Just as Senior Brother Fang could no longer sit still and wanted to go find Xie Linlang, Xie Linlang returned as he had come—stepping on clouds and waves, alighting lightly on the waterside pavilion.
“Thank you, Senior. This disciple has already gathered enough…”
“Then hurry and leave.”
Without letting Xie Linlang finish, Senior Brother Fang cut him off in an unquestionable tone. “It’s late. I asked the returning Sea Turtle to wait two extra hours. Get on it and head back to the palace.”
Xie Linlang raised his gaze to Senior Brother Fang. The lanky middle-aged man seemed to have made his decision. He even shoved a cage into Xie Linlang’s hands, calling it a meeting gift for their first encounter.
But the Red-beaked Sparrows had already tipped Xie Linlang off. This was the little nest Senior Brother Fang prepared daily for his tamed Red-beaked Sparrows. It looked like a cage but was actually a Taming Bag inside, with ample space for the sparrows to flutter about freely.
Xie Linlang smiled, accepted the cage, and obediently left.
However, after stepping onto the Sea Turtle’s back and heading toward Silent Night Palace, he flicked his wrist and produced a Spirit Pill, which he fed to the Sea Turtle.
“Senior, this disciple doesn’t need you to escort me back. You can return on your own. Just drop me here.”
The Sea Turtle craned its neck to swallow the Spirit Pill, twisted its body, and dove into the sea, dumping Xie Linlang midway.
The Red-beaked Sparrows chattered: “Here, this way! There’s a landing spot that only emerges at low tide. We can go down below.”
Senior Brother Fang’s flock of Red-beaked Sparrows flew back and forth in this sea domain daily, intimately familiar with the climate, hidden reefs, and water currents.
According to the Red-beaked Sparrows, Silent Night Palace appeared to sit on the peninsula, but the true palace lay on the continental shelf beneath this near-shore area of the South Sea.
Silent Night Palace was merely the gateway. All the profoundly cultivating experts resided in the underwater palace halls, including the Palace Lord’s domain.
The sparrows said Senior Brother Fang’s Shizun seemed to be plotting something major. Senior Brother Fang had been busy with it since last year, often wearing a troubled expression in his spare time.
The sparrows didn’t know how to comfort or help him and felt down about it.
They knew little, only that Senior Brother Fang’s task was to awaken the slumbering Demon Butterfly on Flowing Firefly Island, enrage it into a frenzy, and release Phosphor Powder potent enough to ensnare even Soul Transformation Cultivators in illusions.
The task was nine deaths to one life—easy to get drained dry by the berserk Demon Butterfly.
The Red-beaked Sparrows weren’t the sharpest, but they saw Xie Linlang as a reliable big bird they could trust, so they sought his help.
After listening, Xie Linlang pondered briefly and roughly deduced Senior Brother Fang and his Shizun’s goal.
Flowing Firefly Island connected to the South Sea continental shelf bottom. From inside the island, one could reach deep into Silent Night Palace’s inner halls. Filling the lower palace with the Demon Butterfly’s Phosphor Powder would trap the secluded cultivators in illusions unwittingly.
Perhaps Senior Brother Fang and his Shizun planned to seize the opportunity for something.
But for Xie Linlang, this was also a chance.
Grinding tasks methodically, who knew when he’d penetrate deep into Silent Night Palace to access confidential records and clues possibly linked to Pei Ji.
But now, with Silent Night Palace on the brink of chaos, the opportunity mustn’t be missed.
Xie Linlang followed the Red-beaked Sparrows to a stretch of turbulent waves.
He raised his hand and stored the sparrows into the cage Senior Brother Fang had given him. Then he swallowed a Water Avoidance Pill and dove into the sea.
The ocean was lightless and pitch-black. Xie Linlang released his Divine Sense and, following the sparrows’ directions, soon found a reef about four or five meters below the surface.
The reef twisted upward like a chain of elongated cacti, forming a vertical pillar that gradually widened thirty or forty meters down.
Xie Linlang approached the reef pillar and found a narrow hot current vent between two sections. He unleashed the Seven Stars Sword; its seven bright stars gleamed exceptionally in the dark depths, aligning in a line as it lightly pierced the vent.
With a boom, the sea waves muffled the rumble. The vent widened, revealing a black cavity.
Xie Linlang formed a Magic Formula, merging body and sword into one. He fused into the Seven Stars Sword and plunged into the cavity, entering the interior of the reef islet.
Against the direction of the underground hot current, Xie Linlang dashed downward unceasingly. Just as his magic power neared exhaustion, the upwelling force suddenly weakened. The surrounding space expanded, and Runes fixing the rock walls appeared on the sides.
Below should be the depths of Silent Night Palace.
Xie Linlang calculated the time. Senior Brother Fang should have begun acting by now, with the lower palace halls filled with the Demon Butterfly’s illusionary Phosphor Powder. Even if he charged in, it likely wouldn’t draw notice. Thus, he carefully pried open a corner of the Restriction with the Seven Stars Sword, transforming into a streak of light and slipping gently into the palace below.
The palace brimmed with swirling rainbow lights, mist drifting in the air.
Everything was chaotic, like the dawn of heaven and earth or immersion in a bewildering dream—indistinct surroundings.
Xie Linlang steadied his mind and took out the sparrow cage.
The Red-beaked Sparrows shared a contract bond with Senior Brother Fang, which could serve as rough positioning.
Red-beaked Sparrow: “This way!”
Xie Linlang stepped toward one direction.
But after just two steps, his foot sank softly, as if touching something.
He retreated hastily and looked closely.
It was a soft, fluffy fledgling with a garish crest of feathers on its head like some punk rock hairstyle.
The fledgling had broad claws and wing-like flaps of flesh. Its long, sharp beak parted slightly, eyes squeezed shut, while bean-sized tears streamed endlessly from the corners.
Xie Linlang’s expression grew subtle. He had never seen the Night Senior Shen He mentioned, so he didn’t recognize this punk-crested chick.
Xie Linlang was merely curious what this gray-black fledgling had encountered in Demon Butterfly Senior’s illusionary dream to cry so pitifully.
But he had more pressing matters.
Thus, Xie Linlang lightly stepped over the punk-crested chick fledgling. His wide sleeve, carrying faint pill fragrance, brushed past overhead as he departed.
The bird lost in the illusion caught the scent and cried even more miserably.
