Chapter 1849: Return to the Flying Spirit Race
Halos of light proliferated forth from these formation flags before forming a massive spherical ball of light that shielded them within. The ball of light appeared to have impressive defensive capabilities, but all of the Flying Spirit beings within it were still in complete despair as they looked on at the approaching sea of wind.
In the face of this vastly renowned silver tide, even their protective formation wouldn't be able to last for very long; this was something that had been verified by countless other people who had fallen to this disaster.
In the face of this silver tide, there was virtually no chance of survival for anyone below the Deity Transformation Stage. Even Deity Transformation Stage beings would have to look to the heavens for a chance to survive such an ordeal.
The only beings who could save so many of them at once were late-Spatial Tempering or Body Integration Stage beings, but the chances of such a powerful being coincidentally passing through this area at this time were next to zero.
The group was led by a man and a woman, both of whom were at the late-Nascent Soul Stage. The two of them discussed the situation in a panicked manner, but it was clear from their strained expressions that their discussion hadn't yielded any fruits.
At this point, the silver tide was only around 10 kilometers away from them, and it was going to inundate them in an instant. However, right at this moment, one of the Flying Spirit beings suddenly yelled in an elated manner, "Look, there seems to be someone in that silver tide!"
The other Flying Spirit beings were startled to hear this, and they hurriedly turned toward the same direction.
Sure enough, there was indeed a speck of azure light within the silver tide, and the azure light seemed to contain a humanoid figure.
However, due to the disruptive and chaotic world's origin Qi within the silver tide, the Flying Spirit beings were unable to identify the person within the azure light using their spiritual sense.
From where they were situated, they could see that the speck of azure light was flying in an extremely stable manner, completely disregarding the lightning and hailstones within the sea of wind.
The Flying Spirit beings felt as if a savior had been sent down from the heavens!
The two late-Nascent Soul Stage Flying Spirit beings glanced at one another before immediately letting loose a long cry in unison.
Their contrasting feminine and masculine voices complemented one another and managed to drown out the rumbling within the silver tide.
Their voices were also changing in pitch in a rhythmic manner; this was a special SOS signal among the Flying Spirit Race.
As long as the other person within the silver tide wasn't deaf, they would definitely notice this group of Flying Spirit beings.
Sure enough, the speck of azure light faltered momentarily as soon as the long cry rang out, and the humanoid figure within the azure light turned toward the group in a surprised manner.
"Which branch of the Flying Spirit Race do you belong to? How did you end up here?" An unfamiliar male voice suddenly rang out from within the ball of light around the group, and it was clearly audible to everyone.
The male late-Nascent Soul Stage Flying Spirit being was ecstatic, and he hurriedly yelled, "We are disciples of the Five Color, White Jade, and Tian Peng Races, and we came here for training! Never did we think that we would encounter a silver tide, please save us, Senior!"
However, the unfamiliar man remained silent for a long while thereafter, and didn't transmit his voice to them again.
This made the hearts of the Flying Spirit beings sink once again.
If the man wasn't confident in his ability to save all of them in this silver tide, then he naturally wouldn't take the risk to save them at his own expense.
However, he didn't depart right away and seemed to be rather hesitant, so the hope in their hearts wasn't completely dashed.
At this point, the sea of wind had already engulfed them, and the ball of light around them was being pelted by countless hailstones and struck by a barrage of lightning.
Thunderclaps and earth-shattering rumbling immediately rang out, and the seemingly secure ball of light began to tremor violently, looking as if it could shatter at any moment.
The Flying Spirit beings were extremely alarmed by this, and the two late-Nascent Soul Stage beings among them immediately let loose loud cries. In response, everyone tightened their grip around the formation flags they were holding, and injected their spiritual power into the flags with all their might.
Thus, the spherical barrier was stabilized once again, but they clearly couldn't keep up this level of magic power expenditure for too long, so their hopes for survival still hinged on that man in the distance.
Finally, the unfamiliar male voice rang out again. "Alright, seeing as there are Tian Peng beings in your group, I can't just stand by idly and watch. I'll take you out of this place."
The Flying Spirit beings were naturally ecstatic, yet before they had a chance to transmit their voices in response, a particularly loud thunderclap suddenly rang out from above them.
Thick bolts of lightning flashed violently before intertwining to form a silver lightning formation that had a diameter in excess of 100 feet.
At the center of the lightning formation, an azure-robed man with a pair of translucent wings on his back appeared.
He looked down in a cold manner before making a hand seal, and a string of loud thunderclaps rang out as the lightning formation descended from above.
In the instant that the lightning formation came into contact with the spherical light barrier, the latter was torn apart with ease, and the Flying Spirit beings were greatly alarmed by this.
Before they had a chance to react, their vision was completely inundated by silver light, and they were struck by a rush of dizziness before vanishing into thin air within the lightning formation.
In the next instant, a loud thunderclap erupted thousands of kilometers away, above a section of the ocean that the silver tide hadn't yet reached, and the lightning formation re-emerged out of thin air.
The trapped Flying Spirit beings had all been teleported to this place by the lightning formation.
Upon escaping from what they had thought to be certain death, they looked around in a bewildered manner before immediately bursting into loud cries of elation upon discovering that they had truly been saved.
The male late-Nascent Soul Stage Flying Spirit being looked up at the azure-robed man hovering in the air above them, and said, "Thank you for saving our lives, Senior; are you perhaps an elder of the Tian Peng Race?" He was completely unable to glean the azure-robed man's cultivation base, and he immediately extended a respectful bow as he spoke.
Everyone else in the group had naturally also discovered that their savior was standing above them, and they hurriedly extended respectful bows as well.
The azure-robed man appeared to only be in his twenties, and he replied with a faint smile, "Hehe, of course not. It's just that I have some ties with the Tian Peng Race, so I can't just stand by and watch as members of the Tian Peng Race perish right under my nose."
This man was naturally none other than Han Li, who had finally reached the territory of the Flying Spirit Race after traveling for over 80 years.
His current powers were comparable to those of a late-Body Integration Stage being, so he didn't encounter any true peril during this journey, but he did encounter quite a few obstacles along the way nonetheless.
He was forced to skirt around several extremely perilous regions, which extended his journey by over 10 years, and only then did he arrive in this place.
None of the Flying Spirit beings in the group were all that powerful, but they seemed to hold rather important statuses within the Flying Spirit Race. The female late-Nascent Soul Stage being among them had a pair of five-colored wings, so she was clearly a member of the Five Color Race, and she said in a respectful manner, "In any case, we owe you
our lives. Would you be able to grace us with the knowledge of your esteemed name? We'll be sure to notify our elders of this so they can thank you for your actions!"
"There's no need to thank me; I just so happened to be passing through this place, and it was a simple task for me to save your group. However, I've been cultivating in the primordial world for a long time, so I don't know too much about the situation in the Flying Spirit Race; would you be able to fill me in on the events that have taken place in the past few centuries?" Han Li asked.
The Five Color woman replied, "Of course. During these past few centuries, many major events have taken place in our Flying Spirit Race, but the most prominent of those events by far is that our Flying Spirit Race finally conquered the earth abyss following the sudden disappearance of the demon monarchs there."
Han Li was quite surprised to hear this, but his expression remained unchanged as he said, "The earth abyss was conquered? That is indeed quite a major event. Tell me about that in detail."
"Yes, Senior. This is quite a long story, and I have to begin by telling you about the holy disciple trials that took place several hundred years ago..." Thus, the woman began her recount.
Not long after that, azure light flashed from Han Li's body, and he flew away from the group of Flying Spirit beings, quickly vanishing into the distance.
Following Han Li's departure, the male Late-Nascent Soul Stage Flying Spirit being suddenly said with furrowed brows, "Junior Martial Sister Xuan, do you think it'll be an issue that we revealed that much information to that man?"
"What do you mean by that, Brother Mian?" the Five Color woman asked in a slightly taken aback manner.
The man hesitated momentarily before replying, "It's just that that Senior never told us his name, and none of us have ever seen him before, so he may not be a member of our Flying Spirit Race."
"Surely not! That senior clearly also has a pair of spirit wings, and he appeared in this area, so how could he not be a member of our Flying Spirit Race?" someone else in the group countered.
"Indeed, that senior proclaims that he has some ties with the Tian Peng Race, and he's able to control lightning, which is one of the signature abilities of the Tian Peng Race. On top of that, if he really were an imposter trying to infiltrate our Flying Spirit Race, then why did he save us? If he only wanted to gather information from us, then he would've killed us before his departure so we wouldn't spread word of this meeting. I think you're being a little too paranoid, Brother Mian," the Five Color Woman said with a nonchalant smile.
The man still wasn't entirely convinced, but he forced a smile onto his face and nodded in response. "Perhaps so."
The Five Color woman continued, "Even if he really were a foreign being, everything I disclosed to him is common knowledge to the members of our race, so I didn't tell him any confidential secrets, which means there's nothing to worry about. For now, our top priority should be to get far away from this place. If the silver tide catches up to us again, then we'll truly fall to our demise."
"Indeed, it's best for us to get away from here as quickly as possible."
"You're right, Senior Martial Sister Xuan. The man who just saved us clearly possesses unfathomable powers; even if he really is a foreign being, it's not like we can do anything about him. We should focus on ensuring our own safety."
The other Flying Spirit beings chimed in in agreement, and some of them even began to look around with fear in their eyes.
Chapter 1850: Astonishment
At this point, Han Li was already several thousand kilometers away, flying as a streak of azure light with a contemplative look on his face.
He had learned about all of the major events that had taken place within the Flying Spirit Race during the past few centuries, but most of these events had nothing to do with him, so he didn't need to pay them any heed.
There were only two things that were worthy of his attention, the first of which was that the four demon monarchs of the earth abyss seemed to have failed to return from the infernal river. As a result, the earth abyss was conquered by the Flying Spirit Race, and nearly all of the demons in the earth abyss were exterminated.
The second thing was that Bai Bi and Lei Lan, the two holy disciples from several hundred years ago, had both returned safely to the Tian Peng Race. They had then gone on to become holy masters, thereby saving the Tian Peng Race from destruction.
Both Qing Yuanzi and the Mayfly Race had ties with the infernal river, and there seemed to be other important secrets hidden within it as well, so it wasn't a surprise that the four demon monarchs had been trapped there. However, this made it slightly difficult for him to access the infernal river.
The guiding coordinate that he and Qing Yuanzi had agreed on lay deep within the earth abyss. If he couldn't get to that location, he wouldn't be able to enter the infernal river even with the replica of the Star Defying Plate that had been given to him.
Even the four monarchs had to expend a vast amount of time and effort to open up a passageway to the infernal river. His current powers may be comparable to those of a late-Body Integration cultivator, but he still wasn't confident in his ability to accomplish such a monumental feat on his own.
As for his relationship with the Tian Peng Race, that was rather ambiguous. He had once posed as a holy disciple of the Tian Peng Race and managed to obtain the 12 Awakening Transformations from them, but at the same time, the elders of the Tian Peng Race had forced him into the earth abyss, where he had almost perished by the hands of the four demon monarchs on multiple occasions.
However, if he wanted to access the earth abyss again, there was a good chance that he would have to turn to them.
After contemplating this issue for a long while, he suddenly flipped a hand over to produce a blue jade slip and a round white plate.
He placed the jade slip against his own forehead to inspect the information it contained, then removed the jade slip from his forehead and began to carefully inspect the white plate.
After some further contemplation, he seemed to have finally made a decision. He stowed the two items away, following which the azure streak of light that he was situated in abruptly accelerated to around twice its original speed.
...
Five months later, a ball of dazzling azure light hurtled through the air close to 100 kilometers away from the holy city of the Tian Peng Race. Prior to even reaching the city, a clear cry rang out from within the azure streak of light.
Initially, the sound wasn't very loud, but it was relentless and insistent, and it quickly reverberated in the air above the entire city.
Such an astonishing turn of events naturally alerted all of the high-grade beings within the holy city, and several humanoid figures immediately rushed out of a few of the tall buildings in the city. These figures then quickly rose up into the air before looking on at the approaching ball of azure light in a bewildered manner.
The azure ball of light was still some distance away from them, but the astonishingly powerful aura emanating from within it struck them with a sense of asphyxiation.
Curiously enough, this aura was extremely familiar to them as it belonged to the Kun Peng, the deity that was worshipped by their race. However, the only person in their entire race with such a pure Kun Peng aura seemed to be their grand elder after undergoing her Kun Peng Transformation.
With that in mind, the others all turned toward a white-robed young woman with a pair of golden wings. She was standing on the spot with a calm expression, but there was a slightly bewildered look in her eyes as well as she looked on at the approaching ball of azure light.
This was none other than the grand elder of the Tian Peng Race, Jin Yue.
She was at the pinnacle of the Body Integration Stage, so even though she was quite alarmed by the aura emanating from the azure ball of light, she wasn't fearful of it. She quickly made a hand seal, and golden light flashed through her eyes as she unleashed some kind of spirit eye ability.
Thus,
she was able to peer directly into the scintillating ball of azure light, upon which her expression took on a noticeable change.
There was an early-Body Integration Stage elderly man with a crimson beard standing beside her, and he asked, "Who is it, Grand Elder?"
Jin Yue had a rather peculiar look on her face, and she was silent for a moment before shaking her head as she replied, "You'll know soon enough, Elder Xu."
Elder Xu naturally couldn't ask any further questions upon hearing this, and the other Body Integration Stage elders also remained silent as they turned their attention to the approaching ball of azure light again.
Moments later, the ball of light in the distance arrived before them amid gusts of fierce winds, following which the light faded to reveal a giant azure bird.
The bird was around 100 feet in length with feathers that looked as if they had been constructed from iron and steel. Its talons were like hooks, and it was completely identical to the true spirit, Kun Peng.
Even though everyone had already suspected this to be the case, their expressions still changed slightly at the sight of this massive Kun Peng.
Before any of them had a chance to say anything, the giant bird flapped its wings, and the long cry emanating from within its beak abruptly cut off. In the next instant, azure runes revolved around its body, and it expanded drastically in size.
After just a few flashes, it had swelled to several thousand feet in size and resembled a small mountain. Its golden eyes were extremely bright, and with just a gentle flap of its wings, fierce winds and flashing lightning were immediately swept up in the surrounding area. The enormous aura emanating from the gargantuan bird's body forced even the early-Body Integration Stage elders of the Tian Peng Race to stumble back a few steps in astonishment. Jin Yue remained completely still on the spot, but her expression had also changed slightly, and an ecstatic look had appeared in her eyes.
"Who are you? You must be a member of our Tian Peng Race to have cultivated the Kun Peng Transformation to such a extent, so why aren't you revealing your true form to us?" Jin Yue finally spoke, and her voice was slightly hoarse from her incredulity.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 1068