At Tang Xiadan’s request, the three founders offered a gentle bow in his direction. Meng Song and Han Bai offered Yang Qing a parting apology along with a few words of gratitude and the promise to see him later. Fan Jie, surprisingly, or rather unsurprisingly given his mercurial nature, thanked Yang Qing for the Silver Ice Tear Guava before he left. What was surprising wasn’t the gratitude itself but the politeness with which he offered it before excusing himself. He looked quite genuine.

Though surprised and secretly counting it as a small win, Yang Qing didn’t let it go to his head. After all, there was every likelihood it hadn’t been genuine at all. While Yang Qing believed himself skilled at telling something authentic from something born out of affectation, he wasn’t one to overestimate his own abilities. Fan Jie was an old viper with years on him when it came to masking his true thoughts beneath a veneer of friendliness.

There was also the likelihood that Fan Jie’s sudden politeness had less to do with Yang Qing and more to do with their mysterious guest. Tang Xiadan’s gaze was now fixed on Yang Qing, having already offered his words of apology and gratitude to the three founders as they filed out. Once they were gone, his full attention settled on Yang Qing.

"While I trust the privacy and safety of the room and the measures Fan Jie and the others have put in place, one can never be too careful," Tang Xiadan said lightly, as he produced a turquoise feather from within his robes. He gently stroked the feather’s rachis, which seemed to activate something, as the feather vibrated faintly. Then the ends coiled into a ball, and not long after it vibrated once more as a soft, melodic caw rose from within before it finally morphed and transformed into a crow about the size of a sparrow.

The crow’s entire body was covered in lustrous turquoise feathers with silver-gold streaks at their ends, the kind that made one feel as though they were stargazing in broad daylight.

It jerked its head around as though getting its bearings. Its eyes were completely turquoise, down to the sclera, and in place of regular pupils sat gold-white stars. It looked around, gave Yang Qing a curious once-over, then took flight toward the ceiling, where its form simply disappeared. It looked as though it had phased through, but Yang Qing knew better.

"Star Shrouding Sky Crow," Yang Qing said, still looking upward at the spot where it had vanished. "Fellow Daoist Tang Xiadan is a walking treasure trove. Your travels must have brought quite the fortuitous encounters." He smiled as he brought his attention back to Tang Xiadan, who was smiling back.

Yang Qing wasn’t merely playing lip service to the man who had just funded his safety. He truly meant it. The Star Shrouding Sky Crow above was worthy of that praise. In terms of bloodline pedigree, it was of the same rank as Ellie, both spirit beasts standing just below the mythical races.

As a matter of fact, Ellie and the crow above shared certain similarities in their abilities. Ellie, as a Cloud Swallowing Kite, could use the clouds around her not only to empower herself and increase her speed and defenses, but also to hide herself so thoroughly that even at the late stage of the Core Formation Realm, she could evade the senses of certain first-stage Palace Realm experts with weak foundations. And said ability would only grow stronger as her realm improved.

The Star Shrouding Sky Crow could do the same, only it needed no clouds, as it could instead use everything and anything within its surroundings to obscure itself. It was said the Star Shrouding Sky Crow earned its name from its ability to hide itself and anything it wished to, even under the watchful gaze of the heavens.

Its ability to conceal itself and whatever it chose to hide was so prodigious that Yang Qing had on more than one occasion heard Senior Bu Zhou, the Domain Shrouding Water Jade Turtle, lamenting why he had not been born a Star Shrouding Sky Crow.

The fact that this came from a spirit beast so skilled in concealment that he could probably hide from an early-stage Soul Formation expert while still at the peak of the Domain Realm was testament enough to the Star Shrouding Sky Crow’s abilities, and made Yang Qing all the more curious about it. After all, that praise had not only come from a spirit beast with similar innate abilities, but from one who also happened to have a deeply cowardly personality that loved nothing more than avoiding danger. These two factors lent real weight to Senior Bu Zhou’s praise, and Yang Qing, as a fellow kindred coward spirit, didn’t take long before he found himself echoing the same murmurings, lamenting why he too hadn’t been born with a bloodline tied to the Star Shrouding Sky Crow.

How different life would have been for Yang Qing. His years at the Institute would have been considerably easier, as the Star Shrouding Sky Crow didn’t only know how to hide itself. Part of that ability was rooted in its capacity to sense others and bypass their abilities entirely. After all, that spirit beast didn’t conceal itself merely through avoiding and evading, but also through fooling, manipulating, and countering. Those star eyes not only saw through spiritual senses, spells, treasures, formations, and any other measures that might be used to detect it, but also saw the gaps to exploit to avoid detection flawlessly. It avoided you before you knew to look for it. It had an eye for danger and the foresight to prepare accordingly.

How many dangers and pitfalls set by the Instructors could Yang Qing have avoided with a Star Shrouding Sky Crow’s bloodline?

Truth be told, influenced by everything he had learned through Senior Bu Zhou’s passionate rants and lamentations, the Star Shrouding Sky Crow might be the only spirit beast Yang Qing would ever truly consider forming a Binding Soul Pact with.

But alas, given how skilled it was at hiding, finding one proved a difficult undertaking. Not even the Order had one. Well, at least he believed they didn’t, as opposed to the alternative theory, which was that the Order was purposefully lying to him about not having one because they could read minds and therefore knew exactly what he intended to do with a Star Shrouding Sky Crow the instant he got his hands on it.

They just don’t have it, Yang Qing convinced himself, not daring to spare an ounce of thought on the alternative theory. This Tang Xiadan really isn’t simple, he thought as his attention shifted to the person before him.

The Star Shrouding Sky Crow above wasn’t the real thing but a manifestation of the abilities of the real spirit beast, brought forth through some art and the feather of a true Star Shrouding Sky Crow. And if Yang Qing wasn’t mistaken, given how real and alive that crow felt, even to someone whose Dao was the Supreme Dao of Life, Tang Xiadan must have used the blood essence of a Star Shrouding Sky Crow to anchor the spell through the feather as a medium. That was likely what made it as lifelike as it was. Either that, or he had been in contact with a real, living Star Shrouding Sky Crow that had imprinted its intent onto that feather. Which meant that while he may not have had one, he most certainly had some manner of friendship or relationship with one, for a Star Shrouding Sky Crow to willingly lend its feather and imbue its intent into it.

And all of this pointed to someone who was the farthest thing from simple. That deep blue-white flower bud slowly emerging from the center of his chest, its roots embedded not only through his heart but anchored into his soul as well, was another defining proof that Tang Xiadan was neither simple nor normal.

Smiling at Yang Qing’s earlier comment, Tang Xiadan said, "In terms of fortuitous encounters, I feel you have me beat there, Daoist Yang Qing. After all, in terms of rarity and preciousness, the Green Flame Tree sap you offered earlier puts mine to shame."

Yang Qing smiled, shaking his head as he moved to refill their cups. "I am guessing the reason you came to see me has to do with that Soulfrost Sequoia sapping not only your soul dry but your body too," he said, gesturing toward Tang Xiadan’s chest with his wine cup. "I can see why Han Bai and the rest left the Gentle Yang Pineapples for you," he added casually, moving in for a sip.

"Seems you really did see completely through it," Tang Xiadan said, smiling in resignation as he took a sip of his wine. After, he set his cup down, and his gaze and demeanor turned solemn. He loosened his robes and let them fall from his shoulders, revealing his entire torso, and as he did, it was as though an illusion were being broken.