Chapter 133: Breaking Free

With Feng Fuxi fallen and the Seven Nights Heavenly Lord certainly unable to fulfill his duties, the Vermilion Bird, having nothing to lose, surrendered to Lady Nuwa.

“I have no shortage of followers by my side,” Lady Nuwa said leisurely as she rose, a faint, cold smile curling at the corner of her lips. “Come to think of it, many of your illustrious military achievements, General, must be built upon the blood and tears of our Feng clan.”

“Feng clan? You are…” A white figure flashed through Vermilion Bird’s mind, leaving him stunned.

In the cultivation world, appearances and forms can be changed at will. More importantly, as one of the four vanguards who attacked the Feng clan, Vermilion Bird had stood beneath the Executional Immortal Altar, witnessing the entire process of Feng Lixi’s self-stabbing. All along, the Seven Nights Heavenly Lord had kept tight-lipped about Feng Ling and Feng San’s escape, never revealing a hint even to his four trusted aides. Thus, Vermilion Bird firmly believed that Feng Lixi’s demise was genuine, not some case of removing the immortal bones and reincarnating as a higher immortal.

Lady Nuwa laughed heartily. “I thought you had recognized me long ago, General. It seems I overestimated your discernment!” Suddenly ceasing her laughter, she spoke seriously, “I have sworn not to spare a single one of you! Enjoy your time here!”

Feng Lixi was a man decisive in killing or sparing, always true to his word. Vermilion Bird hung his head in despair, collapsing to the ground like a puddle of mud, utterly without dignity. He had miscalculated. That half-snake demon intended from the start to torment him slowly to death!

Lady Nuwa snorted coldly, swung her wide sleeves, and vanished.

A Pillar of Immortal Suppression light enclosed Vermilion Bird, causing his spiritual energy to flow away like a trickling stream, steadily and unhurriedly draining. At this rate, within three to five days, his spiritual energy would be exhausted, and he would perish.

Feng K'er, however, was protected by a spatial sphere and thus completely safe.

But this place was definitely no place to linger! Moreover, she had only come to investigate, to confirm whether Lady Nuwa was involved in the body exchange matter—not to defect to Kunlun.

Ten days later, Vermilion Bird finally spoke, but Lady Nuwa did not even ask about the body exchange. Clearly, even if she knew, she had no interest in the matter.

Having achieved her goal, it was time to leave.

But Feng K'er was troubled—how to escape unscathed?

To leave, she first had to solve these problems:

First, the damned Pillar of Immortal Suppression outside!

From Vermilion Bird’s experience, Feng K'er had fully understood the power of the Pillar—it sealed all spiritual power and steadily drained spiritual energy.

If she were to recklessly step out of the spatial sphere and be caught by the pillar’s light, her spiritual power would be sealed, invisibility would fail, and she would be instantly revealed and immobilized.

Second, Lady Nuwa’s White Jade Divine Drum.

After reading Vermilion Bird’s spirit sea, Feng K'er learned that Lady Nuwa possessed a divine artifact called the White Jade Divine Drum. Besides being an excellent sonic attack weapon, it served as a monitoring terminal. To leave Kunlun Mountain, Feng K'er had to evade the drum’s surveillance.

Third, Lady Nuwa’s cultivation was unfathomably profound.

The lower realm was abuzz with tales of Lady Nuwa’s boundless divine powers. But seeing is believing. Feng K'er had just tested and found she could discern nothing of Lady Nuwa’s cultivation level, meaning she was no match.

Without overcoming these three obstacles, Feng K'er would never leave Kunlun Mountain.

What to do? What to do?

Staring at the sluggish, red-feathered giant outside, Feng K'er propped her chin with one hand, muttering to herself.

Actually, there was a way—but it meant causing this unlucky bird to lose his memory again.

Indeed, the last time Vermilion Bird lost his memory was because of her.

At the moment the purple light orb exploded, she used a clone technique, splitting into two: one clone, formed from her Nascent Soul, swiftly dashed out of the cave; the true body rushed to the stunned Vermilion Bird, slipped into his spirit sea, and with the Azure Lotus Sword, forcibly erased the memories of that segment inside the cave. For safety, she also added a lock to his spirit sea—a barrier fashioned with Lord Pangu’s method, encasing Vermilion Bird’s spirit sea in a protective spell. She firmly believed that if those memories remained, Lady Nuwa would eventually find her. Why set the barrier? First, to test Lord Pangu’s secret method; second, to leave Lady Nuwa a puzzle, a test of her legacy.

After all, the Feng clan always boasted of inheriting Lord Pangu’s legacy but had been so weak they nearly faced annihilation!

As it turned out, her precaution was not in vain.

Vermilion Bird was under the effect of the Spirit-Sealing Pill, unable to speak or move.

One-eyed Dragon said, to his knowledge, the Spirit-Sealing Pill was incurable. To interrogate Vermilion Bird, they must wait until the seven-day effect wore off.

But Lady Nuwa lacked the patience to wait another seven days. She immediately used a soul-searching technique.

The soul search failed. The barrier outside the spirit sea successfully blocked her.

Lady Nuwa, hard to believe, tried two more times but could not break through the barrier.

Seeing this, One-eyed Dragon rolled up his sleeves and volunteered, “Let me try.”

After some time, drenched in sweat, he gave up as well.

Accidentally, Feng K’er had saved Vermilion Bird once more.

“Was it that girl? Or someone behind her?” Lady Nuwa furrowed her brows so tightly they could kill a mosquito.

One-eyed Dragon shook his head firmly. “I guarded the mountain foot all along. As soon as the cave entrance blew open, that girl rushed away. Although her cultivation has risen two ranks since she left Obstacle Sea, it’s not enough to be so fierce.” In other words, he doubted her and believed another master was behind it.

At this point, Feng K’er finally learned the truth: the Heavenly Dragon True Lord could also use clone techniques. The first black-clad figure to appear was his clone. No wonder the black-clad figure was so formidable, able to capture the three Hua brothers and deliver them to her for sealing.

At the same time, she secretly felt relieved. Had she not been cautious and left a safeguard, even if she escaped Kunlun, she would have been on a hopeless, terrified flight.

Lady Nuwa clearly trusted One-eyed Dragon. Hearing his words, she said nothing, sweeping her hands overhead to conjure a Pillar of Immortal Suppression that tightly sealed Vermilion Bird.

One-eyed Dragon hesitated, then finally asked, “Nuwa, doesn’t that barrier look somewhat familiar?”

Lady Nuwa had just finished her work and was clearly taken aback, turning to ask, “What did you see?”

One-eyed Dragon answered cautiously, “I think the barrier technique resembles yours in some way.”

Lady Nuwa’s eyes suddenly brightened. “Is that Third Uncle?!” Without waiting for his reply, she wrung her hands and paced excitedly around the room, muttering to herself, “It must be Third Uncle. His soul repair technique is renowned across the three realms. The first step in soul repair is to lock the spirit sea and elixir sea with a barrier. I can’t believe I didn’t consider this earlier…”

“Why would he secretly protect this red-feathered one?” One-eyed Dragon was deeply puzzled. To block his master and protect an outsider! How could that old Feng San act this way? Which side was he really on?

Lady Nuwa stood still, speculating, “Maybe Third Uncle thinks he still has a use... I’ll interrogate him thoroughly once he wakes.”

This explanation was the best. Seeing her reason it out to the old dean, Feng K’er finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Outside, Lady Nuwa changed her mind. “There’s been a change of plans. Let’s put this aside for now. We can interrogate after seven days. For now, let’s check on 'him.'”

This ‘him’ was surely Feng Fuxi. His death was already past tense. Feng K'er was greatly relieved.

Sure enough, One-eyed Dragon’s expression darkened as he said bitterly, “That brat’s Nascent Soul died, his spiritual energy dissipated. If not for a sliver of immortal essence from his father protecting the three main souls, he would have long since perished without a trace. What more can we learn from him? It’s over. After all, he was my disciple once. I’ll perform a ritual to send him into reincarnation again.” Saying this, he turned to leave.

So as long as the main soul remains intact, one can reincarnate anew. Feng K’er gained another piece of knowledge.

“After reincarnation, everything starts over. He must return to his position before recovering memories of this life. Who knows how long that will take?” Lady Nuwa sighed. “Dragon Brother, didn’t he also inherit your legacy and learn Heavenly Dragon Art?”

One-eyed Dragon turned back, astonished. “You mean you want to help him condense his soul? That would take immense effort—you know that. Don’t you hate him?”

Lady Nuwa looked at him, her eyes calm and deep as an ancient well. “I just don’t want to waste time.”

One-eyed Dragon shrugged. “Alright, I’ll prepare. That brat’s luckier than you. With our combined efforts and his learning of Heavenly Dragon Art, I estimate it won’t take five hundred years before he condenses his soul and begins rebuilding his body…” He glanced at Lady Nuwa’s serpent tail, raised an eyebrow, and smirked inwardly: karma indeed.

The Heavenly Dragon Art can condense the soul and reconstruct the body. But there is a small flaw: the reconstructed body lacks legs, possessing only a dragon tail—or if the power is insufficient, a serpent tail. When Lady Nuwa rebuilt her body, it was due to lack of power that she ended up with a serpent tail.

Heh, let’s see if that brat still rejects Nuwa’s serpent tail… The dragon felt immensely smug.

…

Alright, drifting off track again! Feng K’er snapped back to reality, shaking her head as if to discard the chaotic thoughts. Her current task was to devise an escape plan as quickly as possible. Both Lady Nuwa and One-eyed Dragon were formidable, their cultivation levels unfathomable. Every moment she stayed here increased her danger.

But after much pondering, Feng K’er still could not devise a foolproof plan—experience showed that before absolute strength, all schemes were futile.

Enough, she decided to take a gamble. According to her knowledge, Lady Nuwa and One-eyed Dragon were performing a ritual in another secret chamber to condense Feng Fuxi’s soul. This was the best time to escape. Here, with the Pillar of Immortal Suppression and Vermilion Bird as sitting ducks, only death awaited—no room for change. Surely they would be at ease.

Having made up her mind, Feng K’er formed a hand seal with her right hand and shouted, “Vermilion Bird, go!”

The second level of the Great Universe Transfer technique could teleport external objects instantly.

(To be continued)