After Death, I Became My Shijie’s Palm-Sized Birdie – Chapter 47
by Little PandaSimilarity
As it happens, Fellow Daoist Yu gives me the same feeling as my shijie
The external passage of Wansen Domain would close ahead of schedule, leaving Wen Qiwu with little time. Seeing that she had made up her mind, the others no longer tried to dissuade her. Gao Fu eagerly helped Wen Qiwu plan the route, but unfortunately, Wen Qiwu ultimately did not let her come along.
The reason was a single remark from Yu Hengwei. She said that since Gao Fu had not even reached the Earth Immortal Realm, venturing deep into the Phoenix Lord Tomb would be extremely dangerous. For her safety, it was best not to follow.
Wen Qiwu thought this made sense. Gao Fu had helped her so much; she could not let the other woman risk her life alongside her.
And so Gao Fu was left behind. She bit her handkerchief and glared resentfully at Yu Hengwei’s retreating back. The gloom that had hung over the other woman had vanished entirely—she looked to be in a rather good mood. The more Gao Fu thought about it, the more suspicious she became. Even though the suggestion was genuinely for her own good, why did she feel that this fellow daoist’s kindness was not so pure?
Unfortunately, before she could figure out the reason, both of them had already disappeared without a trace.
The Endless Tree Sea—a place where danger and opportunity coexisted. No matter who came, they had to proceed with caution.
But their journey was quite smooth. Only occasionally, members of the Feather Tribe would bring spiritual flowers, spiritual herbs, or spiritual fruits in their beaks as gifts for Wen Qiwu.
“They seem to like you very much,” Yu Hengwei said, watching the birds pass by one after another. A hint of displeasure flickered in her eyes, but whenever her gaze landed on Wen Qiwu, it softened again.
Wen Qiwu chuckled softly, looking at the pink spiritual flower in her hand. Her beautiful eyes curved slightly, appearing even more radiant than the spiritual flower. When the little bird perched on her shoulder took flight, it accidentally tousled a strand of hair at her temple.
Yu Hengwei seemed to lose herself for a moment. She instinctively raised her hand slightly, as if wanting to help Wen Qiwu smooth that fallen strand—but Wen Qiwu suddenly looked at her, and Yu Hengwei’s fingertips trembled as she hastily lowered her hand.
Yu Hengwei’s expression remained cool and composed, appearing perfectly proper. No one could have detected the surging emotions hidden beneath her calm exterior.
“It might be a constitution issue. I tend to attract these little ones.” The fact that Wen Qiwu carried the blood phoenix bloodline was a secret, so naturally she could not tell outsiders. Moreover, most of her attention was not on Yu Hengwei, so she did not notice the other woman’s momentary lapse.
“It feels different from when I came here before… it seems too quiet.” Wen Qiwu looked past Yu Hengwei toward the deeper parts of the forest.
“A divine fire burned at the heart of the Endless Tree Sea some time ago. Since then, the demon beasts throughout the entire forest have been restless. Some powerful demon beasts fled from the central area to the outer regions, and most cultivators were unprepared, so casualties were severe,” Yu Hengwei explained in detail about what had happened during this period.
“I see.” Wen Qiwu had only experienced this kind of eerie, oppressive silence in the central region before. The demon beasts there were mostly at the Earth Immortal Realm or above. They would stake out their territory, and neither humans nor other demons were allowed to enter. As a result, those areas were mostly deathly still.
They had not walked far when two fluffy white little birds at the Heart-Contemplation Realm fluttered their wings and grabbed Wen Qiwu’s sleeve hem, one on each side.
“What is it?” Wen Qiwu placed the two little ones in her palms. They hopped about anxiously in her hands, chirping as if trying to tell her something.
【Danger】
【There is a dangerous demon ahead.】
“It seems there is a troublesome demon beast ahead.” Wen Qiwu frowned slightly, looking at the person beside her. By this time, Yu Hengwei was already staring fixedly ahead, as if she had seen something.
“There is a black bear over there. Its strength is at the Early Earth Immortal Realm.”
Scattered around the black bear were numerous bones—some human, some from demon tribes. Its eyes glowed faintly crimson, marking it at a glance as a man-eating ferocious beast.
Wen Qiwu and Yu Hengwei had not yet stepped into its territory, but the black bear caught an exceptionally fragrant and noble blood scent. For demon beasts, a fledgling phoenix whose strength was still weak would be a great restorative delicacy. It suddenly stood up, sniffed the air, and drool dripped from its jaws.
The black bear demon let out a long roar to the sky, then lunged forward as though it had been starving for eight hundred years. Wen Qiwu had originally not wanted to expend immortal power before reaching the Phoenix Lord Tomb, but this black bear had no intention of letting them go.
Then they would have to fight…
Wen Qiwu had just drawn her weapon when she suddenly saw a thread of ice-blue light pierce through space and shoot into the distance. It moved so fast that she could not see it clearly—she only felt it looked like a needle-type Immortal Artifact1.
Boom! A sudden explosion erupted nearby. The black bear demon was still locked in its forward-charging posture, but a tiny needle puncture rimmed with ice crystals had appeared on its head. The light had already faded from its eyes, and it crashed straight into a towering giant tree.
The giant tree crashed down with a thunderous crack. The black bear demon stopped as well, collapsing to the ground completely lifeless.
When Wen Qiwu came over to examine it, she found that this demon beast had lost all breath. Even its soul had not had time to escape—it was as dead as could be.
Fellow Daoist Yu was truly formidable. Was she really an Earth Immortal? If someone said she was at the Golden Immortal Realm, they would be believed.
Wen Qiwu assumed the other woman was deliberately hiding her strength. After all, a wandering cultivator2 needed to maintain more caution when out in the world. Thoughtfully, she did not ask.
“Fellow Daoist Yu, do you want to collect this demon beast’s sk—” Wen Qiwu touched the black bear’s hide and immediately pulled her fingers back from the freezing cold.
Why was this thing so freezing cold! Wen Qiwu’s eyes widened slightly, finding it hard to believe.
She was a phoenix. There were very few things in the world that could freeze her, but this black bear’s hide had nearly frostbitten her fingers!
“Fellow Daoist Wen!”
Wen Qiwu’s hand was suddenly cradled. Yu Hengwei’s facial expression was taut—though she still looked cool and aloof, Wen Qiwu caught a hint of nervousness and concern in her slightly lowered eyes.
“Does it still hurt? Do you need some medicine?”
This feeling… was so familiar.
Wen Qiwu withdrew her hand and politely thanked her. “I am not that delicate. Thank you for your concern, Fellow Daoist.”
Yu Hengwei realized her action was somewhat inappropriate. She reined in the emotions showing in her eyes and stood to the side, though her gaze kept glancing at Wen Qiwu’s fingertips, which were gradually turning red.
“The hide of an Earth Immortal Realm demon beast is a fine material. It can be refined into an Immortal Artifact or sold for a good amount of Immortal Stones3. Do you want to collect it, Fellow Daoist Yu?” Wen Qiwu observed Yu Hengwei for a while. The fellow daoist’s expression seemed perfectly open and honest—she must have been overthinking things.
Yu Hengwei shook her head. She pressed her lips together and said with some apology, “I was afraid I could not control it earlier, so I did not hold back. Now this hide is probably unusable.”
She cut open the black bear demon’s hide. Its skin, flesh, and bones had all been destroyed by extreme cold ice. Even if taken out now, it would not be worth many Immortal Stones.
“If you want demon beast hides, I can go get some intact ones for you,” Yu Hengwei said.
“N-no, that is not necessary. I have no use for these.” Wen Qiwu waved her hand.
Such domineering power.
Wen Qiwu drew a light breath after seeing the black bear’s gruesome state. Although what had flown out was merely a single needle, the power it erupted inside this black bear was exceptionally violent. In comparison, among immortals with the same Ice Spiritual Root4, her shijie5‘s power had always been much gentler when she took action. If Fellow Daoist Yu’s Immortal Artifact landed on her, she feared it would be very difficult to escape.
Ah Fu had brought in quite a formidable helper. But there was something she was curious about.
“Fellow Daoist Yu, is your weapon a sword or a needle?” Yu Hengwei had always been carrying a sword, so Wen Qiwu had assumed she was a sword cultivator. But when they encountered danger earlier, she had used needles.
Yu Hengwei’s body seemed to stiffen slightly. Her lips moved, and after pausing for a few breaths, she said, “I cultivate multiple paths.”
She did not mention what her primary cultivation path was.
“Cultivating multiple paths?” Wen Qiwu revealed an expression of admiration. The path of cultivation valued depth over breadth. Many people learned too many things and ended up mastering none, ultimately unable to reach the pinnacle of the Great Dao.
But there was another kind of person—those with extraordinary talent who could learn anything and master anything. Fellow Daoist Yu already possessed such strength, which meant she must be the latter.
“Fellow Daoist Yu is like my shijie. My shijie primarily cultivates the sword dao, but she also has extensive knowledge in other areas.”
Yu Hengwei’s hand gripping the sword hilt tightened slightly, her fingertips turning somewhat pale.
“It is quite a coincidence, but Fellow Daoist Yu gives me the same feeling as my shijie…” Wen Qiwu said casually, while behind her, Fellow Daoist Yu stumbled in her step.
As Wen Qiwu circled around the black bear’s corpse, she caught sight of a rather unusual skeleton in her peripheral vision.
Her voice stopped abruptly.
It was a Feather Tribe skeleton—it looked like a Qingluan.
This bear had eaten its meals very cleanly. The souls of most of its prey had been completely consumed, but this particular skeleton had been somewhat lucky.
She crouched down and gently stroked the Qingluan’s bone-white skull. From within those bones came a faint, weak cry.
“Its soul is about to disperse.” Yu Hengwei stood beside Wen Qiwu and observed the Qingluan’s remnant soul. Unfortunately, the soul in Wen Qiwu’s hands was so shattered that it would likely dissipate into the world in moments. There was nothing she could do either.
“Let me try.” A white flame emerged from Wen Qiwu’s palm. The Qingluan’s remnant soul was enveloped in the fire, and the bird’s originally weak cry gradually grew stronger, as though a flame of vitality had been infused into that shattered soul.
The Qingluan’s soul state gradually shifted from hopeless to salvageable.
“Fellow Daoist Wen, a group from the Qingluan Clan is approaching. They must be here for it.” Yu Hengwei sensed a flock of Qingluan drawing near and pointed to the left.
This time, the Qingluan King had personally brought the young Qingluan out for training. Naturally, she would not let any of her children die outside under confusing circumstances without even being able to return home.
“Leave the rest to the Qingluan King. She will know what to do.” Wen Qiwu gently rubbed the reluctant Qingluan chick’s soul, then stood up. “Fellow Daoist Yu, let us continue forward.”
Yu Hengwei nodded. For her, as long as they did not continue the previous topic, everything was fine.
After they left, the Qingluan King arrived in a thunderous rage. She had vowed to flay and dismember that black bear, but someone had beaten her to it. Still, the corpse remained, allowing her to reduce it to ash and scatter its bones.
“What a pitiful child. Thank heavens there is still hope for rescue.” The Qingluan King extracted the young Qingluan’s soul from the skeleton. But as she cradled that tiny ball of soul in her hands, she suddenly froze.
“This is…”
There was a trace of the Flame of Life mixed into the little one’s soul. This was the companion flame of the White Phoenix, also the world’s supreme spiritual medicine, capable of healing wounds to both body and soul.
But the last White Phoenix in the world was the previous Demon Emperor, who had fallen ten thousand years ago. Where could this flame have come from? They were very close to the Phoenix Lord Tomb… Could it be that the late Majesty was still protecting the Qingluan?
Footnotes
- 仙器 | xianqi | A high-tier artifact classification in xianxia cultivation, directly below divine artifacts in power, encompassing weapons, tools, and treasures forged with immortal energy.
- 散修 | sanxiu | A cultivator without sect affiliation in xianxia worlds, practicing independently and relying solely on personal resources and travels for advancement.
- 仙石 | xianshi | Standard high-tier spiritual currency in cultivation worlds, crystallized from condensed spiritual energy and used for trade, formations, and cultivation resources.
- 冰灵根 | bing linggen | A rare elemental spiritual root in xianxia cultivation that grants innate affinity for ice techniques, producing extreme sub-zero freezing power.
- 师姐 | shijie | A cultivation sect honorific for a senior female disciple under the same master, combining the respect of seniority with the closeness of martial sisterhood.
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