Qing Xia supported Qin Zhiyan’s arm with one hand while feeling a sharp gaze from her other side. Turning her head, she saw Chu Li staring straight at her, his black-gold robe dripping with fresh blood. Seeing her gaze, he said nothing and coldly turned away.
The tremors around them grew stronger and stronger. Suddenly, a sharp, long cry rang out. The three looked around in shock to see Tan Suning standing on a stone platform, holding a golden key in her hand. An ancient-styled stone lock had been opened and was held in her grasp. On the other side, Chu Zheng, who had previously shown no signs of life, was now staring at the constantly vibrating stone slab with burning eyes that could almost shoot fire.
“Rumble!” With a tremendous sound, the entire stone cave began shaking frantically. Scattered rocks flew everywhere, dust filled the air, and the group could barely stand steady, swaying left and right. However, through the haze, they saw a golden bird head the size of a five or six-year-old child suddenly emerge from beneath the stone slab. Its eyes were emerald green, its crest crimson red, its sharp beak blood-colored, and it looked at the group with fierce, lightning-like intensity.
Suddenly, the entire earth cracked inch by inch. With a thunderous crash, the great bird spread its wings and rose up. Its body was enormous, over thirty meters tall, entirely golden yellow with brilliant plumage. Standing before it, the group was like a colony of ants, appearing as small as grains of sand.
The world was vast and full of wonders. Who could have imagined that after the legendary Tianji Lock was opened after being passed down for thousands of years, instead of world-destroying floods pouring out, it would reveal such an underground prison? After using Penglai’s generations-old key to unlock it, what emerged was such a terrifying fierce bird?
“Haha!” Ghostly hoarse laughter suddenly echoed through the cave. Chu Zheng appeared half-mad, his eyes blood-red, face twisted, shrieking: “What Five Warehouse Mountain Great Way ink scholars, what Nanjiang witch women, what Eastern Qi wise crown prince—in the end, aren’t they all within my grasp? The fierceness of Nine Provinces, Yellow Springs flood waters—what a ridiculous joke! What’s imprisoned beneath this Hongtian Water Prison is the ancient fierce bird, the Great Peng Yellow Bird! Haha!”
Everyone looked at the ancient divine bird in disbelief, feeling their scalps tingle and legs go weak. They could fight wolves and tigers, could slay serpents and slaughter lions, even oppose those strange and unpredictable Nanjiang poison insects. But now, facing this terrible divine bird unique in heaven and earth, not one person had the slightest interest in fighting it.
Chu Zheng suddenly leaped before the yellow bird and shouted fiercely: “I’m the one who released you! I am your master! Quick! Go kill him!”
With that, he pointed sharply at Chu Li in his black-gold robe.
Chu Li showed no fear, snorting coldly and looking proudly at the giant yellow bird as if facing an ordinary sparrow, showing not the slightest trace of fear or terror.
Chu Li’s gaze immediately enraged this fierce bird that had been imprisoned for hundreds or thousands of years. Suddenly, a piercing shriek rang out as the great bird violently flapped its wings, raising overwhelming clouds of dust. Its huge wings struck fiercely toward Chu Li.
Chu Li raised an eyebrow but didn’t dodge at all, holding his spear and charging forward to have a decisive battle with the giant bird.
“Fool!” Qing Xia was shocked and alarmed, shouting sternly. Suddenly rushing forward two steps, she leaped and tackled Chu Li to the ground. The two rolled sideways but still couldn’t withstand the fierce wind from the yellow bird’s giant wings. The violent wind struck their faces, scraping their skin painfully. Qing Xia shielded Chu Li with her body, her back immediately burning with pain, clearly having taken a heavy blow.
“A wise man doesn’t court disaster! Are you an idiot?” Without time to check the injury on her back, Qing Xia glared with wide eyes and shouted fiercely at Chu Li.
Chu Li raised an eyebrow, his gaze focusing behind them. Suddenly striking the ground with one palm, he embraced Qing Xia’s slender waist, and both leaped into the air, retreating backward. A golden claw struck heavily where they had been, shattering the bluestone and raising clouds of dust. An overwhelming bloody whirlwind followed, and the two rolled about in embarrassment, dodging the yellow bird’s attack by a hair’s breadth. But before they could catch their breath, another howling gale swept up.
Just as the two were about to die beneath the yellow bird’s talons, suddenly there was a muffled thud, and golden liquid dripped onto their faces. Looking intently, they saw Qin Zhiyan in white robes, dark hair flying, silver spear like a dragon, eyes like the sea, with imposing majesty and no fear. His long spear had pierced deeply into the yellow bird’s chest, spinning rapidly and bringing out large amounts of dripping blood.
A sharp cry instantly arose. The wounded and enraged giant bird struck with the force of ten thousand tons, immediately sending Qin Zhiyan flying.
“No!” A shrill scream echoed all around. Qing Xia’s eyes were about to split with rage, her vision blurring as she watched Qin Zhiyan fly away like a kite with a broken string. With a crash, he struck the blue stone wall, raising clouds of dust and sprays of blood mist. His dark hair scattered, white robes fluttering, like a shattered white butterfly.
“Qin Zhiyan!” Qing Xia cried out, scrambling to her feet and running toward Qin Zhiyan. Her voice startled the yellow bird, which turned its head to look fiercely at Qing Xia before suddenly striking with its sharp beak. Chu Li charged up with one spear thrust, the clashing sound ringing out as he blocked the yellow bird’s attack, shouting loudly to Qing Xia: “Run!”
Chu Zheng suddenly laughed loudly and called out: “A mantis trying to stop a chariot—overestimating your abilities!”
Indeed, after just one exchange, Chu Li was shocked backwards, blood at the corner of his mouth, face paper-white.
Qing Xia was furious, her eyes sharp and fierce. Suddenly drawing her dagger, she pulled her hair from behind her head to the front, bit it in her mouth, and rushed forward swiftly, grabbing the yellow bird’s feathers and climbing up with leopard-like speed. Feeling someone on its body, the yellow bird also shrieked and shook frantically, trying to throw Qing Xia off.
Thinking of Qin Zhiyan and Chu Li’s injuries, Qing Xia could no longer suppress the raging fire in her chest. Climbing to the top of the great bird’s head in a few moves, she gripped the yellow bird’s feathers tightly, suddenly raised her delicate hand, and drove the dagger fiercely into the yellow bird’s eye.
Heaven and earth shook together, sun and moon lost their light. A miserable cry instantly rang out as Qing Xia was violently thrown down by the crazed yellow bird, falling heavily to the ground. Her chest ached as she spat out mouthfuls of fresh blood. The great bird’s eyeball was shattered and bleeding, shrieking and crying madly as it charged toward Chu Zheng and Tan Suning.
Chu Zheng was shocked and alarmed, shouting loudly: “I’m the one who released you! I am your master! You cannot be ungrateful!”
But the yellow bird, having been imprisoned for a hundred years and now suffering such an attack just after breaking free, no longer cared about any life-saving benefactor. Suddenly opening its sharp beak wide, it struck toward Chu Zheng.
Chu Zheng was greatly alarmed, pushing Tan Suning forward, his eyes full of cowardly fear as he called out ingratiatingly: “Are you hungry? I know, you’ve been locked up for so many years, you must be hungry. You can eat her, eat her, then come out with me.”
In an instant, like a thunderbolt striking overhead, Miss Tan’s face turned deathly pale. She turned around in disbelief, staring at this man for whom she had betrayed her entire tribe, her lips trembling as she said: “Zheng, I opened the Tianyi Gorge for you, let the Qi and Nanjiang people in. I destroyed Hongtian Water Prison for you, brought you into the Jiuze caves. I spread rumors of Yellow Springs flood for you, released the Great Peng Yellow Bird for you. I’ve done so many things for you—do you still not want me? Didn’t you say that when you ascend the throne, you would make me empress? Are you going back on your word now?”
Chu Zheng nervously watched the yellow bird’s fierce gaze fixed on him, suddenly shouting impatiently: “If I die here, what throne can I ascend? Don’t worry, if you die, when I regain high position in the future, I’ll certainly posthumously honor you as national mother. The Penglai Tan family line will receive official promotions and honors, great favor and grace. How about that?”
A tear suddenly trickled down Miss Tan’s face. She bit her lip tightly, looking at this man she loved so deeply she didn’t hesitate to betray her people, feeling something in her chest shatter with a crash, leaving emptiness pierced by cold wind and the agony of being cut by a thousand knives. It turned out that all along, that white-robed, graceful and handsome man had been just her imagination. That man playing the flute sadly by the lake had been nothing but an illusory bubble. Now everything was finally clear. This man from her fantasies had stepped forward and stood before her. At this moment of life and death, without the slightest disguise, she saw his selfishness, saw his cowardice, saw his ruthless cunning that would use any means to achieve his goals. The world of her fantasies crashed and shattered just like that.
Heaven collapsed, earth overturned.
“Beast!” Chu Li shouted coldly, raising his spear to stand, but was suddenly blocked by the fire phoenix. This divine fire phoenix bird, when facing its ancestor of unknown generations and blood relations, was as weak as a small chick, trembling uncontrollably all over.
“I am your master, I am your master. You cannot eat me—go eat them, go eat them.” Chu Zheng continued saying this repeatedly. The yellow bird was already blind in one eye, but for some unknown reason gradually calmed down. Its remaining eye examined Tan Suning, suddenly noticing the small stone lock in her hand.
As if instantly burned by fierce fire, the yellow bird suddenly retreated, crying out sharply, madly afraid to approach. Intense bloody smell poured from its mouth as this fierce bird that had been locked away by that ancient stone lock for too many years panicked and fled from Tan Suning. Suddenly, with a fierce shake of its head, it snatched Chu Zheng up in its beak!
The sudden change startled everyone. Tan Suning stared blankly at Chu Zheng struggling constantly in the yellow bird’s mouth. Her earlier pain and sorrow immediately vanished. Not knowing where the courage came from, this pale, weak woman with no strength to tie up a chicken suddenly threw herself forward, grabbing the yellow bird’s claws and pounding frantically while shouting: “Let him go! Let him go! You bad thing! Let him go!”
The great bird was incredibly powerful, but seemed to fear only this next Valley Master of Penglai. It retreated hastily and kicked Tan Suning aside with one foot.