Blue-Eyed Golden Eagle

Following the sensing method in the Great Martial Canon, Yang Xiao saw a vast, boundless expanse of gray mist. A great black sun hovered above it, and a thought rose in his mind—Million Li.

At first he was startled, then overjoyed. Though he did not know why that thought had appeared, the voice deep inside told him it truly was Million Li.

According to Butcher, the larger the Qi Sea, the greater one's talent for cultivation. A hundred-thousand-li Qi Sea already marked someone as an unparalleled genius. Wouldn't a Million Li Qi Sea mean talent without precedent?

The Great Martial Canon recorded that people with special Bloodlines would have unusual manifestations within their Qi Seas. This Black Sun should be the manifestation of Peak Demonic Will.

Roaming through his Qi Sea, he saw a Bright Moon suspended at its very center.

Yang Xiao's gaze lingered beside that Bright Moon. If the Black Sun could be explained by a special Bloodline, how could he explain this moon? Did he possess a second Bloodline, or was this the reason for his extraordinary ability to recover?

The Bright Moon seemed ethereal and illusory. Following the method recorded in the Great Martial Canon, he conjured a great hand within his Qi Sea and reached out to touch it.

But the next instant, the hand passed straight through. The Bright Moon was like the moon reflected in water, visible but impossible to touch, as though it did not belong to this space and time.

He withdrew from his Qi Sea, his brows faintly furrowed. Sitting inside the carriage, Butcher comforted him. "Don't lose heart. Having slightly poorer cultivation aptitude doesn't matter. Back then, your grandmaster's Qi Sea spanned only ten li. Everyone said he would never break through to the Sea Condensation Realm, but didn't he end up sweeping through the world with a pair of divine fists? Everyone honored him as Martial Master. Even the Holy Ancestor had to call him Martial Master upon meeting him."

Yang Xiao froze. Where had this grandmaster suddenly come from? All his life, he had thought he had only the old man and Aunt Lü. Now his elders were popping up one after another.

"Where is my grandmaster now? What other relatives do I have?"

Butcher realized he had let something slip and said hesitantly, "It's not that I won't tell you. When your grandfather entrusted you to me, he instructed me not to speak of certain things. Once your cultivation reaches the right level, you'll naturally find out."

"Right, how large is your Qi Sea? A hundred-li Qi Sea is actually quite good, too."

A trace of warmth passed through Yang Xiao's heart at Butcher's comforting words.

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly. "Million Li."

"Million Li," Butcher murmured at first. Then he shot to his feet, spiritual energy surging around him, and the carriage exploded in an instant.

The surrounding soldiers looked over. Seeing what had happened, Lin Wei, who was leading the way ahead, shouted, "Protect the marquis!"

The soldiers drew their swords and surrounded the two of them protectively. Lin Wei covered the distance in great strides, came before Butcher, and bowed. "What happened, my lord?"

Butcher waved a hand. "Nothing. Find us another carriage."

Yang Xiao looked around. They were on a main road, with ox carts hauling vegetables, scholars carrying book baskets on their backs, and merchants passing by.

City Lord Lin sent someone to stop a carriage. After showing his official credentials, he offered some silver, and the carriage owner hastily agreed.

Before long, a carriage with a new body but the same horse joined the procession.

Yang Xiao and Butcher sat inside the carriage with no outsiders present. Butcher was deeply agitated and could not calm down for a long time.

Seeing Butcher so worked up, Yang Xiao swallowed the words he had been about to say.

Night approached, but they had not found suitable lodgings, so they cleared a patch of ground in the mountain forest and prepared to rest.

The soldiers lit campfires and gathered around them in twos and threes. Mushroom soup simmered over the flames, its fragrance drifting more than ten li. Yang Xiao could hear the soldiers laughing from far away.

Yang Xiao built a campfire with Butcher. Lin Wei had wanted to come help, but Butcher scolded him away.

The stars in the sky lined up to form a river of silver. There were no stars in the desert nights, so this was Yang Xiao's first time seeing them. They were beautiful.

Butcher handed him a bowl of soup. Yang Xiao accepted it, and the sight of him brought the morning's events back to mind. "Uncle Butcher, do you know anything about my mother?"

Peak Demonic Will had come from the old man, so Bright Moon most likely came from his mother. Surely transmigrating couldn't have brought an extra Bloodline along.

Butcher's expression changed. He shook his head and said nothing more.

Seeing his reaction, Yang Xiao knew Butcher must know something. He simply did not want to say it—or could not.

"Yang Xiao, you must never reveal your Bloodline in front of outsiders. If anyone sees it, you must kill them."

"I thought he could protect you, but what you are now is far too astonishing. I entered the cultivation world rather late and don't know much about its earlier history, but I've never heard of anyone possessing a Million Li Qi Sea."

Butcher suddenly broke his silence. Seeing his solemn expression, Yang Xiao nodded.

Although their time together over the past few days had not given him a complete understanding of Butcher, he knew Butcher would not harm him. Otherwise, the old man would never have entrusted him to Butcher.

Butcher handed him a bottle of pills and a ring. "These are Qi-Gathering Pills and a Storage Ring. Qi-Gathering Pills are specifically for increasing the cultivation of cultivators in the Qi Gathering Realm. My cultivation is too high for them now, so I only have this one bottle left, a leftover from my early cultivation days."

"Once you have magical power, you can open the Storage Ring. There's a space of ten zhang inside."

"After opening the Storage Ring, store the Dragon Horn in it. We're only getting away with this because we're on the edge of the desert, where cultivators are scarce and there are no experts. In a prosperous region, thieves would probably have come after us long ago."

Yang Xiao accepted them and thanked him. When he opened the pill bottle, a rush of spiritual energy washed over his face, refreshing his spirit. Inside were ten soybean-sized Qi-Gathering Pills.

While everyone rested, Yang Xiao took out the Great Martial Canon. Its cultivation method involved drawing spiritual energy into the body, then tempering it nine times to bring its purity to the utmost limit.

It also included a technique—Turning Magic into Weapons.

Spiritual energy drifted freely between heaven and earth, hence its name. Once absorbed and controlled by a person, however, it was called magical power.

Turning Magic into Weapons transformed magical power into weapons of whatever shape one desired.

Yang Xiao swallowed a Spirit-Gathering Pill. A powerful stream of white spiritual energy flowed from his abdomen into his Qi Sea, filling an area of ten li. The Black Sun above shed black light over the spiritual energy, turning it black.

Yang Xiao had not expected this, but he immediately understood. This was a special transformation brought about by his bloodline. He circulated the Great Martial Canon and tempered the spiritual energy nine times, shrinking it to an area of one li.

When the sun's first rays shone upon the earth, Yang Xiao woke from meditation. Sunlight glinted off the Storage Ring, flashing before his eyes.

Over the course of the night, he had absorbed five Qi-Gathering Pills, expanding the spiritual energy in his qi sea to five li. He took the dragon horn from his back and swept his right hand, which wore the Storage Ring, over it.

But the next instant, his expression changed drastically. He felt the Storage Ring madly devouring his magical power. In the blink of an eye, half of it was gone.

Just as his magical power was about to run out, the dragon horn vanished from the ground. By then, his face had turned pale.

An entire night's gains had only been enough to store a dragon horn. If he fought someone with magic, he would lose before the fight even began.

Just then, Butcher woke from meditation. Seeing Yang Xiao's pale face, he reached out and took his wrist. A stream of pure spiritual energy flowed into Yang Xiao's body, gradually restoring color to his face.

Butcher released him and laughed. "You little rascal, you're far too reckless. You've only cultivated for one night, and you're already using your magical power carelessly."

Yang Xiao said awkwardly, "I didn't know putting the dragon horn into the Storage Ring would consume so much magical power."

The convoy set off again. The Dragon Horse pulled the carriage steadily, keeping it from jolting even through the mountain forest.

Having only just embarked on the path of cultivation, Yang Xiao's enthusiasm had not faded. Sitting in the carriage, he swallowed a Qi-Gathering Pill and began cultivating.

Watching from beside him, Butcher felt deeply gratified.

At noon, the carriage stopped, and Lin Wei's voice came from outside. "My lord, we've reached Duskwater City. Would you like to rest here?"

Yang Xiao woke from meditation and looked at Butcher beside him. Butcher said, "We'll rest for a day."

Then he said to Yang Xiao, "You've never been to Duskwater City. This is a good chance to enjoy yourself."

Yang Xiao nodded slightly. The two stepped out of the carriage, and a magnificent, enormous city lay sprawled across the earth. Its walls stretched beyond what he could see at a glance.

A long queue snaked out from the city gates. There were farmers heading to market, merchant caravans transporting supplies, and many people whose occupations were impossible to tell.

Lin Wei was the lord of Duskwater City, so when the convoy arrived, the soldiers guarding the gates cleared a path.

As the convoy entered Duskwater City, the first thing Yang Xiao saw was a long street lined with shops of every kind. Stalls crowded the space in front of them, with butchers selling pork and older women selling jewelry, though vegetable farmers were the most numerous.

Butcher sent the convoy back first to get settled, then took Yang Xiao wandering around. He bought him two sets of fine clothes. Yang Xiao liked black, so both sets were black.

"What is this place?" Yang Xiao asked, pointing at a building beside the road.

The building was called the Perching Phoenix Pavilion. It had been built from special timber and carved with numerous phoenixes. What drew Yang Xiao's attention, however, were the many beautiful young women standing outside. Their skin looked as though it had been fashioned from snow, and every kind of beauty was represented, from lush and full to slender and delicate.

In the brief time he stood there, a beautiful woman had already approached and hooked her arm around his. "Young master, would you like to come inside for a while?" she cooed. "It's great fun here. I guarantee you'll love it."

Butcher snorted coldly. As though she had suffered a fright, the woman released Yang Xiao's arm and retreated several steps.

Butcher pulled him away. "You're still young. You mustn't visit places like this. Even when you're older, it's best not to come."

Behind them, the woman recovered from her fright. Planting one hand on her hip, she pointed at them. "If you're not coming in, then don't! How dare you scare me! As if I'd want to entertain you anyway!"

Butcher was about to go back and teach them a lesson, but Yang Xiao's face darkened, and he dragged him away.

He had already guessed that this was a pleasure house. Still, whoever had established it certainly had nerve, naming a place like this the Perching Phoenix Pavilion.

Toward evening, he and Butcher settled into the City Lord's Residence. Dinner was plentiful and delicious, and he ate until his belly had visibly rounded out.

Knowing how close they were, Lin Wei arranged for them to stay in the same courtyard.

Night fell. Yang Xiao had absorbed all his Qi-Gathering Pills, filling ten li of his qi sea. He lay in bed for a while but could not fall asleep.

He stepped out of his room and saw Butcher lift a cup of wine and pour it onto the ground.

"What are you doing?" Yang Xiao asked.

Butcher wiped his face and turned around. "When I went to hunt down the False God, I took three hundred personal guards with me. We intercepted him eighteen times along the way, and all three hundred guards died in battle.

"I was just paying my respects to them."

Yang Xiao fell silent for a moment, then stepped forward, picked up a cup of wine, and poured it onto the ground.

The two sat in the courtyard drinking together.

Suddenly, a piercing eagle cry cut through the night. Yang Xiao looked toward the sound and saw a golden eagle with blue eyes and golden feathers in the sky.

The moment he saw the eagle, a thought rose in Yang Xiao's mind: this was an eagle capable of cultivation. In his previous world, it would have been called a demon, though he did not know what it was called here. He also had a feeling that he was no match for it.

The Blue-Eyed Golden-Feathered Eagle circled overhead, showing no intention of leaving.

Suddenly, the Blue-Eyed Golden-Feathered Eagle cried out and flew toward them.

Yang Xiao did not run. With Butcher beside him, the Blue-Eyed Golden-Feathered Eagle could not hurt him.

He turned to look and saw Butcher hold an arm out in front of him. The Blue-Eyed Golden-Feathered Eagle actually landed on Butcher's arm, turning its head to glance at Yang Xiao.

Yang Xiao saw contempt in its eyes. He was so annoyed that he almost went over to give it a beating, but after thinking it over, he refrained. A decent man did not stoop to quarreling with an eagle. Besides, there was no telling which of them would end up getting beaten.

Butcher laughed. "This Blue-Eyed Golden Eagle is called Little Blue. I raised it to carry messages. I've spoiled it too much, so it's become a little... haughty."

With that, he held his hand beneath Little Blue's beak. Little Blue opened its beak and spat out a letter.

Butcher said, "Little Blue delivers messages very securely. If it encounters a powerful enemy, it will destroy the letter inside its belly."