The Eastern Wasteland — as its name plainly suggests — was situated in the eastern reaches, vast and boundless without end. It was renowned for its great wastelands, which gave rise to its name, and was subdivided into regions including the Southern Domain and the Central Domain.

This was a great wasteland within the Southern Domain — a land of boundless territory, with magnificent mountains and rivers, dense primordial forests stretching unbroken for hundreds of thousands of li, with nary a trace of human habitation, and few people had ever ventured here.

Ye Fan and his companions made their way deep into the desolate mountains. Uncountable li had passed beneath their feet. They followed a fragment of a geographical chart of the region’s mountains and rivers, obtained from the Ji Family, in search of the Feather Transformation Immortal Valley.

This place had gone without human presence for thousands upon thousands of years. Rare and unusual medicinal herbs had taken root throughout. With any luck, one might even unearth extraordinary, supremely ancient spirit medicines of immeasurably great age.

Ahead, a mushroom cloud billowed upward — followed by dark heavenly tribulation lightning descending in bolt after bolt, submerging a vast swamp. From within it emerged a massive black crocodile, dark as a cloud blotting out the sky.

“What? That is a Dao-Severing Tribulation!” The Black Emperor was astonished. Ahead was an extraordinary being — a crocodile, black from head to tail, severing its own shackles, on the verge of breaking through into the realm of kings.

No one had expected that barely after venturing into the great wasteland, they would encounter such an existence — a ferocious beast on the verge of reaching a height that many sect-master-level humans could never attain in an entire lifetime.

The group did not approach. They watched from a distance as this black divine crocodile howled up at the sky, swallowing light and releasing it, straining with all its strength against the tribulation. The mountain ranges all around had already toppled, and the swamp had been evaporated dry, leaving solid earth behind.

One hour later, the heavenly tribulation grew more and more fearsome. In the end, with a thunderous boom, a dark waterfall plunged downward. The crocodile let out a shrill, wretched scream — and then its body exploded outward.

“What a pity. Just a little longer and the tribulation would have passed. It has failed — in the end, its body and soul were destroyed together.” The Monkey sighed.

The heavenly tribulation pressed down from the sky. The black crocodile exploded apart, blood and flesh spattering outward. From within its skull, a tiny little crocodile flew out — a manifestation of its divine consciousness — yet it too was shattered amid the dark heavens.

In the great wasteland, such things were not uncommon. Ancient beasts failing to transcend their tribulation and dying was something that happened regularly, especially in secret lands untouched by humans for tens of thousands of years.

In truth, humans were no different. Every cultivator must face this. More than a few had fallen on the road toward a higher level of cultivation, becoming scattered white bones — just like this black divine crocodile, unknown and unwitnessed by anyone.

They followed an ancient path into the primordial forest, passing through valley after valley, venturing deeper into the belly of this great wasteland — when a sudden “whoosh” sounded, and a golden radiance flashed past and vanished.

“What was that?” Ye Fan’s expression stiffened. He had just felt a cold wind run up his spine, a sense of foreboding rising within him.

“Looked like a small dragon,” Li Tian said, rushing after it for a considerable distance before returning empty-handed.

“It was probably a Lightning Bird — they possess the greatest speed in all under heaven. If it were a Lightning Bird King, even with your Characters of the Word Art at their current level, you might not be able to catch up,” Li Heishui said.

“Let us hope so.” Ye Fan said no more, and they pressed onward.

Crackle and pop—

Far ahead, arcs of electricity surged skyward in a terrifying spectacle. The clouds themselves were stained golden, and bursts of sound rolled toward them. They rushed rapidly forward, crossing a great canyon, soaring over two mountains whose peaks reached up into the cloud layer, and at last arrived at the scene.

Ahead, nothing grew — not a single blade of grass. A stone mountain stood there, coiled with thread after thread of golden electric arcs, the sight strange and mysterious, brilliant and dazzling.

At the mountain’s peak, a massive bird’s nest had been constructed. Every one of those electric arcs was pouring downward from within the nest — tens of thousands of strands cascading like curtains of golden waterfalls falling in streams.

“What kind of nest is this? Looks like a sacred bird’s roost — could there really be something immortally precious inside? Such a strange phenomenon!” The Black Emperor could contain itself no longer. Had Pang Bo not grabbed onto it with both hands and held it in place, it would likely have already shot up there to seize whatever treasure it imagined was within.

“Something’s not right!”

There was a living creature in the nest. They sensed the presence of life. They rose high into the sky to observe — and were immediately startled.

An existence resembling a phoenix bird was undergoing a process of Dao-transformation within the nest. Every one of those electric arcs was emanating from its body. Dense Dao-rune patterns filled the nest entirely, and golden lightning wound its way around the mountain.

Its body was not especially large — just over a zhang in height. Its entire form was golden in color. If one counted those magnificent, resplendent tail feathers, however, it stretched to three or four zhang in total length — breathtakingly beautiful.

“Could it really be a Demon Saint with phoenix bloodline, undergoing its Dao-transformation?” Everyone stood transfixed.

“This is a Lightning Phoenix Bird, possessing an exceptionally high concentration of phoenix bloodline,” the Black Emperor said with the authority of broad experience, having observed it at length.

Lightning Birds were a powerful species of unusual bird — swift beyond measure in flight, forged as if from gold, their bodies wreathed in arcing electricity, coveted as battle-pets by many cultivators, though extremely difficult to tame. Among them were those with particularly special bloodlines and even more terrifying natural gifts: atop their heads they bore phoenix crests, and these were called Phoenix-Crested Lightning Birds — a sight that would cause most cultivators to give wide berth. And the king among them was something even more extraordinary, known as the Lightning Phoenix Bird. Through a phenomenon of ancestral reversion, it had inherited a portion of the true phoenix’s bloodline, making it the supreme of its kind. Legend had it that once fully grown, even the third tier of celestial beings would struggle to halt its advance.

“This is exactly the kind of peerlessly rare and extraordinary creature one thinks of when speaking of miraculous beasts and sacred birds.” The Black Emperor exclaimed in admiration — then with supreme shamelessness proposed taking it as a beast companion.

In this age, no immortals walked the world. True dragons and divine phoenixes existed only in legend. The highest-tier spirit beast and sacred bird bloodlines that existed were creatures at the level of the Lightning Phoenix — the pinnacle of what could be found in the world.

“Raise one of these and keep it by your side — who knows, in the future it might be cultivated into a Demon Saint,” even Pang Bo was tempted, rubbing his palms together eagerly. The result was that the Black Emperor clamped its jaws down on his arm, refusing to let him act first — malicious competition.

“It’s not right — the Lightning Phoenix Bird has been wounded and was forced into its Dao-transformation.” The Monkey spoke, his golden fiery eyes sharp and perceptive, having spotted a bloody hole at the back of the Lightning Bird’s head — fresh blood still dotting the wound, its divine consciousness pierced through.

“This bird is at the third tier of celestial beings — a King-class bird. And it has been wounded this severely. This great wasteland is truly terrifying. Everyone be careful.” Ye Fan warned.

Then his thoughts circled back to the flash of golden light he had seen earlier, vanishing without a trace. Could it really have been a Lightning Bird? After all, this mountain harbored the most powerful bloodline of its kind.

Pip—!

A soft sound came from within the nest. The Lightning Phoenix Bird’s Dao-transformation was approaching its end. Its entire body was dissolving into the Dao — slowly becoming a shower of luminous rain, extraordinarily beautiful.

“How tragic. I once kept a Phoenix-Crested Lightning Bird — it was killed by Ji Biyue. Its bloodline wasn’t as powerful as this one, but it had a great deal of spirit and intelligence — it died with small cries of distress, gently pecking at my fingers one last time.” Ji Ziyue said softly, as though moved by sorrow.

Pip—!

At last, a blaze of radiant light burst forth. The Lightning Bird completed its Dao-transformation. Its bones dissolved. Its feathers vanished. Its flesh and blood blazed. It became a shower of light tinged with divine quality — brilliantly resplendent beyond compare.

A single resonance of the Dao rang out — and then all the radiance turned inward, condensing and vanishing into the nest, pouring into a single egg.

“What — there is a golden egg, and the divine rain born of the Dao-transformation has poured into it!” Several people cried out in astonishment.

They sprang into action at once, bounding up to the stone mountain with swift agility. By this time, the electric arcs had all dissipated, and an unusual quiet had settled over the place.

The nest had been woven from various spirit-woods, lined inside with soft medicinal herbs, carrying a quality of natural spiritual energy. At the very center sat an egg the size of a fist, golden light held within its depths, transparent and luminous.

“This is the egg of a Lightning Phoenix Bird. You could search the entire world and not find one or two of these anywhere. And now, having been bathed in the divine rain born of a Dao-transformation — one could call it a rarity beyond the ages. Barring any mishap, it should eventually grow into a Demon Saint without question.” The Great Black Dog said.

The golden egg pulsed with thread after thread of Dao-rune vibrations. Naturally attuned to resonate with the Dao from birth, it drew in the essence of the four directions of its own accord — mysterious beyond words.

“Mine!” The Great Black Dog planted itself squarely in place, leveraging its bull-like, robust body to shove the competitor Pang Bo off to one side.

Naturally, Pang Bo was not about to give up that easily. He possessed unusual natural gifts, standing a full head or two taller than an ordinary person. He flexed both arms, lifted the Great Black Dog clean off the ground, and swung it about.

“Stop fighting over it — be careful you don’t damage the Demon Saint’s egg,” Ye Fan warned. That golden egg was truly exceptional — it absolutely could not suffer any harm.

In the end, they decided to let Ji Ziyue be the first to take it into safekeeping, keeping the Great Black Dog well away. Its suitability as a keeper of beast companions was secondary — the real concern was that they feared it might eat the thing. The reason: that wretched dog had accidentally let something slip, revealing that this kind of divine egg, if consumed, was an extraordinary tonic capable of increasing one’s cultivation by no small amount.

“I swear — this emperor only said it casually. Is all this guarding really necessary?” It was thoroughly disgruntled.

At the foot of the stone mountain, they found several Lightning Phoenix feathers, all stained with blood. Clearly, the King-bird had shed them in its final, dying struggle as it returned here after being wounded.

“Poor thing. I think it only came back here in its dying moments to pass the power of its Dao-transformation into this egg — everything it did was to fulfill its duty as a parent.” Ji Ziyue said.

Everyone fell into a sigh. That seemed to be exactly it. But what creature could have killed it? Ye Fan picked up one of the fallen feathers from the ground and examined it carefully for a long while.

“Let us move on. We are already deep in the wasteland’s interior — the Feather Transformation Immortal Valley is still one or two ten-thousand-li stretches ahead.”

They followed the map across mountain range after mountain range. Some peaks were so tall they pierced the clouds, their summits blanketed in white snow. Others were perpetually cloaked in mist and fog, evergreen through all seasons.

The great wilderness stretched on and on, covered in dense and lush vegetation. Gibbons called out. Tigers roared. Ahead, a forest of stone pillars appeared — jagged and interlocking, forming a spectacular and unusual landscape.

“We’ve arrived. According to the map, it should be several dozen li ahead of this stone forest. We’ve finally found it.” Yan Yixi spoke.

This area was home to all manner of sacred birds and rare beasts, and it appeared tranquil and serene. Within the stone forest, fragrant scents drifted through the air. Spirit grasses and orchids grew freely. Before they had even reached the Immortal Valley, various signs of auspicious energy were already visible.

“No wonder there has been no news of Lin Jia all these years — she was hiding in this pure and sacred land all along. She must have gained much from the Immortal Palace and has been quietly cultivating ever since.” Pang Bo said.

They followed along the stone forest, advancing inward. After traveling some thirty-odd li, they at last caught sight of a place of extraordinary, breathtaking beauty — radiant auspicious energy drifted and swirled, sacred cranes danced in the air, rare beasts moved unseen, the atmosphere full of wondrous presence.

Within the mountain valley, it was as though a paradise realm had descended to earth. Ribbons of colored mist and radiant clouds wound through the air. The valley’s entrance connected to this stretch of stone forest. Inside, all manner of spirit-trees and ancient medicinal herbs grew in abundance. At the mouth of the valley stood a stone stele, upon which four ancient characters had been carved: Feather Transformation Immortal Valley.

This was a place of serene, harmonious peace. Auspicious radiance streamed in threads throughout. Medicinal herbs breathed out their fragrance. The living creatures here showed no alarm at the approach of humans, untroubled and undisturbed — a realm of tranquil, perfect stillness.

“What a truly rare and extraordinary place of Dao cultivation. It clears the mind and quiets the spirit, easily leading one into a state of enlightenment — this is exactly why so many cultivators choose to live in seclusion away from the world.” Even the Black Emperor offered its praise. Here, one could align oneself with the Dao, the mind’s state becoming clear and bright as empty sky.

“What a wonderful fragrance,” Ji Ziyue said, blinking her wide eyes, an expression of enchantment spreading across her face.

“Those are Qilin Orchid Ancient Trees — an entire grove of them!” The Monkey was astonished, gazing toward the depths of the valley.

Within, a stretch of ancient trees stood. Their fragrance was flowing outward from there. Each one twisted like a coiling dragon, their branches spiraling and interlocking — as though they had been lovingly cultivated and shaped over great spans of time.

And most remarkable of all — the blossoms these ancient trees produced were extraordinary and wondrous, translucent like crystallized light, shaped like tiny purple qilin, each one uniquely special.

“This kind of ancient tree was rare even in the most primordial of ages. Cultivating a dozen or so of them has a wondrous benefit for those on the path of Dao cultivation — one’s mind will find itself in a state of extraordinary peace, more easily attuning to resonate with the Dao.” The Monkey explained.

These Qilin Orchid Trees produced a particularly special fragrance. Once it clung to the body, it was difficult to dispel for several days — the scent lingering all over — and in the most ancient of times, it had been the beloved favorite of women who cultivated.

“What a wonderful place!” Several of them exclaimed in admiration and were about to step inside.

But Ye Fan stretched out a hand to stop them. “Wait,” he said.

His expression had grown grave. He retrieved that bloodstained Lightning Phoenix feather, held it just below his nose, and fanned it gently. The scent was faint — barely present — yet it was unmistakably there, faintly clinging to the feather.