Chapter 57: The Bird Touts for You
Chapter 57: Chapter 57: The Bird Touts for You
Somewhere in the Secret Realm, Lou Xiaotian hid in a tree, craning his neck to peer at a distant cave.
A short while ago, he had discovered a Spirit Grass growing inside the cave. Treasures born of nature like this usually had a Guardian Beast, and this Spirit Grass’s protector was a Furious Wind Lion.
This type of lion was renowned for its speed, and its cultivation was at the Late Golden Core Stage—a full minor realm higher than Lou Xiaotian’s. He had originally planned to outsmart it.
But before he could make his move, another demon beast appeared.
The Spirit Grass had reached maturity, attracting other demon beasts to fight over it. And so, the two beasts began to battle inside the cave.
He could hear the booming sounds from within, faintly accompanied by crackling lightning.
Lou Xiaotian could guess the outcome. The lion would surely win.
The newcomer was a flying demon beast, and its species meant it couldn’t leverage its strengths inside a cave.
Sure enough, after a piercing shriek, a battered Thunder Eagle flapped its nearly broken wings and fled in a sorry state.
Watching the loser depart, Lou Xiaotian stealthily crept down from the tree.
As the saying goes, "the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind." He was going to be that oriole.
Inside the cave, the heavily injured Furious Wind Lion was licking its wounds. Not far from it, a white Spirit Grass was particularly eye-catching.
Lou Xiaotian snuck over and launched an attack on the Furious Wind Lion.
The violent blast of Spiritual Power caught the Furious Wind Lion completely off guard.
Although Lou Xiaotian’s cultivation wasn’t that high, he had plenty of powerful items at his disposal.
With this one sneak attack, he successfully took down the lion and obtained the Spirit Grass.
After stashing his prize, a relaxed Lou Xiaotian had just stepped out of the cave when he saw several small birds perched on a tree ahead. He had no idea how long they had been watching him.
Their tail feathers were a brilliant red, trailing wisps of flame.
Very pretty birds.
Lou Xiaotian admired them for a moment before he saw the Fiery Fire Sparrows dive straight for him.
"No!"
Their speed was even greater than the Furious Wind Lion’s.
Despite their small size, the Fiery Fire Sparrows’ attacks were exceptionally fierce.
Outnumbered, he knew he couldn’t win. Lou Xiaotian covered his head and fled in a panic.
After running for a while, Lou Xiaotian belatedly realized that the Fiery Fire Sparrows weren’t trying to kill him. Instead, they were herding him in a specific direction.
Though he wanted to resist, Lou Xiaotian met their beady little eyes and shamefully submitted.
"Stop pecking me! I’ll go with you, alright?"
Lou Xiaotian took out his One World Communication to contact Qin Zhan, hoping for a rescue.
However, Qin Zhan was busy working for Lu Wu and missed the message on his One World Communication.
In fact, Lou Xiaotian wasn’t the only Cultivator to encounter the Fiery Fire Sparrows.
Throughout the Secret Realm, wherever there were people, Fiery Fire Sparrows appeared.
Following their boss’s orders, they herded the humans in the same direction. As they traveled, some of the groups began to converge.
Some were covered in dust and grime, a clear sign they were having a tough time in the Secret Realm. Others were glowing with vitality, having clearly reaped great rewards.
But they all shared one trait: the fire poison in their bodies was running rampant, making the whites of their eyes red and pushing them to the brink of qi deviation.
Jiang Yunhe was among them.
The fire poison in the Fire Secret Realm had left Jiang Yunhe temporarily helpless.
Even the medicinal herbs he found in the Secret Realm were saturated with violent Fire Attribute Spiritual Power, rendering them unusable for now.
When the Fiery Fire Sparrows found him, Jiang Yunhe initially had a chance to escape.
But he noticed something wasn’t right.
The fire poison on these Fiery Fire Sparrows was extremely faint.
Figuring that their habitat might contain something that counteracts the fire poison, Jiang Yunhe allowed the Fiery Fire Sparrows to herd him.
If Lu Wu had a map, she would see that more and more people from all corners of the Secret Realm were heading in her direction.
The movements of the humans attracted the attention of some demon beasts along the way.
The demon beasts were extremely wary of the Fiery Fire Sparrows’ presence.
As long as the humans were being escorted by the Fiery Fire Sparrows, those demon beasts didn’t dare to attack.
Demon beasts capable of cultivation possessed intelligence.
They couldn’t understand why that flock of beast-slaying birds was acting so crazy today.
To figure it out, droves of demon beasts also began to trail behind stealthily, wanting to see what was happening.
At the stone stele, a new batch of ice powder was ready.
Lu Wu took out two more Ice Attribute Spirit Stones to cool it down.
Beside her, Qin Zhan unceremoniously accepted his payment from Lu Wu—a few bowls of ice powder.
Since there were no customers yet, Lu Wu gestured toward the stone stele, motioning for Qin Zhan to go inside and seek his own fortuitous opportunity.
In truth, Qin Zhan had been curious about the stele for a long time, but Boss Lu’s safety was more important.
Now that Lu Wu had given him the go-ahead, Qin Zhan, his curiosity piqued, walked over, touched the stele, and vanished before her eyes.
Lu Wu expected him to be inside for a while.
She was just about to call Huohuo over for some petting when, in the blink of an eye, someone fell from the sky.
If Lu Wu hadn’t reacted quickly enough to dodge, she would have been squashed flat.
A closer look revealed that the person in freefall was none other than Qin Zhan.
"?"
Lu Wu’s expression conveyed her question.
’Finished already?’
Reading the unspoken meaning in Lu Wu’s eyes, Qin Zhan’s face flushed with a mixture of colors.
He opened his mouth, stammering for a long moment before finally telling Lu Wu what happened.
"After I went in, I found a skeleton. The Spiritual Power on it was incredibly rich, so I thought I’d go take a look. But before I even got close, Bai Gu kicked me and sent me flying."
And then I was out.
Qin Zhan rubbed his rear.
He was too embarrassed to admit that the skeleton had teleported behind him and landed a solid kick right on his backside.
It was impossible to dodge.
It still hurt, and he couldn’t even use his Spiritual Power to ease the pain.
Grimacing in pain, Qin Zhan’s body language spoke volumes about his miserable experience.
"So Bai Gu is alive?"
Lu Wu was glad she hadn’t gone near it.
"Not alive, just a wisp of a remnant soul acting on instinct."
Based on his observations, that wisp of a remnant soul wouldn’t last much longer either.
"If I’m not mistaken, that grotto-heaven is the heart of the entire Secret Realm. It only manifested because Bai Gu is gradually fading away."
Qin Zhan tried again but found he was barred from re-entry.
Having gained nothing but a bruised backside, Qin Zhan collected himself and put on a smile.
Deeply sympathetic, Lu Wu offered a few words of comfort, then spotted figures appearing to her left.
Lu Wu’s spirits lifted.
’My potential customers have arrived!’
"Alright, stop pecking me! I’m walking, aren’t I?"
The voice, carried on the wind, made Lu Wu raise an eyebrow. She could clearly see several Fiery Fire Sparrows flying above the person’s head.
The Fiery Fire Sparrows were herding the human Cultivator toward her.
"CHIRP!"
Huohuo nuzzled against Lu Wu affectionately.
Human, this bird brought you customers.
This bird dotes on you.
"Greetings, fellow cultivator. Our meeting must be fate. Would you care for a bowl of ice powder?"
Lu Wu greeted him enthusiastically, holding up a bowl of ice powder.
The newcomer was a stranger and naturally didn’t recognize the living legend that was Boss Lu.
He looked at Lu Wu and Qin Zhan, then at the stall that was so utterly out of place here. The expression in his eyes was indescribable.