An elder outside the Mystic Mirror drew in a sharp breath. "Could she have escaped?"
The thief had definitely escaped.
A cold glint flashed in the red-robed woman's eyes. With a mere lift of her hand, she transformed back into a giant bird, flapping her wings as she soared into the sky.
When it came to flying, the thief surely couldn't match its speed.
"Ning Ning can't possibly be faster than the Mystic Bird. It'll definitely catch up to her."
He Xiaochen furrowed his swordlike brows. "Could she have used the Mystic Bird's blind spot to maneuver cleverly, then escaped on her sword?"
Tian Xianzi burst into laughter. "Not so, not so. Sect Leader He, why don't you take another closer look? Besides those rocks, isn't there an egg on the cliff?"
"An egg?"
The red-robed female cultivator from the Wanjian Sect peered over curiously. "But when the Mystic Bird searched earlier, there was clearly—ah!"
As she spoke, her expression lit up with delight, her lovely eyes crinkling with a smile. "This egg... was already on the verge of hatching not long ago."
As soon as the female cultivator finished speaking, the enormous, round egg in the Mystic Mirror gave a leisurely wobble.
Then the topmost piece of eggshell was carefully lifted, and the head that poked out wasn't a Mystic Bird chick, but a bright-eyed, pretty little girl.
Holding up the round eggshell, Ning Ning shook her head and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
She had sensed something amiss on the horizon and realized the Mystic Bird would soon return. If she hid behind a rock or tried to escape right then, it would catch her on the spot. Besides, she had already plucked the Silver Silk Immortal Leaf—there was no way she could explain that away.
At