“What a pity…” Shang Xia sighed when he saw the Lightning Bird flying away.

He used a huge amount of Yin Yang Essence Qi to restrict the Lightning Bird earlier. If it went just a bit better, he would be able to capture it alive!

Too bad for him, it sacrificed a full tail of feathers to break through the binding the Yin Yang Essence Qi had on it.

Because of Shang Xia’s sudden increase in strength, the Lightning Bird no longer dared to mess with him. It turned into a streak of light and escaped.

The female cultivator turned tail and ran, seeing as her only other ally was gone.

The two of them were barely able to suppress Shang Xia earlier. She knew that there was no way she could take him on alone. 

Shang Xia didn’t hesitate to chase after the female cultivator. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to catch up, but all he wanted to do was to mess with her. He didn’t want to give her a chance to catch her breath.

He didn’t forget to retrieve the two damaged knives on the ground before giving chase.

This time, luck stood on his side.

When they left the cover of the trees, Shang Xia was greeted with the sight of a massive valley. It was dozens of feet deep and almost ten feet wide! If they ran into the valley earlier, he wouldn’t have been able to escape!

The appearance of the valley definitely had something to do with the Origin Tide. Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief, but a trace of delight soon formed in his heart. 

Regardless of how the valley appeared, it managed to stop the female cultivator from running away.

Shang Xia casually strode towards her and she asked, “Who are you?!“ 

Opening his fan, Shang Xia waved it slowly and sneered, “Are the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World as rude as you? Don’t you know that you’re supposed to introduce yourself before asking for someone else’s name?” 

Anger flashed in her eyes, but she quickly suppressed it. “I’m from the Wind Swallow Race of the Azure Spiritual World. My name is Yan Ming!” 

Shang Xia snapped the fan shut and he turned serious. “You can call me Shang Xia. I’m from the Tongyou City of the Azure Origin World.” 

“Shang Xia… Shang Xia…” Repeating his name a few times, she seemed to be carving the name deep into her memories. A sneer formed on her face and she continued, “I’ll remember your name. I’ll be back!” 

Raising an eyebrow in surprise, he soon realized that something was wrong. The Delicate Jade River Sword shot towards in an attempt to stop her. He was a little too late as she leaped into the valley behind.

Rushing over to the edge, Shang Xia saw her robes fluttering in mid air and she resembled a giant butterfly as she drifted away.

“She managed to run away!” Shang Xia growled. He wanted to give chase, but that didn’t seem doable. He could only roar behind her, “You’re exposing yourself in public! Shameless woman!” 

Shang Xia’s gaze drifted up her long white legs and caught a faint glance at the jade white…

When she heard what she said, her flight became unsteady and she nearly crashed into the cliff face beside her.

When she arrived on the other side, she shot a glare towards Shang Xia.

Roaring with laughter, he turned back and disappeared into the darkness.

…

Since his path out of the forest was obstructed by the massive valley, he used slightly more than a day to look for another route.

When he finally returned to the place where he separated from the convoy, he noticed that the battlefield had already been cleaned up. There were no traces of battle, and no one from the institution was anywhere to be seen.

He had no idea how his fellow disciples were doing, and his thoughts drifted to the outer disciples who followed them into the battlefield between two worlds. He knew that the chances of them being alive were slim to none.

“Chirp, chirp!” Shang Xia felt his arms sinking slightly as the Mutated Rain Swallow perched on his forearm. 

“Alright, alright!” Shang Xia sighed helplessly as he gathered a ball of lightning in his arms.

It flew directly towards the ball of lightning and streaks of lightning danced about its body.

As its feathers stood erect, the Mutated Rain Swallow closed its eyes slowly and gave off a sense of enjoyment.

However, a dissatisfied chirp soon left the bird’s lips after a few moments.

“That’s enough! Can’t you learn to take things slow? Even that damn lightning chicken can’t give you as much lightning as you want, right?” Shang Xia snapped in frustration.

Crying out softly, the Mutated Rain Swallow returned to his shoulders.

Several cries came from behind and Shang Xia turned around slowly. On a tree quite some distance away, the Lightning Bird glared at Shang Xia, seemingly trying to intimidate the man.

This time, the Mutated Rain Swallow responded on his behalf.

Flapping its wings, the Mutated Rain Swallow chirped several times, and the two winged creatures seemed to be getting into a heated argument.

Luckily for Shang Xia, the Lightning Bird looked rather calm. It was the Mutated Rain Swallow’s reaction that shocked him. The little bird on his shoulder fluttered about and Shang Xia seemed to barely understand it. 

You useless bird! He’s able to nourish me with lightning every day. What about you, you weak little lightning bird? Can your lightning last for so long?! You have so many other lovers… Think about how rarely I get to enjoy your lightning!

The Lightning Bird couldn’t back down after that! Not a single member of the male species could endure such humiliation! So what if it was just a bird?! 

However, Shang Xia could hear the helplessness in the Lightning Bird’s chirps.

The only creature getting more and more agitated was the Mutated Rain Swallow on his shoulder. It was leaping about animatedly, and Shang Xia felt his ears stinging from the high-pitched cries. From the looks of it, the story started a while back.

…

Even though Shang Xia knew how precious the Mutated Rain Swallow was, the cage had been broken by the Lightning Bird. Shang Xia could only use his hands to capture the Mutated Lightning Swallow.

It solved his problem immediately, but it wasn’t a long term solution. After all, he might slip up unconsciously.

When Shang Xia was searching for a way around the valley, he noticed the presence of the Lightning Bird once again. It wasn’t willing to give up on its lover!

An idea formed in his mind. He wanted to repair the broken cage to prevent the Mutated Rain Swallow from escaping. However, he didn’t have the appropriate materials to do so. If he used ordinary materials, the bird would slice through them in an instant!

In a fit of desperation, he released a surge of lightning, quelling the Mutated Rain Swallow’s movements. 

He found a way to solve the problem temporarily, but he still made a mistake when he sat down to take a short break.

Due to the extreme stress he had been under ever since leaving the convoy, his brain had been operating in overdrive. Being hunted down and risking it all to break through in the Origin Tide wasn’t an easy thing to do! No matter how determined and resilient he was, his body was sleep deprived. Despite knowing that the battlefield between two worlds was filled with dangers, he fell asleep the moment he closed his eyes.

When he awakened, he heard some tweeting nearby.

Jumping to his feet instantly, he saw two birds lying pitifully beside him. One of them was the Mutated Rain Swallow and from the looks of it, it suffered quite a bit in a battle against the other creature.

A wave of fear swept through Shang Xia’s mind. He didn’t hear anything in his deep slumber, and if any one carried out a sneak attack…

Huh?

Shang Xia noticed an important problem all of a sudden.

The Mutated Rain Swallow was lying on the ground nearby. Logically speaking, it could have escaped when he fell asleep.

Did the Mutated Rain Swallow protect him while he was asleep? 

His suspicions were quickly confirmed when the Mutated Rain Swallow soared into the air in excitement before returning to his side.

“Chirp, chirp!” 

It praised itself and looked at Shang Xia expectantly.

Opening his palm cautiously, a ball of lightning started to gather.

The Mutated Lightning Swallow released a happy cry before leaping into the ball of lightning.