Chapter 082

Chapter 82: A Fool’s Luck

After recovering from her initial shock, Wei Yun Xi quickly calmed herself, extending her divine sense to check her surroundings. She discovered she had fallen into a bird’s nest perched at the edge of a cliff. Fortunately, the parents were out hunting, leaving behind only their small chick.

From the chick’s crimson beak and sparse feathers, Yun Xi quickly identified it as the offspring of a Crimson Beaked Falcon, an infamous aerial overlord with a notoriously low birth rate. To raise even two hatchlings to maturity would have already taxed the falcon parents to their limit.

Yun Xi was lucky, having fallen into the nest while the falcon parents were away. But luck alone wouldn’t save her if they returned to find her here. She needed to leave quickly.

Just as these thoughts flashed through Yun Xi’s mind, the chick began to peck at her again. She swiftly moved aside, dodging its awkward attack.

The chick tilted its head, blinking its tiny black eyes in confusion, then resumed its attempts to peck her, this time drooling suspiciously from its crimson beak.

Yun Xi dodged again, noticing the nest was cramped and limiting her movements. She realized the chick was drooling because it was hungry, and softly asked, “Are you hungry?”

The chick naturally couldn’t reply and only chirped urgently, continuing its clumsy attacks.

Unwilling to waste more time here, Yun Xi quickly took out a bottle of fasting pills from her storage pouch. They were her favorite, red fruit flavor. She flicked ten pills into the chick’s gaping mouth.

Instantly, the chick ceased its attacks, smacking its beak contentedly. It tidied the few feathers on its tiny body, curled up in the corner of the nest, and began to doze off. Yun Xi breathed a sigh of relief.

Without hesitation, she summoned a spirit sword from her storage pouch. This sword was one she’d exchanged for with sect points after reaching late-stage Qi Refining. Every cultivator learned how to ride a sword eventually; it was a critical survival skill. Although she had memorized the controlling chants when she advanced to Foundation Establishment, she hadn’t had a chance to practice. Now, trapped in the bird’s nest, Yun Xi was forced to learn on the spot.

She rapidly formed the hand seals, chanting softly. The sword grew larger, hovering beside the nest. Yun Xi carefully stepped onto the sword, steadying her footing.

Behind her, the chick chirped anxiously, alarmed to see its “food” escaping. Yun Xi ignored it, determined not to become a meal herself. Fear and the desperate will to live drove her to overcome any hesitation. With shaky control, she guided the sword upwards toward the cliff’s edge.

Her decisiveness saved her life. Mere moments after Yun Xi left, the parent Crimson Beaked Falcons returned carrying freshly caught prey. Immediately sensing something wrong, one falcon soared upward, patrolling the cliffside, while the other stayed behind to interrogate its chick. Understanding what happened, the parent falcon disciplined its offspring thoroughly before calling its partner back to share their food.

Unaware of this narrow escape, Yun Xi—who had little experience in the outside world—didn’t even consider taking the chick as her own. Many cultivators would greedily snatch it up, hoping to raise a loyal, powerful six-tier companion. Had Yun Xi done so, she would have immediately provoked the relentless fury of two fully-grown Crimson Beaked Falcons. Her naivety had unwittingly saved her life.

At this moment, Yun Xi was concealed beneath a breath-concealing talisman within a dense bush as tall as a person. She waited nervously until the screeching falcon passed overhead. Only after confirming it had left did she finally exhale in relief.

Still cautious, Yun Xi remained hidden for another half-hour before carefully stepping out. Orienting herself briefly, she hurried toward the exit of the Treasure Blossom Mountains, eager to reunite with her fellow disciples.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, Sheng Yu Hong had finally defeated the two-tiered Three Headed Serpent with the help of his sword formation. Though everyone was exhausted, the fierce battle had ended in victory.

Sheng Yu Hong calmly collected the serpent’s corpse, pierced precisely through its weakest point, before turning to Mu Ning Zhu and the others. He announced, “The Three Headed Serpent is slain. Now we shall investigate its lair. Whatever we find, we’ll share equally. It won’t have been in vain.”

“Thank you, Senior Brother Sheng!” The disciples beamed, genuinely grateful.

Sheng Yu Hong urged them onward. “Our fight has attracted attention from both cultivators and demon beasts alike. We must hurry.”

“Understood!”

With clear purpose, the group descended into the serpent’s underground lair.

Unfortunately, they were too late. The hidden inheritance and spiritual vein had already been secretly taken by Wei Yun Xi, while the remaining treasures in the serpent’s den had been quietly swept clean by Long Dao Yu. The quick-witted Long Dao Yu had slipped away earlier, using a directional teleportation talisman to reunite with Qin Tong Shuang and Zhang Yan.

After sharing information, the trio discovered their common acquaintance—Wei Yun Xi—was still missing.

Frowning, Long Dao Yu asked anxiously, “Where’s Junior Sister Wei? Wasn’t she with you?”

Qin Tong Shuang sighed, concern evident in her eyes. “We were separated while escaping. Only Zhang Yan and I fled in the same direction. We’ve been looking for other lost disciples since then.”

Long Dao Yu immediately volunteered. “Then let’s search together. Perhaps we’ll find Junior Sister Wei.”

Qin Tong Shuang nodded earnestly. “Yes, she can’t be far. Let’s hurry.”

At that moment, Yun Xi was running swiftly through the dense forest, desperately trying to shake two Qi Refining rogue cultivators chasing after her.

Although she’d successfully broken through to Foundation Establishment and grown taller, reaching about five-foot-three, her real age was still only ten years. Her obvious youth made her a tempting target for those looking for easy prey.

Ever since escaping the falcons, these two had pursued her relentlessly.

After failing to lose them, Yun Xi frowned, making up her mind. She threw out her precious third-tier formation disk and stopped abruptly. She had to find out how these two cultivators managed to track her so precisely.

Noticing Yun Xi had halted, the two rogue cultivators closed in confidently. One mocked arrogantly, “Huh? Why’d you stop running, little girl?”