An Exchange

No matter how extraordinary Demon Beast Spring-Heralding Bird may be, it is still somewhat insignificant in Sang Ying.

A sharp, icy Sword Qi swept across the sandstorm, instantly freezing the yellow sand that had previously obscured vision, causing it to quickly fall to the ground under the influence of the ice.

In just a few breaths, when they looked again, the smoke and dust had completely disappeared, revealing the blue Spring-Heralding Bird that had been hidden by the smoke and dust for so long.

This Demon Beast of Spring-Heralding Bird is quite large; if it were to flap its wings even slightly, it could probably send three or four people flying.

The Spring-Heralding Bird is not a good-natured Demon Beast. Whether it is a human or Demon Beast, once it spots them, they will be hunted as food.

Sang Ying and the other three were no exception.

But once the cumbersome smoke and dust clear up, it's uncertain who will be hunted by whom.

The Spring-Heralding Bird let out another fierce cry, its wings flapping violently in an attempt to stir up dust once more. But a thin layer of ice, formed on the ground by some unknown substance, completely thwarted its plan.

Without the obstruction of smoke and dust, everyone could easily see the trajectories of the wind blades. Not to mention Sang Ying, even Wuyue Qing, the weakest of the four, easily avoided the wind blades.

"Screech!" The Spring-Heralding Bird cried out angrily, probably because it was dissatisfied that Sang Ying and the others had dodged its attacks.

Just as it was about to flap its wings for another attack, Sang Ying had already stepped forward with her sword and severed its wings in a few swift movements. The Spring-Heralding Bird lost its balance and fell from mid-air.

Seeing this, Sang Ying didn't give it a chance to escape. She immediately raised her hand and made a hand seal. The Spring-Heralding Bird, which was still struggling to take flight again, was quickly frozen solid and could no longer move.

The Spring-Heralding Bird, though mostly frozen, still retained its original beauty; its gorgeous blue feathers seemed to be constantly glowing.

"Is there anything good on this bird?" Sang Ying turned to ask Jiang Zhuoxue.

Before entering the secret realm, Jiang Zhuoxue had already memorized all the famous Demon Beast and Spirit Plant within it, so a small Spring-Heralding Bird was naturally no problem for her.

Jiang Zhuoxue then stated frankly, "Its demon core might be of some use."

He didn't reveal the other party's nickname, "Treasure-Hunting Bird," since he was brought in by Sang Ying precisely because of his treasure-hunting skills. If a Demon Beast were to steal his job, would Sang Ying still keep him?

Jiang Zhuoxue expressed doubt about this.

"Oh, I understand now." Sang Ying nodded, raising her sword to reach for the Spring-Heralding Bird's inner core.

Wuyue Qing never expected the two to treat the Spring-Heralding Bird like this. This was a precious Demon Beast that could find treasures; wasn't it even more useful than a demon core?!

Seeing that Sang Ying was really about to make a move, she quickly stepped in front of the Spring-Heralding Bird: "Fellow Daoist Sang! I'm willing to exchange a spiritual herb we obtained before for this bird. Is that alright?"

Wuyue Qing was a little nervous and didn't even dare to look Sang Ying in the eye, afraid that the other party would see through the scheming in her eyes.

"Let me see the spiritual herbs you obtained first." Sang Ying's tone was expectant.

Upon hearing this, Wuyue Qing quickly took out the spiritual herbs from her Storage Bag.

This spiritual herb is quite a precious treasure, as it can nourish a cultivator's meridians. Therefore, Wuyue Qing was full of confidence when she took it out, feeling that this Spring-Heralding Bird was definitely hers for the taking.

Sang Ying simply glanced at it and said, "No, I won't trade. This isn't what I want."

Her only goal was the Scarlet Blood Grass; the other spiritual herbs were of little use to her.

Wuyue Qing's expression froze, clearly not expecting to be rejected. However, she quickly added, "Then, Fellow Daoist Sang, whatever spiritual herbs you desire, we can find them for you."

Her anxious appearance immediately caught Sang Ying's attention.

Sang Ying glanced again at the Spring-Heralding Bird frozen in the ice, with only its mouth sticking out, still cursing and chirping. Then she took out the booklet that Yin Mountain Sect had given her before.

It also contains a record of the Spring-Heralding Bird, emphasizing that it is a bird that can be used to find treasure.

After reading all this, Sang Ying silently turned around and glanced at Jiang Zhuoxue.

Realizing his little scheme had been discovered, Jiang Zhuoxue lowered his head, avoiding Sang Ying's gaze. He refused to admit he had done anything wrong; anything that threatened his status and position should have been eliminated before Sang Ying discovered it!

Sang Ying slammed the booklet shut, and when she met Wuyue Qing's expectant expression again, her voice grew even colder. "Sorry, Fellow Daoist Wuyue, I'm not trading this bird."

Wuyue Qing knew the deal was doomed from the moment Sang Ying started flipping through the booklet.

So she wasn't very angry about Sang Ying's rejection. Anyway, she had already decided to follow the two of them all the way, and even if they found something good with that bird, they might get a share.

But just Wuyue Qing can understand it doesn't mean that Wuyue Wenren, who follows her, can too.

Seeing that Sang Ying was so disrespectful to their young master, Wuyue Wenren was immediately enraged. "What do you mean by this? You clearly agreed that we could exchange it, so why have you changed your mind now? Are you treating our Moonless Clan as nothing by going back on your word like this?!"

"Hmph!" Jiang Zhuoxue sneered. "What, you want to fight us in the name of the Moonless Clan?"

Sang Ying didn't want to waste time on these two, so she patted Jiang Zhuoxue, telling him to stop saying anything outrageous, "We never seemed to have agreed to make a deal with you two, did we? Besides, is the Moonless Clan so domineering that they would force others to give up what they have?"

"You!" Wuyue Wenren was once again so angry that he lost his voice.

"Alright!" Wuyue Qing was already getting annoyed with this subordinate who was useless and always caused her trouble. "Since Fellow Daoist Sang is unwilling to exchange with us, then forget it. After all, we are still enemies, and it's not good for us to stay together for too long. I will leave with my men now. I hope Fellow Daoist Sang will not mind Wenren's two previous offenses."

She took the initiative to back down, which infuriated her subordinate.

Upon hearing this, Sang Ying merely gave her a deep look. "Fellow Daoist Wuyue, there's no need to be so polite. If you are truly apologizing, we will naturally not hold a grudge."

But the real danger is that some people only say nice things, while in reality they are still scheming against them.

After saying those words, Wuyue Qing indeed left with her men. Before leaving, she didn't even glance at the poor Spring-Heralding Bird.

Only after the two had completely left Jiang Zhuoxue's Divine Sense range did Sang Ying flip to the page in the picture book that depicted the Scarlet Blood Grass, and shove the image of the Scarlet Blood Grass in front of the Spring-Heralding Bird:

"Did you see that clearly? Help us find this spiritual herb, and we'll exchange it for your demon core!"

The Spring-Heralding Bird let out a soft cry, but under the intimidation of the Floating River Sword, it obediently nodded in agreement.