Phoenix Brood

The phoenix opened its golden eyes and stared unblinkingly at the two of them as they drew nearer.

Blood qi churned thickly in its pupils; it tried to move its wings, only to tug against the iron chains etched with inscriptions.

The chains flared with blinding golden light, and the phoenix shut its eyes in pain.

Qi Xianqing looked at it for a long moment. “It has an inner demon.”

Qi Xianqing and Yan Jue stood five steps away from the phoenix, exactly at the edge of the barrier.

The pale golden barrier gave off faint ripples of light.

Neither of them stepped any farther.

Yan Jue was still hesitating when she suddenly saw the divine bird phoenix open its eyes again. Firelight flickered in those golden irises.

“Wu ao——” The phoenix suddenly opened its beak and let out a deep, muffled cry.

It coughed up a few drops of blood; the bloody light arced through the air and splashed onto Yan Jue’s forehead.

A flash of white burst before Yan Jue’s eyes.

Boom—

In an instant, countless ancient words and images exploded in her mind.

Yan Jue’s pupils widened slightly. In that instant, she saw an extremely dark scene. It seemed to be at the summit of Jade Blossom Mountain, where the divine bird phoenix stood proudly.

Then came the era of the turbulent war between immortals and demons, the phoenix soaring across the heavens.

Then the scene abruptly changed.

The phoenix was suppressed beneath the mountain by members of the Phoenix Clan, its body wrapped in chains.

—The world was no longer in chaos. There was no longer any need for a pureblood phoenix.

The images in Yan Jue’s mind moved at a dizzying speed; her pupils trembled wildly as she instantly absorbed the overwhelming flood of information.

The phoenix was not only the divine beast of Luan Terrace; it had once been its king.

In those turbulent years, the Phoenix Clan needed the phoenix.

So back then, the phoenix had been the king of Luan Terrace.

In front of the phoenix, the people of the Phoenix Clan were no different from ants; everything they did had to obey the pureblood phoenix’s command.

During the great war between immortals and demons, the pureblood phoenix had indeed been an indispensable fighting force for Luan Terrace, helping it greatly and allowing it to rise among the six great immortal sects.

After the Demon Lords of Soul-severing Mountain and Valley of Death were suppressed beneath Chalk Mountain, peace returned to the world.

The phoenix continued to serve as king of Luan Terrace, ruling the entire territory.

But after living in peace for too long, some within Luan Terrace began to question the phoenix’s rule. As time passed, many opponents of the phoenix emerged within the clan.

In the end, the clan staged a rebellion.

Under those circumstances, Luan Terrace truly no longer needed the phoenix, because they had countless phoenix fetuses; by relying on them, they could raise their own bloodline.

And so, the phoenix was suppressed beneath the mountain.

Yan Jue spent half a cup of tea’s time absorbing that immense amount of information, then suddenly opened her eyes, everything clear in her mind.

Yan Jue: “The phoenix has been imprisoned here for years, so it developed an inner demon.”

Which was why it had been exploited by demonic cultivators.

The demonic cultivators outside must have used some method to break into this secret realm where the phoenix was sealed, then used demonic arts to stir up its inner demon.

Only then could the phoenix manifest a clone for them to use.

Yan Jue frowned slightly and turned to Qi Xianqing. “Its inner demon should be dispelled with the jade seal.”

She was a little uncertain; although the jade seal worked well against mental damage, it was not omnipotent.

Qi Xianqing: “It’s worth a try.”

Yan Jue nodded, took out the bluish-green jade seal from her Qiankun bag, and activated it at once.

The jade seal released a faint halo into the air, and the massive cloud of black qi above the phoenix’s head began to be gradually absorbed by the seal.

But the phoenix’s inner demon was clearly stubborn; that mass of black qi lingered thickly around the jade seal and refused to disperse. In the end, a shallow crack actually appeared on the jade seal itself.

The phoenix closed its eyes, curled up on the ground, and let out a weak groan.

A layer of sweat broke out on Yan Jue’s forehead as she controlled the jade seal to continue dealing with the black qi swirling above it.

Then something soft pressed lightly against her back.

A chill stream of true qi flowed into her meridians; Qi Xianqing was helping her.

Yan Jue steadied herself and once again sent true qi into the jade seal.

Crack— the fissure in the bluish-green jade seal grew larger and larger.

After all, it was her own magical artifact, and Yan Jue could not help feeling a pang of heartache.

The black qi coiling above the phoenix’s head gradually vanished.

The phoenix opened its eyes to look at her. Those dazzling golden pupils remained, but the brutality had faded from them, replaced by a hint of gentleness.

Suddenly, a deep voice sounded in Yan Jue’s ear. “This place is the Myriad Phenomena Secret Realm.”

“Our kind has been suppressed here for over a thousand years. If the immortal lady can save us, we will be endlessly grateful. All the treasures in this secret realm may be yours.”

Yan Jue froze.

Save it.

How was she supposed to save it?

Qi Xianqing suddenly stepped forward and pointed above them.

Qi Xianqing: “Look up there.”

Yan Jue froze, then hurriedly looked up.

The place where the phoenix was suppressed lay at the edge of the valley; the iron chains on its body were tangled like roots, all firmly anchored into the cliff wall. At the very top of that cliff was a protruding stretch of flat ground.

There was actually a talisman stuck there.

Under the sunlight, the talisman gave off a faint golden glow and fluttered in the wind.

Qi Xianqing came to the cliff wall, grabbed a vine, and stepped onto a rock to look up. “A mountain-sealing talisman.”

She had originally intended to go up, but her vision suddenly went black. Perhaps it was because she had just had her yang qi absorbed by Yan Jue; she had not fully recovered yet.

“Senior Sister.” Yan Jue helped her down, her eyes clear. “I’ll go up.”

Qi Xianqing had originally wanted to force herself, but seeing Yan Jue like this, the corners of her lips curved slightly. “All right. Be careful.”

Seeing her like that, Yan Jue frowned a little and could not help feeling somewhat guilty.

It felt as if she had completely drained Qi Xianqing dry.

And Qi Xianqing had not complained at all.

In the future, she really should not absorb Qi Xianqing’s yang qi anymore.

There were restrictions in the Myriad Phenomena Secret Realm; sword flight could not be used freely here. With that thought, Yan Jue leapt upward, grabbed a vine on the cliff wall with one hand, and under the sunlight, her slender figure traced a graceful curve. With a slight push from her leg, she stepped onto the next layer of rock ledges.

Yan Jue jumped again and climbed to another ledge.

Her lightness skill had always been excellent; before long, she reached the top.

At some point, the sun had sunk below the horizon, and a smear of blood-red clouds had appeared in the sky.

It was already dusk.

The fierce wind whipped Yan Jue’s black hair around, stinging her cheeks. Standing at this height, she could take in the entire forest at a glance. Yan Jue drew a deep breath and bent down to peel off the talisman.

Instantly, the ground trembled and the mountains shook.

Yan Jue swayed, steadied herself, then flipped forward and landed firmly in front of Qi Xianqing.

At that moment, the chains suppressing the phoenix began to tremble violently, and countless broken stones rolled down from the cliff.

The pureblood phoenix opened its golden eyes and threw back its head with a deafening cry.

It beat its wings desperately and struggled with all its strength.

Each time it struggled, the chains on its body flared with a faint light.

That light grew dimmer and dimmer until, at last, it vanished completely. The phoenix let out another furious roar and beat its wings madly.

The iron chains fell away from its body all at once, and the entire mountain collapsed with a thunderous crash.

The phoenix, however, seemed to have lost all its strength and slumped to the ground. Faint light flowed over its body.

Yan Jue blinked in surprise. When that light fully faded, a small yellow chick appeared before her.

The chick had large wings and a listless face; looking at its expression, it even seemed a little annoyed. On its pale yellow forehead was a strand of intricate patterning.

It lay on the ground, making squeaking sounds.

Yan Jue: “...”

The barrier set up here had completely disappeared. The two of them walked up to the chick, and the little thing stood up, looking at them.

Qi Xianqing crouched down and extended a hand; the chick immediately poked its sharp beak over, rubbing it back and forth in her palm.

In the dusk light, Qi Xianqing stroked the chick’s sparse, somewhat ugly down, a trace of softness slipping into her eyes that was nearly impossible to notice.

Seeing this, Yan Jue could not help but pause.

How had she been drawn to Qi Xianqing?

Perhaps it was because Qi Xianqing had originally been nothing more than a chilly, aloof, ruthless blade of a person, yet she could always see a completely different side of her.

The one who killed demons outside without even blinking could also sit beside the Cold Pool and dote on a fox to no end.

The immortal who was usually so cold and lofty could, on the eve of the Five-Dragon Summit, sit alone in the courtyard of Frozen Peach Haven eating spicy hotpot.

No matter what Qi Xianqing looked like in others’ eyes, Yan Jue had seen the most unreliable side of her; and she was the only one who had.

No matter how ruthless Qi Xianqing was toward others, it should not affect her opinion of Qi Xianqing even a little.

Qi Xianqing should always be the Qi Xianqing she liked.

The chick on the ground slowly flapped its wings, staring up at them with its beak slightly open.

Yan Jue came back to herself and could not help laughing. “Senior Sister, it’s hungry.”

Qi Xianqing stood with her hands behind her back and glanced at her. “Then why aren’t you feeding it?”

The phoenix, which had once been so mighty and fierce, had now turned into this state; Yan Jue found it truly novel. She took several chopped dried fruits from her Qiankun bag and handed them over.

The chick pecked at the fruit happily.

After eating, it lifted its head and stared at them with black-bean eyes, looking pitiful.

“Little one, we saved you and fed you.” Yan Jue crouched down and looked at it with amused composure. “Shouldn’t you repay us?”

The chick tilted its head, apparently not really understanding.

Qi Xianqing turned her face toward Yan Jue. In the sunset, the girl wore a plain pleated skirt; her face was delicate and lovely. When she smiled, her brows and eyes curved, making her look as if she did not care about anything at all.

Yan Jue: “We want a few phoenix fetuses; that’s not too much to ask, is it?”

This time, the chick probably understood.

It suddenly stood up, wings lifting behind it, and charged straight off in that direction.

Qi Xianqing and Yan Jue followed behind it.

Passing through dense grass, then through a stretch of forest, they soon arrived before a deep, shadowy cave.

The chick chirped and darted straight inside.

Qi Xianqing hesitated for a moment, then followed it in.

The sky had already gone completely dark, yet the cave was lit by a faint, dim glow.

There was clearly no light source nearby.

The light came from deep within the cave.

The two of them walked several dozen steps in; the light from deeper inside only grew stronger and stronger. Yan Jue’s heartbeat suddenly quickened for no reason, as if whatever lay ahead could rouse dread and reverence in her all at once.

The air around them also grew colder and colder.

On the rock walls to either side, it seemed as if a layer of ice-blue frost had condensed.

The chick led them around a bend, and soon they reached the deepest part of the cave.

Yan Jue froze slightly.

At the cave’s deepest point was actually a world of ice and snow.

On the thick sheet of ice were embedded small, uneven eggs of many colors; their shapes were somewhat like stones, and those little eggs were flickering with a soft glow, like the most precious top-grade spirit stones.

Phoenix fetuses.