In response to Ning Yan’s question, Xu Qing shook his head. Gripping the flustered Ning Yan by the neck, he stepped onto the teleportation portal. Glittering light surrounded them, and they vanished from the Swordsage Palace.

A moment later they materialized near the border of the county capital’s territory, very near the desert, at one of the Swordsage Palace’s teleportation portals. A shimmering defensive shield surrounded both them and the portal. The Swordsage Palace operated a lot of teleportation portals, and not all of them were in cities. There were some located out in the wilderness, and they had built-in defensive shields to make it safe to teleport in.

The moment they materialized, Xu Qing scanned the area vigilantly. Before leaving, he had been able to use a function of the portal on the county capital end to confirm that the destination portal was safe. But checking his surroundings was an instinct that he wouldn’t abandon. After confirming they were in no danger, he stepped off the portal onto the weed-covered paving stones beyond.

He looked up into the sky. It was still the dead of night, and clouds covered most of the sky. A steady rain fell, bringing with it a bone-chilling cold. Because there were no large buildings in the area, there was nothing to stop the wind from blowing steadily through the rain. It created a soft, whimpering sound.

Ning Yan looked around nervously at the surrounding wasteland. “Elder Brother Xu Qing, where… where are we going?”

“Ning Yan,” Xu Qing said calmly, “back when we first arrived at the county capital to report for duty, this is where the two of us initially met.”

“Huh?” Ning Yan was initially stunned, but then he nodded in agreement.

Xu Qing continued to scan the dark clouds above. “Back then, you’d been captured by Senior Qingqin. And that’s where we’re heading right now. To Senior Qingqin’s place.”

“Uh….” Ning Yan shivered. He feared Xu Qing, but he also feared that enormous bird. In fact, that event in which the big bird had seemed intent on eating him had left him with recurring nightmares.

He was already trying to think of a tactful way to get out of helping Xu Qing. But then, as the rain fell and the wind blew, Xu Qing turned and looked at him.

“Ning Yan, this matter relates to the safety of a hundred thousand swordsages on the front line, as well as the millions upon millions of human cultivators who’ve joined them. Their lives are on the line. If you can help me find Senior Qingqin, I’ll report the matter to the palace lord and make sure you get a big reward for your effort!”

“But…” said Ning Yan hesitantly.

“And if not,” Xu Qing said coolly, “I’ll send you back to Daybreak Prefecture for a little reunion with the euphoria irises.”

Ning Yan’s facial expression turned extremely grave. “Don’t underestimate me, Elder Brother Xu Qing. Since this matter relates to Sea-Sealing County as a whole, then I’ll do everything in my power to help. Back then, I was just flying along in an area not too far from here when I spotted Senior Qingqin. Allow me to lead the way, Elder Brother!”

Looking very serious, he shot up through the rain into the air.

Xu Qing followed, his face completely expressionless.

It didn’t take long for the two of them to reach the spot where Ning Yan claimed to have spotted Qingqin. It was a wide-open plain without any mountains or trees. It definitely didn’t look like a place where a huge bird would perch.

Xu Qing looked around doubtfully.

Ning Yan shivered inwardly at the thought of Xu Qing seeing through his ruse. “It really was here, Elder Brother Xu Qing. I was just flying along when I saw something like a tornado. Then, out of nowhere, I was captured.”

Xu Qing looked at him. Ning Yan instinctively averted his eyes.

Xu Qing had brought Ning Yan along for the sole purpose of getting his help in tracking down Qingqin. He didn’t have anything else in mind. But now he was getting the feeling he’d been a bit too merciful. Looking away from Ning Yan, he took a deep breath.

“Senior Qingqin!” he shouted at the top of his lungs. “Swordsage Xu Qing of the Junior generation is here to offer formal greetings! As a show of good faith, I’ve brought the swordsage Ning Yan with me, who offended you in the past. I want him to offer you an apology face-to-face.”

Ning Yan’s face fell. He really had been trying to pull a fast one on Xu Qing by taking him to a different location than the one where he’d encountered Qingqin. For one thing, he feared Qingqin. But also, he had certain secrets he didn’t want to reveal…. Back when Qingqin captured him, Ning Yan had told everyone he had no idea why it happened. But the truth was a bit different…. Their current location was actually quite far away from Qingqin’s nest, and therefore, Ning Yan felt a bit safer. Now all he had to do was come up with a way to make his story seem even more convincing.

However, before he could say anything, an ear-piercing and very unpleasant ‘caw’ echoed through the dark night. It was impossible to say if it happened because of Ning Yan or Xu Qing, but either way, the explosive sound kicked up a rushing wind that scattered the clouds and caused a brief torrential downpour. Then a 3,000-meter bird head appeared within the break in the clouds.

Two bright red eyes locked onto Xu Qing and Ning Yan, the gaze so intense it seemed corporeal. Then a second head appeared, as well as a third, each of them 3,000 meters long.

This was the great bird Qingqin. His perch was actually located inside the dark clouds.

The dramatic entrance caused countless lightning bolts to crackle in the shattered clouds as the bird’s massive torso appeared. The bird really was gargantuan. From Xu Qing’s perspective, he took up the larger part of the sky.

Perhaps because he had been awoken from sleep, the bird seemed to be in a foul mood. After letting loose his deafening cry, he inhaled deeply, causing the clouds and rain to rush toward him, making three rivers in the sky that entered his three mouths.

The sight of him left Xu Qing feeling deeply shaken. Apparently, this was the bird’s true body, as he was vastly larger than what Xu Qing remembered seeing before.

Additionally, Xu Qing’s cultivation base was much higher than the day he arrived at the county capital, and he had experienced many things. As a result, he had a much deeper understanding of Void Returning experts. He could now see that the eyes of the great bird Qingqin’s three heads were filled with countless dao lineaments. What was more, there were projections of his body superimposed over each other. And within the lightning that surrounded him were countless minor worlds being created and destroyed in an endless cycle.

This wasn’t quite the level of 1,000,000,000 Magics Combined. But the massive pressure radiating off his gargantuan body was enough to shake heaven and earth.

As waves of shock rolled through Xu Qing, Ning Yan was off to the side feeling extremely jumpy and also incredulous. After all, this was not the location where he had encountered Qingqin before. Qingqin’s nest was very, very far away….

What’s he doing here? Something weird’s going on. Qingqin is inherently lazy and doesn’t go out much! Don’t tell me… don’t tell me he’s been following me around? 𝙞𝒃𝙖𝓭.𝙘𝓸𝓶

As Ning Yan reeled, Xu Qing took a deep breath and looked up at the massive three-headed bird. Stepping forward, he clasped hands and bowed deeply.

“Swordsage Xu Qing here to offer greetings, Senior Qingqin.”

In response, the three heads all let loose loud caws. The sound was like the crash of heavenly thunder, creating a violent tempest around the bird. Xu Qing had no choice but to back up a bit.

Off to the side, Ning Yan wailed, “We’re finished! Qingqin hates nothing more than being woken from sleep. We’re finished!”

“Shut up!” Xu Qing growled as he struggled to keep his footing despite the wind. Then he once again clasped hands and politely continued, “Senior Qingqin, the Holytides have invaded Sea-Sealing County, putting us all in great danger. Senior, I beg of you to come out of retirement to help. If you don’t want to go to the battlefield, that’s fine! If you don’t want to do any fighting, that’s also fine! I’m just hoping you can accompany me on some tasks, and lend your weight to my authority.”

Xu Qing finished by clasping hands and bowing again.

Meanwhile, Ning Yan was about to start crying. Ignoring Xu Qing’s directive from moments ago, he said, “It’s not going to do any good, Elder Brother Xu Qing. I guessed earlier that you were planning to do this, but the reality is that even though people say that Qingqin’s ancestor was a follower of Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity, and died in battle for him, that story has been embellished over the years.

“The truth is that Qingqin’s ancestor was a vicious bird of prey who was actually a rival of the Ancient Emperor. It was only because of the circumstances at the time, and a promise made by the Ancient Emperor to safeguard that ancestor’s descendants, that the story about dying in battle was concocted and spread. When the broken face of the god arrived, the Ancient Emperors left the Revered Ancient mainland, and thus didn’t live up to the original agreement. After that, the continuity of friendship ended.

“It’s true that Qingqin later became friends with the previous governor. But that’s only because the governor provided crucial assistance in an important situation. After the governor left, the karma between them was resolved, and that’s why Qingqin didn’t go with him.

“If you read Annals of Sea-Sealing County, you’ll find that though Qingqin hasn’t been hostile toward humans for the last eight hundred years, neither has he been friendly. What’s more, Qingqin has a very irritable personality. That’s public knowledge. What’s more, the progenitor of his ancient mutant beast bloodline was famous for being a ravenous bird of prey that devoured victims from all intelligent species!

“We disturbed his sleep, and as a result, Qingqin is obviously furious. By the way, the reason I wasn’t killed when he grabbed me before isn’t because my fleshly body is strong. It’s because he was scared of my bloodline!”

Ning Yan was so desperate and flustered that he was blurting out everything he knew, including some things he shouldn’t have stated out loud.

As for Xu Qing, he had a lot of questions about the things Ning Yan had just told him, but now wasn’t the time to dig into the subject. And that was because massive pressure was weighing down on him from above.

Qingqin’s three heads were all sticking out of the clouds and staring at the two of them with deep ferocity.

Xu Qing was close enough that he could see that the three vicious heads had no feathers on them. They were made entirely of wrinkled, magenta skin. They were really quite ugly. The eyes were all bright red and overflowed with irritation, and the sharp beaks all pulsed with terrifying pressure.

Compared to the 30,000-meter bird, Xu Qing and Ning Yan were like specks of dust.

Ning Yan desperately released the power of his bloodline, hoping that it would get him out of danger. Obviously, he couldn’t afford to pay attention to what happened to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing struggled to control his breathing as he stood stock-still. However, inside of him, the violet moon had already risen out of its heavenly palace, and he was preparing to speak. But then, Qingqin’s three heads sniffed him, and the irritation in his eyes disappeared.

The right-most head suddenly dropped down until it was right in front of Xu Qing. Then he pushed his head forward and gently nudged Xu Qing onto it.

Xu Qing was very taken aback.

Ning Yan’s eyes went wide with astonishment. Looking completely incredulous, he blurted, “Th-that… that….”

Ning Yan was so overcome with shock that all he could do was remain in place, staring. His mind was completely blown by what he was seeing. He couldn’t even think. The scene that was playing out really was astonishing to the point of being frightening. The truth was that Ning Yan had a very mysterious background. That was why he immediately recognized all the things the Captain had produced back at the Ten Entrails Tree. Actually, he knew a lot of things that Xu Qing didn’t know. For instance, he knew about Qingqin’s ferocity, and the bird’s complicated relationship with humans, which was why he had been able to explain all those things to Xu Qing.

Based on Ning Yan’s understanding, Qingqin wouldn’t care if Sea-Sealing County was controlled by humans or not. It wouldn’t make any difference to him. Even if the Holytides did end up taking over, they wouldn’t casually mess with Qingqin. The state of affairs would be the same as it was now. Therefore, Ning Yan was absolutely certain that Qingqin wouldn’t agree to help Xu Qing.

But now….

The mighty and proud Qingqin had actually lowered his right head and allowed Xu Qing to stand on it!

This chaptr is updated by 𝑙𝑖𝓇𝘦𝑎𝒹.𝗇𝓔t