“How dare we do such a thing? The three esteemed ones may personally inspect the age of the spiritual flowers,” the small beast replied in alarm.
At the same time, the golden-furred giant ape flipped its two furry hands, and a flash of white light appeared before it as two jade boxes filled with Wood Bell Flowers materialized. It then presented them with both hands.
The young Tianpeng man took the two jade boxes with skepticism and opened them.
Instantly, a golden glow filled his vision, accompanied by an intense floral fragrance.
The three Tianpeng people were momentarily stunned before bursting into joy.
“Indeed, these are Wood Bell Flowers over a thousand years old, and of the highest quality,” the young Tianpeng woman exclaimed excitedly after carefully examining one of the flowers.
“Excellent. It’s rare for you to submit such high-quality spiritual flowers this time. Tell me first which other tributes are missing,” the Tianpeng man in his thirties asked, his expression softening after suppressing his initial delight.
Seeing this, the four demons relaxed, sensing they might pass this inspection.
They proceeded to retrieve tribute items one by one from their persons for the three Tianpeng people to meticulously check.
“Hmm, the Golden Marrow Crystal Worms and Golden Mother Coral Sand are slightly short, and the quantity of Blue Light Wood is only half…” The young Tianpeng man listed the insufficient items one by one.
“Fortunately, the shortages aren’t significant. The extra Wood Bell Flowers can barely make up for the deficit. This time, we’ll consider your tribute complete. Here are the pills to suppress your slave marks as a reward. Next time we come, the more Wood Bell Flowers, the better,” the thirty-year-old Tianpeng man nodded, flicking his sleeve to release four green jade bottles that landed in the hands of the four demons.
The four demons gratefully accepted the bottles, bowing and thanking profusely.
The three Tianpeng people collected the tributes and left the small beast’s cave without further delay.
The four demons respectfully escorted the Tianpeng people to the gate, watching as the three transformed into large birds and flew away before finally relaxing and returning to the cave to continue discussing their grand plans.
Unbeknownst to them, a small golden insect lay motionless in a corner of the hall, unnoticed like an inanimate object.
Meanwhile, Han Li, concealed, followed the three large birds with flickering eyes.
From the small beast’s cave, he had witnessed the Tianpeng people collecting tributes and surmised they were heading back to their gathering place.
His current task was to follow the three Tianpeng people for a distance to find a safe route back to the Tianyuan Continent.
Given the vastness of this sea, unknown dangers could lurk anywhere. Han Li had no intention of stumbling into the territory of some powerful entity unknowingly.
Moreover, these Feiling tribesmen bore such resemblance to humans that infiltrating the Tianpeng gathering place with his abilities to gather intelligence and necessary materials wouldn’t be too difficult.
Perhaps these foreign tribes possessed many rare treasures like the Golden Marrow Crystal Worms.
After all, the Feiling tribe differed from humans; what was priceless to humans might be commonplace to them.
With such thoughts, Han Li felt a growing excitement and followed the three Tianpeng people with heightened caution.
Given Han Li’s abilities, as long as the three didn’t exceed a hundred miles beyond his divine sense, losing track of them was impossible.
Thus, the three birds and one man traveled swiftly along the peninsula’s coastal waters for over two months until Han Li finally spotted a dark line on the horizon—the coastline of the Tianyuan Continent.
By then, the three Tianpeng people had already flown inland.
Adjacent to the sea was a complex terrain of interconnected hills of varying sizes.
Han Li didn’t dare delay, accelerating his flight to halve the distance.
But just then, an unexpected event occurred ahead!
A two-headed giant bird and seven or eight other winged foreigners suddenly appeared before the three Tianpeng people, encircling them with ill intent.
Han Li was momentarily startled but didn’t stop, soon arriving within two hundred feet of the scene before halting his flight silently.
The two-headed giant bird was ferocious, measuring thirty feet in length—one head resembling a tiger’s, the other a flood dragon’s—with vividly colorful feathers. The seven or eight winged individuals were equally menacing, their wings larger than the Tianpeng trio’s and blazing red like flames.
The three Tianpeng people instantly reverted to human form, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with grave expressions.
“Tianming, what is the meaning of this? This is Tianpeng territory. Why are you Chiron people here, blocking our path? Aren’t you afraid of the Ten Prohibitions’ punishment?” the thirty-year-old Tianpeng man shouted angrily at a burly man among the encircling group.
The burly man wore a red robe, was tall, and bald.
“Heh, since we’re here, we’re not afraid of any Ten Prohibitions. Hand over everything you’re carrying and pledge allegiance to the Chiron tribe, and we might spare you,” the bald man sneered.
“What things?” Feng Xiao’s expression flickered but quickly returned to normal.
“Brother Feng Xiao, why pretend? The Wood Bell Flowers, of course,” the bald man said sinisterly.
“How could we carry such rare items as Wood Bell Flowers? Tianming, have you lost your mind?” the Tianpeng man denied outright.
“Deny all you want. I’ll search you soon enough. Oh, and I forgot to mention—your Tianpeng tribe’s last saint with Kunpeng blood was ambushed by three beasts from the Earth Abyss four months ago and perished. The Tianpeng tribe’s days in the Feiling race are numbered,” the bald man laughed maniacally.
The three Tianpeng people were shocked.
“Nonsense! The Kunpeng Saint’s powers were unmatched. Even if outmatched, how could three beasts prevent his escape?” the young Tianpeng man refused to believe.
“Heh, normally, they couldn’t. But what if he was already severely wounded, his wings too damaged to fly?” The bald man spread his fiery wings, smirking.
“You expect us to believe that? Save your breath. No matter what you say, we won’t hand anything over,” the thirty-year-old Tianpeng man replied coldly, regaining his composure.
The young couple beside him also crackled with lightning, showing no signs of compromise.
The bald Chiron man snorted, his eyes gleaming with malice.
He was a mid-stage Deity Transformation cultivator, while the others were early-stage, plus the two-headed giant bird—their combined strength far surpassed the Tianpeng trio’s. However, if the Tianpeng people fled, capturing all three would be unlikely, as the Chiron tribe wasn’t known for speed. But the bald man had planned for this.
With a vicious grin, he waved his hand.
The other Chiron members each produced a pale blue cylinder, aiming them behind and firing.
“Whoosh!” Several blue light spheres shot out.
“Trap Demon Cylinders! Run!” the older Tianpeng man cried, transforming into a silver arc and darting away.
The other two followed suit with thunderous cracks, but it was too late.
The blue spheres exploded into vast nets, merging to form a colossal cage enveloping hundreds of feet.
The three Tianpeng people reappeared within the cage, their faces pale.
“Even the lowest-grade Trap Demon Net can hold you long enough. Feng Xiao, do you really think you can tear it open under our assault? Surrender now, or face the consequences,” the bald man gloated.
“Ignore him! Focus on breaking the net!” Feng Xiao ordered, unleashing two thick lightning arcs at the blue net.
The young couple joined in, spitting arcs of electricity as thick as a bowl’s mouth into the assault.
Booming explosions echoed as blue and silver lights clashed, shaking the entire net.
Enraged, the bald man roared, “Attack! Leave none alive!”
He transformed into a crimson bird, flames billowing from his wings as he charged.
The others followed suit, morphing into fiery birds and attacking.
The three Tianpeng people, now silver birds, spat lightning in defense.
The sky became a battleground of flames and thunder, the air scorching.
Only the two-headed giant bird remained aloof, unmoving.
Han Li sighed inwardly, finding himself also trapped within the net.
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