As the words fell, the little bird transformed with a flash of light, turning into an exquisite jade-green teacup.
This scene thoroughly bewildered Huode. He could tell the bird was a spirit creature, but a bird that could speak human language—he had only heard of such things before, this was his first time encountering one. And a spirit bird that could transform? That was unheard of.
"What in the world is this?"
Huode stood there dumbfounded, taking a puff from his large tobacco pipe, his heart filled with both astonishment and curiosity.
Beside him, Gu Qingfeng reclined on the Master's Recliner, tilting his head slightly and squinting his eyes with keen interest as he watched. Huode might not recognize this thing, but he did. It was indeed a spirit bird, and a rare one at that, known as the Flower-Crowned Exquisite Bird.
This type of spirit bird had already gone extinct in ancient times. The reason Gu Qingfeng recognized it was from seeing it in ancient texts; this was his first time seeing the real thing. According to the records, this bird possessed noble bloodlines, its ancestors being the legendary divine bird, the Swan.
After the Calamity, all things had revived. Who would have thought even this extinct spirit bird had returned.
For this bird to speak human language, it must have been raised by someone.
He just didn't know whose good fortune it was.
Just then, seven or eight figures appeared in the sky above Yunxia Sect. Not long after, a large crowd followed behind them.
Gu Qingfeng glanced over, speculating that this group might have been the ones who injured the spirit bird, forcing the little thing to flee here.
In just this short while, hundreds of people had gathered in the sky above Yunxia Sect.
Huode looked up, and when he saw the leading few men, he cursed something under his breath. He recognized those people. One of them was the Young Hall Master of the Dianyun Branch Hall guarding the Fengde Grand Domain, Xu Jintong.
There were also three others, all Young Masters of the Thirty-Six Huage Pavilions of the Nine-Hua Alliance: Chang Tianrui, Situ Zheng, and Bai Hanfei.
These four were no ordinary figures. In the Four Regions, they were among the most famous and renowned geniuses to emerge in the hundred years since the Calamity.
All four had previously been fourth-stage, ninth-level Great Natural Order Flow-Color geniuses, with cultivation at the Great Perfection of the eighty-one revolutions of the Golden Core. They had gone into seclusion several years ago. It was said they had been in seclusion within the Nine-Hua Alliance for many years, receiving guidance from reincarnated experts within the Alliance. Emerging now, not only had they all conceived Nascent Souls, but they had conceived ninth-level Great Natural Order Flow-Color Nascent Souls. In other words, all four were now fifth-stage, ninth-level Flow-Color geniuses of the Great Natural Order.
A fifth-stage, ninth-level Flow-Color genius was not something a fourth-stage, ninth-level Flow-Color genius could compare to. A ninth-level Great Natural Order Flow-Color Nascent Soul was also incomparable to a ninth-level Great Natural Order Flow-Color Golden Core. The gap between them was as vast as that between a hill and a mountain peak.
From their spiritual auras alone, one could clearly sense a vast, Great Natural Order spiritual presence. With each breath they took, it was as if they were swallowing clouds and exhaling mist, profoundly mysterious, their bodies emitting a layer of flowing, radiant light that moved with the wind.
If that were all, these four could not be called the most famous geniuses of the hundred years since the Calamity.
Apart from their Great Natural Order Flow-Color, each possessed innate blessings.
Either a treasure body, a bloodline, a heritage, or something similar.
As was well known, the Thirty-Six Huage Pavilions of the Nine-Hua Alliance represented thirty-six major powers, also the thirty-six powerful forces of the Four Regions. These included sects with ten-thousand-year heritages in the Four Regions like the Yuqing Great Sect, the Zonghua Great Sect, and the Yunxin Hall, as well as famous ancient bloodline families of the Four Regions, such as the Huowu Family and the Murong Family.
The so-called Young Masters of the Thirty-Six Huage Pavilions were also the inheritors of these thirty-six major powers.
Since they were inheritors, they were undoubtedly outstanding talents among men.
And indeed, whether it was Chang Tianrui, Situ Zheng, or Bai Hanfei, all three were originally top-tier geniuses. Now, after years of seclusion and having conceived Nascent Souls, all were fifth-stage, ninth-level geniuses of the Great Natural Order. Their strength was likely immeasurably profound.
However.
That was not all.
According to rumors, the Seventy-Two Taixuan Young Masters of the Nine-Hua Alliance each possessed Taixuan spiritual power, while the thirty-six Huage Young Masters possessed Taixuan Seeds within their bodies.
The Taixuan Seeds were nurtured through the mysteries of the Taixuan Stele by several experts of the Nine-Hua Alliance.
Since the Thirty-Six Huage Young Masters had been in seclusion for many years, perhaps many did not know the power of the Taixuan Seeds. However, many had witnessed the Taixuan spiritual power of the Seventy-Two Taixuan Young Masters of the Nine-Hua Alliance.
Even Taixuan spiritual power was so formidable; one only needed to think with their toes to imagine how terrifying Taixuan Seeds must be.
After all, Taixuan Seeds were nurtured from the Taixuan Stele. The wonders of the Taixuan Stele were known throughout the Four Regions; the Taixuan spiritual energy it contained was unparalleled.
However, what truly made Huode want to curse was not the three visiting Huage Young Masters, but the Young Hall Master of the Dianyun Branch Hall, Xu Jintong. He was almost certain that during Xu Jintong's disappearance over the past few years, he had likely been secretly absorbing the spiritual energy of the Taixuan Stele within the Nine-Hua Alliance, just like these Huage Young Masters.
This fellow's spiritual aura had four types.
One was Great Natural Order Color-Spirit.
Another was Nascent Soul.
Although Huode couldn't detect what the third type of spiritual aura was, he could guess it must be the Taixuan Seed.
As for the fourth type of spiritual aura, it was the one that made Huode most want to curse.
It was the aura of Dragon-Elephant.
Previously at Liuren Mountain, seeing Gu Qingfeng extract a Dragon-Elephant Seed from the body of a deputy hall master of the Dianyun Branch Hall, Huode, though unclear on the specifics, immediately thought that if even a deputy hall master of the Dianyun Branch Hall had a Dragon-Elephant Seed, then others in the Dianyun Branch Hall probably did too. Now, it seemed indeed so.
In the sky above Yunxia Sect, it wasn't just the three Huage Young Masters who had come; there were also quite a few Taixuan Young Masters. Soon, someone recognized Gu Qingfeng.
Upon hearing the name Gu Qingfeng.
The Young Hall Master of the Dianyun Branch Hall, Xu Jintong, and the three Huage Young Masters—Chang Tianrui, Situ Zheng, and Bai Hanfei—all had subtle changes in their expressions. A complex light flashed in their eyes: surprise, seeming curiosity, displeasure, defiance, and also disdain.
"So you are the so-called Crimson Flame Young Master, Gu Qingfeng."
Xu Jintong took the lead, the first to fly down from mid-air and land in Lingyin Garden. More than ten people from the Dianyun Branch Hall accompanied him.
"Yunxia Sect?
Crimson Flame Young Master?
Gu Qingfeng?
Heh..." Following suit, the three Huage Young Masters—Chang Tianrui, Situ Zheng, Bai Hanfei—and twenty or thirty Taixuan Young Masters also descended.
Just then, a surprised cry suddenly rang out from the crowd: "Big Brother, it really is you!"
Everyone looked over. The one who called out was a little girl who looked about eleven or twelve years old. She had two pigtails and appeared adorable and lively. At the moment, she was nestled in the arms of an old man, her eyes wide with surprise as she looked down at Gu Qingfeng.
Those present might not know the little girl, but many recognized the old man beside her. He was a very famous musician in the Four Regions, Master Wenzhu.
"Grandpa, look! It's Big Brother! It really is Big Brother!"
The little girl wanted to go down, but Master Wenzhu held her tightly, his face filled with caution.