Chapter 481: The Spiritual Field Destroyed
The three of them sat around the stone table, with Qingfeng enthusiastically pouring spiritual wine. After a few cups, the atmosphere had completely warmed up.
"Senior Brother Su, you've been in seclusion these past few days, so you probably haven't heard about the huge joke that happened in the sect, right?" Qingfeng tossed a spiritual fruit into his mouth and lowered his voice with an air of extreme mystery.
"What happened?" Su Ming played along and asked.
"Have you heard? That white crane raised by our Sect Leader somehow managed to slip into the Medicine Garden when the Pill Cauldron Peak Master wasn't paying attention. It went and pecked at a newly matured Seven-Colored Ganoderma!" Qingfeng couldn't help slapping his thigh and howling with laughter as he spoke. "You'll never guess what happened next. That Seven-Colored Ganoderma was so potent that the white crane couldn't digest it at all. Its pristine white feathers turned completely multicolored!"
"Now, every day when it flies over the sect, it looks just like a walking rainbow. The entire sect is dying of laughter!"
Mingyue covered her mouth with a chuckle and added, "The Pill Cauldron Peak Master was so furious his beard practically stood on end. He charged straight to the Sect Leader's Peak to lodge a complaint. The Sect Leader knew he was in the wrong and publicly punished that white crane to face the wall in the back mountain, with no food for three days."
Qingfeng leaned in closer. "There's an even funnier one. Spirit Beast Peak also has a white crane. Usually, it relies on its decent bloodline and has the worst temper imaginable. It'll peck at anyone it sees. No one knows who offended that crane, but yesterday someone saw that its tail feathers were also covered in colorful splotches. Not as exaggerated as the Sect Leader's crane, but still ridiculous enough."
"White crane..."
The moment Qingfeng spoke those two words, Shadow, who had been obediently perched on Mingyue's shoulder, suddenly stiffened.
Her deep blue feathers instantly bristled like steel needles, and a fierce, razor-sharp glint exploded from her golden pupils. A low, angry hiss rumbled from her throat, as if she was recalling the humiliation of being viciously pecked by that large white crane at Spirit Beast Peak a few days ago.
Just as Shadow was about to lose control and go berserk, Su Ming acted swiftly. His right hand shot out and clamped down on Shadow's wings before they could spread.
His fingers rhythmically soothed her back as a gentle stream of liquid spiritual energy seeped into her body through his fingertips, forcibly suppressing the violent aura that was about to erupt.
"This little one sure has a temper." Qingfeng was startled by Shadow's sudden burst of ferocity and patted his chest in lingering fear.
"You know how small animals are. They get startled easily." Su Ming smoothly changed the subject and placed Shadow back on the stone table. "By the way, I plan to enter the Formation Peak Secret Realm in the next few days. This seclusion will take about half a year."
"Secret Realm! For half a year!" Qingfeng's eyes went wide with amazement. "Senior Brother Su, you absolutely have to prepare enough food. I've stayed in Master's secret realm before. In a legacy secret realm, aside from broken stones carved with formation lines, not even a single blade of grass grows. If you don't bring enough food, you'll have to gnaw on those tasteless fasting pills every day. That's pure torture."
Mingyue asked with concern as well, "Senior Brother Su, do you have everything you need? Do you want Qingfeng and me to go to the market and buy some more supplies for you? We know a few outer sect disciples who trade goods. They can get some good-quality spirit meat jerky."
Su Ming felt the genuine warmth in their words and smiled warmly as he shook his head. "Thank you for your kindness, but there's no need. I've stored quite a bit of supplies on my own. It's more than enough to get me through these six months."
After a hearty meal and plenty of wine, the night had grown deep.
Qingfeng and Mingyue stood up to take their leave. When they reached the entrance of the cave dwelling, Qingfeng clapped Su Ming on the shoulder with a grand gesture.
"Su Ming, focus on your seclusion these six months. When you come out, your cultivation will definitely have improved. Then we'll go hunt some demon beasts together!"
"Definitely." Su Ming nodded and smiled in agreement.
Shadow stood on Su Ming's shoulder, watching Qingfeng and Mingyue's figures gradually disappear down the mountain path. She used her wing to pat her round, full belly and let out a loud, utterly undignified burp.
......
The next morning, Gazing Star Cliff was still shrouded in a thin layer of mist.
The rising sun pierced through the sea of clouds, casting threads of warm golden light onto the greenstone path. The air was filled with an incredibly fresh scent of earth and spiritual herbs, mingling together to invigorate the spirit at a single breath.
Su Ming pushed open the stone gate of his cave dwelling and took a deep breath of the crisp air.
Shadow stood perkily on his right shoulder, her short beak audaciously clutching half a spiritual fruit left over from last night. She kept tilting her head back, tossing the fruit into the air and catching it again, looking extremely pleased with herself.
"Let's go. We need to harvest the remaining Silver-Spotted Heart-Clearing Orchids from the spiritual field in the back mountain." Su Ming brushed a speck of dust off his robe and strode toward a hidden mountain hollow behind his cave dwelling.
There lay a small spiritual field he had privately cultivated. Due to its remote location and the spiritual energy he had gathered using concealment formations, it was an ideal place to grow these soul-nourishing herbs, which had strict environmental requirements. Master Lin Yu's soul body recovery owed a great deal to this little field.
Rounding a few massive boulders, Su Ming stopped in his tracks.
The calm expression on his face froze instantly.
The sight before him could only be described as devastating.
That small spiritual field he had tended with such care had now been reduced to a mess of mud. The Heart-Clearing Orchids, which had been growing so vigorously with silver spots on their leaves, had been ravaged beyond recognition. Most of the plants had been uprooted, their root juices spilling everywhere. The precious leaves had been torn to shreds, scattered like rags across the overturned soil.
The entire field looked as if a herd of maddened wild boars had trampled through it.
Su Ming's face turned ashen as he strode quickly to the edge of the field and crouched down.
He examined the traces of overturned soil with extreme care, his slender fingers picking up a torn remnant of a leaf. The break showed a highly irregular, jagged pattern, clearly not the work of a sharp blade, but of something sharp that had forcefully ripped it apart.
What convinced him even more of the culprit's identity were the several extremely clear three-toed claw prints imprinted in the muddy soil.
"It's a bird." Su Ming stood up, his brow furrowed, a chill seeping into his gaze. "And it's very large."
An ordinary bird could never have breached the protective formation lines he had set around the perimeter, let alone destroyed the field to this extent in such a short time. Whatever could do this was at least a first-grade demonic bird.
"Cheep cheep cheep!"
The moment Shadow saw the devastated field from Su Ming's shoulder, she let out a series of furious, piercing screeches. Her smooth black feathers instantly bristled, making her look like an enraged hedgehog.
Without waiting for Su Ming to react, she shot into the air, circling frantically above the field, her golden pupils scanning everywhere for the culprit's trail.
"Shadow, come back!" Su Ming barked.
With the situation unclear, he couldn't let the little one act recklessly.
But this time, in her fury, Shadow did not obey Su Ming's command. Not only did she refuse to descend, but she flew even higher, letting out a series of provocative, harsh cries.
Just then, a long, resonant crane call suddenly pierced through the clouds on the horizon.