Chapter Sixteen: First Venture into Wild Pheasant Hill

On a certain peak, seeking reviews and votes.

Feng Ke’er did not use the Swift Movement technique. First, she lived at the base of Wildfowl Ridge and could go up and down the mountain at any time, with time to spare; second, she wanted to conserve her strength. The Swift Movement technique consumed too much energy—using it in ordinary times was simply a waste, though it was excellent for escaping in emergencies.

Wildfowl Ridge was, in fact, not a slope but a mountain ridge. The main peak rose high, bare and directly piercing the blue sky like the tip of a blade. At the foot of the mountain lay a dense forest.

There was no path. Feng Ke’er, holding a wooden stick in one hand and a dagger in the other, carefully made her way in a chosen direction, threading through the undergrowth. Perhaps her strategy of disturbing the grass to scare away snakes worked; in any case, she encountered no snakes or similar creatures along the way. Oh, no—even the woods were eerily quiet, not a single sparrow in sight.

Clearly, this was pristine woodland, wasn’t it?

Too strange.

Half an hour later, she successfully emerged from the forest. Unscathed, and with nothing to show for it.

She leapt onto a protruding reddish-brown boulder. Only then did Feng Ke’er realize she had, unwittingly, reached halfway up the mountain. Looking back at the vast forest at the foot of the peak, she could hardly believe her eyes. Was it possible she had crossed hundreds of miles of woodland in so short a time? It seemed that since her advancement, her physical abilities had grown unnaturally strong. In the past, hacking her way through such dense forest would have taken days. Now, she moved swiftly and steadily, as if taking a stroll after dinner—her face not flushed, breath unlabored, not even a bead of sweat.

Feng Ke’er was quite pleased with herself. Standing atop the boulder, she shielded her forehead with her left hand against the blazing sun and surveyed the landscape with high spirits. Ah, there was no shade here—she must remember to bring a sunhat next time. Her skin was radiant and supple, almost as if water would seep out if pinched; she couldn’t bear to ruin it, so cherishing it was a must.

From here, the mountain grew steeper, the trees sparse, replaced by shrubs taller than a person. Occasionally, clusters of unknown wildflowers—yellow, red, blue—added beauty to the scene.

Yet, still no sign of wildfowl or other creatures.

Was it that none were present, or did her nearsightedness prevent her from seeing them? Feng Ke’er widened her eyes, searching intently. Then something unexpected happened—aha! Her three-hundred-degree myopia had healed.

She hadn’t noticed before, cooped up in her small courtyard. Now, in this open environment, she discovered her vision had improved dramatically. At a distance, she could see the color of a wildflower’s stamen dozens of miles away; up close, she could discern the split bristles on the legs of a tiny beetle crawling beneath the rock.

Heavens, this was monstrous! Not human eyes anymore, but a miraculous blend of telescope and microscope!

Suddenly, she spotted a flash of red in the northern shrubbery, a thousand meters away. Immediately after, the sound of a wildfowl’s cry echoed—harsh and tragic!

A wave of blood scent rippled through the air.

Someone was hunting wildfowl!

Her heart tightened. Feng Ke’er quickly jumped down from the boulder and hid herself.

Whoosh—a white robe fluttered, and a flying sword rose from the shrubbery. Someone traced a beautiful arc across the sky like a meteor, vanishing in an instant.

Feng Ke’er covered her mouth, hiding behind the rock in the wind, stunned. That person—wasn’t she the white-robed maiden from earlier?

As far as Feng Ke’er knew, only cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage could ride flying swords!

But the other wore a white silk robe!

Could it be that elite disciples of the inner sect were given special privileges?

Regardless, the appearance of the white-robed maiden reminded Feng Ke’er—when she passed through the forest earlier, why did she bother hacking and slashing her way through? She could have simply used the “Dragonfly Skimming Water” technique! She had utterly lacked the awareness of a cultivator, wasting her time.

She clicked her tongue, stepped out from behind the boulder, spread her arms, and leapt lightly from branch to branch until she landed at the spot where the red flash had appeared.

In the shrubbery lay a large wildfowl nest. A red-crested, golden-feathered wildfowl had its head tucked under a wing, legs stretched out straight, dead.

It was nearly twice the size of the speckled fowl she had slain before. Its tail bore a striped plume over a meter long.

With these two features, Feng Ke’er boldly speculated that this must be the so-called Long-plumed Wildfowl King.

Wasn’t it supposed to be the most formidable among wildfowl? Yet it had died so miserably—no sign of struggle or battle in the surrounding nest or grass. This was a straightforward instant kill!

The white-robed maiden was truly formidable! In awe, Feng Ke’er jumped down from the branches to see if there was anything left to scavenge.

Yet, there was no obvious bleeding wound on the Wildfowl King—was it poisoned?

With that thought, she dared not touch the corpse directly. If she accidentally came into contact with a colorless, tasteless, deadly toxin, what then?

She pondered, then used her stick to turn the Wildfowl King over.

Its head swung out from under the wing as if suspended by a thread.

Feng Ke’er frowned and prodded the spot half an inch below the beak. Sure enough, it was soft.

That section of the Wildfowl King’s neck had been crushed!

What a ruthless technique! How was it done? Was it the red flash?

Having determined the cause of death, Feng Ke’er no longer worried about possible poisoning. She examined the corpse carefully, to see what the white-robed maiden had taken.

The head was intact; the demon crystal within was clearly still present.

The body had not been dismembered; all parts remained.

The feathers… Wait! Feng Ke’er brushed aside the massive wings and discovered a few tiny blood spots on each wingtip. If her vision hadn’t improved, she would never have noticed.

A few feathers were missing from the wings!

That person had indeed come to pluck feathers for shuttlecock making. Perhaps this was actually just an ordinary male wildfowl? With this thought, Feng Ke’er casually stabbed the corpse with her dagger, scooped up some blood, and smeared it on the Phoenix Jade token at her chest.

The blood quickly seeped into the sandy shell.

“Ding!” A clear sound rang out, and two lines of golden characters flashed in her mind:

Species: Corpse of Long-plumed Wildfowl King (male);
Grade: Fire attribute, Tier One demon beast.

It truly was the male Wildfowl King! Elite disciples of the inner sect really had the wealth to be extravagant.

With a sigh, Feng Ke’er deftly split open the bird’s head. The pink demon crystal was still there, not much different from the hen king’s demon crystal. The other must be so wealthy she didn’t even care for a Tier One demon crystal—leaving it for Feng Ke’er.

Originally, Feng Ke’er wanted to take the entire Wildfowl King back. But from what she overheard, this male Wildfowl King was not something a rookie could handle. If she, a disciple of just one day, boldly carried a male Wildfowl King to the market for exchange, it would seem a bit too ostentatious. After some thought, she painfully abandoned most of the bird, only cutting off a pair of wings and two legs, and pulling out the beautiful long tail plume, wrapping them all in a green cloth.

Curiously, after the other left on her sword, the entire mountainside seemed to come alive. When Feng Ke’er finished scavenging and stood up, the previously silent shrubbery began to stir: birds called, insects sang, wildflowers swayed, and the flapping of wings rose and fell.

It’s said that animals are sensitive. Perhaps they feared the cultivator’s power—so all living things in the woods below and here had hidden away! Was Foundation Establishment truly so terrifying? Feng Ke’er shook her head to dispel these random thoughts and began her hunt.

Her hearing had also improved immensely. With a little concentration, she could not only hear the faintest sounds but also pinpoint their source accurately. So, without much effort, she found the nearest wildfowl. Less than a hundred meters away, the bird was “clucking” as it foraged beside a clump of grass. Its appearance was similar to the Long-plumed Wildfowl King, just two-thirds its size, its feathers less vibrant, and the tail plume much shorter.

It must be a common male wildfowl. Feng Ke’er judged she had a fair chance, so she crept forward with her stick.

The wildfowl found a caterpillar on a leaf and pecked at it with joy. The caterpillar dropped to the ground, instantly curling into a fuzzy “C.”

Yet, the wildfowl didn’t rush to eat. It strutted and pecked at the worm playfully, completely unaware of the approaching danger.

Feng Ke’er, however, stopped three meters away. How should she strike? She’d never hunted wildfowl before, but had heard they were extremely alert—at the slightest disturbance, they’d flap their wings and fly away, making them hard to catch.

At this moment, how she wished her stick were a shotgun.

The wildfowl continued to play in the grass nearby. Finally, the caterpillar was pecked to death. The bird picked it up in its beak, stretched its neck, and swallowed it.

Seeing it finish its meal and prepare to leave, Feng Ke’er grew anxious. She hurled her stick with all her strength.

“Bang!” A direct hit. The stick spun, landing squarely atop the wildfowl’s head.

Back in university, she had been on the women’s baseball team, playing for four years—her aim was well-practiced. She just hadn’t controlled her strength, a bit too much. Blood spurted, and the wildfowl didn’t even have time to cry out before its head was smashed on the spot.

Its wings fluttered, legs stretched, and it died instantly.

At that moment, Feng Ke’er felt a surge of warmth enter her abdomen, spinning just below her navel before spreading throughout her body. Her spirit was invigorated, her mind clear. Still, this rush was much less intense than when she slew the Wildfowl King.

Maybe because this was just an ordinary wildfowl, the leveling effect wasn’t as obvious? Feng Ke’er pondered, walked over, and smeared some blood on her Phoenix Jade token.

The blood seeped into the sandy shell with a “sizzle.”

“Ding!” Once again, two lines of golden characters appeared in her mind:

Species: Corpse of Long-plumed Wildfowl (male);
Grade: Fire attribute, White-tier demon beast.

As expected.

Feng Ke’er poked at the shattered head for a demon crystal.

There was one, similar in shape and size to the previous two, but pink in color. Yet, her violent blow had smashed it into several pieces, rendering it useless.

“Such a pity. Next time, don’t aim for the head.” Feng Ke’er shook her head, tied the wildfowl’s legs with a green cloth strip, and carried the whole thing. This was just a common demon beast—she could take it whole to the market without attracting attention.

Just then, her stomach growled. It seemed that after defeating monsters, hunger followed! Feng Ke’er put down her spoils, took the green cloth bundle from her back, opened the lotus-leaf package, and tore off a roast chicken leg to fill her belly.

She ate as she reviewed her experience, devising a hunting strategy: first lock onto the target, approach quietly, then seize the opportunity to throw a stick and cripple its wing, finally step up and slit its throat, taking the demon crystal.

These feathered creatures were not as alert as legend had it, and easily hunted.

Although the white-robed maiden had said wildfowl grew more abundant up the mountain, Feng Ke’er, having witnessed the madness of the speckled Wildfowl King, dared not venture higher. Besides, she had come on this trip to test things out.

Safety first. This area had wildfowl but not a flock, which suited her perfectly.

Next, she easily hunted three more common wildfowl—one male, two female. Each time, she avoided the head, aiming for the wings, thus obtaining three intact pink demon crystals.

After each successful hunt, she felt a surge of warmth enter her body, but it was merely refreshing, like sucking on a ginseng slice. The compendium never prompted any advancement. Ginseng with the “king” prefix worked better, and monsters too—in her mind now, hunting monsters was synonymous with nourishment. Oh, dear!

After finishing the last piece of chicken, Feng Ke’er glanced at the sky—unnoticed, the sun had already shifted west.

In the wilds, snakes, insects, and beasts would surely come out at night. She dared not linger on the mountain overnight, so she gathered her spoils and started for home. For her first hunt, such returns were excellent.

It seemed after a whole day of hunting, not only was she not tired, but she felt even more energetic than when she came, her body lighter!

A thought struck her. Feng Ke’er tried using the “Dragonfly Skimming Water” technique together with the Swift Movement technique—she had come to understand that strange flow of energy in her body: it was much like stamina. When exhausted, a brief rest and steady breathing would restore it bit by bit. In under half an hour, it would replenish completely, and the next use would be even smoother, easier to control. But if left unused, it was inert, useless; if not fully depleted, it would recover slowly, but after recovery, using it again wasn’t any smoother.

Since there was no reason not to use it, and exhausting it was best, she took every opportunity to do so, always draining it completely.

Unexpectedly, this time brought even more surprises! Besides growing smoother and easier to control, the flow of energy seemed thicker than before. Moreover, her command of the Swift Movement technique was much stronger than in the morning.

Like a drunken reveler, Feng Ke’er tottered down the mountain with her spoils. In less than a quarter hour, the courtyard gate appeared before her.

She pushed the door open, “thud,” sat down heavily on the ground, tossed her spoils aside, half-propped herself up, mouth open, gasping for air like a fish out of water. Right then, the flow of energy within her had just been depleted! The feeling of exhaustion surged in like a tide.

The Sixteenth Chapter of the Heavenly Compendium, “First Foray into Wildfowl Ridge,” is complete!