"Fellow Daoists, be careful — there's some unidentified strange bird lurking in the mist. Fortunately, they're not particularly powerful. As long as you watch out for the acidic liquid they spit, you should be fine. As for this mist, leave it to my wife and me — we'll clear it away." The young man surnamed Zhu, flying at the very front, suddenly called out loudly.
The others watched in surprise as the silver-haired young man opened his mouth and spat out a pale, luminous, long-necked jade bottle. The bottle spun in the air before its opening aimed directly at the white mist ahead.
The young man formed a hand seal with both hands and murmured an incantation. The jade bottle blazed with spiritual light.
With a muffled "whoosh," a burst of fierce green wind erupted from the bottle.
At first, the wind was merely a faint green glow, but after blowing out several zhang, it suddenly roared into a violent gale, transforming in an instant into a fierce hurricane that howled forward.
The mist on the lake's surface immediately churned violently and retreated in all directions.
A remarkably clear passage emerged within the mist, flickering in and out of view.
"Let's go!"
With that command, the young man surnamed Zhu and his partner flew into the passage first, while the jade bottle continued to circle above their heads, ceaselessly spewing its ferocious wind.
Seeing this, the others felt a measure of relief and, wasting no more time, followed closely behind.
Sure enough, just as Young Master Zhu had said — after flying roughly ten li over the lake, white birds roughly a foot or two in size began emerging from the mist on all sides. Each had a flat beak, long wings, and a pair of emerald-green talons on its belly.
These birds were clearly targeting the cultivators. The moment they burst from the mist, they opened their beaks and fired jet-black water arrows one after another straight at the group.
With a few low shouts, the cultivators summoned their treasures — some transformed their flying swords into wheel-sized orbs of spiritual light, while others conjured several ancient shields before them.
The moment those black water arrows struck, they dissolved into wisps of black smoke and vanished. But whether it was a flying sword or some other treasure, wherever the liquid had hit, dense clusters of shallow pits appeared on the surface.
The faces of the treasure owners changed dramatically, and someone immediately shouted:
"Kill them quickly! Their acidic spit can corrode our treasures!"
Hearing this, the others felt a fresh jolt of alarm and unleashed every technique at their disposal. Streaks of dazzling light and cascading radiance descended upon the strange birds all at once.
Wherever the brilliant light passed, the strange birds burst into showers of blood rain and fell — utterly exterminated in the blink of an eye.
Seeing this, those who had still been feeling apprehensive breathed a sigh of relief.
These strange birds truly were extremely weak.
But in the very next instant, a few shrill cries rang out from the mist, and wave after wave of identical white birds surged forth, filling the sky with black water arrows once more.
Startled, the cultivators scrambled to redeploy their just-retracted treasures, fended off the onslaught, and then used their techniques to wipe them all out again.
But the same scenario played out yet again — and when the last bird dissolved into a rain of blood, another dense swarm of bird silhouettes materialized from the mist.
A commotion swept through the crowd, and many faces showed unease.
Han Li furrowed his brow and swept his spiritual sense into the mist, only to discover with a start that it was absolutely teeming with these strange birds — an overwhelming, sky-covering mass of them, numbering who knew how many tens of thousands.
Even Han Li, who had weathered his share of great storms, drew in a sharp breath.
"There's no need to fear!" came Young Master Zhu's remarkably composed voice from up ahead. "These birds are only launching probing attacks. Once the first dozen or so waves prove futile, they'll retreat on their own."
Hearing this, the others suddenly understood. They immediately drove their various treasures to action and slaughtered every attacking white bird without exception.
After thirteen or fourteen such waves had come and gone, a long, piercing screech suddenly erupted from the flock massed within the mist. Instantly, all the white birds scattered in every direction and fled into the fog.
They had truly retreated without being defeated.
Only then did everyone truly relax. They seized the opportunity and hastened forward through the air.
Half a day later, the mist surrounding the group finally parted. Their vision suddenly brightened, and before them rose a colossal mountain in the middle of the lake — at least ten thousand zhang tall, its base plunging straight down to the lakebed.
The exposed portions of the mountain were all dark greenish-black rock, and apart from a few patches of moss-like vegetation, it was barren everywhere.
"So this is the place! Heh heh, it must have been quite the effort for you, Fairy Ying, to have found your way here." After everyone halted their flight, the young man surnamed Zhu gazed at the massive mountain and clicked his tongue in admiration.
"This junior and her companions stumbled upon this place by accident while chasing an exotic beast some time ago. One might say our fortune was not insignificant." The veiled woman spoke with a smile.