That uncertain tone—
Li Ruoshui instantly gave up expecting more from Yan Xun.
Reading Li Ruoshui’s look, Yan Xun huffed. “If Fellow Daoist Li’s into that gossip, buy a copy of Strange Tales of the Feather Country at Heavenly Capital’s market when we arrive.”
Li Ruoshui noted it with an “oh.” Strange Tales of the Feather Country sounded legit—not like those Joy Sect books unfit for close friends.
Little Silver beat its wings, weaving through cyclone blades. It rode the wind spirals, though fierce gusts still battered its feathers, sending waves rippling through the dense, soft down like snow.
In the silence, only the howling wind filled their ears.
As Little Silver climbed another cyclone, Li Ruoshui asked, “Did the True Person really perish?” Whose shadow was that at sea? A Ruin Spirit possessing Wen Yu Emperor’s body? Or some unique existence between heaven and earth?
“Her Majesty issued the obituary herself, and Phoenix Island sent envoys to mourn—so probably yes.” Yan Xun wished Wen Yu Emperor could return from the rift, but she carried the National Guardian Artifact, which devoured the heavens. Under that overwhelming power, everything within a thousand li was razed flat—the rift vanished, the Cave Heaven True Person vanished, all life auras extinguished and dissolved.
“Does Fellow Daoist Li have new intel, that’s why you’re heading here?” A spark lit in Yan Xun’s mind; her voice rose, eyes widening with shock and hope. Whether a nation or race had a Cave Heaven True Person guarding it made all the difference—not for bullying, but for accessing higher-level necessities for growth.
Li Ruoshui frowned silently, then abruptly stood, staring at a black dot a hundred meters away.
“Fellow Daoist Li?” Yan Xun’s voice was urgent; she rose too, but Li Ruoshui pressed her shoulder down firmly.
“Careful.”
No sooner had Li Ruoshui warned than her magic power surged. She raised her hand and slapped toward the black dot charging straight at them.
That was a golden eagle, its back-mounted pavilion already half-destroyed, with people still fighting nonstop above it. The golden eagle’s eyes were blood-red, and it let out an extremely shrill wail from its beak. Amid the fluctuations of magical power, it lost its balance. The Incessant Wind, which had originally buoyed it upward, now became a fatal existence. Each gust left bloody gashes on its body.
“What happened?” Yan Xun looked horrified and urged the silver sparrow beneath her to take flight, dodging the turbulence around the golden eagle.
But the golden eagle tumbled through the Incessant Wind at extreme speed. Li Ruoshui’s palm only pushed it slightly aside, leaving a zigzag afterimage in midair as it quickly bore down on them.
Perhaps the Perfect Golden Body could withstand the Incessant Wind head-on, but Li Ruoshui had no desire to test it. As the wailing golden eagle charged toward her, the Emperor Sword behind her suddenly unsheathed.
Imperial Decree—Suppress!
In the instant the golden eagle’s form stiffened, the ever-silent Lian Rusu also drew her sword.
Great clumps of vital energy exhaled, known as wind. And the Incessant Wind was wind as well.
The sword moved with the wind, a streak of azure light hooking and slashing through the air. With a few whooshing sounds, the chains and saddle binding the golden eagle snapped instantly. The magical artifact pavilion, already half-shorn away, completely tumbled from the golden eagle’s back under the Incessant Wind’s assault.
Freed from those troublesome fighting cultivators, Li Ruoshui’s Universe One Qi Palm successfully captured the golden eagle, forcibly halting its momentum.
All of this happened in an instant.
Yan Xun stared dumbfounded at the two people whose coordination was flawless. Only after a long moment did she say, “Why can you two use magical power in the Incessant Wind?!” The Daoists fighting on the golden eagle’s back hadn’t dared to fully leave it, forcing the eagle to bear the brunt of the Incessant Wind’s onslaught.
Li Ruoshui’s expression didn’t change. “Maybe because I’m strong.”
The golden eagle under the Universe One Qi Palm didn’t struggle; it even shrank its body to its smallest size. Though it hadn’t fully awakened intelligence, it knew to seek advantage and avoid harm. It let out two low cries toward Li Ruoshui, as docile as a domesticated chicken.
“I knew there couldn’t be zero incidents.” Li Ruoshui muttered, inspecting the golden eagle. Seeing no signs of frenzy, she released it and fed it a Spirit Jade Pill.
Li Ruoshui then asked, “Who were those people?”
Yan Xun: “…” Wasn’t it a bit late to ask now? Falling into the Incessant Wind meant slim chances of survival. “I don’t know.” Yan Xun shook her head and, under Li Ruoshui’s disdainful gaze, added, “Just some family feud or personal grudge, probably. Anyway, now that they’ve fallen into the Incessant Wind, who they were doesn’t matter anymore.”
Lian Rusu said calmly, “They won’t die.” As the pavilion plummeted, she had seen the ejected Daoists activate their treasures. Who would act at such a time without some trump card?
Yan Xun’s expression soured. She had only wanted to earn a bit of Spirit Jade Pills, not invite endless trouble. Cultivators from the Nine Provinces could just pat their butts and leave, but her livelihood was all in Tiandu. At this thought, her smile grew strained. “Fellow Daoist Li, aren’t you worried about revenge?”
Li Ruoshui eyed Yan Xun. “So what should we have done? Watched the golden eagle crash into us and all fall into the Incessant Wind together?” She hadn’t even demanded compensation yet. If they came seeking revenge, fine—she had a “backer” now, and she’d gladly accept all the delivered Spirit Jade Pills.
Unfortunately, Yan Xun lacked such composure and sighed repeatedly with a furrowed brow.
Li Ruoshui rubbed her forehead and offered advice to the bitter-faced Yan Xun. “Does that golden eagle belong to some big clan’s Fellow Daoist? We could use it as a hostage to avoid some trouble.” She paused, then added, “You’re Feather Race too, Fellow Daoist. Why not communicate with the golden eagle first and learn its origins, so we can—”
The words “strike first and hard” caught in her throat upon glimpsing Lian Rusu’s serene expression. Li Ruoshui hid her villainous incitement and changed it to, “make preparations.”
Yan Xun nodded listlessly.
If there weren’t outsiders present, she would have rolled around in the fluffy feathers.
Was it true that once misfortune struck, it came endlessly?
Yan Xun rallied her spirits and muttered to the golden eagle.
Li Ruoshui propped her chin, staring fixedly at Lian Rusu.
Showing no mercy against Ruin Spirits was the Taiyi Sect Master’s duty.
But to act so decisively against fellow Daoists as well caught Li Ruoshui off guard.
The “ferrying to the other shore” words from the Tianyan Mirror had truly come to pass, deepening Li Ruoshui’s understanding of Lian Rusu.
“What’s wrong?” Lian Rusu asked, her direct gaze as substantial as reality, impossible to ignore.
Li Ruoshui made a sound. “I was too presumptuous before.”
Lian Rusu raised a brow. “Hm?”
“Nothing.” Li Ruoshui looked away, her lips curving up in delight.
Over there, Yan Xun learned some information from the golden eagle and was about to speak, but upon seeing the two exchanging glances, she fell silent.
Only after a long while did Li Ruoshui look at the dazed Yan Xun and ask in surprise, “Fellow Daoist Yan, why aren’t you speaking? Could the golden eagle not communicate?”
Yan Xun: “…” Can you even hear me if I speak? Yan Xun grumbled inwardly. She cleared her throat, a grave expression appearing on her face. “The golden eagle said the guests came from different clans—it wasn’t some intra-clan resource struggle. Instead, a few Shadow Crows were involved, and they started fighting over a disagreement.”
“Shadow Crows?” Li Ruoshui raised a brow; the name alone sounded ominous.
Yan Xun explained, “This clan has a bad reputation in the Feather Kingdom. Most cultivate shadow paths, lurking in darkness to spy on others’ secrets. They’re often hired for shady deeds. But after that calamity, no one dared hire them anymore.”
Li Ruoshui’s expression shifted slightly; she hadn’t expected a connection to the rift. “Are they tied to the Return to Ruins?”
“Not exactly.” Yan Xun frowned. “There’s a rumor that the initial rift was caused by a Nascent Soul Realm Shadow Crow, and it happened right at that crow’s hideout.”
“Neither the Feather Sovereign’s Court nor the Feather Guard has confirmed it, but rumor or not, once linked to the Return to Ruins, no one wants dealings with them.”
Yan Xun’s expression was complicated. Sometimes she pitied the Shadow Crow clan, but then she thought of those harmed by them—who weren’t pitiable too?
Li Ruoshui nodded. “That must be true then.”
Yan Xun stared at her in shock. Even she, who disliked Shadow Crows, wouldn’t outright convict them, so how did Li Shangshan conclude it was?
“The previous Feather Sovereign loved her people like children, while Shadow Crows were notorious. If the court announced the rift was their doing, would the Shadow Crows have any place to stay? The Feather Sovereign was kindhearted and didn’t want the entire Shadow Crow clan wiped out over one wicked crow.” Li Ruoshui spoke righteously, then turned to Lian Rusu. “What do you think, Senior Sister?”
Lian Rusu nodded warmly. “Agreed.”
Yan Xun: “…” What if it really wasn’t the Shadow Crows, and that’s why the court stayed silent?!
Li Ruoshui maintained her air of moral uprightness and asked Yan Xun, “I admire the nobility of Wen Yu Emperor True Person and the Feather Sovereign, and with my duty to suppress the Return to Ruins, I must investigate the rift thoroughly, both emotionally and rationally. So, Fellow Daoist Yan, where do the Shadow Crows live? Can you tell me?”
Rumors didn’t arise from nothing. If the Shadow Crows colluded with Ruin Spirits, they’d all be raided and executed.
She could visit the current Feather Sovereign directly, but she needed to do something for the Feather Kingdom first to justify asking for the Perfect Golden Body scripture.
Of course, it also tied to her own Vow Dao. Clarifying the rift’s origins might push her cultivation to the Golden Core Third Layer.
Yan Xun sighed. “Do I look like someone who knows, Fellow Daoist Li?” A clan skilled in stealth and scouting wouldn’t expose their territory. Many Shadow Crows probably didn’t even have a concept of “home.”
Li Ruoshui didn’t hide her disdain. “Then what do you know?”
All she knows how to do is call me sister?
Li Ruoshui grew irritated looking at the innocent, bewildered Yan Xun.
She hadn’t even called anyone sister!
The Feather Kingdom’s birds weren’t just fierce—they were sly too!
