The sun hung over the peak, while green mountains hemmed in turbulent streams.
Deep in the clouds, no one knew the way; once enlightenment came, all worldly matters ceased.
Qingzhou—Feng Clan. A return to familiar ground.
Compared to before, Jiang Dali had not arrived riding the Demonic Eagle, but astride the Demon Dragon, whose size and strength surpassed the Demonic Eagle by an unknown margin.
The Demon Dragon's ink-black body passed through the vast sea of clouds, rolling like raging waters. Its long tail, studded with bone spurs, gracefully swept between several peaks, spreading an oppressive, uneasy aura.
At the foot of a mountain not far away, within a village built around a lake surrounded by ancient trees, many Feng Clan members wore brightly colored feathers in their hair and smeared crimson, flame-like dye across their faces. They crowded around the Feng Clan Chief, who wore brilliant feathered robes, praying together as though conducting some ancient sacrificial rite.
On the open altar before the Feng Clan Chief, fashioned from phoenix tree stumps, lay many offerings of fresh fruit. A phoenix sculpture carved from a crimson phoenix tree stump stood prominently atop the altar.
It happened to be the Feng Clan's day of sacrifice.
Suddenly, the Feng Clan Chief's square face, rougher than a man's, tightened. Her sharp brows furrowed as she sensed an inexplicable, indescribable unease. She abruptly rose and turned toward the distant sky behind her, her pupils shrinking sharply.
At the same time, the praying Feng Clan members also sensed the strange, unsettling aura spreading toward them. Their prayers and ritual were interrupted as they rose and looked toward the source of that unease. In the next instant, the entire Feng Clan erupted into chaos.
In the distant forest, countless birds took flight in alarm, beating their wings