Chapter 14: Demon Bird

Luyang’s knowledge of the cultivation world was not comprehensive. Before joining Wen Dao Sect, his understanding came entirely from storytellers. Although a year at Wen Dao Sect had rapidly expanded his knowledge of cultivation, none of the books he read explained how to disembark from a flying boat. Who would write about such things? In terms of everyday knowledge in the cultivation world, he was still inferior to someone like Tao Yaoye, who had grown up in a family of cultivators.

Regarding flying boats, he only knew they belonged to the Landfall Gold Merchant Association, and that disembarking involved jumping off, though the specific method of jumping was unknown. Flying boats brought in enormous wealth annually, but for the Landfall Gold Merchant Association, this was merely an insignificant side business.

The Landfall Gold Merchant Association was the largest merchant association in the Central Continent. Its backing was shrouded in mystery, and it possessed countless rare treasures. As long as one had enough spirit stones, even legendary immortal treasures, such as Buddhist relics, demon domain sacred bones, or immortal dao fruits—items said to exist only in legends and never seen by anyone—could be acquired. Should anyone dare to default on a debt to the Landfall Gold Merchant Association, or foolishly attempt to steal from them, the cultivators of great power who had vanished without a trace served as a grim warning to the world.

Legend spoke of a powerful cultivator known as the "Thief King," who was a master of the Dao of Space. He could easily steal from others' storage spaces as if plucking something from a pocket. Distance was a meaningless number to him; he could traverse thousands of mountains and rivers in a single step, traveling from the westernmost reaches of the Central Continent to its extreme north. He had even stolen from cultivators at the Tribulation Transcending stage.

The thieving profession had an unwritten rule: never steal from the Landfall Gold Merchant Association. Originally, the Thief King adhered to the ancestral teachings of thieves, avoiding any interaction with the Landfall Gold Merchant Association. However, as his fame grew and numerous established masters attempted to hunt him down without success, he gradually began to believe that cultivators of great power were nothing special. He felt he had surpassed the ancestral thieves and no longer needed to abide by rigid ancestral rules. Arrogantly, he declared that he would steal treasures from the Landfall Gold Merchant Association that very night.

The world assumed that either the Thief King's mastery of spatial manipulation would allow him to steal the treasures silently, or a great battle would erupt within the association as he confronted the powerful figures behind it. To everyone's surprise, nothing happened that night. From then on, the Thief King was never seen again, vanishing without a trace.

Luyang's embarrassment lasted only a moment. When it was time to jump, the other passengers had no time to keep watching him. Everyone opened their paper umbrellas and leaped down, disembarking one after another. Luyang and Tao Yaoye also moved. High in the sky, the other passengers opened their umbrellas, appearing as tiny as sesame seeds from a distance. Luyang, however, was different. He pulled a cord behind him, and his parachute opened with a "thump," making him exceptionally conspicuous high above. Ordinarily, Luyang would have been very nervous at such a height. But at that moment, he had no mind for such thoughts. It was too embarrassing.

Fortunately, everyone had different destinations; only Luyang and Tao Yaoye were heading to Taiping Village. Upon arriving in Taiping Village, the two were warmly welcomed by the village chief, who seemed to have known they were coming.

"Sirs, you've finally arrived. Your descent from the flying boat was truly extraordinary."

Luyang opened his mouth but ultimately decided not to ask how the chief knew their arrival time.

"My name is Luyang, and this is Tao Yaoye. We are both disciples of Wen Dao Sect. The description of the demonic bird in our mission is not very detailed; we would appreciate it if you could provide more information, Chief."

Originally, the village chief had prepared a welcoming feast, intending to have a few rounds of drinks, offer some local specialties after they'd had enough, and then discuss the demonic bird matter in detail. This was typically how things were handled when seeking help or when officials arrived from above. Unexpectedly, the two were so efficient. The chief was secretly pleased and praised them, thinking, "As expected of immortal sect disciples."

Tao Yaoye subtly assessed the village chief: a late-stage Qi Condensation cultivator. His early cultivation foundation was poor, and his spiritual energy contained many impurities, making it unlikely he would ever reach Foundation Establishment. He was an ordinary cultivator, nothing remarkable.

When the demonic bird was mentioned, the village chief's face clouded with distress. Taiping Village was already quite secluded with few outsiders. Now that news of the demonic bird had spread in the vicinity, even traveling merchants were unwilling to approach. He had reported it to Quhe Prefecture, but Quhe Prefecture was short-staffed and, seeing that the demonic bird hadn't harmed anyone, told him to wait until they had resources available to send someone to Taiping Village. This "wait" had already lasted twenty days.

"It was about twenty days ago," the chief began. "Tailor Feng ran into the street, shouting that a man-eating monster had appeared at his home, a very powerful one. The neighbors were terrified upon hearing this. A man-eating monster was no small matter. Taiping Village only had about thirty cultivators in total, and I was the highest cultivated among them, as well as the village chief. So, Tailor Feng brought the neighbors to me. Before hunting the monster, I wanted to gather information. So I asked Tailor Feng, 'You said the monster ate someone, but who did it eat?'"

There was a significant difference in danger between monsters that had eaten humans and those that hadn't. Humans, as the spirits of all things, were born with open 'heart apertures.' Once a monster tasted human flesh, it would crave that taste, eating a second, then a third person, bringing disaster to the region.

"Tailor Feng replied, 'I don't know who the monster ate, but it can talk, so it must have eaten a person to gain the ability to speak.'"

Indeed, there were folk rumors that monsters could speak human languages and transform into human form after eating people, but these were nothing more than baseless tales. Cultivation for the demon race was not that simple. To speak human languages, they had to refine the 'horizontal bone' in their throat, which required at least late-stage Qi Condensation.

"Tailor Feng said the monster was colorful," the chief continued. "He initially thought it was a lost bird from the mountains. The demonic bird was sitting behind him, watching him sew, not moving, when suddenly it spoke, scaring Tailor Feng so much he fled his shop. Seeing that Tailor Feng couldn't provide any useful information, I told them to wait at a distance. I stealthily approached alone and saw the demonic bird. The demonic bird had vibrant, lustrous feathers and distinct red markings around its eyes. It was clearly no ordinary bird; what ordinary bird would dare to be so flamboyant? The demonic bird spoke, asking me, 'Who are you, and where is Zhang Guanjia?' Its tone was quite urgent. I was puzzled. Zhang Guanjia was a cultivator in our village, at Qi Condensation Level Three, with mediocre cultivation. How could he be connected to a demonic beast? At the time, I tried to relax, appearing non-threatening, and politely asked, 'May I ask, demonic king, why you are looking for Zhang Guanjia?' The demonic bird did not reply, simply flapping its wings and leaving the tailor's shop. Since then, the demonic bird has been flying around Taiping Village, eating grain from the fields and speaking human words. Although it hasn't eaten anyone, ordinary mortals are naturally terrified when they see a demon. That's why everyone has been living in fear these past days, dreading that the demonic bird might turn vicious and devour them all."

"Have you ever fought this demonic bird? What is its strength?" Luyang asked.

The village chief shook his head. "That demonic bird is always in the sky, appearing and disappearing unpredictably, making it hard to track. Furthermore, I cannot discern its cultivation level, which means it is at least at the same level as me, Qi Condensation Level Seven. I worried that the demonic bird might not intend to harm anyone, and if I rashly engaged it, I might only provoke it and make matters worse."

Luyang nodded. The village chief's actions were reasonable.