CHAPTER 924: BREAK INTO THE STORM ROC CLAN

"If you have something to say, use your words. Why do you need to hug Master?" Xiao Li glared, but made no move to stop him.

"I like Master’s scent." Xie Xie tightened his hold, his voice weak. "I need to be close to you to recover my strength."

Xiao Yun and Xiao Lan fluttered off her shoulders, hovering nearby as Xie Xie buried his face in the crook of her neck.

At first, they thought he was just using this as an excuse to cling to her, but then they noticed his usually radiant face had gone pale, his golden eyes dimmed. No one protested after that.

Only Xiao Yun studied Xie Xie with a strange look.

"Xie Xie, how can I help you?" Her heart ached. He always pushed himself like this for her sake.

"Xie Xie, do you want to eat something?" Zhiyi offered.

"Need help?" Shenlian Yinzhu and Bing Xue chimed in.

"Just, let me hold Master and rest. I’ll be fine." Xie Xie found a spot to sit, pulling her onto his lap despite her response. He closed his eyes, his warm breath brushing against her neck, his lips and nose pressed lightly to her skin.

His sculpted chest, strong arms, and defined abdomen pressed firmly against her. His embrace was unyielding, his face nestled in the curve of her neck as if drawing strength from her pulse, the faint rhythm of her veins beneath her pale skin.

"Xie Xie," she considered sending him into the Ethereal Small World to rest, but he was already asleep, arms locked around her.

His long, sunlit blonde hair, smooth as silk, tangled with her dark strands. His normally luminous, porcelain-like skin was now ghostly pale, his striking golden eyes, usually gleaming like a sunset against the void-like black sclera, shut tight. His long lashes cast delicate shadows as his third eye, centered on his forehead, pulsed faintly before closing as well.

"Master, I need you to stay still." His murmur, soft and barely audible, made Shenlian Yingyue hesitate.

"If he needs to stay near you to recover, let him rest for now, Xiao Yueyue." Xiong Zi Ying settled nearby, beginning his own cultivation practice.

"Yes, Master." She nodded.

A day later, ten trillion golden scorpions returned.

"The desert’s trees were deeply rooted in spiritual energy, their veins entwined with the ancient ley lines. Beneath the sand, their roots pulsed with the pure essence of nature. But now, half of them had already absorbed blood." Xie Xie, now awake, explained this to Shenlian Yingyue in rare, lengthy sentences. "There are also blood-drawing marks scattered across the Forgotten Domain, both on the surface and underground."

"So they didn’t just plan a Blood Formation here," Shenlian Yingyue mused. "They’re after the pure natural essence of this entire realm."

"Which means they won’t stop until they succeed. They’ll slaughter every Immortal humans, Immortal races, or otherwise, until they’ve gathered enough blood and essence to break the ancient seal." Xiong Zi Ying’s expression darkened as the pieces fell into place.

"What should we do now, Master?" Bing Xue turned to Shenlian Yingyue.

"We must warn the other immortals in the Forgotten Domain." After a brief pause, Shenlian Yingyue made her decision.

"Then let’s move." The group exchanged glances before nodding in agreement.

[Immortal Realm, Scarlet Continent, Forgotten Domain, Northern Region, Ember Dune Desert]

High above the Ember Dune Desert, within the Forgotten Domain of the Scarlet Continent, the Peng Clan’s sacred territory floated upon the storm-wreathed Heavenly Storm Cliffs. Hidden behind veils of thunderclouds and tempest-born illusion arrays, this skybound realm was home to the Storm Rocs, ancient beings born of lightning and wind who ruled in both beast and human form.

At the heart stood the Sky-Spanning Roc Palace, a citadel of jade towers and spirit-stone bridges, crowned with thunder-gold rooftops that shimmered with storm qi. Celestial Perches of white jade and bronze ringed the cliffs, where Storm Rocs, feathers like stormclouds and talons charred black, landed in streaks of lightning. Their cries summoned cyclones. Their wings stirred gales. They vanished into clouds and reappeared in flashes, living tempests watching over their realm.

Surrounding the cliffs sprawled ancient forests, dense and alive with thunder energy. Towering trees veined with spirit-silver rose through mist, while storm-aligned flora and glowing herbs pulsed beneath their canopies. Waterfalls flowed from cliffs into floating sky-lakes, their surfaces crackling with static and misted with spiritual vapor.

Within the realm lay sacred grounds: the Wind Oracle Terrace for divining fate, the Thunder-Forged Arena where lightning clashed in battle, and the Sky Nest of Origins, hidden among trees and sealed by thunder, where Roc eggs slumbered in the glowing Field of Immortal Grass.

Above it all, Storm Rocs circled in silence, wings rune-etched and eyes lit with lightning, their presence bending the sky itself. The Peng Clan’s sanctuary was no mere refuge. It was a sovereign storm, suspended between heaven and earth, where even the sky roared in awe.

"Your Majesty, report! Those immortal people are back!!" A Storm Roc in human form burst into the Sky-Spanning Roc Palace, his face slick with sweat. The urgency in his voice sent a ripple of alarm through the gathered elders.

"What? Who?" Peng Ruining, King of the Storm Rocs, shot to his feet. His voice was sharp with disbelief. How had intruders breached their territory without triggering any alarms?

[Outside the Sky-Spanning Roc Palace]

The moment Peng Ruining stepped out, his blood ran cold. Before him stood the very immortals he had hoped never to see again.

"How did you find our real territory?" he demanded, his golden eyes flashing with fury. Around him, the other Storm Rocs, some in human form, others in their majestic beast forms, tensed, their wings crackling with storm energy.

Just days ago, Peng Ruining had barely escaped death after provoking Shen Xian, foolishly trying to claim the Tai Hua Lei as his "male pet." The humiliation had forced him into seclusion, vowing to grow stronger. He despised Shen Xian. He despised all arrogant immortals.

This hidden stronghold was supposed to be untouchable, veiled by ancient illusion arrays. Yet here they were, standing unchallenged at his gates.

What he didn’t know was this: While he had been busy with Shen Xian, Shenlian Yingyue had sent Xiao Yun, Xiao Li, Xiao Lan, Hong Zuan, Lu Long, and Xiao Qiu to infiltrate the Peng Clan’s grounds. They had taken just a handful of immortal grasses and spiritual plants, so little that the theft went unnoticed. And in doing so, they had mapped the path straight to the Storm Rocs’ true territory.

Now, Shenlian Yingyue hovered calmly in the air, unfazed by the tempest of storm qi and red-purple lightning lashing around her. After surviving the heavenly tribulations of two continents, this was nothing.

Xiao Li took a deliberate step forward, and the Storm Rocs instantly bristled, wings flaring.

"What do you want?" Peng Ruining’s jaw tightened.

Shenlian Yingyue’s lips curled in faint amusement. "Relax. We’re not here to fight." She tilted her head. "We came to deliver a warning."

"A warning?" Peng Ruining’s gaze remained sharp, his storms still coiled for battle. "Speak."