History's Number 1 Founder
chapter-256

To the north of Xingyun Peak was a large piece of flat land. On that land, there was a small lake.

Hundreds of gigantic cranes were resting in the middle of the lake. These cranes, if you measured them from their heads to the ground, were all above three meters in height, far exceeding that of similar species. They can even be ridden.

The tips of their feathers were all vermilion in color. They were a bird species indigenous to Xingyun Peak – the Red-feathered Crane.

These Red-feathered Cranes were bristling with spiritual energy. Copious amounts of magical powers flowed through their bodies. Apart from the nestlings, the majority of them had magical abilities belonging to that of the Demonic General category, which was similar to the Foundation Establishment Stage in the human realm.

Among them some had formed the Demonic Core, reaching the Demonic Commander stage. The leader of the pack of cranes was a very powerful Demonic Commander, with only a step away from forming the Demonic Soul and advancing to become a Demonic Lord.

The leader of cranes was still looking at his pack leisurely when his heart suddenly throbbed. He raised his head to observe his surroundings, and heightened his senses to its extremities, but could not discover anything.

"Am I being too sensitive?" the Red-Feathered Crane leader shook his long neck, but still could not get rid of the sense of unease within, "I blame this on that human child, and that little Taotie!"

Whenever he thought of the six abducted pack members that still had not returned, the Red-feathered Crane leader trembled with fear. The other party had with them a Taotie, and that was indeed worrying. He had a nagging feeling that the six pack mates would perhaps never return.

It was very likely that the abductors took them not to ride on them, but to consume them as food.

"What the hell is the Sword of Radiance Sect doing? How could they treat us like this?" the Red-feathered Crane leader felt indignant. He thought, "This cannot be. I must remind my pack mates to be constantly vigilant. They should not wander beyond the lake, much less move around alone."

While he was thinking, he suddenly felt that something was amiss. He looked down, and was nearly frightened to death.

In front of him, a teenager in a purple shirt who was probably eleven or twelve years old was looking up at him, grinning.

The leader of the Red-feathered Crane almost wanted to shout instantly.

The teenager in the purple shirt was none other than Xiao Budian. He reacted quickly by grabbing the Red-feathered Crane’s long, slender beak. He clutched it tightly, refusing to let the bird open his beak.

The Red-feathered Crane leader was livid; he was ready to retaliate anytime. The Red-feathered Cranes may not be adept at battles, but their powers belonged to the peak of the Demonic Commander Stage. Even if they could not defeat Xiao Budian, they could at least create some commotion.

As long as the other Red-feathered Cranes were alerted, the Sword of Radiance Sect’s disciple in charge of supervising this place will naturally be alerted. The outcome might change anytime as a result.

However, just when the Red-feathered Crane leader wanted to react, he felt that the demonic powers he released were like a clay ox entering the sea, gone without return. He could not create any impact nor draw any attention.

He looked down again. This time, he saw a beautiful little girl whose mouth was opened widely as though she were exhaling something. All the demonic powers that he was releasing were sucked into this little girl in their entirety.

Seeing this little girl, the Red-feathered Crane leader was even more fearful than when he saw Xiao Budian. This was because he could remember her as the little Taotie who swallowed cranes along with their bones – Tuntun.

The Red-feathered Crane leader’s demonic powers were constantly swallowed by Tuntun. He wanted to struggle, but Xiao Budian’s other hand was already placed on his body.

Violent flows of electricity momentarily travelled through his entire body. He was shocked, causing him to tremble uncontrollably. His entire body felt numb, and he could not exert any strength at all, much less trying to move at all.

At this moment, what Tuntun said made the leader of the Red-feathered Crane sink into complete despair, "This guy here should be the most delicious out of all the Red-feathered Cranes. He has so much spiritual energy in him."

Xiao Budian said, "This is too little, I need more. Go catch some more," as he said this he increased the voltage of the electricity.

The leader’s eyes rolled and he momentarily fainted. Before his lost his consciousness, the last thought in his head was, "All you Sword of Radiance Sect’s bastards, you just brought the wolves to my home!"

After putting the leader out of consciousness, Xiao Budian and Tuntun continued to take out the other Red-feathered Cranes who had reached the Demonic Commander Stage.

The two of them had intended to capture all of the Demonic General Red-feathered Cranes. Eventually, they would also want to capture the nestlings as well.

"The nestlings lack spiritual energy, but their flesh is succulent," Tuntun was greedy and wanted to devour the hundred of Red-feathered Cranes.

Xiao Budian criticized Tuntun firmly, "Master said that we should not be too heartless. We should let some live on."

"At the very least, we should leave a male and female nestlings for the Sword of Radiance Sect, so that they can breed more in the future."

Unfortunately, reality always differed from expectations. They were overly optimistic because soon they felt magical powers exclusive to the Nascent Soul Stage approaching them.

While the human and the demon were unafraid of the approaching person, they were worried that the Sword of Radiance Sect’s member would inform Lin Feng of their actions. They had to stop what they were doing and escape quickly with more than ten of the Red-feathered Cranes that they managed to capture.

When they fled back to where they stayed, they found Xiao Yan waiting for them with a wide grin.

Since she witnessed Xiao Yan’s impressive powers after he merged the two Primordial Flames, Tuntun felt timid when she saw him. She never forgot that she was partially blameable for Xiao Yan’s fall from a genius to a loser.

"Big Senior, you’re so free?" Xiao Budian walked towards him with a mischievous grin. Xiao Yan looked at him sternly, "So you stole people’s Red-feathered Cranes, huh?"

Xiao Budian curled his lips, "The point of rearing them is to eat them!"

Xiao Yan tapped Xiao Budian’s head, "Stop spurting nonsense! These people keep the Red-feathered Cranes for them to ride on. Meanwhile, the moment you see anything the first thing you think of is eating."

He shook his head helplessly, "Master knew since the beginning that both of you would do this, so he sent me there to wait on both of you and to bring you back to Xingyun Peak immediately when I see you. After our master bids farewell to the Supreme Radiance Swordmaster, he will take us out of here."

Xiao Budian and Tuntun laughed guiltily and followed Xiao Yan back to Xingyun Peak. There, Lin Feng was conversing with the Supreme Radiance Swordmaster. Beside him stood Jieyu and Yue Hongyan. On the other hand, Purple Cloud Grandmaster and the other Nascent Soul Elders from the Sword of Radiance Sect stood behind the Supreme Radiance Swordmaster.

Lin Feng saw Xiao Budian and Tuntun through the corner of his eyes. Xiao Budian smiled widely, while Tuntun felt embarrassed. How could he not know that they indeed went after the Sword of Radiance Sect’s Red-feathered Cranes?

"The Sword of Radiance Sect just opened their door to thieves this time," Lin Feng felt both unhappy yet amused at the same time. However, he did not show it outwardly and continued to converse with the Supreme Radiance Swordmaster normally.

Following Xiao Budian and Tuntun closely behind was an angry Red Cloud Grandmaster. He stared at Xiao Budian and Tuntun, panting heavily.

In front of her, Xiao Budian and Tuntun seemed to be more at ease. They looked at her with ignorant, child-like eyes. That look was as innocent as it could get.

Red Cloud Grandmaster was irate, but could not do anything. Now she knew that unless she caught them red-handed with evidence, these two mischievous kids would not admit their misdeed.

The Supreme Radiance Swordmaster’s expression remained the same. He looked at Lin Feng and said emotionlessly, "A month later, I hope that I can interact with Lord Lin at the entrance of the Ancient Huanghai World."

Lin Feng smiled, "That is indeed my wish too. The leader of the Sword of Radiance Sect, you do not have to send us - I will leave with my disciples. Sorry for the inconvenience all this while. You are always welcomed to visit me at Mount Yujing anytime. I will await you with open arms."

Jieyu transformed into a black dragon for Lin Feng, Xiao Yan and the rest to mount his back. With a long roar, Jieyu took off and flew to the sky, leaving the Supreme Radiance Swordmaster and company far behind.

After leaving Xingyun Peak, Lin Feng looked at Xiao Budian and Tuntun with an ambivalent expression, saying nothing throughout.

Xiao Budian laughed sheepishly; he poured out more than ten Red-feathered Cranes that he shocked into unconsciousness from his storage bag. He presented them to Lin Feng like he was presenting a treasure, "Master, these cranes are still alive. We can slaughter them anytime and eat them while they are still fresh."

"I also harbor a different intention: these cranes were captured in pairs of males and females. If we can’t finish them at once, we can rear them on Mount Yujing and let them procreate. Like that we have an endless supply."

Looking at how unabashedly proud Xiao Budian was of himself, Lin Feng’s lips twitched a few times.

Lin Feng conceded that he was one to love delicacies. But he was nowhere as stubborn and devoted as Xiao Budian who was constantly making plans about his next meal. As long as they were non-human living things, anything could be in his recipe.

When it comes to the question of eating, the master and the disciple were definitely not on the same wavelength.

"These Red-feathered Cranes really taste good. Once we have returned to Mount Yujing, we should let the Seniors and other disciples try too!" Xiao Budian said happily.

Lin Feng was torn between frustration and amusement, "Sure, that’s nice of you. At least you did not forget to share your things with other people, especially those on the mountain."

Xiao Budian made a face at Xiao Yan, "Big Senior, you had already tried it on Xingyun Peak, so this time I won’t leave any for you!"

"Don’t worry, no one will fight with you," Xiao Yan scowled, "Look at how greedy you are."

After joking with Xiao Budian, Xiao Yan’s smile gradually disappeared from his face. He looked at Lin Feng, suppressing the urge to say something.

Lin Feng smiled, "You want to look for your wife?"

At Wuzhou City, Xiao Yan was extremely disappointed that he did not see Xiao Zhener. Later on, Xiao Laozu passed Xiao Yan a small bag made of cloth and mentioned that Xiao Zhener left it for him.

Even though Lin Feng did not know what was contained in the little bag, he could tell that the situation was not bad from the fact that Xiao Yan was not depressed.

Xiao Yan did not promise only Murong Yanran the meeting after three years. Indeed, he also promised to meet someone else after three years. All these years, she had always been on his mind.

Now that the matter with Murong Yanran was settled and that he had found closure, Xian Yan naturally started to miss Xiao Zhener.

After hearing what Lin Feng said, Xiao Yan blushed a little, "Master, I really want to look for Zhener," the solemnity of his expression increased as he retrieved a letter from his chest and handed them over to Lin Feng.

Lin Feng did not accept the letter right away. Instead, he gave Xiao Yan a probing look. After all, this was a private letter given to Xiao Yan by Xiao Zhener and it probably contained mushy and intimate words no stranger to young couples. Lin Feng may be nosy parker, but he did not intend to read the letter.

"Master, please read," Xiao Yan said very seriously. He did not show any sense of embarrassment but was very solemn instead.

Lin Feng took over the letter and gave it a cursory look. His curiosity was instantly extinguished. After a short contemplation, he nodded, "If you are insisted on searching for her, I do not object to it. But there are a few things that you must always bear in mind and never be negligent about."