Beneath the sunset glow, the legless bird, which had flown for most of the day, began to descend slowly.
After a series of extreme climbs and dives, and enduring the explosion of the fireman, its body was covered in cracks, no longer capable of flight.
Bang.
With a loud crash, despite Fang Yuan's best efforts to control it, the legless bird ultimately crashed into a forest.
For a moment, dust and smoke rose in all directions, as beasts fled in panic.
"Where is this?" Bai Ning Bing jumped off the bird's back and looked around.
The surrounding trees were short and thick, but their leaves and branches were exceptionally lush, unlike the sparse bone trees on White Bone Mountain. The mountains and forests here were like giant canopies, all with purple leaves.
Light purple, dark purple, purple-red, vibrant purple…
As the evening wind blew, looking into the distance, it formed a purple tide.
"A purple forest… We've been heading north. Going by our itinerary, this should be near Purple Secluded Mountain," Fang Yuan estimated.
Worry was etched on his face. "Purple Secluded Mountain is safe during the day, but extremely dangerous at night. It's getting dark. We should leave this place quickly and find the safest lodging we can."
"Alright." Bai Ning Bing nodded.
A little over an hour later, they were fortunate enough to find a cave.
The original owner of the cave was a Cloth Pouch Bear.
The belly of this type of bear had a natural pouch, similar to a kangaroo.
Dry firewood crackled as the campfire burned quietly, and the meat soup in the iron pot hanging above it was boiling, emitting a strong aroma.
The plump, tender bear paws were also roasted. Besides these, there were delicacies brought from the Bai family in the Pocket of Carefree.
The two of them ate heartily, the taut strings of their minds slowly relaxing.
Bai Ning Bing suddenly chuckled softly, her sky-blue eyes fixed on Fang Yuan. "You see, this is your retribution. You burned that brother and sister to death, and not long after, you yourself got burned like this."
The firelight cast a glow on Fang Yuan's face, making his terrifying injuries look somewhat frightening and ugly. If a timid girl saw his face, she might be scared into screaming.
Fang Yuan, however, smiled, unbothered, and even secretly felt happy about it.
"Fortunately, with the Meat and Bone Grass on hand, it's not difficult for you to restore your original appearance. All you need to do is cut off all the burned skin and flesh, and then treat it with the Meat and Bone Grass, and it will grow back completely. However, with your current Rank One cultivation, you can't use Meat and Bone Grass. You can beg me; maybe I'll take pity on you and treat you," Bai Ning Bing didn't miss any opportunity to taunt Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan raised his brow ridge, even though his eyebrows had all been burned off.
"Why should I be treated? Isn't this situation fine?" He laughed. "We killed both of the Bai family's young masters and even toyed with the clan leader and elders. Do you think they will let us off? This injury saves me the trouble of changing my appearance."
The Earth Listening Flesh Ear Grass had been destroyed, so Fang Yuan was now missing his right ear. There was cartilage in the ear, which the Meat and Bone Grass couldn't heal. But even if he had the means to treat it, he would prefer to be missing an ear to change his appearance.
In the past, there was a demonic cultivator, White Eel, who was captured and locked in a dungeon. He feigned madness, smearing his own feces all over himself. He even castrated himself, becoming a eunuch. His enemy finally believed he was completely insane, thus let down his guard, allowing him to escape. Later, he returned for revenge, slaughtering his enemy's entire household.
There was also Lady Wu Ji, a righteous path leader who was usurped by her own sister at a young age. She had to endure it. Her sister, jealous of her beauty, made things difficult for her at every turn. So, she cut off her own nose to debase herself, buying herself living space and time to grow. Over a decade later, she overthrew her sister's rule and took back power. She cut off all of her sister's facial features, making her wish she was dead.
Throughout history, great achievers were always skilled at enduring hardships and were not attached to physical appearances.
This was true regardless of whether one was on the righteous path or demonic path, male or female.
After Lady Wu Ji took power, despite having the means to heal, she never restored her nose as a reminder to herself. Thus, the Wu family was the number one family in the Southern Border, suppressing the Tie, Shang, and Fei families, an unshakable hegemony!
Those who indulge in physical pleasures are almost always superficial and find it hard to achieve great things.
This is fully proven by both the history of this world and the history of Earth.
What was King You of Zhou's fate after he fooled the feudal lords with beacons for a smile from his beloved concubine Bao Si? Betrayed by all, he was killed by the barbarians.
Lu Bu and Diao Chan, King Wu and Xi Shi. Xiang Yu even brought Consort Yu along to battle. Heh. What were their fates?
On the contrary, Cao Cao was short. Sun Bin was crippled. Sima Qian was castrated…
Everyone has a love for beauty. But achievements have nothing to do with physical beauty, and the ability to resolutely give it up is the true foundation for accomplishing great deeds.
"In fact, it's you with your blue eyes and silver hair who is too conspicuous. You need to change," Fang Yuan said, looking Bai Ning Bing over from head to toe.
Bai Ning Bing snorted coldly but said nothing.
Fang Yuan continued, "The legless bird is damaged. We've only flown a few thousand miles. Although we are far from the Bai Family Village, since we committed this crime, the Bai family will definitely come to arrest us. Our situation is still dangerous. If they put a bounty on our heads, our future days will be even harder."
Bai Ning Bing frowned, thought for a moment, and clicked her tongue. "Fine, I'm tired of this look anyway. Changing my style sounds like an exciting experience."
Next, they began to summarize their losses and gains this time.
There were losses.
The Earth Listening Flesh Ear Grass, Sawtooth Golden Centipede, Back Armor Gu, Iron Thorn Thicket, Hidden Scale Gu, and the Legless Bird were all destroyed in the pursuit battle.
However, for Fang Yuan, being able to escape alive was the most important.
Only by living could there be a chance, a hope.
This was the foundation of everything.
To stay alive, even abandoning the Spring Autumn Cicada was nothing!