Volume 1, Chapter 35 – The Goldenflame Condor

Shi Lan was a little speechless. If she’d remembered earlier that Shi Feng could fly, why had she bothered rushing along on horseback? The jolting in the saddle was really not that comfortable.

“Why don’t we go back to Tenglong City first?” Thinking of Su Lanyue, Shi Lan spoke up.

Shi Feng shook his head. “Tenglong City might not be safe right now. As for Madam and the others, you don’t need to worry. The Patriarch will definitely make proper arrangements.”

Shi Lan nodded, her eyes brightening slightly. “Then why don’t we set out right away?”

Just thinking about traveling by artifact made Shi Lan’s heart stir with sudden excitement.

“Young Master should rest properly for one more night. For the next month or so, you’ll find it hard to get any rest at all.”

Hearing that, Shi Lan could only press down her impatience and nod.

The night passed without incident.

……

Early the next morning, Shi Lan got up to start sorting through their luggage, giving away everything unnecessary—including that fine horse—to the innkeeper.

Because flying on artifacts was forbidden inside Dianxing City, Shi Feng only summoned his artifact after taking Shi Lan outside the walls.

Shi Lan watched as the broad blade she’d always treated like a kitchen knife stretched, in just a few blinks, into a massive sword over three meters long. For a moment she couldn’t quite process it.

Shi Feng stepped onto the blade and beckoned. “Young Master, come up.”

Shi Lan leaped onto the blade after him. Feeling how steady it was under her feet, she curiously stomped twice. The blade still didn’t tremble in the slightest; it felt no different from standing on solid ground.

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“Young Master, stand firm.” Shi Feng gave a reminder, and the blade beneath their feet began to shoot rapidly upward.

Shi Lan glanced down. Watching Dianxing City shrink rapidly in her field of view, she suddenly felt her legs go weak and her head spin.

“Don’t look down. Give it a bit and you’ll get used to it.” Shi Feng handed her a waterskin as he spoke.

After a few gulps of water and several deep breaths, the discomfort of being high in the sky slowly began to fade.

A red barrier of light shrouded the entire blade, blocking all the howling wind that would have hit them head-on.

Watching the mountains and rivers racing by beneath her feet, Shi Lan felt her chest open up. This feeling of soaring above the heavens and looking down on the mortal world was truly exhilarating.

……

After flying for close to six hours, the two of them came across an enormous group of refugees—so many that one couldn’t see the end at a glance, no fewer than several hundred thousand.

Quite a few streaks of light hovered in the air above that mass of refugees, and all around them several thousand Demon-Subduing Army soldiers guarded the perimeter. They were clearly in the middle of a relocation.

A single sweep of her gaze showed Shi Lan all kinds of horrific scenes. Many among those hundreds of thousands were wounded; maimed limbs were a common sight. A thick stench of blood, mixed with the smell of medicinal herbs, kept drilling into her nose and mouth.

Judging from the wounds on those injured, they had all clearly been hurt by demonic beasts.

Scattered demonic beasts trailed the group from afar, drawn here by that overwhelming scent of blood.

Every so often, a few blades of astral qi would slash out from the lights hovering above, cutting down the beasts that strayed too close.

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But the number of demonic beasts was still slowly growing……

Shi Feng did not fly directly over those people, but circled widely around them and continued on.

Shi Lan stayed silent. Even that fleeting glimpse of the misery below left her feeling heavy inside.

……

During the day, the two buried themselves in rushing along; come nightfall, they would stop to rest for a few hours. After all, their streak of light in the sky was far too conspicuous in the dark.

In the blink of an eye, more than half a month had passed. In that time, they’d run into countless groups of migrating refugees and had even once stumbled upon a herd of demonic beasts. Fortunately, Shi Feng noticed in time and took a wide detour.

What left the deepest impression on Shi Lan, though, was a battlefield they encountered along the way.

There were skeletons gnawed down to bare bone, shattered armor and weapons, and earth dyed red with blood for hundreds of li around. The ground was pitted and scarred, a scene of utter devastation, as if a hell of slaughter had descended upon the mortal world.

All of it proclaimed what kind of place the Chengtian Domain had become.

The sense of crisis in Shi Lan’s heart only grew stronger, but all she could do now was cultivate even harder.

On this day, as usual, Shi Lan sat cross-legged on the blade, running the Jade Tempering Art to refine the blood and flesh essence within her.

“End your cultivation!” Shi Feng suddenly barked.

“Scree!”

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Before Shi Lan could react, a sharp, piercing eagle cry rang out above her head. The cry cut straight through her ears, making them buzz as if her eardrums were about to burst!

Her mind was thrown into chaos. The flows of qi in her body slipped from her control and began to run wild.

“Pfft!”

Shi Lan felt a sweetness rise in her throat and couldn’t help but spit out a mouthful of blood.

Forcing the chaotic qi in her body back under control, she hurriedly opened her eyes—only to feel the light around her had dimmed.

She looked up—and couldn’t help holding her breath.

A colossal creature with a wingspan of over thirty meters wheeled in the sky above her head. From Shi Lan’s vantage point, it almost blotted out the heavens!

The giant raptor’s feathers were a brilliant gold, and under the sunlight they looked as if they were wrapped in burning golden flames.

“Hold on tight—it’s a Goldenflame Condor!” Shi Feng gave a low shout, changed direction, and dove straight toward the ground. At the same time, the Innate true qi in his body surged forth, pouring into the barrier of light around them.

Fighting an aerial demonic beast while in midair was undoubtedly pitting their weakness against the enemy’s strength.

The Goldenflame Condor twisted its body, folding its wings in and plunging down after them. The talons beneath its belly gleamed coldly, as if forged of steel, and they raked viciously at the light barrier shrouding the blade!

“Screeech—”

Its talons scraped across the barrier, emitting a harsh clash like metal on metal and throwing out a shower of sparks!

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The barrier didn’t break, but the immense force carried by the condor’s claws still sent Shi Feng’s descent surging faster, hurling him toward the ground out of control!

Shi Feng’s eyes turned cold. Without wasting time on words, he grabbed Shi Lan, wrapped her in a layer of Innate true qi as a cushion, and hurled her out of the barrier ahead of him.

Before Shi Lan even knew what was happening, she hit the ground and tumbled like a gourd, rolling nearly a hundred meters away, her head spinning.

“Boom!”

A deafening crash suddenly exploded behind her!

The barrier around the blade shattered in an instant like an eggshell. Dust and shattered rock flew everywhere, and spiderweb-like cracks spread out from the point of impact for tens of meters across the ground.

Startled awake by the thunderous sound, Shi Lan just barely pulled her thoughts together. She struggled to her feet, took one glance at the scene in the clearing, and turned to run without the slightest hesitation.

Anyone could tell at a glance that the Goldenflame Condor was not something she could handle. If she stayed, Shi Feng would have to split his focus to protect her, and she’d only drag him down.

A red blade of qi over thirty meters long shot up into the sky, slashing toward the Goldenflame Condor above.

“Scree!”

The Goldenflame Condor let out a sharp cry, flapped its wings, and narrowly dodged the blade of qi. A few of its feathers were brushed by the strike and turned to ash in an instant!

Shi Feng walked out of the thick cloud of dust, blade in hand. Seeing how far Shi Lan’s figure had already run, he let out a small breath of relief, then lifted his gaze to the condor circling in the sky, a cold smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.