Hearing the barely concealed smugness in Xiao Wenbing's tone, Zhang Yaqi couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh.
Suddenly, a long howl came from afar. The sound was clear and melodious, full of surprise.
"It's Butterfly Fairy; she's discovered the Old Food King," Xiao Wenbing said with a smile. "Let's go over there too."
The two women responded. The three of them transformed into a bolt of lightning and flew towards the direction from which the sound came.
Since Feng Baiyi possesses the power of heavenly thunder, her speed is naturally second to none among the crowd. Even compared to the Roc, she is in no way inferior in the short term.
However, she can only maintain this unparalleled speed when flying alone. If she were to carry several burdens, she would be willing but unable to do so.
Beyond the cliff lies a beautiful valley bursting with blooming flowers. Countless unknown exotic flowers and rare herbs grow in extraordinary abundance.
The little fairy butterfly, holding the hand of a withered old man, skipped and twirled around, her radiant smile reflected in the flowers, making it impossible to distinguish between them.
"King of Food"
Xiao Wenbing shouted loudly, "It's like meeting an old friend in a foreign land; tears well up in my eyes!"
"What brings you here, kid?" Food King laughed loudly and grabbed Xiao Wenbing's hand.
"Of course, they ascended here."
"What a coincidence that you've also come to the Linglong Immortal Realm." The Food King smiled broadly, but when his gaze fell on the two women, he suddenly paused and asked, "Eh...they..."
"They are Baiyi and Yaqi, you haven't forgotten, have you?" Xiao Wenbing asked in surprise.
"Of course not, but how come they're here?"
"Nonsense, of course it's to ascend with me."
"You ascended together?" The King of Food's voice was filled with surprise; for the old man-eating flower, such a thing was truly unbelievable.
“Yes, we ascended together, and it wasn’t just the three of us,” Xiao Wenbing said with a smile.
"More than three people?" The Food King looked Xiao Wenbing up and down, then suddenly exclaimed, "A body capable of ten tribulations? What happened? How did you also survive the Nine Heavens Thunder and Fire Tribulation? This is truly outrageous!"
Xiao Wenbing rolled his eyes at him dismissively and said, "Aren't you also a Ten Tribulations Body? What's so strange about that?"
“That’s different. Countless lives have died at my hands. Long before the Heavenly Tribulation, I had a premonition that this was the tribulation I was about to face.” The Food King sighed and said, “It is precisely because I knew I could not survive this tribulation that I tried every means to delay my ascension.”
"Ha, it seems your intuition is wrong, old man." Xiao Wenbing chuckled mockingly, "You actually survived this ordeal; heaven really is blind."
The King of Food glared at him, but then shook his head and said with a wry smile, "If it weren't for the long whip you gave me that could unleash a hundred times the power, I would have died under the heavenly tribulation long ago."
Xiao Wenbing smiled with relief. When he made the long whip for the old man-eating flower, he wanted to help him overcome his tribulation. Now it seems that his efforts were not in vain.
The King of Food waved his hand and said, "Don't talk about me. How could you possibly survive the Nine Heavens Thunder and Fire Tribulation? Did you destroy the Flame Realm?"
In the old man-eating flower's opinion, only this could explain why they were robbed.
"No, the Flame Realm has been revived."
"Is that so?" A hint of confusion flashed in the Food King's eyes. After a moment, he shook his head and sighed, "Never mind, having survived the Nine Heavens Thunder and Fire Tribulation, I've become indifferent to everything. Let's not talk about the Flame Realm."
Xiao Wenbing also felt relieved. After all, the Food King was a close friend who had shared life and death with him, while his subordinates were mostly from the Flame Realm. If the Food King hadn't let go of that hatred, he would have been in a real predicament.
"Since you revived the Tree of Life in the Flame Realm, why should such a great deed be met with this calamity of death?" The Food King shook his head, abandoning his speculation, and said directly, "Speak, what heinous and unforgivable things have you done?"
“We haven’t done it,” Xiao Wenbing said solemnly. “We are all good people.”
"Nonsense." The Food King glared at him fiercely and said, "Cause and effect will not wrong any good person. Just tell me what you did. Don't forget, I also survived the Nine Heavens Thunder and Fire Tribulation. We're all the same, I won't look down on you."
Xiao Wenbing rolled his eyes. What do you mean by "the same kind of stuff"?
Under persistent questioning from the old man-eating flower, he gave a wry smile and said, "It's simple, because we're undergoing tribulation together."
The Food King paused, his gaze sweeping over the faces of the three of them before finally realizing, "So the three of you are facing a series of tribulations." He frowned, then said, "No, even if it's a series of tribulations for three people, it shouldn't be this unlucky."
"If it were just the three of us, of course not, but the problem is that there were a bit too many of us when we were undergoing our tribulation."
"More than three." The King of Food's eyes were filled with astonishment. A series of tribulations was something everyone avoided like the plague, but judging from Xiao Wenbing's tone, it seemed that there were quite a few people undergoing the tribulation together: "Just how many are there?"
"Not much, just over ten thousand."
"..."
A long, deafening bird cry rang out. Above, the wind howled, and a powerful aura swept across the sky, leaving an invisible ripple of air pressure on the ground.
The Food King, disregarding his anger at Xiao Wenbing's nonsense, quickly grabbed him and said, "Come with me now."
Where are you going?
"Go to my cave!" the Food King said urgently. "The golden roc from the Netherworld has actually appeared in the Linglong Immortal Realm. This is truly bizarre. If it discovers us, we won't be able to escape."
The King of Food pulled hard on Xiao Wenbing, but found that the other party did not move at all.
"What are you doing? Hide quickly! I get scared just looking at that bird!"
"King of Food, the Roc is harmless."
"Nonsense. The Roc is the natural enemy of our Ten Tribulations Body."
"Hmm, there's something I forgot to tell you."
"Never mind what's going on, just hide first..."
The King of Food abruptly stopped speaking, for he had already seen a colossal creature approach Xiao Wenbing's side with lightning speed.
However, to his surprise, the large bird did not attack Xiao Wenbing. Instead, it lowered its noble head and allowed Xiao Wenbing to stroke the steel feathers on its neck, occasionally letting out a comfortable low chirp.
"This...this guy is your pet?"
"yes."
"Why didn't you say so sooner?" the Food King said, his face dark with anger.
Xiao Wenbing said innocently, "I was just about to tell you, but you wouldn't listen."
"..."
A slight ripple spread through the space. After receiving the news, the Great Serpent Supreme and the others gathered there.
Sensing the powerful aura emanating from the Great Serpent Supreme, the Devouring King's heart trembled violently. However, upon learning that the Great Serpent had already acknowledged Feng Baiyi as its master, his gaping maw remained agape.
The group gathered together and recounted how they had parted ways.
The Food King's journey was relatively uneventful. After surviving the Nine Heavens Thunder and Fire Tribulation, he ascended to the Linglong Immortal Realm, where he met the Wutian family and settled down to cultivate.
The ascension process of Xiao Wenbing and others was much more exciting. He spoke eloquently for a full half day.
Not to mention the long-separated King of Food, even the Great Serpent Supreme and the Wutian family listened with great interest.
The part about the great tribulation involving tens of thousands of people, in particular, aroused everyone's longing. However, while hearing about that dangerous experience was fine, they would definitely refuse to experience it firsthand.
Finally, Xiao Wenbing extended an invitation to the old man-eating flower and the Wutian family to travel together to the Forest Sea.
After a moment's hesitation, the Wutian couple finally declined. They had lived in the Linglong Immortal Realm for 100,000 years, and the Butterfly Immortals were naturally a peaceful and detached race, so they had become completely accustomed to this place and did not want to travel thousands of miles to another place.
However, their daughter Xingming and Xiaodiexian hit it off immediately and became inseparable, so she agreed without hesitation.
As for the old man-eating flower, it considered it for a long time, but under the persuasion of Xiao Wenbing, Zhang Yaqi, and Xiao Diexian, it finally agreed.
Pulling the King of Food aboard the bird's back, Xiao Wenbing raised his arms and shouted, and the roc spread its wings and soared into the sky, transforming into a bolt of lightning as it flew towards Wanling Lake.
On the ground, the Wutian couple waved goodbye. Although the immortals had achieved great success in their cultivation, they couldn't help but feel a little sad as their only daughter was leaving.
Volume 21, Chapter 16: Another Divine Messenger (Part 1)
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A tranquil pond, dotted with lotus leaves, small as copper coins, larger than a large futon, round and comfortably stretched out, letting dewdrops roll and reflect the morning sun, shimmering with a faint rainbow.
The speed of the Roc is indeed the fastest in the world; it arrived at the distant Wanling Lake in just half a day.
This vast body of water is named Wanling Lake because countless creatures inhabit or live in the lake. But even "ten thousand" is an understatement.
However, when the golden roc arrived with the force of thunder, the vast majority of living beings vanished without a trace, not daring to look up.
In the sky, a colossal behemoth hung majestically ten thousand meters above the ground.
An immense aura of light and pressure emanated from it, and all living beings that sensed this immense pressure instinctively chose to retreat.
Perched atop the bird's back, Xiao Wenbing looked down upon the boundless lake and asked, "Quinnie, is this Lake of Ten Thousand Spirits?"
"Yes, master, this is the place where Quini has stayed for a thousand years."
"The creatures here don't seem very powerful," Xiao Wenbing said, patting the roc's neck. "Look, the roc only released a wisp of its aura, and this place has become like a dead zone."
Quini gave a wry smile and murmured, "Master, the Roc is no ordinary creature."
"Is that so?"
The Great Serpent Supreme cautiously looked at the soles of his feet and cursed in a voice so low that no one could hear him: "Nonsense."
Xiao Wenbing shook his head and sighed. Making such a big fuss was not his intention. But it was too late to back out now. He glanced around. Since he couldn't hide it, he might as well search openly.
"Yaqi, release your divine sense and see if Fire Spirit Fairy is still there."
"good."
As Zhang Yaqi responded lightly, a five-colored light suddenly shone from the sky.
The light was dazzling and brilliant, forming a huge halo in mid-air that spread in all directions. The halo continued to expand along the lake surface, stretching towards the distant horizon.
According to Quini, the Fire Spirit has no fixed abode, but its activity area is around the Lake of All Spirits. Finding it won't be easy without some effort.
A moment later, Zhang Yaqi's expression shifted, and she looked surprised. She said, "Wenbing, there is indeed the aura of the Fire Spirit Immortal Land nearby, but it's just a remnant."
“Remnants.” Xiao Wenbing frowned. “You mean Huo Lingxian is no longer here?”
"Indeed, judging from the state of the remaining aura, this Fire Spirit Immortal has been gone for at least a hundred years."
Regret was evident on everyone's faces. A hundred years was but a fleeting moment for immortals, yet in that very short time, they had missed their chance to meet the Fire Spirit Immortal.
No one doubted Zhang Yaqi's words, because she was the only one who passed the test of the Five Elements Tribulation.
If it were anyone else, with Huo Lingxian deliberately concealing herself, they would have no way of detecting Huo Lingdi's aura.
The calm, still lake surface suddenly rippled slightly, and at the same time, an extremely powerful and surging aura emanated from the lakebed.