Chapter 1- One Bird, One Stone

Down below amongst the lowest of the Three-Thousand Worlds, high up on the Dragontail Mountains a young girl made her way through the brush of the untamed wilderness. Small as she was it was obvious at a glance that she couldn’t be more than ten winter’s old, looking at her appearance she most certainly could not be called pretty but equally so with her fair and unblemished skin it would be too much to call her ugly.

Plain would be the best way to describe the girl, well that is if not for the untamed bird’s nest she called her hair. Not only did it look like it hadn’t seen a proper brushing for years the colour was akin to that of an old crone already at the end of her days.

Such an odd sight she made as she pushed herself through the overgrowth, making no effort whatsoever to remove the small twigs and leaves from her person. As for why such a small girl was all by her lonesome in the forest, the simple answer was that she had no one to look out for her.

The young girl of diminutive stature went by the otherwise grandiose name of Long Baiyue, a gift from her departed mother of whom she always aspired to emulate growing up. Despite only having her father remaining as her caretaker Long Baiyue had a decent enough standard of living, while not rich she was not poor a lifestyle as plain as her face.

Alas tragedy struck again this time in the form of her father being bedridden having agitated an old injury during work in his efforts to provide for himself and his young daughter. Baiyue being a somewhat naïve and sheltered girl saw the dreadful shape of her father and decided that the best way to help him would be ensure he had fresh and healthy food to eat as he recovered not to mention with her father bedridden she herself had not eaten a decent meal in two days either, thus leading to the current situation.

『Geez, how am I supposed to find anything to eat with all these shrubs and stuff in the way.』

Baiyue let out a huff as she complained but nevertheless continued on with her torturous march. After a few hours of a seemingly endless tug of war with nature the girl managed to break out into a clearing of sorts.

Looking this way and that she eventually spotted what looked to be some small clusters of red berries growing on a nearby plant. Having yet to find anything even remotely promising so far; the girl decided to collect a few in the pockets of her dress and ask her father about them later.

However just as she was beginning her approach she heard the tell-tale sound of a bird flapping its wings. Following her instincts she decided to hide back inside the brush once more instead of staying out in the open.

For such a wise split second decision the young girl was soon rewarded as from her crouched position in a nearby bush she made out the figure of a beautiful black bird descending down onto the ground to peck at some of the low hanging berries.

"Waaaah~ a pheasant! This will make a much better dinner than a few wild berries. I just got to catch it first!" Thought the innocent girl as she looked at the scene in front of her.

Having made up her mind Long Baiyue searched the nearby ground for an appropriate weapon, after a short moment of contemplation the best option she found seemed to be one of the many loose stones at her feet. Deciding she had nothing to lose she picked one at random and threw it as hard as she could at the pheasant; a throw that would literally change her destiny forever.

With an almost comical plonk the stone found its mark straight upon the bird’s head. Who was surprised more between the duo of hunter and prey at the stone’s near lethal accuracy was anyone’s guess.

Baiyue herself had never tried to catch any kind of bird before so the mere fact she was finding some small success in her attempts left her excited beyond words; luckily for her though she didn’t need to say anything as someone soon beat her to it.

『Bastard! Whoever threw that stone is a total bastard! Come out into the open and show yourself; I, your Grampa Ming promise to only beat you half to death if you come quietly!』

Long Baiyue’s jaw literally dropped at seeing the bird she had mentally assigned the label of “dinner” actually begin to cuss and shout at her attempts to capture it. Such a magical sight was something the young girl from the small village at the base of the mountain had never even dreamed of before and because of this losing her composure and exposing her position seemed only a matter of course in hindsight.

『It talked!』

At her unintentional outburst the mysterious black pheasant turned its attention towards Long Baiyue’s general direction.

『Hah! I heard that, you’re not fooling anyone so just come on out here already before I really get mad!』

Being the honest and purehearted girl she was Long Baiyue could not thick skinly ignore a direct scolding from someone who sounded older than herself. Because of this she was quick to reveal her figure to the angry pheasant she didn’t particularly feel like eating him anymore anyway following such a display.

『What? It’s just a little girl, phew~ I was scared there for a second I thought for sure it was one of those high and mighty twerps I bullied in the past looking for revenge. Though when I think about it an immortal emperor probably wouldn’t half-assedly throw a pebble at me.』

Hearing the word immortal Long Baiyue’s imagination went to work remembering all the stories her mama used to tell her when she was small. Tales of flying in the sky and living forever she remembered her favourite story of them all, the one about the man who was so strong he could catch the very moon in the palm of his hand.

Returning from her daydreaming the naïve little girl could not help herself but ask the pheasant about what he was talking about.

『Mr Pheasant, are there really immortals? Have you met one before?』

Noticing the worshipping gaze the small girl was looking at him with the black pheasant unintentionally started to boast a little without thinking.

『Hmph! Have I met immortals? Little girl, I am the king of immortals. Standing before you is a divine phoenix the blood running through my veins destined me for immortality from the moment I was born and you ask me if I’ve met immortals, heh!』

『Wow~ you’re amazing Mr Pheasant!』

Letting the bird’s words fully sink in though Long Baiyue came to a realisation; perhaps the immortal pheasant could help heal her father. Unsure how to broach the subject she hesitantly did her best to just straightforwardly ask.

『Um, Mr Pheasant? You see the thing is … my father is badly hurt back at home; I don’t suppose you know any immortal magics that could heal him? I would be forever grateful, while its not much I know we have a little bit of money saved up for emergencies I’m sure father would be more than willing to pay you for helping him.』

Looking straight at the young girl’s pure and honest eyes that contained not a hint of doubt; the bird started laughing uncontrollably.

『Oh~ this is too much! Do you really think you can afford to pay I, your Grampa Ming? With what? A few gold pieces?』

Hearing the word gold Long Baiyue started getting even more worried, despite how young she was she understood very well that without a proper doctor to help him it was very possible her father could die. But gold was something she knew was more than they could afford even if they turned the house upside down.

『Um Mr Pheasant, we don’t actually have any gold … but we have some taels of silver! Please I’ll do anything! Mr Pheasant, no Grampa Ming; whatever you want it’s yours I just don’t want father to die like Mama, please!』

Snorting dismissively the black pheasant spoke one last time as he turned away from the girl in preparation to take flight.

『Don’t waste your breath little brat even if you offered me ten gold mines you wouldn’t be able to make I, Feng Mingtian the Phoenix Emperor lower myself to such a degree.』

Karma is a mysterious thing however as just as the arrogant pheasant took off, he found himself unable to steady his wings properly and promptly crashed back down into the earth. Long Baiyue however saw this as her last chance and wasted no time capturing the bird with makeshift bindings torn from her dress.

Lifting the bird to meet her eyes she was no longer the innocent girl who struggled to hurt a fly but instead a cornered animal who would do whatever it took to survive.

『Father always say that we should never forget the importance of showing kindness because we never know when we will require the kindness of others in turn. I need to save my father and if you really are a divine phoenix then if I feed you to him he should get better, right? I’m sorry, but I think I’m out of kindness right now.』

While Baiyue could not see herself as she spoke Mingtian was forced to stare into her eyes and what he saw gave him pause. The pupils of the young girl’s eyes for only the briefest of a moment turned slitted like those of a snake before returning to normal not long after.

It was so quick that most would attribute what they saw to a trick of the light but Feng Mingtian was not just anyone and was able to immediately make some connections in his mind. Seemingly unfazed by the girl’s threat to eat him the ever arrogant pheasant decided to question her on something seemingly unrelated.

『Little girl, what’s your name?』

Despite having resolved to eat the bird in her hands the girl was by her very nature a polite and mild mannered person and so answered without thinking too much.

『My Mama named me. I’m called Long Baiyue.』

『Long Baiyue huh, and your mother named you? If I remember from your aimless ramblings earlier you said she died right? How did that happen?』

Despite feeling her eyes tear up at the memory Baiyue answered regardless.

『It was when I was five, I wasn’t there myself but father said she was taken away from us by some cultivators and that I would probably never see her again. He said she was most likely no longer in this world.』

After finding out what he wanted Mingtian could barely contain the mirth in his eyes.

『Your father is quite the wordsmith he does not speak like a mortal if those are his exact words. I think I would very much like to meet him before he dies.』

Triggered by the bird’s blasé attitude Baiyue could not contain her outburst.

『My father is not going to die!』

And there it was again slitted pupils just like before, Mingtian was not wrong and he knew exactly what he was looking at. From what he could tell the partial transformations appeared to be mostly connected to her emotions.

『I hate to break it to you but neither you nor I at this moment have the ability to save someone from the brink of death. You are a mortal and my cultivation has been, at least for now sealed. Even if you go with your plan of cooking me and serving me up on a silver platter I’m afraid the primordial might of my blood will simply cause your father to explode from excess energy build-up. Right now, you can do nothing.』

Hearing such a calm break down of the hopelessness of her situation Long Baiyue was forced to accept the reality she knew deep in her heart but refused to truly acknowledge. Smiling in such a way that she looked uglier than if she was crying she gently put down the pheasant in her arms onto the ground and before long undid his bindings.

『I’m sorry for bothering you with my problems Grampa Ming and thank you for taking the time to talk to me. It was nice meeting you and I hope I see you again someday.』

Not wasting any time following her release of Mingtian, Baiyue began making the long trek home having already given up on any ideas of foraging. She was startled however by the sound of flapping close to her ears before she felt an unfamiliar weight suddenly rest on top of her head.

After making himself sufficiently comfortable amongst the small girl’s bird’s nest like hair Mingtian began their conversation again as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

『Aren’t you a little too naïve? What if I was just lying about the energy explosion thing to trick you into releasing me?』

Suddenly having an arrogant bird riding atop her head asking her all manner of things was enough to bring back a genuine smile to her face.

『I just decided to believe you, that’s all. Besides the formidable Grampa Ming wouldn’t lower himself to lying to a ten year old girl would he?』

『Hmph, Of course not! Don’t you know who your Grampa Ming is? I’m an all-powerful Empyrean Ream expert I could destroy entire solar systems with a wave of my hand!』

『Waaaah~ Grampa Ming is so cool!』

Stolen novel; please report.

Baiyue's eye's were practically sparkling as she thought "I don’t know what a solar system is, but it sounds very fierce!"

Continuing on with her walk home something else suddenly occurred to Baiyue.

『Um, Grampa Ming?』

Seeing how shy Baiyue was being Mingtian could barely hold back the irritation in his voice. Shyness wouldn’t work for the plan he had in mind after all, definitely something he’ll have to work on.

『What is it?』

『You’re a bird. You don’t have any hands.』

『Ugh! Don’t remind me. I’ll have you know this is only a temporary form. You better engrave this into your thick little skull little girl your Grampa Ming right here is the handsomest man in all the three-thousand worlds and beyond.』

Puffing her cheeks childishly from being called little over and over again Baiyue took the arrogant pheasants words as a challenge.

『Humph! I’ll have you know that while I might be small and plain now; one day I’ll grow up into a beauty that’ll make all the boys in the village walk into walls just to get a glimpse of me. My father is super handsome to the point that all the female neighbours are trying to sneak a peek at him and let’s not forget my Mama either, she was so pretty that even the immortals couldn’t leave her alone.』

Hearing how uncharacteristically self-confident the little brat was being Mingtian couldn’t stop himself from cackling like mad from atop his little perch on Baiyue’s head.

『Hahahaha~ A plain little girl like you? When pigs fly!』

Upset at not being taken seriously Baiyue just started shaking her head back and forth like she was trying to knock the noisy bird off of her. This was to no avail however as Mingtian would simply take off into the air whenever she tried and land back onto his throne of grey hair every time she stopped.

The scene of the two continuing this little back and forth remained the same for the entire duration of their trip back to Baiyue’s village with only the uncontrolled cackling of a certain arrogant black pheasant as their travelling music.

After a journey spanning multiple hours Baiyue had finally made it all the way home to her front door. Having long worked out she couldn’t shake off her feathered friend she eventually relented allowing him to stake a permanent claim to the space on the crown of her head.

Indeed between not finding anything to eat, the smug bird nesting in her hair and all the stares she got as she made her way through the village proper she was absolutely relieved to see her familiar home still standing tall and firm upon her arrival. But all other things could wait as she had to check in on her father as soon as possible he’d been left alone for far too long as it was and who knows how he might have worsened in her absence.

Stepping through the front gate Baiyue made her way to her father’s room where he was resting in bed. The village where they lived did actually have a local doctor but when he examined her father he could only shake his head and recommend plenty of bedrest unable to make heads or tails of much besides the cause being an old injury.

Looking at the weak and enfeebled man barely able to leave his bed Baiyue felt the tears that she had settled with great difficulty begin to resurface once again. The contrast between the calm and austere man she was familiar with who looked like even if the sky fell upon his head he would only wordlessly shoulder it and his current state was like the difference between night and day.

A cleanly dressed thirty something year old with brows like swords and long black hair tied up elegantly Hong Min was just as handsome as Baiyue boasted. Ironically while tragic his current sickly appearance only further emphasised the man’s inherent beauty so much so that even most women could most likely only sigh with jealousy.

Hearing the approaching steps Hong Min who was at this time actually awake for once sat up from his position on the bed to greet his visitor. Seeing who it was he smiled gently as he welcomed them home.

『Hello my little moon, where have you been all day I wonder?』

Like father like daughter Baiyue smiled just as purely before answering.

『I went out to look for food for dinner, though I didn’t really find anything.』

Looking up at a particular spot on his daughter’s head Hong Min chuckled before addressing the pheasant in the room.

『Certainly it seems more like it found you. Why don't you introduce me to your little friend?』

With her smile shining even brighter with the sort of innocence only a child was capable of she pulled down the bird from her head to show her father.

『Father this is Grampa Ming he’s actually a divine phoenix you know, he’s only in disguise right now. Ah, but don’t eat him you’ll explode or something.』

『A phoenix you say? It appears my little moon has shown me something interesting before my time is up.』

Putting aside Mingtian, Baiyue knelt down so she was at the height of her father’s lap. Unable to help herself anymore she buried her head up against him and started crying her eyes out.

『Don’t say that! Father will get better, father will live. With Mama gone I’ll be all alone and I won’t know what to do.』

Gently patting his daughter’s messy hair he spoke with a calm acceptance of his fate.

『My little moon I have been unwell for many years now and I knew this day would come eventually. The time I was able to spend with you and your mother was a blessing far more than I deserve. I have made arrangements already for what will happen to you once I am gone. In my bedside dresser is a letter and some money for travel expenses.』

Shaking her head repeatedly with tears endlessly pouring from her eyes Baiyue could not believe what she was hearing.

"It’s not true, it’s not true, it’s not true." So she screamed in her mind where no one else could hear her.

Refusing to listen to what was being said the girl only covered her ears and shook her head even harder hoping for everything to be just a bad dream but since when was life ever that convenient.

『Baiyue!』

For the first time in her memory her father actually shouted at her. Such a shocking event was enough to break the small girl from her fierce denial and she could only look up at her father with the tear stained eyes of a snake.

Meeting the gaze of his daughter’s transformed pupils without a hint of surprise his ever gentle smile soon returned.

『You look so much like your mother, more and more with every day and like your mother I need you to be strong. Can you do that for me?』

Drying her eyes with her sleeve she nodded knowing how important this was to her father. The least she could do was make sure he wouldn’t have to worry about her any more than he already was.

『Mn, I understand. Your little moon is a big girl now she knows when to do what she’s told.』

Letting out a sigh of relief he pulled Baiyue up into his lap before giving her a gentle kiss on the forehead.

『That’s good, I’ll be able to go with some peace of mind. My only regret is that your mother is not here to see what a splendid girl you’ve grown up to be. No, who am I kidding I regret I will not be able to see you become an adult, to get married and to have children of your own. Time, in the end it all comes down to not having enough time.』

With a wistful sigh Hong Min looked up at the ceiling of his small home almost as if he was trying to see something far away up in the clouds beyond his sight. Though it was not long before he was broken from his thoughts after hearing a voice from a most unexpected of places.

『Even if your cultivation was intact that’s not a place you could see from here. Well I could, but you’re not me.』

Looking to the source of the sound Hong Min was surprised to find the pheasant his daughter brought home speaking words that wouldn’t be out of place if they came from the mouth of a wise sage. Lifting his daughter off his lap Hong Min cupped his hands in salutations to the strange pheasant.

『Greetings, it appears I have been neglectful of a visitor in my home. This one’s name is Hong Min might I know senior’s respected title.』

The pheasant as haughty as ever raised his beak into the air as if to look down upon the bedridden man.

『You aren’t worthy.』

After showing such a dismissive attitude Mingtian saw Baiyue glaring at him from the corner of his vision. If it were anyone else he most certainly wouldn’t care but the girl’s status in his eyes at least was far higher than that of her father’s.

Doing his best approximation of an eye roll that he could manage in the body of a pheasant the bird relented and corrected his former statement.

『Looking at your daughter’s face, I suppose you may call me Grampa Ming.』

Nodding his head obediently Hong Min was quick to acknowledge the title not interested in offending this strange senior.

『Grampa Ming then. If I may ask Grampa Ming, how is it you know my daughter?』

Turning around before folding his wings behind his back Mingtian adopted the pose of a wizened expert.

『Though your daughter tried to eat me, I am at my core a man of mercy and have begrudgingly decided to spare her life. Furthermore it just so happens that I am in the market for a disciple at this time, with vision such as mine it was not difficult to take notice of young Baiyue’s talents. With your blessing I would take her on as my student and she acknowledge me as her master. Admittedly my original plan was to just wait for you to die before extending this offer but, from what I have learned following my short time interacting with your little Yue I expect she will stubbornly decide to adhere to whatever arrangements you make for her ignoring any alternatives I propose.』

Turning around again, this time to address Baiyue herself Mingtian had decided the time was ripe to reveal his hand.

『Do you want to protect your father?』

Nodding her head frantically Baiyue was willing to accept even a deal with the devil if she could save her most precious person.

『More than anything!』

『Excellent. Worship me as your master and I promise your father a life he would otherwise be deprived of.』

This time facing towards to the man in question Mingtian did not forget to sweeten the pot.

『And you Hong Min, I will tell you this. Only by allowing your daughter to walk this path will a future where your family becomes whole again be possible. She has such potential within her and only I am capable of bringing it to the surface. I will not tell you there is no danger on this road you should already understand such a thing is unrealistic but the heights she will reach one day are not something someone like you can imagine. So, what say you?』

Despite his unfortunate state Hong Min was ever the decisive man he always was and so upon seeing this opportunity for his little girl he did not hesitate to grasp at it.

『It’s not impossible for me to agree but I say this not for my own sake but for Baiyue’s I know deep down she has always had aspirations that go beyond that of a simple village girl. I remember when she was even smaller than now before bed Meixing would tell her tales of immortals and their fantastic feats after which she would go to sleep dreaming of what it would be like to be in their place.』

Smiling to himself at the memory Hong Min decided that this was the moment to make things up to his daughter for all the pain he has caused her in recent days.

『I don’t know why it is you need my daughter to be your disciple but not just anyone can be my little girl’s master and so while I believe in your sincerity a show of ability is required. If I’m not mistaken it’s tradition for a master to present their new disciple with a gift. As her father I know Baiyue has always had a dream of sorts silly as it was, whenever she thought her mother and I weren’t looking she would reach out into the night sky and try to snatch the moon for herself just like in the stories. I know it is a presumptuous request but if you really are an immortal like my daughter seems to believe then it shouldn’t be beyond your ability to teach her a technique to one day achieve this. If you can produce such a martial law as a gift to my daughter then even if it’s far beyond her ability right now it will prove that you are indeed the one most worthy to be her master.』

At finding out Hong Min’s conditions Mingtian was inwardly groaning in annoyance. As much as he boasted his ability, in his current state the would be Phoenix Emperor was no wealthier than a random beggar off the street.

In the end though he was Feng Mingtian the man who would one day kick the old geezer Jade off his throne and take the Numinous Crown for himself. If he struggled with something as simple as this then there was no way he could achieve his dream.

Extending his black as night wings wide Mingtian spoke with a solemness that Baiyue had never before seen from her little Grampa Ming.

『Very well bring me something to write on, some paper if you have any as well as some means to bind them together into a book. I have no such martial law on my person as of this time but that does not mean I cannot create one.』

Having quickly gone to retrieve some sheets of paper her father kept spare in the house as well as some cotton string Baiyue soon returned laying them out on the table in front of her Grampa Ming. Looking over the provided materials the haughty bird nodded his head in approval but Baiyue herself couldn’t help but take notice of something else.

『Grampa Ming you didn’t ask me to bring a quill or charcoal do you have something to write with?』

『Of course! I’m not some bird brain like you.』

Ignoring the indignant Baiyue at his side Mingtian soon got to work. Indeed as the little girl noted he did not have a writing tool on hand but this was because he was going to make his own.

If he was going to personally write a technique for his would be disciple then it had to be up to scratch otherwise if anyone from Heavenly Plane saw it he would surely die of embarrassment. Plucking off one of his own feathers with his talons Mingtian then pecked his own wing hard enough to draw blood all so without making a single noise of pain.

Makeshift quill and ink created the bird then began to furiously scribble upon the pages laid out onto the table in front of him. As he wrote the blood he used as ink seemed to glow and meld into the pages causing some manner of unseen transformation to occur to the paper.

After five hours or so of non-stop writing Mingtian eventually relented in his work. To finish up he poked a few holes in the side of each page with his blood stained quill and after soaking the cotton string with the last drops coming from his wound he bound the pages together.

『And now for the last step.』

Looking at the entranced little girl who had yet to gaze away throughout the entire duration of the work, the bird suddenly gained a sharp glint to his eyes. With a quick swipe of his talons Mingtian gave Baiyue a small cut on her left hand before grabbing her wrist to make sure the blood dripped onto the books cover.

As the drops made contact they changed shape forming into the books title but at that moment Baiyue was too distracted to notice such a thing.

『Ow! What was that for Grampa Ming!?』

『Hush, it’s just a bit of blood don’t be such a little girl.』

『But I am a little girl!』

『Whatever, the point was to key the book to your bloodline so that only I it’s creator and you it’s recipient can read it. Though if you ever have any children in the future I’m sure they’ll be able to read it too, to anyone else the book will appear completely blank.』

Looking over at Baiyue’s father he then offered a challenge to the sickly man.

『By the way you, Hong Min; try seeing if you can read my masterpiece.』

Baiyue being the ever filial daughter she was, handed the book over herself so that her father wouldn’t have to get up from his bed. After looking at the front cover for a second before seeming to flip through the pages at random Hong Min eventually sighed and closed the book in front of him.

『I can’t see anything.』

Nodding Mingtian continued his explanation.

『Exactly. While Baiyue is of your blood, you are not of hers. I have made the formations within the book only compatible with descendants not ancestors. As for why?』

Narrowing his not quite hawk eyes he then snorted in disapproval.

『Perhaps you should be the one to explain properly. While I do not know the character of any ancestors you may have, I am probably more familiar with the other side of Baiyue’s family tree than anyone else in this world.』

With the girl in question looking around confused at the conversation going over her head she could only do what came natural to such a young child and look to her father for an explanation.

『Father, what does Grampa Ming mean?』

Feeling pain at being asked such an innocent thing he nonetheless decided that his deception had gone on long enough and that his little moon deserved the truth.

『Five years ago when your mother left us everything I told you was the truth. Of course I couldn’t bear to lie to you but I intentionally worded it in such a way so as that you would misunderstand and think she had passed away. I did this so that you would be able to live your life free of worries like a child your age should, as the truth in a certain way is far crueler. Your mother Long Meixing is alive, five years ago her family came to our house to find her and forced her to follow them home back to their clan in the immortal world. Understand little moon in the immortal world time flows ten times faster than it does here so while you have not seen her for five years she has not seen you for fifty already and this gap will only widen in the future. Furthermore her family made it clear that they wanted her back so that she could fulfil her duty of providing the clan with more descendants. Because of this they will try to force her to get remarried and have other children … she will end up being someone else’s mother Little Moon. I’m so sorry, I wasn’t strong enough to protect her.』

As Hong Min trailed off towards the end he was surprised to find drops falling from his eyes before he even realised it. Smiling wryly to himself he made sure to play it off with a joke.

『Sorry Little Moon I guess you get being a crybaby from me afterall.』

Baiyue’s reaction was beyond his expectations however as he soon found himself enveloped in a tight hug. Meeting his daughter’s gaze again, he saw this time she did not cry instead he saw only flames burning in her slitted eyes.

How he ever thought they looked like those of a snake before he did not know because now when his daughter was more focused then he had ever seen her, they practically glowed a crimson red. What he saw was most definitely not the eyes of a snake, no they were the eyes of a dragon ready to burn the world to the ground if it got in its way.