Chapter 18: Demon Bird

Lu Yang's understanding of the cultivation world was far from complete; before entering the Single Dao Sect, his entire reservoir of knowledge had been gleaned from an old storyteller. Though his grasp of cultivation theory had expanded at a staggering pace during his year at the sect, none of the scrolls he devoured ever detailed the proper etiquette for disembarking from a flying vessel.

What kind of manual would include such trivialities?

When it came to the common sense of the cultivation world, he remained vastly inferior to Tao Yaoye, who had been nurtured since infancy within an established clan of cultivators.

Regarding the grand flying vessels, he knew only that they belonged to the Landed Gold Chamber of Commerce, and that departure required jumping—though the precise technique remained a mystery.

Each year, these vessels generated an astronomical fortune, yet to the Landed Gold Chamber of Commerce, they represented a mere drop in the ocean of their enterprises.

The Landed Gold Chamber of Commerce stood as the largest mercantile collective upon the Central Continent, backed by shrouded, mysterious forces and possessing countless rare treasures. Provided one possessed a sufficient bounty of spirit stones, even legendary relics like the relics of the Buddhist Kingdom, the sacred bones of the Demon Realm, or the Dao fruits of immortals—wonders existing only in myth, unseen by mortal eyes—could be purchased.

Should anyone dare defaults on a debt to the chamber, or foolishly attempt to steal from their hoards, the absolute, untraceable disappearance of several grand cultivators served as a grim warning to the world.

Legend spoke of a master thief, a supreme cultivator renowned as the Thief King, who was so profoundly versed in the laws of space that plucking a storage treasure from another was as effortless as reaching into his own pocket. Distance was nothing more than a meaningless string of numbers to him; a single stride could carry him across ten thousand rivers and mountains, from the furthest western reaches of the Central Continent to the lands of eternal winter.

He had even successfully plundered the possessions of grand masters in the Tribulation Transmutation Stage.

Yet, within the unspoken laws of the thieving underworld, there existed one ironclad commandment: never touch the property of the Landed Gold Chamber of Commerce.

Initially, the Thief King adhered to this ancestral decree, maintaining a strict distance from the chamber. But as his renown swelled and a coalition of legendary masters pursued him without ever managing to touch the hem of his robe, a creeping arrogance took root. He began to view these grand cultivators as nothing special, believing he had surpassed the ancestor of all thieves; why, then, should he bound himself to such rigid, ancient rules?

He boastfully declared to the world that he would steal a treasure from the Landed Gold Chamber of Commerce that very night.

The world watched in anticipation, expecting either that the Thief King would employ his profound spatial arts to spirit the treasure away in absolute silence, or that a cataclysmic battle would erupt within the chamber as he clashed with the hidden masters backing it.

To everyone's astonishment, absolutely nothing happened that night. From that evening forward, the Thief King was never seen again, vanishing utterly without a trace.

Lu Yang’s embarrassment endured for only a fleeting moment; when the time came to leap, the strangers had no leisure to linger their gaze upon him.

The crowd unfurled their paper umbrellas and leapt into the void, descending one after another from the vessel.

Lu Yang and Tao Yaoye moved in tandem with them.

High in the heavens, the strangers opening their umbrellas appeared as minuscule as sesame seeds from afar. Lu Yang, however, was a striking contrast; with a sharp tug of the cord upon his back, his parachute erupted open with a resounding crack, rendering him spectacularly conspicuous against the sky.

Under ordinary circumstances, suspended at such a dizzying height, Lu Yang would have been consumed by tension.

But now, his mind lacked the capacity for fear.

It was simply too embarrassing.

Fortunately, their destinations diverged; only Lu Yang and Tao Yaoye were bound for Peace Village.

The moment they touched down in Peace Village, they were greeted by the enthusiastic welcome of the village head, who seemed to have anticipated their arrival long before they landed.

"Immortal Masters, you have finally arrived! The manner in which you leapt from the flying vessel was truly... extraordinary."

Lu Yang opened his mouth, but ultimately swallowed the question of how the man could possibly have known the exact hour of their descent.

"I am Lu Yang, and she is Tao Yaoye. We are both disciples of the Single Dao Sect. The description of the demonic bird in our mission scroll was rather brief; we request that the Village Head provide us with a detailed account."

The village head had originally prepared a welcoming banquet, intending to share a few rounds of wine and perhaps offer some local delicacies before delving into the matter of the demonic bird to secure their aid—such was the standard protocol whenever officials arrived from above to execute a task.

He had not expected the pair to be so fiercely efficient. A surge of joy washed over him, and he silently praised them in his heart, thinking they truly befitted the reputation of immortal sect disciples.

Tao Yaoye cast a measuring glance over the village head. He possessed a cultivation at the late stage of Qi Refinement, but his foundation had been poorly laid in his youth. His spiritual energy was heavily laden with impurities, leaving him with no hope of achieving Foundation Establishment; he was merely an ordinary cultivator, entirely unexceptional.

At the mention of the demonic bird, the village head’s face darkened with anxiety. Peace Village was already an isolated place with few travelers, and now that rumors of the creature had spread through the vicinity, even traveling merchants refused to draw near.

He had reported the matter to the Chu River Prefecture, but they were severely short-handed. Seeing that the bird had not harmed anyone, they told him to wait until they could spare the personnel to dispatch someone to Peace Village.

That delay had already stretched into twenty days.

"It began roughly twenty days ago," the village head recounted. "Tailor Feng came running into the street, shouting and crying that a great, man-eating monster had invaded his home, describing it as incredibly fierce."

"The neighbors were terrified upon hearing this; a man-eating monster is no trivial matter. Peace Village possesses only about thirty cultivators in total, and among them, my cultivation happens to be the highest. Since I am also the village head, Tailor Feng led the neighbors to seek me out."

"Before attempting to exorcise the creature, I needed to ascertain the situation. So, I asked Tailor Feng: 'You claim the great monster eats people, but whom exactly has it devoured?'"

There lay a vast difference in danger between a monster that had tasted human flesh and one that had not. Humans are the most spiritual of all creation, born with opened spiritual apertures; once a monster tastes this flavor, it becomes obsessed, seeking a second and a third victim, bringing ruin to the entire region.

"Tailor Feng replied that he didn't know who had been eaten, but the monster could speak human tongue. It must have learned to speak by devouring humans, he claimed."

Such rumors were common among the common folk, asserting that monsters could speak and take human form upon consuming humans, yet these were nothing more than erroneous superstitions.

The cultivation of the demon race was hardly so simple; to speak the human tongue required refining the transverse bone within the throat, an achievement requiring at least the late stage of Qi Refinement.

"Tailor Feng described the monster as brilliantly multicolored. At first, he mistook it for a bird lost from the deep forests. The demonic bird sat behind him, watching him sew without moving a muscle, when it suddenly spoke, scaring the tailor so badly he fled his shop immediately."

"Seeing that Tailor Feng could provide no further useful information, I instructed the villagers to wait at a distance while I crept closer alone. It was then that I beheld the demonic bird."

"The creature possessed feathers of vibrant, lustrous hues, with a striking crimson ring around its eyes. One glance sufficed to know it was no ordinary bird; what ordinary bird would dare to display such flamboyant colors?"

"The demonic bird spoke, asking me: 'Who are you, and where is Zhang Guanjia?' Its tone was quite urgent."

"I was deeply perplexed. Zhang Guanjia is merely a cultivator of our village, at the third layer of Qi Refinement, with thoroughly mediocre skills. How could he possibly be connected to a demonic beast?"

"At that moment, I tried my best to appear relaxed and non-threatening, asking politely: 'May I inquire what business the Demon King has with Zhang Guanjia?'"

"The demonic bird offered no reply. It simply flapped its wings and departed from the tailor's shop."

"Since that day, the bird has been flying all across Peace Village, feeding on the grain in the fields and speaking in human tongue. Although it has not harmed anyone, how could common mortals not live in terror of a monster? Thus, everyone has been living in constant trepidation these past days, terrified that the bird might suddenly lose its temper and devour us all in a single gulp."

"Have you clashed with the demonic bird? What is the extent of its strength?" Lu Yang inquired.

The village head shook his head. "The bird remains in the sky all day long, appearing and vanishing like a phantom, making it exceedingly difficult to track."

"Furthermore, I am unable to discern its cultivation level, which indicates it must be at least at the seventh layer of Qi Refinement, matching my own. I feared that the bird had no initial intent to harm, and that a rash attack on my part might backfire, enraging the creature."

Lu Yang nodded in agreement. The village head’s caution was entirely reasonable.