Chapter 85 Female-dominated Cultivation World (6) Recognized

A cool breeze blew in from the cave entrance. The small black bird half-closed its eyes, its black feathers concealing a flicker of surprise in its gaze.

The fire essence within its body began to circulate on its own, and it exerted all its strength to suppress it.

In an instant, its feathers were covered with a thin layer of sweat.

The cool breeze from the cave entrance blew continuously, making the black bird’s feathers stand on end.

The redness in its eyes intensified. It met Liu Changning’s gaze and said impassively, “I do indeed know him. What of it? The master of the Hermit Immortal Palace possesses half of the Vermilion Bird bloodline. He is the master of my phoenix… black bird clan…”

As he spoke, he observed the female cultivator’s expression, but found her demeanor unusually serious, her cold eyes sparkling like stars.

The small black bird was stunned, its face covered by black feathers showing a peculiar expression.

Suspiciously examining the person opposite once more, a calculating look flashed through its bean-sized eyes.

It tapped its long beak on the ground, its bird head half-lowered. After a pause, it said playfully, “You seem very interested in Elder Pei’s affairs, hmm? Don’t tell me you’re another fool dreaming of dual cultivation with the elder.”

Its small bean-sized eyes looked her over frivolously again as it said, “I wouldn’t even be interested in someone with your looks, let alone my master.”

Liu Changning narrowed her eyes, light gleaming in her tea-colored pupils. She stepped forward, approaching the small black bird, and bent down to meet its gaze.

Her tightly pressed lips suddenly curved slightly, like a snow lotus blooming on a mountain. As cold as an immortal, beautiful beyond compare.

The small black bird was stunned again by this wave of sensory impact. It took several breaths before it came back to its senses and awkwardly averted its gaze.

Unexpectedly, Liu Changning’s hand had already swiftly picked it up, her slender fingers dancing as she probed its body with her spiritual energy.

The change happened so quickly that Pei Yuanshao hadn’t even reacted before the female cultivator’s true energy was coursing through his body.

He was initially furious… but as the cool true energy entered his body, every inch let out a comfortable moan.

As her true energy circulated within him, the unrefined fire spiritual power in his body was soothed.

He let out an extremely embarrassing series of comfortable chirps, his eyelids half-closed, unconsciously flapping his wings and diving straight into her embrace.

The contact with her skin was cool to the touch, soft and soothing the heat all over his bird body.

Unfortunately, he only stayed in this comfortable embrace for ten breaths.

His bird body was pinched between two fingers, and the comfortable true energy in his body disappeared as she withdrew her palm.

Elder Pei felt a hint of disappointment in his heart. Although the restlessness in his body was temporarily soothed and the redness in his eyes had largely faded,

He still wanted that true energy to linger in his body for a long time. When he came back to his senses, the disappointment filling his chest left his entire bird self in a state of great shock.

A mere spirit of heaven and earth had actually made him, Elder Pei, develop an attachment to the true energy of this shameless hussy…

Could it be that his lifelong purity was about to be ruined in an instant?

Thinking of this, the regret in his eyes was completely concealed. He glared at Liu Changning with his bean-sized eyes and bit her finger with his long beak as if venting his anger.

Liu Changning quickly withdrew her finger and picked him up by his feathers. She gave him an indifferent glance and raised her chin at him, asking, “Why haven’t you refined the earth fire lava?”

Without wasting words with this creature, Liu Changning asked directly.

Earlier when she approached, she had sensed something off about this creature. The fire spiritual energy around it was too intense, with the air within three inches of it being unbearably hot and dry.

Before, when throwing out the fire person, she had been too focused on her anger to notice its abnormality. Now upon closer inspection, sure enough, there wasn’t a bit of refinement of the fire essence in this black bird’s body. If it weren’t for the black bird’s own spiritual power suppressing it, it would likely have exploded by now.

The small black bird’s internal true energy had been soothed, so it didn’t argue with her now. It snorted coldly and explained the earlier embarrassing kissing incident: “You saw it, didn’t you? The earth fire lava remains in my body, unrefined. You now have the true energy of the Mysterious Ice Pearl in your body, which can soothe the restless fire spiritual power in me. That’s why I clung to your body to suck your true energy, not because I had any impure thoughts as you might have imagined.”

Liu Changning made no comment, her brows slightly relaxing. She was now bound to this black bird for life and death, and judging from its earlier words, it seemed to know that person. With such a connection, she couldn’t ignore this ugly bird anymore.

Seeing her lost in thought, her tea-colored eyes deep and unfathomable,

Elder Pei narrowed his eyes and said displeasedly, “I am a servant of the ancient divine beast Vermilion Bird clan. Although a servant, I formed a master-servant contract with the master since childhood. The Vermilion Bird clan only has one servant per generation. In my generation, because the master has half human bloodline, affected by the master-servant contract…”

As he fabricated this story, he observed the female cultivator’s expression, but saw that she remained calm.

Feeling guilty, he straightened his neck. After all, he wasn’t lying completely, the Vermilion Bird clan did have servants.

Half-truth and half-lie, he continued, “To accompany the master, the previous Immortal Master ordered my father to mate with a human, giving birth to me…”

Liu Changning’s expression changed slightly. She naturally couldn’t fully trust the small black bird’s words, but she had heard about the special nature of half-human half-beast cultivation from that person.

Back then, that person had proudly boasted in her mind about his experience of undergoing double tribulation, though he spoke lightly of overcoming all the dangers.

Liu Changning knew it all and felt heartache for him.

For ordinary cultivators, even crossing one tribulation when advancing to a new realm would leave them battered and bruised. Let alone his half-human half-beast bloodline requiring simultaneous tribulation in human and beast forms.

The dangers involved were far from as easy as he made them sound.

Liu Changning discreetly observed the small black bird. The black bird before her was stretching its neck proudly, its bean-sized eyes exuding an air of arrogance. Suddenly, something stirred in her heart.

Looking carefully at this bird, upon close inspection, its demeanor… was almost identical to that person’s.

If one ignored its all-black feathers and beast form, it was almost completely similar to that phoenix.

Liu Changning was momentarily dazed. When she met the small black bird’s gaze again, it clearly looked somewhat guilty and lowered its head.

It asked, “You don’t believe me?”

Liu Changning’s eyes were obscure and unclear. She ruffled the tuft of feathers sticking up on its head, a small smile curving her lips as she asked in return, “If you are that person’s personal servant, why are you undergoing tribulation alone here?”

Pei Yuanshao blinked, his heart skipping a beat. He lowered his eyelids, concealing the flash of guilt in his eyes.

His voice was hoarse as he said, “The master is in seclusion on Qiyuan Island, at a crucial moment of tribulation. It just so happens that my thunder tribulation has arrived. If I were to undergo tribulation with the master on Qiyuan Island, the power of the tribulation thunder would only increase. That’s why I came through the teleportation array to undergo tribulation on Mount Wujun, setting up the formation in advance. Who knew…”

At this point, the small black bird’s tone grew heavier, anger evident in the corners of its eyes and brows. It snorted coldly, glaring hatefully at Liu Changning, and said harshly, “It’s all because of you, you female cultivator, ruining this venerable one’s formation.”

Liu Changning rubbed her chin, not refuting, her eyes fixed unwaveringly on the small black bird’s every expression. The curve of her lips grew wider and wider.

Carefully recalling the events of these days, especially the experience of the hot spring tribulation.

She had a vague guess in her heart – the black bird, the four symbols tribulation thunder, the Tribulation Realm old ancestor, the bird arrogantly calling itself an old ancestor.

Apart from its appearance, almost everything matched.

Of course, these alone couldn’t prove anything.

But the bird’s words just now, full of holes, made Liu Changning’s guess gradually take shape.

The small black bird was lying. The tribulation thunder it underwent that day was for the Tribulation Realm, if it truly was Pei Yuanshao’s servant, how could a mere servant have cultivation level equal to its master?

Liu Changning met its gaze and slowly tested, “Pei Yuanshao?”

The small black bird’s long beak tapped the ground, almost hitting its head.

Though its heart was in turmoil, its face remained impassive.

It flapped its wings, turning its bird head, feigning surprise as it looked around, then met Liu Changning’s gaze and said hatefully, “Where is the master? You despicable female cultivator, how dare you trick this venerable one?”

Liu Changning rubbed her chin, looking at it with interest, and laughed softly, “Hmm, I must have been mistaken earlier. Looking at your demeanor, I thought you looked extremely like a phoenix.”

The small black bird’s black feathers stood on end, its bean-sized eyes rolling, its long beak trembling almost imperceptibly.

Liu Changning took in all its expressions, her heart softening unbearably.

Three lifetimes of bitter fruit, one lifetime of fulfillment.

She should have recognized him at first sight. The tsundere Elder Pei, even if ugly beyond recognition, his personality wouldn’t change.

He was still himself, flamboyant and gorgeous, noble and proud.

Even if his current appearance was deceptively ugly.

Joy filled her chest, but Liu Changning’s face remained impassive.

The human heart has seven apertures, full of mysteries. When it came to acting, if Old Cadre Liu got serious, the little phoenix could only wait to be eaten up.

Pei Yuanshao suddenly felt a sense of danger in his heart, but couldn’t pinpoint what was amiss.

He raised his eyes to glare at the female cultivator holding him. Although it was comfortable and cool in her embrace, and he wanted to nestle there,

But being touched by a woman made him feel uncomfortable and (disgusted?) in his heart.

Raising his voice to cover the guilt in his heart, he said with feigned depth, “Your eyesight is poor, you should go to the Danding Sect to buy some eye-brightening pills.”

Seeing that she was still smiling at him, not angry, Pei Yuanshao felt uneasy. He averted his gaze and snorted coldly, “Keep staring and I’ll poke your eyes out! Speaking of which, you seem very concerned about my master. Tell me, what are your intentions?”

Liu Changning’s jade-white fingers played with the tuft of feathers sticking up on his head. She narrowed her eyes and said, “I heard that next year in the third month, various major sects in Wuya City will be recruiting new disciples. What do you think are my chances of being accepted as Elder Pei’s personal disciple with my aptitude?”

The small black bird looked at her strangely and said contemptuously, “Absolutely impossible. The master never takes disciples.”

This delusional woman, don’t think he couldn’t see through her. She was clearly a powerful being reincarnated to cultivate again, how could she need a master? She obviously had other intentions. If not for wealth, then for lust.

Elder Pei proudly raised his chin, letting out a contemptuous laugh in his heart. Wishful thinking.

But unexpectedly, he heard that person’s cold voice from above his head, “Oh? What if you help me make connections?”

The contemptuous expression froze on his face. The small black bird mechanically turned its head, caught between breaths, and coughed several times.

Liu Changning’s jade-like hand patted his feathered back up and down, finally easing his cough somewhat.

He widened his eyes and said hatefully, “On what grounds?”

Liu Changning poked the soft flesh under his feathers on his belly, lowered her head, her warm breath blowing on his black face, her voice damnably crisp and melodious, “Hmm, on the grounds that my true energy can help you slowly refine the earth fire lava in your body. How about it? Want to make a deal?”

The small black bird blinked, its body sensitively trembling slightly. The distance between the person and the bird was only an inch, her warm breath blowing on his bird face, causing goosebumps to rise on the skin under his black feathers wherever it passed.

For some reason, his heart felt a bit numb. The aura of the Mysterious Ice Pearl on her was too deadly.

Elder Pei averted his gaze, frowned, and said reluctantly, “Deal.”