Chapter 60: Standing as Equals

Thunder flickered across the sky as the duel between the Ancestor Howling Moon and Yu Wuqing raged on.

With his transformation finally complete, the Ancestor Howling Moon now solidified his inner pellet, turning it from illusion into substance—a true golden core formed within his belly.

As the saying goes, “Swallow a golden core, and my fate is mine, not Heaven’s.” In the realm of cultivation, the Ancestor Howling Moon had pulled ahead of Yu Wuqing by half a step.

Yet Yu Wuqing, favored by the Creator, had gained the form of the lotus and mastered the method of visualization before him. Though she had not formed a golden core, her virtual core was eighty percent substantial, enabling her to match the Ancestor Howling Moon evenly. Indeed, she could even suppress him!

The wind howled, thunder crashed, and lightning blazed. Amidst the stormy night, the feathered warriors joined the fray. Fire surged around Yun Zhao, who swept through the battlefield like a force unto himself, unstoppable by beast or man alike.

Once the feathered folk were prepared, the beasts proved no match for the demon clan. Under these circumstances, the Ancestor Howling Moon felt the mounting pressure.

“You’re quite impressive. I don’t know how you embarked upon the path of cultivation, but you chose the most arduous route,” Yu Wuqing said coolly, after her lotus had sent him flying. “Write down your cultivation insights from these past few years, then leave this land. I may spare your life.”

“High and mighty, feathered shaman—you are far too arrogant,” the Ancestor Howling Moon retreated several steps, his gaze flashing coldly as he sneered in a low voice, “I truly wish I could pull you down from your lofty clouds and trample you beneath my feet!”

His human form began to waver, the wildness and wolfish nature threatening to burst free.

Seeing this, Yu Wuqing’s expression sharpened, her wariness deepening. She knew this was the only cultivator she had encountered who could rival her—a formidable opponent not to be underestimated.

His posture indicated a final, desperate attack.

With this realization, Yu Wuqing became ever more vigilant, fixing her gaze on the Ancestor Howling Moon and preparing for a mortal struggle.

A wolf’s howl split the heavens, and before Yu Wuqing, a faint moon appeared, shimmering in and out of sight.

“What?!” Yu Wuqing’s alertness spiked. A moon—here? Could it be his technique?

The thought made her tense, and as she readied herself to counter, she suddenly saw the Ancestor Howling Moon transform into a gray whirlwind, fleeing into the distance in an instant!

“Feathered shaman, I am the Ancestor Howling Moon of the demon clan. Remember this name!” A distant voice echoed: “One day, this name will become the greatest threat to the feathered folk. All will remember it!”

His escape was swift—ten times faster than the flight of the feathered people, clearly fueled by spiritual energy.

Yu Wuqing was caught off guard, only realizing what happened after several seconds, then leaping into the air to chase him.

She knew that if the Ancestor Howling Moon were to escape, there would never be peace for her people.

…

At dawn the next day, Yun Zhao had seized control of Feather God City.

The losses were heavy—more than thirteen hundred feathered folk perished in the battle, and even the city lord Yun Yi vanished mysteriously.

Yun Zhao’s response to this intelligence was simple: good riddance.

Yet for the other feathered folk, his heart grew heavy.

“How did it come to this?” Yun Zhao’s expression was grim as he questioned the scholar beside him. “How did the animals gain intelligence?!”

“According to our records, in the year when Quanxi fled, Feather God City, under the pretext of hunting Quanxi, requested extra Feather God Fruits. For more than ten years, they fed these fruits to the livestock… But ten years ago, the shaman called an end to this practice, and the beasts stopped receiving Feather God Fruits.”

Yun Zhao’s face flushed with anger. “Those feathered folk who advocated feeding Feather God Fruits to the animals deserve death!”

Behind him, the surviving scholars of Feather God City looked uneasy.

After all, the decision was made only thirty years prior. Yun Zhao, in his twenties, knew nothing of those times.

But the scholars had lived through every step—they were the very decision-makers, those who once cast their votes in favor.

“They truly deserve it.”

At that moment, Yu Wuqing’s figure approached from afar, landing before Yun Zhao and saying, “This matter falls to you. Whether in the ancestral land, the Feather God Lake, or Feather God City—any feathered folk involved in those events must be punished, whether demotion or execution.”

Seeing Yu Wuqing return, Yun Zhao breathed a sigh of relief, hurried forward to pay his respects, and asked reverently, “Shaman, what of the Ancestor Howling Moon…?”

They had all heard his furious howl and knew his name. Fear gnawed at them, the Ancestor Howling Moon’s power etched deeply in their minds. Just as he wished, his name had become the nightmare of the feathered folk.

“He escaped.”

Yu Wuqing’s expression was as cold as frost.

Along the way, Ancestor Howling Moon moved faster than any feathered person could fly, finally vanishing into unfamiliar forests, leaving Yu Wuqing with no trace to follow. He was gone.

“That settles it—we must let him flee.”

“Yun Zhao, beside investigating that matter, lead the ancestral guards and relocate every inhabitant of Feather God City to the ancestral land. Abandon the city.”

The Ancestor Howling Moon now knew of Feather God City, and the demon clan understood its layout. The city had lost its purpose.

“North, west, deeper still,” Yu Wuqing said calmly. “We must build more cities for the feathered folk and train more cultivators. Only then can we protect our people.”

Once, their imagined enemy was the elusive merfolk, and for them, the feathered folk guarded against the sea.

But now, they faced a new foe: the demon clan, tangible and dangerous.

The demon clan was far more troublesome.

For they truly possessed cultivators.

Yu Wuqing would foster more cultivators, and the Ancestor Howling Moon, no fool, would do the same.

When that day came, it would no longer be a mere farce, but a true war, transcending the mundane world.