The ground was about twenty feet above the gray gas. If Feng Fei were allowed to fall like that, even if she didn't lose her life, she would suffer broken bones and internal injuries.
However, Feng Fei was completely exhausted, and his spiritual energy had long been depleted. Although he desperately wanted to slow his fall, he was powerless to do so.
Just then, the object that Feng Fei was tightly holding suddenly left his palm. It slowly grew larger in the air, transforming into a black feather shimmering with a dark light. What seemed like a long process had actually been completed in an instant.
Black feathers appeared beneath Feng Fei, and then Feng Fei's body slowly fell to the ground.
The moment she landed, Feng Fei's body trembled, as if she heard a sigh from ancient times. Before she could even form any thoughts, she dramatically fainted.
But in the eyes of Yuan Jue and the other four, Feng Fei, who had been bloodshot-eyed and frantically self-destructive, suddenly fell silent. He stared quietly in the direction of Fengye City. A look of melancholy and desolation flashed across his face, then his eyes rolled back and he fell backward.
Mingfeng, Jinming, and Dabao were caught off guard and didn't react in time to help Fengfei. Yuanjue, who was a little further away, managed to hug Fengfei, but even so, she still felt a sudden jolt.
Looking at Feng Fei, whose face was unusually pale, Yuan Jue felt an indescribable pain in his heart. He wished he could take Feng Fei's place and bear everything she had just experienced.
He couldn't help but touch Fengfei's face. A tear slowly fell, landing on Fengfei's face and gradually sliding down to the corner of her mouth.
"Hmm...it's salty..."
Yuan Jue, immersed in grief, was overjoyed to hear this voice. Before he could even change his sorrowful expression, his face became somewhat awkward.
"Yuan Jue, you...you look a little ugly like this." As soon as Feng Fei opened his eyes, he found himself being held in Yuan Jue's arms. He also saw the tear stains still hanging in the corners of Yuan Jue's eyes. He wanted to get up and care for him, but found himself powerless. So he suppressed his embarrassment and said a small, awkward word to ease the awkwardness.
Yuan Jue didn't care about Feng Fei's words at all. As long as she was alright, that was all that mattered.
Thinking of this, Yuan Jue couldn't help but hug Feng Fei tightly. He wished he could embed Feng Fei entirely into his body so that he could protect her at any time and prevent her from getting hurt.
Feng Fei felt a little suffocated and weakly raised his hand. Just as he was about to push Yuan Jue away, he found that he was holding a shiny black feather in his hand.
"Yuan Jue, loosen your grip a bit." Although she was extremely curious about the feather in her hand, she needed to be alive to investigate it first, because she was about to be strangled to death by Yuan Jue.
"Cough cough, Yuanjue, cough cough, let go..."
Yuan Jue loosened his grip somewhat hastily, but dared not let go completely. He gently enveloped Feng Fei, his heart filled with satisfaction from the fulfilling embrace and regret for having only held her for a short while.
After a while, Feng Fei's face gradually regained its color.
Jin Ming and the other three, who had been standing a little distance away, immediately surrounded Feng Fei and Yuan Jue, completely encircling them.
"Sister Feifei, are you alright?"
"Little Feifei, are you still feeling unwell? What exactly happened just now?"
Although Da Bao and Xiao Bao didn't get the words out, the meaning conveyed on their faces and in their eyes was almost identical to that of Jin Ming and Ming Feng, which warmed Feng Fei's heart.
Feng Fei opened his mouth, but found it still difficult to speak, so he simply closed his mouth to rest for a while, but handed the black feather in his hand to Yuan Jue.
Yuan Jue raised an eyebrow, took the black feather, and tossed it to Jin Ming without even looking at it.
Jin Ming hurriedly took it, muttered a few complaints under his breath, and then examined it carefully.
Feng Fei gave Yuan Jue an amused look. She hadn't expected Yuan Jue to be so childish, guessing that her ordeal was related to the black feather and then disliking it so much. However, it did make her feel unusually satisfied.
Jin Ming frowned and said seriously, "Little Feifei, this black feather seems to be from that big bird just now. How did you get it?"
Feng Fei shook her head weakly. At this moment, she was willing but unable to do so. Rather than speaking unclearly in fits and starts, it would be better to let her fully recover and explain herself clearly.
"Alright, we'll talk about this later. Let's find a place to rest first."
Yuan Jue interrupted Jin Ming's persistent questioning and carried Feng Fei towards a relatively flat area.
Mingfeng followed without a word, and Da Bao and Xiao Bao exchanged a glance and followed as well. Jin Ming stomped his foot hard while holding the black feather, but he could only follow along.
"I made a bad choice in making friends!"
Chapter 48 Curiosity Killed the Cat
This is the second chapter today~~ I'm begging you so much~~ Please, I'm practically rolling on the floor with envy~~
——————————I am a gorgeous dividing line———————————
Yuanjue chose a relatively open space, with scattered sand dunes behind him. The vegetation that should have been growing tenaciously was all withered and blackened.
Yes, it was a feeling of floating, as if a gentle breeze could blow all the withered, dark vegetation far away. However, the space between the previous stretch of yellow sand and the subsequent Fengye City seemed to form a vacuum, with no air movement whatsoever, and an eerie atmosphere pervaded the area.
Yuan Jue carried Feng Fei to a low-lying spot and sat down, then scooped out a water pouch and handed it to Feng Fei.
Feng Fei smiled and accepted the water pouch, drinking it without a second thought. But the moment the water entered her mouth, Feng Fei stared wide-eyed at Yuan Jue in surprise. Yuan Jue smiled gently, his eyes filled with affection and concern for Feng Fei.
Feng Fei was a little shy, but she couldn't bear to refuse Yuan Jue's kindness, so she drank it in small sips.
At this moment, Jin Ming also came up. When he saw the water bag in Feng Fei's hand, he couldn't help but glare at Yuan Jue. But seeing Yuan Jue's indifferent look, he pursed his lips, scooped up the black feathers, walked up to Feng Fei, and looked at Feng Fei expectantly.
Feng Fei felt very uncomfortable under Yuan Jue's gaze, so he turned his head away, handed the water pouch to Yuan Jue, checked his own body condition, and then smiled at Yuan Jue.
Feng Fei wouldn't have recovered so quickly originally. Although the jade-gold spiritual energy possessed unique effects unlike other spiritual energies, it was powerless once exhausted. The water pouch Yuan Jue handed Feng Fei wasn't an ordinary one; it was crafted from celestial crystal. Unlike other crystals, this celestial crystal wasn't transparent; it was entirely dark brown. It appeared extremely inconspicuous, but possessed a very special effect—if a herb called ** was placed inside the celestial crystal container, a special clear water would continuously seep out, greatly effective in restoring spiritual energy. The longer the herb ** had been stored, the more potent the medicinal effect of the seeping water.
Yuan Jue's water pouch was crafted from celestial crystal, and the herbs were ten thousand years old. It was unique on this entire continent. This was precisely why Jin Ming glared at Yuan Jue upon seeing it. Feng Fei's astonishment stemmed from the remarkable effect the clear water, derived from the celestial crystal and herbs, had on restoring his blood and spiritual energy.
Seeing that Feng Fei's face had become rosy, Jin Ming shamelessly approached her and said with a grin, "Little Fei Fei, you're the best! Tell me how you got this black feather!" He drew out the last syllable of each sentence, making Feng Fei tremble.
Seeing Jin Ming wink at her repeatedly after finishing his sentence, Feng Fei trembled, gritted her teeth, and then said in a slow, melodious voice, "That black bird glanced at me as it left. Then I fell into the kind of madness you all saw. But I feel like I'm trapped in a membrane. I can see all of you, but you can't hear or see what I say or do..."
Feng Fei recounted, somewhat evasively, what he had done inside the luminous membrane. Taking the black feather from Jin Ming's hand, he said, "At the time, the gray gas above my head looked remarkably like a feather, and because I saw a barely perceptible black dot in the very center, I took a gamble. Unexpectedly, I actually found something like that; it's what I scooped out of the gray gas, but it really scared me."
As soon as she finished speaking, Feng Fei felt the black feather twitch slightly in her palm. Surprised, she tried to feel it again, but found the feather showed no sign of moving. Just as she thought it was her imagination, the black feather flew out of her hand and floated in front of her.
No one knew what the black feather was going to do, and according to Feng Fei's previous description, the black feather did not intend to harm anyone. On the contrary, it indirectly saved Feng Fei's life. So everyone stood still and waited for the next development.
Although the black feather saved Feng Fei's life, it was still not well received by Yuan Jue. Although Yuan Jue sensed the extraordinary nature of the black feather, he couldn't treat it with the usual curiosity.
The black feathers floated silently in mid-air, slowly forming a mysterious connection with the phoenix.
Yuan Jue and the other four didn't know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing, but seeing that Feng Fei's face showed no pain and his eyes were clear, they knew that Feng Fei was not in any serious danger at the moment. However, all five of them kept a close eye on Feng Fei at all times, ready to rescue him in time.
Feng Fei stood face to face with Hei Yu, a faint smile gradually appearing on his face.
Suddenly, the connection between Feng Fei and the black feather vanished, and Feng Fei reached out to catch the black feather that was slowly drifting down from the sky and held it tightly.
Jin Ming pulled Ming Feng along and ran to Feng Fei, his face full of curiosity: "Little Fei Fei, what just happened?"
Feng Fei glanced at Jin Ming, then looked down at Ming Feng, who was equally curious, and covered her mouth with a laugh, saying, "Curiosity killed the cat."
After saying that, Feng Fei gracefully walked towards Yuan Jue. Leaving Jin Ming and Ming Feng looking completely bewildered, Jin Ming slowly looked at Ming Feng and asked, "Ming Feng, what did Xiao Feifei mean by saying 'curiosity killed the cat' just now?"
Mingfeng stroked her chin and said seriously, "It's probably not a nice thing to say. It sounds like she's saying you shouldn't be too curious, or you'll kill the cat. But we don't have any cats here. What does Feifei mean by that?" As she spoke, her voice lowered, clearly pondering the meaning of Fengfei's words.
Jin Ming suddenly realized something from Ming Feng's words: Feng Fei was telling them not to be too curious!
Jin Ming gritted his teeth as he watched Feng Fei walk toward Yuan Jue. He swung his fist at Feng Fei's back, then quickly withdrew it under Yuan Jue's cold, indifferent gaze.
“Yuanjue, if we succeed in what we’re about to do, it will be of great benefit to us. But if we fail, we may be forever trapped there. However, we don’t necessarily have to do this, but I hope we can.” Feng Fei pointed to Fengye City, which was shrouded in black gauze, and said in a deep voice.
Yuan Jue naturally knew that Feng Fei wouldn't speak without reason, and seeing how solemn Feng Fei was, his expression also became serious.
"The large black bird that just flew away was an old crow that had cultivated for over ten thousand years. It sensed our presence when we approached Fengye City, which is why we heard that whistling cry earlier. As it flew away, it sensed a rather special presence among us, which I suppose was me. However, it didn't explain why, so it couldn't help but turn back and glance at me. It was because of that glance that I ended up in the situation I was in earlier."
"However, it doesn't intend to kill me. It's just to test whether I am the special being. This black feather is my last lifeline. If I successfully find and scoop up the black feather, I will receive some information. If I don't come out of that membrane on my own, the black feather will use all its power to send me out, but I won't be able to receive any of that information."
"Fengye City suffered a devastating cataclysm a year ago, turning the entire city into a ghost realm. Many who died there were unwilling to accept their fate and thus became ghosts. This is a major border city, and its population is mostly composed of soldiers, not civilians. The old crow said that he was originally from the underworld, and although he couldn't withstand the ghostly power of the cataclysm, there were many things he liked in Fengye City. So he often came to Fengye City and knew some of the things there, but there was one thing he dared not provoke."
At this point, Feng Fei stopped and looked directly at Yuan Jue, knowing that Yuan Jue would be able to guess the key to the matter.
As expected, Yuan Jue lived up to Feng Fei's expectations. His eyes lit up when Feng Fei finished speaking, but then he looked at Feng Fei with some doubt: "When did you guess?"
Feng Fei smiled and tilted her head, saying, "I don't know when I found out. Maybe it was after the Ghost Pearl incident, but it was only after that that I truly confirmed it. You kept it from me so well. If you had told me earlier that you had the Netherworld bloodline, I would definitely have given you the Ghost Pearl. After all, other things could be used to repair my ring, but the Ghost Pearl is extremely rare. From then on, I told myself that if I encountered anything useful to you, I would definitely retrieve it."
Feng Fei's words were simple, yet they warmed Yuan Jue's heart.
Seeing Feng Fei's unrestrained smile, Yuan Jue couldn't help but feel a surge of pride: "Alright! Then let's go and fetch those things!"
Yuan Jue's loud and clear voice emanated from Feng Fei and Yuan Jue, startling Jin Ming and Ming Feng, who were standing a short distance away, as well as Da Bao and Xiao Bao, who were tidying up nearby. Da Bao looked up blankly, and seeing that nothing was wrong, they grinned sheepishly and got back to work. Jin Ming grimaced and muttered to himself, while Ming Feng tilted her head and watched Feng Fei and Yuan Jue for a while before running over and tugging at Feng Fei's sleeve: "Sister Fei Fei, what are you talking about?"
"It's nothing." Feng Fei patted Ming Feng's head. It wasn't because he couldn't tell Ming Feng, nor because he didn't want Ming Feng to get involved because she was young, but because she hadn't sorted things out yet. Just now, Yuan Jue promised her that she would be in charge after entering Fengye City, because she had information left to her by the old crow.
Mingfeng's little mouth twitched, and two puffs of tears welled up as she looked pitifully at Fengfei.
Feng Fei inwardly cried out that he couldn't bear it, but he still suppressed his thoughts and comforted them aloud: "Ming Feng, I need to think about this matter. I'll tell you after I've thought it through, okay?"
Mingfeng didn't necessarily need to know anything, but Fengfei never kept anything from him, and besides, they had their own little secrets. Therefore, he felt especially close to Fengfei. Upon receiving Fengfei's affirmation, Mingfeng beamed, calling out "Sister Feifei" sweetly before running off to help Da Bao and Xiao Bao. (To be continued. If you like this work,
Chapter 49 was hacked.
Yuan Jue walked behind Feng Fei and looked in the direction Feng Fei was looking. He saw the three of them, Da Bao, Xiao Bao, and Ming Feng, bustling about, with the warm sunlight gently caressing them from behind. He thought how wonderful it would be if time could stop at this moment. However, he didn't immerse himself in this beautiful moment for long before he was drawn away by an annoying clattering sound from the side.
These noisy sounds were naturally made by Jin Ming.
He's jealous! Jealous of Yuan Jue! Jealous of Ming Feng! Why is Feng Fei so kind and gentle to Ming Feng? He's clearly younger than Ming Feng! Ming Feng is only getting the better look of him! That's one thing, but why is Feng Fei so nice to Yuan Jue? He heard everything they said just now; he went into Fengye City for Yuan Jue's sake! Waaah, I wonder when Little Fei Fei will be so kind to me.
Jin Ming felt like he was dying of resentment. He squatted on the ground, scooped up some branches he had found from somewhere, and banged them against the stones that had been overturned on the ground, making a metallic clanging sound.
It was precisely because of these metallic sounds that Jin Ming pounded on the ground even harder. This time, it wasn't out of resentment, but because he had discovered that the stones in the soil and the branch in his hand were made of extremely strange materials—neither gold nor wood, neither jade nor stone—yet they produced a metallic sound when struck together.
Yuan Jue naturally noticed that something was wrong with the voice, and pulled Feng Fei toward Jin Ming.
Jin Ming tapped Yuan Jue and Feng Fei's hands, which were naturally clasped but tightly held together, and turned his head away unhappily.
Hmph, you actually dared to come here to annoy me! I'm not telling you what I've discovered!
Feng Fei looked at Jin Ming, who was acting like a spoiled brat, and couldn't help but find it amusing. However, Feng Fei cleverly held back her laughter, though her face contorted slightly as she tried to suppress it.
Yuan Jue glanced at Feng Fei, who was trying to suppress a laugh, and felt a warm glow in his heart. He then looked at the object in Jin Ming's hand and the thing half-buried in the soil. His brows slowly furrowed. The branch was actually from a thousand-year-old, sentient locust tree; due to its advanced cultivation, the branch was as hard as gold and jade. Furthermore, the stone buried in the soil was an extremely rare and precious stone, found even on the Four Continents. These stones, carrying magnetic poles, could influence the surrounding environment.
Yuan Jue slightly turned his palm, and a dark light appeared beneath it. He pressed his palm down slightly, and the dark light slapped towards the soil beneath the buyer's half-broken Extreme Stone. The strike stirred up clouds of dust, but also completely revealed the Extreme Stone beneath the yellow earth to everyone.
"What's this?"
Mingfeng peeked half her head out from behind Fengfei, her round, dark eyes wide open, and asked curiously.