১৪৮তম অধ্যায়: পাখি বাবার রাগের পদ

xie long-sheng listened to jiang xiao-qi's words and smiled slightly. their current situation was indeed like this; there was no way back. in this place, there was no spiritual energy of heaven and earth needed for cultivation. if they wanted to get out, regain their freedom, and take control of their own destiny, they had to forge ahead bravely. even if there was a bottomless abyss ahead of them, the two of them had to close their eyes and jump down.

flashing their figures, they had already arrived at the entrance of the second level. here, there was still a door, the same door as the first level. gazing at that door, xie long-sheng stood for a long time. he looked at jiang xiao-qi, waiting for her response.

"young master, open the door. i am already prepared. didn't you say that there is always a glimmer of life left in this world? perhaps this door leading deeper is that glimmer of life for the two of us. once we get past this today, the seed of self-confidence will be planted on our path of cultivation, and in the future, our cultivation will advance by leaps and bounds. if we retreat and choose to stay on this first level, the negative impact of failure and giving up will shroud us for a lifetime, and our path to immortality will be cut short right here. when i first came in, i was slightly fearful, but now, after passing through that terrifying first level, my heart has completely let go. i can feel a sense of destiny in you, so i believe that we will definitely be able to return to the world of cultivation and escape this mortal peril."

jiang xiao-qi spoke these words with utmost sincerity, which also contained some of her own insights into the great dao of heaven and earth. deep down, she had a feeling that as long as she followed the person before her, crises could always be resolved. it was like this during the newcomer competition, like this when escaping from the demon fiend, and like this when breaking through the first-tier tower.

"indeed, we cultivators must take immortality as our sole goal. anyone who fails to achieve this goal is a failure. even if we manage to preserve our lives here now, and even if we can continue cultivating in the future, the shadow of abandonment and failure will remain deep in our hearts. when we undergo heavenly tribulations in the future, inner demons will arise, and we will inevitably be reduced to ashes."

listening to jiang xiao-qi's words, xie long-sheng's final hesitation vanished. the time he spent lingering before the door was merely to give jiang xiao-qi a final choice. regardless of what she chose, he himself would definitely press forward. that was a responsibility born within him, and even more so, a character trait bestowed by cultivating the violent dragon art—domineering, brave, unyielding, and upright. these were all the treasures quietly bestowed upon him by the violent dragon art.

"creak!" the door was pushed open heavily, and an unusual scent rushed out from within. the eyes of the two lit up as they beheld a world of singing birds and fragrant flowers.

blue, purple, red, and yellow flowers bloomed in competition, greeting their eyes. amidst the flowers, bees flew and butterflies danced, creating a scene full of vitality without the slightest trace of danger.

"wow! how beautiful!" seeing this scenery through the crack of the door, jiang xiao-qi took the lead and entered the second level. fearing that something might happen to her, xie long-sheng followed closely behind.

upon entering, the two of them became even more ecstatic, because what they saw was an existence as beautiful as a fairyland. the scene of blooming flowers earlier was merely a corner of this vast world.

"wow! look over there, cranes are dancing, spirit apes are leaping, and there is babbling spring water with fish playing!" jiang xiao-qi pointed to a high mountain where clouds and mist swirled, tigers roared, and dragons howled. then she pointed to a mountain spring where lotus leaves covered the pond and schools of fish chased each other.

"this is truly dreamlike and fascinating!" at this moment, jiang xiao-qi had completely forgotten about the danger, sinking into it entirely and unable to extricate herself. afterwards, she actually began to spin lightly among the flowers with graceful steps, like a peony among blossoms, standing out like a crane among chickens, making the blooming flowers pale in comparison.

"hiss!" watching jiang xiao-qi's dance steps, which were beautiful and refined, xie long-sheng took a light breath, feeling as if an evil spirit was greedily devouring a delicacy.

"hum!" the moment this breath entered his body, xie long-sheng suddenly felt as if his soul was about to drift away from his body and merge into this beautiful nature. subsequently, his gaze became hazy, and his steps became light and erratic, actually beginning to dance just like jiang xiao-qi.

"roar!..." at this very moment, an earth-shattering roar was compressed into a line and drilled into xie long-sheng's body, stimulating his soul.

"pfft!" xie long-sheng spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes instantly regaining clarity, and the hazy expression vanished completely. he stepped forward and slapped jiang xiao-qi on the crown of her head.

"wake up quickly, gather your primordial spirit to unity, and guard your heart!" while striking jiang xiao-qi's crown, xie long-sheng uttered an exceptionally profound syllable, rising and falling with every word holding immense weight. this was a sonic martial art bestowed by chen yun-er, that unforgettable and pitiful woman.

"ying!" jiang xiao-qi let out a soft cry as her eyes slowly regained clarity. seeing xie long-sheng standing behind her, she realized she had just fallen into a hazy trance.

"what is going on? just now, it seemed like i heard heavenly music and immortal melodies, making me feel as if i were attaining the dao and ascending." jiang xiao-qi's chest heaved, clearly indicating that her seemingly light dance steps had consumed a tremendous amount of her primordial energy.

"i don't know. it felt like an illusion formation. fortunately, we had an expert to help us, otherwise we would have been exhausted to death here!" seeing jiang xiao-qi recover her clarity, xie long-sheng finally relaxed his mind. then, he cupped his fists toward the depths of the void with a respectful attitude.

"junior xie long-sheng accidentally stepped into the profound heavy sea heart and had no choice but to wander here. thank you, senior, for saving our lives just now, otherwise the two of us would have been done for!" xie long-sheng's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, and his expression was sincere and natural without the slightest pretense.

"hahahaha, not bad, kid. the two of you with such low cultivation managed to break through the first level and arrive here, running into me. you really have an affinity with grandpa bird. moreover, i sensed a familiar trace on you, which seems to be from that pretty-boy daoist, the sword immortal wuchenzi. are you a descendant inheriting his martial arts?"

a rough voice echoed from the void, and xie long-sheng knew that the owner of this voice was the expert who had roared him awake.

"sword immortal wuchenzi? right, senior wuchenzi's body turned into celestial spiritual energy and merged into my body. i do indeed carry his aura on me. but how does this person know sword immortal wuchenzi? and deep within the profound heavy sea heart, having reached even the second level, could this person also...?" pondering to himself, an astonishing conclusion loomed in xie long-sheng's mind.

"junior did indeed obtain the inheritance of senior wuchenzi. i wonder who senior is and why you are deep within this profound heavy sea heart?"

"hahahaha, good, good, good! that pretty-boy daoist even has a descendant now. having managed to escape, he should be roaming the immortal realm by now. how nostalgic!" the expert deep in the void did not answer xie long-sheng's question, instead laughing heartily to himself. after a long while, he finally composed himself.

"since you are that fellow's inheritor, saving you was the right thing to do. kid, let's cut the crap. come on, call me 'big uncle' and let me hear it. grandpa bird was sworn brothers with that pretty-boy daoist. back in the day, he, point-firmament, and the yin-yang dual immortals came here together to explore, but unfortunately stopped right here." the rough voice let out a sigh, recounting the helplessness of the past.

"point-firmament, yin-yang dual immortals... senior, could you be one of the five great mahayana experts, the demon king nu cai?" although xie long-sheng had long suspected that the other party might be one of the five great experts, he wasn't sure which one. hearing this now, he immediately reached a conclusion, and he also remembered that this was the person who had sacrificed himself to righteousness and stubbornly helped point-firmament and wuchenzi escape.

"oh, you kid even know grandpa bird's moniker? right, it must have been told by that pretty-boy! not bad, not bad, it seems that fellow didn't forget me. come on, quickly call grandpa bird 'big uncle'!" the rough voice was somewhat excited, and the previous helplessness instantly vanished.

"junior disciple xie long-sheng pays respects to big uncle nu cai!" hearing this, xie long-sheng naturally understood everything. since the person before him was the sworn brother of wuchenzi, and he himself had indeed received wuchenzi's cultivation inheritance, calling him big uncle was completely justified.

"good, good, good. to think that after being trapped here for tens of thousands of years, there is still a junior here chatting with me. grandpa bird is happy today, so happy!"

that voice emitted a heaven-shaking laugh, making the entire space feel as if it were trembling.

"呵呵, originally grandpa bird should reward you kid with a few spirit artifacts to play with, but unfortunately back then i gathered all my savings along with my physical body to self-detonate, unleashing a powerful strike to blast open the path of return, allowing wuchenzi and point-firmament to escape to safety. now i truly have no magic treasures left on me. hahahaha!"

listening to these words, xie long-sheng felt deeply shocked. this was definitely a character who valued righteousness above all else, self-detonating his physical body and all his savings to secure a glimmer of life for his sworn brothers. unfortunately, both point-firmament and wuchenzi had already perished to the ends of the earth; if he were to learn of that outcome, how much sorrow would it bring him?

"hm, kid, what's wrong with you? there is grief in your heart. however, having arrived here, it is indeed impossible to remain happy. you have now penetrated deep into the formation; this is the second level of the tower space, the 'array pavilion'. fortunately, you have only fallen into the preliminary formation for now, and grandpa bird can still assist you. if you go any deeper, even grandpa bird will be powerless to help." nu cai sensed a faint trace of sorrow in xie long-sheng, thinking that xie long-sheng was grieving over his own predicament.

"impressive, an expert is truly an expert, capable of perceiving my mood."

"big uncle, you said your physical body was destroyed, then what are you now...?" xie long-sheng originally wanted to ask how he existed, but held the words back.

"hehe, back when i self-detonated my body and magic treasures, i left behind a piece of divine wood—soul-nourishing wood—and guided my nascent soul and soul into it, just to see if i could leave a glimmer of life for myself." nu cai chuckled, not blaming xie long-sheng for his abruptness, and naturally continued the conversation.

soul-nourishing wood was a divine wood rumored to exist only in the immortal realm, capable of nourishing the soul and storing nascent souls.

"so that's how it is. big uncle, rest assured, once junior breaks free today, i will definitely rescue big uncle, forge a rogue immortal body for big uncle, and let you roam the cultivation world proudly once more." xie long-sheng knew that since nu cai's physical body had been destroyed, the best plan was to use heavenly treasures to gather a rogue immortal body and cultivate as a rogue immortal.

"good, with you having this intent, that is enough. unfortunately, the formation here is simply too terrifying, beyond anything you can imagine! especially deep inside, even the three of us—myself, wuchenzi, and point-firmament—could do nothing against it back then."

"so what if nothing could be done? since i have come here today, i am going to break through and retrace the miraculous path you seniors walked back then." deep within xie long-sheng's heart, he was moved by nu cai's act of sacrificing himself for righteousness and loyalty, causing an unprecedented domineering aura to erupt from his body.