Edited by Aelryinth

A loud howling shook the sky. Jiang Shaoxu glanced in the direction of the noise and noticed many winged beasts suddenly tumbling from the sky. Some were crying out in agony as they began to fall after losing their balance!

"It's coming from the west. Little Moon Moth Phoenix, brace yourself!" Jiang Shaoxu warned her.

The wind was invisible, but they were able to identify where it was coming from by judging the winged beasts' reactions, and the wind was carrying a lot of feathers along. The colorful feathers quickly outlined the terrifying incoming wind!

Little Moon Moth Phoenix immediately altered her approach. Most of her feathers were upright to ride the rising wind, allowing her to save a lot of time. However, when this Wind of Sorrow came, Little Moon Moth Phoenix immediately changed her flying path. She followed the wind's direction and continued to rise at a slant.

The strong wind struck Little Moon Moth Phoenix's wings and pushed her east!

"Little Moon Moth Phoenix is so smart. Not only will she be able to maintain her balance, she is using it to fly higher too!" Lingling complimented her.

Many winged beasts assumed they could resist the strong Wind of Sorrow sweeping in their direction with their feathers, but they ended up getting tossed around. Meanwhile, Little Moon Moth Phoenix continued to ride the wind and use it to her advantage, allowing her to fly quicker and more effortlessly than the brainless winged beasts!

Little Moon Moth Phoenix's trick helped her to gain a huge lead over many of the winged beasts. They were getting closer to the Mountain Crusher Ruler.

The Mountain Crusher Ruler was seriously affected by the Wind of Sorrow too, forcing it to slow down. Little Moon Moth Phoenix was slowly catching up!

The Mountain Crusher Ruler shrieked as if it was holding a strong grudge against Little Moon Moth Phoenix.

The cry formed a destructive sonic wave. The group felt their heads spinning, like they were going to explode.

The feeling slightly dissipated after some time. Little Moon Moth Phoenix purposely deviated from her path to avoid the sonic wave, increasing the distance between her and the Mountain Crusher Ruler again!

"That son of a b**ch, I swear I'm going to tear its throat into pieces!" Li Dexin was extremely annoyed by the cry. He angrily clenched his fists and swore at the Mountain Crusher Ruler.

"Too bad your Great Lesser Earth Dragon can't fly. Otherwise, we could fly up there and tackle it!" Mo Fan said.

"Humph, it doesn't matter. Once this Moon Moth Phoenix overtakes it, I'll ask my Great Lesser Earth Dragon to sit right on that assh*** and smash it to death!" Li Dexin cursed.

Little Moon Moth Phoenix continued to rise into the sky. The Vine Canopy Layer was now some tiny greenery in their vision. There were not many mountains and towering trees left at their current altitude.

"Have we reached the Ashwood Wind Layer?" Mo Fan asked.

"We've long passed it. We are now getting closer to the Skycloud Realm," Jiang Shaoxu said.

"Didn't you say the Wind of Sorrow is ridiculously strong at the Ashwood Wind Layer?" Mo Fan said.

"Brother Fan, you can reach your hand out past Little Moon Moth Phoenix's tail and feel it," Zhang Xiaohou said.

Mo Fan moved to Little Moon Moth Phoenix's tail with a confused face. He noticed a faint barrier protecting Little Moon Moth Phoenix. Zhang Xiaohou was asking Mo Fan to stick his hand outside of the barrier.

Mo Fan actually stuck his hand out and immediately felt like it was being shredded. He quickly snatched it back.

He glanced at the back of his hand and saw several bloody cuts there. It was close to being cut to pieces!

"Holy crap, is there like a formation of wind sabers out there? Wouldn't my hand only have bones left if I leave it out there for a few more seconds?" Mo Fan blurted out in shock.

"If we weren't protected by Little Moon Moth Phoenix's wind barrier, we wouldn't survive for long at this height. I believe Advanced Spells would only last briefly," Zhang Xiaohou told him.

"Is it too late to get off the ride now?" Zhao Manyan wondered.

"Not at all, you can just jump!" Jiang Shaoxu answered.

---

They were around the middle of the Ashwood Wind Layer. The Wind of Sorrow was strong enough here to tear a winged beast with sturdy flesh into pieces in a few minutes. The creatures that managed to make it so far either had strong control over the wind, or their feathers were very tough.

"Look at that black winged beast, its feathers are covered in blood," Lingling suddenly pointed at a black winged beast to their right.

The feathers of the black winged beast looked ordinary. At first glance, it looked just like an ordinary demon bird that was commonly seen in many places. One could easily tell some winged beasts were not high-level creatures with a single glance, by observing their crowns, the quality of their feathers, their strength, and overall appearance. The black winged beast seemed rather normal based on these criteria, so it was already a miracle that it had managed to come so far!

"That thing seems to be just a Warrior-level creature!" Apas blurted out in surprise.

Most creatures in the Ashwood Wind Layer were already in the Commander-level, let alone those at their current height!

"Warrior-level? Little Moon Moth Phoenix is a Ruler-level creature. How did that creature possibly reach the same height as her?" Jiang Shaoxu said.

"Its feathers are no longer able to withstand the strong wind. It will be torn into pieces if it keeps going higher," Apas said.

The black winged beast was covered in blood, yet it was still beating its wings relentlessly to keep up with Little Moon Moth Phoenix, the Mountain Crusher Ruler, and the Dawn Swordbird! How was this even possible?

"Houzi, isn't it unlikely for a Warrior-level to rise so far? How did it keep flying so high?" Mo Fan asked with a puzzled face.

"It looks like a Flamebird..." Zhang Xiaohou said.

"Nonsense, a Flamebird's feathers are crimson gold, but that thing is pitch-black, like a piece of charcoal. How could it be a Flamebird?" Jiang Shaoxu immediately broke in.

"It's indeed a Flamebird, but it's different from the others," Lingling said.

"Could it be one with a mutated lineage?" Zhao Manyan said.

"No, it's a Flamebird with the purest lineage. I once heard a special trait about the Flamebird. Apparently, every time their feathers evolve, the color of their feathers will darken slightly..."

Zhang Xiaohou nodded. He said with a deep voice, "I think I know why it managed to reach this height. It must have exposed itself to the Wind of Sorrow continuously so the wind would tear its feathers off. The Flamebird is able to grow new feathers the fastest among the winged beasts, so it waited for new feathers to grow out after losing the old ones and repeated the same action to train itself. Every time it molted its feathers, their color would darken a little. Its feathers are pitch-black now, indicating that it must have replaced its feathers a hundred, or even a thousand times! The new feathers are more resistant to the Wind of Sorrow!"

Mo Fan was amazed after hearing the explanation!

Peel off the feathers, regrow, and peel them off again...

Even though he was not a winged beast, he could imagine that peeling off the feathers would feel like slicing off his flesh, yet the Flamebird had gone through the torture a hundred or even a thousand times, just to help its feathers adapt to the Wind of Sorrow, allowing it to reach its current height!

The Flamebird's determination truly deserved his respect.

"What a pity. If it was a Commander-level creature, it wouldn't suffer such serious injuries. Its Warrior-level flesh can't withstand the damage. If it doesn't back away, it will be torn to pieces," Zhang Xiaohou sighed.

Despite its outstanding feathers, its strength, the sturdiness of its body, and its control over the wind were no match for the Ruler-level winged beasts. If it kept going higher, it was doomed to die a horrible death!

"Why is it trying to fly higher? Its current height is enough to guarantee a Warrior-level creature a status that greatly surpasses other Great Commander-level winged beasts. Its already a significant achievement. Why did it bother..." Yu Shishi felt sorry for the creature too.

Mo Fan looked at the pitch-black Flamebird. He was touched when he saw the determination in its eyes to go higher, despite its miserable appearance.

Some lives deserved to be respected, even if they were demon creatures.

"Apas, make it leave," Mo Fan said.

"Mm," Apas nodded. She began to use her Psychic Magic.

Apas fixed her eyes on the Flamebird, transmitting a hypnotizing order into the Flamebird's mind.

Apas could easily control the mind of a Warrior-level creature with her Psychic Magic. It was difficult to resist her order.

However, the light in Apas' eyes faded away. The pitch-black Flamebird glanced at them and continued to fly higher.

"What happened? You failed to hypnotize her?" Mo Fan asked.

Mo Fan was feeling it was a pity if the Flamebird died here. He wanted the creature to live, yet to his surprise, Apas' Psychic Magic did not work.

"No," Apas shook her head. She said, "I can control its mind, but it seems to be different from the other demon creatures."

"How different? Don't tell me that creature has another soul in it?" Mo Fan asked.

"There's an imprint in its soul, the same imprint as mine," Apas said.

"The same imprint as yours?" Mo Fan failed to understand what Apas meant at first. However, he immediately understood when he saw the gloomy look in her eyes!

The imprint!

It was the imprint of the Summoning Element!

The Flamebird was not a wild demon creature, it was a Contracted Beast!