Whether good or bad, everything seemed to happen all at once. After waiting in Lingtian City for over ten days, Nie Shiyun received news that his junior sister and Du Zhi were about to arrive. Simultaneously, Meiqiu successfully ascended to the Spirit Grade, forming his Golden Core.
Meiqiu had hoped that as his cultivation grew, he would become increasingly magnificent. However, reality failed to meet his expectations. Upon reaching the Spirit Grade, aside from his feathers becoming healthier and more lustrous, his physical appearance remained unchanged.
Nie Shiyun had to go to the immortal ship docks to pick up the newcomers and couldn't spare the time to celebrate for Meiqiu. He promised to buy the bird some delicious food later and gave him a portion of the sugar balls Zhai Bairong had left behind. Had he given them all to him at once, the bottle would likely be empty by now. In this regard, Nie Shiyun had the foresight.
"It’s perfect timing; I want to try out the Shapeshifting Art! Humans won't be of any help anyway, so don't bother me!" Meiqiu chirped, clutching the sugar balls as he dove into the jade pendant.
Nie Shiyun shook his head and let him be.
After less than a month apart, Nie Shiyun was reunited with Qi Xuan’er and Du Zhi.
"I heard from my cousin’s letter that you passed the entrance test smoothly and the Sect Master thinks very highly of you," Nie Shiyun said to Du Zhi, repeating what Nie Xingan had told him.
"It wasn't that exaggerated!" Du Zhi scratched the back of his head awkwardly, unable to stop grinning.
There was still some time before the secret realm opened, so Nie Shiyun arranged for them to stay at the same inn as him for the time being.
Lingtian City was larger than any of the towns at the foot of the mountains near Yunqing Pavilion. Following Nie Xingan’s earlier advice, Du Zhi had saved his spirit stones until now, planning to purchase equipment, talismans, and other supplies once he reached Lingtian City.
Since Du Zhi and Qi Xuan’er weren't very knowledgeable about such things, Nie Shiyun decided to go with them. Among Qi Xuan’er’s dual roots was a fire root, and Du Zhi, due to his wolf-kin bloodline, seemed much more resistant to severe cold than the average person. Nevertheless, Nie Shiyun instructed them to buy some Fire-Yang Pills to ward off the chill.
"Is it even colder in that secret realm than it is here in Lingtian City?" Du Zhi asked curiously.
"It is... well, perhaps. That’s what I’ve heard," Nie Shiyun forced himself to correct his phrasing. At this point, he technically shouldn't know what the conditions inside were like.
However, according to the book's description, while Lingtian City had a thin layer of snow year-round, the Hantian Secret Realm was filled with snow-capped mountains and icy plains, frequently plagued by blizzards. When the snow reached several inches deep, walking became difficult, yet one couldn't pilot flying treasures for long periods due to the immense drain on spiritual energy.
Fortunately, Qi Xuan’er was obedient and Du Zhi didn't overthink things. Nie Shiyun didn't need to drop subtle hints; he simply pointed at various medicines at the counter and said, "This is good," or "This might come in handy," and the two would immediately buy them, saving Nie Shiyun a lot of trouble.
After leaving the apothecary, they headed to a talisman shop and bought a quantity of stock that would be considered excessive for a normal cultivator, nearly spending all their allocated spirit stones. In the end, even Nie Shiyun began to wonder if he was being overprotective.
However, Qi Xuan’er shook her head and said, "Senior Brother is doing this for my own good, I understand. Aside from those few outer disciples, I’m the only one whose cultivation is still at the Foundation Establishment stage. My insistence on coming has made everyone worry... I just feel that if I continue like this, there’s no hope of reaching the Golden Core stage. I want to use this opportunity to push myself."
"Don't worry," Du Zhi started to speak, and Qi Xuan’er looked toward him. He immediately became nervous, his tongue tripping over his words. "I... as soon as I get in, I’ll find a way to meet up with you."
Qi Xuan’er didn't try to act tough when it mattered: "That would be for the best. But I’ve heard the secret realm is vast. Even if we make contact after the random teleportation, we might not know where we are for a while. Don't be anxious when the time comes; we’ll just let nature take its course."
"Okay," Du Zhi nodded repeatedly.
Nie Shiyun felt that this was the most stable preparation he could provide. "Qi Miaohan should also contact you immediately once inside. We might have a chance to meet before entering the secret realm; I’ll let her tell you herself then."
He paused and added, "If anything happens, remember to use the communication crystals to contact me."
The two nodded in agreement. Qi Xuan’er was a clever person; she knew her Senior Brother likely had his own arrangements and naturally didn't pry.
Over the following time, Nie Shiyun told them about his general experiences in the Misty Secret Realm. He naturally omitted the parts he shouldn't mention, but at least gave them an idea of the dangers within such realms.
Furthermore, the previous Misty Secret Realm was a small-scale one, restricted to Foundation Establishment and below, whereas this Hantian Secret Realm was restricted to Golden Core and below. Usually, such restrictions were directly proportional to the difficulty of the trials and the ferocity of the demonic beasts within.
"Speaking of which, I heard Master and the others say that it’s been a long time since anyone heard of a high-level secret realm that allows Nascent Soul cultivators or above to enter... yet mid-level and low-level secret realms seem to be popping up like bamboo shoots after rain these past few years. It’s truly rare."
Qi Xuan’er suddenly remembered what Nie Li had said and relayed it to Nie Shiyun.
"It can't be helped. The spiritual energy in the world is gradually thinning, yet no one is ascending. High-level secret realms were snatched up and emptied by those Transformation Stage ancestors long ago. Hundreds of years ago, these current secret realms weren't even worth a glance to cultivators; that’s why they’re only now being discovered." Nie Shiyun sighed.
"So that's how it is! You know so much." Du Zhi nodded his head in admiration, lost in thought.
"Cough, it’s nothing much..." Nie Shiyun gave a dry cough, feeling a bit guilty. He was merely using the settings from the original novel to explain.
Better safe than sorry. Nie Shiyun also took advantage of this shopping trip to buy plenty of talismans and finished pills for himself. Back in his room at the inn, Nie Shiyun placed the delicious food on the table and called Meiqiu out to eat.
With a "poof," what appeared on the table was not the familiar crow, but a...
Child with a bird's beak.
"..."
Nie Shiyun was momentarily speechless; the scene was far too surreal.
Meiqiu froze, then hurriedly cried out in a panic, "Why did you call me out so suddenly! I wasn't ready yet, this... I’m still figuring it out!" As he spoke, his beak opened and closed, making the atmosphere in the room even more bizarre.
Meiqiu anxiously tried to hop down from the table, but his legs were too short now, and he wasn't used to walking with human legs. He landed flat on his bottom the moment he touched the floor.
Nie Shiyun couldn't bear to watch. He grabbed a pillowcase from the nearby table, tied it around Meiqiu’s naked body, picked him up, and put him back on the table.
"Human bodies are so hard to use!" Meiqiu had lost all face but was still stubbornly acting tough.
"Then I must have had a very hard time, dragging such a difficult body around for decades," Nie Shiyun said expressionlessly.
Meiqiu gritted his teeth and tried again. With another "poof," not only did the beak fail to disappear, but long feathers sprouted from his buttocks and chest, with a trailing tail drooping over the edge of the table.
Facing Nie Shiyun’s struggle to hold back laughter, Meiqiu threw caution to the wind. In this state, he used his soft little hands to grab the food, devouring it with a ferocity that completely clashed with his appearance, as if he had a grudge against the meal. Although the shapeshifting was somewhat of a failure, it was only a few "flaws." Human hands were much more convenient for eating than being a bird, and Meiqiu’s resentment seemed to lessen.
"Mmph, that kid you know, the one called Du Zhi—how does he shapeshift? How come he looks almost exactly like you humans?" Meiqiu looked at his own shapeshifted little hands and feet with extreme disdain.
"He’s a human-demon hybrid; I asked him before. He didn't shapeshift at all; he was born looking human." Nie Shiyun was speechless inwardly. Meiqiu was calling someone else a "kid," yet he himself was a hatchling barely over a month old.
Meiqiu seemed to relax. "I knew it. He can't even hide his demonic qi properly; how could he be good at this?"
"You’re doing fine as you are. It’s safe inside the jade pendant anyway, so there’s no rush to take human form and come outside." Nie Shiyun rubbed Meiqiu’s head—where it used to be all feathers, it was now soft, downy hair. He wasn't quite used to the change.
Meiqiu gave a muffled grunt and went back to eating.
Forget about Earth—even in the cultivation world, seeing a five or six-year-old child with bird feathers and a beak eating dinner was a rare life experience. Nie Shiyun watched the entire process with a complicated expression.
This appearance was too startling; Nie Shiyun naturally couldn't let him go outside and scare people. After Meiqiu finished eating, the man and the bird spent a long time studying the technique together. However, perhaps haste makes waste, as the subsequent shapeshifting practice yielded even more ridiculous results, eventually ending with a "we'll continue next time."
Rather than practicing for a specific purpose, Meiqiu seemed more interested in showing off in front of Nie Shiyun and Zhai Bairong. His mindset was still very childish.
"I’m going back into the jade to practice for a while! Later, when you go to that... Han-whatever Secret Realm, won't you see your Daoist companion? By then, I’ll definitely be able to shapeshift perfectly!" After finishing his food, Meiqiu transformed back into a pitch-black crow from head to toe and vanished back into the space.
Nie Shiyun picked up the cloth that had fallen to the floor and put it back. He thought to himself that if Meiqiu was going to shapeshift from time to time in the future, he had better buy him some clothes. Otherwise, running around with a bare bottom every time would be quite scandalous.
He calculated that within three days, the cultivators resting in Lingtian City would likely begin their journey north. After three to five days on the road, they would reach the entrance of the Hantian Secret Realm.
Seeing his partner...
Nie Shiyun couldn't help but smile at the thought of Meiqiu’s words. Indeed, they would see each other very soon.
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Transmigrated into a Total Shou Novel as a Cannon Fodder, but Ended Up 1v1-ing the Male Lead | Chapter 66 | Preparations and Transformations | Novela.app | Novela.app
