Chapter 101 — The Yellow Bird

The stone door slammed shut with a thunderous boom; in that final instant, the monkey Xiao Hui had darted in after its master as well.

And then, with a great crash, the massive door sealed itself once more, and the seam in the middle vanished—incredibly—without a trace.

"BOOM!" The Blackwater Mystic Serpent's huge head smashed against the stone door. The force of it was like mountains and seas overturned; the trunk of the giant tree, tens of yards thick, shuddered violently, as though about to split apart.

The Blackwater Mystic Serpent had seen its delicacy snatched away just as it reached its jaws, and fell into uncontrollable fury. Its huge head began battering the stone door, and such was the force of it that even the people far off in midair paled at the sight.

Jin Pingyue flew up in vexation, putting a good distance between herself and the Blackwater Mystic Serpent, cursing inwardly without cease. Just now, while the righteous cultivators' attention was elsewhere, she had crept up toward the Heaven Emperor's Treasure House on the other side, keeping within the serpent's shadow, hoping to slip in at the right moment—but the whole situation had turned in an instant, and the Treasure House, for some reason, had suddenly closed again.

Jin Pingyue had arrived a step too late and was greatly chagrined, yet there was nothing to be done. Moreover, in its frenzy the Blackwater Mystic Serpent had begun turning its attention toward the people in the sky; seeing the beast lift its head as though about to make some move, Jin Pingyue hastily retreated several dozen yards more.

Sure enough, the Blackwater Mystic Serpent suddenly gaped its enormous maw and spat a jet of black venom at the people in the sky. The rank stench assailed the nose, enough to make one retch. The righteous cultivators dodged in confusion, and for a moment there was more than a little disarray; Jin Pingyue, quicker to hide, kept her composure. But watching the Blackwater Mystic Serpent below, hissing in frenzy and then desperately battering its head against the stone door of the Treasure House, she reckoned there would be no advantage to be had here today. And if she waited longer, those righteous cultivators over there were beginning to show her some hostility. Better to beat a retreat.

With that thought, Jin Pingyue quietly slipped away, flying back the way she had come. But she had not flown far when her body suddenly gave a start: along the route she had come, where the Blackwater Mystic Serpent had passed, all was wrecked and strewn—yet for some reason, a flower bed of creeping vines remained perfectly intact. And within the bounds of that flower bed, beneath the sunlight, a faint dark-red glow seemed to flicker stealthily, arranged in apparent disorder, yet on closer look, holding some profound mystery.

Jin Pingyue's brows furrowed slightly. She looked carefully for a moment, and then a flash of keen light crossed her eyes, as though she had spotted something. She swiftly glanced around, then gave a cold laugh and murmured, "So they have come too!"

She hovered in midair, hesitating for a moment, then at last gave a sharp toss of her head and flew off without a backward glance.

Meanwhile, before the Heavenly Emperor's Vault, the Blackwater Mystic Snake's fury showed no sign of abating; it hurled itself again and again at the stone gate. The righteous-path cultivators in the sky had at first meant to slip down and see whether they might rescue Lu Xueling and her companion, but the slightest approach drew the beast's attack, and several times they had nearly been wounded in its clutches.

After yet another narrow escape, Facheng motioned the others to withdraw farther off. Once they had gathered together, he lowered his voice and said, "This cannot go on. Who knows what lies within that vault that has driven the brute into such a frenzy? With it standing guard here, there is no way for us to enter."

Lin Jinghong's face was grim as he fixed his stare on the Blackwater Mystic Snake below. Zeng Shuyan likewise looked anxious, yet clever as he was, he could devise no plan.

Just as the group was consumed with worry, it seemed the only thing left between heaven and earth was the mad hissing of the Blackwater Mystic Snake. And it was then that the sky suddenly darkened.

Zeng Shuyan and the others started in alarm. Only moments before, the sky had been clear for ten thousand li—how could it change in an instant? They could not help looking up.

What they saw left them dumbstruck. High in the ninth heaven, a great expanse of orange-yellow had slowly appeared, spanning nearly scores of zhang across, shrouding the space above their heads and even blotting out the sunlight.

Then, from the edge of the sky, there seemed to come a clear cry like the call of a phoenix.

The Blackwater Mystic Snake, maddened a moment before, abruptly fell still. Its huge head reared up to watch, and then, as though in fury, it opened its vast maw, bared its fangs, and roared at that patch of cloud.

The cloud descended, blotting out sky and sun. Though it did not look as immense as the Blackwater Mystic Snake, it was very nearly its equal.

From their distant vantage the others saw it clearly: it was a bird of extraordinary size, its whole body clad in orange-yellow feathers. It flew on spread wings, circling in the air, and toward the Blackwater Mystic Snake coiled upon the tree trunk it showed no fear at all—rather, it seemed bent on attack.

And the Blackwater Mystic Snake, facing this wondrous bird, actually put aside its overbearing manner. It drew its body into coils, its head hissing, and waited in strict readiness.

"This must be the legendary bird of the nine heavens—the Yellow Bird!" (Note 1)

Gazing at the two colossal beasts confronting each other in the distance, Facheng murmured.

Note 1: This passage is drawn from the Classic of Mountains and Seas, "Classic of the Great Wilderness: South," on the Yellow Bird of Mount Wu: There is Mount Wu; to its west is the Yellow Bird. The Emperor's elixir, eight halls. The Yellow Bird dwells on Mount Wu and keeps watch over this mystic snake.

Another note: "The Emperor" is the Heavenly Emperor; "elixir" means the elixir of the immortals, that is, the medicine of deathlessness. The "mystic snake" is the Blackwater Mystic Snake.