Chapter 6: The Black Bird is Very Cool

  Jian was a black bird that could only speak, Zhang was startled and immediately ran out of the door. He turned around to look, but the black bird didn't chase after him. He cautiously returned to the house to observe, after all, he was a disciple of the mountain guardian, it was his duty, he couldn't abandon the mountain and run away.

  The black bird still looked at him with disdain and contempt, but without any malice. Zhang Pa seemed to vaguely recall something and asked boldly: "Who are you? Are you Sheng Jun Shi Shu?"

  The black bird was very proud: "Nonsense, besides me, which other bird around Tianlei Mountain can speak?"

  The black bird acknowledged its identity, Zhang Pa put away his dagger and walked back into the house with a respectful bow: "Disciple Hongwu pays respects to Saint Xiu Shu." The black bird nodded its small head, very satisfied with Zhang Pa's politeness: "You have good manners, are you also a disciple of Tian Lei? How come you're so timid?" Zhang Pa's face turned bright red as he replied in a low voice.

  Sheng Qiu was somewhat dissatisfied: "This True Like Young Master is getting worse and worse, accepting anyone as a disciple. If word gets out, how can I still show my face?"

  Zhang's face turned increasingly ugly at being scolded, but he didn't dare talk back.

  A black bird landed on Zhang's shoulder: "Youngster, what treasure are you hiding? Let me take a look."

  "Treasure? What treasure could a disciple like me have?" Zhang was puzzled.

  The black bird was slightly angry: "So you're doubting my cultivation?"

  "The disciple does not dare." Zhang was so frightened that he wanted to kneel down, but the bird landed on his shoulder, and even if he knelt down, he didn't know who he was kneeling for.

  "Don't hide it anymore, take it out and let me see. It's not like I want it from you. As soon as I stepped out of the cell, I felt the spiritual root shining brightly. Can there be any fake?" The black bird was very confident in its judgment.

  "But the little brother really doesn't have any treasure, Master can take a look." As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang suddenly remembered those snake eggs. Could it be that Sheng Jun was talking about the snake eggs?

  The black bird snorted: "Little man, what treasure could I possibly be interested in? I'm just curious to know what it is. If you won't let me see it, then I won't look."

  Birds and snakes are eternal enemies, extremely sensitive to each other, especially for the divine-level spiritual pets. The black bird had just come out of its lair when it sensed that something was off in the direction of the Cave of Ten Thousand Beasts. After probing with its spiritual awareness, it confirmed that there was no danger, but still felt a sense of unease, as if there was some strange aura present. So, without waiting for its master to come out, it came alone to investigate, only to run into Zhang and be completely denied, enraging it. Its anger replaced the feeling of unease, and for a moment, it forgot the purpose of its visit.

  "Hei Niao's eyes rolled around: 'You're also considered my junior disciple, meeting is fate, come, let me teach you a few tricks.' Hei Niao's seniority was too high to openly bully someone younger, so he came up with another idea to teach him. Zhang had no choice but to agree."

  One man and one bird came to the outdoors, the black bird said: "Use your most powerful magic to hit me." Zhang Pa said: "The disciple does not dare." The black bird glared: "You are a timid and cowardly ink mark, are you a man?"

  Zhang was slightly annoyed at being spoken to in such a manner, and so he said, "Disciple has erred." He cast a water-based magic spell, unleashing over a thousand ice cones that covered the sky and shot towards the black bird. The black bird nodded its head: "Although your boundary is not high, you're using your magic quite well; why aren't you using a magical artifact?" The black bird spoke to itself, completely ignoring the thousand ice cones. Zhang was frightened and loudly shouted, "Master Uncle, be careful!"

  The black bird remained still, allowing the ice shards to hit its body. In an instant, thousands of ice shards collided with the black bird's body, producing a crackling sound, but failed to cause any harm. The moment they collided, they disintegrated into powder. The black bird nodded its head: "Not bad, over a thousand ice shards didn't go to waste, all hitting my body. Your magic control is indeed good, unfortunately your magic power has weakened." Tilted its small head and continued: "I've taken yours, now you take mine too." As it spoke, its wings fluttered lightly.

  Zhang Pa had given himself a layered armor, seeing the black bird coming to attack, he busied himself with defense. However, as a result, a gust of wind blade easily tore through his six-layered armor and blew him into the air, then tumbled out of the cliff, rolling straight down from the slope. Zhang Pa tried to prop up his body, only to find that his whole body was wrapped around by a surge of energy, unable to move at all, just like a ball falling down from the mountain. His body was strong and couldn't take fatal damage, but he couldn't avoid the pain of flesh and skin, his clothes were torn, his muscles were scratched, and it wasn't easy for him to stop at the foot of the mountain. Zhang Pa was out of breath, although he resented the black bird, he had no way to retaliate, so he could only swallow his anger and climb back up the mountain.

  Zhang was afraid of falling down the mountain, and the black bird had already discerned that something inappropriate was still inside the house. That strange, weak breath hadn't moved at all. It flew back to take another look. There were very few household items inside, and it was clear at a glance that only a pile of miscellaneous objects on the table was worth suspecting. The black bird landed on the table to examine them carefully, but they were just a pile of the lowest-grade, most tattered so-called armor. Why did they make itself feel uneasy? Was there something hidden inside this pile of rags?

  The black bird was about to open it and take a look, when a loud voice sounded outside the door: "Zhenru pays respects to Master Yan." The black bird grunted, flew out of the house. At the door stood Zhenru, the leader of Tianlei Mountain, with respect. The black bird spoke casually: "You're here."

  Zhenruo Zongmen respectfully asked: "Yan Shibo, I don't know if Tieguan Zhenren has come out of the mountain?"

  Blackbird impatiently: "Hurry up, hurry up, what's the matter with him? Is there anything else? If not, you can go." Blackbird was worried about the broken armor in the house.

  Zhenruo Zongmen respectfully asked: "I heard that Master Yan is leaving the pass, and I have prepared some pear fruits for you. I don't know if Master will eat them here or take them back to the cave?"

  What about lychee? It's been over a decade since I last had one, but just hearing the name makes my mouth water. The black bird turns its head to glance at the thatched cottage, and after weighing it in my mind, I always end up unable to resist the temptation of lychee.

  At this time, Zhang Pa was covered in wounds and climbed up the mountain in a sorry state. Seeing Zhen Ru there, he hastily paid his respects. Zhen Ru, the sect leader, looked at him and frowned: "What happened to you?"

  Zhang was frightened and stuttered: "The disciple accidentally fell off the mountain..."

  Just like a wave of the hand, he let out a heavy sigh in his heart, which was very disappointing to me. However, I didn't say anything and instead asked Hei Niao: "I don't know about Shifu..." Hei Niao looked at Zhang Pa's unlucky appearance and felt slightly relieved in her heart. Adding to that, Zhen Ru was still nagging on and on, so she thought to herself: "Anyway, this useless thing can't escape, I'll go eat some fruit first and come back later when I have time." So she said: "Return to the cave mansion." And with a flap of her wings, she flew far away.

  Zhenruo also flew into the air, just about to leave, when he suddenly felt that something was off. He turned his head to look around and couldn't believe his eyes. He quickly descended and came before Zhang Pa: "Top stage of Qi Refining? You've jumped from middle stage to top stage in just a few months? How did you practice?"

  This question made Zhang Pa also confused. Although he guessed that the spiritual energy of the snake egg had given him, but did not know how to give it. At this time, he honestly replied: "The disciple is unclear."

  Zhenruo was speechless when facing Zhang Pa, not knowing whether this guy was stupid or clever. He didn't know anything no matter how many times he was asked, and he was timid like a mouse, even more timid than a mouse. But he practiced diligently and learned magic quickly. Zhenruo sighed, knowing that asking him questions would be futile, so he directly handed him a jade slip: "This is the Quiet Mind Technique, cultivate it well."

  Zhang took over the white jade block, about the size of a palm, and turned it over for half a day without seeing any words on it. He furrowed his brow and asked Zhenru: "Master, there are no words on this."

  Zhenru was stunned when he heard this, and his heart bitterly smiled: "I'm convinced, thoroughly convinced. A high-ranking cultivator of the Refining Qi stage doesn't know how to use a jade slip." He had no choice but to patiently teach Zhangpa how to use it. Zhangpa, who was touching this thing for the first time, followed the method taught by his master and stuck the jade slip to his forehead, manipulating his divine spirit to look inside. A strong spiritual force emerged from his forehead, entered the jade slip, and only then did he send out his divine sense. Suddenly, many words appeared in his mind, startling him. This way of reading was absolutely more convenient and faster than using one's eyes, and it also helped with memorization. Zhangpa thanked Zhenru, who waved his hand and asked after a moment: "Don't you have a storage bag?" Zhangpa replied: "I don't."

  Just like that, Shun handed it over to him: "The usage is similar to the Jade Simplification, both are controlled by the Yuan Shen... no, not stuck to the forehead!" Zhang was excited to receive the storage bag and heard that the door master said it was used in the same way as the Jade Simplification, so he hurriedly put it on his forehead to learn how to use it, but ended up making a fool of himself.

  "Divine sense is the means by which the primordial spirit perceives. By releasing divine sense, you can think of what you want to collect and put your divine sense on it. Then, with a thought, manipulate it into the bag. When taking things out, insert your divine sense into the storage bag, select the item, and take it out with a thought."

  Zhang was thrilled to touch the magical instrument for the first time, and couldn't stop looking at it and playing with it. Seeing how happy he was, he rarely smiled and asked after a while: "Is there anything you don't understand?"

  Zhang was afraid of snakes and respectfully replied: "No, but can you give your disciple another beast-controlling pouch?"

  Zhenru didn't understand: "What's the use of that thing? If you want to use it, I'll let Kongling Hall give you one later." Zhang was overjoyed and thanked the master again.