“If I still can’t find that celestial crane, I’ll pretty much have to leave. I’ll go check out the East Sea, and then see if I need to come back later.”
He Xiuyuan sat on the edge of the cliff, gazing at the distant sunset.
The fiery red sun hung over the distant mountain peaks, and the evening glow filled the horizon. A flock of birds flew in formation, creating a breathtaking scene.
He Xiuyuan’s gaze fell upon the distant evening glow, and he sighed inwardly.
It had been several months, and he still couldn’t find the celestial crane; it was truly difficult to locate.
He Xiuyuan looked up at the distant evening glow, just as he was about to assume today would also be fruitless, when his expression suddenly froze.
He saw a bird flying into the sky within the distant evening glow, gently pecking at the glow. Then, with a pull, it was as if it tore off a piece of silk, pecking the evening glow down.
The successful bird quickly turned and flew downwards.
The evening glow in its beak was extremely conspicuous, making it visible at a glance.
“Is that… a celestial crane?”
He Xiuyuan suddenly stood up, his gaze fixed on the distant celestial crane, a hint of joy in his eyes.
For the past few months, He Xiuyuan had been wondering if what those children said was actually true.
He hadn’t expected to actually see it today.
“Follow it!”
Although he didn’t know what purpose the celestial crane had for pecking the evening glow, He Xiuyuan quickly followed.
After casting a spell to gather a ball of clear water, He Xiuyuan stepped on it and immediately flew in the direction where the celestial crane landed.
The celestial crane was still quite far from his position. After it landed below the mountain peak, it was obstructed by the continuous mountain ranges.
Below the mountain peak, it was already enveloped in night, forming two worlds with the lingering sunset above.
In such a scene, if it were any other bird, disappearing into the darkness like that, it would be difficult to find where it went.
But precisely because the celestial crane carried the evening glow, after it entered the distant mountains, the evening glow emitted a dazzling light, dispelling the darkness in the distant mountains.
Such a sight was truly extraordinary and miraculous.
With such a clear guiding light, He Xiuyuan didn’t have to worry about losing his way at all.
After flying over several large mountains, He Xiuyuan finally saw that the glow not far ahead had become incredibly bright. He only needed to go a little further to find the celestial crane.
Thinking of this, He Xiuyuan was about to increase his speed slightly.
However, just at this moment, the sky suddenly darkened, and then a mass of dark clouds gathered, with lightning constantly weaving through them.
He Xiuyuan subconsciously looked up at the sound, and when he saw the dark clouds gathering above his head, he frowned slightly.
“Is this… a Heavenly Punishment? Or something else?”
The appearance of these dark clouds was truly ill-timed, and the lightning flickering within them gave He Xiuyuan a sense of déjà vu.
It was very similar to the feeling He Xiuyuan had when he first learned the Cloud Manipulation and Rain Invocation Technique.
However, why did this Heavenly Punishment gather at this time? Could it be because the celestial crane just pecked away the evening glow?
If that were the case, it must be that the evening glow the celestial crane pecked away was extraordinary, which is why it attracted this Heavenly Punishment, right?
He Xiuyuan was puzzled. Although he had some guesses in his heart, whether they were true or not remained unknown.
Thinking of this, He Xiuyuan sped up a bit.
However, no matter how fast He Xiuyuan was, he couldn’t outpace the Heavenly Punishment in the sky.
Thunder gathered within the dark clouds, and then, silently, a thick bolt of lightning, as wide as a water vat, suddenly struck down.
The moment the massive lightning struck, it seemed as if even the nearby air was scorched. The terrifying power, even from dozens of meters away, still made He Xiuyuan’s hair stand on end.
“This Heavenly Punishment is so powerful!”
He Xiuyuan’s heart pounded fiercely.
As the lightning struck the mountain ahead, a mournful cry followed.
Within that mournful cry, there was also a roar.
The roar was filled with unwillingness, anger, and malevolence.
He Xiuyuan was perplexed by these two sounds.
According to his previous guess, this Heavenly Punishment might have been caused by the celestial crane pecking at an unusual evening glow.
If that were the case, the Heavenly Punishment falling on the celestial crane seemed explainable.
But what was the other scream about?
Thinking of this, He Xiuyuan quickly accelerated. Soon, after crossing the mountain ahead, the scene on the mountain range before him appeared.
He saw a celestial crane with scorched black feathers lying on the ground, barely alive. Beside the celestial crane was a dark and deep cave.
Above the cave, there was a Talisman that looked like a Seal, shimmering with light.
Below the cave, a mass of incredibly dark Qi churned continuously, occasionally letting out a roar.
Seeing this, He Xiuyuan’s expression also tightened.
What was this situation in front of him?
“Damn celestial crane, you just had to make this heavenly lightning target me too, didn’t you?”
“But what’s the result? You bore the brunt of most of the heavenly lightning’s power. Only the aftershocks hit me, and I can still withstand it, but what about you?”
Below the cave, a sharp roar echoed, filled with anger.
He utterly hated this celestial crane in his heart.
It was just that he couldn’t break free, but if he could, he would have long since dismembered this celestial crane and roasted it!
He could have broken the Seal on this cave a long time ago.
But this celestial crane would always steal the evening glow whenever he tried to break the Seal.
And the evening glow this celestial crane stole was no ordinary glow; each time it stole it, it would attract Heavenly Punishment.
When the Heavenly Punishment descended, the celestial crane would move close to him, causing the Heavenly Punishment to deal with him as well.
The Heavenly Punishment’s power was largely diverted by the celestial crane. Although it couldn’t kill him, it could severely injure him, forcing him to spend countless hours healing.
As a result, it had forcibly delayed him for hundreds of years, preventing him from breaking free.
At this moment, he hated the celestial crane to the core, yet he was helpless.
However, the celestial crane on the ground was indifferent to his curses.
Feeling the second bolt of heavenly lightning gathering in the sky, the celestial crane barely managed to raise its head, glanced at the mound not far away, and then painstakingly moved its body closer to the cave again.
It wanted to use the power of the Heavenly Punishment to severely injure the other party once more.
With its own low Dao, it could only use this method to severely injure this demon.
However, after this second bolt of heavenly lightning struck today, it would likely have to go down and accompany its master.
