The elderly man in plain clothes on the ritual platform also stood up, drifting away from the stone platform and landing beside the big-eared monster. Moonlight reflected in his eyes as he stared downstream towards the lake mouth where stars and moon were mirrored.
The old man was named Wan Liqiu, one of the six elders of Kunling Mountain. He resided in the “Meteor Hall” and controlled the punishments of Kunling Mountain. The disciples of Kunling Mountain greatly feared him.
The lake below the mountain was called “Meteor Lake”. Legend said it was formed long ago by the impact of a meteor, hence the lake’s name. The name of the mountain hall also came from this.
The green-skinned, big-eared calf monster beside him was a spirit beast called Fudi. It usually liked to lie on the ground and had excellent hearing. It was said that on flat ground without obstruction or interference, it could hear fighting sounds from a hundred li away against the wind. Here it was called “Diling”.
And that woman who had transformed into a long-tailed, green-feathered great bird was a spirit beast called Yuezhi. It had night vision ability. Here it was called “Yelinger”.
The two spirit beasts were passed down from the previous elder who controlled punishments, serving as the guardian spirit beasts of Meteor Hall.
Wan Liqiu, watching where Yelinger had gone, suddenly voiced a question. “How could an uninvited guest break into Meteor Lake?”
His implication was to ask the spirit beast beside him if it had heard wrong. There did not seem to be anything here worth outsiders risking for. How could an outsider silently pass through layers of visible and hidden guards to get here?
Diling continued to speak human words. “I do not know.”
As if to confirm, it lay down again, pressing its big ears to the ground to listen…
This place could not possibly have only one hall. There were other disciples too. Yelinger spread her wings through the forest. When she flew past a cluster of houses, she circled around and spoke human words. “Intruders on the mountain. Follow me to search and capture.”
The Kunling Mountain disciples outside naturally knew who she was. No one dared to be disrespectful, and no one dared to disobey. Moreover, this was no ordinary matter. How could they ignore intruders on the mountain? They quickly passed the message to each other. Over a dozen people urgently grabbed their weapons and followed the Yuezhi spirit bird, slipping into the forest to search for suspects.
Over the tranquil lake surface, wisps of cold mist drifted by from time to time, making the reflections of stars and moon in the lake become ethereal.
According to Diling’s information, Yelinger first led the manpower to the downstream position of the lake mouth, then dispersed them to both banks of the river, spreading out to conduct a sweeping, quiet search. Yelinger herself flapped her wings to fly higher, looking down from the air at the bright river banks under the moonlight, coordinating with the ground searchers.
Under the moonlight, faintly drifting mist floated over the weeds by the river, lingering among the trees on both banks. The plants and trees were gradually wet with dew.
The two martial brothers walking by the river, sometimes stopping and starting, sometimes flying over grass, sometimes hopping on foot, suddenly stopped. Both wore masks and looked around east and west, like masked bandits.
This was also unavoidable. They had to cover up a bit to avoid being seen. Doing this sneaky kind of thing, running around with your real face showing was never good.
Mu Aotie sensed that this stop was different from previous ones. He was urgently blocked by Yu Qing.
Yu Qing, walking in front, suddenly stopped and suddenly swung his arm to block Mu Aotie behind him, causing him to become highly alert. He surveyed the surroundings, only seeing wisps of light mist moving in and out of the forest, dancing lightly on both banks, without detecting any abnormality.
But Yu Qing, staring intently at the movements on both banks, let out a low voice. “Not good. Someone is coming.”
Mu Aotie said in a low voice. “If they are just passing by, it is fine. We can hide in the water. They should not discover us.”
Yu Qing. “They are not just passing by. It is like a net is being cast towards us. It cannot be a coincidence. Damn it, we might have been detected.”
Mu Aotie did not know why he said this, asking in surprise. “There was no abnormality along the way. How were we discovered only after getting here?”
Yu Qing. “I do not know. We cannot go further. Retreat! Into the water. First take the water route to avoid them.”
Nothing more to say. The two quickly leaped into the water one after another, landing lightly, suppressing themselves so not even a splash was made.
This was not good news for their companion “Datou”. It did not particularly like water.
The current “Datou” was not foolish. Unlike before when it would angrily burn upon entering water, it deeply knew that with a river like this, no matter how much it burned, it could not boil it into hot water. Moreover, it now knew this was not asking it to boil water. Its reaction was the same as before. The moment the two soaked into the water, it immediately detached from Yu Qing’s body, breaking through the water surface.
When the two came out of the water, it would land back on Yu Qing’s body again.
However, this time the situation was different. Mu Aotie, who had dived into the water, quickly surfaced again, staring at “Datou” circling in the air.
Yu Qing quickly followed out, pulling Mu Aotie. “Do not worry about it. It is just an insect. No one will notice. Over such a short distance, if it cannot find us, it can find its own way back.”
Mu Aotie thought this made sense. He was already being pulled back into the water by Yu Qing. Both escaped through water, quickly moving away from here.
The approaching Yelinger in the air had her eyes flashing continuously. She had already seen the ripples reflecting on the water surface. One could say she was attracted by the reflections. She also saw two heads diving into the water, immediately knowing Diling’s judgment was completely correct. They did not look like their own people. She immediately dived down, wanting to drill into the water to pursue and capture, while also wanting to splash water to make noise, attracting the manpower on both sides to come and encircle them together.
Who knew a shadow would flash by. While diving, she nearly collided with an insect.
She was not willing to be casually bumped by an insect. Her claws moved swiftly, wanting to conveniently pinch it to death.
For her, this was indeed simple and casual. Yet the result exceeded her expectations. The insect actually nimbly dodged, urgently avoiding her claw.
In surprise, she then somersaulted into the air, sweeping with her wing, wanting to swat the insect down.
Unexpectedly, that insect continuously dodged in an instant, actually weaving out following the momentum of her wing swing, quickly flashing away and escaping.
One strike missed, another failure. She immediately knew this was no coincidence. She knew she had encountered an unusual insect. Added to the location where it appeared, it was most likely related to the people of unknown origin. How could she allow it to escape? She immediately flapped her wings to fly up again, stretching her long neck to pursue.
Yet the escaping insect’s flying speed was clearly faster. The distance between the two rapidly widened.
Yelinger let out a cold laugh. Her bird neck suddenly elongated, shooting out like lightning, instantly lengthening by over a zhang. She caught the insect in her mouth in one bite.
With one successful strike, the bird neck swiftly retracted, returning to normal length. The moment she pulled back and shook, she also swallowed that insect into her belly.
Afterwards, she flashed and dove towards the ground. When nearing the ground, she gracefully transformed into a charming woman form, standing on the riverside weeds, her body rising and falling with elasticity.
From the forests on both sides, that group of pursuing Kunling Mountain disciples quickly flashed out.
Yelinger waved her hand pointing at the river. “Two intruders have dived into the river and escaped through water. Send a few people down to pursue in the water. Send two more people to gather more manpower. The rest continue to coordinate the search along both sides of the river downstream.”
Someone said. “Could they have gone upstream?”
Yelinger’s charming face revealed a cold smile. “Do not worry about upstream. If they really went upstream, they will run even less.”
The disciples immediately accepted the order, quickly coordinated, then some entered the water, some went to report, and the search along both sides of the river continued.
Yelinger was about to ascend again, to launch another search from the air, when she suddenly reached out to clutch her stomach, frowning, feeling the insect in her belly making trouble.
She did not take this seriously. She slightly pinched her fingers, using her cultivation to suppress the commotion in her belly.
Knowing this insect was unusual, she would not dare swallow it in one bite without confidence. She knew she could suppress it.
As for whether to kill it or spit it out, that would depend on the needs of the subsequent situation.
After controlling the abnormality in her belly, she again sprang up from the grass branch she was stepping on, ascending again to transform into the Yuezhi spirit bird.
Yet just as she flapped her wings, before she could fly high, her figure suddenly fell down again. After landing, she abruptly transformed into human form, staggering, bending over, both hands clutching her abdomen.
This time, a pained expression appeared on her face. She only felt a burning pain in her belly, as if she had swallowed a burning charcoal into her stomach. Using the tender flesh inside her belly to endure it, one could imagine that sensation.
In just this instant, the pain made her whole body tremble, her face instantly turning pale.
She immediately endured the pain to circulate her power and cast spells, opening her mouth, wanting to spit the insect out of her belly. Yet that insect seemed to have entangled with her internal organs. Even using her power, she could not pull it out. She could not squeeze it to death either, and the pain grew increasingly worse.
Shivering from the pain, she actually plopped down sitting on the ground.
Her face full of terror, she turned her head to look in the direction of Meteor Hall on the mountain top. The people there should be able to save her. She finally struggled up with effort, springing into the air to transform into the Yuezhi spirit bird, wanting to urgently fly there.
Who knew the torment in her belly became increasingly fierce. The bird figure suddenly lost control in the air, losing balance and falling, crashing through layers of branches, finally smashing to the ground.
She again transformed into human form, both hands hugging a tree trunk beside her. Blood already seeped from her mouth. She cast a spell and shouted towards the Meteor Hall direction, letting out a delicate, mournful cry. “Elder, save me!”
The person under the tree gradually slid down, again transforming into the Yuezhi spirit bird form. Smoke actually rose from her chest area. Then red light abruptly appeared, something breaking out from the feathers, instantly scorching the feathers, revealing “Datou” covered all over with cracked red light.
“Datou” did not pause at all. The red light on its body suddenly extinguished. It flashed and rushed out of the tree canopy, disappearing into the night.
The struggling Yuezhi spirit bird seemed to finally be freed from the pain, except a charred black hole had appeared in her chest.
Outside Meteor Hall, for Elder Wan Liqiu, standing with hands behind his back at the mountain edge, this kind of matter still did not require a great sect elder like him to personally act. What were all those disciples below for?
When the desolate cry for help clearly echoed through the night sky above the mountain forest, faintly reaching him, Elder Wan’s face changed drastically. He immediately knew an accident had occurred. His beard, hair and clothes instantly moved without wind. Then he shot like an arrow released from a bow towards the direction of the sound.
A look of astonishment also flashed in Diling’s eyes. It leaped and flew out, running and leaping over the mountain’s tree canopy as if on flat ground.
The man and beast arrived one after another at the place where the Yuezhi spirit bird had fallen. Wan Liqiu quickly knelt down. After briefly checking the injuries, his face instantly became very ugly. He quickly pressed one hand on the Yuezhi’s body.
Soon, the Yuezhi relaxed, transforming into a charming woman form, yet she was lingering on the verge of death, about to breathe her last at any moment.
Diling instantly transformed into a robust man, kneeling on one knee, asking. “What happened? Who injured you?”
Yelinger’s face was full of sorrow, as if foreseeing something. Her slowly moving gaze fixed on Wan Liqiu’s face. “Two… two masked people… left through water…”
Wan Liqiu immediately turned his head. “Quickly go assist our sect’s disciples in capturing them. Alive or dead, I want to see them, dead or alive, no matter what! Also quickly order someone to find a demon-dispelling master as soon as possible to save her.”
Diling immediately turned and flashed away.
Wan Liqiu picked up Yelinger, flashing and landing by the river. With one hand, he cast spells to sustain Yelinger’s life. With the other hand, he took off the bronze bell at his waist, throwing it into the water. He cast spells from a distance, shaking the bronze bell in the water. A muffled sound came from the water, like a war drum.
Upstream, the tranquil Meteor Lake suddenly appeared with a whirlpool. A wave of water shot into the sky. A huge white snake with a rhinoceros horn on its head rose from the lake. Its body was as thick as a large table surface, like a flood dragon breaking through the water surface, swimming towards the downstream.
After its body entered the river channel, it squeezed out water shooting towards both banks all along the way. It sometimes dove into the water to travel submerged, stirring the river water to surge and fluctuate.
The huge white snake rapidly swam downstream along the river channel, searching in the water.
When the surging water splashed towards Wan Liqiu, it was blocked three chi away by his cultivation.
Yelinger murmured the word “insect” in her mouth, but her voice was too soft, even she herself could not hear clearly.
Wan Liqiu, circulating his power to sustain her life, spoke in a deep voice. “Do not speak. Focus on holding onto that last breath!”