Lu Yang was not fully informed about the Cultivation World, his knowledge prior to joining the Seek Dao Sect came from a Storyteller, and in his first year with the sect, his knowledge on cultivation grew astonishingly fast, but none of the books he read had described how to dismount from a flying ship.
Who would write such a thing in their books.
In terms of everyday knowledge of the Cultivation World, he was still inferior to Tao Yaoye, who grew up in a cultivator's influential family.
Regarding the flying ship, he only knew that it belonged to the Land Money Trade Association, and that disembarking involved jumping from the ship, precisely how was unknown.
Every year, the flying ship could bring in massive wealth, but this was just a minor industry for the Land Money Trade Association.
The Land Money Trade Association was the largest trade association in the Central Continent, with a mysterious force behind it, countless rare treasures, as long as you had enough Spirit Stones, Buddha's relic, Sacred Bones from Demon Territory, Dao Fruits from immortals, which only existed in legends, unseen by anyone, could also be purchased.
If anyone dared to owe a debt to the Land Money Trade Association, or harbored any thoughts of luck, stealing from the association, then the warning for the world was a number of Cultivators who had disappeared without a trace.
There were rumors about a Cultivator with great power, known as the Thief King, who was proficient in the space arts, with the skill of taking others' storage space as easily as reaching into a bag, for him, distance was just a meaningless set of numbers, he could step across millions of mountains and rivers, from the extreme west of the Central Continent to the land of deep winter.
Even the goods of a Cultivator in the Transcendance Tribulation Stage had been stolen by him.
The theft profession had an unwritten rule; never steal from the Land Money Trade Association.
Originally, the Thief King adhered to the rule of the thief's ancestral teachings, without any dealings with the Land Money Trade Association, but as his fame grew, countless well-known grandmasters joined forces to hunt him down, but could not even find a piece of his clothing, he gradually felt that these powerful cultivators were just mediocre, he had already surpassed the thief's ancestor, so there was no need to abide by the rigid ancestral teachings.
He arrogantly proclaimed that he would steal the treasures of the Land Money Trade Association that night.
Everyone thought that either the Thief King would use the profoundness of his space art to silently steal the treasures, or there would be a great battle within the Land Money Trade Association between the Thief King and the powers behind the Association.
No one had expected that nothing happened that night, and from then on, the Thief King disappeared without a trace.
Lu Yang's embarrassment only lasted for a short while, when it was time to jump ship, the strangers didn't have time to continue watching Lu Yang.
Everyone held up their paper umbrellas and jumped down, disembarking one after another.
Lu Yang and Tao Yaoye also made their move.
From high up in the air, several strangers opened their umbrellas, looking small like sesame seeds in the distance, Lu Yang was different, he pulled the cord on his back, his parachute opened with a "pop", looking extraordinarily conspicuous in the high sky.
If it was an ordinary situation, Lu Yang would be very nervous at such a high height.
But now he didn't have the heart to think about that.
It was too embarrassing.
Luckily, everyone was heading in different directions, with only Lu Yang and Tao Yaoye going to Taiping Village.
Upon arriving at the Taiping Village, the two received a warm welcome from the Village Chief, who seemed to have known in advance of their arrival.
"Both of you Cultivators have finally arrived. The way you both descended from the flying ship was truly extraordinary."
Lu Yang opened his mouth, but in the end, didn't ask how they knew when he was arriving.
"My name is Lu Yang, and she is Tao Yaoye, both of us are disciples of the Seek Dao Sect, the task's description of the Demon Bird is not very detailed, I ask for the Village Chief to provide more details."
The Village Chief had initially prepared a welcome feast, where they would first drink several rounds, and after a few drinks, they would give some local specialties and discuss the Demon Bird problem in detail. This is typically how people from above act when they come to do business.
He did not expect the two to be so decisive and efficient, and he was secretly pleased, admiring them for being true disciples of the Immortal Sect.
Tao Yaoye took a look at the Village Chief, he was at the late stage of Qi Refinement, and his cultivation foundation was not solid, his spiritual essence contained a lot of impurities, and had no hope for reaching Foundation Establishment, he was a typical Cultivator and did not stand out.
When it came to the Demon Bird, the Village Chief's face showed distress. Taiping Village was already rarely visited by outsiders and is quite isolated, now the news of the Demon Bird had spread in nearby areas, and even the traveling merchants were unwilling to come here.
He made a report to the Quhe County, but the Quhe County was short on manpower, and given that the Demon Bird did not harm people, they said to wait a while, until they could free up some people to come and deal with the Taiping Village situation.
This wait turned out to be twenty days.
"It was probably about twenty days ago, when Feng the Tailor ran onto the street yelling that a great demon that eats people had come to their home and was very powerful."
"The neighbors were startled when they heard this, a man-eating demon was no small matter, there were only about thirty cultivators in Taiping Village, and I, as the Village Chief, had the highest cultivation level, so Feng the Tailor came to look for me with a group of neighbors."
"Before exorcising the demon, you first need to understand the situation thoroughly, so I asked Feng the Tailor: 'You say the great demon eats people, but who did it eat?'"
Demons who have eaten human beings and those who have not pose vastly different dangers. Humans are the spirits of all things, inherently sentient. Once a demon eats a human, they will become attached to this taste and will eat a second, a third person... wreaking havoc on the whole place.
"Feng the Tailor answered: 'I don't know who the great demon has eaten, but that demon can talk, it must have eaten a human and that's why it can talk.'"
Indeed, among the common people, there was a rumor saying once a demon eats a human, it could start speaking human language, and transform into a person, but these were just fabricated rumors.
Demon Race cultivation is not that simple. To be able to speak, they would need to refine the Cross Bone in their throat, which requires at least the late stage of Qi Refinement.
"Feng the Tailor said the demon was colorful, and he initially thought it was a lost bird from the mountains, and the Demon Bird was sitting behind him watching him sew clothes, not moving at all, then it suddenly started speaking, which scared Feng the Tailor and he immediately ran out of his shop."
"Seeing that Feng the Tailor could not provide any useful information, I asked them to wait at a distance while I secretly approached and saw the Demon Bird."
"The Demon Bird had vibrant, glossy feathers, with a stark red color around its eyes, obviously not an ordinary bird, what ordinary bird would dare to be this flashy?"
"The Demon Bird spoke, asking me 'Who are you, where is Zhang Guanjia?', its tone seemed quite urgent."
"I was puzzled in my heart, Zhang Guanjia was a cultivator in our village, at the third stage of Qi Refinement, pretty average, and I couldn't see how he would have any connection with the Demon Beast."
"At the time, I tried my best to appear relaxed, presenting no threat, and politely inquired 'May I know what business the Demon King has with Zhang Guanjia?'"
"The Demon Bird did not answer, it flapped its wings and left the tailor shop."
"Since then, the Demon Bird has been flying around Taiping Village, eating the grains in the fields, speaking human language, not eating people, but who wouldn't be afraid when seeing a demon? Therefore, these days, everyone has been living in fear, fearing that the Demon Bird might get violent and devour everyone."
"Have you confronted the Demon Bird, how strong is it?" Lu Yang asked.
The Village Chief shook his head: "That Demon Bird remains in the air all day, appearing and disappearing mysteriously, making it hard to track."
"Moreover, I can't gauge the Demon Bird's cultivation level; indicating at the very least, it's at the same level as me, the seventh stage of Qi Refinement. I was worried that the Demon Bird initially had no intention to harm anyone, but if I rashly confronted it, this could backfire and provoke its anger."
Lu Yang nodded, the Village Chief's actions were indeed reasonable.