Immortal Dao is dead, I am the mastermind behind it all.

Afan raised his head, gazing at the vast sky and the boundless sea of ​​clouds—that was true freedom.

It tried to flap its wings and rush upwards, but just over three zhang above the cliff top, it was overturned by the strong winds from high above and crashed into a pile of rocks, losing several tufts of feathers.

A phoenix flew by and saw it, its clear cry carrying a hint of mockery.

Even the passing tits chirped, "That gray blob thinks it can climb the clouds and conquer the seas? Aren't you afraid of breaking your bones!"

Avan shook off the stone chips from his body and straightened his bent feathers.

When it saw the Kunpeng spreading its wings, it did not charge straight at it, but instead used the vortex of the Northern Sea to gather strength.

When the phoenix soars, its wings always tremble slightly in the direction of the cloud flow, cleverly using the momentum to its advantage.

As if it had understood something, it began to learn.

In the pre-dawn mist, it circled the ancient pines of Cangwu Mountain, practicing the resilience of its wings until the muscles under its wings ached and trembled.

When the rainstorm comes, it rushes into the rain curtain, feeling the collision of raindrops and air currents, learning from the phoenix to go with the flow.

They even dared to approach the edge of the sea where the Kunpeng appeared, to observe how that giant bird used the propulsion of the waves to take off.

As the days went by, Afan's feathers became dirtier, covered with mud and sea salt, and his claws developed thick calluses. However, the height he could fly increased from three zhang to five zhang, then ten zhang, and he was gradually able to fly freely over the low cliff.

But it has never been able to go any further and reach the cloud.

It seems that all the efforts have been made have reached their limit.

"Heh heh, this sparrow is really arrogant, thinking that the roc's flight depends on the wind and external forces?"

"Does he really think he can soar through the heavens on his own without any external help? How laughable!" The divine birds in the sky noticed Afan's futile efforts and sneered.

Hearing the mocking remarks from the divine birds in the sky, Afan couldn't help but tense his wings.

Calming down and reflecting on itself, it realized that its own perception was flawed.

The roc and the luan bird soar not entirely by the power of the wind, but because they are born with wings that allow them to fight against the sky.

Afan was speechless for a moment, realizing that his perspective was ultimately too narrow.

Being unable to see things from one's own perspective and making subjective assumptions is truly harmful.

It acknowledges its previous ignorance, but cannot accept its own unknowability.

But... on what grounds?

Why are you born high and mighty, while we mere birds have to cower among the weeds, eking out an existence in this dangerous forest for eternity?

Is there really no way out if you try your best?

Is birth truly predetermined?

It began to study how to get rid of its delicate sparrow body, so it bid farewell to the old sparrow, left the low cliffs and wormwood, and wandered alone in the wilderness of Cangwu.

In order to live longer, it searched the mountains and fields, braved the perilous jungles, and obtained rare ginseng to prolong its life.

The divine birds grew more and more magnificent with age, while the little sparrow's feathers grew increasingly sparse, and it would soon turn to dust, which it deeply resented.

Is this the fate of us mere mortals, whose lifespans are predetermined?

No! It disagrees!

From then on, it had another ambition.

Immortality! It desires immortality!

After years of life-and-death struggles, it finally broke through the shackles of cognition and learned about cultivation.

The mountains and seas possess energy, divided into nine grades. By gathering and consuming it, one can gather the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, condense the essence of the sun and moon, and condense a demon core, thus achieving immortality.

Afan was incredibly excited, more excited than ever before. And even when it learned that the precious energy resided in the perilous mountains and seas, it did not back down.

It endures the scorching sun, absorbing the essence of the azure sun; it descends into the deep abyss, absorbing the breath of the primordial darkness; it enters the depths of the myriad forests, absorbing the breath of the myriad herbs…

It gathered eighty-one streams of spiritual energy and concentrated them within its demonic body.

A Gu Diao (a type of gu-like creature) sensed its presence and prepared to hunt for some snacks, but it couldn't find it.

It's like a fleeting glimpse of a swan, a fish darting into the abyss. Unrestrained and free, it forges ahead alone, pursuing its own goals. It needs no bird's understanding.

But it overlooked one thing.

Cultivating demonic powers requires undergoing tribulations. And without the protection of others, the chances of survival during tribulation are slim.

The heavenly tribulation descended, catching Afan completely off guard.

The demon core, accumulated over a century, shattered. Afan, clinging to life with his charred body, barely managed to stay afloat.

It survived, but lost the foundation for its demonic cultivation: its demon core. It reverted to its original mortal form as a sparrow.

Back to square one overnight. Afan smiled bitterly, "Without the demon core, what am I going to do?"

But the clever creature quickly came up with a solution.

The power of the heavenly tribulation compressed some of its spiritual energy, transforming it into a purer form of energy. Perhaps by allowing this energy to flow throughout its body, bearing this immense power with its entire being, it could transcend the mortal realm without needing a demon core.

In the wilderness of Cangwu, Afan carefully recalled and contemplated the figure of the Great Roc. The Great Roc rose with the wind in a single day, soaring up ninety thousand miles into the sky.

Tuan means to circle or hover.

Afan channeled the remaining spiritual energy around its entire body, forming a continuously compressing vortex.

The entire mountain forest stirred, with air currents swirling around it, spiraling upwards like a dragon drinking water or a divine bird whipping up a whirlwind.

It succeeded, compressing its spiritual power through the vortex and transforming it into energy beyond its demonic power.

Even with a rough perception, it knew that this energy could be used to perform many spells that only Yingchong could use, which Afan called magic power.

This act of compressing spiritual energy by rotating a turbine is called "forming the Dharma body".

At the same time, the Dharma Body grew limbs, and its body gradually resembled a kind of insect, that is, a human. To transform into a human, with an innate Dao body, is a situation that only a great demon capable of transformation can achieve.

But when he succeeded, something unexpected happened.

As the magic flowed throughout his body, amidst the swirling tornado, all his feathers fell out.

He did indeed obtain the Dharma body he had longed for, but he also shed all the feathers of his former sparrow form.

High above, the divine birds who witnessed this scene burst into laughter: "Look at that quail! He's completely naked, with his bottom showing!"

Amidst the mockery of the birds in the sky, Afan reluctantly plummeted from the heavens.

The sparrow, without its feathers, has lost its wings.

Then one would lose the right to fly.

…………

Shen Moyan was surrounded by the Azure Yang spiritual energy, which swirled up in vortexes and rose into the air.

The spirit stones on the concealed array were being rapidly consumed, shielding Shen Moyan from the unusual phenomenon of breaking through to the next realm.

Three years later, in the dimly lit cave, Shen Moyan opened his eyes.

The old skin on the body had completely peeled off and was scattered around the legs.

The Dharmakaya was formed.

[Real name: Shen Moyan]

Race: Human

[Realm Level: Early Stage of Mortal Transformation (Xian Dao)]

[Current remaining lifespan: 600 years or more]

At this moment, the hidden array set up by Shen Moyan collapsed, and strange phenomena appeared.

In the majestic mountains and forests, the spiritual energy within a hundred miles suddenly hummed and surged toward Shen Moyan's location like a tidal wave.

Every leaf on the camphor tree in the mountains was trembling. Dewdrops condensed on the tips of the leaves rolled down the veins and turned into thin threads of spiritual energy when they touched the air, drifting towards his direction.

The mountain stream surged and boiled, countless bubbles bursting to release plumes of milky-white spiritual mist. The mycelium in the decaying leaves awakened along with Shen Moyan's transformation into a mortal, and countless pale green specks of light emerged from the soil.

"It's just a mortal transformation, why all the fuss?"

Shen Moyan used his magic power to hurriedly suppress these strange phenomena.

In this world, being too flamboyant is not a good thing; you might attract the attention of some evil spirits.