Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 466 - 466 465 Hanhai Leifeng

466: Chapter 465: Hanhai Leifeng 466: Chapter 465: Hanhai Leifeng Hou Niao’s journey was light and easy, swiftly covering thousands of miles deep into the Blue Sea.

The thunderclouds were constantly changing, though not as fast as one might imagine, allowing him to grasp the tail of the lightning.

Heavenly thunder, enigmatic in its alignment, was no mere transfer of clouds drifting aimlessly but rather the succession and shift of Thunder Force within the layers of cloud, creating the illusion of the thunderclouds in motion; the clouds, however, remained still—it was the force that moved.

He did not know where the Thunder Force would ultimately shift to.

Could it leave the Blue Sea, venture into the deep sea for a loop, then return?

With his current strength, he could just about ensure his safety over the Blue Sea, but the deep sea was a different matter.

But one thing was clear, the Thunder Force would make a round over the Lizhi Sea and then return to the Thunder Triangle the next season, completing a cycle in the process.

The only question was, how far would it shift?

Thinking was useless; he could only do his best.

The Thunder Force moved over the Blue Sea, its speed varying; sometimes it shifted mere tens of miles in a day, sometimes hundreds in a single night, without consistency.

At this stage, he found it difficult to understand the deeper reasons behind the movement of the Thunder Force.

He was at a point where he knew what was happening, but not why, yet his intuition suggested that if he kept following this way, he would eventually reap something, wouldn’t he?

It was like a blind box, where he did not know what he would find, but the process itself was part of cultivation; was he willing to persist?

Did he have the insight?

Was he favored by Qi Fortune?

Believe in himself, believe in the Heavenly Thunder!

As he ventured deeper into the Blue Sea, the occasional anomalies began to influence him, the sea beasts underwater, the aerial demon birds above, and the cultivators passing by…

Their only commonality was that they were all of the Golden Core Realm.

This could greatly trouble a cultivator of the Tongtian Second Realm, forcing a choice between life and cultivation, constantly testing a cultivator’s will:

The path you’re on, does it lead to light at the end?

Or to an abyss?

A Red Kestrel remained close by his side, swooping down from time to time in search of an opportunity to launch a surprise attack.

With the strength he possessed before reaching the Tongxuan Realm on his last visit to Blue Island, he would have long become prey to this ferocious creature, but now, being in the Tongtian Second Realm with an embryonic form of the Body Sword Skill, exchanging ‘Front Lie Formations’ of three sword techniques at will, his battles with the Red Kestrel were evenly matched, with neither side able to gain an advantage.

The Red Kestrel dove from the sky once more, its cry piercing, its feathers like arrows, its claws like knives.

With the sound waves leading, feather arrows following, and knife-like claws closing in, combined with the aerial predator’s pride in its powerful body…

To this assault, Hou Niao had grown accustomed.

Turning into a Flying Sword, he met the challenge decisively under the layer of thunderclouds, engaging in a fierce battle for survival; for a moment, feathers scattered, blood splattered, and the cries of the bird and the sounds of the sword echoed far and wide, resonating long after.

A hundred breaths later, the Red Kestrel soared into the sky, its body covered in wounds, its bright red feathers messy and disheveled, with even some bare flesh showing through the gaps.

It disappeared into the clouds in an instant.

But Hou Niao knew it hadn’t left but rather, hid within the clouds licking its wounds, gathering strength for its next attack.

He too was far from unscathed, not knowing how many Daoist robes he had gone through anymore.

He even had the urge to fly naked, but that would just look indecent.

In this world, demons were varied and peculiar in their characteristics and quirks.

Most would take on human form when they reached a certain realm, but some remained in their original shape forever, like the Red Kestrel.

The creature’s intelligence was somewhat lacking; once an intruder violated its territory, it would be relentless and wished to chase for tens of thousands of miles.

Its strength was formidable, though it tended to be single-minded.

In truth, he could have dealt with this Red Kestrel if he wanted to, but he simply didn’t think it necessary.

Along the way for dozens of days, he had encountered many demons.

Some could be fought, some could be negotiated with; there was always a solution.

Only this creature couldn’t be communicated with.

However, every advantage has its disadvantage, and vice versa.

The distinctive trait of the Red Kestrel was its jealousy over prey.

If it considered a person its food, it would not allow any other demon to interfere.

Thus, during these days of entanglement, could it sometimes have become a sort of makeshift bodyguard for him?

Whenever other demons harbored ill intentions towards him, was it the first to react?

In this way, as they continued on their journey, he never truly dealt a deadly blow to it.

Life was precious; to regard it as a form of refinement that constantly followed him wasn’t bad either.

The direction of the Thunder Force was not fixed, and after a month, an almost right-angle change occurred.

Instead of heading straight into the deep sea, it altered to a direction nearly parallel with the coastline.

Why this change occurred, he was not clear on the profound reasons.

He had to admit that the method he chose to break the barrier within his Sea Of Consciousness somewhat exceeded his own abilities.

With the understanding ability of the Tongtian Realm’s Great Dao, it would have been much easier to start with the basic Five Elements, yet he chose the most difficult variation of them.

A man and a kestrel continued to follow the unpredictable speed of the Thunder Force, each for their own persistence.

One day, the Thunder Force passed by an island, and the man and kestrel continued to tumble and fight amongst the thunderclouds.

This had become their daily routine as they traveled.

In combat, making noise was unavoidable, especially the Red Kestrel.

Its tail feathers were porous, like many whistles combined; its movement caused quite a stir.

Although this was also one of its sonic attack methods, it had little effect on Hou Niao but managed to infuriate the Daoists playing chess below on the island.

Two Daoists, one fat and one thin, sat opposite each other playing chess.

It was a serious match with a bet on the line, not to be taken lightly.

The thin Daoist’s black pieces were in a predicament, with a key dragon under attack, desperately looking for a way to survive.

While he was deep in thought, the bothersome cries of birds came from the sky, incessant and heart-wrenching…

Annoyed, he casually waved his hand, and a streak of azure light shot out.

All of a sudden, the cries from the sky were choked off, ending abruptly.

The fat Daoist smiled, “Junior brother, you are distracted.”

The thin Daoist smiled bitterly, then conceded by placing a piece down, “I’ve lost.

I’ll abide by senior brother’s arrangement.”

The fat Daoist sighed, “Heavenly Dao has changed, fortune and misfortune are unpredictable.

This is beyond human power to control.

Why should junior brother needlessly worry on behalf of Heaven?

It’s just a matter of letting nature take its course.”

The thin Daoist shook his head, “Senior brother, is it that simple?

Even the kestrel knows to follow the Dao by flying; the minor cultivators understand that the Thunder Force has changed.

Yet we sit on this island watching the sky, indifferent, only hoping for the Heavenly Dao to balance itself.

Isn’t that too passive?”

The fat Daoist chuckled, “They can pursue change because they have not reached that Realm; are we the same as them?

I fear a single overreaction could bring disaster upon us.

Therefore, it’s better to stay put and wait for change.”