Chapter 46

"Something seems off, let's not enter the Sparrow Immortal Forest for now, we should observe from the outside first," Bai Cangdong said.

"What a coward, even if there's something strange, what's there to be afraid of?" Li Xiangfei originally felt a bit odd and did not plan to enter the Sparrow Immortal Forest immediately, but for some reason, after hearing Bai Cangdong's words, she became angry and directly rushed into the forest.

Bai Cangdong thought for a moment and also followed her into the Sparrow Immortal Forest. After all, according to the information, there was only one Viscount-level Immortal Sparrow in the forest, and no ordinary Undead at all.

"See, nothing happened, I don't know what you're afraid of." After walking in the Sparrow Immortal Forest for some time without any unusual events, Li Xiangfei felt a bit happy and mocked Bai Cangdong.

"It's best if nothing happens." Bai Cangdong looked at the Sparrow Immortal Flowers, which were still pink and showed no signs of turning fiery red: "According to the schedule, these Sparrow Immortal Flowers should have turned fiery red yesterday, and the Immortal Sparrow should have been revived then. Now the flowers are still pink, I wonder if the Immortal Sparrow has been revived."

"Why don't we go and see? The Immortal Sparrow always revives on the oldest Sparrow Immortal Tree, which is not far from here."

Following the map, Bai Cangdong and Li Xiangfei quickly arrived at the oldest Sparrow Immortal Tree, but the scene before them left them speechless.

Ordinary Sparrow Immortal Trees were only as tall as a person, but this one was dozens of meters high. This was not the most important part; the most important was that the ancient Sparrow Immortal Tree had been knocked down by something, lying on the ground, and the flowers on the tree had all withered, turning into dead wood.

"Who could have knocked down the Sparrow Immortal Tree? This must be the reason why the Immortal Sparrow hasn't revived," Li Xiangfei frowned.

"It doesn't look like it was done by a person." Bai Cangdong closely examined the broken part of the Sparrow Immortal Tree: "The break is irregular, it doesn't look like it was cut by a weapon, but rather as if it was forcibly broken by something."

"The Sparrow Immortal Tree is so thick, and I've heard that the wood of this particular tree is extremely hard, even a Viscount-level weapon would have difficulty leaving a mark. What could have broken it, this is too incredible."

"Let's go, something is really off here." Bai Cangdong felt uneasy and, without hesitation, pulled Li Xiangfei to leave the Sparrow Immortal Forest.

"Why are you in such a hurry to leave?" A vague voice came from nowhere, and Bai Cangdong and Li Xiangfei suddenly found themselves unable to move, standing in place.

Roar!

A giant white bear, as large as an ancient beast, stood up from the sea of flowers, roaring at Bai Cangdong and Li Xiangfei. The sheer force of the roar almost made them spit blood.

"A Count-level Undead, how can there be a Count-level Undead here!" Bai Cangdong saw the rank mark on the white bear, which was at the Count level.

Li Xiangfei was speechless. A Viscount-level Undead was manageable, but a Count-level Undead left them with no hope of escape.

"What kind of bullshit information did Lady Red Lotus give us? She said there was only a Viscount-level Immortal Sparrow and no ordinary Undead, now a Count-level Undead appears, this is going to be the end of me!" Bai Cangdong's face turned pale. Even if he wanted to run, his body wouldn't move, as if bound by something, unable to even wiggle a finger.

"Xiao Bai, you need to be good, don't scare these two children." Just as Bai Cangdong and Li Xiangfei thought they were doomed, the white bear slowly lay down, its head, as large as a house, touching the ground in front of them. A man in white clothes walked down from the bear.

"Who are you?" After the man appeared, Bai Cangdong and Li Xiangfei regained control of their bodies, and Li Xiangfei asked in shock.

"My title is the White Cloak Count, and you two?"

"I should have known, the force that restrained us just now must be one of the three privileges, the Judgment." Bai Cangdong thought to himself.

"I am the Sword Fragrance Viscount, and he is the Fist Baron." Li Xiangfei reported their titles.

"Did I scare you just now? I was traveling here and found that Sparrow Immortal Tree, which is excellent fuel for the alchemy furnace, so I had Xiao Bai knock it down and prepare to take it away. I hope it didn't bother you," the White Cloak Count pointed to the fallen Sparrow Immortal Tree.

"No." Bai Cangdong and Li Xiangfei answered in unison.

"That's good. I was afraid the Sparrow Immortal Tree belonged to someone. Xiao Bai..." The White Cloak Count called out, and the giant white bear immediately ran over and picked up the Sparrow Immortal Tree.

"I'm leaving now. Since we met, it's a matter of fate, so I'll give you both a small gift." The White Cloak Count flicked two jade bottles, which landed in Bai Cangdong and Li Xiangfei's hands, then gracefully landed on the white bear's head and rode it away from the Sparrow Immortal Forest, causing the ground to shake with each step.

"It's Jade Essence Pills!" Bai Cangdong opened the bottle and found the same Jade Essence Pills that Lady Red Lotus had given him before.

"I remember, I've heard of this White Cloak Count. He is skilled in alchemy, and many of the pills used in our Count's residence, including the Jade Essence Pills, are made by him."

Bai Cangdong put away the Jade Essence Pills but was still thinking about the giant bear called Xiao Bai by the White Cloak Count. It was clearly a Count-level Undead, yet it was his pet, which must have been obtained from an Undead egg after slaying an Undead.

"What good luck!" Since learning about Undead eggs in the Ice Fog Cave, Bai Cangdong had deliberately researched a lot about them.

Undead eggs are extremely rare among weapons. Each type of Undead may leave one upon death, but the higher the level of the Undead, the lower the chance of leaving an egg. Even a Count-level Undead egg is extremely rare, let alone an egg from an Undead without a rank. Bai Cangdong himself had never seen one, and even the rich kids like Ma Fei, whose parents were Viscounts, did not have Undead eggs.

Even Li Xiangfei, the daughter of a Count, did not have an Undead egg, showing how precious they are.

"What should we do now? The Sparrow Immortal Tree is gone, will the Immortal Sparrow still revive?" Li Xiangfei looked at the remaining tree stump, unsure of what to do.

Bai Cangdong was also silent, no one could have expected the Sparrow Immortal Tree to be taken away by a Count to be used as firewood. Whether the Immortal Sparrow would revive was uncertain.

Just as they were hesitating whether to leave, a sudden change occurred. Red flames like fireworks spurted from the broken part of the ancient tree, and all the Sparrow Immortal Flowers in the forest burst into flames, turning into fire flowers, making the entire forest a sea of fire.

The heat was intense, almost melting them. Li Xiangfei quickly activated her Life Essence Light Shield to protect both of them.

"I told you, you would only be a burden. Look, now I have to protect you." Li Xiangfei said with a hint of satisfaction.

But Bai Cangdong leaped out of her Life Essence Light Shield, summoning a fiery red gem. The gem emitted red light, and the flames and heat were absorbed into the gem, making it shine even brighter.

"It seems I don't need Miss Xiangfei's protection." Bai Cangdong smiled.

Li Xiangfei was angry and turned away, focusing on the broken part of the ancient tree.

A strange cry came from the spouting flames, and a large bird with a fiery red body and long, feathered tail spread its wings and flew out. As it flapped its wings, it carried a trail of fiery red flames.

"This seems different from the Immortal Sparrow in the records!" Bai Cangdong observed the strange firebird and found many differences from the recorded Immortal Sparrow.

For example, this firebird's body was almost entirely made of flames, while the recorded Immortal Sparrow had a physical body. The recorded Immortal Sparrow could only spit out Undead Light that resembled flames, but this firebird emitted Undead Light like flames as it flew.

"Even if it's different, it's still a Viscount-level Undead, what's the difference from an Immortal Sparrow?" Li Xiangfei pointed to the rank mark on the firebird.

Before Bai Cangdong could say anything, the firebird noticed them, let out a strange cry, and flew towards them, spewing flames like a volcanic eruption from its mouth.

"Take care of yourself." Li Xiangfei summoned her weapon and charged at the firebird.

Bai Cangdong, on the other hand, moved to the side and watched Li Xiangfei battle the firebird.

After some time, Li Xiangfei's combat skills and experience had improved significantly compared to before. She fought the firebird without falling behind.

After watching for a while, Bai Cangdong frowned. The battle between the human and the bird seemed evenly matched, but Bai Cangdong noticed that the firebird's use of Undead Light seemed to have no cost, and it attacked recklessly. Li Xiangfei, on the other hand, could now control her Life Essence Light, using it precisely and rarely wasting it, yet he could still feel her Life Essence Light being rapidly consumed.

After observing for a moment, Bai Cangdong finally saw the issue. The burning Sparrow Immortal Flowers and the flames spouting from the broken part of the ancient tree were gradually merging into the firebird's body, making it stronger instead of weaker.

"Let's go, we can't fight it here." Bai Cangdong shouted to Li Xiangfei.

Li Xiangfei also sensed something was wrong. Hearing Bai Cangdong's shout, she forced the firebird back with a sword and ran. She was getting weaker, while the firebird was getting stronger. If this continued, she would surely die.

The firebird, however, did not give up and flapped its wings, flying towards them.

Bai Cangdong rolled to the side, dodging the firebird's attack. When he saw the rank mark on the firebird, he was shocked.

The rank mark was now emitting a blinding light, and the pattern was changing, transforming from the Viscount symbol to another.

"This firebird is about to ascend to the Count level!"

[PS: Thank you to Just Love Doupo Cangqiong, I You Lao Tou, Feng Shang ~ Ye Luo for your support. The performance of "Sword Armor" has been quite good so far, and I can confidently continue writing. I hope to write out all my ideas and settings, maybe a few million words.]