Chapter 686 Clue from the voice
"As curious as I am about many things, I would not step a foot there. I rather like living and having my heart intact.." she humorously said.
"Celestial Sacred Swans have a way of sensing and communicating with each other, including sharing memories. Whenever one of our own is born, we can roughly sense their birth even if we are continents apart from each other.
It's a vague sense, at first, but it becomes stronger the closer one of us is to the hatchling. When I hatched, there was a senior of mine who had been close and was able to pinpoint my location from the shared sense.
Because of our low numbers and the risk we are to your kind, a nurturing system was created. A senior celestial sacred swan would help a new hatchling familiarize itself with its surroundings.
Part of it involves sharing memories. It's like a way of sharing information, like how you humans do with those talismans or books.
It contains a lot of things that will increase the survival chances of the hatchling. It covers a lot from basic, to specific ones that I can't share, even if I find you unique.." she said with a slight smile.
"But among them, it covers dangerous areas we should avoid. The Bestial Churning Sea was on that list. The memories...well, they were pretty vivid and drove the point home.." Gu Xin said with a slight shake in her voice.
She had barely been a few weeks old before the senior showed her the brutality of that place. It left her shaking for years, but at least thanks to it, she had been able to survive the Green Fog Region, which was also another location on the list.
Meanwhile, Yang Qing's eyes shone in amazement at the system of the Celestial Sacred Swan. It wasn't written in any of the books and scrolls he had read. He was giddy at the thought of discovering something new that no one else knew.
His childlike excitement drew a peal of laughter from Gu Xing.
Yang Qing scratched the back of his head in embarrassment as he said,
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Thank you for sharing the information with me. If there's anything you need to know, I will freely answer it, if I can.."
"I will take you up on it.." answered Gu Xing with curiosity shining in her eyes.
"Now where was I.....ah, the uniqueness of this range. This range is not as violent as those places, despite the amount of powerful spirit beasts that are in the area.
Yes, there are occasional fights here and there, but it is not as widespread as one would expect, even amongst the lower-ranked spirit beast, which is something very prevalent in most places.
It feels more like a structured society, like the ones you humans have minus the deceit, insatiable greed, and hypocrisy.
Here you can see friendships spanning across species and cultivation realms. There are even overlaps in said friendship creating an interconnected web spread about the range. And those outside the circle, they're not oppressed for being out of it.
Those friendships have birthed a lot of couples.
Then there are also the ascetics, who like to relatively keep to themselves, secluded in deep meditation for years on end.." Gu Xing said with a sigh of admiration.
Yang Qing couldn't help but be surprised too. With the stories he had heard of this place, from the near destruction of the Deer Mountain Kingdom, Hao Da and the other staff from the Order getting injured and murdered recently, and the destruction of the Hua Clan, Xin Clan, and Moon Essence Cauldron Sect, he had dubbed the area as a volatile place, because of the bloodshed.
But now with some context and clarity, the retaliation made sense. If things were as Gu Xing said that the range was relatively tight-knit, it was no wonder they would retaliate so fiercely to anything that threatened that.
"Now make no mistake, there are spirit beasts here that revel in chaos, for them that do so, they choose to leave this place and venture outside in search of areas where they can have their fill of battle and chaos. This is why most leave for the Green Fog Region.
Once they leave, it's rare for them to ever return and those that do, are those who couldn't handle the survival requirements of those places or those with not long to live, they, therefore, choose to come back here and live out their days in the place they called home when they were young..
Most of these crystals are from them.." Gu Xin said as she gently parsed her fingers through the crystals.
"Whether from regret or a sense of responsibility to this place, they all come here and give back.."
"That's why the number is little.." Yang Qing said in realization.
"Those who manage to come back or decide to come back are few. By deciding to come back, it means they are either too injured to survive there, or their abilities are unable to guarantee their survival there.
The Green Fog Region isn't such a forgiving place that it would let you leave so easily..no wonder their numbers are small..
As for those with friendships or with partners, when their time comes, they would entrust it to their friends or living kin, than come here.."
"Precisely.."said Gu Xing in support.
"You must have brought up the voices for a reason? Does it have anything to do with the eerie figure you mentioned earlier.."
"Yes, yes, it does..." Gu Xing said as her voice turned solemn.
"While many voices from 100,000 years ago have long disappeared, there are some faint ones from 40,000 years ago going forward still faintly active. Though, they're now incoherent whispers..If you focus slightly, you can hear them.." Gu Xing said as she motioned for Yang Qing to try.
Yang Qing obliged as he closed his eyes to sense them. He erased the clear ones and the mildly clear ones, as his focus was spread on those that didn't touch on the two groups, soon he caught traces of inaudible whispers that sounded like gibberish cracks, like the voice of someone suffering from dehydration and starvation and were on their last legs.
Yang Qing activated the dao glyphs related to his yin yang jade bones, as his hair turned pure white, to try and sense more within those voices.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmGu Xing's eyes shone with surprise and interest when she detected the changes in Yang Qing, especially the dao markings that were shining through his robes. They were releasing a grand power that made her body tremble.
"Lion...grasp...... tyrant.... live ....... fly....'
With his dao markings activated, the incoherent mutterings became audible, though they were still scattered. After a few seconds of not getting anything other than scattered words here and there that made no sense even when strung together, Yang Qing dispelled his technique, to meet a marveled Gu Xing, who was staring wide-eyed at him.
Without meaning to, Yang Qing found himself blushing slightly from the intense gaze of the celestial sacred swan standing a few steps away from him.
"You're quite unique, Yang Qing.." Gu Xing softly said with a smile as she regained her composure.
His weak habit rearing its head, Yang Qing on reflex, smugly replied,
"It's to be expected..."
He hurriedly covered his mouth, secretly admonishing himself for the weak control of his mouth that kept blabbing things out without his control.
Luckily for him, Gu Xing didn't jump at the opportunity to tease him for it.
With her look turningto a grave seriousness, she said,
"One of those voices is from 38,000 years ago. It was from a lunar fury crane that had reached the palace realm. His voice is no longer present...back then he faced off against something, someone actually, a human cultivator.
The lunar fury crane, despite being stronger and having the advantage from the major parts of the fight, lost suddenly from a move from that human. The way he described that attack, it matched the sensation I felt from the figure.
His last words were a warning to anyone who would listen about being wary of that human. While I may not know the identity of that human, I have a few guesses on their identity.
38,000 years ago was roughly the time the founders of that kingdom came here, the Deer Mountain Kingdom.."