Chapter 35: A New Identity

"Ning Yao!"

"Sister Ning!"

The crowd exclaimed in surprise.

Since they entered the Solitary Mountain Range, Su Yuntian and He Rong's party had not encountered any survivors from the other clans. Thus, they were overjoyed when they saw "Ning Yao".

𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

He Rong in particular, was exceptionally pleased.

He knew his nephew, He Ziren, was infatuated with Ning Yao. When he saw Ning Yao, he assumed He Ziren would be close by.

The elegant and confident Luo Hongyan arrived in a silk gown soiled by leaves and debris, a testament to her journey. Despite the weariness that clung to her, she scanned her surroundings with bright eyes.

When she failed to find who she was looking for, she repeated in a cold voice, "Where's Pang Jian?"

"Who's Pang Jian?" Su Yuntian asked curiously.

"The one carrying a bamboo basket on his back. He was wielding a long spear when he emerged from Crescent Moon Lake," Luo Hongyan explained, her brows knitted in frustration as she scanned the surroundings. Her eyes flashed with impatience as she secretly instructed the gray eagle to scour the area.

"Oh, that young man!" Su Yuntian pointed with a smile. "He headed in that direction, but it's been a while since he left."

Whoosh!

The gray eagle circling Crescent Moon Lake flew in the indicated direction.

"Sister Ning, why are you alone?" Su Meng asked, stepping forward with a beaming smile on her round face.

Luo Hongyan stared at her puzzledly, taking a moment to gather her thoughts before responding, "Oh, Su Meng. It's been a while"

"It's been so long since we last met. It seems you've nearly forgotten about me!" Su Meng twirled around, then tiptoeing slightly to make herself a bit taller, said, "The last time we met, I was still a kid. Look how much I've grown!"

Luo Hongyan did not pay her any mind. After exchanging pleasantries, she turned around and departed.

"Ning Yao, where is Ziren?" He Rong asked, brow knitted in concern. "Ziren went to the Ning Clan because of you. I heard he was with you. Since you're here in this mountain range, Ziren should be here too."

Su Yuntian and the others also found it puzzling.

"Ning Yao" not only appeared alone but was also anxiously searching for Pang Jian. This left them all perplexed.

Under their suspicious stares, Luo Hongyan squinted and lowered her head. She internally turned to the true owner of this body for clarification. Finally, she spoke with a hint of melancholy, "Ziren, Uncle Yuanshan, the servants of the Ning Clan that followed me into the Solitary Mountain Range, as well as numerous members of the Zhou Clan, have all fallen to the Shadow Specter Sect."

"The Shadow Specter Sect?!" The members of both the Su and He Clans turned pale with shock.

"On the other side of this mountain lies Blackwater Pond. Apart from me, Zhou Qingchen, and Han Duping, everybody else was slain by members of the Shadow Specter Sect." Sighing deeply, she continued using the Spirit Devil within the gray eagle to scour for Pang Jian's whereabouts while feigning a mournful expression. "Pang Jian, the young man I hired as a guide, is also among the survivors."

Turning to Su Meng, she asked, "Did you witness a massive python emerging alongside Pang Jian from Crescent Moon Lake?"

Su Meng was still in a state of shock, conjuring up images of the sinister deeds of the Shadow Specter Sect, so she replied honestly, "He came up to roast a few fish, chatted with us for a while, and then left."

Luo Hongyan breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that the Giant Abyssal Serpent had not accompanied Pang Jian. "That's a relief. The Black and White King Python is Hong Tai's spirit beast. If it wasn't chasing him, it means he managed to escape"

"That young man hid a lot of things from us!" Su Yuntian said in frustration.

During Pang Jian's conversation with them, he did not mention the attack by the Shadow Specter Sect, nor did he mention any contact with the Ning Clan and Zhou Clan. This omission left Su Yuntian dissatisfied.

"On the other side of the mountain, there are heaps of corpses. Some members of the Shadow Specter Sect may still be active there, so I suggest you don't go that way," Luo Hongyan warned. She no longer had the patience to wait for the gray eagle to find Pang Jian and excused herself, "I still have some matters to discuss with Pang Jian. I'll take my leave now."

"Ning Yao, how about we travel together? It's too dangerous for you to be alone!" Su Yuntian suggested urgently.

He Rong had been silent after receiving the news of He Ziren's death. It was only when Luo Hongyan hurriedly began to leave that he finally spoke up.

"Let's go together!" he insisted.

Poised to depart, Luo Hongyan glanced back at the group and hesitated for a moment before reluctantly agreeing, "Alright."

***

After he bid farewell to the Su Clan and the He Clan, Pang Jian felt a sense of freedom akin to a bird soaring in the boundless sky. He dashed through the forest, navigating effortlessly through the dense ancient trees.

At times, he would even leap into the air before landing with a resounding thud. Then, with nimble agility, he would suspend himself from tree branches, using momentum to propel himself from branch to branch, swinging through the jungle like an agile ape.

The long spear in his hand emanated a powerful, intimidating aura. With a casual thrust, he could pierce through a tree trunk thick enough to require several people to encircle.

A faint smile curved his lips. His eyes narrowed sharply, gleaming with captivating brilliance.

After this second round of tempering, his entire skeleton had been substantially enhanced. Now, not only his arms and ribcage but also his lower body was imbued with formidable strength.

With a single leap, he could soar nearly ten meters above the forest floor, and his feet felt neither pain nor numbness upon landing.

This sensation of seemingly boundless, surging energy compelled him to seek out a worthy opponent and fight to his heart's content.

Two rounds of tempering transformed my body, causing a profound change. If I'm not mistaken, the second essence of the Celestial Phoenix has yet to manifest itself within the bronze pendant.

Pang Jian glanced at the bronze pendant hanging on his chest, feeling increasingly intrigued by its mysterious nature.

An hour later.

Feeling slightly fatigued, Pang Jian hunted down a deer, prepared it, and started a fire to roast it. Before long, the smell of the roasted meat filled the air.

As he ate, Pang Jian noted that his appetite had increased significantly since waking up in the dark stone passage. He had also developed an intense craving for meat.

In no time, the several dozen-kilogram deer was devoured, leaving nothing behind. As he stared at the scattered bone on the ground, he suddenly heard the familiar cry of a gray eagle.

He looked up and sure enough, there was a gray eagle in the sky.

Why is it following me?

Pang Jian knitted his brow in confusion.

Back at Crescent Moon Lake, this eagle had circled overhead, studying him from above. It had lingered for a long time before it reluctantly departed.

Now that he had bid farewell to the Su Clan and the He Clan, the gray eagle had reappeared once again. Its motive was unknown.

Evidently, the eagle's target was Pang Jian and not the members of the Su Clan and the He Clan.

The surveillance of the gray eagle made him uneasy. Pang Jian eyed his Dragonwood Spear. As he recalled the boundless energy surging through his arms, his eyes gleamed with a cold light.

Pang Jian picked up the Dragonwood Spear and slung the bamboo basket back over his shoulder. He then continued to make his way through the dense forest.

At this moment, a strange feeling rose within him—the feeling that he was the undisputed King of the Solitary Mountain Range and that every blade of grass, every tree, bird, wild beast, and insect belonged to him.

"It's not a bad feeling." Pang Jian muttered to himself as he disappeared into the dense forest.

This time, he did not rush out from the dense forest cover and instead carefully concealed himself. Peering through the gaps in the canopy, he watched the dim sky and patiently waited.

Having gone a long while without seeing Pang Jian, the gray eagle could not resist swooping down lower to investigate.

Sensing the gray eagle had entered his shooting range, Pang Jian swiftly threw the Dragonwood Spear like a bolt of lightning.

Swoosh!

The Dragonwood Spear was precisely aimed at the gray eagle, soaring upward with incredible momentum and skewering the annoying bird with unwavering accuracy.

The gray eagle, impaled by the Dragonwood Spear, plummeted into the forest, dozens of meters away. Having successfully struck the eagle, Pang Jian dashed forward with the nimbleness of a cheetah.

Before he reached the gray eagle, a Spirit Devil, refined from the soul of a Meridian Opening Realm cultivator, emerged from its body and vanished instantly.

When Pang Jian arrived at the body of the gray eagle, he first retrieved the Dragonwood Spear and then turned to study the gray eagle. He chuckled coldly. "Back when I was hunting in these mountains, why didn't I see you watching my every move?"

The Solitary Mountain Range had many gray eagles, and he couldn't distinguish this one from the others. However, he had never noticed being "taken care of" by these gray eagles during his previous hunts.

Having killed the gray eagle, the tension in Pang Jian's body loosened up. He had just eaten and so had no intention of consuming the bird.

The vast and desolate Solitary Mountain Range teemed with various wild beasts. With his current strength, Pang Jian could easily hunt any wild animal he desired, so he naturally paid no mind to the gray eagle.

He resumed his journey, heading toward the northernmost region of the Solitary Mountain Range, another area designated as a forbidden zone by his father.

Drawing from his previous experience at Blackwater Pond, Pang Jian suspected that the various forbidden zones in the Solitary Mountain Range might have been selected as potential sites for the bones of the Celestial Phoenix to land.

The essence of the Celestial Phoenix had granted him miraculous benefits. Thus, Pang Jian decided to venture into another forbidden zone to try his luck.

The northernmost area of the Solitary Mountain Range, along with the bizarre mist and boundary wall frequently mentioned by Zhou Qingchen and the others, stirred an unending curiosity within Pang Jian.

The area with the bizarre mist had been the first place his father had designated a forbidden zone. He had strictly prohibited Pang Jian from ever setting foot there.

However, he had now experienced the wonders of the cultivation world. Thus, armed with both his greatly enhanced strength and his ambition to ascend to the summit of the upper world, Pang Jian decided to no longer heed his father's warnings.

***

On this particular night, Pang Jian felt exceptionally weary. For the first time, he broke from his usual routine and did not cultivate the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art after his meal.

Overcome with drowsiness, he sought out a secluded spot to rest.

He selected a large withered tree with a hollow trunk, taking care to cover the opening with a piece of dried bark as a makeshift door after entering.

Unbeknownst to him, in the darkness of the night, a Spirit Devil was observing his every move.

Finally settling down, Pang Jian drifted into a deep sleep within the tree hollow, sleeping soundly and peacefully.

By the time he woke up, the sky had already brightened.

When Pang Jian pushed open the makeshift door and stepped outside, he noticed a familiar figure seated not far away, in the shade of a large tree.

The girl had shed her simple, sleek attire, opting instead for a silk gown. Her black hair and long eyelashes were covered in glistening dewdrops.

In the morning mist, she looked like a forest fairy.

Her thick eyebrows and straight nose bridge gave her a dignified appearance, but the hazy morning mist seemed to soften it into an alluring feminine charm.

The convergence of these two contrasting qualities added another layer of appeal to her beauty.

Pang Jian rubbed his eyes before taking a closer look. He asked in shock, "Ning Yao?"

"Didn't expect I'd still be alive?" She opened her eyes with an indifferent expression on her face, then slowly rose to her feet and walked over to Pang Jian.

From a dozen meters away, the members of the Su Clan and the He Clan caught sight of Pang Jian's sudden appearance when Ning Yao stood up. Both clans were astounded.

Just before reaching Pang Jian, Luo Hongyan halted and turned to cast a cold, warning gaze at He Rong and the others.

"I have some private matters to discuss with him. Please don't disturb us."

The members of the Su Clan and the He Clan frowned. They could not fathom why she acted so distant and cold to them at every turn.

Pang Jian was taken aback. It was at this moment that he realized not only Ning Yao was present, but also the members of the Su Clan and the He Clan from before.

"Let's converse in the hollow tree trunk." Having patiently waited for Pang Jian to wake up, Luo Hongyan gently placed her jade-like hand on his chest and guided him into the hollow tree trunk with a gentle push before following him inside herself.

He Rong's face darkened as he watched the scene unfold.

Scratching his head, Su Yuntian could not quite gauge the relationship between the two, leaving him puzzled.

"They..." Su Meng's jaw dropped.

Meanwhile, in the hollow tree trunk, Pang Jian felt uncomfortable.

This hollow tree trunk was prepared for him alone, and he had never imagined it would accommodate a second person.

When he was alone, the hollow tree trunk felt spacious, but with another person present, it felt somewhat cramped.

The two of them could not avoid physical contact.

With each breath, Pang Jian could detect a faint fragrance coming from Ning Yao's body. Unsure of her intentions, he chose to remain silent.

After entering the hollow tree trunk, Luo Hongyan appeared confident and composed, her bright eyes exuding a hint of aggressive determination.

The space between their chests was small. However, looking at this closeness, the determination in her eyes only intensified.

"I'm sorry. I sincerely apologize to you. It was all my fault!" She apologized sincerely, her gaze shifting from the small gap between their chests to Pang Jian's face. "I shouldn't have threatened you when we first encountered the bone of the Celestial Phoenix. Our relationship is not that of master and servant. I'm accustomed to giving orders to servants and being in a position of authority, so my behavior was inappropriate."

As she apologized, she bowed, and in doing so, the gap between her and Pang Jian ceased to exist.

She "accidentally" brushed against Pang Jian's chest. When she realized her action, she hastily straightened up.

Puzzled by her actions, Pang Jian took a deep breath, and the gap between them once again closed.