"Could it be that you're also here to attend the Ten Thousand Demons Convention?"
Ignoring the Manman bird beside it, the Dafeng asked in an amiable tone.
"What Ten Thousand Demons Convention? I haven't heard of it.
"I was asked by Senior Brother Lu Ya to come deliver a wooden box to your parts." Xu Ke's big eyes rolled around as he stared at the Dafeng bird for a moment, putting on an innocent, naive facade.
"Lu Ya?" The Dafeng bird tilted its head and pondered for a moment, seemingly unable to match the name to anyone in its memory. "Sounds a bit familiar...
"What wooden box? Let me have a look..." it said nonchalantly.
"All right!" Seemingly without the slightest guile or wariness, Xu Ke took out a vermilion wooden box.
In an instant, an ancient, weathered aura surged from it.
"This is...!" The Dafeng bird shuddered violently, almost losing its balance and plunging into the sea.
As for the white Manman bird, it didn't recognize it at first, staring intently at the wooden box.
Moments later, it let out a shrill shriek.
Its feathers stood on end all over, as if intensely agitated.
Just as it was about to say something, the Dafeng reacted swiftly, fanning a gust of wind to silence it.
"Heh... so you were sent by that one...
"Little kid, put it away quickly. It'll be bad if you draw other creatures here."
Without asking any further about what was inside the box, the Dafeng coughed awkwardly and urged repeatedly.
"Okay!" Xu Ke obediently put the wooden box away again.
"Senior, we're on our way to Nanming Demon Mountain, but we can't find the way. Would you mind leading us there on your way?" He then widened his eyes and scratched the back of his head, speaking with an embarrassed air.
"Ahem, little fellow, didn't your elders give you instructions before you left home? What 'Nanming Demon Mountain'—how vulgar! You should call it Nanming Sacred Beast Mountain!" the Dafeng admonished earnestly.
"Showing such disrespect to the Sacred Beast Mountain—you're lucky you ran into someone good-tempered like me. If you ran into those savage types, you'd probably be caught on the spot, disemboweled, and have your heart and liver devoured!" the Dafeng warned, trying to scare him.
Xu Ke tilted his head, thought for a moment, and asked in confusion, "But Third Grandfather told me not to be nervous once I got here, to treat it just like coming home. As far as I can tell, everyone in the family calls it that!"
"Third Grandfather..." The Dafeng bird choked on its words, stopping short.
As for the previously haughty Manman bird, it tucked its head in even further, acting as if it hadn't heard a single thing.
"Heh... whatever makes you happy, kid." In the end, the Dafeng bird offered only a bitter smile and said no more.
Together, the group continued southward.
Along the way, Xu Ke never stopped talking, constantly prying for information from the Dafeng bird.
"Senior, what's this Ten Thousand Demons Convention you mentioned earlier all about?"
The Dafeng was reluctant to answer, but it couldn't withstand Xu Ke's pestering.
Helpless, it could only whisper in a low voice, "Not long ago, Lord Di Yi proclaimed to the world that a Ten Thousand Demons Convention would be convened.
"Demonic beast tribes across the world must all send representatives to attend at Nanming Sacred Beast Mountain.
"It is said to concern the future survival of the demonic beast tribes. Moreover, this is the first convention Lord Di Yi has convened in hundreds of years, making it exceptionally important.
"Even esteemed figures who rarely show themselves, like the Azure Divine Dragon, Chi Jiutou, and Zi Wushou, have come.
"The last time there was such a grand assembly was during the public trial of Di San by all beasts..."
Midway through its sentence, the Dafeng's expression shifted slightly, and it stopped at once.
Li Fan and Xu Ke exchanged a glance, understanding dawning in their hearts.
It seemed that even with Di Sanmo's status, having overly intimate contact with humanity had dire consequences.
No wonder both the Manman bird and the Dafeng were so tight-lipped and fearful whenever Di Sanmo was mentioned.
However, it was clear that the public trial hadn't succeeded in condemning Di Sanmo.
Otherwise, when Xu Ke produced that wooden box bearing Di Sanmo's seal, the Dafeng and the other bird wouldn't have reacted with an underlying dread mingled with taboo.
Bypassing that topic, Xu Ke continued to pester the Dafeng bird, asking many questions about the demonic beast tribes—including where they usually dwelt, how they got along with humans, what their future plans were, and how they viewed the Beast Taming Sect.
After its slip of the tongue, the Dafeng had grown far more cautious, only answering casually on inconsequential matters.
Just like that, another ten or so days passed.
At last, the legendary Nanming Sacred Beast Mountain came into view in the distance.
Looking from afar, where the teal sea met the blue sky, a towering conical mountain piercing into the heavens appeared out of nowhere.
It stood upon the sea surface just like that, as miraculous as a mirage.
At the summit, like a crowned peak, lay a thick ring of pure white snow.
Upon the snow-covered mountaintop, the outline of a magnificent city could vaguely be discerned.
With his sharp sight, Li Fan further noticed that the place where Nanming Sacred Beast Mountain stood actually formed the boundary of the entire Sea of Nanming.
It was a marvelous sight beyond words.
The boundless sea seemed to come to an abrupt halt here.
Beyond it lay a pitch-black abyss.
Nanming Sacred Beast Mountain was like a demarcation line between light and dark, reality and void, dividing the real from the illusory.
Seeing Xu Ke stunned and mesmerized by the magnificent spectacle before them, the Dafeng couldn't help feeling a bit proud.
"How about that? Never seen such a wondrous spectacle, have you?
"The so-called ends of the earth and corners of the sea, the edge of the world and the origin of life—that is our Nanming Sacred Beast Mountain."
The Dafeng sighed with deep emotion.
"It is said that the world's earliest demonic beasts emerged from here, and from here spread throughout the entire world.
"This is an inviolable sacred land in the hearts of all demonic beasts. Even though you were sent by that lord, your identity as a human cannot be changed. So you might not be allowed in."
"Jie-jie, Senior Dafeng is right. That includes you, little black bird! Even though you are a demonic beast, you've been domesticated by humans to serve as a companion spirit beast, so you aren't qualified to enter the Sacred Beast Mountain either!" The Manman bird, which had remained quiet and intimidated until now, suddenly perked up again.
It let out a strange cackle and, without waiting for Xu Ke to respond, flapped its wings, transforming into a streak of white light and shooting straight toward the distant mountain peak.
Xu Ke didn't mind in the least. He jiggled a jade medallion hanging from his chest.
"It's fine. Before we left, Senior Brother Lu Ya told me that if I run into any trouble, I just have to show this medallion.
"Senior Brother Lu Ya definitely wouldn't harm me.
"Xiao Qing, catch up!"
The Dafeng bird was about to advise him further when it suddenly remembered something. The shock in its eyes was even greater than when it had sensed Di Sanmo's aura just moments before.
For it had clearly seen that on the jade medallion that had flashed before its eyes just now, there was inscribed the character "One," legible only to demonic beasts.
And the Dafeng bird finally remembered where it had heard the name Lu Ya before.
Over a decade ago, as a lone mortal human, that man had barged single-handedly into the Sacred Beast Mountain—and then walked away unscathed.
Chapter 532