Chapter 122: Awakening

Several hours later, a gigantic crimson bird-shaped shadow suddenly rose into the sky above the Lie Residence in Maple Leaf City.

The bird shadow was more than fifty meters tall, with a wingspan approaching a hundred meters. Panic instantly swept through the entire city. No one had ever heard of such a colossal demon beast. Now it had appeared above Maple Leaf City, casting its enormous shadow over the streets below.

“Is that demon beast planning to slaughter the city?” a man said, his legs trembling as he stared at the vast bird shadow from the crowded street.

“Did it fly out of the Lie Residence?” another person asked uncertainly.

“It can’t be attacking us. Look—the bird-shaped demon beast seems to be circling above us. It doesn’t look as though it intends to descend.”

“Indeed. It seems Maple Leaf City isn’t its target.” At this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

“What kind of demon beast is that? How can it be so enormous? Does anyone here recognize it?” someone asked.

“Ah, this… I know! I know! I’ve been to Blackrock City, and I once bought a bestiary there. This demon beast looks exactly like the Windfire Spiritshadow Sparrow described in it.” As he spoke, the man pulled a bestiary from inside his robe.

The crowd gathered around to read the description of the Windfire Spiritshadow Sparrow, and before long, they were all drawing sharp breaths.

“His!”

“Windfire Spiritshadow Sparrow: a peak Earth King–realm demon beast upon reaching adulthood. Possessing both wind and fire attributes, it is unparalleled among Earth King–realm demon beasts in both combat power and speed. Thus, the Windfire Spiritshadow Sparrow is king among Earth King–realm demon beasts.”

It was actually the king of Earth King–realm demon beasts!

“Could it be even stronger than the Black Flood Dragon belonging to the Wen family, one of the five great clans of the Imperial Capital?” someone murmured.

At the City Lord’s Estate,

Lu Tianhong gazed up at the Windfire Spiritshadow Sparrow in the sky. Meng Wan’er gently patted his arm, while Uncle Fu, who was already well past seventy, could not help feeling shaken by the sight of the enormous bird shadow.

“Who would have thought the Lie family’s origins were so terrifying? Fortunately, I didn’t offend that senior back then,” Lu Tianhong said with a bitter smile.

“Hong’er, once this matter is settled and Han’er returns, make sure you persuade him properly. During my travels across the world in my younger years, I heard a few scattered rumors about the Central Ancient Domain. To reach the Central Ancient Domain from our Great Xia Empire, one must cross the Asura Sea. Even Earth King experts have difficulty making it across, so…” The old master of the Lu family suddenly appeared behind the three of them.

“Father, why have you come out of seclusion? Weren’t you recovering from your injuries?” Lu Tianhong asked in surprise.

After the battle between the City Lord’s Estate, the Li family, and the Lu family, Old Master Lu had emerged victorious, but he had lost an arm. Though he was a Profound Lord expert, he was advanced in age, and so he had spent this entire period in seclusion, recuperating from his wounds.

“I was originally in seclusion recovering, but that fellow woke me.” Old Master Lu pointed toward the enormous Windfire Spiritshadow Sparrow above Maple Leaf City.

“After coming out, I also learned the basics of what happened to the Lie family from the guards. Therefore, this matter…”

Old Master Lu spoke indirectly, but his meaning was perfectly clear. The Lie family of today was no longer a family that a small city lord’s estate in Maple Leaf City could hope to associate with.

The four of them gazed at the sky and let out a sigh.

Above them, the Windfire Spiritshadow Sparrow continued to circle. On its back were the three members of the Lie family’s main branch, as well as the entire Lie family of Maple Leaf City.

Lie Ruge looked down at Maple Leaf City, her eyes filled with reluctance.

“Wait a little longer,” Lie Ruge said.

“Girl, it’s time to go. This place is not suitable for you,” Lie Batian said.

The reason the Windfire Spiritshadow Sparrow had been circling for so long was that Lie Ruge could not bear to leave. Lie Batian was afraid that if they waited any longer, she would find it even harder to depart.

“Little Sparrow, go!”

“Chirp!”

A clear cry rang from the Windfire Spiritshadow Sparrow’s beak.

With a mighty sweep of its wings, the Windfire Spiritshadow Sparrow suddenly tore through the air and sped away, gradually leaving behind only a faint crimson trail.

All that remained below was the astonished exclamations of the people in Maple Leaf City.

That was a peak Earth King–realm demon beast. There were probably fewer than three such creatures in the entire Underground Empire, and yet one had appeared before them in the flesh.

…

…

At that moment, on Poplar Mound at the outskirts of the Demon Beast Mountains,

two figures lay quietly beneath a poplar tree, breathing evenly. They appeared to have fainted.

Suddenly, the fingers of one of them—a white-haired old man in tattered clothing—twitched. A moment later, he slowly opened his eyes.

“What is this… Ah!”

The old man suddenly clutched his head and roared.

Scene after scene appeared before his eyes.

Ten people had entered the depths of the Chaotic Soul Plains and encountered a vast formation of light. The ten of them had forcibly broken through the formation, only for a gray bird shadow to fly out from within it. Their souls had frozen instantly. Relying on his movement technique, he had withdrawn in time and thus escaped death…

He had lived in a daze within the Chaotic Soul Plains ever since. Though his soul had been grievously wounded, he would often instinctively seize food from passing travelers…

Until one day, a young man carrying a long sword arrived at Evil Wind Cave…

Scene after scene surfaced in the old man’s mind.

“Who would have thought that even after suffering such severe damage to my soul, this old man still hasn’t managed to overcome his appetite?” The old man rose to his feet and shook his head.

“This should be the outskirts of the Demon Beast Mountains. I have no idea why I suddenly regained consciousness or why I ended up here, but I imagine it must have something to do with this boy.” The old man looked at Lu Han, who lay unconscious on the ground.

“I suppose this is fate. Although my soul was badly injured during that period, I still remember everything clearly. This boy suits this old man’s temperament quite well. Consider this repayment for saving me, boy, though it may sound somewhat unbelievable.” The old man murmured to himself.

As he spoke, a ring in his robes flashed with light, and a scroll appeared in his hand. He gently placed it against Lu Han’s chest.

“This boy’s talent is truly rare. Perhaps we’ll meet again in the Imperial Capital someday.” With that, the old man finished speaking.

His entire presence changed in an instant, and his clothes began to flutter despite the absence of wind.

“Whoosh!”

“The delicacies of the Imperial Capital, here I come!”

A pair of wings appeared behind the old man. He slowly rose into the air, and accompanied by the ringing cry of a sword, shot through the sky.

Had anyone been nearby, they would certainly have cried out in astonishment: an Earth King expert!

Only an Earth King expert could condense profound energy into wings and roam through the sky. Earth King—king of the land. By this realm, one’s battles were no longer confined to the earth below.

Not long after the old man vanished into the distance,

“Ha!”

Lu Han felt as though he had just enjoyed a wonderful sleep.

He stretched out both arms and yawned.

After rubbing his eyes, Lu Han suddenly froze.

Evil Wind Cave, the Great Sage of the Dark Crow, the Dark Crow inheritance…

Everything came rushing back into his mind.

Lu Han sat on the ground and glanced around.

“Where is this? This definitely isn’t the Chaotic Soul Plains!” he thought.

The difference between this place and the Chaotic Soul Plains was simply too obvious.

Lu Han slapped his forehead, as though he had suddenly remembered something.

He reached down to his waist and grabbed the Evil Wind Beast.

“Evil Wind Beast, wake up.” Lu Han extended a finger and flicked its head.

“Who is it? How dare you disturb Lord Evil Wind’s rest? Lord Evil Wind will eat you!”

The Evil Wind Beast made a sizzling sound. Because of the Everlasting Bond Contract, Lu Han could understand what it meant.

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