Chapter 109: Fuxi Village of the Eastern Wasteland Tribes

“No problem.”

Bifang opened and closed his beak briskly in response. At the same time, he glanced toward the room where Fàn Shèng was resting, a flicker of worry crossing his eyes.

Seeing this, Bai Mu forced a smile and gently reassured him, “You don’t need to worry too much. As long as we retrieve the Fire Lotus quickly, Senior Fàn Shèng will surely be saved!”

“But once you and I leave, there will be no one guarding this Cold Abyss Valley. If enemies invade, wouldn’t Ling Yan and Senior Fàn Shèng be in grave danger?”

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

Bifang cast a quick glance at Bai Mu, then calmly instructed, “The Master’s Ten-Thousand-Control Divine Flute is in your hands now, isn’t it? Take it out—this mountain dweller has a clever plan!”

“What do you intend to do?”

At these words, Bai Mu quickly took three cautious steps back, watching the one-legged firebird warily, fearing some sudden move. Although Fàn Shèng had said before that since Bifang was saved by him, the fierce bird had sincerely pledged loyalty and was now obedient, Bai Mu’s impression of Bifang still lingered on the fierce, fiery bird from White Deer Valley. Seeing Bifang ask for the divine flute capable of controlling all things so early in the morning made his heart tighten inexplicably.

“Little one, rest assured, I have no interest in coveting your divine flute!”

Bifang gave him a disdainful look, muttering again, “You don’t have to hand over the flute if you don’t want to. But do as I say: go inside, move the Master’s body into the Ice-Flame Pool, and place him with your old companion Ling Yan.”

“The icy essence in the Ice-Flame Pool can effectively prevent the Netherworld’s evil qi from spreading throughout the body, and the Qingmu spiritual energy will also slow down the outbreak in the cold environment.”

“When everything is ready, bring the Ten-Thousand-Control Divine Flute to the eastern valley entrance to meet me.”

“Remember, I won’t wait if you’re late!”

With that, Bifang arrogantly tossed his head and fluttered his fiery wings, flying off toward the southeastern direction of the Plum Forest.

Watching his figure fade into the distance, Bai Mu could only shake his head helplessly and obediently followed Bifang’s instructions. At this moment, it seemed Bai Mu had no choice but to heed Bifang’s advice.

When everything was prepared, Bai Mu cast one last lingering, reluctant glance at the two figures in the Ice-Flame Pool, gritted his teeth, and turned to head toward the southeastern exit of Cold Abyss Valley.

---

By then, Bifang was proudly perched atop a plum branch like a prince awaiting his retinue.

When he saw Bai Mu’s tardy footsteps, he immediately flapped his wings and swiftly flew down from the treetop.

“Kid, have you studied the arts of forming protective arrays?” he asked in a tone older than his years before Bai Mu was fully close.

“No,” Bai Mu replied helplessly, shrugging. “Are you planning to set up an array to shield the Cold Abyss Valley?”

“Of course.”

Without hesitation, Bifang analyzed, “Once you and I leave the valley, there will be no guards left. So before we go, we must take some protective measures to ensure the safety of the Master and your old friend!”

“But I don’t know how to form arrays, and no one has ever taught me!” Bai Mu scratched his head awkwardly.

“No problem.”

Bifang shrugged dismissively and explained loudly, “Array formation is actually very simple, especially since your cultivation is not low. If you use a divine artifact as the array’s core, there’s no difficulty in setting up a marvelous array!”

“Using a divine artifact as the core?”

Hearing this, Bai Mu glanced at the jade flute in his left hand, then at the sacred sword Azure Dragon in his right, momentarily unsure what to do.

But a seasoned being like Bifang, with centuries of life experience, could easily see Bai Mu’s inner struggle.

He calmly advised, “The Azure Dragon Sword is your personal weapon; keep it for now. Using the Ten-Thousand-Control Divine Flute as the core is already more than enough!”

“So what should I do?” Bai Mu asked earnestly, weighing the jade flute in his hand.

“Very simple!”

“The Ten-Thousand-Control Divine Flute is forged from the essence of Xuan Jade and contains powerful primordial spiritual energy.”

“You only need to blow the flute, and the spiritual energy inside will automatically disperse, forming a spiritual barrier according to your will.”

“Then I will infuse my innate karmic fire energy into the spiritual barrier, turning the entire formation into a fire-spirit array. Any bird or beast attempting to trespass will be instantly reduced to ashes upon triggering the array!”

---

“That powerful?”

Bai Mu stared incredulously at the jade flute, then steeling his resolve, lifted it to his lips and gently played a classic piece from the Book of Songs—“The Long Song of Picking Ferns.”

As the notes leapt from his fingers one after another, the spiritual energy within the flute spread around.

Eventually, as the energy gathered to a certain extent, it truly formed a spiritual barrier as Bifang had said, enveloping the entire Cold Abyss Valley like a dome.

Seeing the moment was ripe, Bifang quickly exhaled a burst of innate karmic fire energy, intertwining it with the spiritual energy from the flute in midair.

After some fusion, it transformed into a fiery red aura that shrouded the entire valley.

From the eastern valley entrance, one could faintly see an invisible red glow flowing, harmonizing with the pink plum blossoms inside, creating a breathtaking spectacle.

“All done.”

Bifang muttered with satisfaction, then admonished in his old, gruff tone, “Kid, now hide this Ten-Thousand-Control Divine Flute somewhere concealed in the plum forest. As long as the flute’s spiritual energy remains, the barrier will persist forever!”

By now, Bai Mu was completely in awe of Bifang’s extraordinary powers. Hearing his instructions, he immediately tossed the jade flute into a hidden spot in the forest, then mounted Bifang’s broad back, and the pair took off flying toward the Southern Wilderness.

---

It was the sixth lunar month, the height of midsummer.

The Southern Wilderness was scorched under the blazing sun. This mountainous, forested region filled with swamps and miasma was an exceptionally harsh place to survive.

At the border between the Southern and Eastern Wilderness lay a small tribe called Fuxi Village.

This tribe had existed for over a thousand years, ever since the Human Emperor Fuxi created the Bagua (the Eight Trigrams).

Though small and poorly situated, and located in the sparsely inhabited barbarian lands of the Southern Wilderness, the tribe’s commerce was nearly nonexistent, and outsiders rarely ventured here year-round.

It is said that harsh mountains and treacherous waters breed cunning folk, and such places inevitably suffer from barrenness, isolation, and backward material conditions.