Demon Sword Sect's Undercover-Chapter 737 - 736: Submerging Oneself Fully and Focusing Wholeheartedly

Hou Niao gazed distantly at this land, feeling no guilt in his heart; even if he had let him stay here, the outcome would have been the same.

The level of the Earth Spirit Pearl was a bit too high for them.

Therefore, his visit here wasn’t necessarily to find the Earth Spirit Pearl; if the bead was still on the forehead of the little winged one, even someone as cold as he would probably find it difficult to face the child with a calm and composed heart.

He simply needed to burrow underground, to sense the Earth Element Power here, to remotely take only what belonged to him, to come quietly and leave without a trace, not wanting to disturb anyone.

He had no right to disrupt the peaceful lives of the winged folks here.

He sighed, fading the image of the little winged one from his mind, found a secluded spot, dispelled the Mysterious Light, and plunged into the earth.

Decades of Earth Escape skill allowed him now to move effortlessly even within the soil, feeling the surging Earth Element Power underground, tunnelling through the dirt in the direction where he felt it strongest. The fluctuations of the Earth Spirit Pearl were very distinct, a sensation he was well acquainted with and not mistaken.

As he gradually drew closer, he realized he wasn’t the only one here; this was understandable, for the Earth Spirit Pearl’s presence here was not a secret. When his sect, Shan Sect, the Chu Sect, and Zhao Neng Temple had once vehemently slandered the Heartless Dao, they had already revealed the whereabouts of the Earth Spirit Pearl to the entire Cultivation World of the Jinxiu Continent. Their intention was that since it was not a secret and had become a widely recognized matter, it would naturally cause those who wished to possess it to hesitate.

This approach wasn’t bad, for at least in the past ten years, no one had been able to steal the Earth Spirit Pearl from here.

But there were not a few cultivators who came in admiration to sense the Earth Spirit Pearl. Among them, he could even vaguely sense the presence of Golden Core cultivators, not knowing which Immortal they might be. Everyone tacitly chose to enter from beneath the soil to enhance their understanding of the Earth Element Power, to experience that rule slightly different from that of the Jinxiu Continent, originating from Outer Space.

Tunneling underground had one advantage: there was no worry of awkward encounters. Visual contact here was meaningless, and the cultivators would not engage in hostile combat without knowing who the other was, as it would provoke public outrage and also delay more important matters. Thus, they treated each other with mutual respect.

He too was a guest among them, searching for the position most suitable for himself, heading towards the area where the Earth Spirit Pearl’s energy was strongest.

In this process, through the pervasive Earth Element fluctuations beneath the soil layer, similar to everyone’s Divine Sense, one could accurately locate oneself and other cultivators in the surrounding region. Here, as long as one was beneath the soil layer, no one was hidden; visibility was even more pronounced than in the sky.

He could feel that, with the Earth Spirit Pearl at the center, there were hundreds of cultivators around it, some far, some near. Interestingly, those of higher Realms kept their distance, while those with lower Realms could approach closer to the center.

This was the marvelous nature of the Earth Spirit Pearl: it instinctively repelled more those cultivators who posed a greater threat. If a Nascent Transformation ancestor was to come, they wouldn’t even be able to approach within ten miles; Golden Core cultivators had their activity limited to three to five miles away. Only those of the Tongtian third Realm cultivators could get close to the Earth Spirit Pearl to the maximum extent, but they too couldn’t enter within one mile. This was the marvelous operation of the Earth Spirit Pearl once activated, also indirectly proving that its level was even beyond that of the Nascent Transformation phase.

Outer Space was indeed wonderful.

Hou Niao slowly drew closer, and no one found it unusual because there were always newcomers, most of whom were Tongtian third Realm cultivators. Coming and going, this had been the state beneath the winged tribe’s land for the past few years.

He approached the one-mile circle, feeling that he could move even closer. It was not because his Realm was lower, but because he had once been in close contact with the Earth Spirit Pearl. freewebnøvel.coɱ

Suppressing such an impulse, he stopped at the one-mile circle, for now, it was enough.

Once he found the right position, a yellow Mysterious Light brushed out from behind him, slowly merging into the fluctuations of the Earth Element Pearl, searching for that hint of resonance, just as he had done in the Dark River.

The bead was right here; everyone had an opportunity, but what one could obtain depended entirely on oneself. It’s like books lying there: some can’t recognize big characters, some can become Scholars, while others might become great literati...

Time trickled by, and soon, the cultivators beneath the earth had forgotten the newly arrived individual, each engrossed in their own insights. Then there were newcomers, and others who left with a sense of loss.

The Five Elements Treasure was not open to everyone, and there were too many things beyond grasp.

...

Another harvest season arrived, with the winged people busy in the terraced fields. Honestly, it seemed a bit odd for humanoid clans like the winged people to farm. They were like flocks of sparrows in the fields—were they working or merely pecking at the crops?

Some adhered to tradition, scorning farming. These winged people were the tribe’s hunters and, when the time came, its warriors.

Several robust winged individuals skimmed low over the treetops, their powerful wings allowing them to glide in the air after prolonged flapping. With the right terrain and wind, an experienced hunter could easily traverse several miles.

Swinging hoes and sickles was different from flapping wings, exercising different muscle groups. The result was that farming winged people’s wings gradually atrophied, possibly turning them into real humans after a few hundred years. This was a source of derision for certain bloodline-conscious winged people.

They all carried various game on their backs, from large rock sheep and Lin Lu to small pheasants and wild rabbits. It seemed they had had yet another fruitful hunt.

At the village’s edge, a few hunters parted ways, each heading home bearing their catch. During the harvest season, bartering with game was advantageous, which explained why these hunters had been especially active recently.

Grains and meat were essential food for any living being.

A tall, strong young hunter pushed open his home’s gate, setting down the game he carried, "Mother, I’m back."

An elderly voice came from the room, "Kong has returned. Why were you gone so long this time? The mountains are not a friendly place. If there are only a few of you, don’t go too far. The nearby mountains are quite sufficient for your hunting. Our family is small; we don’t need that much..."

The young winged man smiled and replied, "It’s okay, it wasn’t that many extra days. We just followed a beautiful white deer too far. It won’t happen next time."

An old woman appeared at the doorway, her wings shriveled and drooping. The lifespan of a winged person was similar to that of humans, but their wings aged first; by fifty they usually could no longer flutter but could still manage everyday labor without issue.

"There’s food left for you in the pot. Go eat while it’s still warm. Eating meat every day for half a month is not good for your health."

Seeing her son unharmed, the old mother finally set aside the worry that had tormented her for half a month.

Life in the big mountains was always fraught with danger, especially for the young hunters who often encountered fatal incidents with wild beasts in the forest, but the youngsters never seemed to care.

She had three children. Her husband had died early, her eldest had passed away, and the third was this surviving son. But the second child... whenever she thought of the second child, the old mother couldn’t contain the sorrow in her heart.

Before passing away, the second child had clutched her hand, weeping and saying she didn’t want to be a Saintess in her next life. If one day a kingfisher returned to the small courtyard and was friendly with her, that would mean she had found freedom. Then, she asked her mother to bury her in the family graveyard back home...

For this day, she had waited ten years, and it still seemed out of reach.