“Oh oh... oh~!”
Along with a clear rooster crow, He Xiuyuan slowly opened his eyes.
He waved his hand slightly, and the surrounding Spiritual Qi dispersed.
He Xiuyuan condensed a ball of water and casually sprinkled it on the wild vegetables nearby. After watering each of them, He Xiuyuan prepared some food. After eating, he used water manipulation to descend the mountain.
He planned to wander around the Mount Shi Fang. It wasn't a solution to just wait for the immortal crane to appear here all the time.
Searching more would actually increase his chances.
He intended to stay here for about another month. If he still couldn't find it, he would first head to the East Sea.
After the matter in the East Sea was concluded, he would then consider whether to return and search for this immortal crane.
Thinking of this, He Xiuyuan immediately descended the mountain using water manipulation.
Staying in this mountain for over two months had damaged He Xiuyuan's clothes quite a bit; his original long robe had become mere strips of cloth hanging on him.
Fortunately, He Xiuyuan was the only one in this mountain, so he didn't pay much attention to it.
He Xiuyuan searched around the main peak where he resided, preparing to gradually move deeper into the mountains.
This made He Xiuyuan quite busy.
Early in the morning, he would set out, and then return at sunset to watch the sunset.
Another half a month passed, and He Xiuyuan was so busy his feet barely touched the ground, but he still hadn't seen any trace of the immortal crane.
He Xiuyuan calculated the time and felt that it was almost time for him to go to the East Sea.
Compared to the blind waiting and searching here, the goal in the East Sea seemed much clearer.
.......
Deep within the Mount Shi Fang.
On a mountain peak that didn't seem particularly eye-catching, a dull-colored immortal crane with little vitality in its eyes was lying on the ground, using its beak to preen its messy, somewhat dirty feathers.
The land around this immortal crane looked desolate, without a single blade of grass or tree.
After the immortal crane finally managed to preen its feathers, it used its beak to pluck out feathers with slight stains on them.
However, as soon as the immortal crane plucked away a portion of these stained feathers, the stains quickly reappeared from other places.
Seeing this, the immortal crane became extremely annoyed and immediately sped up its pecking.
Yet, no matter what the immortal crane did, the stains simply wouldn't go away.
And just as the immortal crane was focused on pecking at the stains, in a somewhat dark and deep cave not far away, faint wisps of black mist subtly emerged from within.
However, just as this black mist was about to reach the surface, a golden light instantly lit up at the mouth of the cave, then firmly Sealed the black mist within.
Upon noticing the commotion, the immortal crane immediately stopped its actions, then stood up, flapped its wings, and a hint of sharpness appeared in its originally turbid, colorless gaze.
Perhaps realizing that the immortal crane had already detected its movements, the black mist no longer concealed itself and directly began to violently impact the Seal in front of it.
Each impact caused the light on the Seal in front of it to dim a bit.
It looked as if this Seal would be broken through in not much time.
Seeing this, the immortal crane immediately raised its head with a loud cry, its wings moved, and gusts of strong wind swept down into the cave.
“Hmph, your methods are completely useless against me, why waste your Qi!”
An old voice sounded from beneath the cave, and then a pair of scarlet eyes slowly appeared within the black mist.
The owner of these eyes was now staring intently at the immortal crane, his eyes filled with frustration and hatred.
How many years had this damned immortal crane been watching him here?
If it weren't for this immortal crane, he would have long since escaped and left; why would he still be trapped here, in perpetual darkness, without freedom!
Seeing the black mist stop, the immortal crane also stopped flapping its wings and ignored the black mist. Instead, it looked up at the sky, seemingly searching for something.
The black mist beneath the cave immediately broke down upon seeing this.
He knew very well what this immortal crane was looking for, what it wanted to do.
Over so many years, every time he impacted the Seal, this fellow would do that very thing.
Thinking of this, the black mist immediately roared, “Damned immortal crane, your master fought me of his own accord back then, and when he couldn't defeat me, he Sealed me here.”
“What does your master's death have to do with me!”
“You are also a demon; you must have gained some Dao cultivation. Why don't you find a place to Cultivate properly and you can achieve the Great Dao in the future? Why must you keep staring at me!”
The demon in the black mist was now seething with anger.
Back then, he had only abducted a hundred or so young boys and girls and consumed their flesh and blood to Cultivate. That old Daoist priest loved to meddle in others' affairs and insisted on fighting him.
What did his death have to do with him!
They were both demons, yet this immortal crane, because of a dying wish from that old Daoist priest, had stubbornly guarded him here for hundreds of years!
What was the point of this!
If this immortal crane was willing to watch from the side, after he got out, he would help it find some young boys and girls to Cultivate. Why insist on guarding him so stubbornly!
The immortal crane turned a deaf ear to the roars of the fellow beneath the cave. After checking the sky, it lowered its head again.
The demon in the black mist, seeing this, naturally knew that the immortal crane wasn't giving up, but was merely waiting for the sunset.
Once the sun set, the immortal crane would rush towards the evening glow, and then...
Thinking of what would happen then, the demon beneath the cave twisted restlessly, appearing very agitated.
“You need to think carefully. Given your current condition, if you do it one more time, you will almost certainly die here!”
“If you leave now and Cultivate properly, you will still be able to heal your injuries in the future. Wouldn't it be better to then guard your master buried here?”
The demon beneath the cave moved around anxiously, wanting to impact the Seal, but the power he had accumulated during this period was now completely exhausted.
At this moment, he was powerless to impact the Seal.
Moreover, thinking back to what the immortal crane was about to do, he became even more uneasy.
Even though he had experienced this so many times over the years, he was still somewhat terrified every time this moment arrived.
However, facing his roars, the immortal crane remained silent, only lowering its head to preen its feathers.
When the distant sun gradually set and the light of the evening glow began to appear, the immortal crane suddenly stopped, then flapped its wings and came to a small mound nearby.
The immortal crane looked down at the mound in front of it, and in its turbid eyes, it seemed to be recalling something. Then, it gently rubbed the small mound with its head.
In a trance, it seemed to see that kind old Daoist priest standing before it again.
At this moment, the immortal crane finally let out a mournful cry, its voice spreading far and wide. Then, the immortal crane turned, flapped its wings, a hint of determination in its eyes, and spread its wings to fly towards the evening glow.