Chapter 18: Demon Bird
Lu Yang’s understanding of the cultivation world was not holistic. Before entering the Dao-Seeking Sect, his main sources of information were from the storyteller. A year had passed since he joined the sect, and his knowledge of cultivation had improved at an astonishing rate, but none of the books he read stated how one could disembark from a flying vessel.
Who would write such things in a book? When it came to daily life in the cultivation world, he was still far behind people like Tao Yaoye who had grown up in an ancestral cultivation clan. As for the flying vessel, the only thing he knew was that it was a property of the Luodi Merchant Guild. The method of disembarkment was jumping off, but he wasn’t sure exactly how.
Every year, the flying vessel could bring in enormous amounts of wealth, but this was an inconsequential business considering the entire merchant guild’s scale. They were the biggest merchant guild on the Central Continent, with a mysterious force behind them. Rare and precious treasures were countless as long as one had sufficient spirit stones. Even the Buddhist relics from the Buddhist Kingdom, holy bones from the Demon Region, and immortal fruits, which only existed in the legends, could be bought.
If anyone dared to owe the Luodi Merchant Guild or thought that they could be lucky enough to not get caught for stealing from the merchant guild, they should think twice as numerous formidable cultivators had vanished without a trace before.
Legend had it that there was a formidable cultivator called “Thief King” who was well-versed in the Dao of space. Stealing other people’s storage space was as effortless as taking something out from his own pocket. Distance was just a string of meaningless numbers to him. A single stride of his could pass mountains and rivers, traveling from the extreme west to the extreme north of the Central Continent. Even the belongings of Transcendent Tribulation experts were not spared from the Thief King.
However, there was an unspoken rule within the stealing community—never steal from the Luodi Merchant Guild.
Initially, the Thief King adhered to the ancestral rules for stealing and didn’t engage in any interactions with the Luodi Merchant Guild. As his reputation grew, countless successful experts joined hands to hunt him down, but they couldn't locate him at all. This got to his head, and he began to feel that there wasn’t much substance to the cultivation experts. Thinking that he himself had already surpassed the ancestors of thieves, he felt that there was no need for him to follow those rigid ancestral rules anymore.
He arrogantly announced that he would be robbing the Luodi Merchant Guild’s treasure tonight.
Everyone thought that there were two possible outcomes—either the Thief King stealthily stole the treasure with his mysterious Dao of Space or a conflict within the merchant guild broke out and the Thief King would have to battle the personage behind the merchant guild.
Out of everyone’s expectations, nothing happened that night. The Thief King never appeared again.
Lu Yang only had to awkwardly hold on for a bit. When it was time to jump off the boat, the others didn’t have spare time to continue staring at him.
Everyone opened their umbrellas and leaped off one by one. Lu Yang and Tao Yaoye followed.
High up in the sky, several people held on to their open umbrellas, appearing like small sesame seeds from a distance. Unlike the others, Lu Yang pulled the rope on his back. With a loud sound, the parachute opened, making Lu Yang stand out against the backdrop of the sky.
Normally, Lu Yang would be very nervous at such high altitudes, but he didn’t have the chance to think about it.
It was too embarrassing.
Fortunately, everyone was headed for different destinations. Only Lu Yang and Tao Yaoye were going to Taiping Village.
As soon as they arrived, they were warmly welcomed by the village chief, as if he had known about their arrival. “Master immortals, you’re finally here. The way you jumped off from the flying vessel was truly extraordinary.”
Lu Yang had his mouth open, but he ended up not asking why the village chief knew when they would arrive.
“I’m Lu Yang, and she’s Tao Yaoye. Both of us are disciples of the Dao-Seeking Sect. The description of the demon bird was not very detailed. Please provide us with more information.”
The village chief had originally prepared a welcoming banquet to have some drinks and give them some local specialties before going into details about the demon bird. This was the usual protocol when requesting someone up there to help. He didn’t expect Lu Yang and Tao Yaoye to be so swift and decisive and was pleasantly surprised, inwardly praising them. As expected of immortal sect disciples.
Tao Yaoye sized up the village chief. Advanced Qi Training cultivation. He didn’t set his foundation well in his early years, so there are many impurities in his spirit power with no chance to reach the Foundation Establishment Stage. He can be considered an ordinary cultivator.
Speaking of the demon bird, the village chief became depressed. There were not many outsiders in Taiping Village in the first place. Now that word of the demon bird had spread through the nearby areas, even traveling merchants weren’t willing to come near. He had reported the situation to Quhe Commandery, but they lacked manpower. Since the demon bird didn’t harm anyone, they simply said to wait until they had the capacity to dispatch someone to Taiping Village.
Twenty days had passed since.
“It began around twenty days ago. The tailor surnamed Feng ran out onto the streets shouting that a big, powerful man-eating demon had invaded his house. The villagers were frightened. A man-eating demon was not a small matter. We only have roughly thirty cultivators here in Taiping Village. Among them, my cultivation is the highest, and I am also the village chief, so Feng brought the villagers to look for me together.
“Before dealing with the demon, I had asked Feng, ‘You said that the big demon eats people. Who has it eaten?’”
Demons that had eaten people were far more dangerous than those that had not. Humans were beings born intelligent, and demons who had consumed them were addicted to this taste. They would then eat a second human, a third one…becoming a scourge.
“Feng said he doesn’t know who the big demon has eaten, but that demon can speak. It’s definitely because it has eaten humans before.”
There were indeed rumors among the people that demons could speak human words and transform into human form after eating people. However, they were just unfounded tales. How could it be so easy for demons to cultivate? For a demon to speak human words, it must refine the bone in its throat, and that would take at least the Advanced Qi Training Stage.
“Feng said that the demon was colorful. He initially thought that it was a bird that had gotten lost in the mountain forest. The demon bird had sat behind him and watched him sew clothes without moving. All of a sudden, it began speaking and gave Feng a scare, and he quickly ran out of the store.
“Feng couldn’t provide any more useful information, so I asked them to wait from a distance while I secretly approached the place. That was when I saw the demon bird.
“The demon bird’s feathers were brightly colored and lustrous, and around its eyes was a distinct red color. It was obvious at a glance that it wasn’t an ordinary bird. How could an ordinary bird dare to look so ostentatious?
“The demon bird opened its mouth and asked me, ‘Who are you? Where is Zhang Guanjia?’ Its tone was quite urgent.
“I didn’t understand. Zhang Guanjia is a cultivator in our village. He is at the Level Three Qi Training Stage and has an ordinary cultivation. Why would he have anything to do with a demonic beast?
“Back then, I tried my best to let myself relax and look like I was not a threat. Then, I politely asked, ‘Demon King, may I know why you are looking for Zhang Guanjia?’
“The demon bird didn’t answer. It flapped its wings and left the tailor shop.
“Ever since then, the demon bird has been flying around Taiping Village, eating grains from the fields and speaking human words. Although it doesn’t eat people, how could normal humans not be scared? That is why everyone has been living in fear during this period of time. They are afraid that the demon bird will suddenly unleash its ferocious side and devour them all.”
Lu Yang asked, “Have you fought the demon bird? How strong is it?”
The village chief shook his head. “The demon bird is always in the sky, elusive and hard to track. Moreover, I can’t see through the demon bird’s cultivation, which means that its cultivation is at least my level, Level Seven Qi Training. Since the demon bird doesn’t have intentions of harming people now, I’m worried that I may accidentally make things worse and provoke it by fighting it.”
Lu Yang nodded. That’s reasonable.
Rakumon's ThoughtsThe name of the village "Taiping” means safe and peaceful
Comments
Top