Feng Yingyue was still treating the fenghuang. The stress it was under with the bashe rummaging the woods not far from them was really not helpful. Cao Yun was scouting the surroundings to warn them if the beast got too close. From the top of the tree, Cao Yun could see that the Muddy bashe remained in the area. It probably knew that its prey was around here and it needed some time to get its smell back. According to the young alchemist, it was the matter of two to three hours top. After that, if the bashe had not gone too far, it would take it less than half an hour to get to them and if the fenghuang could not fly, they would most likely die. As a 3-core demonic beast, the Muddy bashe was not stupid. It would not fall twice in the same trap and Cao Yun could hardly come up with another one.
Their only hope was to allow the fenghuang to fly again so it could flee, then they would run as far away as possible.
After more than an hour of treatment, Feng Yingyue finally breathed a sigh of relief. The bird got up on its two long legs and let out a very small noise of satisfaction. The snake was still hearing just fine and no matter the distance, it was a bad idea to give him any chance at finding them, hence the fenghuang was very careful. Cao Yun who was near them came back when hearing the beast.
"Yingying, you're already done?"
"Well, it should still rest with the blood it lost, but yes, I tended to all its wounds and the poison is completely gone. Once I knew it was due to a bashe, it was easier to know the right antidote. Well, I had to make do with the herbs around here, but given the vitality of a fenghuang, it was enough."
"Amazing!"
Feng Yingyue blushed while looking at Cao Yun straight in the eyes.
"Your plan was amazing, and bold, ... and also scary I must admit."
"And even in my plan, your role was the most important. I'm under the impression that without you, crossing these mountains would have been way more dangerous for me."
As they were flirting with each other, the fenghuang lowered its head toward the two humans. It tried to signal something to them. It pointed at one of the rocky peaks and then at its own back.
"Feng'er, you want to take us somewhere?"
The bird nodded its head yes.
"Feng'er?!" Cao Yun was surprised by the nickname.
"Well... I had to call him something. He's a male, so I thought that Feng would suit him. And don't you think that Feng'er is cute?"
"Ah... I guess so..." The boy did not know how to react. This 'Feng'er' was as large as an elephant. He was able to gouge out the eyes of a Muddy bashe who scared them to death, and now he was called 'cute' by a young girl. Cao Yun found this pretty strange but the so-called 'Feng'er' did not seem to mind, so...
While Cao Yun was still lost in his thoughts, Feng Yingyue climbed on top of Feng'er. She then looked down at the dazed boy.
"Come on, he wants to show us something!"
"O... okay."
Cao Yun liked to plan ahead but his friend seemed to completely trust the beast. After all, Feng'er had been healed by Feng Yingyue, so he should have no bad intention.
The cautious boy followed the example of his friend and got on the back of the giant bird. As soon as both of them were on him, Feng'er pushed with his legs and jumped higher than the trees. When he was high enough, he opened his wings and he got almost four times larger. He flapped his wings, blowing some smaller trees away and began to fly in the direction of the nearest rocky peak.
The two amazed riders were grabbing on his blue and golden feathers as they saw the background change. None of them had ever flown and the experience was incredible. Feng'er did not fly at full speed, for the humans would have probably fell down, but he was still very fast.
Cao Yun and Feng Yingyue almost forgot what happened these last few hours and were in awe before the landscape scrolling under their eyes. It was absolutely beautiful. They remained transfixed for at least half an hour before the fenghuang slowed down.
They had reached the rocky peak. Feng'er circled a certain area and got ready to land. When the humans looked down below they immediately understood what it was that he wanted. There was a huge nest partially smashed and in its center, a female fenghuang was laying down, covered in blood. Her body was shivering and small painful moans erupted from her beak.
Feng Yingyue's eyes opened wide and she was almost ready to jump down and rush to her at once. She controlled herself and as soon as Feng'er touched the ground, she dashed forward with her tools. She began examining the female fenghuang. Her wounds were way more serious than Feng'er's were. She was not even conscious and kept shivering and moaning.
Cao Yun got off Feng'er as well and the male drew near his mate. He shook her beak with his own and cuddled his head against hers. The young boy was touched by this scene. He had killed many demonic beasts but he never saw beasts so hurt, physically and emotionally. He stayed silent as Feng Yingyue was taking care of the female. Fortunately, she had still enough antidote after treating Feng'er.
Cao Yun looked down below to try and find the bashe within the woods. He had no difficulty to find the place it used to be. There, the trees were all down. In fact, there was a path of uprooted trees from the foot of the peak to where they had ambushed it. But after, that, there was nothing. The Muddy bashe was probably laying low as to allow its smell to come back fully.
After several minutes, the female fenghuang began to regain consciousness and reciprocated the cuddles of her mate. She had a small movement of retreat after sensing the human touching her but calmed down and let her do her work.
Feng Yingyue kept working for at least two hours and the female got back on her feet. When she got up, the young alchemist was amazed for there was something in the nest. In the middle of the amalgam of branches, an egg half her size was laying softly. For 3-core demonic beasts, producing an offspring was very difficult. In their entire life, a fenghuang couple should only be able to give birth to a handful of chicks. Witnessing such an event was a rare chance. She immediately called Cao Yun.
He did not know as much as Feng Yingyue, but he was still surprised by this egg. And he understood.
"You said that this bashe was in the process of forming its 4th-core. So I think I know what happened. It found this egg and thought it could break through if only it ate it. It must have fought against the female who was alone but the male came back and chased the snake somehow."
Feng'er emitted a small cry to confirm the theory of the young boy. He had fought against the predator for a long time. He was able to gouge out its eyes. He took it in his claws and sent him away to continue their fight in the woods, but he got bitten and could not fly properly. The bashe was stubborn and decided to finish him off before going back to the nest and eat its fill.
"But then, it means the bashe will come back here!"
"I fear that after getting its smell back, it will try to eat the egg. It must still believe the female is terribly hurt, or even dead, and the male is away. It probably won't abandon such a golden opportunity to break through. Yingying, do you think that Feng'er and... "
"Huang'er!" Feng Yingyue interrupted to give a name to the female fenghuang. She smiled proudly as she watched over the mostly recovered bird. 'Huang'er' let out a small noise of approbation with her head high.
"... do you think that Feng'er and Huang'er could fight off the Muddy bashe?"
"Hmph, fight it off?! They will rip it apart if it dares come near their child again!"
Both parents yelled in unison to affirm their intentions. Watching them, Cao Yun saw the faces of his own parents when they gave their life for him. An urge to help them took him completely.
"If we do not kill this Muddy bashe right now, it will recover and maybe form its fourth core. If it becomes a 4-core demonic beast, it will be easy for it to come and get its revenge. First, we need to attract it here. If it senses that either of the fenghuang is recovered or that they're both at the nest, it will probably run away. We need to make it believe nothing has changed here, and when it gets near the nest, Feng'er will cut off its retreat and with Huang'er, they will both get rid of it."
"Guo, shouldn't they just find it in the woods and kill it? If it comes near the nest, it could be dangerous for the egg, no?"
"But what if we can't find it? If it smells the fenghuang flying over its head, it will hide. Last time, it rushed through the woods and destroyed the trees around. But if it wants to hide, it could go underground."
"Yes... You're right."
Cao Yun turned toward the couple of fenghuang.
"I'm sorry, but I can't find any other way. It's your life that's in danger. So, if you accept to trust me, I can tell you my plan."
Huang'er seemed more skeptical but Feng'er on the other hand had trust in his eyes and he convinced his mate.
-
The bashe was coiled up, immobile and silent. It was focusing on restoring its smell, bearing the pungent odor of the Cow's Knee and trying to forcefully move its paralyzed tongue. After nearly three hours, its was finally able to discern the smell of its prey. It hesitated but decided to go back to the nest in order to devour the female and the egg. It could feel its fourth core almost formed.
When a demonic beast gathered Qi, it would condense inside its cores. But then came a moment when the cores were so dense in energy, they could not accumulate more of it. They would vibrate and send out some filaments of Qi to create a new core. But for this new core to be fully materialized, the beast needed a lot of Qi. And the Muddy bashe could feel that its core was almost tangible. With just a little push, it would at last become a 4-core demonic beast. That was a new realm completely that would bring about a lot of changes in itself.
The giant python was very cautious this time. It was blind and relied on its smell and a limited heat vision. It tried, as best as it could, to not disturb the woods with its movements for it did not want to alert its prey.
It climbed up the peak where the nest was and sneaked through the rocks. When it reached the top, there she was. The female was still convulsing and moaning, the smell of blood was everywhere and her body appeared very cold.
The Muddy bashe approached with caution. It was blinded by its desire to devour them whole, but it still had a little bit of sense after its last encounter in the woods. As the goal was so near, it could not bear to wait any longer. It prepared itself to pounce on the fenghuang.
That was at this precise moment that Huang'er woke up and jumped high in the air. She was a 3-core demonic beast, on par with a 9th-grade Mortal, and as such, could perfectly control her body functions. She had gathered her blood in her vital organs to give the illusion that she was freezing, and dying. The bashe immediately understood what was going on and launched its head against the fenghuang in the air. Its speed was phenomenal but Huang'er was ready. She avoided the attack and caught the snake's neck with her talons. The beast was too heavy for Huang'er to fly it up the air, but she brutally slammed it back on the ground.
The tail of the bashe bashed against her upper body to make her let go. Huang'er did, but put her talons in its body again, and then pecked several times, drawing blood. The Muddy bashe, once again, frantically moved its body to stop her. This time, it hit her wing and she dropped to the ground a little farther.
Feng'er who was waiting higher, hiding behind the peak, came to the rescue as the noise of the battle echoed. When he arrived, he saw his mate on the ground and dived toward the bashe. The snake felt his heat and was able to avoid his claws.
Huang'er got back up and together with Feng'er, they attacked the bashe again and again. The snake was very slippery even with its massive body. But each time a fenghuang got it, they would claw and peck its body.
Feng'er was able to get a good grip and flapped his wing as much as he could. He lifted up the snake several meters in the sky. His mate came to help him and caught another part of its body. Now that there were two of them to lift the giant python, it was easier to bring it higher. They finally let go and the beast went crashing on the rocks below. Some of these rocks broke its scales and sliced its body open. It was bleeding profusely.
The Muddy bashe understood it could not fight the two fenghuang alone. It was why it had attacked when the female was alone the first time. But it realized something. After its fall, it was closer to the nest than before and the egg was just before its mouth.
Cao Yun and Feng Yingyue who were hiding behind the nest realized that too. They were watching the fight, which was really useful for gaining insights into their martial arts. Watching a fight between 3-core demonic beasts was like watching a duel between peak 9th-grade Mortal, or even 1st-grade Mortal Warrior. Behind the nest and the huge body of Feng'er, the bashe had not seen them when it got here.
The snake launched itself toward the egg. If it ate the chick inside, there was hope for its breakthrough. A breakthrough during a fight was a desperate attempt, but were it successful, the bashe could then easily dispatch both of the fenghuang. Seeing this course of actions, Cao Yun gathered all his strength. 'Dance of Slaughter', seventh movement, 'Cutting the Retreat'. It was the fastest move he knew and he dashed straight for the egg as well. At a hair's breadth, the human grabbed the egg as the huge opened jaws of the snake closed themselves around nothing.
Cao Yun rolled over several meters, the egg half his size in his embrace. The fenghuang was even more furious than before and dived toward the bashe. They kept attacking the beast again and again, lifting it up in the sky to throw it to the ground, pecking, clawing. The fight lasted a long time as the snake was trying to survive. It was outnumbered and its last chance for a breakthrough was stolen by an insignificant human it could easily crush. And yet, this vermin had sealed its fate.
Finally, the Muddy bashe stopped moving as a lot of its blood was spread all around. Feng'er landed on the body and pecked at it. He put his beak inside the beast and took out its organs to make sure the snake was dead.