Stealing Heavenly Secrets from Cover the Heavens Chapter 46

A single cub's disappearance wouldn't grieve her for long.

In the nest, two more cubs still awaited her feeding.

Though her cultivation rivaled a human's Dragon Transformation Realm, this Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird, long dwelling at the edge of the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Zone, still clung to the wildness of a ferocious beast, obeying the natural law of the strong preying on the weak.

She wouldn't clamor for revenge over a dead cub like humans would.

A brood of three had hatched, and raising them all to maturity was already an arduous task.

Now, with one lost, the remaining two would receive more care, actually boosting their chances of survival.

East of the Barren Ancient Forest, eight hundred li away, a Nameless Mountain Forest.

Two streaks of Divine Rainbow, like shooting stars, flashed in from the southwestern horizon, vanishing instantly into the forest below.

In the woods, the rainbow light faded, revealing three figures—two adults and one child.

They were Jiang Shuwen, Jiang Caihong, and Li Zhi, who had just flown out of the Barren Ancient Forest, using sheer speed to evade the Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird's vengeance.

Upon landing, Li Zhi eyed Jiang Shuwen and Jiang Caihong warily, immediately backing off several steps to put distance between them.

Jiang Caihong chuckled at Li Zhi's cautious demeanor. "Little one, now you know fear. You've got quite the nerve, daring to steal a Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird's cub. Do you realize that bird's strength could blow you to ashes with a single breath?"

Jiang Shuwen, however, looked at Li Zhi with a gentle expression. "Little friend, what's your name? Where are your elders? How come you're training alone in the Barren Ancient Forest?"

Judging by Li Zhi's appearance, Jiang Shuwen took him for a child brought out by family elders for wilderness training.

On the Eastern Wasteland, the more talented a child, the younger they were sent out to train.

They even deliberately chose such perilous places to hone a child's purest instincts and wildness.

This method unlocked the body's physical potential.

Nearly every major force had this tradition, so seeing Li Zhi alone in the Barren Ancient Forest didn't strike Jiang Shuwen or Jiang Caihong as odd.

But Li Zhi stayed silent, even tugging at the Beast Skin Bag on his back, as if afraid they might snatch it.

It wasn't that Li Zhi didn't want to answer—he simply couldn't understand them.

Their words sounded like a complex dialect to his ears.

Seeing this, Jiang Caihong asked curiously, "Little one, we did save your life, you know. Don't you have anything to say?"

Jiang Shuwen sized Li Zhi up, his eyes gleaming with surprise. "Remarkable physique. Little brother, which sect are you from?"

Li Zhi remained on guard.

Jiang Shuwen suddenly realized, "Almost forgot to introduce myself. Big Brother here is Jiang Shuwen, and this Big Sister is Jiang Caihong. We're both disciples of the Desolate Ancient Jiang Family."

When Li Zhi showed no surprise at their introduction, only a flicker of confusion, Jiang Caihong sent a Telepathic Transmission to Jiang Shuwen: "Shuwen, could this kid be mute?"

Jiang Shuwen noticed the bewilderment in Li Zhi's eyes and laughed. "Maybe this little friend doesn't understand what we're saying."

Jiang Caihong looked at Li Zhi's shiny bald head and wild beast-hide clothes. "That's possible."

She then used her Divine Sense to communicate with him: "Little one, what's your name?"

"Zhi."

Li Zhi finally understood what they were saying and replied.

But his accent was so thick to Jiang Caihong and Jiang Shuwen that they couldn't make out his name clearly.

"His accent doesn't sound like he's from nearby Yan State," Jiang Caihong transmitted to Jiang Shuwen again.

"Little friend, where's your home? Why are you training alone in the Barren Ancient Forest?" Jiang Shuwen also used Divine Sense to talk to Li Zhi.

Li Zhi stared at him warily, as if afraid Jiang Shuwen might suddenly snatch the Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird cub he'd just gotten.

Seeing this, Jiang Shuwen transmitted to Jiang Caihong: "This kid's really guarded. He doesn't seem to trust us."

Jiang Caihong replied, "Shuwen, don't you find it strange? He's been on guard against us the whole time, without any of the fear a normal child would show when taken by strangers. And his body's too strong for a seven- or eight-year-old. I just checked—his physique might not be weaker than ours. Such a young age with such a formidable body—it's a bit like the Barbarian Race from the Southern Range."

Jiang Shuwen had never dealt with Southern Range Barbarian cultivators, only heard clan elders describe them during lessons—all with bodies far tougher than normal human cultivators. "Maybe this little one is from the Barbarian Race."

"Pulling him out of the Barren Ancient Forest so abruptly, interrupting his training—could that anger his elders?" Jiang Caihong transmitted worriedly.

"Probably not. If an elder were secretly watching, they wouldn't have let him steal that Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird's cub," Jiang Shuwen judged.

"What if his elder is an Immortal Platform Great Power, someone who doesn't care about that bird at all, and just wanted the kid to experience being hunted by a fierce beast?" Jiang Caihong shared her thought.

Because at seven or eight, they'd never had a physique like Li Zhi's.

In their clan, only a few direct-line disciples with dense Emperor Bloodlines or those with special constitutions underwent baptisms with precious blood and Precious Medicine as children, boosting their bodies exponentially.

Ordinary disciples could undergo such rites, but only children with naturally strong constitutions could withstand the medicinal power, gaining a formidable physique before starting cultivation.

Among the entire Jiang Family, as far as they knew, no direct-line disciple at Li Zhi's age matched his physical condition.

Though they hadn't felt his bones to determine his constitution, the surging vitality within his small frame couldn't escape their Divine Sense.

They both felt a vague regret that their hasty move to bring him away might have been rash.

"Little one, where are your elders?" Jiang Caihong asked via Divine Sense.

"Dead," Li Zhi said flatly.

"Dead? You've been living alone in the Barren Ancient Forest?" Jiang Caihong assumed the "dead elder" was the guardian who'd brought him out to train, and gasped in surprise.

Li Zhi nodded.

Jiang Shuwen asked via Divine Sense, "How long did you live in that Barren Ancient Forest?"

Li Zhi replied, "Almost a year."

Jiang Shuwen pressed further, "And why did you steal the Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird's chicks?"

Li Zhi said, "I was planning to roast them."

Jiang Shuwen stared at Li Zhi wide-eyed.

Then his mind instantly began to fill in the gaps: an elder who had been training Li Zhi in the Barren Ancient Forest suddenly noticed something unusual in the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Zone, couldn't resist entering to pick Saint Medicine, and ultimately died inside that Forbidden Zone of Life.

After that, the young Li Zhi was left alone to survive in that Barren Ancient Forest.

The more he thought about it, the closer it seemed to the truth. Jiang Shuwen asked, "Did your elder go to the Nine Holy Mountains inside the Forbidden Zone and never come back?"

Li Zhi found the question strange, but still nodded.

Aside from Ye Fan, no one else had likely climbed the Nine Holy Mountains within the Barren Ancient Forbidden Zone and lived.

Jiang Shuwen wore an expression that said, "Just as I thought."

Then he asked about Li Zhi's experiences living in the Barren Ancient Forest.

Li Zhi held nothing back—there was nothing to hide—and told Jiang Shuwen about his battles with fierce beasts in the mountains and how he tempered his body with the vile waters of Blackwater Lake.

After hearing Li Zhi's account, Jiang Caihong's expression softened. "Such a tough child. How about you stay with us from now on?"

Li Zhi simply shook his head.

Jiang Caihong said, "If you train with us, you might have a chance to return home. Don't you miss your parents?"

A flicker of gloom passed through Li Zhi's eyes. "They're both dead."

Then Jiang Shuwen asked, "Little one, do you still remember where your home is?"

Li Zhi looked up toward the southern horizon. "Very, very far away. I can't go back alone."

This led Jiang Shuwen and Jiang Caihong to misunderstand, assuming Li Zhi was a disciple of the Barbarian Race from the Southern Range.

Jiang Shuwen said to Jiang Caihong, "As I thought, this child is from the Southern Range's Barbarian Race. His elder brought him here to train in the Eastern Wastelands, but then something happened to the elder, leaving him stranded."

Jiang Caihong asked, "Should we send him back?"

Jiang Shuwen shook his head. "The Southern Range Barbarians have always been mysterious and rarely interact with the sects of the Eastern Wastelands. Even if we wanted to send him back, we probably couldn't find his exact home. And with our current cultivation levels, taking him to the Southern Range to search for his home would be fraught with danger."

Jiang Caihong said, "Then should we keep him with us for now?"

"We're out here training ourselves. It's not suitable to have him tag along. Besides, he's still too young—hasn't even opened his Bitter Sea yet. He needs to eat, drink, and relieve himself every day; it's inconvenient for us. I think it's better to send him to a sect in Yan State to cultivate. In a few years, when he's older and reaches the Life Spring realm, able to ride rainbows, we'll come pick him up and take him home."

After careful thought, Jiang Shuwen came up with this win-win solution.

Jiang Caihong's eyes lit up. "This place isn't far from Smoky Haze Grotto-Heaven, one of the six major sects of Yan State. Why don't we send him there to train?"

Neither of them doubted that a small-time sect in a place like Yan State would dare refuse such a simple request from disciples of an Ancient Family.

Jiang Shuwen nodded. "Let's ask the little one's opinion first."

Then he said to Li Zhi, "Little one, do you want to go home? Big Brother is planning to arrange a safe place for you to live and train. Once you're a bit older, Shuwen-gege and Caihong-jiejie will come pick you up and take you home."

After that, Jiang Shuwen explained his plan to Li Zhi.

Li Zhi was secretly pleased: "Just when I needed a pillow, one shows up. These two Jiang Family disciples really have good character."

After hearing Jiang Shuwen's suggestion, Li Zhi nodded, took off the Beast Skin Bag from his back, and handed it to Jiang Shuwen. "A gift. For you."

A flicker of surprise crossed Jiang Shuwen's eyes. "The Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird's chick is very precious. Are you sure you want to give it to Shuwen-gege?"

"Mm." Li Zhi nodded and pressed the Beast Skin Bag into Jiang Shuwen's hands.

Jiang Shuwen thought for a moment, then took a scroll from his Bitter Sea and handed it to Li Zhi. "This scroll contains common knowledge about cultivation in the Eastern Wastelands, compiled by a Jiang Family Great Power, along with notes on training in the Wheel Sea and Dao Palace secret realms. My cultivation is about to break through to the Four Extremities, so it's no use to me anymore. I'm giving it to you now. Keep it safe. Once you're at Smoky Haze Grotto-Heaven, read it often—it will greatly help your future training."

"Thank you, Shuwen-gege." A faint smile finally appeared on Li Zhi's face.