"Could it be you're also here for the Myriad Demonic Beasts Assembly?" The Ventorus Bird ignored the Manman Bird beside it and asked in a friendly tone.
"What Myriad Demonic Beasts Assembly? I don't know about that." Xu Ke's large eyes darted around. He studied the Ventorus Bird for a moment before putting on an innocent, clueless expression. "My senior brother Lu Ya asked me to deliver a wooden box to your people."
"Lu Ya?" The Ventorus Bird tilted its head, thinking for a while, seemingly unable to place the name. "Sounds vaguely familiar...
"Anyway, what wooden box? Let me have a look..."
"Okay!" Without a shred of caution, Xu Ke produced a vermilion wooden box.
An ancient, timeworn aura poured from it instantly.
"This is—!" The Ventorus Bird's body shuddered so violently it nearly lost its balance and plummeted into the sea.
The white Manman Bird didn't recognize the box at first, but after scrutinizing it closely, it let out a sharp cry, every feather bristling as though it was greatly agitated. It was about to say something when the Ventorus Bird, quicker to react, fanned a gust of wind, silencing it.
"Ahem, so you were sent by that one..." the Ventorus Bird said, following its words with an awkward cough. "Little one, best put that away quickly. It wouldn't do to attract other... beings."
It asked nothing about the box's contents.
"Alright!" Xu Ke obediently stowed it away again.
Then he scratched the back of his head, his expression a little sheepish. "Esteemed senior, we were actually heading for the Southern Abyss Demonic Mountain but got lost along the way. I wonder if you could give us a ride there?"
"Ahem, little fellow, did your elders teach you nothing before you left? What 'Southern Abyss Demonic Mountain?’ What a dreadful name. You must call it the Southern Abyss Sacred Beast Mountain!" The Ventorus Bird lectured him with grave earnestness.
"Such disrespect toward the Sacred Beast Mountain... you're fortunate you met someone as even-tempered as me. If you'd run into one of the more violent sorts, you'd likely have been seized on the spot and gutted, your heart and liver devoured!" It tried to frighten him.
Xu Ke tilted his head, considered this, and asked with a puzzled frown, "But Grandpa Tertius told me that when I got here, I shouldn't be nervous, that it would be just like coming home. Everyone back home says the same thing!"
"Grandpa Tertius..." The Ventorus Bird choked, its words dying before they reached its beak.
The Manman Bird, which previously acted with an air of superiority, tucked its head in and suddenly found great interest in its mid-section, acting as though it had heard nothing at all.
"Heh, as long as you're happy, kid," the Ventorus Bird finally said with a bitter laugh, and dropped the subject.
The group continued their journey southward together.
Along the way, Xu Ke kept up a steady stream of chatter, peppering the Ventorus Bird with questions at every turn.
"Senior, what exactly is this Myriad Demonic Beasts Assembly you mentioned earlier?"
The Ventorus Bird was reluctant at first, but Xu Ke's pestering wore it down.
It could only sigh and lower its voice. "Not long ago, His Excellency Sovereign Primus proclaimed to all under heaven his intention to convene the Myriad Demonic Beasts Assembly.
"It will be held at the Southern Abyss Sacred Beast Mountain, and every demonic beast clan under heaven must send representatives to attend.
"They say it concerns the very survival of the demonic beast race going forward. What's more, this is the first time in centuries that His Excellency Sovereign Primus has called such an assembly, so its importance cannot be overstated.
"Even venerable beings who rarely show themselves—Azure Divine Dragon, Crimson Nine-Heads, Purple Headless—have come.
"The last gathering of this scale was the Myriad Beasts Public Trial of Sovereign Tapir..."
Midway through the sentence, the Ventorus Bird's expression shifted, and it stopped abruptly.
Li Fan and Xu Ke exchanged a glance, the same understanding settling over them both.
It seemed that even with Sovereign Tapir Tertius's standing, there had been severe consequences for maintaining such frequent contact with humans.
No wonder both the Manman Bird and the Ventorus Bird spoke of Sovereign Tapir Tertius with such studied reticence.
Yet clearly, that public trial had not succeeded in damaging his reputation.
Otherwise, when Xu Ke produced the wooden box bearing Sovereign Tapir Tertius's seal, neither bird would have reacted with that particular blend of dread and reverence.
Steering away from that subject, Xu Ke pressed the Ventorus Bird with more questions about the demonic beast clans—where they dwelt, how they dealt with humans, what their plans for the future were, and how they regarded the Beast Taming Sect.
But after his earlier slip, the Ventorus Bird had grown guarded. It gave only vague answers and stuck to topics of little consequence.
Another ten-odd days passed.
At last, the legendary Southern Abyss Sacred Beast Mountain came into view.
Looking from afar, at the place where azure sea met blue sky, a towering conical peak thrust upward into the heavens as though it had risen from nothing. It stood upon the open sea, improbable as a mirage.
The summit was crowned with a thick band of pristine white snow, like a royal diadem set upon the mountain's brow.
Atop that snow-covered peak, the faint outline of a great city could be discerned.
Li Fan's keen eyes caught something more: the Southern Abyss Sacred Beast Mountain stood precisely at the boundary of the entire Southern Abyss Sea.
It was a sight difficult to describe in words.
The vast, endless expanse of ocean came to an abrupt, absolute halt at this point.
Beyond it lay abyssal darkness.
The Southern Abyss Sacred Beast Mountain stood as the dividing line between light and dark, between substance and void, separating reality from illusion.
Seeing Xu Ke struck dumb by the spectacle, the Ventorus Bird couldn't help a touch of pride.
"Well? Never seen anything like it, have you?
"What they call the edge of the sky, the corner of the sea, the border of the world, the source of life—that is our Southern Abyss Sacred Beast Mountain."
The Ventorus Bird was moved as well.
"It is said that the earliest demonic beasts in the world emerged from this place, then spread across the whole world.
"This is sacred ground, inviolable in the hearts of every demonic beast. Although you were sent by that great one, you are still human—that cannot be changed. You may not be permitted to enter."
"Kekeke, Elder Ventorus is right. Little black bird, even though you're a demonic beast by nature, you have been tamed by humans and made a companion beast. You don't have the qualifications to enter the Sacred Beast Mountain either." The Manman Bird, which had not dared raise its voice until now, abruptly found its old swagger again.
It let out a strange cry and, without waiting for Xu Ke to respond, spread its wings and shot toward the distant mountain peak as a streak of white light.
Xu Ke was untroubled. He lifted the jade plaque hanging at his chest.
"It's fine. Senior Brother Lu Ya told me before I left that if I ran into any trouble, I should just show this plaque.
"Senior Brother Lu Ya would never steer me wrong.
"Little Qing, hurry up and follow!"
The Ventorus Bird had been about to say something more—but stopped. A memory surfaced, and the shock that crossed its face far exceeded anything it had felt upon sensing Sovereign Tapir Tertius's aura.
It had seen what was carved on the jade token, in the script that only demonic beasts could read.
The character for "Primus."
And at last, the Ventorus Bird remembered where it had heard the name Lu Ya before.
That was the man who, over a decade ago, had walked alone into Sacred Beast Mountain.
Armed with nothing but his own strength, he had walked back out without a scratch.