“Halt!” Two furious shouts came from the distance.
A lion spirit and a leopard spirit rushed over, bringing along an intense, bloody wind.
“Shi Wudi? Bao Yongjiu?” The peacocks’ expressions changed. Clearly, these two animal spirit kings were famous.
[TL Note: Shi Wudi translates to Lion Undefeatable, and Bao Yongjiu translates to Leopard Everlasting.]
“Hurry! Quickly save me! Ah!” the golden-winged roc cried out.
“A peacock race elder? Who are you? Why don’t I know you?” Shi Wudi glared at Kong Xuan.
“Why waste time on nonsense? Hurry! Quickly kill him. Otherwise, we will be in trouble when that old peacock finds out!” Bao Yongjiu said ferociously.
“Humph! That old thing. You do still have that trump card. However, you will die today!” Shi Wudi roared.
As Shi Wudi spoke, the two animal spirit kings charged Kong Xuan.
“Elder, be careful. They can block the five-colored divine light! Be careful!” the peacock king that Kong Xuan just rescued warned anxiously.
Kong Xuan glanced coldly at the two experts. However, he did not move back. On the contrary, he stepped forward.
As Kong Xuan advanced, a surging black aura erupted from him. When the black aura appeared, it turned into a black wind blowing at the two experts.
“What?!” Shi Wudi and Bao Yongjiu immediately sensed something off.
“Hah!”
Kong Xuan glared as he opened his mouth. The black wind curled around and pulled the two experts towards his mouth.
“Ah! Oh no! Run, quickly!” Shi Wudi’s expression changed dramatically.
However, Kong Xuan’s suction was too strong. The two experts could not resist; he quickly swallowed them into his stomach.
The expressions of the peacocks flying over changed. This elder is awesome!
Shi Wudi and Bao Yongjiu are animal spirit kings who have long been famous. They have killed countless peacocks. This elder swallowed them in one go?
How powerful is this elder?
After the shock passed, only joy remained, as this was a peacock race elder.
“Elder is mighty!” the peacocks cheered excitedly.
“No! No! That’s impossible! How…?” The legless and wingless golden-winged roc showed horror on its face.
Kong Xuan turned his head and looked coldly at the golden-winged roc.
The golden-winged roc’s expression changed. “I won’t speak! Even if you kill me, I won’t speak!”
Kong Xuan frowned slightly.
Speak? I did not ask you anything. Even if you told me who instructed you to do this, I wouldn’t know that person. However, this golden-winged roc suddenly showed horror on its face, even forgetting about its injuries.
“Many thanks, Elder!” the earlier peacock king said in gratitude.
More peacocks arrived in the surroundings.
Kong Xuan frowned. “Remember, you did not see anything just now. Do you remember that?”
The peacocks that flew over felt slightly startled. They did not understand what the elder meant, but they still nodded vigorously.
“Elder, rest assured. We will bury the memory of what happened earlier deep in our hearts!”
“Elder, rest assured. I will not tell anyone!”
“Yes, Elder!”
The peacocks answered.
“Which city’s peacock king are you?” Kong Xuan frowned at the rescued peacock.
“Mao City. I am the peacock that manages Mao City. Before Elder, I am no king. Just call me Old Mao,” the Mao City Peacock King immediately said in embarrassment, lowering its head.
“Bring me to meet the peacock race’s prime!” Kong Xuan said.
“Ah?” Old Mao felt slightly startled. Then, it nodded. “Yes, Elder. This way, please.”
While still in its one-thousand-six-hundred-odd-meter-tall peacock form, Old Mao grabbed the golden-winged roc and flew on with Kong Xuan standing on its head.
Old Mao did not object to Kong Xuan’s position. The strong reigned in the peacock race. Furthermore, Old Mao was grateful to Kong Xuan.
As the two flew over the sea, they met more peacocks.
The Mao City Peacock King was covered in blood as it carried the golden-winged roc, attracting the attention of many peacocks and bewildering them.
Kong Xuan shrouded himself in a black aura, blocking the peacocks’ view of him. However, that incited their curiosity.
“Old Mao, what is going on here?” some peacocks familiar with the Mao City Peacock King asked as they approached.
“This golden-winged roc tried to kill me along the way. I suspect it has something to do with the many deaths among the peacock kings, so I brought it back,” the Mao City Peacock King replied seriously.
“Oh?” All the peacocks eyed the golden-winged roc coldly.
One of the peacocks flew over with an icy expression. “Mao City Lord, hand it to our Law Enforcement Hall. We will interrogate it!”
“Sorry for the trouble.” The Mao City Lord nodded and tossed the golden-winged roc to that peacock.
“It’s no trouble at all. This is our job. So many city lords have died for no apparent reason. We were just worrying about how to handle this. You have made a major contribution,” the Law Enforcement Hall peacock said gratefully.
Old Mao continued flying to the island in the middle.
“Halt!” A group of peacocks immediately blocked Old Mao.
“Everyone, I need to meet the prime,” Old Mao said respectfully.
“Prime is in closed-door cultivation and is currently not meeting guests. Just wait. Prime will come out in two days. You can come then,” the peacocks in the way said.
“However, it is genuinely something major. Please allow me passage. This matter affects the safety of the peacock race,” Old Mao said urgently.
The guards said somewhat impatiently, “Did you not hear what I said? He is not meeting guests. Also, who is this person wrapped in a black aura? To think you want to bring someone of unknown origins to meet the prime? Do you know the rules?!”
Just as Old Mao was at a loss for an explanation, an aged voice suddenly rang out from the distant island. “The honored guest from afar, excuse me for not going out to receive you.”
“Prime!” All the peacocks looked into the distance with respect.
The aged voice continued, “Don’t stop them. Let the honored guest come over!”
“Yes!” The peacock guards immediately moved aside.
Old Mao looked at the surroundings in confusion as he ferried Kong Xuan to a large plaza on the island.
Many peacock guards stood around the plaza, eyeing the demonic-aura-shrouded Kong Xuan suspiciously.
Kong Xuan stepped off Old Mao’s head onto the plaza.
“Peacock Deity Hall?” Surprise flashed in Kong Xuan’s eyes.
“Honored guest, please pardon me. This old one is not very mobile. Please make your way into the hall. The other peacocks are to wait outside and guard the place. No one is to interrupt us!” The aged voice came from the hall.
“Yes!” the peacock race experts outside the hall responded respectfully.
Kong Xuan stepped into the Peacock Deity Hall.
Creak!
The doors to the hall closed.
Kong Xuan saw an azure-robed old man seated on a chair in the center of the hall. This old man gave off a smell characteristic of the elderly.
“Cough! Cough! Cough! Cough! This old man is old and is already in decline. Please forgive me!” the azure-robed old man said with a forced smile.
“The five symptoms of imminent death? Indeed, you are at the limit of your lifespan and will die soon.” Kong Xuan frowned.
As Kong Xuan spoke, he suddenly scattered the black aura around him, revealing his appearance.
The azure-robed old man stared at Kong Xuan with confusion flashing in his eyes. “I have met all the Upper Heavenly Palace Realm experts of the peacock race. However, I have not met you before. The overwhelming demonic aura you give off is rare. More importantly, why do you have a peacock deity in your body?”
Coo!
A peacock cry suddenly came from Kong Xuan’s forehead.
Buzz!
Kong Xuan’s forehead suddenly gave off boundless azure light. A translucent peacock flew out from the azure light. After flying around for a while, it flew back into his forehead.
“I am also a prime of the peacock race,” Kong Xuan said.
The azure-robed old man’s eyes lit up and suddenly spilled tears of excitement. “Hahahaha! Cough! Cough! Cough! Cough! Hahahaha! Heaven preserves my peacock race! Heaven preserves my peacock race, indeed!”
Tears flowed out of the azure-robed old man’s eyes. Snot dribbled from his nose from joy.
“Senior, what do you mean?” Kong Xuan asked.
“This old man had a dream not long ago. I dreamed that the peacock race would be destroyed, so this old man spent one month of my lifespan seeking an audience with Senior Fuxi through the peacock deity. The result was the same as my dream. I made preparations to scatter the peacock race. Unexpectedly, a wild card like you appeared. I don’t know where you come from. However, that is no longer important to me. Your arrival can save the peacock race!” the azure-robed old man said excitedly.
Kong Xuan frowned slightly and shook his head. “I might have to disappoint you. My arrival might not help you, as I cannot remain for long.”
“Ah?” The azure-robed old man’s expression stiffened.
Kong Xuan looked at the azure-robed old man in silence for a while. “Can I trust you?”
“This old man is dedicated to the peacock race. As long as it benefits the peacock race, I will do my best,” the azure-robed old man said thoughtfully.
“That’s not enough. I need to probe your peacock deity,” Kong Xuan said.
Buzz!
The old man did not hesitate. Bright, azure light immediately appeared at his forehead. Then, a peacock deity—one even larger and more dazzling than what came out of Kong Xuan’s forehead—appeared.
“Lay your curse!” the old man said gravely.
Laying a curse was a peacock race secret technique. It equated to handing one’s life and death to the other party as a sign of trust.
Kong Xuan remained silent for a while before shaking his head. “Never mind. I trust you.”
Buzz!
The peacock deity returned to the old man’s forehead.
“I addressed you as Senior not out of respect but because it is a fact. You might even be one of my ancestors,” Kong Xuan said gravely.
“Oh? This old man has only eight days left. You can just speak your mind. I am about to die, so there is no need to hold back,” the old man said gravely.
“Senior, I come from eight hundred thousand years in the future. By then, the peacock race has already been reduced to a small animal spirit tribe. Due to my acceptable talent, I cultivated rather quickly, propping up the peacock race. Otherwise, the peacock race would have gone extinct long ago. I am called Kong Xuan, the peacock prime from eight hundred thousand years later,” Kong Xuan explained gravely.
“Eight hundred thousand years later?” The old man felt slightly startled, appearing somewhat skeptical.
Kong Xuan did not rush, waiting for the old man to digest the information. The old man’s expression recovered to normal only after quite some time. However, he no longer looked at Kong Xuan with the same eyes; there was some sorrow and a trace of joy in them.
“Can you tell me about the future?” the old man asked gravely.
Kong Xuan nodded and described everything he knew.
“Hah! Hahahaha! The peacock race actually declined to such a state? The Six Paths Veritable Lord? The Greatly Compassionate Greatly Sorrowful Six Paths Veritable Lord? To think…to think… Cough! Cough! Cough!” The old man coughed blood.
“This old man cannot last much longer. I cannot stop Six Paths. How many days of lifespan do I have left? Hah! What a sin!” the old man said with an unsightly expression.
“Senior, there’s no need for you to be like this. Perhaps if you reincarnate…,” Kong Xuan consoled.
“Reincarnate? Haha! Reincarnate? If it is as you said, is there a point to reincarnating? Six Paths will control the cycle of reincarnation. Even if I reincarnate, he will swallow me up. Hah…,” the old man sighed.
“With effort, one can achieve anything. Nothing is fixed,” Kong Xuan said.
The old man suddenly looked at Kong Xuan. “I am already on my deathbed. This generation of the peacock race lacks strong peacock kings. You came at a good time. This is excellent timing. Help me lead the peacock race. I will pass on my position to you. I will merge my peacock deity into yours!”
