"Thanks to this broken sword, I managed to survive."
The bearded cultivator caressed the broken sword in his arms with affection.
Even though this broken sword might be considered useless junk by others, to him, it was a treasure that had granted him a second life.
Therefore, even though he no longer needed to rely on the broken sword, he still carried it with him, treating it as his natal magical artifact.
Xu Yi had never heard of a soul being able to attach itself to a magical artifact after death to resurrect, so she listened with extra attention.
"I couldn't leave, so I made Burning Mountain my dwelling. But it was too lonely to be alone. Fortunately, many cultivators visited Burning Mountain every year. I often hid in the shadows, listening to their conversations, so as not to be a blind man with open eyes."
The bearded cultivator's expression remained unchanged, but his words conveyed a sense of solitude.
His appearance seemed ordinary, but he knew he was an anomaly.
He dared not interact too much with the cultivators who came to Burning Mountain, fearing that his secret would be discovered, yet he yearned for human interaction. Thus, relying on his familiarity with the terrain, he often concealed himself within Burning Mountain, observing others.
Over time, his disposition became increasingly peaceful and kind, and he had even saved many cultivators who had encountered danger.
The reason he had suddenly attacked Xu Yi the last time was that he had mistakenly believed Xu Yi was cruelly tormenting Long Haotian and the other two.
After learning that he had misunderstood Xu Yi, he immediately stopped and left. When Xu Yi was not present, he quietly returned a bottle of treasured pills as an apology.
The bearded cultivator's pills were scavenged from other deceased cultivators.
He could save people, but he couldn't save everyone.
Many cultivators encountered crises within Burning Mountain daily. Some perished in the lava that erupted unexpectedly from Burning Mountain, but more cultivators died at the hands of their own kind.
The bearded cultivator did not kill, but that did not mean he would not steal.
Whenever he encountered cultivators in peril, their storage bags would eventually fall into his hands.
Over the years, he had accumulated quite a bit.
"Are those ores within Burning Mountain also from you?"
Hearing this, Xu Yi suddenly asked curiously.
The bearded cultivator shook his head, "Naturally not. The ores you speak of all come from them."
He pointed behind him. A large group of stone monsters let out a strange cry, as if accusing him of revealing a significant secret.
"Them?"
A flicker of curiosity flashed in Xu Yi's and Ji Buwang's eyes.
Could these stone monsters also produce different types of ores?
"To talk about them, one must first mention the stone egg he is holding."
Xu Yi and Ji Buwang looked simultaneously at the white stone egg in Ji Buwang's hand.
Many speculations flashed through their minds, but they were successively dismissed.
This stone egg was not any treasure they were familiar with.
"I will tell you the truth, but you must promise to return it to me and never reveal this secret."
The bearded cultivator straightened his back, and two sharp, cold glints shot from his eyes.
Xu Yi and Ji Buwang exchanged a glance and nodded in unison, "We promise."
They were very curious about the bearded cultivator, the stone egg, and the group of stone monsters with eyes behind the bearded cultivator, but they did not want to cause trouble.
Even if the stone egg was a rare treasure of the Kyushu Continent, Xu Yi and Ji Buwang were confident they could restrain their desires.
The bearded cultivator gazed at them for a moment, then sighed, "This is a Vermillion Bird egg."
"Vermillion Bird?!"
Xu Yi's mouth fell open, her face filled with disbelief.
Even Ji Buwang, who was well-traveled, couldn't help but be shaken, and he subtly increased the spiritual power supporting the stone egg.
The bearded cultivator's lips curved into a smug smile, "Do you think any random egg can survive in this lava? Only the Vermillion Bird, rumored to control heavenly fire, can do so."
Xu Yi nodded instinctively.
Indeed, the temperature of the lava at the core of Burning Mountain was indescribably high. Any ordinary monster egg dropped into it would turn to ash within a breath, let alone remain intact.
But as Xu Yi thought about it again, she still found it hard to believe.
After all, the Vermillion Bird, Black Tortoise, Azure Dragon, and White Tiger, these four divine beasts, were already legendary existences.
In the texts of the Xuanji Sect, Xu Yi had also seen ancestral doubts that the Four Divine Beasts were fabrications of their predecessors.
The true form of the Vermillion Bird was actually the fire phoenix among present-day monsters, and the Black Tortoise was the crocodile turtle active in the dark pools.
Their ancestors had embellished them, created the titles of the Four Divine Beasts, and passed them down to this day.
Of course, these were merely speculations by an ancestor of the Xuanji Sect, circulated only within the sect and never publicized.
When Xu Yi first saw this speculation, she was somewhat surprised but then found it very reasonable.
However, hearing the bearded cultivator assert with certainty that this stone egg was a Vermillion Bird egg now, she couldn't help but have doubts.
"Have you seen a Vermillion Bird?" Xu Yi asked.
"No."
Xu Yi was momentarily speechless by the bearded cultivator's direct denial.
You haven't seen it, yet you speak so definitively.
Unexpectedly, the bearded cultivator's tone shifted, "But this egg must be a Vermillion Bird egg. The totem on my hand can prove it."
Xu Yi and Ji Buwang looked intently at him.
He summoned the flame within his body, and a fiery red totem immediately appeared on his hand. He extended his hand to Xu Yi and the other, then looked at them proudly.
Xu Yi gazed at the totem on his hand, her eyes widening. After a long moment, she stammered, "Fire... fire..."
The bearded cultivator's eyes held encouragement, signaling her to continue.
Xu Yi swallowed, finally managing to say a complete sentence, "Chicken?"
"Chicken? Chicken! How dare you call the great and wise Vermillion Bird a chicken!" The bearded cultivator was so angered by Xu Yi's words that he jumped up from the ground, pointing at Xu Yi and cursing, "Are you illiterate! Or have you never read a book! This is clearly a Vermillion Bird! A Vermillion Bird!"
Xu Yi awkwardly touched her nose, carefully dodging the spittle, feeling secretly wronged.
The totem on the bearded cultivator's hand bore no resemblance to a divine beast.
She had merely spoken the truth, but it was an unpalatable truth.
"Jee!"
"Jee jee!"
"Jee jee jee!"
As Xu Yi was feeling frustrated, the stone monsters behind the bearded cultivator jumped up and down, emitting piercing screeches filled with anger.
If the bearded cultivator hadn't reached out to stop them, those stone monsters would likely have rushed forward to teach Xu Yi a lesson for her careless words.
The bearded cultivator had to turn around to pacify the stone monsters.
Xu Yi didn't know what the bearded cultivator said to the stone monsters, but after a while, they finally quieted down.
It was then that Ji Buwang finally found an opportunity to ask the bearded cultivator for his thoughts.
It wasn't entirely Xu Yi's fault for describing the peculiar totem as a chicken.
Because the totem, as presented by the bearded cultivator, had a sharp beak, a bird's body, and chicken-like claws, resembling the most common low-level monster on the Kyushu Continent, the Five-Colored Chicken.
Xu Yi and Ji Buwang found it very difficult to see it as a Vermillion Bird.