Hou Niao sank into profound stillness in the Earth Spirit Pearl's embrace, becoming one with the whole of Ten Thousand Wan Dashan.
He certainly qualified, for he was the Earth Spirit Pearl's second master after Saintess Xinghuan; perhaps master was not quite the right word. More precisely, he was its second collaborator.
Whether the Earth Spirit Pearl had a collaborator was crucial. It meant that it would display certain unique abilities, ones that might not manifest when it existed alone. It was a treasure trove, with less than a hundredth of its riches exposed, yet it only followed its instincts.
When the power of the Five Elements combined with the power of life, many wondrous phenomena occurred. For example, even though Xinghuan was gone, it could still protect her remains in a peculiar way. Of course, however wondrous this method was, it ultimately could not withstand the probing of intelligent beings. That was another matter, one concerning intelligence.
Precisely because he had once been in close contact with the Earth Spirit Pearl-it was he who had carried Xinghuan on his back over a thousand miles-it could only roll in one direction when it fell: toward him.
He had spent more than two full years beneath the Winged People Tribe. During those two years, he had established contact with the Earth Spirit Pearl through the Earth Element Profound Light behind his back. In fact, he had long since been able to break through its one-mile exclusion zone and enter the inner circle, drawing as close to the Earth Spirit Pearl as he wished. He could even have tunneled directly beneath the stone coffin, but he had not done so.
First, he did not want to seize the Earth Spirit Pearl by force. Second, too many people were watching with their senses.