“Listen, that fierce bird is crying out continuously.” The group stopped several dozen miles away, treating the situation as a grave threat and preparing for battle.
The leading woman, dressed in snow-white attire, was strikingly beautiful and ethereal. Her hair was as dark and smooth as silk, and her jade-like face showed no sign of tension. Her bright, expressive eyes gazed towards the depths of the mountains as she said, “At this distance, it shouldn’t be able to detect us.”
Deep in the mountains, the bird’s cry was like the clash of a thousand swords or the stampede of a thousand horses, its sound rumbling and shaking the mountains. Massive rocks tumbled down, creating a scene as if an earthquake had struck, indicating just how fearsome this bird was.
From afar, a radiant light surged from that direction, undulating like a sea, as if there were an eternal divine furnace burning between heaven and earth, illuminating all around like a divine being's arrival.
“This fierce bird is a descendant of the ancient divine phoenix. Initially, we thought it had broken through and needed to replenish its vitality, which is why it devoured an entire tribe of millions. Later, we realized it was preparing to lay eggs,” a middle-aged man explained.
“This is a powerful relic species with the blood of the ancient divine peacock king flowing through it. Its eggs are of extraordinary value. We must obtain them and nurture them carefully. Who knows, we might witness a portion of the ancient divine king’s might; its treasured techniques were once renowned as world-shattering,” the old woman said excitedly. Despite her age, she was spirited, with silver symbols flickering in her eyes.
Ancient relic species are rare and powerful beings, and their origins and eggs are even more mysterious and valuable.
It would be impossible to obtain treasured techniques from an adult peacock without incurring terrifying costs. Even if one were to capture it, a single thought from it could shatter the symbols on its body, leaving no chance for capture.
The occurrence of finding the remains of a divine beast like the lion-like Suanni and discovering its original symbols was an extremely rare event, with only a few exceptional cases.
To uncover the secrets of the ancient divine peacock king, one cannot start with an adult relic species; instead, one must aim for its eggs, nurture them, and keep them close to possibly gain insights into the ancient divine bird's treasured techniques.
“There might be complications. Let’s hurry and follow. Everyone, be cautious,” the woman in white said, her eyes glinting, her red lips slightly parted, revealing pearly teeth. Her voice was enchanting and extraordinarily beautiful.
“It has just laid its eggs and is in a weakened state. This is the best opportunity,” the others nodded in agreement.
Little did they know, their concerns were about to be realized. The descendant of the ancient divine king had lost its eggs and was now frantically searching and hunting down the egg thief.
“Little White, run quickly; it’s appeared!” Little One glanced back. The divine light of the five-colored egg was soaring into the sky, with a life force as overwhelming as crashing waves, incredibly astonishing.
A gigantic peacock soared from the depths of the mountains, shrouded in a layer of mist, radiating five-colored rays. It spread its wings and flattened everything, smoothing out the forests and stone mountains.
“Pfft.”
Mao Qiu’s small claws were rather ineffective; it struck the solid rock with force, trying to break the five-colored divine egg, but only succeeded in shattering the rock while leaving the egg untouched and shimmering.
Little One was startled and said, “Mao Qiu, stop messing around. That fierce bird will be here soon. I think we should drop the egg and escape quickly.”
The golden Mao Qiu, with its large, rolling eyes, hugged the five-colored bird egg and turned to Little One, indicating that it was its egg and shouldn’t be discarded.
Moreover, Mao Qiu performed an astonishing move. Since the rock could not break the egg, it started gnawing directly with its small, gleaming teeth.
“Oh no, Mao Qiu, don’t bite!” Little One shouted. This was a mysterious and powerful egg, and he had been pondering that if it were truly hatched, it might yield an extraordinary technique.
At present, he had mastered the original true解, so practicing was no problem, but what he lacked most was a treasured technique.
In today’s world, treasured techniques were extremely rare. Even a large tribe with millions of people possessed only one clan-defining technique, supplemented by a few minor divine powers. It was nearly impossible to find more.
“Crack!”
Under Little One’s astonished gaze, Mao Qiu’s white teeth managed to crack the eggshell, and the five-colored divine light flowed, the powerful essence causing an intense and frightening wave.
“Mao Qiu, you prodigal child!” Little One was both angry and regretful, grabbing its tail and lifting it up. Despite this, Mao Qiu didn’t release its grip, gnawing at the eggshell with determination.
Everything was too late. The five-colored divine egg had been cracked open, and Little One didn’t bother to say much. After all, Mao Qiu had brought back the egg from deep in the mountains, so it had the right to handle it.
“Slurp, slurp.”
Mao Qiu began to eagerly suck the egg, oblivious to the overwhelming five-colored divine light behind it. Its little belly became round as it absorbed the egg’s essence.
A delightful fragrance emanated, and the liquid inside the five-colored egg was crystal-clear and dazzling, with a fragrant smell. Mao Qiu ate with gusto, lost in joy, squeaking loudly.
“Boom!”
The vast divine light came crashing down, and rocks flew chaotically. The unicorn nearly got tossed away. Had it not been for its speed and quick change of direction, it would have been hit by a massive stone from the collapsing mountain.
“They’re after us!” Little One’s scalp tingled. This was a relic species from the ancient times, far too powerful for them to withstand.
The five-colored peacock hadn’t spotted them yet but was tracking the direction of the egg thief, its rage reaching its peak.
The only consolation was that the unicorn ran so fast. If it were any other creature, it would have been caught in the blink of an eye. Nonetheless, being caught was only a matter of time.
The speed of the ancient relic species far exceeded that of the unicorn. If not for the forest obstructing its view, it could have reached them in a few flaps.
The golden Mao Qiu finally showed some fear. It handed the five-colored egg to Little One, scratching its head, trying to use its techniques but failing to manifest any, growing increasingly anxious.
Seeing this, Little One didn’t care much anymore. He grabbed the sparkling bird egg and began drinking the liquid, gulping continuously. In just a short while, his body began to emit colorful light, dazzling and bright.
With a “hum,” he began to glow all over, symbols appearing densely, as if he was about to break through to the next realm.
“Oh no, it’s bad. The柳神(Liu Shen) told me to suppress it for a month for a reason. Breaking into this level now isn’t ideal,” Little One was startled.
He remembered the original true解, which described the吞天雀(Tong Tian Que, a mythical bird that could swallow countless beings and store their essence), releasing it only when needed.
Little One had pondered the ancient illustrations for a long time. Although he didn’t have the unique method of the吞天雀, he had deduced some principles to store essence in his body.
With a “hum,” he began to glow, and one after another, symbols lit up, forming tiny divine furnaces that absorbed the divine essence.
His body glowed in every part, with realistic yet extremely tiny divine furnaces forming, glowing in every inch of flesh, devouring and storing divine essence.
“The柳神(Liu Shen) said, the thicker the foundation when entering the next realm, the greater the achievement. I’m preparing in advance,” Little One gulped down the juice from the five-colored bird egg, its crystal-like sheen flowing, completely absorbed in the process.
“Eek, eek!” Mao Qiu kept squeaking. Though it sensed the danger from behind, it didn’t forget to eat, trying to take the sparkling egg from Little One to continue consuming it.
The egg was as large as a millstone, dazzling and translucent, radiating with brilliant light and colors. Although most of the liquid inside had already been consumed by Little One, his belly showed no sign of bulging.
His body glowed as symbols illuminated one by one, absorbing the divine essence and refining the liquid into light, storing it in these radiant symbols.
Little One burped, feeling quite full. The divine essence contained in the egg of the ancient divine peacock was overwhelmingly abundant.
Mao Qiu grabbed the egg, hugging it and slurping eagerly, its large eyes rolling around as it glanced back. The five-colored peacock had spotted them, and immediately became furious, rushing towards them with incredible speed.
“Little White, move forward!” Little One shouted.
They dashed up a towering mountain. Below them, a vast river stretched out, its surface several miles wide, grand and imposing, with a thunderous roar of water that was extremely alarming.
Moreover, the river was unnervingly dark, and even from a distance, one could feel a chilling aura. There was not a single creature nearby.
The ancient relic species emitted a long cry, its murderous intent soaring. It burst forth in radiant light, diving down to swallow them whole. Recently, it had devoured millions, and its malevolent aura was still palpable, truly terrifying.
“Little White, jump down!” Little One shouted. They couldn’t afford to be picky. The black river below was their only chance for escape.
The unicorn hesitated. To it, the river was no less frightening than the ancient relic species, both equally daunting. But in the end, it gritted its teeth and leaped into the water.
Little One snatched the five-colored egg from Mao Qiu, holding it tightly and pouring the remaining liquid into the unicorn’s mouth before they both plunged into the river with a splash.
As soon as they hit the water, the unicorn’s blood nearly froze. The water was intensely cold. Though it wasn’t frozen, it possessed a mysterious power that seemed to freeze people to their core.
Little One felt an agonizing pain all over, as if needles were piercing his skin. The cold was so severe it almost reached his soul, making it extremely uncomfortable.
Even Mao Qiu, with its golden fur, was grimacing, its little paws flailing and feet kicking, clearly in distress.
In the sky, the ancient relic species dove down but hesitated as it neared the water’s surface. It didn’t enter the water, instead roaring angrily. The five-colored divine light surged, causing the towering mountain to collapse under the impact.
Under the water, the unicorn struggled, suffering immensely. Its blood flow was almost halted. Fortunately, it had consumed the last of the five-colored egg’s liquid, which transformed into a radiant light, preventing it from freezing to death immediately.
They did not surface but endured the excruciating pain, moving downstream along the black river to evade their pursuer.
Not being able to breathe wasn’t a big deal. Little One had previously been sealed in a medicinal cauldron and isolated from the outside. His body’s divine essence could replenish what he needed.
Above the river, the ancient relic species roared, its vibrant feathers glowing as if on fire. It flapped its wings, shattering nearby mountains, and pursued them down the river.
However, the black river had a mysterious quality that blocked its divine sense, preventing it from detecting any trace of the egg thief.
Even so, it chased for two hours, circling the area, searching for the enemy. Eventually, it gave up, roaring in frustration before leaving.
Half a day later, with splashes of water, Little One emerged, his body turning purple. He spat out a chunk of ice.
Mao Qiu screamed, leaping from the water to his head, clinging to his shoulders, bouncing up and down and squeaking incessantly. It was also frozen and in distress.
Little One swam to the shore, dragging the stiff unicorn and finally placing it on the grass. As soon as it was set down, the nearby stones and vegetation instantly froze.
It was strange. There was no ice in the water, but once they reached the shore, the cold was astonishing.
The unicorn had suffered severe injuries, almost frozen to the point of cracking. Had Little One not used his divine essence to nourish its body, it would certainly have died in the river and would not have survived.
Even so, the unicorn was gravely injured. Without precious medicine, it might not survive.
“Mao Qiu, you reckless troublemaker, quickly produce a drop of blood to save it!” Little One said angrily.
Mao Qiu shook the water from its golden fur, shivering and rolling its eyes in frustration.
After a moment, Little One recovered. He had nearly been frozen himself. Despite his body being stronger than the young of ancient beasts, the river’s cold had nearly incapacitated him.
Eventually, the troublemaker Mao Qiu, grudgingly and reluctantly, squeezed out a drop of golden blood, reviving the unicorn.
By the side of the black river, the group stood, looking at the mountains destroyed by the ancient relic species. They were all lost in thought, and in the old woman’s hands was a small piece of eggshell, a fragment left on the road after Mao Qiu had gnawed at it.
“What kind of creature is this, to have eaten the egg of the ancient divine bird? It’s such a waste. I wish I could devour it myself,” a young man said with indignation.
They never expected such a result after their pursuit, which was shocking.
“The thief jumped into the Taiyin River. I wonder if it will survive,” a middle-aged man sighed.
The river was famous for its legend. It was said that there were originally ten Taiyin stars in the sky. During the ancient battle, nine fell and one was refined, falling into this river, becoming a place of extinction.
In the following days, Little One became a wild wanderer, having to hunt fierce beasts and traverse the mountains. His body was covered in blood, and his beastskin clothes were tattered. Progress was slow due to the unicorn’s ongoing recovery.
After another two days, the unicorn’s wounds were nearly healed. Not only that, but it also gained significant benefits from consuming the liquid of the five-colored egg and a drop of golden Zhu Yan’s blood, becoming even more majestic. Its internal symbols gradually solidified, showing signs of imprinting on its bones.
“Mao Qiu, alert!” Mao Qiu suddenly sensed something, and its golden fur changed to a grayish-white, losing its luster. Its once bright eyes became dull and less lively.
Little One was surprised. Mao Qiu seemed to be pretending, having turned into this state. At the same time, he sensed that there were a dozen people surrounding them.
The leader was a woman in white. Her shoulder-length hair was as smooth as silk, and her skin was as delicate and white as mutton-fat jade, with a crystalline sheen. Her face was heart-shaped, with long lashes and crystal-clear eyes. Her lips were red, and her teeth were white as pearls.
Seeing such a group of people suddenly appear in this wilderness, Little One was naturally surprised and looked at them.
The group, in turn, was even more astonished. To them, the human in front appeared to be a mere child. How could someone so young be alone in this vast wilderness? It was unimaginable.
“Little brother, you’re alone?” The woman in white smiled brightly, her large, soulful eyes seeming to speak. Her red lips were moist, and her white teeth sparkled, causing the men present to shiver.
“Hello, sister. I came with my grandpa,” Little One said shyly. Despite his face being covered in grime and his tattered beastskin clothes stained with blood, his bright eyes still conveyed his innocence and simplicity.
The crowd nodded, not believing that a child could wander alone in such a terrifying wilderness unless there were adults accompanying him nearby. This was the only explanation that made sense.
Wishing my brothers and sisters a happy Mid-Autumn Festival once again.
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