Chapter 488: The Irritable Big Bird!

Xu Qing shook his head, grabbed Xiang Ningyan by the neck, and stepped into the Sword-Wielding Palace's teleportation array. Amidst Xiang Ningyan's suspicion and uncertainty, the teleportation array's light shone, submerging their two figures.

The next instant, in the capital district near the desert, inside a Sword-Wielding Palace teleportation array built on a plain, the figures of Xu Qing and Xiang Ningyan appeared rapidly within a protective glow.

There were many teleportation arrays of the Sword-Wielding Palace in the capital. Not all were built inside cities; some were in the wilderness, requiring special methods to operate, and came with their own protection.

This teleportation array here was one such example.

When their two figures became completely clear, Xu Qing scanned the surroundings vigilantly.

Although he had confirmed that this place was safe through the Sword-Wielding Palace's array before teleporting, his instinctive behavior made him continue to confirm it.

Until he sensed that everything was fine, Xu Qing walked out of the teleportation array's protection and stood on the stone slabs overgrown with weeds. He looked up at the sky.

It was still late at night, and the dark clouds covering more than half of the capital also shrouded this place. Rain drizzled onto the withered grass on the plain, radiating a bone-chilling cold.

Furthermore, because there were no tall buildings to block it, the howling wind blew unscrupulously, lifting the rain and echoing with bursts of whimpering sounds in his ears.

"Senior Brother Xu Qing, where... where are we going?" Xiang Ningyan was very nervous, looking at the desolate plain, his heart full of trepidation.

"Xiang Ningyan, when we first came to the capital to report, I saw you in this vicinity." Xu Qing spoke calmly.

"Ah?"

Xiang Ningyan was stunned and nodded hurriedly.

"At that time, you were in the claws of Senior Qing Qin. Now, take me to the place where you met Senior Qing Qin." Xu Qing's gaze swept across the black clouds in the sky as he spoke softly.

"This..." Xiang Ningyan trembled all over. He feared Xu Qing, and he also feared that big bird. At that time, the other party looked like it wanted to eat him, which gave him nightmares for a long time.

Just as he instinctively wanted to find a way to refuse tactfully, Xu Qing turned his head and stared at Xiang Ningyan in the wind and rain, his expression solemn.

"Xiang Ningyan, this matter concerns the life and safety of the hundred thousand Sword-Wielders on the front line and the millions of human cultivators in the Fenghai County. If you help me find Senior Qing Qin, I will report this to the Palace Master and record a great merit for you!"

"But..." Xiang Ningyan hesitated. Seeing this, Xu Qing spoke indifferently.

"Otherwise, I will have someone send you to Zhaoxia Prefecture to reunite with Huanxi Hua."

Hearing this, Xiang Ningyan's expression immediately became solemn, and he spoke with gravity.

"Senior Brother Xu Qing, you underestimate me. Since it concerns Fenghai County, Junior Brother will definitely go all out."

"I met Senior Qing Qin when I was flying in the sky not far from here. Senior Brother Xu Qing, I will lead the way!" Xiang Ningyan's expression was serious, looking like he was worried about Fenghai County, and his body soared into the sky amidst the rain, heading straight for the firmament.

Xu Qing remained expressionless, following behind.

Just like that, the two of them sped through the sky and soon arrived at the place where Xiang Ningyan met Qing Qin. Looking around, the area was empty; there were no mountain peaks, no jungles, and it didn't look like a place where a big bird would inhabit.

Xu Qing's expression was suspicious.

Xiang Ningyan's heart trembled. Fearing that Xu Qing would discover the truth, he hurriedly spoke.

"Senior Brother Xu Qing, it really is here. I flew past this place and saw a storm, and then I was grabbed."

Xu Qing glanced at Xiang Ningyan. Under his gaze, Xiang Ningyan instinctively dodged his eyes.

Xu Qing was silent. He had indeed brought Xiang Ningyan here to find Qing Qin's tracks; he had no other thoughts about Xiang Ningyan.

But now he felt he had been too kind. So, after withdrawing his gaze, he took a deep breath and suddenly shouted to the surroundings.

"Senior Qing Qin, Junior Sword-Wielder Xu Qing, comes to pay a visit!"

"To express my sincerity, I have specially brought the Sword-Wielder Xiang Ningyan, who offended you last time, to apologize to you in person."

As soon as the words were spoken, Xiang Ningyan's expression changed. He was indeed deceiving Xu Qing and had not taken Xu Qing to the place where he truly met Qing Qin. On one hand, he was afraid of Qing Qin, and on the other hand, it concerned his own

secrets.

Last time Qing Qin appeared and grabbed him, his public explanation was that he met it inexplicably, but in reality, it wasn't like that... However, thinking that this place was extremely far from Qing Qin's lair, Xiang Ningyan's heart settled, and he began to ponder how to justify himself later.

But before he could think of an explanation, whether it was because of him or the mood, a very unpleasant and ear-piercing cawing sound suddenly came from the black sky.

As soon as this sound came out, the world changed color, and the wind and clouds surged.

The sky directly exploded, countless black clouds collapsed and rumbled outward in all directions. As the rain poured down violently and roughly, a bird head the size of a thousand feet emerged from the collapsed clouds.

The red eyes shone in the sky, and the gaze seemed to turn into substance, locking onto the place where Xu Qing and Xiang Ningyan were.

Immediately after, a second head and a third head also poked out from the distant black clouds, each one a thousand feet in size, incomparably astonishing.

It was indeed the big bird, Qing Qin.

It had actually been inhabiting the black clouds.

Because the way it appeared was too violent, the clouds and mist around it formed countless thunderbolts as they exploded, wandering in all directions, outlining its ten-thousand-foot belly within the black clouds.

It was too big.

In Xu Qing's eyes, a small half of the sky seemed to be shrouded by it at this moment.

Perhaps because it was disturbed in its sleep, the big bird Qing Qin was a bit irritable. As it hissed, it inhaled,

and the rain that had fallen around it due to the collapse of the clouds actually flowed backward, turning into three long rivers that it sucked into its mouth.

This scene made Xu Qing's heart tremble. He discovered that this time, Qing Qin seemed to have appeared in its true form, so it was much larger than what he had seen before.

Especially since his cultivation had improved too much compared to when he first came to the capital, and he had experienced many things, he had some judgment about Void-Returning powerhouses.

At this moment, he saw with his own eyes that the big bird Qing Qin, exposed within the black clouds, had countless Dao trace threads in the eyes of its three ferocious heads, and there were even overlapping shadows on its body. Furthermore, within the lightning around it, one small world after another was forming and being destroyed.

Although it had not yet reached the level of Void-Returning, the pressure emitted by its massive body of several thousand to nearly ten thousand feet was enough to shake the world.

While Xu Qing's heart was surging with great waves, Xiang Ningyan beside him was already terrified, his eyes full of disbelief, because this was not the place where he had discovered Qing Qin.

Qing Qin's lair was very, very far from here...

"How could it appear here? This isn't right. Qing Qin's habits are very lazy; it almost never goes out on weekdays! Could it be... could it be that it has set its sights on me!"

Xiang Ningyan trembled all over. As his heart surged, Xu Qing took a deep breath. Bearing the immense pressure from the firmament, he stepped forward a few steps and bowed to the three huge heads in the residual clouds in the sky.

"Sword-Wielder Xu Qing, pays respects to Senior Qing Qin."

As Xu Qing spoke, the three heads exposed in the black clouds simultaneously let out a 'caw'. This sound was like countless heavenly thunders exploding, rumbling in all directions, and even stirring up a storm, causing Xu Qing's body to retreat involuntarily, while Xiang Ningyan wailed rapidly.

"We're done for. What Qing Qin hates most is being woken up from sleep. We're done for!!"

"Shut up!" Xu Qing roared. After barely standing firm, he bowed to the sky again.

"Senior Qing Qin, now that the Sheng Lan tribe has invaded and Fenghai County is in crisis, Junior earnestly requests Senior to come out of the mountains. If Senior doesn't want to go to the battlefield, that's fine, and if you don't want to take action, that's also fine. Just follow me for a while and allow me to borrow your influence."

Xu Qing's words were sincere, and after speaking, he bowed again.

But Xiang Ningyan beside him was about to cry. Ignoring Xu Qing's reprimand, he hurriedly reminded him.

"Senior Brother Xu Qing, it's useless. I actually guessed your thoughts before, but in reality, although Qing Qin's ancestors followed the Ancient Emperor Xuanyou and eventually died for him, that is a beautiful description given by later generations."

"The truth is that Qing Qin's ancestors, as peerless ferocious birds of that time, were originally hostile to the Ancient Emperor. Later, due to the pressure of the situation and the Ancient Emperor's promise to protect its descendants, it fought for the Ancient Emperor and

died."

"When the God's remnant face arrived, the Ancient Emperor left the Wanggu Continent and did not fulfill the original promise. The bond of incense has been broken."

"As for Qing Qin, although it was friends with the previous County Governor, this was also because that County Governor had once been of great help to it. After he left, the karma between them was settled. This is also the reason why Qing Qin did not leave with him."

"I have read the Fenghai County Annals of the past eight hundred years. Although Qing Qin has not been hostile to the human race, it has not helped much either. Everything is based on its personal preferences."

"And Qing Qin's temper has always been irritable. This is recognized. Its ancestor, the source of its prehistoric alien bloodline, was a ferocious bird famous for devouring all races in the world!"

"We disturbed its sleep; for Qing Qin, this is the source of its anger."

"Besides, when you saw me in its claws and didn't die, it wasn't because my physical body was strong, but because the bloodline on my body made it wary. I..."

Xiang Ningyan hurriedly told him what he knew, his voice trembling, and he even said some things he shouldn't have, which showed his inner panic.

Xu Qing's expression was heavy. He heard many problems in Xiang Ningyan's words, but now was not the time to investigate, because a huge sense of pressure came from the firmament.

Qing Qin's three huge, ferocious heads actually lowered outside the clouds, carrying ferocity, and approached Xu Qing and Xiang Ningyan.

At such a close distance, Xu Qing could clearly see that there were not many feathers on these three ferocious heads. The wrinkled purple-red skin was full of cracks and ugliness, and the red eyes radiated irritability at being disturbed. The huge, sharp beak emitted terrifying pressure.

Looking from afar, in the sky, compared to the ten-thousand-foot Qing Qin, Xu Qing and Xiang Ningyan were like tiny specks. While insignificant, the visual impact of this scene was also astonishing.

Xiang Ningyan hurriedly erupted his bloodline power, attempting to resolve his own crisis. As for Xu Qing, he couldn't care about him.

Xu Qing's breathing was rapid. He didn't move, but the Purple Moon in his body had already risen from the Heavenly Palace. Just as he was about to speak, Qing Qin's three heads sniffed at him, and the irritability in their eyes actually dissipated.

The head on its right suddenly lowered. After reaching beneath Xu Qing, it nudged upward, gently carrying Xu Qing's body onto its head.

Xu Qing was stunned.

Xiang Ningyan's eyes widened completely, his heart surging with monstrous waves. Carrying disbelief and incredulity, he exclaimed in shock.

"This... this..."

Xiang Ningyan's heart was turned upside down, and he was completely dumbfounded. He stood there, completely stunned. Regarding the scene before him, he only felt his mind was a blank.

It seemed that even the ability to think had stalled at this moment.

It was just that the picture before him was too shocking, even to the point of being unheard of.

He had a mysterious background, so he recognized most of the things the Captain took out when they were at the Ten-Intestine Tree, and he also knew many things Xu Qing didn't know. He understood even better Qing Qin's ferocity and its entanglement with the human race.

That was why he had told Xu Qing that before. In his understanding, for the transcendent Qing Qin, whether Fenghai County was controlled by the human race or not actually made no difference.

Even if the Sheng Lan tribe occupied this place, they wouldn't easily do anything to it. Basically, it would be the same as it was now.

Therefore, he knew very well that Qing Qin wouldn't help, nor would it go to war.

But now...

He saw the proud Qing Qin actually use its right head to nudge Xu Qing up, actively letting Xu Qing stand there. ===== CHAPTER 489 =====