"Chirp!"
"Chirp chirp!"
"Chirp chirp chirp!"
"..."
Xu Yi sat on the ground, resting her chin on her hand, watching the Mountain Condor and the Iron-Clawed Condor argue.
Although she didn't understand what the two condors were saying, their rapid chatter suggested a heated discussion.
Xu Yi had intended to mediate, but the moment she opened her mouth, the Iron-Clawed Condor glared at her, and she silently closed it.
"Human."
A sharp, feminine voice emerged from the Iron-Clawed Condor's beak, making Xu Yi freeze. She immediately jumped to her feet, "Senior Tie."
"Senior Tie?" The Iron-Clawed Condor seemed displeased with the appellation.
"Yes, Senior Iron-Clawed Condor, Senior Tie for short," Xu Yi replied honestly.
The Iron-Clawed Condor: ...
"My offspring has informed me of what happened during this period. In consideration of your diligent care, I can overlook the matter of your egg theft."
"Thank you, Senior Tie," Xu Yi, being quite perceptive, quickly chimed in.
"Do not thank me yet. My offspring is very fond of you and wishes for you to stay in the Realm of Giants to keep it company. Are you willing?"
Although the Iron-Clawed Condor was asking for Xu Yi's opinion, its gaze and tone were filled with menace.
Xu Yi was taken aback and promptly shook her head, "This junior is unwilling."
"Chirp!" The Mountain Condor let out an anxious cry.
The Iron-Clawed Condor gently caressed the Mountain Condor with its wing, its gaze still sharp, "You are unwilling? If you hadn't stolen the egg, why would my offspring and I have been separated?"
A strange expression flickered across Xu Yi's face. Was the Iron-Clawed Condor trying to threaten her with her own past misdeed?
It had miscalculated; she hated being threatened the most.
"Senior Tie, you are a demon, and I am a human. The conflict between humans and demons has existed since ancient times. While my stealing of the egg might be a grave offense to you, I do not believe I have committed any wrongdoing.
Earlier, during your fight with the Golden Armored Soldiers, I could have easily hidden the information and taken the Mountain Condor away. However, I did not. I returned it to your side. Therefore, this can be considered a meritorious deed."
Of course, Xu Yi would never admit that she was tired of the Mountain Condor's constant chirping and demands, which was why she was so eager to return it.
Xu Yi's expression shifted, and she asked with a hint of aggression, "If I'm not mistaken, the Mountain Condor's siblings have perished. By taking it with me, I actually saved its life. Do you agree with my assessment?"
When Xu Yi returned to the Iron-Clawed Condor's lair, she had noticed the fragmented eggshells on the ground, and she had a premonition then.
After all, the Mountain Condor had swallowed all its eggshells after hatching.
Coupled with the Iron-Clawed Condor's earlier frenzied attacks, Xu Yi had reason to suspect that the other eggs had met with misfortune, and the Mountain Condor was the sole survivor.
The Iron-Clawed Condor remained silent, and its reaction implicitly confirmed Xu Yi's conjecture.
Xu Yi didn't press further. Instead, she walked over to the Mountain Condor and raised her arm, ruffling its head vigorously as she usually did.
"Chirp." The Mountain Condor chirped listlessly, its eyes filled with reluctance.
It had already guessed what Xu Yi was about to say.
"Since you have found your mother, stay with her and cultivate diligently. If you ever leave the Realm of Giants, you can bring this to me in Zhongzhou at the Xuanji Sect. My name is Xu Yi."
Xu Yi took out a jade token with a rope from her storage ring and bent down to tie it to its leg.
The front of the jade token bore the emblem of the Xuanji Sect, and the back had the character "Xu." This was proof of Xu Yi's status as an Ancestor.
"Chirp!"
As Xu Yi tied the jade token, the Mountain Condor rubbed its head against Xu Yi's head.
"Alright, alright, you've messed up my hair."
Xu Yi raised her hand to cover her disheveled hair, stopping the Mountain Condor's affectionate nuzzling.
Seeing the affectionate display between the human and the condor, the Iron-Clawed Condor felt a pang. It lightly flapped its wing, and the Mountain Condor landed on its broad back feathers.
"The little creature in your sleeve has an extraordinary origin. Take good care of it."
The Iron-Clawed Condor uttered this cold remark, spread its wings, and soared into the sky.
The overwhelming gust of wind knocked Xu Yi to the ground, sending her tumbling a few times before she managed to stop herself.
Xu Yi, with fallen leaves on her head: ...
After watching the Iron-Clawed Condor and the Mountain Condor depart, Xu Yi felt a brief moment of sadness before quickly retrieving the little creature from her sleeve.
"Squeak!"
The little green worm was delighted to see Xu Yi and immediately performed... an enthusiastic wriggle.
Xu Yi: ...
She held the little green worm in her hand and examined it, but she couldn't discern anything unusual.
However, based on what Senior Iron-Clawed Condor had said, there was no other possibility.
"Can you talk?"
"Squeak."
"Can you spit spirit stones?"
"Squeak."
"What about treasure hunting, exploring, or burrowing?"
"Squeak."
This was just a little green worm that only ate grass, after all the testing.
After feeding the little green worm some grass, Xu Yi put it back into her sleeve.
Without the chirping of birds or the sounds of insects, Xu Yi actually felt a bit unaccustomed.
It seemed she needed to use cultivation more to numb herself.
Xu Yi cast aside her scattered emotions and resumed her search for suitable demonic beasts for cultivation.
...
The Wei Family in Qinghua City.
Wei Qingshan knelt in the ancestral hall, her expression vacant, her lips so pale they were almost devoid of color.
She stared blankly at the brand-new spirit tablet in front of the ancestral hall, bearing her brother's name.
Yes, the plan to cure poison with poison had failed.
After her brother ingested the potent poison refined from the Shadowless Slug, his body began to rot within a breath, and he succumbed to the poison.
And she, the meritorious official who brought the Shadowless Slug back to the Wei family, had now transformed into the murderer of the family patriarch.
As she was the only remaining direct descendant of the Wei family, the clan had decided to convene a family meeting to decide her fate after the patriarch's seventy-seventh day memorial.
She was then confined to the ancestral hall, told she needed to clearly repent her mistakes before her brother's spirit.
Heh, mistakes?
What mistakes had she made?
No, she did have a mistake. Her biggest mistake was not realizing that this entire situation was a setup targeting their direct lineage.
And she had foolishly walked right into it.
No wonder, on her way to the Realm of Giants, besides Wei Jiu, no clan member had tried to stop her.
They probably wished she would die on the road, or in the Realm of Giants.
The cold sensation on her knees brought an unprecedented clarity to Wei Qingshan's mind.
She was the fifth young lady of the Wei family. Besides her deceased brother, she had two other brothers and one sister.
She had never slighted or neglected them because they were from collateral branches, yet they had harbored resentment and sought ways to oust her brother from the patriarch's position.
As for the medical cultivator who had ties with the Wei family, they had already been bought off, colluding with them.
Wei Qingshan suddenly thought of Xu Yi and let out a bitter smile.
The senior had vaguely hinted at it that day, but she had overlooked it. Now, thinking back, perhaps all of this was retribution.
"Miss."