow to soar into the sky, as they were nearing their destination and didn’t want to be noticed. Instead, they continued to sneak through the desert.
End of Chapter Two.
No comments:
Post a Comment