Chapter 226

Looking at Zhang Taixuan, "San Si Qi"'s gaze turned adoring, as if seeing him as family.

With a sudden jerk, it flew out of the egg, flames erupting over its body to dry its feathers; by the time it landed on Zhang Taixuan's shoulder, not a trace of dampness remained.

"Lì!"

The fledgling chirped clearly, carrying a fierce, savage aura—though its tone was soft, it evoked a deep sense of terror.

Above the Taixuan World, the sun, once merely a projection, gradually solidified into a true star.

"Little Jin Wu, from now on, you are the Sun Deity of my Taixuan World."

"Lì~!"

The fledgling responded warmly, rubbing its head against Zhang Taixuan's cheek; then, suddenly, it spread its wings and pointed toward the empty eggshell.

"Fine, I'll plant it for you!"

Jin Wu, divine beast, Sun Divine Bird.

Each Jin Wu is born with a seed of the Fusang Divine Tree.

Whether it can grow or not depends entirely on the Jin Wu's own ability.

Zhang Taixuan reached out and seized it; the eggshell landed in his palm, revealing a trace of residual fluid within, floating atop which was a red seed.

The little Jin Wu drew close, rubbing its head against his cheek again, as if urging him.

"Alright, little one, you're small but impatient."

He pulled out the Qiankun Cauldron, tossed in the eggshell along with the seed, and activated Dao Fire; the next moment, the eggshell melted, perfectly fusing with the Fusang seed.

Under the force of Dao Fire, the Fusang seed rapidly took root, sprouted, and grew into a sapling one chi tall.

The Fusang Tree, a Fire-element spiritual root, defies conventional planting methods—it must be watered with fire to take root.

At its earliest stage, if it touches water, whether it survives is up to heaven alone.

This knowledge came to Zhang Taixuan from observing the patterns on the Fusang seed.

The little Jin Wu, seeing the Fusang seed enter the cauldron, was startled.

Then it watched as the Qiankun Cauldron opened, and a tiny sapling flew out.

"Lì?" The little Jin Wu gazed in confusion, not understanding why the Fusang Tree was unharmed.

"Little one, don't you have ancestral memories?" Zhang Taixuan exclaimed in surprise; after a quick mental calculation, he understood the answer: "Your Jin Wu lineage's inheritance is bizarre—it only activates upon reaching a certain realm. No wonder this world has no extra Fusang Divine Trees!"

Jin Wu are inherently rare.

Fusang Divine Tree seeds have been killed off for various reasons.

That's why, in the original story, only the Sun Holy Emperor possessed one Fusang Divine Tree.

Taking the little Jin Wu outside, he planted it in a dry patch of land and summoned the Little Green Vial.

At this moment, the vial contained over a hundred drops of medicinal fluid; he inverted it, flinging the Creation Fluid onto the Fusang Divine Tree's root system.

The next instant, the Fusang Divine Tree erupted into frantic growth.

One meter… two meters… twelve hundred meters tall.

Its trunk also swelled to an enormous size.

Accelerated by tens of thousands of years of growth, the Fusang Tree was now extraordinary, evoking an ancient, desolate aura as if it had sprung from the primordial past.

The little Jin Wu's worldview shattered again; it stared at Zhang Taixuan, eyes wide with awe.

"Dad is so amazing!"

This was its true inner thought.

It took flight, landing on a branch, feeling pure solar essence flow toward it, accelerating its growth.

"Lì!"

After a moment, the little Jin Wu let out an unwilling chirp and flew back.

Zhang Taixuan smiled lightly: "You'll live here from now on—it's my world, after all."

The little Jin Wu hesitated, then flew up to the Fusang Tree, found a branch, and curled the limbs into a nest.

"Hǒu!"

Sensing the aura of a Fire-element divine beast, the Fire Qilin of the Taixuan World ambled over, gazing at the Jin Wu on the Fusang Tree, emitting a low growl, its eyes brimming with hostility.

"Enough, this is Jin Wu—future friends, no fighting, alright?" Zhang Taixuan warned. "You're thousands of years old—surely you won't bully a newborn bird?"

The Fire Qilin froze.

Do beastkind even have such rules?

Not bullying the weak? How boring!

But sensing Zhang Taixuan's gaze growing sharper, the Fire Qilin reluctantly submitted, wagging its tail in a show of friendliness…

Just then, it spotted another white figure flying toward them.

It was a celestial crane.

"Master!"

Approaching closely, the crane spoke warmly.

The Fire Qilin grew wary again.

"From now on, the Qilin is my mount; you'll help Young Lady Thunder and Lightning manage the Grotto Heaven," Zhang Taixuan mused, then pointed, transforming the crane into human form.

After a flash of Bai Guang, a young woman in white robes appeared in its place.

After refining the Transformation Technique, Zhang Taixuan could now transform an animal's Mao Fa into clothing, eliminating the crude sight of bare flesh.

"I'm not a mount anymore?" The crane girl stood frozen, delighted yet filled with sorrow.

Especially seeing the Fire Qilin beside her, tail swishing triumphantly, her sadness deepened.

She was unemployed!

Becoming the mount of a world's lord was no humiliation at all.

At least for beasts, this was a heavenly stroke of luck.

Now, this stroke of luck has been snatched away by the Fire Kirin.

Divine beast!

Can a divine beast bully others?!

"Yes, Master."

With a plaintive cry, the Young Lady crane drifted away slowly.

"You," Zhang Taixuan gazed at the Fire Kirin, "after all this time, why haven't you learned the Kirin Divine Art? You're a Kirin—how can you not know the Kirin Divine Art?"

The Fire Kirin was instantly dumbfounded.

It had already mastered one of the Kirin Divine Art's divine abilities.

To cultivate the complete Kirin Divine Art also requires time.

It had once thought itself a genius, but now, after its Master's words, the Kirin began to doubt its own talent.

"Come here. I'll give you a superb divine ability—a passive boost. From now on, you'll be a genius among geniuses."

The Kirin stepped forward.

Zhang Taixuan extended his hand, condensing a thread of Chaotic Primordial Force into the glyph of the Heaven-Man Unity divine ability, and drove it into the Kirin's soul-realm.

Instantly, the Fire Kirin felt its mind crystal clear, its thoughts accelerating by more than a thousandfold; in an instant, the once confusing Kirin Divine Art became perfectly clear—its magic power surged, the Kirin leapt into the air, golden auspicious clouds rising beneath its feet, while a soft radiance glowed over its body, making it appear sacred and extraordinary.

It was the Kirin Treading Clouds technique.

Only after mastering this divine ability did the Kirin truly take on the form of an auspicious beast.

"Zhang Junbao is in dire peril—we must go."

Zhang Taixuan leapt lightly onto the Kirin's back, opened the Dimension-Traveling Gate, and stepped into it.