Rebirth

Feiyang killed Daoist Scattered Flowers, then retrieved his Scattered Flower Sword.

He looked out at the darkened sky and sea, with the boundless Black Sea stretching away in every direction, and first told Liu Yu'an and Mi Tuo, "I have obtained the Ten-Thousand-Year Coral. As promised, I'll spare your lives. Go, quickly."

Seeing how formidable this Black Dragon was, powerful enough to kill even the renowned Daoist Scattered Flowers, the two had been anxious all this time. They feared he would break his word, crush them to death, and give them to the clam spirit as ghost slaves. After all, the Black Dragon was a nonhuman creature—what faith could he possibly keep? Even among humans, those who kept their word were few and far between.

Now that Shi Feiyang had told them they could leave, the two felt as though they had received a grand pardon. They both fell to their knees and kowtowed. "Thank you, Lord Dragon Gods, for sparing our lives!"

Feiyang returned their flying swords and watched them each ride their sword south. Then he asked Huang Zhang, "Do you know somewhere suitable for a conversation?"

Huang Zhang pointed. "I know an island more than two thousand li over that way. It should do."

Feiyang did not mind that Huang Zhang was not taking the Long who had saved his life back to the Seven-Bird Palace. He gathered a cloud of white mist and transported everyone there.

Huang Zhang, too, was honest and true to his word. In a spot sheltered from the wind, he taught Shi Feiyang his Seven-Bird Divine Art.

As it turned out, the Seven-Bird Divine Art also concerned the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions. "Seven" referred to the Seven Cycles, and "bird" to the Bird Stars. It matched the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions to the cycles