Shi Hou's mind raced.
The purplish-black mist clinging to Little Red was the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow's primal poisonous miasma.
The poisonous mist on that piece of the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow's "Seven-Mile Fragrance" inside the Black Pot was slowly being broken down and purified by the Stone Pot.
The ingredients nurtured inside the pot should have absorbed some of that domineering poison-purging property.
Especially...
He withdrew his hand.
A handful of plants radiating an intense green glow appeared in his grasp.
Abundant life essence flooded the lakeside shallows. Under the green light, the surrounding wild grass shot up a full three inches.
Holding the glowing, verdant grass, Shi Hou brought it up to Little Red's beak.
Little Red's weakened pupils abruptly contracted.
The vitality radiating from this handful of grass was indeed immense, but mixed into it was an extremely violent, utterly unreasonable reek of mud. This was certainly no orthodox heavenly treasure.
Besides, a dignified primordial Vermilion Bird fed on divine flames and the true blood of Fierce Beasts.
Eat vegetables? That was the ultimate insult to a divine bird's bloodline.
Little Red clamped its beak shut with all its might and shook its head violently from side to side, expressing its determination to die rather than submit.
"You can't hide your illness and refuse treatment." The corner of Shi Hou's eye twitched, and his dark face fell.
Little Red closed its eyes and turned a deaf ear.
Shi Hou's eyes suddenly widened, his black pupils filling with horror. He jerked backward, pointing a trembling finger toward the distant sky behind Little Red.
"That black-feathered bastard is coming after us!"
At the news that the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow was pursuing them, Little Red's taut, guarded nerves instantly fell into disarray.
Its neck whipped around, and its crimson eyes fixed on the heavens behind