Chapter 28: The Mysterious Fruit
Regarding the legendary Peng bird, many ancient texts mention it, such as the "Classic of Gods and Marvels" in its Central Wasteland chapter and the "Commentary on the Water Classic." Among them, the most famous is Zhuang Zhou's "Free and Easy Wandering."
"In the Northern Abyss there is a fish, its name is Kun. The Kun is so vast, its size is unknown for thousands of li. It transforms into a bird, its name is Peng. The Peng's back is so vast, its size is unknown for thousands of li. When it rises in fury and takes flight, its wings spread like clouds hanging from the sky."
Zhuangzi, with a bold and majestic style, depicted a divine bird that could soar ninety thousand li into the sky, leaving readers in awe.
Clearly, this defies common sense about the existence of things; no matter how large a divine bird might be, it could not have such a form. This is an extremely exaggerated description by the ancients. Yet, what is puzzling is that many other ancient documents also record the Peng bird, and quite a few ancient texts assert with certainty that the Peng bird truly existed, though not as large as the legendary thousands of li.
This inevitably leads to all sorts of speculation: in that distant ancient world, did a divine bird named "Peng" truly exist?
Zhou Yi and the others watched as the golden figure, as if cast from molten gold, disappeared behind a cliff, all of them showing expressions of shock.
"A legendary divine bird!" many exclaimed after their initial petrification, a heartfelt awe. It had easily torn apart a giant elephant, then soared upward, carrying it off as if it were merely a rat or rabbit. Its immense size left them dumbfounded, and its colossal strength left them stunned.
Kade, looking serious, stammered, "That giant bird... belongs to the falconiform raptors. It's a... new species, a... great discovery."
"Go sit over there!" Pang Bo was truly speechless at this single-minded foreigner. What kind of time was this, still evaluating things with a scientific perspective? Had he forgotten how they even got here?
"Pang Bo, watch your tone." Li Xiaoman showed a displeased expression, her long eyelashes trembling slightly as her beautiful eyes glanced at him.
"I wasn't talking about you..." Pang Bo muttered softly.
"What kind of world have we come to?" After calming down, everyone had to ponder this question.
Traveling through the desolate cosmos, arriving at this star region where the Big Dipper's seven stars reside, entering such a mysterious world—had they truly come to the resting place of the gods?
How would they survive? That was the question on everyone's mind. The path ahead was unknown, and everything required careful consideration.
Many tightened their grip on the divine relics, but at this moment, all the Buddhist artifacts had lost their luster. Some had even cracked, covered in fissures, completely ruined.
The last bit of divine power in the relics had been absorbed by the ancient bronze coffin. Now, no divine radiance flowed through them; holding them was no different from holding scrap copper. Yet, no one discarded them, hoping the relics might gather divine radiance again for future use. If they could be repaired, they would become their greatest reliance.
"Gurgle"
Someone's stomach growled, and many felt embarrassed. People had to eat, drink, and relieve themselves. Several moved to find secluded spots.
"Too proud for your own good..." Pang Bo curled his lips in disdain. "I had the foresight to leave my great mark at the Heavenly Palace ruins on Mars. I think even a few hundred years from now, it'll be one of the greatest testimonies to humanity's exploration of the stars!"
"Pfft"
Ye Fan sprayed out the water he had just drunk, nearly dropping the bottle in his hand.
"Brother, don't say stuff like that when I'm drinking, alright? It could kill someone."
The others couldn't stand the two of them and moved farther away, awkwardly taking care of their own business.
Seeing everyone's reactions, Pang Bo laughed heartily, then deliberately coughed heavily in a certain direction, making as if to walk over. This made the people behind the trees tremble, their own business not going so smoothly.
Pang Bo chuckled twice, then crouched down, picked up two stones, and threw them. From behind the distant vines came Li Changqing's angry shout: "Who? Who's so damn mean?" accompanied by Liu Yunzhi's irritated snort.
Seeing this guy pick up another stone, aiming it toward where Li Xiaoman had gone, Ye Fan quickly stopped him with a laugh.
As everyone emerged one after another, Pang Bo immediately put on a serious face, then dragged Ye Fan to start searching the mountains. He walked up without any pretense, as if he weren't an outsider, seemingly forgetting how he had maliciously targeted Ye Fan not long ago, nearly causing his death. He reached out to grab the other three fruits in Pang Bo's hand.