Chapter 595 580: The Secrets of the Feather Wood Race

Master of Chaos, Shark's Kiss, and the others had finally arrived. The moment the four of them appeared, Master of Chaos was the first to sense Duanmu Xie's aura.

WHOOSH...

The four Emperor Martial Realm powerhouses grew incredibly tense, each taking up a position to guard one of the four cardinal directions—north, south, east, and west—of the Imperial Capital!

Shen Lang rolled his eyes and waved them over. "Relax, it's not Duanmu Xie. If it weren't for him, I'd have been a goner... Can't say I could've counted on you guys."

Shark's Kiss and the others glanced at the crowd below, then at the mess in front of the Shui Family's entrance, and flew over sheepishly.

Nangong Yan was the first to dart to Shen Lang's side, asking anxiously, "Xiaolang, are you all right? What in the world happened here? And how is Duanmu Xie out again?"

If a guy like Duanmu Xie got loose, the entire Imperial Capital Imperial City could be in danger!

This was no laughing matter...

Master of Chaos's expression was grim. He asked with extreme caution, "Senior Brother, does this mean that Duanmu Xie has already broken free? But that's impossible! With your Sealing Technique and the Star Moon Bodhi Prayer Beads, even with his overwhelming Magical Power, there's no way he could have escaped in such a short time."

The various experts in the Imperial Capital who were watching this were stunned once again. 'Senior Brother... Master of Chaos is an Emperor Martial Realm powerhouse who's been famous for years! An expert from the Ruyi Buddha Sect! How could he... Was everything Zu Wei said earlier actually true?'

"It was nothing. I just beat him up a bit, threatened him, and he started behaving," Shen Lang said with a dismissive wave of his hand, his tone light and breezy.

He couldn't possibly admit that he had been borrowing Zuo Wentian's might to intimidate others.

But the more nonchalant Shen Lang acted, and the more he seemed to want to avoid the topic, the more curious Nangong Yan and the others became, desperate to know what had happened.

Seeing them all staring with wide, inquisitive eyes, Shen Lang sighed in resignation and was about to explain, but he suddenly sensed something and stopped.

Turning slightly, Shen Lang's gaze shifted to his right rear, where he saw a streak of green light approaching from the distance.

In the blink of an eye, the clouds parted, revealing Xue Shiyin, dressed in a green gauze skirt. She walked slowly through the air, step by step, from the distance...

Seeing Shen Lang standing there in the air, Xue Shiyin's eyelashes trembled. The rims of her eyes suddenly turned red, and a mist immediately clouded her beautiful gaze.

These past few days while Shen Lang was abducted had been the saddest and most torturous of her entire life.

Worse, she couldn't speak of these feelings to anyone.

She couldn't even show them to Shen Lang...

All her previous anxiety and worry, now mixed with the relief of seeing him safe and sound, tangled together inside her.

A thousand words were buried in her heart, leaving Xue Shiyin staring at Shen Lang in a daze, unable to utter a single one.

Meanwhile, the first thing that appeared in Shen Lang's mind was the image of that little girl from several thousand years ago...

"I... I'm all right." Shen Lang opened his mouth a few times, but in the end, he only managed to say those three words.

Xue Shiyin, standing in the distance, gave a slight, difficult nod. "As long as you're all right."

With a thousand things to say but no idea where to begin, it felt as if time itself had stopped in that moment...

At that moment, Shui Qingwu flew up from below and, in a voice as beautiful as heavenly music, recounted the entire sequence of events.

From the people of Celestial Sword Mountain trying to kidnap someone from the Shui Family, to Shen Lang's arrival, then Duanmu Xie's appearance, and finally, the Celestial Swordsman being beaten until he coughed up blood and fled by the sudden appearance of Lan Mengling...

The intelligent Shui Qingwu recounted everything in great detail.

She only intentionally-or-unintentionally omitted the part that seemed like flirtatious banter between Lan Mengling and Shen Lang.

Just then, Shen Lang held up a hand to stop Shark's Kiss and the others from speaking. He turned and cupped his fists toward the distant Tantai Jingming.

Although he didn't say a word, his gratitude was clearly expressed.

Then, Shen Lang's expression turned serious, and he declared in a loud, clear voice, "Race does not determine honor. People should not be so quick to judge those who are different from themselves."

"Many years ago, when the world underwent a great cataclysm and the survival of all living beings was threatened, the Feather Wood Race toiled and strove to fight against the darkness and evil. And not long ago, they even helped the Imperial Dragon Sect seal the Earth Rift in the Desolate Land, resolving the threat of the Supreme Yin Qi!"

"In comparison, I ask you all to look within and ask yourselves: what have you done? What are you doing now?"

"I, Shen Lang, may not have much power myself, but if anyone dares to target Yu Lingfeng again, I will exhaust every resource at my disposal to wipe them from the face of this earth!"

"My friends will all live well; my enemies will all pay the price!"

His firm, powerful voice echoed through the air, and all the experts watching fell silent.

Such threatening words would have been hard for anyone to swallow, no matter who said them.

But since it was Shen Lang who spoke them, no one could find a reason or the words to refute him.

Whether from a moral or a practical standpoint, Shen Lang had the right to say such things.

For someone without power to say such things would be arrogant, ignorant, and suicidal.

But for someone with power to say them, who would dare to say a single word against it?

From this day forward, anyone who wanted to move against the Feather Wood Race People would have to think twice...

Shark's Kiss and the others exchanged a look, nodded silently, and then took a step through the void toward Xue Shiyin.

Leaving a Quasi-Emperor Martial Realm expert standing there all alone was simply improper.

HUFF!

Letting out a breath, Shen Lang waved over the nearest person, Evil Song.

Evil Song was slightly startled and quickly flew up. "My lord, are you injured?"

Shen Lang said with a long face, "I'm not injured, but that crazy woman... she damn well sealed me again..."

"..." Evil Song stood stunned for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing. "Haha, hahaha!"

Shen Lang took a deep breath and rolled his eyes. "Just take me down first. You can laugh later... Haven't you noticed that while you're laughing so hard your body's swaying like a flower, a whole crowd of men down there are completely captivated?"

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Evil Song's body swayed, and she began to cough violently.

She turned her head slightly to hide her embarrassment, her face flushed red as she put a hand on Shen Lang's shoulder and led him down.

After they landed, Shen Lang waved to Shui Qingwu, who was staring fixedly at him. "My beautiful lady, could you take me to see the Prophet, Yu Lingfeng?"

"You..." Shui Qingwu said with a playful reproach. She turned with a twist of her waist and led Shen Lang into the Shui Family estate.

Meanwhile, Yuan Bupu and the others took it upon themselves to guard the Shui Family's main gate, standing outside with fierce expressions like a pair of door gods.

Shen Lang followed Shui Qingwu through a quiet courtyard for a few minutes until they arrived in front of a small bamboo house.

"Besides those villagers, the Prophet is not very willing to interact with others. She's a bit resistant to outsiders... Why don't you go over by yourself?" Shui Qingwu stopped and said.

"Mm," Shen Lang nodded lightly and walked toward the bamboo house.

Just as Shen Lang approached the bamboo house, the door creaked open.

Yu Lingfeng walked out gracefully. "Ling Feng has been waiting for you, Young Master. Thank you for saving and defending me. Please, come in."

The Feather Wood Race was different from all the flesh-and-blood intelligent lifeforms of the Star Continent.

They came from trees, born from the Eternal Tree.

Their bodies were composed of plant veins and leaves, and what flowed within them was not warm blood, but golden sap.

They were a wondrous form of life.

As Shen Lang looked at Yu Lingfeng, the same description that had popped into his mind the first time he met her appeared once again.

Waving his hand casually, Shen Lang said, "There's no need to be so polite."

When the door closed, leaving only Shen Lang and Yu Lingfeng in the spotless bamboo house, Shen Lang said with some surprise, "Qingwu told me that the Prophet was very resistant to interacting with other people before?"

"Every race has its good and bad people. Since the Prophet has been away from the Barbaric lands for so many years, why not open up and try to integrate into this world?"

Yu Lingfeng blinked, lowered her head, and only spoke after a long moment. "The Feather Wood Race was never meant to appear in this world, so it doesn't matter whether we integrate or not. Although Ling Feng hasn't had much contact with the outside world, I can still tell right from wrong, and good from evil. I am very grateful for the Shui Family's care, but..."

"The Mother Tree told us that our existence is to protect this land. Wherever our people appear, they will be targeted by evil forces. Anyone who comes into contact with us, unless they possess immense luck, may end up..."

Yu Lingfeng's voice grew softer and softer, and by the end, it was even trembling slightly.

So the Feather Wood Race People, who were treated as outcasts, refused contact with others because they were afraid of bringing disaster upon them...

Shen Lang was deeply moved.

"I understand..."

After offering a few words of comfort to Yu Lingfeng, Shen Lang said, "Prophet, I have some questions, though I'm not sure if it's appropriate to ask."

The records in the War God Hall about the Feather Wood Race were far too few.

Moreover, the prophecy she had spoken when he first met her had horrified Shen Lang, which was why he was so eager to learn everything he could about the Feather Wood Race.

Yu Lingfeng smiled brightly and said, "Young Master, you can just call me Ling Feng. There's no need to be so formal. 'Prophet' is just a title the villagers in the canyon gave me. In truth, Ling Feng is merely an emissary who left the Feather Wood Race with a mission; I am not worthy of the title 'Prophet'."

"I know what you wish to ask, Young Master. You probably want to know what kind of race the Feather Wood Race is, what kind of existence the Eternal Tree is, and what role the Eternal Tree and the Feather Wood Race played during the great cataclysm... questions like that."

"But many of these issues are complex and probably can't be answered in just a few words."

"So, why don't you first listen to Ling Feng's story about the Eternal Tree and the Feather Wood Race? Perhaps many of your questions will be answered along the way."

"Mm." Shen Lang nodded.

Yu Lingfeng pondered for a moment before speaking slowly, "The Eternal Tree, also known as the World Tree, is a Spiritual Artifact left in this world by the Pangu Divine Race to heal this wounded land."

"The Pangu Divine Race? You mean the Divine Race from the legendary Pangu Realm?" Shen Lang's expression changed. Just a few hours ago, he had heard those very words from Little Crystal.

Yu Lingfeng spoke slowly, "Precisely. The Divine Race of the Pangu Realm."

"This story goes back more than one and a half million years..."