Chapter 2

After a series of twists and turns, the youngest child of the Xuanyuan family finally safely came into the world.

As dusk fell, Xuanyuan Tianxin, exhausted, left the Xuanyuan Manor. Because the matriarch suddenly went into labor, the servants hadn’t had time to prepare dinner, which was absolutely unbearable for Tianxin, who would feel famished without a meal.

Slowly walking out of the house and onto the circular mountain path, Tianxin looked up at the sky, feeling that not hitching a ride with her fourth brother was a foolish decision. Now she had to walk down the mountain herself, feeling truly unlucky.

The moment Tianxin looked up at the sky, she suddenly saw a golden light streaking towards her from the originally dark sky. This sudden change stunned Tianxin for a moment. But before she could react, the golden light was right in front of her, and in the blink of an eye, Tianxin watched as the light drilled into her body, now seemingly impossible to remove.

“What on earth?” Tianxin touched her chest, trying to figure out what just happened.

“Did I just see a bead entering my body?”

Confused and alarmed, Tianxin broke into a cold sweat. As she hesitated about whether to return to the manor and let the elders inspect her, a strong gust of wind suddenly rose in the air, accompanied by the clear cry of an eagle.

‘Boom—’

Caught off guard by the strange wind, Tianxin was about to curse when she saw a massive bird circling in the sky.

Shocked, she muttered, “Damn! It’s the golden-winged Great Peng Bird!”

(T/N: Dapeng Jinchi Mingwang (Chinese: 大鵬金翅明王; lit. ‘The Golden-Winged King of Illumination’), also known as the Golden-Winged Great Peng (Chinese: 金翅大鵬雕), is a guardian deity in Mahayana Buddhism. He is the spiritual uncle of the Buddha, who gave him a high position in heaven to guard the Pure land. His origins are said to derive from the Indian bird god Garuda. Peng is one of the eight demi-gods of Buddhism (Tianlong Babu). He helps to guard Mount Sumeru and Trāyastriṃśa from attack by the Asuras.

Peng appears in works of ancient Chinese literature, including Journey to the West (西游記) and General Yue Fei (說岳全傳). He is also mentioned in some Chinese Buddhist literature. The famous patriot General Yue Fei (岳飛, 1103–1141), was believed by people to be the incarnation of Dapeng Jinchi Mingwang.) )

After circling in the air, the golden-winged Great Peng Bird fixed its fierce eagle eyes on Tianxin. Before Tianxin could react, it lunged towards her like an eagle hunting a rabbit, its two huge, sharp talons aimed straight at her.

Seeing this ferocious creature, Tianxin ran while yelling, “Damn! Just because I haven’t read many books doesn’t mean I don’t know who you are! You’re the golden-winged Great Peng Bird under the Buddha’s seat in the Brahma Realm of the West! What grudge do I have with you that you attack me as soon as you appear?”

Even with two magic flying wheels, Tianxin estimated she couldn’t outrun the Great Peng Bird. So, seeing it getting closer, she gritted her teeth and stopped running. Turning around to face the approaching bird, she quickly formed hand seals, one after another.

“Those who confront the enemy shall form a battle formation to exterminate evil!”

‘Roar—’

As Tianxin finished her chant, a golden light suddenly appeared above her head, followed by a swirling vortex in the air. A loud dragon roar echoed through the sky, and then a similarly massive, five-clawed golden dragon burst out of the vortex, charging straight at the Great Peng Bird.

The guardian dragon of the Xuanyuan family was the most powerful move of the Exorcist Dragon Clan.

Summoning the dragon, Tianxin finally breathed a sigh of relief. The dragon collided fiercely with the Great Peng Bird in the air, causing intense energy fluctuations that shook the entire space.

However…

After the collision, Tianxin stared in astonishment as the dragon’s form slowly disappeared from the sky, and a drop of cold sweat trickled down her forehead.

Damn! Her spiritual energy was too weak, and the summoned dragon couldn’t handle the golden-winged Great Peng Bird at all.

Glaring resentfully at the bird in the sky, Tianxin didn’t hesitate to run again. The bird seemed to have locked onto her and chased closely behind.

“Heaven’s prophecy—by the power of words, be still!”

Tianxin suddenly turned around, golden light swirling in her eyes as she pointed a finger directly at the golden-winged Great Peng Bird in the sky.

As she spoke, the Great Peng Bird was instantly enveloped in golden light, its diving figure abruptly halting in mid-air as if frozen in place.

However, after immobilizing the Great Peng Bird with her words, Tianxin didn’t waste any time running again. If even the dragon couldn’t stop this bird, her little spiritual skills were even less reliable. She couldn’t afford to wait any longer.

Tianxin, understanding her limitations, turned and ran a few steps before the golden-winged Great Peng Bird, after emitting another eagle cry, once again spread its wings and chased after her.

What’s wrong with this golden-winged Great Peng Bird? Why is it chasing me for no reason?

Buddha, oh Buddha, your pet isn’t behaving properly… Releasing such a fierce creature is unacceptable!

Tianxin lamented bitterly in her heart, but there was no sign of Buddha intervening to take away her pet. She could only take a deep breath and turn around once again. “Those who confront the enemy shall form a battle formation to exterminate evil!”

Summoning the dragon again!

‘Boom—’

After a thunderous collision, the dragon disappeared once more!

“Those who confront the enemy…”

‘Boom—’

The dragon continued to disappear…

“Those who confront the enemy…”

‘Bang—’

Before the dragon disappeared for the nth time, it finally couldn’t bear it anymore and angrily said, “Tianxin, I told you to train properly from the beginning, but you didn’t listen. Your spiritual power hasn’t improved. What’s the use of summoning me every time?”

As the dragon disappeared again…

Bent over, hands on knees, gasping heavily, Tianxin struggled to speak to the golden-winged Great Peng Bird in the sky, “Stop… stop, No more fighting. Let’s talk.”

Originally not expecting the Great Peng Bird to stop, Tianxin was surprised when it actually did. However, the mocking glint in its golden eyes made Tianxin swear she saw it.

“We have no grievances or enmity between us. Why, as a golden-winged Great Peng Bird from the Brahma realm, are you chasing me?” Tianxin finally asked the question that had been bothering and frustrating her.

After landing gracefully and shrinking its size to that of a chick, the Great Peng Bird calmly adjusted its feathers and said, “That Buddha bead that entered your body is something that can send me back to the Brahma realm. It entered your body, so if I don’t chase after you, who else can I chase?”

Ah!

Tianxin collapsed to the ground.

F*ck!…  So the culprit was that inexplicable bead that entered her body. “You should have said so earlier! I would have given it to you!”

The Great Peng Bird sneered, “Would you really? Do you know what it takes to get it out?”

“What does it take?”

Tianxin was clueless and could only ask naively.

The Great Peng Bird narrowed its eyes, staring at Tianxin’s chest. “That bead carries a transcendental nature. Once it enters a person’s body, it can only be taken out after the person dies. To remove it from your body, your chest must be opened.”

Tianxin shuddered at the thought but then smiled sweetly and obediently, “I thought it was something else. So, it’s just that. You should have been clear earlier. Do you know who I am? I’m a descendant of the Exorcist Dragon Clan. We’re not like ordinary people. Even if an item enters our bodies, we can retrieve it whenever we want!”

The Great Peng Bird squinted, seemingly skeptical.

Without further ado, Tianxin reached out and, trembling, felt her chest. “Ah… come closer. I’m not very skilled in this secret technique yet. If the bead runs away when I try to retrieve it, you’ll have to chase after it again.”

Seemingly reminded of the limited spiritual power of this descendant of the Exorcist Dragon Clan, the Great Peng Bird flapped its wings and approached slightly. Just as it stabilized, Tianxin, who seemed weak and powerless, suddenly leaped up and, like a starving tiger pouncing on its prey, pressed down on the Great Peng Bird.

As she pressed down, she seemed to have a pair of golden bracelets in her hands.

Realizing it had been deceived, the Great Peng Bird reacted swiftly. Though its body was now the size of a chick, its wings flapped, stirring up a gust of wind. Then it sent Tianxin flying with great force.

She flew quite far, drawing an arc in the air, and fell off the mountain path. However, at the same time, Tianxin made a sudden move. Facing the Great Peng Bird chasing after her, she threw the pair of golden bracelets in her hand.

“Divine Lock Ring—Imprisoning all beings!”

‘Hum—!’

The ring-shaped objects emitted a dazzling light, then turned into a golden light that directly wrapped around the neck of the Great Peng Bird, causing it to stumble and lose control, following Tianxin and falling off the cliff.

The women of the Xuanyuan family had a kind of tenacity in their bones. They were willing to sacrifice everything to bring down their enemies.

As Tianxin rapidly descended, she smirked at the astonished Great Peng Bird and said loudly, “If I die from this fall, I’ll drag you, little yellow chicken, down with me…”

‘Hummm—’

Before she finished speaking, a gray vortex suddenly appeared in the sky below. A powerful suction force swept towards Tianxin, pulling her swiftly into the vortex.

Not only her, but also the Great Peng Bird that had fallen with her.

“Sh*t! What’s going on? And… get your damn claws off my chest…”