The Tit fluttered its wings and landed on the stone table. It opened its beak and spat out a ball of spiritual light, which became several lines of text before fading a few breaths later.
After reading them, Xuanming saw the Tit cocking its head at him, unwilling to leave. An idea stirred in his mind. He raised a hand, summoned some Spirit Grain from Firecloud Peak, and scattered it across the stone table to feed the bird.
Xuan Kong, who was feeding the Spirit Cranes: ...
Xuan Kong, who had just been pecked by Little Seven: ...
Once the Tit had eaten its fill and taken wing, Xuanming stepped after it, using the Great Five-Element Escape.
Azure Dragon Mountain was a vast wilderness of towering ancient trees and tangled vines, filled with rare flowers and exotic plants and inhabited by countless insects, fish, birds, and beasts. Beneath frosty skies, all living things vied for freedom. Primal vitality and nature's laws filled the land: fierce tigers hunted, Roe Deer grazed, and crows fed their aging parents. It was cruel, ancient, and tender.
Monsters great and small lived there. Some dwelled alone in caves, others gathered in communities; some lived on the mountains, others hid beneath the water.
Xuanming began with earth escape, then switched to wood escape, and later to water escape. As he traveled, he explored the mysteries of the Great Five-Element Escape, switching between its forms with increasing ease.
He concealed his aura, almost merging with nature itself. He passed before several powerful Qi Refining Great Demons, yet none noticed him, going about their business as though no one were there.
An hour later, Xuanming reached a swamp. Miasma filled the air, obscuring his vision. Within lay an even more ancient, primal world: dark forests impenetrable to sunlight,