Chapter 67: The Ancient Phoenix's Rejection

Qin Yu summons Qi, leaps upward, feeling the fierce cold wind whistling past his ears. The hazy mist rushes past his eyes, a blanket of white. He falls at a breakneck speed, his flesh tingling with a slight sting, blood surging, his meridians straining.

"Boom—boom—boom!" Qin Yu forces his eyes open, his ears feeling as if about to burst, the roaring echo continuing. At that moment, at the bottom of the cliff, a divine ray flickers. A voice of guidance sounds in his mind.

【You accepted the suggestion, chose to jump off the cliff at the highest peak of the Mystic Sun Sect, gaining overwhelming fortune, triggering deep within the Profound Heaven Sect mountains the buried spirit, the phoenix】

【It is drawn by your fortune, slowly breaking through the earth, seeking to forge a contract.】

Qin Yu has no time to react before he summons the celestial phenomenon, the surging blood instantly forming a shield to block the impact. He crashes into the cliff base, countless boulders shatter, fragments flying. Then a gentle force slowly envelops him. Much like the earlier Nirvana attribute, his damaged flesh recovers rapidly and he feels a faint strengthening. The power surges from deep within, and the intense pain vanishes in an instant.

"Plop." At that moment, a crisp sound comes from the ground beside him. A small red‑feathered bird, its head dust‑stained, eyes scanning all around, looks a bit dazed and cute. It pats its tiny feet and waddles toward Qin Yu like a chick. Its eyes, blinking like black pearls, swivel wildly. "Squeak?" It tilts its little head and gazes at Qin Yu, as if asking.

Qin Yu: "???" This opportunity is indeed powerful, but... I can hardly grasp it now. In the ancient texts of the Mystic Sun Sect, he once read that such legendary divine beasts existed only in antiquity, born from the myriad heavens and realms; each adult possesses world‑shattering power, near‑immortality, persisting through ages. Moreover, among their tier they are unrivaled, sweeping everything aside. Every such beast, or ancient great terror, is a truly top‑level powerhouse, terrifying beyond compare.

And now, a legendary phoenix has appeared like this... If it's discovered, can I, in my current state, withstand it? Even a Spirit Realm cultivator of the Mystic Sun Sect can easily manipulate me now. This could surely lead to disaster.

At that moment, Little Phoenix strokes its fluffy belly with its wing, the corners of its eyes curling slightly, as if tears glisten, looking very aggrieved, evoking pity. "Squeak squeak squeak." Qin Yu now understands—it's hungry. He immediately pulls a Foundation Pill from the Qiankun Bag; such divine beasts usually eat this treasure.

Little Phoenix snatches it with its wing, tosses it into its mouth, crunches twice, and swallows it whole. But… its little face immediately wrinkles. "Tastes awful… extremely, extremely awful…" Then it looks at Qin Yu again with grievance.

Qin Yu twitches the corner of his mouth; though he doesn't know why a Little Phoenix was buried beneath the Profound Heaven Sect's underground, this creature is clearly hard to raise. Or perhaps it's a gold‑swallowing beast. He promptly pulls out the two or three remaining Yellow‑tier Spiritual Medicines in his hand, leftovers from earlier alchemy and the Outer Gate Grand Competition.

Little Phoenix pouts, swallowing weakly, muttering that the quality… is terrible trash. Finally it steps forward, rummages the Qiankun Bag, its eyes like black gems scanning back and forth. It fixes its gaze on the Myriad Path Tree. Suddenly its eyes brighten, and its little wing points directly at that tree.

Qin Yu, seeing this, silently stuffs the Myriad Path Tree into his bag. It is now the most valuable item he possesses. It certainly cannot be given away, and it offers great benefit to cultivation. According to the Senior Elder of the Outer Gate, this item still seems to have room to grow. It is indeed a treasure. "You may choose any of the rest," he says, then places several Qiankun Bags on the ground and opens them.

Little Phoenix looks at the impurity‑filled spiritual stones inside, its little mouth pouting again. The one it should recognize as master… so poor? Is this truly a Fortune‑born child? According to the memory of bloodline inheritance, every Fortune‑born should be super‑rich, right? It falls into deep contemplation. Yet finally it flaps its wings. With each flap, tens of thousands of spiritual stones grow dim and lose all spirit. After a few breaths, the Qiankun Bag's spiritual stones have all had their Qi devoured.

Qin Yu: "......" This damn gold‑swallowing beast. He feels a pang of sympathy. He has already gathered about four hundred thousand spiritual stones; two more furnace‑crafted pills and he can buy longevity spiritual medicine. Little Phoenix's vital essence seems a bit fuller now; it lifts its red‑feathered wing feebly, and a drop of refined blood flows out.

Qin Yu senses an ancient oppressive force within it; though only a trace, his heart races. In this moment, he finally believes the legend in the ancient texts that a drop of blood can erase a living being. If a grown phoenix sheds a drop of refined blood, it could destroy an entire city. The energy it contains is beyond what ordinary cultivators can bear, terrifyingly immense. Qin Yu knows this is a recognition of master. He promptly draws a drop of refined blood from his fingertip, lets it flow in the air, and merges with it.

"Buzz—buzz—buzz!" Beside Little Phoenix, mysterious runes surge, eventually forming a translucent white sheet with flowing ink. Two drops of refined blood melt into it. Qin Yu feels a faint connection in his heart. In his mind, a youthful female voice sounds: "I want… eat… eat…" "Spiritual stones… taste bad." In human language, its speech is naive and clumsy, yet Qin Yu already grasps its meaning. He suddenly feels like crying. In the novels of Blue Star, isn't there always a divine beast to aid the hero? And the early chapters never mentioned any eating requirements. Isn't it just like ordinary demonic beasts? Why is it different for me? Now it wants to devour heavenly treasures? I've already swallowed four hundred thousand spiritual stones! You still want to eat! Where am I supposed to find more!

Before anyone could speak, several piercing sounds ripped the air. "Boom—boom—boom!" Sect Leader Yang Hao, along with Elder Wu and others, transformed into shafts of divine light, rushing here in a blaze, appearing at the cliff base. At that moment they saw a small red bird, now looking plaintively at Qin Yu. Everyone was stunned. Lin Xue had previously transmitted that Qin Yu had jumped off the cliff—how could he be unscathed? A thousand‑meter cliff would, even for a Foundation‑establishing cultivator, let alone a Spirit Realm cultivator, almost certainly cause severe injury and shatter the flesh. Yet Qin Yu is here playing with the little red bird as if nothing happened? The crowd frowned, thinking Lin Xue had deceived them. Anger rose instantly. But then they discovered a contract materializing out of thin air. Inside… seemed to contain an overwhelming ancient oppressive force, astonishingly powerful, like an ancient ferocious beast standing before them. Their internal Qi flow became obstructed. "Wait… Qin Yu has signed a contract with a beast?" "This oppressive force… might be scarier than the Primeval Relics?"