Chapter 11
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Chapter 11: The Carved Feather Demonic Beast
In the Hidden Valley, a labyrinth of tens of thousands of caves hides an unknown number of inhabitants. Every dawn, an impenetrable fog envelops the valley, only to recede come dusk—a natural marvel unique to the Hidden Valley. Despite being a significant human settlement, the valley’s vastness is eerily empty, populated only by a handful of white-haired elders at the entrance, as still as statues and rarely uttering a word. After more than ten days in the valley, Fengyun Wuji has seen no more than a thousand people, a surprisingly sparse population for such an expansive region.
Over a decade ago, a Taoist man in a purple robe and with a long beard arrived and coolly inquired, “Who is the new warrior to join the Hidden Valley?” Zhao Wuji acknowledged his presence and was promptly led away. Fengyun Wuji followed, only to be ushered into a vacant new cave, its walls still bearing the marks of fresh excavation.
“Henceforth, this shall be your abode. Dedicate yourself to cultivation. The spiritual array inscribed above has been newly carved and will take some time to manifest its full effects. Should you encounter any issues with the array, seek me out at cave number 123561.”
With those words, the Taoist hurried off, seemingly on urgent business. Fengyun Wuji understood well that in this ancient world, warriors are ever-focused on swiftly augmenting their strength. The Taoist was likely eager to return to his practice; had it not been for the Hidden Valley elders’ request, he might never have emerged from his meditative state to assist a junior in establishing a dwelling.
“Brother Wuji, I have petitioned to settle here in the Hidden Valley and will not venture outside these confines for the next millennium. Brother Wuji, if you are so inclined, you are welcome to join me in my cultivation. What are your thoughts?” Zhao Wuji asked after the Taoist had left.
Fengyun Wuji exhaled deeply and replied with a wry smile, “Brother Wuji, to be candid, my techniques are quite extraordinary. While the accumulation of internal energy typically demands considerable time for you, my martial arts follow a different path. They are easy to learn but challenging to master. Cultivation is straightforward, and once one attains a certain realm, there are no obstacles, and progress is swift, far surpassing that of ordinary cultivators. However, advancing to the next level is far more difficult than for ordinary cultivators. It is entirely possible that one may never reach another level, unlike the practices you follow, which, no matter how arduous, can be mastered given enough time, even tens or hundreds of millions of years. … The two martial arts I practice have reached the pinnacle of their current stages, and further progress is not possible with mere diligent cultivation. Moreover, having only recently ascended, my knowledge of this ancient world is limited, and there is much I have yet to discover. It is an opportune time for me to explore the world, to experience the ancient lands, and perhaps encounter some opportunity that could break through my bottleneck and lead me to a higher realm.”
Zhao Wuji was taken aback and questioned, “Is there such a technique?” He reviewed the martial arts he knew and had never heard of any that were easy to practice but extremely difficult to advance in. He momentarily thought that Fengyun Wuji did not wish to stay in the valley with him and fabricated this excuse to comfort him.
Seeing Fengyun Wuji nod in affirmation, Zhao Wuji sighed inwardly and said meaningfully, “Brother Wuji, this ancient world is fraught with dangers, and strength is the only guarantee of safety. You have not yet experienced this, having ascended only recently. Forget it, some things cannot be believed until one has experienced them. Take care, Brother Wuji, until we meet again in a thousand years.”
With that, Zhao Wuji turned and resolutely entered the newly constructed cave dwelling. In front of Fengyun Wuji, he sat cross-legged, his hands naturally resting on his knees, his eyelids lowered, motionless.
Fengyun Wuji knew at a glance that Zhao Wuji had completely sealed his senses, and no external movements could disturb him. Normally, during such a closed-door cultivation, one would not be completely oblivious to the outside world. However, Zhao Wuji, being naturally indolent and having ascended for tens of thousands of years with still insufficient skills, was unable to maintain a trace of divine consciousness outside his body once he entered closed-door cultivation.
“He has completely sealed his senses. May I suggest you leave this place first, and wait for me to set up a door?” said a Taoist, holding a dust remover, whom Fengyun Wuji had never met before.
Fengyun Wuji turned around woodenly and walked out of the cave, quietly watching the Taoist wave his hand and draw a series of runes in the void, striking them into the emptiness. The runes glowed and circulated, seemingly interconnected by fine threads. The Taoist chanted softly, and after a while, the runes merged into one, forming a peculiar image that gradually faded until it vanished.
“Is this the art of technique?”
The Taoist looked up at Fengyun Wuji in surprise, then revealed a gentle smile, “What is the Taoist method, what is martial arts? Yes? No? Well, the newly ascended kin, if you can survive in this world, you will understand after ten thousand years.”
After speaking, the Taoist extended his cloth-shod foot and took a virtual step forward, transforming into a cloud of mist and disappearing into the vastness. Even with Fengyun Wuji’s keen eyesight, he could not discern how he disappeared.
“So be it,” Fengyun Wuji turned his head and looked at the quietly seated Zhao Wuji in the cave behind him, murmuring, “We shall meet again in a thousand years.”
With that, he turned around and walked away slowly, his heart filled with boundless melancholy and confusion. His first friend in the ancient world had been separated in this way, not to meet again for a thousand years.
A thousand years!
After staying in the Hidden Valley for another month, every day Fengyun Wuji would wake up in the early morning, go outside to breathe in the fog imbued with spiritual energy, and then take a look outside Zhao Wuji’s cave dwelling.
Finally, one day, Fengyun Wuji decided to leave the Hidden Valley; it was not to his liking.
At the entrance of the valley, the two elders remained as serene as when he arrived, sitting with their long white eyebrows, eyes closed in silence.
Then, with a gesture, Fengyun Wuji used his sword control technique to soar into the sky at a meteoric pace, the Hidden Valley beneath him gradually shrinking in size…
Hundreds of miles above the valley, a sudden fierce cry echoed from behind. Fengyun Wuji turned his head and was shocked to see a monstrous bird with a wingspan of over a hundred meters, blood-red eyes, and golden claws as sharp as swords, flapping its wings and flying towards him like lightning. In the blink of an eye, the monstrous bird had crossed hundreds of miles and was rushing towards Fengyun Wuji.
In his spiritual perception, the bird’s aura was like a storm, its power far surpassing that of Zhao Wuji and the others.
Whoosh!
A series of sounds of breaking air came as the monstrous bird flapped its wings, launching hundreds of carved feathers like swords slicing through the sky, sealing all possible escape routes for Fengyun Wuji.
“No good, this monstrous bird actually knows martial arts,” Fengyun Wuji’s heart chilled, the bird’s strength was far beyond what he could compare to.
In terms of power, Fengyun Wuji, who had only ascended for three years, could not compare to this monstrous bird at all; the disparity in strength was inexpressible.
However, before ascending, Fengyun Wuji had cultivated the way of the sword. After ascending, he practiced the Mind Sword Body Technique, a top-tier sword technique.
With the word ‘Sword Control’, he lightly pinched a sword formula, and the feathers that were shot out, capable of piercing metal and stone, deviated from their original trajectory.
The feathers that were shot out were far from comparable to their own strength. To fully control these thousands of feathers was beyond his reach, but changing their trajectory was not a problem for a top sword master.
Finding a gap, Fengyun Wuji turned into a flash of lightning and broke out of the space controlled by the feathers.
The strong wind was breaking his face from behind. Fengyun Wuji was extremely frightened in his heart, and he did not dare to look back. He flew back and forth in the air, flying away quickly, and did not dare to fly in a straight line—straight-line flight was completely outmatched by the beast’s speed.
The countless mountains in this ancient world that reach into the clouds became his best protection at this moment. But the monstrous bird seemed to be provoked and kept chasing after him, easily knocking down large rocks on the road. The monstrous bird’s wings were as strong as iron, and it was more than a hundred meters long. It avoided some mountains in the mountains and rivers, and those hard rocks were easily crushed under its wings, and large rocks fell from the sky, with the echo lasting for a long time.
