Lin Mubai smiled and said, “Miss Xiao Die is free from worldly strife with a pure and simple nature. Penglai Valley is blessed with outstanding people and spiritual land, cultivating individuals who are naturally gifted and beautiful.”

Qing Xia remained silent. This Xiao Die, if she went to the modern world, might well become a generation’s mother of grain, benefiting the nation and people. Yet here she wasn’t valued by everyone. Even Lin Mubai, full of praise, only praised her temperament but didn’t notice how much practical benefit everything she did could bring to ordinary people. Even the Penglai people, because she didn’t dedicate herself to mechanical research, thought nothing of it. Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but sigh. Truly different times bring different perspectives!

The white elephants carried everyone slowly forward. Along the way, the scenery was peculiar and beautiful, making everyone feel refreshed and happy, not feeling time pass slowly. Moreover, with Zhu Yuanqing’s witty conversation and extensive references, the two felt enchanted and delighted. Before long, they arrived at the only entrance to the earth ravine – Tianyi Gorge!

Tianyi Gorge was ten thousand zhang high, too high for even birds to cross, appearing as if carved by a knife, standing vertically. Between the gorge walls, one could faintly see a stone stairway of ten thousand ren slowly extending upward. The sight was shocking to behold, making it impossible to imagine how such a magnificent feat was originally constructed.

Zhu Yuanqing had already regarded Qing Xia as one of his own and came forward with a smile to explain, “This stone stairway is just a decoy. When it was originally built, it took a very long time but was never successful, so it was abandoned midway. The actual secret passage back to the top is in the mountain’s belly, relying on underground fierce fire to open underground water gates. With water and fire merging, they create tremendous force that sends the rafts inside upward – time-saving, labor-saving, and very convenient.”

Qing Xia’s eyes immediately widened. She hadn’t expected the entrance the Penglai people spoke of to work this way. She felt the Penglai people were incredibly clever and mysteriously unpredictable.

Just then, a rumbling sound suddenly thundered forth, like muffled thunder from above. Everyone immediately raised their heads in unison to see more than ten fire-red large birds shrieking as they swooped down, circling and screaming in the air, their sharp beaks pecking fiercely, launching violent attacks against a young man above whose movements were agile and whose form was swift as a leopard.

Seeing this, Qing Xia felt a tremendous roar in her mind and couldn’t help shouting loudly, “Quick! Save him!”

However, before the Penglai people could act, a large bird over eight chi long, as big as a full-grown man, swept overhead. Its foul stench enveloped the area, with fire-red plumage, blood-red eyes like hooks, and sharp claws. When its wings spread, they spanned over twenty meters. Flying low, it stirred up large amounts of flying dust and tough sand, its sharp beak like a knife fiercely pecking at the man.

Qing Xia was greatly alarmed. She snatched a crossbow from a Penglai disciple, drew the dagger from her bosom, bent the bow to shoot the blade, swift as lightning with astonishing force, stabbing fiercely toward the giant bird’s abdomen.

But there was only a clang sound, as if the dagger had struck cast iron. With a dull thud, it split in half and fell down.

Zhu Yuanqing’s expression became grave as he said sternly, “This is the Red Bird King, one of the ten fierce birds in the valley. It cannot be opposed by force. Men, attack with thunderwood pellets!”

A group of capable young Penglai men immediately surrounded them, working in pairs to set up relatively sophisticated tools. In an instant, whooshing sounds filled the air as fist-sized pellets whistled toward the giant bird. The large bird originally had bones of steel and sinews of iron, but it seemed to have suffered from these seemingly unremarkable thunderwood pellets before. It immediately couldn’t spare attention to attack the man on the cliff face, shrieking and roaring, crying out sharply, constantly flapping its wings trying to brush away those pellets. However, the pellets had tiny barbs with hooks that, once touching the feathers, immediately stuck tight and couldn’t be shaken off.

Seeing the time was right, Zhu Yuanqing raised a packet of blue powder in his hand. When the wind blew, the powder floated and flew in midair, immediately becoming invisible as if it had turned to vapor.

The Red Bird King was greatly alarmed, its blood-red eyes frantically flapping its wings in panic. However, a series of muffled explosive sounds immediately rang out, intense sulfur smell permeated heaven and earth, and countless bloody holes opened on the Fire Bird King’s body, the foul stench suddenly piercing the nose. The man on the cliff face saw an opportunity and suddenly turned, the curved blade held in his mouth slashing sharply across the red bird’s neck. A line of blood immediately shot skyward, the flock cried out in long wails, and the fire bird’s head immediately fell. The headless body circled menacingly in midair, flying wildly and fiercely, holding on for quite a while before finally falling down in defeat.

Wind stirred, and the flock mourned. This group of earth ravine giant birds was also quite formidable. Meeting this great setback, not only did they not flee in panic, but instead fought desperately like cornered beasts, flapping their wings in formation to surround the man on the cliff face. The people below were greatly alarmed. Because the flock and the man were too close, thunderwood pellets could no longer be used, so they could only bend bows and notch arrows, shooting fiercely.

Qing Xia was greatly alarmed and jumped down from the elephant’s back, drawing a war blade to climb up. Zhu Yuanqing quickly stopped her, signaling with his eyes to those around him. Everyone quickly grabbed vine ropes and climbed up swiftly.

Although these Penglai people were pedantic and timid, they had constantly battled various flying birds and beasts in the valley for years, so they were agile in form and nimble in hands and feet. However, they were very far from the man and couldn’t reach him immediately. Just as the flock had completely surrounded the man, a clear bamboo flute sound suddenly rang out, sharp and high-pitched, harsh and unpleasant. After just a few notes, it already made people dizzy and weak in the limbs, with tingling scalp and nausea churning in chest and abdomen.

Zhu Yuanqing frowned tightly and shouted loudly, “Evil gu dragon smoke, Cloud Forest Seven Trees! Everyone quickly cover your ears, you cannot listen anymore!”

Hearing this, everyone below quickly covered their ears. Qing Xia looked up to see that flock of large birds suddenly seemed possessed, flapping wings at each other and attacking fiercely, actually fighting among themselves. Feathers flew everywhere, foul blood splashed across the sky. A young girl in green robes sat on a snow-white goshawk, with large round eyes, red lips and white teeth, green gauze wrapped around her head with thin braids hanging down adorned with jade-green bells. A green bamboo flute lay across her mouth as she played with raised head, looking charming yet carrying an indescribable cold eeriness. Seeing the giant birds had fought each other almost to exhaustion, her snow-white small hand reached into her clothing, grabbed a handful of colorful smoke and scattered it. In an instant, the flying birds in the sky immediately cried out sharply, but in moments they dissolved into pools of blood, plopping down.

Everyone was dumbstruck, no one knowing this girl’s origins. She paid no attention to the people below, only curled her lips smugly and mocked the blue-robed man in midair, “Yang Blockhead, didn’t you say you didn’t need my help? Now I’ve helped anyway – what can you do to me?”

The man remained silent, gripping the hook rope in his hand and descending swiftly. Without those beasts interfering nearby, the man’s agility was like a giant ape’s, and in a flash he had landed on the ground.

Only now did the Penglai people have time to carefully see this man’s full appearance.

The newcomer wore blue fitted clothing, with handsome brows and sharp eyes. Though his face showed the weathering of wind and frost, this didn’t diminish his bearing at all, but rather filled him with a spirit of strength and courage. He held a long rope in his hand, a silver spear across his waist, a blade sheath inserted in his upper arm, and a gleaming precious sword in his hand. Standing before everyone, his eyes deeply gazed at Qing Xia in the crowd, the corners of his mouth slightly lifting as if he had let out a long breath, smiling faintly.

“Big Brother Yang!” Qing Xia suddenly stepped forward two paces, helplessly grasping Yang Feng’s hand, so excited her eyes reddened. Since parting that day, three years had passed. She had lived daily in fear and anxiety, full of guilt and unease. She hadn’t expected to meet again today in this sunless earth ravine. For a moment, thousands of words couldn’t be spoken, and she couldn’t control her excitement.

“Lord Yang!” Lin Mubai suddenly called out loudly, wanting to jump down from the elephant’s back like Qing Xia, but nearly fell headfirst to the ground. Supported by Zhu Yuanqing, he hurriedly ran forward and called out happily, “How could Lord Yang be in this place? Truly life’s encounters are everywhere!”

Seeing Qing Xia’s expression, Zhu Yuanqing knew the newcomer was no simple identity. He had already privately acknowledged Qing Xia as his master and followed her devotedly, so he quickly stepped forward with keen perception, saying clearly, “I was just wondering who was the hero fighting the Red Bird King alone – so it’s Miss Zhuang’s friend. No wonder then.”

Yang Feng smiled faintly and greeted everyone, then smiled at Qing Xia, “Xiao Xia, knowing you’re safe puts my mind at ease.”

“How did you find this place? I waited for you in Bailing Prefecture for two years.”

Qing Xia said excitedly and happily. Just as Yang Feng was about to answer, suddenly a sharp long cry rang out. Everyone turned to look and saw the giant white goshawk had landed on the ground. The green-robed girl flipped down, reached out to pat the goshawk’s head, and the goshawk, as if spiritual, cried out once and immediately shot straight into the sky, circling overhead for a while before disappearing. Seeing everyone looking at her in surprise, the girl didn’t care at all, only used a pair of eyes to look Qing Xia up and down for a while, then said to Yang Feng, “You risked your life to come down here for just such a girl? I thought she’d be some heavenly beauty, but she’s nothing special after all.”

After speaking, she snorted coldly with an extremely disdainful expression.

Qing Xia was stunned, her brows slightly furrowed, and said to Yang Feng, “Who is she?”

Yang Feng’s face stiffened, and he frowned, “An ordinary friend.”

“What ordinary friend?” The green-robed girl suddenly cried out coquettishly, turning around proudly with raised brows, calling out charmingly, “Yang Blockhead, how can you be so heartless and ungrateful? For three years I’ve been with you day and night, serving you tea and water. I gave you my pure body long ago. Now that you’ve seen your sweetheart, you want to cut ties with me and clear all relations? Let me tell you – no way!”