Chapter 798: You’re Too Polite

In the depths of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range, a lanky cultivator with a sharp face, and peculiar facial features stood beneath a lush tree. Different birds rested on different parts of his body. He glanced at a distant hill with a look of envy flashing in his eyes from time to time.

All of a sudden, the birds on his body seemed to feel a sense of danger approaching as they scattered. They rose into the air with a loud rustle and were gone in the blink of an eye.

The strange-looking cultivator glanced at his surroundings with suspicion, and his gaze eventually landed in the void before a dense forest a thousand or so feet away.

A five colored light appeared and started to glow with resplendence. It eventually turned into a giant ring that expanded vertically. A formless spatial gate was created.

Shang Xia stepped out from it and he immediately noticed the strange-looking cultivator.

The strange-looking cultivator’s body trembled once, and he hastily cupped his hands in greeting. “Yu Duhe from the Outreach Division greets Hall Master Shang!”

Shang Xia cupped his hands to return the greeting. “Chief Yu, it’s been long!”

It didn’t matter if they were comparing cultivation, strength, status, or position in the Tongyou Institution. Shang Xia was miles ahead. However, if they had to take age and experience into account, Shang Xia was a mere junior of the institution. Shang Xia treated his seniors of the institution the same way. No matter who they were, he would greet them respectfully. He never showed arrogance because of his status as a ‘Martial Dipper Realm Ancestor’ or a rank five Talisman Grandmaster. He gained widespread recognition in the institution because of that.

Even though Shang Xia said that it had been long since they met, the 2 of them hadn’t really interacted much. After realizing Shang Xia was truly as easy to interact with as the rumors said, his pounding heart finally calmed down.

“Please, I mean no disrespect.” Yu Duhe muttered and started to walk towards Shang Xia. “According to Sister Yun, we discovered Feng Yezi’s whereabouts. The moment we found him, I had to make a report to your esteemed self.”

Shang Xia chuckled in response. “Chief Yu, there’s no need to speak so politely. No matter what, you taught me back in the institution and I should be calling you ‘Teacher Yu’. Let's just drop all of that and you can call me Little Shang like how you did before.”

There was no way Yu Duhe would take his word for it and call him Little Shang like before. He laughed in response. “Since that’s the case, I’ll call you Young Talisman Master Shang. We received several messages from some birds that went to the Divine Capital City in the Si Continent that Ninth Palace Elder, Jiu Qi, met with Feng Yezi in the Hidden Beast Peak 1000 miles north of the city.”

Shang Xia gasped softly, “As it turns out, the Divine Capital Sect acted to hide him! It’s no wonder no one had news of him for such a long time... I even thought that he buried himself in some nasty mountain or valley in the Jiao Continent...”

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

“From the news we received, Feng Yezi left the Hidden Beast Peak and is currently moving towards the Bing Continent.” Yu Duhe continued.

“Huh?” Shang Xia frowned. “He actually chose to return to the Bing Continent...”

A sneer left his lips the next moment. “We searched high and low for him, but as it turns out, he came right back! Chief Yu, do you know where he is right now?”

Yu Duhe forced a chuckle. “Apologies... Feng Yezi is a Martial Dipper Realm Ancestor and his speed rivals the wind. The birds I command are unable to track him down. However...”

Yu Duhe’s gaze landed on the solitary peak not too far away.

Shang Xia followed his gaze and he broke out in laughter. “Chief Yu, have you set your sights on the Mutated Rain Swallows again?”

“All my life, I have loved living among birds... Young Talisman Master Shang, you managed to tame the entire flock of them! All I dream of is for one of them to be my companion...” Yu Duhe smiled in embarrassment.

Shang Xia waved his hands helplessly and muttered, “I only managed to tame them by luck. Even if I wanted to help you, I might not be able to do it... Chief Yu, you will have to rely on yourself if you wish for them to acknowledge you.”

Yu Duhe knew that Shang Xia wasn’t lying, but he couldn’t help but release a soft sigh. There was an unmistakable look of disappointment on his face.

Fortunately, he didn’t forget his job and he quickly regained his composure. “If we think about how fast a Martial Dipper Realm expert can fly, only the flock of Mutated Rain Swallows will be able to track him down; Of course, that is only if Feng Yezi doesn’t discover them. As long as they don’t follow him too closely, and they swap out every part of the journey, he shouldn’t be able to feel anything off. He wouldn’t think that he would be tracked by birds...”

Shang Xia thought about it for a moment and waved his hand in the direction of the solitary peak. Only after that did he speak to Yu Duhe again. “Chief Yu, you’re the best at this. You can make the decisions. All I need to do is to intercept him the moment he enters the Bing Continent.”

The words barely left Shang Xia’s lips when a loud cry came from the distance. Soon after, a low rumbling of thunder filled the air.

By the time Yu Duhe reacted, a silvery light brushed by him. When he snapped back to attention, he discovered a handsome-looking silver bird standing on Shang Xia’s shoulder.

Yu Duhe immediately understood that the silver bird was probably the Lightning Bird in charge of the entire flock. A chill ran down his heart. From the cry of the bird to the way it moved, the Lightning Bird was clearly a rank four spiritual beast!

He imagined what would happen if the Lightning Bird attacked him instead of flying to Shang Xia earlier. His body trembled slightly as he realized he wouldn’t be able to fight back in the slightest!

One had to know that when the Lightning Bird appeared, it was alone. There was still an entire flock of Mutated Rain Swallows behind it. There were tens of rank three Mutated Rain Swallows among them and hundreds of rank two birds...

They possessed strength comparable to a giant race!

Yu Duhe couldn’t help but thank their lucky stars that the flock of Mutated Rain Swallows was commanded by someone on their side.

Loud cries like thunder interrupted his train of thought and when he turned his head to look at Shang Xia, he discovered a five color light around him. Yellowish-gold, greenish-gold, blueish-gold, reddish-gold, and even orange-gold lightning appeared from it before raining down on the Lightning Bird.

The shrill cries forced Yu Duhe to take several steps back before running away in retreat.

He was completely flabbergasted. He even wondered if he was seeing an illusion. He even wondered if the bird that appeared earlier was a random bird that tried to attack Shang Xia and was getting punished for it.

However, Yu Duhe eventually realized that the bird seemed to be enjoying itself under the shower of lightning as it gave off loud cries from time to time.

This...

The third round of five colored lightning rained down on the bird and it finally showed signs of not being able to hold on any longer. However, it didn’t seem to want to give up an opportunity like that.

Shang Xia’s voice rang through the air the next moment. “Alright. That’s about enough. You’re going to injure yourself if you keep this up. It’s not very beneficial for your breakthrough to the fifth rank...”

The lightning stopped after he stopped talking. The five colored light ring around him shrank and it eventually returned to his hand.

For it to be able to expand and shrink when one used their inner qi... Yu Duhe obviously knew what it meant! The light ring was a divine weapon!

“This...” Yu Duhe hesitated slightly and wanted to ask but was interrupted by Shang Xia with a smile.

“That’s the Lightning Bird and it’s the leader of the flock. If you wish to use them to track Feng Yezi down, I’m afraid you will need to get its consent.”

“So...” A look of excitement flashed in Yu Duhe’s eyes and there was a trace of anticipation within. However, there was also a slight look of fear and complication within.

Shang Xia raised his chin slightly and stared at the bird on his shoulder. “Hey, you have to help this time.”

The Lightning Bird immediately released a high-pitched cry.

“Alright, it agreed.” Shang Xia turned to Yu Duhe and laughed.

...

After leaving the Hidden Beast Peak, Feng Yezi started to travel north without changing his direction. He moved really quickly.

The reason he didn’t use any methods to travel through space was because the void above the surface world was much stronger than that in the sea of stars. The space in the vast sea of stars was a lot weaker and he could easily create a spatial tunnel. In the Azure Ascension World, creating a long-range spatial tunnel would consume a lot of energy. He would also mess up the location where he would appear most of the time, and he might run into some dangerous situations if he tried. The losses wouldn’t make up for the time he saved.

Perhaps it was because the world was revitalizing, the birds in the south were traveling to the north. Feng Yezi noticed flocks of birds along his way, and there were times when he would discover some of them undergoing transformation. Of course, most of the birds he saw were ordinary ones.

Those who already mutated could fly at high speeds, and he noticed that some of them could maintain the same speed as him in short bursts.

Whatever it was, Feng Yezi didn’t conceal his aura too well as he flew. As such, he would be noticed by many of those birds that underwent transformation. There were several birds that seemed a little more courageous and they would try to close in on him. They would probe him out and see if he would threaten their existence.

Feng Yezi couldn’t help but sigh. Along with the strengthening heaven and earth qi in the Azure Ascension World, those beasts who had escaped during the collision of the worlds were finally returning.

He didn’t chase the birds away as he flew. The reason was because even the strongest mutated birds were second rank spiritual beasts and they couldn’t threaten him at all. Also, he felt a little lonely as he made his way north. Those birds seemed to be his only source of entertainment as he flew through the air.

After flying for some time, he closed in on the Bing Continent.

It was also then that a sudden surge of unease filled his heart. As he got closer to the Bing Continent, the feeling got stronger. He was even starting to feel slightly restless.

He promised himself something as he continued on his way. After refining the Hidden Wind Fate Dipper, and returning the favor, he would never step into the Bing Continent ever again. No matter what methods they tried to entice him with, he wouldn’t give in!

Well... That was pretty much what he said to Yuwen Changqing when he left the Bing Continent back then, excluding the part about refining the Hidden Wind Fate Dipper.

When he was still feeling extreme unease, he crossed the border and entered the Bing Continent.

It was then that the palpitations in his heart increased and he instinctively released his protection barrier.

Several miles away from him, a five colored light poured out of the void that very instant and turned into a spatial gate.

A figure emerged and stared directly at Feng Yezi.

A giant smile appeared on the face of the person who just appeared. “Senior Feng Yezi! Many greetings! I am Shang Xia of the You Continent!”