Chapter 15: Heavenly Water Pouring Down

The enormous bird looked down from the sky. Black flames flickered all over its body, and scorching heat currents rolled out like water. Mu Yuan and the others immediately felt overwhelming pressure.

“Great heavens, it’s actually a Feng Luan! Let’s get out of here quickly! If it decides to kill us, we won’t be leaving today!” Chu Yunfei shouted loudly. He quickly spurred the Xiong Pi beneath him, his voice filled with worry.

Mu Yuan’s heart also sank. The Feng Luan was a powerful bird, rumored to be a variant of the ancient phoenix. The one before them was clearly an adult Feng Luan, with iron feathers and steel wings. A single flap of its wings could knock over the robust Xiong Pi that Chu Yunfei had tamed. The black flames dancing on its body were even more formidable, capable of easily melting metal and turning it into liquid. Although Mu Yuan’s Longevity True Qi had broken through to the third layer and he had begun cultivating his Dharma Body, he reckoned he was far from matching refined steel and couldn’t withstand the Feng Luan’s fury.

“My goodness, if we could tame this Feng Luan, soaring through the skies from now on would be absolutely marvelous! What a pity, it’s just a thought!” Mu Yuan leaped into action. Chu Yunfei was already driving the Xiong Pi to flee, while Mo Xue pulled Mu Yuan onto the Dragon Rhinoceros, swiftly evading.

The Xiong Pi was massive and naturally sluggish, but now, under Chu Yunfei’s frantic slapping, it ran with astonishing speed, even faster than a fine steed. With each step it took, it immediately left a deep pit, raising clouds of dust that spread everywhere.

“Whoosh!” The Feng Luan above had no intention of letting its prey escape. It had come out to hunt today and, to its delight, had discovered several rich sources of spiritual energy here. Overjoyed, it hurried over rapidly.

The Feng Luan was a rare Spirit Beast, born with the instinct to absorb and release Primordial Qi, control flames, and had a huge appetite. It particularly liked powerful beasts with abundant essence. Besides absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and the essence of the sun and moon on its own, it relied on hunting to obtain Primordial Qi. Having found such prey, how could it allow the three to escape easily? Moreover, below there was a Xiong Pi full of Primordial Qi and a Dragon Rhinoceros infused with spiritual energy!

The Feng Luan flapped its wings, its iron feathers bristling, stirring up a fierce gale. Streams of light instantly poured down like rain, filling the Void and rushing straight toward the three people and two beasts with a roaring sound. The giant trees around, touched by these flames, turned into blazing pillars of fire. Black smoke billowed into the sky, flames blazed, and scorching heat pressed down on them.

“I curse your entire family!” Chu Yunfei swore rudely, almost making Mu Yuan fall off the Dragon Rhinoceros. During the past few days together, although they knew Chu Yunfei was a carefree and undisciplined person, this outburst was so different from the cold, aloof demeanor he had initially shown.

With fiery streams flying everywhere, the three hurriedly mobilized their energy. Instantly, purplish-black Tide True Qi, glistening white Tianxin True Qi, and pitch-black Xuanyin True Qi surged upward into the air, crashing into each other chaotically!

A chaotic mix of Zhenqi surged in all directions, and the flames recoiled. All three of them trembled, looking at each other with some surprise. Earlier, they fled simply because against the Feng Luan, the opponent held the advantage of the sky. The three couldn’t fly up to attack and could only passively endure the beating; it wasn’t that they feared the Feng Luan’s own strength! No one would just take a beating without fighting back, doing useless work. Moreover, if they weren’t careful and got injured by the Feng Luan seizing an opportunity, it would be a loss outweighing the gain. That was why they had fled on their mounts. But now, in this exchange, they hadn’t expected this bird to directly confront their Zhenqi and still not be at a disadvantage, even having the upper hand!

It was important to know that both Chu Yunfei and Mo Xue were at the Qi Refining Third Layer, and Mu Yuan’s own Tide True Qi had already reached the second layer perfection, with the mental state of Longevity True Qi at the third layer. Their combat power couldn’t be considered weak, yet they were still shaken all over by a single blast of the Feng Luan’s black fire. This couldn’t help but surprise the three of them!

The Feng Luan, failing to succeed with one strike, let out a sharp, long cry that echoed through the mountains and valleys, creating a tremendous commotion. It closely pursued them, continuously flapping its wings, pouring down clusters of black flames recklessly, which greatly annoyed the three.

“May the heavens grant that you have no nest, or I would surely burn your old lair to the ground!” Mu Yuan shouted loudly. His Tide True Qi transformed into a water curtain above his head. The abundant water element from the Green Gourd filled his entire body and was then released outward, continuous and unending, constantly changing formations above his head to extinguish the flames. Chu Yunfei and Mo Xue condensed their Zhenqi and released it to attack the enemy. However, the Feng Luan flew high and was extremely agile. Even if their attacks could reach it, they would have weakened by then. Hitting its steel-like feathers, they wouldn’t even make a sound before dispersing!

“This is no way to go on. Sooner or later, our Zhenqi will be exhausted. This Feng Luan, however, makes full use of everything without waste. What should we do?” Mo Xue’s pretty face turned cold. She had never been chased and beaten by a large bird like this before, and she felt extremely angry as she asked urgently.

Chu Yunfei smiled wryly. “What can we do? It flies in the sky, and we can only run on the ground. We can’t even get close!”

Mu Yuan said resentfully, “Let’s fight! I’ll ride the wind upward. Even if I’m not as agile as it is, it’s still better than being beaten down here!”

Before Mo Xue and Chu Yunfei could say anything, Mu Yuan urged his Zhenqi. His Longevity True Qi sensed the surrounding trees, causing them to sway and generate wind. He rode the wind upward, directly floating into mid-air!

People like the three of them didn’t yet have the ability to ride clouds or control Qi; they could only rely on wind power to ascend. But doing so greatly reduced their flexibility. Moreover, the Feng Luan was a darling of the skies, coming and going like the wind, agile as a snake. Riding the wind into the air, a Qi Refining Practitioner had to multitask and might not necessarily be able to harm the Feng Luan. It was even less effective than having solid defense on the ground! Mu Yuan had been provoked to real anger by this Feng Luan. In his anxious state, he soared upward and immediately used the Canglang Water Sword!

Although Longevity True Qi was deep and thick, among the Five Elements, it was restrained by the Feng Luan’s black fire. The wood element gave birth to fire, adding to the opponent’s power. Moreover, Mu Yuan hadn’t mastered many Divine Abilities from the Longevity Palace. So he decisively abandoned the Greenwood Divine Radiance and switched to the Canglang Water Sword!

Like the Greenwood Divine Radiance, the Canglang Water Sword was also a Qi weapon sword technique from the Five Elements Path. Using the Iron Sword to manifest the Canglang Water Sword, using water against fire, was exactly the right approach. Water and fire were incompatible.

In the boundless coastal area, damp and gloomy, it was the perfect place for wood and water spiritual power to shine. Misty water vapor gathered everywhere, condensing into a sword radiance at the tip of the Iron Sword, flickering and shining with a purplish-black gleam, presenting a different scene compared to the Greenwood Divine Radiance.

The essence of the Greenwood Divine Radiance sword technique lay in growth, while the Canglang Water Sword specialized in transformation. The sword radiance flickered, constantly changing forms, sometimes swelling suddenly, sometimes contracting, engaging in battle with the Feng Luan’s black fire.

In terms of the depth of Zhenqi, Mu Yuan was clearly no match for the Feng Luan. But the Canglang Water Sword was unpredictable, roaming all over the sky. Sharp strands of Sword Qi burst forth, attacking from tricky angles, most adept at finding the opponent’s gaps. With the Gourd magical treasure as his support, continuous and unending, it seemed inexhaustible. Surprisingly, he wasn’t at a disadvantage!

The Feng Luan was tied up by Mu Yuan and had no spare time to deal with Mo Xue and Chu Yunfei. It fought with Mu Yuan in mid-air. Mo Xue frowned slightly. “We can’t just stand by and watch. Why don’t we also fly up and capture this annoying Feng Luan!”

Chu Yunfei smiled wryly. “It’s only because the Feng Luan is entangled by Brother Mu’s water sword that it hasn’t yet noticed his lack of mobility. If it realizes the trick, it only needs to avoid the water sword and attack him directly. In the blink of an eye, Brother Mu would become a martyr!”

Mo Xue said angrily, “Then we definitely can’t just watch from below!” After saying that, she left the Dragon Rhinoceros and rode the wind upward. She urged her Tianxin True Qi, and the starlight bracelet on her hand transformed into a long, ribbon-like sword light, slashing fiercely through the wind!

The magical treasure in her hand was superior, unlike Mu Yuan who only relied on ordinary iron to produce sword radiance. Although she was only at the Qi Refining Third Layer, when she wielded it, the sword light flashed brilliantly, fully displaying the Tianxin sword technique, immediately sharing much of Mu Yuan’s pressure!

Chu Yunfei smiled wryly and also flew up into the sky. He didn’t have a suitable magical treasure and could only urge the long banner in his hand. Immediately, a sinister wind arose, and fierce ghosts screamed. A mental attack struck the Feng Luan’s Sea of Consciousness!

The long banner in Chu Yunfei’s hand was called the Soul-Gathering Banner. It was a remarkable magical treasure from the Demonic Sect. The pole was cast from Northern Sea cold iron, and the banner was made of ice silkworm silk, inscribed with countless Demonic Sect Talismanic Seals. It was most adept at bypassing Zhenqi to directly capture the Soul and Spirit. If the opponent’s Spiritual Sense was firm, it might be manageable, but if it was slightly lax, they would immediately lose consciousness, meeting a miserable end.

And the Feng Luan happened to be the type with abundant Primordial Qi but not very strong Spiritual Sense. When birds and beasts cultivated, most only trained their physical bodies and absorbed Primordial Qi, but many didn’t know methods to refine their Primordial Spirit. Chu Yunfei, by chance, activated the soul-capturing power of the Soul-Gathering Banner, and it worked immediately!

The Feng Luan let out a painful, long cry, its spirit seeming to be torn by countless malevolent ghosts and fierce spirits. The black flames on its body immediately became disordered. Mu Yuan saw this clearly and instantly understood the trick. He laughed heartily, his body spiraling as he executed the Icecold Path’s “Thousand-Mile Ice Seal” technique. The water vapor in the sky instantly turned into ice crystals and snowflakes, freezing clusters of black flames into solid lumps.

Within the Tidal Flow passed down to Mu Yuan by the Ragged Taoist, there was a Divine Ability called “Heavenly Water Pouring Down,” derived from the meaning of rainwater from the Nine Heavens falling to the human world, penetrating everywhere. This Divine Ability didn’t involve controlling one’s own Zhenqi but was a method of manipulating Spiritual Sense for attack. Mu Yuan had only glanced at it briefly before and hadn’t studied it deeply. Now, however, he was cramming at the last minute, rapidly recalling the formula in his mind and constantly testing it in his Sea of Consciousness!

Chu Yunfei and Mo Xue were overjoyed to see the Feng Luan crying out in pain. They desperately urged the Tianxin Sword Qi and the power of the Soul-Gathering Banner. The Feng Luan was overwhelmed. Its own consciousness was thrown into chaos and confusion by the Soul-Gathering Banner, and then it was randomly stabbed and pierced by the Tianxin Sword Qi, suffering immensely. The black flames retracted to the surface of its body, forming a circle as it tightly defended without fighting. With a flap of its wings, it intended to soar into the sky and escape!

If the Feng Luan escaped, there was no way the three could catch up. At that very moment, Mu Yuan’s eyes shone with a brilliant purple light, gleaming like a god’s. Two streams of purple light Qi burst forth from his eyes, directly fixing on the Feng Luan’s fierce green eyes!