33: The golden eagle dares not raise its head early in the morning, for it will roam freely amidst the sea of ​​clouds that tear

Early morning.

The sky grew bright, and the golden sun rose into the sky.

In a certain mountain forest outside the capital of the Lin Kingdom.

Beneath a thick hemlock tree so wide it would take several people to encircle it, within a shallow pit covered by dense shrubs and years of accumulated leaves.

Having just emerged from the capital and preparing to call the Golden Eagles to depart, Yu Xuzi saw the two Golden Eagles, usually extraordinary and majestic, now huddled in a miserable state.

“Usually so awe-inspiring, what happened to you today?”

Yu Xuzi frowned slightly, feeling somewhat puzzled.

He saw the two fellows had almost completely buried themselves in the pile of withered leaves, with only half their heads showing.

Their sharp, hook-like golden beaks were pressed against the ground, and their majestic bright-gold pupils were now filled only with panic and dullness; their fine down and covert feathers were shaking violently and uncontrollably.

“Ga—Gu—!!”

They let out two trembling, strange cries, their pupils still fixed intently on the high sky to the southeast.

Yu Xuzi's puzzlement turned into solemnity.

Although this pair of Golden Eagles were not yet Yao Beasts, their intelligence had awakened, and they lacked none of the natural pride and ferocity of birds of prey.

No wild beast they had encountered in the past was enough to make them lose their composure like this.

Only... a true Yao Beast!

And its rank and strength were not low!

Following the direction of the Golden Eagles' dull gaze, his figure moved slightly, drifting like a light feather onto the highest horizontal branch of the hemlock. He cast the Spiritual Eye Technique and looked toward the southeastern horizon.

At first, he saw only a deep blue horizon and a sky as clear as if it had been washed, with several large masses of white clouds drifting with the wind.

But soon, his pupils suddenly constricted.

In the air about seven or eight li away, a massive shadow was tearing through the sea of clouds, gliding across the sky at a speed that seemed leisurely but was actually incredibly fast.

Although the distance was still great and details were unclear, the silhouette was already distinct.

Such a colossal creature was actually a golden bird!

Its wingspan was likely over fifteen or sixteen zhang!

Its wings were spread flat, barely flapping with any force, as it soared leisurely by relying on the vast air currents high above.

Its entire body of feathers shimmered in the morning sun with a dazzling, almost metallic bright-gold luster.

Even from such a distance, an indescribable and terrifying pressure still overflowed like an invisible tide, enveloping the surrounding wilderness.

In the mountain forest, the originally noisy sounds of birds, beasts, and insects had at some point fallen into complete silence.

“No wonder!”

“I was wondering why these two fellows were in such a state today!”

What caused even more of a stir in Yu Xuzi's heart was that on the broad, platform-like back of the giant bird, seven or eight figures were sitting cross-legged!

“This should be the Thousand Spirits Sect, right?”

Yu Xuzi narrowed his eyes in thought.

“I didn't expect them to come out in full force. Could it be because of the Yellow Heaven Cult attacking and destroying the Celestial Immortal Sect?”

“Perhaps something major is about to happen to the Yellow Heaven Cult; I need to hurry back.”

The giant golden bird did not stop there but headed straight toward the north, gradually turning into an imperceptible golden dot on the horizon before disappearing completely.

Not until the suffocating pressure slowly dissipated was the silence of the mountain forest broken by the first bird's cry.

Yu Xuzi jumped down from the treetop and walked to the shallow pit.

The two Golden Eagles were still slumped in the withered leaves, and only after a long while did they dare to slightly lift their necks.

However, the fear in their eyes had not yet fully faded. They made soft, aggrieved “gu-gu” sounds in their throats and gently rubbed their beaks against the hem of Yu Xuzi's Daoist robe, completely devoid of their usual sharpness.

“Alright, alright, it's fine now.”

Yu Xuzi reached out to stroke their still-trembling neck feathers, comforting them warmly.

“I wonder what kind of Yao Beast that actually was...”

“Ah, right!”

Yu Xuzi's brow relaxed as he suddenly remembered something he had just obtained.

“The Yao Beast Compendium!”

With a thought, a thread-bound book nearly a hundred pages long and dull yellow in color appeared in his palm.

Skipping the many illustrations and texts of various Yao Beasts at the beginning, he searched directly toward the back for records concerning giant Golden Eagles.

A moment later, his gaze rested on a lifelike illustration.

“Found it!”

Beside the illustration, there were annotations:

Race: [Wind-Chasing Golden Eagle]

Size: Giant Avian

Bloodline Limit: Second-order Great Yao (Mature Form)

Bloodline Source: Fuyao Roc (Fourth-order Yao Emperor Species) — Void-Rending Golden Peng (Sixth-order Yao Immortal Species, True Spirit Subspecies) — Golden-Winged Great Peng (Heaven and Earth True Spirit)

Characteristics: Ferocious personality, extremely fast, can ride the wind and travel ten thousand li a day; once subdued, it can serve as a loyal Spirit Beast.

Innate Demonic Techniques: Wind-Chasing, Golden Claws, Wind Blades, etc... Yu Xuzi withdrew his gaze and let out a long breath of clear Qi.

Before Yao Race beings achieve the sixth-order Yao Immortal stage, they also have five Realms:

The first order is the Minor Yao, equivalent to a Human Race Qi Refining Cultivator;

The second order is the Great Yao, equivalent to a Dao Foundation Cultivator;

The third order is called the Yao King; at this Realm, the Yao Race has already condensed a Yao Core, can speak human language, and possesses intelligence no different from an ordinary person.

The fourth order is called the Yao Emperor; at this Realm, the Yao Race can already transform into human form. Their massive Yao bodies are typically a thousand zhang in size, enough to split mountains and crack the earth, and they can contend with a Human Race Dharma Aspect True Lord!

The fifth order is called the Yao Sovereign, equivalent to a Human Race Primordial Spirit Dao Lord.

Beings of this Realm are not considered weak even in the Myriad Heavens and Realms; in a Minor Thousand Worlds, they are already sufficient for Ascension, being the final Realm before Immortal Ascension.

Great Divine Abilities such as overturning seas and toppling mountains, or rending land and tearing the heavens, are commonplace for them. They can even roam the Chaos Star Sea outside the world barrier, with a Lifespan spanning tens of thousands of years.

Of course, none of this relates to the current Dharma-Ending World.

Just looking at the size and pressure of that Wind-Chasing Golden Eagle just now, it likely has the strength level of the first-order Late Stage.

Considering that the Cultivators of today's Cultivation World are destitute and their methods are meager, with Magical Artifacts and Talismans being scarce, the combat power of Yao Beasts is generally stronger than that of Human Race Cultivators of the same level.

In a real fight, this Golden Eagle could probably barely match two Late Stage Qi Refining Cultivators.

This Thousand Spirits Sect really cannot be underestimated.

When Yu Xuzi looked back at his own two somewhat listless Golden Eagles, his gaze was completely different.

He crouched down and patted the wings of the two Golden Eagles as they gradually regained their strength, a hint of emotion surfacing in his tone: “Look at them. Both are birds, so why is the gap so large?”

“That's a Wind-Chasing Golden Eagle, with blood flowing in its body that can turn into a Fuyao Roc, a Void-Rending Golden Peng, or even... the Bloodline of the Golden-Winged Great Peng True Spirit!”

As he spoke those last few words, he couldn't help but lower his voice slightly.

He didn't dare think about legendary Heaven and Earth True Spirits like the Golden-Winged Great Peng, but the types of Bloodlines below it were still imaginable.

Furthermore, from his current observation, these two little fellows really did bear some resemblance to that Wind-Chasing Golden Eagle!

Let's set a small goal: first, become Wind-Chasing Golden Eagles!

The two Golden Eagles seemed to understand Yu Xuzi's words; especially when the words “Golden-Winged Great Peng” reached their ears, they suddenly raised their heads.

The remaining fear in their eyes was rapidly replaced by a burning and ignorant longing originating from the depths of their Bloodline.

“Li—Li—!!!”

They puffed out their chests and vigorously flapped their still-weak wings, letting out clear and urgent cries.

The light in their golden pupils flared up, as if announcing something to their Bloodline ancestors in the unseen.

“Hahaha, good! You have ambition!”

“Although it's easier said than done, one must have aspirations after all.”

Yu Xuzi was amused by their reaction, revealing a rare hint of a smile.

Interacting with Spirit Beasts is just that easy.

“What if we really get lucky one day?”

————————————

The fourth year of Huang Tian, the capital of the Lin Kingdom, a misty morning in the silent forest.

I saw two eagles cowering in the thicket, feathers trembling and beaks pressed low, as if facing a great catastrophe.

Raising my eyes, I saw a giant shadow across the corner of the sky, with a wingspan of fifteen zhang, golden light piercing the clouds, and pressure weighing on the mountains and fields; it was the Wind-Chasing Golden Eagle of the Thousand Spirits Sect.

Later, I learned it possessed the distant Bloodline of the Golden-Winged Great Peng.

I then stroked the eagles and sighed: “It is also of the eagle kind, so why are you afraid? If you meet with the right opportunity to soar ninety thousand li, rend the void, and tread the heavens, would that not be the ambition of a True Spirit Great Sage!”

Hearing this, the two eagles raised their heads and flapped their wings, their cries piercing the clouds.

Their golden eyes blazed, like burning sparks!

— Excerpted from [Jade Void Master's Travelogue] Volume 4, “Autobiography · Qingyuan Realm · Wind-Chasing Chapter”