Bai Ze Mountain was shrouded in a lingering mist.
While other regions were still locked in ice and snow, this mountain range had already blossomed with the warmth of spring.
The entire landscape was a vibrant tapestry of peach blossoms and fresh greenery, teeming with life.
A three-thousand-foot waterfall cascaded down, its spray creating a scene of natural grandeur, while the clear calls of birds echoed through the air.
Qin Xun took a deep breath.
He dismounted from the white crane’s back. The single-use talisman in his hand, its life force now completely drained, crumbled into a pile of black ash.
He asked the old man earnestly, “I’ve arrived. How do I tame that Peacock of the Feather Clan?”
Instead of communicating through divine sense, he spoke the words aloud. The old man’s expression turned grim. “Have you forgotten where we are? This is the territory of the Feather Clan.”
Qin Xun paused, only then noticing a lake ahead. A faint mist clung to its surface, and a white crane stood there, drinking leisurely, its gaze fixed upon them.
On the nearby branches, several brightly colored parrots clung to the wood with their small claws, chattering among themselves.
Could it be… His expression shifted.
Sure enough, as they drew closer, the white crane took flight toward them. It spoke in a human voice: “This is the Sacred Land of the Feather Clan. Unauthorized personnel are forbidden. Leave at once!”
The words were laced with warning, the tone extremely sharp.
A sweep of his divine sense revealed that the white crane was at the Foundation Establishment Stage, no weaker than himself.
Qin Xun froze, his heart pounding. He scanned the crane from head to toe with a look of admiration.
This wasn’t a one-time-use talisman, he thought. This was a true, wild-roaming immortal crane.
While cultivators typically flew on swords, who wouldn’t covet a mount with such formidable magical power?
Seeing the human remain motionless for so long, the white crane grew furious.
Upon landing, it instantly transformed into a clean-cut youth with a frost-covered expression. “Why are you so disobedient? Do not disturb the tranquility of Bai Ze. Leave at once!”
The youth’s roar echoed across the wilderness. Before Qin Xun could even react, the dense valley around them teemed with birds of stunningly beautiful plumage.
One by one, they fixed their small, bean-sized eyes on him, then transformed into human figures revealing themselves as breathtakingly beautiful female cultivators, each with a mix of bewitching allure and pure innocence.
These lovely Feather Clan birds glared at him with fury, clearly ready to fight if he didn’t leave immediately.
“I am Qin Xun, an inner disciple of the Guiyuan Sect. I mean no harm; I have only come to pay my respects…” Qin Xun cupped his hands in a formal salute, his tone sincere as he stated his purpose. Then, he suddenly forgot how to speak.
The old man with the jade pendant instructed him, “You can tell them that the Feather Clan will soon face an extermination crisis. Pei Xuan has already set his sights on them. You have come to see the Feather Clan leader to impart the method of averting this disaster.”
The Divine Birds are fiercely loyal, bound to a single partner for a lifetime. If they could be tamed, the Young Master of the Great Demon Tribe would not have died for love on the future battlefield. The Feather Clan would be grateful for their help.
Qin Xun repeated the words exactly as told.
To his surprise, the flock of birds refused to listen to a single word. “What kind of bullshit is this human spouting? That demon lord Pei Xuan is in the Demon Realm, a hundred thousand and eight thousand li away from the Land of Bai Ze. Why would he bother attacking us?”
“Sisters, don’t believe him! This human looks all refined and gentle, but the moment he stepped into Bai Ze, he claimed he wanted to tame us and enslave the Feather Clan!”
“Damn it, human cultivators have the most vicious hearts! How many of our kin did they capture last time, and now they dare to come again?!”
The valley was a cacophony of noise and chaos. A single bird’s voice could drown out eight hundred human mouths, leaving Qin Xun no chance to explain himself.
Pei Xuan was the public enemy of the entire Cultivation World. Generally, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, making alliances easy to forge.
Unfortunately, for the Demon Race to cultivate a human form required thousands of years. These newly sentient birds clearly lacked the intellect for such nuance. Compared to a distant demon lord, they were far more interested in pecking the human cultivator right in front of them.
The old man with the jade pendant sighed. “If they won’t listen, then we fight. Might makes right.”
Qin Xun immediately drew his sword. As a Sword Cultivator, he specialized in fighting opponents far beyond his level.
Once his blade left its scabbard, its sword-qi flashed like a startled swan, its immense power carrying the force of thunder. He was truly unrivaled.
Yet, he possessed a soft heart for the fair and fragile. The moment those beautiful female cultivators showed terror on their faces, his sword hesitated.
The old man with the jade pendant sighed again. “Why are you taking pity on a bunch of birds? These are just Feather Clan Maidservants; their beauty is less than one ten-thousandth of the Royal Family’s. You can save your pity for when you see the Great Demon Royal Clan!” He was thoroughly pleased with Qin Xun, his chosen prodigy.
Unfortunately, the young man’s weakness for beauties was a minor flaw, one that was harmless, yet occasionally exasperating.
Qin Xun was stunned. Such beautiful female cultivators are merely maidservants?
How stunning must the true Demon Race be? he wondered. It seems I’ll have to defeat all these birds and parrots before I can even lay eyes on the Royal Family.
His dagger, the Bone-Chilling Dagger, and his sword, the Flying Frost Sword, were both divine artifacts he had obtained from a Secret Realm.
“He’s finally revealed his wolfish ambitions! Everyone, fight!” A flock of birds, now enraged, flapped their wings and began to attack, sending feathers fluttering all over the sky.
Qin Xun couldn’t hold them off.
“Let go of your convictions and lend me your body.” Before Qin Xun could even agree, a wisp of the lingering soul from the jade pendant seized control of his body. The Mahayana Stage cultivation that erupted instantly turned the tide, wounding numerous birds.
Just then, a colossal, aquamarine peacock soared toward them. Its magnificent, long tail feathers swayed across the sky like gold-embroidered silk, instantly blotting out the sun.
The peacock fanned out countless hurricanes, then landed and transformed into a stunningly handsome young man in his early twenties. Tall and slender, he wore a resplendent robe of shimmering jade-green, its brilliance far surpassing any scenery in the mortal realm.
This was none other than the Young Master of the Great Demon Tribe, Lou Qinian, the future Demon Lord who would shake the Eight Desolations.
His true form was a peacock with the blood of the Phoenix Clan, a descendant of the Divine Bird Clan.
As a result, his features possessed both the soul-stealing allure of a demon and the haughty arrogance of royalty. A single, solidified drop of seductive crimson blood at the center of his brow seeped with a hint of murderous intent.
Qin Xun found himself unable to describe the shock of this first encounter.
The Young Master of the Great Demon Tribe simply standing there was, in itself, a breathtaking tale long circulated within the Cultivation World.
A mysterious, ancient, and untamable legend from the dawn of time.
A piece of folklore from twenty thousand years ago told of a female cultivator from the Three Realms Immortal Sect who had accidentally stumbled into the Bai Ze Mountain Range and glimpsed a peacock.
From that moment, her heart was irrevocably captured, and she wandered in a soul-shattered stupor for ten thousand years. Only now, seeing the man in the flesh, did she realize that the cultivation gossip was no mere fable.
At that moment, the other man’s expression was as cold as ice. Standing on high ground, his slender, phoenix-like eyes gazed down at him, flashing with a frigid displeasure at being offended, as if he were a Divine Lord who dared not be looked upon directly.
A Mahayana Stage cultivator at full strength was not something a mere lingering soul could withstand.
The old man’s consciousness stirred abruptly, and a wisp of his soul retreated deep into the jade pendant, leaving Qin Xun to bear the crushing pressure alone.
Qin Xun, of course, could not withstand it. His face contorted in horror, his entire body trembling as goosebumps broke out all over his skin.
He was only nineteen years old meaning he had lived for just nineteen years.
What kind of reaction was expected when one witnessed a divine bird that had lived for tens of thousands of years? He collapsed weakly to the ground, forced to his knees by the Mahayana Stage pressure.
His hands shook uncontrollably, as if seized by epilepsy, and his muscles and bones spasmed so violently that he couldn’t even grip his sword. He could only gaze up at the divine bird’s majestic form.
In truth, Qin Xun was the Eighth Prince of the Dongling Kingdom. His body flowed with royal blood, making him a noble of the highest order, a chosen child of heaven in the mortal realm.
But what did it matter if he was a noble of the highest order in the mortal realm?
The Eldest Young Master of the Demon Race had lived for tens of thousands of years, his status already exalted. His long hair and robes fluttered in the wind as he looked down upon the mortal masses and even the young cultivator before him with a gaze that saw them as mere ants. With a single wave of his sleeve, Qin Xun spat out a mouthful of blood.
At the same time, his mind and soul were shaken, his tongue went numb, and he found himself unable to utter a single word. Such overwhelming strength filled Qin Xun with awe! The old man with the jade pendant had spoken the truth: the Feather Clan possessed formidable power. If he could secure their allegiance, he would surely carve out a place for himself on the Divine Continent!
“My King, you have arrived.” The White Crane ran over, clutching its wound, and knelt respectfully on one knee.
“Forgive our negligence in guarding your rest.”
Though his expression was respectful, he was cursing inwardly: This human cultivator is too strange. How could someone’s power surge through countless realms from the Foundation Establishment Stage in an instant? If the Demon Lord hadn’t come in person, we would have become his prisoners.
Lou Qinian nodded slightly and said coldly, “Throw him out.”
A flock of birds immediately swarmed forward, binding the man with five-flower rope. The Guiyuan Sect was the preeminent Immortal Sect, and while they could not kill its disciples, they could certainly beat them to vent their frustration.
Only after the Mahayana Stage pressure dissipated did Qin Xun scramble up from the muddy ground, his face covered in beak wounds.
Even without a mirror, he knew his handsome face was temporarily disfigured. He would need a Beauty-Preserving Pill to restore it. The pain wasn’t just on his face; a throbbing ache spread through his mouth.
A moment later, he realized he had bitten his tongue.
The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth.
Recalling the moment, it seemed that when the Peacock appeared, his sheer terror had caused him to bite down hard.
“The Feather Clan is arrogant and insolent. There is no need to tame them,” the Elderly Soul Remnant drawled as he drifted out of the jade pendant, offering him a graceful exit.
The old man’s words, however, only fueled Qin Xun’s fury. Yet, what surged within him was not just anger, but a soaring, unbridled ambition. As the Son of Salvation chosen by the Heavenly Dao, the Feather Clan was now his destiny.
He knew all too well that he lacked the strength and opportunity to subdue them at this moment. He would return. For now, his priority was to find a secluded place to heal.
__
At the foot of Bai Ze Mountain, Ye Qing carried a small bamboo basket, climbing up and down beneath the roots of a massive banyan tree.
What was he doing?
He was picking small mushrooms after the rain.
How does an ordinary person from the modern world earn a living in the Cultivation World?
Out of ten novels, nine have the protagonist going up the mountain to gather herbs! However, after rummaging through the bushes, Ye Qing still couldn’t tell the difference between medicinal herbs and wild weeds, even with Tang Xi guiding him. He could only shed a tear and give up on making that kind of money.
His only option was to pick some mushrooms to get by.
“Brother Tang Xi, is this mushroom edible?” Just as he thought this, Ye Qing squatted on the ground, his small hand reaching for a mushroom cap.
Tang Xi felt utterly helpless.
I am a Golden Core cultivator!
I came here to teach you the Cold Resistance Technique and the Dust Washing Technique, to teach you pill refining and talisman drawing, and how to fly on a sword! Not to help you identify whether mushrooms are poisonous! How infuriating!
Wait…
“Don’t eat that one with the red cap, it’s poisonous!”
“Qingqing, picking mushrooms is dangerous. Stop doing it.” Tang Xi’s face hardened as he spoke sternly. After all, Ye Qing’s safety was tied to the fate of the entire Cultivation World.
Even though Pei Xuan, that madman, had cast his divine sense over the entire mountain meaning Ye Qing’s every move was within his range of perception and he was protected by a divine artifact in case of danger, Tang Xi still wished Ye Qing would just stay obediently at home, like a pampered little doll.
“No, I still have to earn money to support the family. Look at my dad, he doesn’t even know how to make money.” Ye Qing, completely unaware of the truth, didn’t even look up as he continued picking mushrooms.
Though it was hilarious to hear a three-year-old child talking about earning money to support the family, Tang Xi couldn’t help but sigh.
Wuwu, the cub is so sensible.
Ye Qing slowly filled a bamboo basket, then squatted on the ground to wipe his sweat, feeling a bit tired. He had no idea he had already entered the surveillance range of the birds.
A flock of birds chirped incessantly, but they were actually whispering among themselves:
“Heavens, it’s a human cub!” “How old is he? Could he have just been born?” Compared to the Feather Clan, who lived for countless ages, a lifespan of a few years was practically nothing.
“Incredible, he’s so small!”
The child’s face was buried in fluffy white fox fur, making him look delicate and precious. His small frame, perched on a tree stump, resembled a soft ball of white cotton.
Even the child’s ears were a delicate, pale pink, small and adorable.
Compared to the massive original forms of the Feather Clan, a single wing-beat could conjure a hurricane. This hatchling would probably tumble end over end countless times if caught in one.
Innocent human children and human cultivators weren’t they all just humans? Yet the Feather Clan’s preferences were clear; they never conflated the two.
The White Crane guard swayed its head, staring for a long while, unsure whether to speak up and tell this mushroom-picking child to get the hell out of their territory.
Wait, “get the hell out” is a bit much, isn’t it?
Too rude.
How about “hurry up and leave”?
Um, human children’s walking speed seems to have nothing to do with “hurry.” They don’t have wings, nor can they perform sword flight.
The White Crane, who had lived for thousands of years, was momentarily at a loss against this newborn, soft little ball of a child.
__
Before they knew it, the child had drawn closer and closer.
Ye Qing walked to the river’s edge. The water was crystal clear, and he prepared to scoop some up to drink.
But then he saw the reflection on the surface.
Besides the bewildered little boy, the water, clear as a mirror, also reflected another person.
Ye Qing froze, his already round eyes widening in disbelief as he stared at the man.
Beneath the deep blue sky, on the shimmering water’s surface, Lou Qinian sat elegantly by the riverbank. His features were dazzlingly beautiful, his amber eyes dark and deep.
Even the most stunning streams and silver waterfalls of the Bai Ze Mountains could not outshine him. Instead, the natural light and shadow cast upon his straight, proud profile draped him in a cloak of otherworldly mystery.
His long, ink-black hair flowed down like a stream. As a gentle breeze blew, a few strands brushed against his handsome face, while the rest trailed in the current, allowing the water to wash over them like living aquatic grass.
He looked as if he had been born from the stream itself, a sight one could not tear their eyes away from. In truth, if one could see through his disguise, this was merely a peacock who, after drinking his fill, sat lazily by the river with his eyes closed, unwilling to move.
The charm of the Demon Race was innate and effortless, so it was only natural for a three-year-old child to be completely spellbound.
Look, the little mushrooms in his hands had already fallen, bobbing away as the current swept them downstream.
Unnoticed by the others, the jet-black hair in the stream seemed to come alive, its strands spreading out to hook the mushrooms back and place them into the human child’s little bamboo basket.
“Where did this child come from? Keep staring and I’ll gouge your eyes out.” The Great Demon’s phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, his expression half-asleep, a blood-red mark adorning the space between his brows.
A bird on a branch hopped about. “The King is so fierce!”
“Exactly! He’s been alive for tens of thousands of years, and we’re sick of looking at him. What’s wrong with letting a human child glance at him a few times?”
The human child seemed frightened by the threat and walked away, glancing back every three steps.
When he returned home, however, his little face glowed with excitement.
Wow! A chance encounter with a beauty!
His son was the precious treasure he held in the palm of his hand, so this slight anomaly was naturally noticed by the observant Pei Xuan. His expression remained unchanged as he asked calmly, “What happened?”
Then he saw the human child, seemingly a bit embarrassed, throw himself into his arms. His little face was flushed red as he said shyly, “Hehehe, I saw a very good-looking brother in the mountains today~”
Prisha On IMMFBCG Chapter 2