Walnut used me to boost her sales performance.

Aru nodded and began to tell the story of him and the Thunderbird.

As Aru narrated, Hu Tao felt the feathers in her arms move slightly.

It emitted a soft purple light and drifted out.

The nearby perch also emitted a purple light, and under the influence of the earth's veins, the group saw some scenes.

Those are memories belonging to the Thunderbird.

To the Thunderbird, the people in the sea of ​​fog beneath their feet were no different from other small creatures.

They were no different to him than boars or squirrels.

One day, as he returned home, he heard an interesting melody through the rain.

I've heard a similar tune before, before the fog engulfed the island.

At that time, those humans will gather together and sing to her.

It followed her, chirping in her song.

The melodious song piqued its interest, and it landed among the trees, looking down at the tiny people below.

"What an interesting tune, you little one, aren't you afraid of thunder and rain?"

The little boy stopped singing and looked up at the huge thunderbird. "The adults in the tribe say that a child like me can calm the thunder and turn the storm into a gentle rain."

Why are you singing here?

"I was too embarrassed to sing in the village, so I came here to practice. Do you like it?"

Thunderbird said a lot of complicated and incomprehensible things to the little man.

"This is too complicated, I don't understand. Does it mean 'like'?"

"I haven't heard a song like this in a long time..."

The little boy was very happy to hear that Thunderbird liked his songs.

The Thunderbird cried out haughtily for a moment, then fell silent.

"What's your name?" the little one asked after the song ended.

“A name? I don’t know. She gave me a name before, but I’ve forgotten it. I don’t need such a thing, and no one has ever dared to call my name.”

"Well then, I've recently learned some new characters for stone roots, so I'll give you a name!"

The little person gave it a name, and it nodded indifferently, which was considered as permission for him to call it by that name.

As soon as the song ended, it made a promise to meet again when the song started again, and then it flapped its wings and flew away.

Little did they know that it would be their first and last meeting.

When he flew back to Mount Sugana the next time, wanting to hear that beautiful song again, he saw only crimson blood.

The furious roar, like lightning, resounded across the sky.

"...Since you let your unique song turn into blood and flow into this land in vain..."

"Then, until I [Sugana Kapachiri] hear that person again, that Aru's song, this land will suffer eternal calamity..."

Terrifying lightning enveloped the earth, like heavenly fire descending upon the world, burning the entire world to ashes.

The leaves of the perch withered in the thunder and flames, turning into dry branches, and the thunderbird's resentment seeped into the earth's veins.

The earth's veins, already ravaged once, became disordered, and from then on, He Guan was trapped in an endless cycle of reincarnation.

Aru's tears streamed down her face instantly.

"What... I thought it had long forgotten... I thought it didn't like that festival, that it didn't like me..."

Mortals cannot fathom the hearts of gods high above. Even though he had a brief encounter with the Thunderbird, he dared not hope that the gods high above truly cared about him or considered him a friend.

Therefore, he never thought in that direction.

After all, that was a high and mighty god, a thunderbird that had never cast a glance at humans.

He was just a tiny human being; how could he dare to ask such a being to stop for him?

"You just underestimate yourself." Hu Tao knelt down and wiped away his tears.

Aryu cried even louder.

Countless deaths, countless rebirths, endless loneliness, fear and confusion—emotions that would be forgotten with each cycle—flowed down with tears.

These emotions, falling with the tears onto the earth, blossomed into tiny flowers like starlight.

The thunderstorm subsided without him even realizing it, and Hu Tao gently patted his back, her words both tender and powerful.

"Everyone is a unique being, irreplaceable. You are the key to unlocking the cycle, and Thunderbird's only friend."

Jiang Bai patted his head and nodded in agreement, "Yes, Thunderbird is waiting for you to sing for it."

"Hey kid, cheer up! You can't sing until your voice is hoarse!"

Aryu wiped her face and nodded vigorously.

"I'm going to find Capachelli and sing to her."

Jiang Bai and the others exchanged glances, unsure of what to say.

Thunderbird is dead, how are we supposed to find it?

In the end, Hu Tao took the lead and gestured for her to come over with her eyes.

“Capachelli should not be on the island right now; he is outside Crane View.”

Aryu was in a dilemma, "I've tried leaving the Crane View before, but each time I somehow end up back..."

Walnut offered a feather, "Use this. It has the power of the Thunderbird on it and should be able to take you away from Crane Watch for a short time."

Aru is long dead; she is now only a soul. The reason she has a physical body is due to the combination of the Thunder Bird's power and the earth's vein power.

It's not difficult to find a vessel that can house a soul, or even an object possessing the power of the Thunderbird.

“Kappachiri has settled on Qinglai Island, but he made a mistake and was sealed away. You can’t see him, but if you sing loudly, he will definitely hear you.”

Hu Tao could make up lies with ease.

"Huh? Kapachiri has been sealed away?" Aru asked, somewhat worried.

"Because he destroyed Crane Temple, Thor punished it. But don't worry, it's just been imprisoned."

"Oh, that's good."

Chapter 561 Goodbye, Aryu.

Hu Tao cast a spell, allowing Aru's soul to reside in a feather, and then handed the feather to Jiang Bai.

"Let's use the ley line anchor to take him to the platform at Tianyun Pass. He is both a soul and a collection of memories, so crossing the ley lines shouldn't be a problem."

"Mm." Jiang Bai nodded.

Jiang Bai led Aru to the nearest anchor point, chatting with her to ease her mood.

"Speaking of which, I remember you said that Thunderbirds can't talk."

Aryu, who had transformed into a phantom, scratched her head. "It's not speaking, it's like hearing a voice directly in my consciousness."

"Is that so? Does that mean we can communicate without language? That's amazing!"

"Yes! Kapachiri is incredibly talented."

"Aryu, what do you know about your previous civilization?"

Jiang Bai was quite curious about who the "she" Thunderbird was referring to, but judging from his tone, it was very likely someone he was loyal to, or someone who had once been his master.

Jiang Bai didn't believe that ordinary humans could raise such a powerful Thunderbird.

Thunderbirds appeared as early as the previous civilization of Heguan, while the murals in the underground ruins depict the moon.

In other words, the Thunderbird's former master was very likely one of the Moon Goddesses.

"I don't know. We only learned that people existed in Heguan a long time ago because we saw the ruins. I'm really curious about what those people looked like. People who have seen the murals said that there was no mist on the island back then, and you could see the moon and stars..."

Aryu looked up at the sky, which was shrouded in smog, and she couldn't see anything.

"I wonder what the stars and the moon look like; I've never seen them before..."

For those living in the fog, they don't even have a concept of stars and the moon.

But humans have always longed for the sky, even though they can't see anything there.

Aru knew very well that she was already dead, and what remained was only her soul.

Then the soul will gradually disappear as it leaves Heguan.

"If only I could have seen the stars before I disappeared..."

"Don't worry, you'll definitely see it," Jiang Bai assured him.

Upon arriving at the ley line anchor point, Jiang Bai teleported directly to the Seven Gods Statues on Qinglai Island.

In the night sky, the moonlight is bright, and the scattered stars are like the Milky Way spread across the sky.

Beautiful and serene.

Aru gasped in surprise upon seeing the outside world for the first time.

"Wow! So beautiful!"

He stared blankly at the starry sky, unwilling to blink.

So the sky is this beautiful?

So this is what the outside world is like?

It boasts beautiful and magnificent colors, and without the obstruction of mist, it offers direct views of the continuous mountain ranges and the boundless sea.

"Let's watch the sunrise here."

Jiang Bai sat on the ground atop the mountain, waiting for the eastern sky to lighten and reveal a rosy glow.

I don't know how much time passed, but the sky gradually brightened.

The bright red sun peeked out from the sea, tinging the azure sky with a rosy hue, and making the clouds appear magnificent.

No one spoke; the two watched silently as the sun rose, its warm rays gradually illuminating the surroundings.

“Brother Jiang Bai, let’s go sing for Kapachidi,” Aru said.

He could feel himself becoming weak.

"Ah."

Jiang Bai brought A-Lu to the sky above Tianyun Pass, to the huge platform that had once been there.

“Sing here, it can hear you.”

Aryu nodded without asking why the place was like this.

The children's clear and melodious singing voices drifted out, as if blessed by an invisible force, lingering throughout the entire Tianyun Wall.

The surrounding raging thunder seemed to subside, and the song, carrying the feather of Aryu, radiated a fiery glow.

It gradually changed shape, from a black and purple feather to a pure and flawless purple. The feather gradually solidified, losing its soft touch, becoming exquisite and beautiful as if it had been transformed into jade.

"Goodbye, Brother Jiang Bai." Aru waved, and her figure vanished into nothingness.

Goodbye, Aryu.

The feather slowly drifted down into Jiang Bai's hand.

Jiang Bai saw some images again.

Those are images from a very long time ago.

So long ago that even Thunderbird had forgotten about it.

At that time, there was no island in the sky.

Shortly after his birth, he flew freely in the air.

He saw the faceless moon goddess driving a high chariot, chasing the fleeting stars at the moment when day and night meet.

He saw the high and mighty Moon Goddess cast a cold glance at the Thunderbird.