Hmm

  Yunmian saw and heard about Ting's courtyard, she felt a bit puzzled, so she asked "What's wrong with that evil bird?"

  The courtyard was slightly disturbed, and he said, "Those evil birds, I learned about them from the geography books of the Eastern Heaven. They are born out of the union of malevolent spirits for war, nurtured by flesh and blood, and forced to mature prematurely. They are not born out of love, nor do they grow in accordance with the natural order. Some of them don't even have normal demonic parents, but are already heartless evil spirits. These evil birds do not distinguish between right and wrong, do not recognize their parents or kin, and only mate indiscriminately to reproduce. After giving birth, they go on to hunt for flesh and blood to grow stronger, repeating this cycle. They violate the heavenly way, abandon all moral principles, but multiply at an extremely rapid rate, far beyond imagination, making it difficult to eradicate them."

  Yunmian was stunned, earlier when Jinlan told her, she didn't explain it in such detail. At this moment, hearing Tingjie's explanation, she was shocked and trembled slightly, feeling a chill run down her spine. She never thought that there would be such things in this world.

  Wen Ting paused again at this point and furrowed his brow.

  It's strange to say that he just heard Jinlan mention this matter, and without any warning signs, he instinctively felt a panic in his heart.

  Yunmian lowered his ears in fear and asked anxiously "What should we do then?"

  Wen Ting thought for a moment, and although it was just an intuitive guess, he cautiously said: "Although Jinlan said that after several years, the demon birds and demon bird eggs in Nan Yu Xiancheng have been cleared out, but those evil birds with no spiritual intelligence only have the instinct to attack alien species and reproduce. However, they have a beast-like intuition and sensitivity when raising their young. I'm worried that there might still be some fish that slipped through the net in Nan Yu Xiancheng. Even if the city has indeed been cleared out, it's hard to guarantee that no evil birds will fly in from the surrounding mountains at some point."

  Wen Ting considered for a moment, still feeling worried, and lowered her head to lick the center of her brow. "Although we will always be within the boundaries of Nan Yu Xian City, from now on, following the Phoenixes of Nan Yu Mountain in their cultivation, we may also go to some relatively remote places. These evil birds lay eggs everywhere, with strong physiques and ferocious tempers, they feed on living creatures to enhance their own cultivation, it's hard to judge their moral character. Meng Er, you only have five tails and don't have much experience in actual combat with evil demons, if by any chance you encounter one, try to escape as far as possible before the other party discovers you, I won't be too far away, I will definitely rush over to save you quickly, do you understand?"

  "Uh-huh"

  Yunmian hastily nodded solemnly and remembered what Wenting said in his heart.

  She listened to Wen Ting's words and felt a little scared, shook her fur, and tried hard to rub against Wen Ting's warm neck to absorb body heat from him.

  Wen Ting was originally worried about Yun Mian, but also knew that if she were too serious and realistic, it would scare Yun Mian away. She quickly used her tail to protect her and comfortingly hugged her tightly in her arms.

  Yunmian was comforted and held in a warm embrace, surrounded by the warmth of Wēn Tíng's body temperature and soft white fur. After a while, she gradually calmed down.

  A few days after the fairy banquet, Yunmian and Wenting were formally arranged to be among the inner disciples of the Phoenix Palace, cultivating together with the phoenixes who were two or three years older than them.

  Like the little foxes of Qingqiu City, the Phoenix disciples of Nanyu Mountain actually had no chance to come into contact with outsiders frequently. What's more, Wen Ting and Yun Mian were the young masters and mistresses of Qingqiu City. These phoenix disciples were all older than Wen Ting and Yun Mian, and their personalities were much more stable, but even so, the arrival of these two Qingqiu foxes still attracted a lot of attention from the Phoenix clan.

  "That is the young master and mistress of Qingqiu City"

  After Yunmian and Wenyting entered the Daoshi room and took their seats, one of the disciples turned around and asked in a low voice beside Jinlan.

  He looked at the two tails for a while and said, "I originally thought that only our Feng tribe's tail feathers were the most beautiful and colorful, with an immortal bird-like demeanor. But actually, looking at it now, the fox tribe's tail is also very elegant and has a different feeling from ours, but it also has a somewhat immortal meaning."

  Jin Lan nodded in agreement and said, "That's right, each ethnic group has its own advantages."

  Yunmian didn't hear the discussion of the Phoenix disciples, but in her opinion, practicing at Nan Yu Mountain was not much different from being in Qing Qiu City, except that all the fellow disciples around her were phoenixes. The Phoenix clan had different physical structures for males and females due to the distinction between male and female phoenixes, so they received instruction according to their abilities and worshipped different masters, with men following men and women following women, dividing into masculine and feminine techniques. The Nan Yu Mountain disciples usually practiced separately but would reunite every half month to cooperate and adapt to each other's movements in preparation for flying together in the future, which was similar to the "Grand Class" of Qing Qiu City.

  Yunmian and Wenting came from Qingqiu, far away, to practice with the Phoenix tribe. Of course, they also practiced this set of skills together, just like the little phoenixes learned the immortal methods of Qingqiu in the past, playing a role of mutual exchange. Yunmian was a woman, so she was led by other female phoenixes to learn women's skills. According to the words of Huanghou Niangniang, this set of immortal skills not only had the effect of beautifying and rejuvenating women but also had the benefits of regulating breath, increasing immortal energy, and cultivating one's practice, which was extremely beneficial for women practitioners.

  Yunmian didn't quite understand these things, and followed the sisters in a daze to practice. After a period of time, she actually found that her tail fur had become much brighter and more comfortable wrapped around her body, which delighted Yunmian for a good while.

  Time flies and more than half a month has passed.

  Yunmian had fewer opportunities to meet with Wenhui during the day because they were both training separately with their senior brothers and sisters. However, after Wenhui specifically reminded her about the demonic bird, Yunmian naturally became more cautious, subconsciously checking out the situation whenever she arrived at a new place, despite knowing that the danger level was not high within Nan Yu Xian City. As time passed day by day, with powerful and kind senior sisters around her, Yunmian seemed to be in a very safe environment, and although she still maintained some vigilance, she gradually relaxed accordingly.

  It was a long-awaited day for the reunion of the male and female disciples, and Yunmian was extremely excited from early morning, jumping around Wenhui until they arrived at the school grounds and transformed into human form.

  Jin Lan had already arrived early, with Jin Hong following closely behind him, stretching his neck to take a look around. As soon as he saw Wen Ting and Yun Mian, he excitedly waved his hand. Jin Lan patted Jin Hong's head, but seeing Yun Mian's energetic state also infected him, and he slightly raised the corners of his mouth, smiling and saying "You two have finally arrived."

  As he spoke, he patted the shoulder of his younger brother beside him and said, "This little guy has been pestering our aunt for over half a month, and he's already memorized two advanced heart methods that I've just started learning. Aunt finally agreed to let him come with me to attend the grand class. His name will also be among the candidates in today's draw, so if you two are drawn together, please take care of him."

  "That's natural."

  Yunmian hastily nodded, but she immediately asked strangely "draw lots"

  Jin Lan smiled and pointed in the direction of the main seat where Feng Guan was, only to see a bird's nest-like object placed in front of him, with many talismans inside, all sealed with immortal techniques.

  Jin Lan said, "You guys are participating for the first time, so you don't know. Our school usually has two people in a group, decided by drawing lots. Sometimes it's one boy and one girl in a group, sometimes it's two boys or two girls in a group, and sometimes it's not divided by gender, just randomly drawn. If you encounter another team in the middle, you can form an alliance, which is not considered cheating. Today, according to the order, it should be the one that doesn't limit gender."

  However, Jinlan said to this point and paused slightly, reminding "But, Wen Ting Shaozhu, Yunmian Xianzi, I think the possibility of you two being assigned to one group is not high. You two are outsiders, coming to Nan Yu Mountain originally for mutual exchange and cooperation, if again assigned together, it would be meaningless, furthermore, the Phoenix Clan's cultivation content is different from the Fox Clan, the Phoenix Clan is more skilled in flight and aerial combat, if among you two there isn't a single Phoenix Clan member, I'm afraid it will also be a bit difficult. From these two aspects, I estimate that the sacred papers with your names have been processed beforehand, so that you won't be assigned to one place."

  "Ah"

  Yunmian heard Jinlan's analysis and couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. If she had the choice, she would have preferred to be with Wenhing instead. But thinking about it, Jinlan's words also made sense. Besides, if they happened to meet halfway, they could still form a team, so Yunmian became excited again and nodded optimistically.

  Wen Ting nodded slightly, probably having guessed it would be like this, and didn't have much of a reaction.

  Jin Hong probably hadn't participated in such training among his peers at that age, and he looked more excited than Yunmian and Wenting. He patted his chest and said, "You can rest assured, if I'm with you, I absolutely won't hold you back. My two-year-old feathers have all fallen off, and I can fly really fast now."

  "Uh-huh"

  Yunmian was still very happy to see Jinhong again, she made a sisterly gesture and smiled as she touched his head.

  This praise made Jin Hong embarrassed and red-faced, and he shrank behind his brother.

  As Jinlan said, when the time came, Zhuo Wei cleared the number of people and walked to the front of the bird's nest, announcing that he would draw two names for a collaborative team.

  His voice was drawn out very long, speaking very slowly, and when he shouted the name "Yunmian", it was slightly longer, then took another piece of immortal paper, calling out "Cooperator, Jinlan"

  Jin Lan heard her and Yun Mian's names mentioned together, feeling a bit speechless, thinking of the recent attempts by Huang Hou to set them up, but surprisingly didn't feel anything out of the ordinary.

  However, he knew the personality of Huang Hou Niang Niang. She was a person who attached great importance to fairness. Wen Ting and Yun Mian were originally not supposed to be together, but in order to let them compete, Wen Ting's starting point would probably not be too far away, even adjacent, so that they could meet in time after the start of their cultivation.

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, Feng Guan put down his note and immediately announced

  "Wén Tíng, Cooperative Person, Brocade Swan"

  When Wen Ting heard the names Yun Mian and Jin Lan, even though she knew their attitudes, she still subconsciously pursed her lips, not relaxing until she heard her own name.

  Jin Hong exclaimed excitedly, "We're all together! We're all together! The four of us are quite close to each other. Although we have to start from different locations, as long as we get a sense of direction and look for each other, I think we can meet up again within an hour or so."

  "It should be so."

  Yunmian was unclear about it, but after hearing both Feng Huang brothers say so, he felt that it should be correct and followed with excitement.

  Only after a brief excitement, Wen Ting suddenly became vigilant again, feeling his heart beating rapidly. He wanted to walk with Yunmian to calm down, but the rules of Nan Yue Mountain stipulated that people who were not in the same group could not set off together and had to go to their respective destinations before finding their own way to meet up.

  Wen Ting was still uneasy, and he hadn't completely let his guard down around Jin Lan either. But thinking about it now, he reached out to grab him and said, "After we start, I'll hurry over as soon as possible to meet up with you guys. Yun Mian might not be used to the environment of the forest outside, she might feel scared. Before I get there, please try your best to protect Mian'er."

  Jin Lan didn't expect Wen Ting to deliberately hold him back before they started and say this. He didn't think there would be any danger in Nan Yu Mountain, especially within the boundaries of Xian Cheng, but seeing how serious Wen Ting was, he promised, "Don't worry, I'm older than her, as an elder brother and the host, I will also do my best to protect Meng Er."

  "Thank you."

  Wen Ting's heart slightly relaxed, and she nodded her head in gratitude.

  The Fengguan quickly announced all the names of the Phoenix cooperation, and the phoenixes were ready to go in their respective directions with the distributed signs.

  All the disciples seemed to be familiar with the place, but Yunmian wasn't quite clear about the rules. Seeing Jin Hong also pulling Wen Ting away, Jinlan paused for a moment and politely guided "Yunmian Xianzi, let's go too".

  "Good."

  Yunmian nodded and walked alongside Jinlan, asking "What are these rules like in detail?"

  Jin Lan smiled and said, "Isn't there a starting point on our sign? And the thing you're looking for, when you flew over from outside in Niang's car, you should have seen it too. Nan Yu Mountain is towering into the clouds, quite steep, the immortal city is located in the clouds, but also has a large side connected to Pian Shan, that place is the border between Nan Yu Immortal City and Pian Shan, there is a large dense forest."

  Here is the translation:

  "Speaking of which, Jinlan thought of Wen Ting's previous worried words and emphasized, "Of course, our activity range will always be within Xian City. We won't leave Nan Yu Xian City. We'll start from our respective positions in the past, then search for what we need to find in the forest. Once we've found a sufficient amount, we'll head back. In the evening, we'll use the things everyone has gathered to build a bonfire and cook food. At that time, we can chat together or compete with each other's xian techniques."

  Yunmian nodded repeatedly, thinking that Jinlan's words were more like the grand lesson of the Feng tribe, not quite like the grand lesson of Qingqiu. It was somewhat similar to the assessment of Shaozhu and his servant reading at the beginning of the month. Only they weren't taking an exam, so there was no need to be too serious about the results.

  Yunmian was a fox who couldn't fly, so she had to ride on the clouds. Her movements were much slower than those of the ordinary phoenixes, not to mention that these young phoenixes were even older than her. Along the way, Yunmian saw many phoenixes flying past her like flowing fire, playing and frolicking around her. By the time they arrived at the departure point marked with signs, the surroundings had become quite quiet, without a single breath of air, as if everyone else had already entered the forest.

  Jinlan left a mark on the sacred sign at the starting point using her immortal energy, and Yunmian followed closely behind and also applied her immortal energy to it. However, she apologized to Jinlan, saying "I'm sorry, it's all because I had to accompany Tengyun".

  "It's nothing."

  Jin Lan smiled casually and glanced at the signboard, "Let me see, we're looking for Dwarf Mountain Fruit, probably used as a side dish in the evening. Come on, Yunmian, let's head into the mountains."

  Yunmian walked in cautiously.

  Yunmian didn't feel anxious until now, she thought that growing up in the mountains and learning about herbal medicine should make her very familiar with mountain fruits and spiritual grasses. However, the climate of Nan Yu Mountain and Qing Qiu Mountain is vastly different, and the types of trees, flowers, and grasses are also quite distinct. As she walked into the forest, she realized that there wasn't a single tree that looked like those in the forests of Qing Qiu Mountain, and the fruits grew in strange shapes.

  Jin Lan probably also guessed that Yun Mian couldn't recognize the fruit of Nan Yu Mountain, so she took the initiative to explain: "The dwarf mountain fruit is a special fruit of Nan Yu Mountain, about the size of a fist. It usually grows in shrubs, some of which grow on the ground and others can grow on steep cliffs. However, it's not hard to find, as they are all over Nan Yu Mountain. Let me show you one later, and you'll know what it looks like."

  Jin Lan opened up a bush and picked out a white fruit from it, handing it over to Yun Mian to look at.

  Yunmian held it and examined it carefully, still a bit perplexed, but somehow somewhat understood.

  Jin Lan pulled out a cloth bag from her sleeve, which seemed to have some magical properties, and put the fruit into it. Immediately, she pulled out another identical cloth bag and handed it to Yun Mian, saying "You take this. You're not good at flying, I'll be responsible for finding the dwarf mountain fruit on the high cliffs, you search around the bushes when we arrive, see if there's any that was missed. We'll head in a westerly direction, Wen Ting and Jin Hong should have set off from that side, let's find them while trying to catch up as soon as possible."

  "Alright."

  Yunmian agreed and took a cloth bag to search in the mountains too.

  The forest is quiet, because there are no other people, every step on the ground will have a dull sound of colliding with the mud, making it unusually quiet. The trees in the forest are dense and lush, the overlapping leaves cover the sky, so that the light is dim, it's hard to tell whether it's morning or evening, only when the cool breeze blows by, there will be occasional movement of light and shadow.

  It's still early spring, and as soon as the sun is gone, the air becomes cool enough to make one's heart skip a beat. Yunmian rubbed her arm, being a fox, she had an instinctive fear of the completely unfamiliar outdoor environment, but because Jinlan said it was okay, and today was a big lesson, she tried hard to persevere.

  They searched westward for nearly half a day and found a basket of wild fruit, but still didn't meet Wen Ting and Jin Hong.

  Jin Lan was also somewhat unexpected, and said with difficulty, "Maybe we missed it somewhere, no way, the master won't let us meet so easily. We can't feel any aura here. Let's search for the dwarf fruit around this area while looking around to see if we can meet Wen Ting and the others."

  "Well, in that case let's go for another walk around."

  Yunmian replied as promised.

  They continued on their way deeper into the woods.

  Yunmian's anxiety was getting worse and worse, it seemed like there was something in this place that made her feel a bit oppressed. However, strangely enough, Jinlan also started to feel a little uncomfortable as she walked along.

  He shook his head, trying to dispel the thought, and then looked into the distance where there was a very high cliff, and said "I'll fly up there to take a look, Yunmian Xianzi, or you can continue to search around, see if there are any missing fruits. I'll be right back."

  "Uh, I'll wait here."

  Yunmian hastily nodded.

  Then Jinlan reminded her a few words and turned into a golden phoenix flying away.

  Yunmian continued to wander around, the feeling of oppression lingering, making her want to escape quickly, but Yunmian also knew that walking randomly was more dangerous, and she didn't leave Jinlan's line of sight. She wandered around for a bit, suddenly seeing another bush not far away, which should be where the dwarf mountain fruit grew. Yunmian hurried over, brushing aside the lush green leaves, only to see that it wasn't fruit, but a nest of grey bird eggs.

  It was a very simple bird's nest, with each egg as big as a fist, and there were seven or eight of them. The eggs had a faint black color and strange patterns, giving off an eerie feeling.

  Qingqiu is the birthplace of spiritual foxes, but some spiritual birds or ordinary birds will also come to build nests. Yunmian had encountered them when searching for fruits before. She hadn't seen this kind of bird egg before, tilted her head, but soon thought that she hadn't seen any trees, fruits, flowers and grass on Nan Yu Mountain either, so it seemed normal.

  Yunmian thought for a moment, then carefully prepared to fold the shrub's green leaves back in place, letting the little bird grow up on its own. But just as she was about to let go, a strange idea suddenly flashed through her mind.

  She lives in Qingqiu, where ordinary birds are not unusual. But this is Nanyu Mountain, the habitat of phoenixes and the place where hundreds of birds pay homage. Even if it's an unenlightened bird species, they will consciously show respect and avoid it. The immortal realm has barriers on all sides, and ordinary birds cannot enter without coincidence, let alone that this is already the border of Nanyu Mountain Immortal City, how can there be ordinary birds rushing to such a deep place, and even laying eggs in the phoenix forest?

  At this thought, Yunmian's back suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.

  Just then, she suddenly heard Jinlan's voice tensely shouting behind her

  "Sleepy little heart"

  Jin Lan's urgent reminder had barely fallen when a miserable cry followed closely behind.

  Yunmian subconsciously turned her head, only to see Jinlan originally facing her, but like being struck by something, he suddenly fell to the ground. After his body fell, the thing behind him also appeared as a result.

  Yunmian opened her eyes wide.

  She had already vaguely known what it was, but until this moment, she knew what "physically strong and ferocious in nature" and "violating the heavenly way" meant.

  Suddenly appearing behind Yunmian's body was a monster she had never seen before.

  That thing was covered in glossy black feathers, with a human body and limbs, but it also had wings and a long beak on its back and face. Its feet were large, with sharp and thick talons like an eagle's, and its hands were the same. Even though its body was completely covered in feathers, you could still see the strong muscles underneath. The forest was isolated from the air, and Jin Lan was roughly reminding herself, not noticing that behind her, the evil bird swung one of its claws down, and a lot of fresh blood burst out from Jin Lan's back, with the blood splashing several feet high, shocking to behold.

  Yunmian turned her head and found that there was also a identical evil bird rushing towards her from the front, almost reaching her face. This was what Jinlan wanted to remind her of just now.

  Two evil birds, probably preparing for breeding.

  There are evil birds on both sides, they can fly, probably can't escape.

  And Jinlan is still here, can't leave him alone in this place.

  Yunmian thought of the saying that evil birds eat blood and flesh, trembling severely, but she still managed to grip her sword tightly in the midst of urgency and struggled to pull it out. She had been learning sword fighting with Dong Qing for over a year now, and first thought of finding a way to escape, then looking for herbs on the spot to treat Jinlan's wounds.

  She heard the sound of rustling and clashing blades behind her, Jinlan seemed to have some strength left in him after all, he also discovered that there was something behind him, struggling to get up and fight back.

  The evil bird in front of Yunmian opened its big mouth and let out a sharp, crow-like screech, pecking at her with force.

  Yunmian's sword merged with the immortal energy, and Mr. Dongqing's sword style had not yet passed through her mind, but she was already proficiently flying out of her hand.

  Jinlan transformed into a golden phoenix, dragging her injured body to fight the evil bird in mid-air. Yunmian could hear the intense flapping and the bird's frantic cries behind him, but both of them were clearly exhausted, without any strength left to communicate.

  Yunmian soon discovered why this mindless monster was so troublesome.

  Generally, opponents are afraid of death and afraid of pain. Once they are injured, they will retreat, and when they see the sword coming, they will dodge.

  But this evil bird was different, it would only get angry, screech when struck, and then attack even more fiercely. It wouldn't dodge or evade weapons, instead it would crazily charge forward. Its attacks were unorthodox, but its strength was extremely powerful. Yunmeng didn't know how many lives this evil bird had consumed to become like this, but every time she was hit by its claws, she felt her sword would shatter. It was very frenzied, like a child without pain perception who wanted something and would only screech and attack relentlessly.

  There is no more formidable opponent than one who has nothing to lose.

  "Hmm"

  Yunmian didn't even know how long she had been gone, she struggled to resist, but her left shoulder finally couldn't dodge and was forcefully clawed, the pain spread throughout her body, even without looking, Yunmian knew that a whole piece of skin and flesh must have been torn off her shoulder.

  But she swung her sword and concentrated her fairy power to make a desperate slash, suddenly cutting off the evil bird's right arm.

  The right arm covered with feathers flew out with black blood, the evil bird let out a harsh cry, completely enraged, and flapped its wings violently. Because it couldn't keep its balance, it flailed left and right, but its strength didn't decrease at all. It desperately used its sharp long beak to peck fiercely towards Yunmian.

  At this time, the bird species behind Yunmian's body gradually weakened their flapping sounds, and the mournful cries of the evil birds disappeared after a few sad wails.

  Jin Lan finally gained the upper hand after a desperate struggle, and after killing the evil bird, he was covered in blood, almost exhausted. However, he still wanted to rush over to help Yun Mian, but when he saw the situation here, his pupils suddenly shrank, and he shouted "Be careful, the evil bird's tongue is poisonous!"

  Jin Lan tried to rush over, but it was too late. The evil bird's beak had already pierced deeply into Yunmeng's injured shoulder, pecking fiercely at it.

  Suddenly, at this moment, Yunmian heard a hurried footsteps in his daze.

  The evil bird had just pecked once, and Yunmian was knocked to the ground. It raised its neck, ready to strike again with a second peck. But in the next moment, a white light flashed by, and the bird's unuttered screech was forever stuck in its throat.

  That was a clean sword light.

  Wen Ting's sword sliced through the evil bird, splitting its body in two. The bird fell to the ground and transformed into a wisp of black smoke that flew away.

  Yunmian raised his head and saw him with a pale face in the black smoke and blood, his complexion as heavy as lead.

  Wén Tíng

  Yunmian happily said, waving his tail at him.

  Wen Ting rushed over and hugged her into his arms.

  The update speed is the fastest, hurry up and come!