The moment Xia Daoming arrived at Crimson Flame Valley, he was stunned by the shrubs covering the mountains and plains, blazing like flames beneath the sunlight.
But Xia Daoming's attention was soon drawn to the people gathered at the mouth of the valley.
There were dozens of people gathered at the valley entrance.
They stood around in groups of three or five, chatting among themselves and occasionally looking up at the sky. No one entered Crimson Flame Valley. They seemed to be waiting for something—or wary of something.
Xia Daoming arrived alone, dusty from travel, drawing quite a few eyes.
"Is the young master alone?" Before long, a glamorous young married woman with a full yet graceful figure stepped forward to greet him.
"Yes." Xia Daoming nodded and asked, "What advice does Madam have for me?"
"The six of us are planning to cross Crimson Flame Valley tonight." The glamorous woman pointed toward five people in the distance, then added, "I saw that you are a Fourth-Rank Martial Master and traveling alone, young master, so I wished to invite you to join us."
As she spoke, her lovely eyes shimmered like rippling water, carrying a seductive charm that made her difficult to refuse.
The realms of Martial Masters corresponded to the number of the twelve meridians one had cultivated. Each meridian displayed different characteristics in the fluctuations of one's blood and qi.
The force wielded by lesser Martial Masters was Manifest Strength, which was the easiest to identify and judge.
Once a martial artist reached the Great Martial Master realm, however, their strength turned from manifest to hidden. Unless they unleashed it, it was difficult to discern their cultivation.
Of course, that only applied to Martial Masters at the same realm or below. If the other party's cultivation was higher and they deliberately examined them, it was still difficult to conceal one's realm.
Unless one possessed some special method of concealing one's aura.
"The sun is shining brightly today. Why not leave now? Why wait until nightfall? And judging by it, Madam and your companions are not weak either. Even if you encountered wolves, tigers, or leopards, killing them would be no trouble. Why pull in another person to travel together?" Xia Daoming directly voiced the doubt in his heart.
Aside from being fit and tall, this body was simply incomparable to his former plump body. But in terms of looks, it was actually inferior to how he had looked in his previous life, only slightly above average.
Therefore, Xia Daoming would never be narcissistic enough to believe that merely standing at the valley entrance would make this glamorous young woman's heart stir with spring feelings and prompt her to approach him.
"It seems this is your first time in Crimson Flame Valley, young master, and you do not know the dangers of crossing it." The glamorous woman smiled sweetly at Xia Daoming, then raised a jade-white finger and pointed at the sky. "Please look up, young master."
Xia Daoming looked up.
Dozens of enormous crimson birds were circling above the valley.
"Those are no ordinary birds. They are Blood Feather Eagles! Not only are they swift, but their talons and beaks are sharp enough to pierce gold and stone. The feathers on their bodies can even leave their bodies and turn into sharp swords to kill their enemies.
"One or two Blood Feather Eagles would not be too bad. But if we encountered a flock of them, let alone lesser Martial Masters like us, even Great Martial Masters could lose their lives with one careless mistake."
As Xia Daoming looked up at the sky, the woman's alluring voice sounded beside his ear.
Yet what he heard made his scalp tingle.
"Their feathers can leave their bodies and become swords to kill enemies? Are they even eagles anymore?"
"Blood Feather Eagles are demonic birds. They normally live deep within the vast mountains. Only from late July to September each year, when the Fire Tongs Berries in Crimson Flame Valley ripen, do they fly out from the mountains to feed on them, build nests upon these cliffs, lay eggs, and raise their young.
"For some reason, they arrived early this year. It is only mid-July, yet Blood Feather Eagles have already come to occupy Crimson Flame Valley."
"Do demonic birds possess intelligence?" Xia Daoming could not help asking. Meanwhile, ten thousand grass-mud horses thundered through his heart.
The last time, he had only learned from Ji Wenyue that cultivators existed in this world. And now demonic birds had suddenly appeared as well.
Sure enough, reading ten thousand books was no match for traveling ten thousand miles. Back when he lived in Black Stone City, he had truly been a frog at the bottom of a well.
"Demonic birds and demonic beasts are like all other birds and beasts. They possess no intelligence, but they are born with certain divine abilities and spells." The glamorous woman gave Xia Daoming a somewhat surprised glance as she explained.
Seeing Xia Daoming dusty from travel and weathered in appearance, as well as a Fourth-Rank Martial Master, she had assumed he often roamed outside and must have seen much of the world. She had not expected that he did not even know whether demonic birds possessed intelligence.
"Phew." Xia Daoming secretly let out a breath of relief.
Fortunately, the demons here were different from the demons in the folk legends of his own world!
"Blood Feather Eagles do not leave until September. Does that mean we have to wait for over another month?" After secretly breathing a sigh of relief, Xia Daoming frowned.
"Yes, which is why we discussed crossing the valley at night. At night, Blood Feather Eagles usually return to their nests to rest. Even if some remain active outside, there will only be a few. If they truly attack us, we should be able to handle them as long as we join forces," the woman said.
Only then did Xia Daoming finally understand the woman's intentions.
He thought for a moment, then glanced at the five people over there and said apologetically, "Thank you, Madam, for telling me this. However, I am used to traveling alone, so I will not be joining your group."
"Young master, there is strength in numbers. Although you are a Fourth-Rank Martial Master, you certainly will not be able to handle Blood Feather Eagles alone if you encounter them," the woman urged, unwilling to give up after Xia Daoming refused.
"Thank you for your kind invitation, Madam, but I have still decided to go alone," Xia Daoming said.
Seeing that Xia Daoming was determined not to agree, the woman could only leave.
Before departing, she gave Xia Daoming a wistful look with her beautiful eyes, enough to make one's heart soften.
But Xia Daoming remained completely unmoved.
After consuming four Three Yuan Blood Return Pills, along with the copious amounts of meat he had eaten over the past month, Xia Daoming's meridians had already reached the ninth level of completion.
Fighting more than ten Fourth-Rank Martial Masters alone would be no problem at all.
And among the six-person group that had been assembled on the spot, only one was a Fourth-Rank Martial Master. The other five, including the glamorous woman, were Second- or Third-Rank Martial Masters.
If he agreed to join them, would he not become their free bodyguard?
Besides, a larger group made for a larger target and would certainly be more likely to attract the Blood Feather Eagles' attacks.
"Big Sister, he refused?" A young man who looked around seventeen or eighteen, with pockmarks on his face, asked in a low voice.
The glamorous woman shook her head.
"Heh heh, it is even better that he refused. That fellow looks like he has just come out of some little backwater village to seek his fortune. He knows nothing. So what if he has reached the Fourth-Rank realm?
"If he has not gone through life-and-death battles or seen grand scenes, then when he sees Blood Feather Eagles swooping down, there is a ninety-percent chance he will piss his pants on the spot. His cultivation will be useless.
"How could he compare to Tian here, who has traveled north and south, fought through countless battles, and seen every kind of scene? Madam, when the time comes, just stay close to Tian. Tian will definitely protect you," said the only Fourth-Rank Martial Master among the six.
This Fourth-Rank Martial Master had a face full of flesh, yet he had a pair of mung-bean eyes, making him look rather ugly.
As he spoke, those mung-bean eyes roved lecherously over the glamorous woman's body.
He especially did not spare her rear a single glance.
"That is right, that is right. My senior brother has fought through countless battles. Madam will surely be satisfied!" said a skinny, monkey-like man with a lewd grin.
Aside from the woman's younger brother, whose face showed a trace of anger, the other men all wore knowing smiles.
The glamorous woman was clearly accustomed to roaming the martial world and had encountered such scenes many times. She did not get angry. Instead, she pretended not to understand the hidden meaning in the skinny man's words and said, "Blood Feather Eagles are no trifling matter. One more person is always better."
After saying that, the glamorous woman looked around again, seemingly still unwilling to give up.
The mung-bean-eyed man frowned slightly at the sight, then gave a noncommittal sneer.
Just as the glamorous woman looked around, the ground trembled faintly.
Dust billowed up in the distance.
Within the dust, sixteen riders could vaguely be seen escorting a carriage from every direction as it approached Crimson Flame Valley.
The carriage was draped on all sides in expensive, exquisite silk, embroidered with the image of a black tiger with wings.
As for the sixteen mounted guards, every one of them surged with blood and qi. Six were Third-Rank Martial Masters, eight were Fourth-Rank Martial Masters, and the blood and qi strength of the remaining two guards churned in obscure, indistinct currents. They were clearly Great Martial Masters.
"The Xu family of Li City!" The glamorous woman's expression changed slightly, and awe filled her eyes.
"The Xu family of Li City!" Among the people gathered at the valley entrance, quite a few others recognized the caravan's origins as well. They were first startled, then delighted.
As the saying went, it was good to enjoy the shade beneath a great tree.
With such a powerful Xu family caravan leading the way, following behind it would naturally be much safer.
"So this is the Xu family, Li City's only grandmaster faction. They truly are different. I wonder who is sitting in that carriage. They travel with so many powerful Martial Masters at a moment's notice, and even two Great Martial Masters."
Hearing the waves of exclamations around him, Xia Daoming remembered the only grandmaster of Li City whom Ji Wenyue had mentioned—Xu Zhiyuan—and secretly marveled.
The crowd hastily moved aside.
The caravan drove straight ahead and stopped only at the valley entrance.
The Fifth-Rank Great Martial Master at the head of the group looked up at the sky and frowned slightly. Soon, he turned his horse around and rode to the carriage.
The curtain was lifted.
It revealed the face of a young man handsome as jade, but with somewhat thin lips and narrow, elongated eyes that gave him a hint of harsh ruthlessness.
"It is actually Xu Shixiong!"
"The Xu family's Seventh Young Master!"
"They say Xu Shixiong became a Fifth-Rank Great Martial Master at fourteen. He is only twenty-one this year, yet he has already reached the realm of a Seventh-Rank Great Martial Master. Among the Xu family's younger generation, he is the descendant most likely to become a grandmaster!"
Someone soon recognized the person inside the carriage, and cries of surprise rang out one after another.
"A Seventh-Rank Great Martial Master at only twenty-one. The Xu family is seriously badass!" Xia Daoming was deeply shocked by the crowd's exclamations.
"Why have we stopped?" Xu Shixiong asked.
"In reply to Seventh Young Master, the Blood Feather Eagles came early to Crimson Flame Valley this year to lay eggs and raise their young. To avoid suffering attacks, this old servant suggests that we wait until nightfall before crossing the valley." The Great Martial Master, nearly sixty years old and gray at the temples, replied with utmost respect, without the slightest bearing of either an elder or a Great Martial Master.
Xu Shixiong frowned slightly, then swept his gaze over the people gathered at the valley entrance and said blandly, "They are only Blood Feather Eagles. They cannot stir up much trouble. But to avoid unnecessary casualties, have the people at the valley entrance go ahead and draw the Blood Feather Eagles' attention."
With that, Xu Shixiong lowered the curtain.
PS: The second update will be coming shortly.
Before you continue