Xie Liufeng had finished handling the two unconscious figures and silently appeared next to Chu Xinghui.

Chu Xinghui glanced at him and instinctively moved a bit closer.

Xie Liufeng smiled softly, reaching out to ruffle his hair.

A while later, Fang Yan returned holding a small box. He glanced at Xie Liufeng, who had appeared unexpectedly, but pretended not to notice the couple’s subtle gestures. He opened the box to show them its contents.

“I found it. There is indeed such an item in the storage room, but I have no idea what it’s used for,” Fang Yan said, his tone a little puzzled.

The object had been stored in the sect long before Xie Liufeng was even born, and when it was archived, no information on its uses had been recorded. If Mu Zeqing hadn’t mentioned it, it’s likely no one would have remembered it for hundreds of years.

He opened the box, revealing a brilliant golden-red bird’s feather. It shimmered with an intense fire attribute spiritual energy, looking incredibly alluring.

But the three of them had no fire spiritual roots, so they weren’t particularly intrigued by it.

Fang Yan instinctively turned to Xie Liufeng. The older cultivator had wandered the world for years and probably knew more than anyone else present.

Xie Liufeng shrugged, raising his hands in defeat: “Don’t look at me. I don’t know either.”

As a sword cultivator, Xie Liufeng wasn’t well-versed in these specialized, niche objects.

Chu Xinghui thought for a moment, then took out a communication talisman to consult his alchemist friend, Cheng Yu.

Cheng Yu was idle within the sect and immediately responded when he saw the talisman flash: “Chu Xinghui? What’s up?”

Without wasting time, Chu Xinghui asked directly: “Do you know what the Crimson Crane Feather is?”

Cheng Yu paused for a moment, as though something clicked in his mind: “Hmm, I think I have a vague recollection…”

The three of them perked up, thinking that a professional would surely know more.

But then Cheng Yu fell silent again, clearly trying hard to remember. After a while, he said: “But I can’t really recall. So I guess I don’t know after all.”

…Well, that was a dead end. Chu Xinghui was about to end the communication when Cheng Yu suddenly called out: “Wait.”

They heard Cheng Yu shout at the top of his lungs: “Master! Master!”

Luckily, Cheng Yu’s master, Xie Tinglan, was still in the sect today, and Cheng Yu hadn’t left either. Though Cheng Yu didn’t know the answer, he was sure that his ever-capable master would.

Xie Liufeng: “…”

He had been wondering if Cheng Yu didn’t know, he’d have to go ask his master, too. But it seemed Cheng Yu had beaten him to it.

A short while later, Xie Tinglan’s voice came through: “What’s all the shouting? Your master hasn’t died yet, and you’re already yelling at me like this. If you ruin the pill furnace, I’ll throw you in there.”

While Cheng Yu received a scolding, he explained the situation about the Crimson Crane Feather to Xie Tinglan.

Upon hearing the news, Xie Tinglan immediately understood it was a serious matter and waved Cheng Yu away to tend to the pill furnace. She then took over the communication.

She asked: “What does this Crimson Crane Feather look like? Can you describe it for me?”

Chu Xinghui described the appearance of the feather in detail.

Xie Tinglan thought for a moment and responded: “You should use some spiritual fire and burn it slightly.”

Fang Yan, glancing at the feather in the box, was worried about damaging the sect’s property: “…Will it get ruined?”

Xie Tinglan replied seriously: “It might, so be careful with the fire.”

Fang Yan could only carefully gather a bit of spiritual fire on the tip of his finger and gently singe the feather.

The moment the spiritual fire touched the base of the feather, it immediately turned a blood-red color, glowing more brightly, with a stronger shine.

After hearing the descriptions from the three, Xie Tinglan paused before saying: “I don’t know the name Crimson Crane Feather, but from what you’ve described… this is likely a feather from a Dan Yu Bird. Dan Yu Birds have been incredibly rare, and by the time this realm was formed, they had likely gone extinct for at least a thousand years. Where did you get this?”

Xie Liufeng then recounted everything that had happened today, including Mu Zeqing’s excuse. He asked another question: “Does this item correspond to any particular illness?”

“Cure a disease?” Xie Tinglan was surprised for a moment, then nodded: “This thing is extremely potent and not suitable for internal consumption—it could easily damage a person’s meridians and organs. As far as I remember, before the Dan Yu Bird became extinct, no one ever used it for medicinal purposes. However, in a certain sense… it can treat illnesses. If applied externally, it might have a chance of treating impotence.”

The three of them stared blankly.

Mu Zeqing’s explanation was completely absurd.

Whether Qin Xueyi had an illness or not, it was impossible that her problem was “impotence.”

Just in case, Chu Xinghui still confirmed: “Senior Xie, so sick people cannot use this item, right?”

Xie Tinglan replied firmly: “This item should definitely not be used by sick people. At first, it might draw the vitality from the body, creating a false appearance of recovery, but once the effect wears off, it will most likely lead to exhaustion and a complete loss of hope.”

…

After inquiring about the basic information of the “Crimson Crane Feather,” the situation seemed more complicated.

Although it was highly likely that Mu Zeqing was just talking nonsense, how did he know that the Beiyue Sword Sect had this item in its collection?

Moreover, he had used the exact entry name for the item, a name that the sect itself wasn’t even sure was accurate.

Coincidentally, a fellow disciple reported that Mu Zeqing had woken up. Fang Yan rubbed his head and suggested: “Uncle, Big Brother Chu, let’s go check on Mu Zeqing first?”

Chu Xinghui and Xie Liufeng exchanged a glance and had no objections.

*

The three of them came out of the room, planning to go check on Mu Zeqing’s situation.

The familiar black bird, which they hadn’t noticed flying to the tree outside, called out as they came out.

Chu Xinghui glanced at it but didn’t pay attention.

The black bird tilted its head and stared fixedly at the box in Fang Yan’s hand.

The bird often flew around the sect, and the three of them didn’t really pay much attention to it.

Fang Yan casually opened the box, intending to study how to deal with the feather.

He wondered how many cultivators in the immortal world were troubled by impotence and whether this could sell for a good price.

After all, maintaining such a large sect was very costly.

As soon as he opened the box, a shadow suddenly swooped down from the nearby tree and landed on his hand.

Then, the three of them watched in disbelief as the black bird, moving at an extraordinarily unreasonably fast speed, grabbed the colorful crimson feather from the box and flew off.

The three of them exchanged glances.

Chu Xinghui came to his senses first. He took out his spirit sword, intending to forcefully summon the bird back with a contract, but his actions suddenly paused.

Xie Liufeng noticed his strange expression and asked: “What’s wrong?”

Chu Xinghui furrowed his brows, uncertain: “It seems like it’s calling us… to follow.”

Xie Liufeng thought for a moment: “Then let’s follow it and see.”

The two of them quickly chased after the black bird.

Fang Yan, looking at the empty box in his hand, finally realized and quickly followed after them.

Chu Xinghui led the two of them, following the trail left by the black bird, all the way to the entrance of a cave.

The black bird had stopped flying further and was now hovering above the cave.

Coincidentally, the place it stopped at was the cave where Yue Yao was temporarily residing in the Beiyue Sword Sect.

The black bird circled in the air once, then finally dropped the feather at the entrance of the cave.

After dropping the feather, the black bird landed, hopped twice on the feather, and stepped on it.

What a strange thing, it wasn’t even as pretty as its own feathers.

Its glossy black feathers were the most perfect aesthetic of all the birds in this world.

After stepping on it, the bird finally seemed satisfied, flapped its wings, and returned to Chu Xinghui’s spirit sword.

Chu Xinghui: “…”

He thought for the umpteenth time about whether there was any way to replace the spirit in his sword.

Yue Yao was currently inside the cave.

Hearing the noise outside, she opened the door and stepped out.

Her gaze swept over the three of them at the door, a little surprised: “Oh? You all came here. Is there something you need?”

She saw that all three of them were looking down, so she followed their gaze.

On the ground was a beautiful feather.

She bent down and casually picked up the feather.

Yue Yao carefully examined the feather, then looked at the three of them with a puzzled expression: “What is this…?”

Fang Yan stepped forward with a serious expression and tried to give an official explanation: “Cultivator Yue, we—”

Before he could finish, Yue Yao’s expression suddenly changed.

She seemed to be in great pain, reaching up to cover her forehead, and in just a few moments, she collapsed to the ground, losing consciousness completely.

The feather in her hand slowly fell to the ground.

The change happened so suddenly that Chu Xinghui quickly stepped forward to check on Yue Yao’s condition.

Her breathing and heartbeat were steady, and there were no obvious wounds. It seemed there was no reason for her to suddenly faint.

Chu Xinghui gently flipped her body with his spiritual power and saw a strange red mark suddenly appear on her neck.

Seeing this mark, he suddenly remembered something.

Yue Yao was a “sacrifice.”

Every time he had thought of this clue before, it was always sidetracked by various things. Now, this clue seemed to have finally become clear before his eyes.

Just at that moment, Xie Tinglan suddenly sent a message to Xie Liufeng.

Xie Liufeng was a little surprised that she would send a message at this time: “Cousin?”

Xie Tinglan’s voice clearly came through: “I just went to check some information about the Dan Yu bird in the sect.”

She continued: “Its numbers are few, and its uses are limited. It’s rarely used in any fields in this world… but I found something interesting. A certain ancestor mentioned in his notes that on Bihai Taohua Island, some believed the bird’s origin was a mystery, with great divine powers. Its feathers could briefly enhance spiritual perception during divination, and some even used these feathers to refine magic treasures. But later, for some unknown reason… maybe because the Dan Yu bird went extinct, or for some other reason, this method didn’t continue to be passed down.”

 

Support translation: