Chapter 1: The Blood Raven Descends Upon the World
Eastern Victory Divine Continent.
Ao Lai Kingdom.
Mountain of Flowers and Fruit.
“Caw, caw...”
A cry echoed as a black crow folded its wings and landed atop a tree branch.
Its feathers were sleek and glossy, exuding a unique metallic sheen of black.
Its eyes glowed with a blood-red crescent, flashing with a mysterious light, imparting an extraordinary aura.
This was Yu Qiye.
A reborn soul.
Or rather, the awakening of a true spirit from a previous life.
That former existence was like a dream, illusory and indistinct, the line between truth and falsehood blurred. Yet, memories lingered, haunting his heart, impossible to dispel.
“Ao Lai Kingdom, Mountain of Flowers and Fruit...”
“And that...”
Yu Qiye raised his gaze toward a boulder not far away.
The stone stood nearly thirty feet tall.
Its spiritual essence was concealed, yet even approaching it, Yu Qiye felt a deep sense of unease welling up inside.
“I await the day you emerge, the future Great Sage Equal to Heaven!”
Expectant light flickered in Yu Qiye’s eyes, a glimmer of anticipation distinctly human.
In this life, he sought nothing else.
Only the pursuit of longevity and the Way.
And for immortality, what could be easier than following that one?
Once he ascends to Heaven, shares a celestial peach, or pours half a flask of immortal wine, Yu Qiye could rise in a single bound.
Gathering his thoughts, Yu Qiye unfurled his wings once more, slicing through the sky.
Moments later, far from the five-colored divine stone, he descended toward the earth.
His form began to change.
In just a breath or two, a figure emerged: bird-headed, human-bodied, slender, with a pair of jet-black wings spread behind.
This was Yu Qiye’s humanoid form.
He had just transformed, not yet fully, retaining most avian features.
From the sparse memories in his mind, he knew that full transformation would require several more attempts, each harder than the last.
Once fully transformed, he could shed his beastly body for a Daoist form, drastically improving his cultivation speed.
“Heaven favors the human race, born with Daoist bodies. Beasts need a thousand years to prove the Way; humans just a hundred.”
Yu Qiye’s expression grew complex.
Yet, not all beasts fully transform.
Some renowned great demons, such as the Bull Demon King and the Yellow Wind Sage, continued to delve into their bloodline, seeking power deep within.
For them, shedding part of their beastly form sufficed for daily life.
These were the two paths of cultivation for beast-kind.
Each distinct, each with its advantages.
...
Suppressing the ripples in his heart, Yu Qiye prepared to begin his daily cultivation.
He didn’t know when the Monkey King would be born.
But his lifespan was limited.
If he didn’t strive to cultivate and extend his life, he might not live to see the day the Monkey King arrived.
So—
Settling in place, Yu Qiye inhaled and exhaled.
Boom!
A mysterious dark light gathered, slowly merging into his body.
---
Visibly, Yu Qiye’s jet-black feathers began to shimmer with dark luminescence.
That was the flow of demonic power within him.
Yu Qiye was grateful to be born in Ao Lai Kingdom, Mountain of Flowers and Fruit.
Anywhere else, even transformation would have been difficult.
The Mountain of Flowers and Fruit was special.
It was said to be the ancestral vein of the Ten Continents, the origin of the Three Islands.
A genuine blessed land.
Its abundant spiritual essence nourished countless beings.
In such a place, even a rootless, bloodline-less postnatal spirit like him, so long as he awakened intelligence and diligently cultivated, could easily achieve transformation.
But Yu Qiye was not satisfied with mere transformation.
He yearned for more.
Exhaling a breath of turbid air, he completed his daily cultivation and stood up, intending to practice martial arts.
Cultivation was for longevity and the Way; martial arts existed to protect the Way.
...
Yu Qiye flexed his joints, stretched his bones.
Demonic power surged, covering his right hand. With a swift motion, five black sharp feathers shot out like swords, embedding themselves half a foot deep into a distant boulder.
That seemed to signal the start.
He leapt from the ground, body like a cannonball, claws gleaming coldly as he raked a tree, leaving deep marks.
Yet, when he landed, he was light as smoke, utterly silent.
In motion and stillness, he was seamless.
After a simple warm-up, Yu Qiye began his true martial practice.
He swung his right leg, stirring up a gust.
Like a dragon’s tail, it struck a tree with a dull boom, shattering the trunk.
Birds and beasts scattered in terror, leaves fluttered down.
Yu Qiye’s figure flashed, swift as the wind.
He merged into the countless falling leaves.
Soon, a familiar sensation surged forth. Every pore seemed to open, streams of demonic energy wafted through his body.
Yu Qiye could distinctly feel his body changing.
Bones hardening.
Muscles strengthening.
He knew it was not an illusion.
Born as a beast.
Dwelling in such a blessed land.
His growth was astonishing.
Suddenly—
Yu Qiye sensed something, his gaze flickering.
Like a stone cast into a lake, ripples spread.
In an instant—
Illusory yet clear words appeared before his eyes, like ink spreading on parchment.
[Race: Blood Crow Clan]
[Realm: Lesser Demon]
[Technique: None]
[Attributes: Fate-Bearer (Rainbow), Robust Physique (White), Claw Mastery (Blue), Wind Riding (Blue)]
[Fate-Bearer (Rainbow): Steal fate, transcend the Three Realms, escape the Five Elements; Heaven’s secrets elusive, gods and ghosts cannot fathom.]
[Robust Physique (White): As a beast, you possess a body far stronger than mortals.]
[Claw Mastery (Blue): The right hand becomes a claw, ready to strike; as an avian, your talons are formidable.]
[Wind Riding (Blue): Born to soar between heaven and earth, you have the potential to command wild winds.]
It resembled a personal attribute panel.
But more information flooded Yu Qiye’s mind.
[1. Through cultivation and learning, various attributes can be awakened. They can also be seized by defeating or killing enemies.]
[2. Attributes can merge, upgrading into higher-level ones.]
[3. Attributes can be used personally or bestowed upon others.]
[4. Attribute levels: White, Blue, Purple, Red, Gold, Rainbow!]
[5. Every half year, there is an opportunity to upgrade attributes, up to Red level.]
---
Sorting through the information in his mind, Yu Qiye’s smile widened.
A golden finger—always late, never absent.
And this golden finger seemed perfectly suited for him.
Even more so for this world.
“Attributes are talent, are bloodline, are...”
“In a world where pedigree and bloodline matter, this golden finger could not be more appropriate.”
Thoughts whirled, and Yu Qiye realized the golden finger held infinite possibilities.
But for now, he decided to try the semiannual attribute upgrade.
“Upgrade Wind Riding.”
With that resolve, Yu Qiye saw the blue attribute—Wind Riding—suddenly glow purple.
Accompanying it was a flood of information pouring into his mind.
All about wind.
Wind has no form,
No shape.
But some can ride the wind, even turn the invisible into the tangible—command fierce gales!
“Is the attribute upgrade complete?”
Yu Qiye noticed the attribute had turned a brilliant purple.
And the description had changed.
[Commanding Wild Winds—You can harness wild winds, wherever you go sand flies and stones roll, gales surge. With wild winds, you can greatly boost your speed.]
He stared, pupils contracting.
This was a purple attribute?
It seemed almost absurdly powerful.
Aside from the attribute’s change, Yu Qiye curiously extended his claw, a strange sensation gradually rising.
Something whistled past his ears.
What was that sound?
Yu Qiye was puzzled.
Next, he noticed wisps of fresh breeze swirling between his claws.
They chased each other, as if playing.
“Shhh!”
A sharp whooshing sound suddenly swept past his ear.
Yu Qiye’s expression shifted. His black wings snapped open, shielding him.
Bang!
A crisp metallic clang echoed across the mountains.
“Brother Deer, let’s do it together!”
A loud shout, and another figure sprang out from the side.
Two monsters.
One, deer-headed and human-bodied, lean, a cloth wrapped around his waist, wielding a staff-like weapon.
The other, snake-bodied with a human head, slender, his entire form covered in green, scale-like patterns.
Both were lesser demons, not fully transformed.
Yu Qiye actually knew them.
They too were monsters of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit.
Perhaps, among the seventy-two demon kings of the mountain in the future, they would be counted.
But between them and Yu Qiye lay grudges.
Just now, seeing Yu Qiye lost in thought, they seized the chance to ambush him.