Chapter 84

The night sky was deep, and the shattered stars were like dust.

The Great Peng spread its wings and soared high into the sky, with Zhao Yun on its back, finally achieving his long-held wish, soaring into the heavens. He greedily looked down, for the first time in his life standing so high, taking in the vast rivers and mountains, the deep valleys and the vast plains, his heart broadened.

Quack! Quack!

The Great Peng was quite excited, calling out all the way, its voice somewhat hoarse due to the rebirth and transformation, the calamity it had endured, and the loss of its cultivation and memory. The first thing it saw was Zhao Yun, and it felt a special affection for him. They were in tune with each other, and Zhao Yun's comfort brought it joy.

"Interesting."

The Moon Deity sighed, folding his hands, for the world is full of unexpected twists and turns, and Zhao Yun had indeed encountered many. Even now, he marveled at Zhao Yun's spiritual awakening.

"Pretty good."

Zhao Yun smiled, sitting on the Great Peng's back, gently stroking it as if an elder would stroke a younger one, with great affection. One cannot judge a person by their appearance, and the same goes for a bird. One day, this unremarkable, mixed-feathered bird would soar through the nine heavens again.

At that time, it would truly be a sight to behold.

Suddenly, a fierce wind blew from behind, causing Zhao Yun to turn his head. What he saw was a blood-red cloud, or rather, a blood-red bird, a large eagle, to be precise. It was about five to six zhang in size, its entire body a deep red. Compared to this blood eagle, the Great Peng under Zhao Yun was like a small chick.

Whoosh!

The blood eagle was very fast, like a gust of wind, and in a few moments, it had reached this part of the sky, slowing down.

On its back stood a young man in white, holding a folding fan, graceful and elegant, but with a soft and gentle face, exuding a scent of cosmetics. With his phoenix eyes, at first glance, one might mistake him for a woman.

At that moment, the blood eagle glanced at the Great Peng with disdain, its eyes filled with ferocity. It was clear that it was not a good-natured creature. Despite being a mount, it exuded a terrifying aura and a bloody stench, making one think it was a bloodthirsty demon.

The blood eagle looked at the Great Peng, and the young man looked at Zhao Yun, both with a sideways glance, a mocking smile on his face. Seeing Zhao Yun stroking the Great Peng, he showed even more disdain. Just a mixed-feathered bird, yet Zhao Yun treated it with such affection, clearly a bumpkin. A useless master, a useless mount, truly a perfect match.

"This is the Great Peng."

Zhao Yun did not speak, still stroking the Great Peng, trying to build a good relationship. He needed to be close when the Great Peng recovered its memory, to foster a bond.

The Great Peng showed fear, intimidated by the blood eagle's malicious gaze. Without memory or lineage, any mount with cultivation would make it feel oppressed.

The young man retracted his gaze, and the blood eagle sped up, perhaps intentionally, or rather, definitely intentionally. Its wings flapped forcefully, creating a strong wind that made the Great Peng lose its balance and nearly caused Zhao Yun to fall off.

"You're impressive."

Zhao Yun cursed inwardly. If not for the blood eagle's speed and the Great Peng's inability to catch up, he would have made it pay. What had he done to deserve this?

Not catching up was not a problem.

Soon, the blood eagle turned back, and from a distance, its fierce eyes shone with brutality and bloodlust. It was heading straight for them, and two blood beams shot from its eyes.

Clearly, it was a case of robbery and murder.

"Good kid."

Zhao Yun stood up, and the Great Peng narrowly avoided the blood beams, fleeing in another direction.

"You, think you can escape?"

The young man in white laughed, standing leisurely on the blood eagle's back, gently fanning himself, exuding a high level of coolness. He was too lazy to deal with a True Spirit Realm martial cultivator and an ugly mixed-feathered bird. His mount, the blood eagle, could easily take care of them.

In fact, it was not he who wanted to kill, but his blood eagle, which was a bit hungry and looking for something to eat. It did not like dead things, preferring flying creatures and human flesh. Over the years, he had raised it this way, which is why the blood eagle had such a strong aura of blood and slaughter.

Whoosh!

The blood eagle was as fast as lightning, and its eyes shot out blood beams again.

Quack! Quack!

The Great Peng, being quite intelligent, flapped its wings and avoided the blood beams for the second time, increasing its speed.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The two large birds circled in the sky, one chasing and the other fleeing. From below, it looked like a red and black cloud chasing each other.

"Interesting."

The young man in white smiled, his lips curling.

As he spoke, the blood eagle spread its wings and flew higher, preparing to dive down and tear the mixed-feathered bird to pieces with its claws.

"I'm afraid you won't come."

Zhao Yun coldly snorted, forming a hand seal, and the Zixiao sword, which was tucked at his waist, shot out like a ray of light. If it hit, it would surely pierce the blood eagle's abdomen. He did not attack the young man, but his mount, aiming to make it fall to its death.

"Is that sword control?"

The young man raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting that flying too high could be a bad thing. With the opponent skilled in sword control, he and the blood eagle were like live targets.

Whoosh!

The blood eagle reacted quickly, easily avoiding the attack. Even if it was hit, it would not be injured, as it was very resilient.

However, when it saw the explosive talismans on the flying knives, its eyes widened in shock, as did the young man. What the hell? Where did he get so many explosive talismans?

That was not important.

What was important was that the explosive talismans had already detonated, sending the blood eagle, which was diving down, back up into the sky. Blood and bones flew everywhere, but it was surprisingly resilient and did not die. However, one of its wings was blown off, and it could no longer fly steadily, flapping its remaining wing wildly.

The young man was not much better off, as the blood eagle had taken the brunt of the explosion, but he was also affected, nearly falling off. His white clothes were now stained red with the blood of the blood eagle and his own, both he and his mount looking dazed from the explosions.

"Let's go, quickly."

The young man coldly snorted, clutching his right arm with his left hand, shouting hysterically. He had underestimated Zhao Yun and was caught off guard. With the blood eagle now injured, staying in the air would make them easy targets.

"Go?"

Zhao Yun laughed coldly, chasing after them relentlessly. The Great Peng was very cooperative, and with the blood eagle's remaining wing, it could not fly steadily or fast. If he couldn't catch up, he wouldn't be worth much.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Zhao Yun's expression did not change, controlling two swords, chasing and attacking, ignoring the young man in white and focusing on his mount. On land, one shoots the horse to kill the rider; in the sky, one attacks the bird to kill the rider. At this height, a Xuan Yang Realm cultivator falling would turn into a pile of meat.

"Are we going to fight to the death?"

The young man shouted, his internal organs aching with anger. Since the day he had the blood eagle, he had never been at a disadvantage in aerial battles. Today was the first time, and a mere Second Rank True Spirit Realm cultivator was chasing him.

"Leave you for the New Year?"

Zhao Yun shouted, his voice resounding, his sword cutting into the blood eagle, creating a deep wound.

Pfft! Pfft!

The scene that followed was particularly bloody. The blood eagle fled, and the Great Peng pursued, with Zhao Yun's sword cutting into the blood eagle, causing it to scream in pain. A once proud mount was now a bloody mess.

"Damn it."

The young man gritted his teeth, furious. He did not know sword control and could not attack from a distance, and with the blood eagle injured, he was at a disadvantage, suffering a significant loss for the first time since he started his journey.

Whoosh!

The sword whistled, and the Zixiao sword struck the blood eagle again, its body glowing with a cold light.

Ah...!

The blood eagle, capable of human speech, let out a惨叫, unable to hold on any longer, and plummeted from the sky. From a distance, it looked like a streak of blood, drawing a beautiful arc as it crashed into a mountain. If nothing went wrong, the blood eagle would be shattered to pieces, and the young man in white would likely be paralyzed.

"Charge."

Zhao Yun shouted, chasing after them, knowing that when the enemy is down, one must finish them off.

However, the Great Peng had only flown a few dozen feet when it suddenly disappeared without warning.

Without the Great Peng, Zhao Yun was in an awkward position. Without a mount, he also fell, forgetting that the Great Peng, being a spiritual creature, had a time limit in this world and would return to the spirit realm when the time was up.

However, he was luckier than the young man. Below him was a lake, and he would not die from the fall.

The lake was clear and calm, with ripples on the surface. Upon closer inspection, there were several pieces of women's clothing neatly laid out on the shore, in various colors.

Needless to say, someone was bathing in the lake.

Zhao Yun, falling like a meteor, was unaware of this.

Just before he hit the water, the lake rippled, and a woman emerged, her hair wet and water droplets on her face.

Splash!

By a strange coincidence, the woman, who had just surfaced, was hit by Zhao Yun, sending her back into the water. The splash was enormous, and the sound was quite pleasant.

Tsk tsk tsk!

The Moon Deity sighed, shaking his head.

The world is full of coincidences.

Half of them involve the Zhao family's young master.

It's truly strange, this little martial cultivator. Is he blessed? How does he always run into good fortune?

Pfft!

In a few moments, Zhao Yun was the first to surface.

Then, the woman followed.

Their eyes met, and the world fell silent.