Chapter 150
One of their purposes for this trip was, of course, to steal the eggs of the Crimson Flame Fire Sparrow.
"That Liu Yan, how could he steal all other people's children!"
Xiao Minghuang sighed inwardly, recalling a common saying among cultivators.
Even when Heaven harbors murderous intent, it still leaves a glimmer of hope; how much more so should cultivators, who cannot easily resort to ruthless extermination.
This does not mean that even in life-or-death battles between cultivators, one should show mercy.
Rather, it means that no matter what kind of rare and precious materials are collected, they should not be uprooted. These spiritual objects should be allowed to develop sustainably, leaving a way for future generations to survive.
Otherwise, if the senior cultivators exhaust all the spiritual resources in the world, wouldn't the younger generation have no treasures left to use?
The same principle applies to dealing with demonic beasts.
In the present-day Eastern Pole, humanity flourishes while demonic practices decline.
For humans, the cubs of demonic beasts are almost synonymous with rare and precious treasures, so they must be treated with utmost care.
Thinking of this, Xiao Minghuang pondered for a moment and then said:
"I know a little about this matter. Could you please wait a moment while I find out more about it, and then I will tell you the details."
Ye Ruoshui relayed Xiao Minghuang's words to the Crimson Flame Fire Sparrow.
Upon hearing this, the Crimson Flame Fire Sparrow seemed to temporarily lower its guard. It extinguished its raging flames, shrunk countless times to the size of a palm, and perched on Ye Ruoshui's shoulder. It then leaned close to her ear, as if to say something.
A moment later.
Ye Ruoshui spoke:
"Your Highness, she said she wants to go with us."
Upon hearing this, a hint of embarrassment appeared in Xiao Minghuang's eyes.
If Liu Yan really did steal all the other people's children, how can that be explained?
Should we return it all?
If it's not returned, this powerful demon beast at the Divine Sea Peak Realm will not let it go.
But since things have come to this, she can only take it one step at a time.
Xiao Minghuang sighed inwardly, took out a communication talisman from his pocket, and after injecting some information, the talisman ignited with white flames in the air, and then burned out completely in a short time.
At the same time.
In a valley hundreds of miles away.
The group involved in the egg-stealing operation gathered here.
Lin Wanqiu, who was sitting under a big tree, suddenly opened her eyes and took out a talisman from her storage bag.
The talisman burned in mid-air, revealing lines of text.
After reading these words, Lin Wanqiu frowned slightly. She remembered that Liu Yan said he had only stolen two-thirds of the firebird eggs from the nest.
That is, eight pieces.
There should be four left inside the nest.
But the Crimson Flame Fire Sparrow said that not a single one was left.
Could it be... that Liu Yan is lying?
Lin Wanqiu did not believe this.
Liu Yan was, after all, the chief disciple of the Beast Taming Sect, so there was no need for him to lie about such a thing.
"It seems I still need to have a proper exchange of information with His Highness."
Thinking of this, she called to the others.
"Gentlemen, His Highness has emerged from the lair but has encountered some problems and needs help. Let's go together."
Upon hearing this, everyone who was resting opened their eyes.
Aside from the Fifth Prince and Xiao Minghuang's subordinates, those present were disciples of the Spirit Sword Sect and the Beast Taming Sect.
The three forces combined numbered nearly a hundred people.
Even against the Crimson Flame Fire Sparrow at the Divine Sea Peak Realm, it has the power to fight.
"Is it going to be a battle against the Crimson Flame Fire Sparrow?"
Liu Yan stepped forward and asked.
"Hard to say."
Lin Wanqiu responded, and then said:
"We'll only know when we get there. Anyway, let's prepare for battle."
After a brief exchange, everyone took to the sky and flew towards the Firebird's Nest.
Before long, the group arrived above the nest.
Xiao Minghuang spotted Lin Wanqiu and the others from afar and immediately flew into the sky.
Her gaze swept across the room, finally landing on Liu Yan, and she immediately transmitted her voice:
"Liu Zhenchuan, you stole all the Crimson Flame Fire Sparrow eggs?"
"Absolutely not!"
Liu Yan was taken aback, then immediately retorted.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Minghuang smiled and said:
"I believe you too, but the Crimson Flame Fire Sparrow said her children are all missing. If it wasn't you, then who could it be?"
As she spoke, a thought suddenly struck her.
After they entered the nest, one more person entered the nest.
Xue Wushang!
Xiao Minghuang quickly understood.
The remaining eggs of the Crimson Flame Fire Sparrow were probably stolen by Xue Wushang.
"Alas! It's a pity that this person has already perished in the flames. Even if the Firebird Egg was really on him, it's too late to save him."
But right now, the Crimson Flame Fire Sparrow is desperate to find its child, and if she doesn't give an explanation, they might immediately turn on her.
Xiao Minghuang's eyes were calm as she quickly considered a solution.
When her gaze fell on Ye Ruoshui and the Crimson Flame Fire Sparrow, a novel idea suddenly popped into her mind.
Xiao Minghuang's lips curled slightly upward, a hint of a smile appearing in her eyes, and she murmured softly:
"Got it!"
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"Ruoshui, explain things clearly to the Crimson Flame Fire Sparrow. Say that someone broke into the nest and tried to steal the eggs, and that we helped kill the egg thief."
Hearing this, Ye Ruoshui, though puzzled, did as instructed.
Next, Xiao Minghuang asked Liu Yan to give her all the remaining eggs of the Crimson Flame Fire Sparrow.
Liu Yan was initially reluctant, but he gave in after Xiao Minghuang promised him that he would definitely get an egg.
Xiao Minghuang placed eight firebird eggs in front of the Crimson Flame Fire Sparrow.
"Crimson Flame Fire Sparrow, Non-Self, your children would probably all have been killed by bad people. Saving these eggs is the best we could do."
Upon hearing this, everyone present looked embarrassed.
They never expected that someone as seemingly upright and honorable as Xiao Minghuang could utter such shameless words.
They clearly stole someone's eggs, yet they can shamelessly deceive them.
The Crimson Flame Fire Sparrow's golden eyes were fixed on the eight eggs in Xiao Minghuang's hand, its eyes flashing with wild joy, and it let out low growls, seemingly extremely excited.
Seeing this, Xiao Minghuang smiled and said:
"Crimson Flame Fire Sparrow, you don't need to thank us. Upholding justice and helping the weak is simply the duty of us cultivators. Why should we say thank you?"
Upon hearing this, the Crimson Flame Fire Sparrow seemed to be inspired. She looked back at her scorched nest, a look of sorrow in her eyes.
Then, she whispered a few more words in Ye Ruoshui's ear.
"I understand, I'll tell them right away."
Ye Ruoshui smiled and nodded.
"Your Highness, she said she wants to leave with us."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Minghuang's lips curled up slightly, and a smile appeared in her eyes.
The Crimson Flame Fire Sparrow's intelligence is like that of a human infant; it's too easy to understand.
With just a few words, she completely fooled me.
The rest of the group breathed a sigh of relief.
If everyone present works together, they do have a chance to defeat the Crimson Flame Fire Sparrow, but sacrifices will be inevitable.
Nobody wants to see that happen.
However, some people were not happy, especially Liu Yan and Cheng Wen. They had already received the Firebird Eggs, but now they had to return them and only got one. They felt it was a huge loss!
Xiao Minghuang naturally sensed their dissatisfaction, so she transmitted her voice:
"Gentlemen, after we leave the secret realm, please come to my Xia capital as guests. We will prepare a small gift as a token of our respect!"
Hearing this, the two were somewhat satisfied.
Next, the two sides had some further exchanges.
In the end, they decided to take out two firebird eggs, one for Liu Yan and one for Cheng Wen.
The remaining Firebird eggs were all retrieved by the Crimson Flame Fire Sparrow.
As for why Firebird was willing to leave, it was because in this secret realm, she could only reach the Divine Sea Peak Realm at most, and seemed to be suppressed by some kind of force, unable to break through to the next level.
Furthermore, since Ye Ruoshui absorbed the Crimson Flame Fire, she naturally felt a strong connection with Ye Ruoshui, which is why she was willing to leave the secret realm with her.
"Since the Crimson Flame Fire Sparrow agrees, let's go together!"
Xiao Minghuang smiled and nodded, signaling everyone to set off.
The group flew away from the area together.
With only a few days left before the secret realm closed, Xiao Minghuang and the others found a place with abundant Spiritual Qi to cultivate.
They first shared what they had gained in the secret realm.
Lin Wanqiu obtained some rare and precious materials, including a fragment of an ancient magic weapon. After Xiao Minghuang returned it to her, she unexpectedly obtained a Lesser Heavenly Star Chart, which was exactly the same as the one she already had, only much smaller.
Through her experimentation, she discovered that the two star charts could be combined. Although the grade of the star charts did not increase, the expanded star charts were larger and their power slightly increased.
Xiao Minghuang planned to go to the Old Ancestor as soon as he returned to see if he could extend the old man's lifespan.
Aside from that, there wasn't much else to gain.
During this period, Xiao Minghuang used the Meteor Star Liquid to advance another minor realm, reaching the Divine Sea Second Level Realm.
In addition, Lin Wanqiu also successfully broke through to the Spring Gushing Peak Realm, and the Fifth Prince, Sixth Prince and others also made breakthroughs.
Among these young people, Xiao Minghuang ranks first with the strength of the Divine Sea Second Level Realm, Ye Ruoshui, Luo Rong, Cheng Wen, and Liu Yan rank second with the strength of the first level of the Divine Sea Realm, and the rest are all at the Spring Gushing Peak Realm.
This group of people almost encompassed the strongest young generation in the entire Southern Border, and they will be the future rulers of the Southern Border.
Several days passed quickly, and the secret realm was about to close.
A portal of light appeared in front of each person.