Chapter 567: The Wan Yao Dian, Unkind to Yu Nanhong

"Nngh—"

The Blue Phoenix Chieftain had never imagined it could still have a chance to escape death.

A few days ago, when it had the children search around for news, it did hear about that mysterious faction, and learned a little more from Seventh Master Qi.

The Glazed Blue Phoenix clan had always lived on a remote peak in West Hong, rarely getting involved in disputes, and it hadn't felt the matter had much to do with itself.

But who could have expected that the first time it saw the Wan Yao Dian, the other party had saved its life from a Heavenly Realm expert!

The Blue Phoenix Chieftain was no greenhorn either.

It certainly knew there was no free lunch under heaven, let alone from the notoriously fierce Wan Yao Dian.

This group of great demons must have some scheme in mind.

But now that Ji Jingxi had set its sights on it, probably even Seventh Master Qi couldn't save it; better to be a slave or servant of the Wan Yao Dian than to lose one's life.

"Hah! Hah!"

The Blue Phoenix Chieftain's expression was tense, and even its breathing grew heavy.

Finally escaping the shroud of that celestial moonlight, it let out a slight breath of relief, and cast a wary glance all around.

Just then, this massive Blue Phoenix froze in an instant.

It saw, right ahead, a tall, slender figure standing with arms at its sides, black robes stained with blood, thick dark clouds drifting around, the youth seeming to have waited here for quite some time.

The comer meant ill!

A thick chill rose in the Blue Phoenix's heart; already strung tight to the breaking point, it now blurted out at the top of its voice: "Who blocks the road! This seat is under the Wan Yao Dian, our Hall Master is nearby—be off with you at once!"

"…"

Shen Yi slightly raised his eyes, and suddenly recalled the last Glazed Blue Phoenix that, upon meeting him, had cried out "My Lord."

The temperament of these phoenix demons was indeed passed down through the bloodline—far more sensible than other demon clans.

"This is none of your affair, do not bring trouble on yourself!"

Seeing the black-robed youth stay silent, the Blue Phoenix Chieftain immediately grew bolder. Setting aside everything else, the Wan Yao Dian's fearsome name was still quite useful—who wouldn't fear a band of lunatics who casually slaughtered even disciples of the Liangdaohuang Sect.

Whoosh—

In an instant, a streak of flowing light fled in from afar.

It landed lightly atop the Blue Phoenix's head, transforming into a petite figure.

The Blue Phoenix had only just begun to flare up when it saw the dark-gold hem of robes swaying gently before its eyes; instantly, several shades of fawning crept into its gaze, and its posture grew even lower than when it had been at the West Long Gong: "This little demon greets the Hall Master! Many thanks to the Hall Master for saving my life!"

In such a short time, the other party could casually send Ji Jingxi packing; the terror of that strength surely far exceeded its previous imaginings.

In these turbulent times, being able to cling to such a thick tree trunk was a decent way out.

Yet the Blue Phoenix received no response from atop its head; uneasy, its words grew more hurried: "This little demon is willing to serve the Hall Master with all the loyalty of a hound and a horse!"

The next moment, the figure beneath the dark-gold robe slightly crouched, pressing a delicate palm onto the Blue Phoenix's head.

Such a slight motion rendered this enormous Blue Phoenix utterly unable to resist, lowering its long neck; it raised its eyes in alarm and dread, staring at the toes of the youth's shoes ahead, not daring even to draw a heavy breath.

"Th-this… this…" it trembled faintly all over.

Roar!

From beneath the broad hood, a tiger's roar suddenly burst forth, cutting off the Blue Phoenix's words!

Within that tiger's roar, the Blue Phoenix's demon soul struggled as it was forcibly ripped from its body, then rapidly disintegrated amid invisible ripples.

The last thing in its fading vision was that petite figure straightening up once more, and bowing respectfully toward the youth ahead.

【Slain: Glazed Blue Phoenix of Earth Realm Perfection, total lifespan 540,000 years, remaining lifespan 170,000 years】

【Remaining demon lifespan: 1,160,000 years】

"What happened to your right hand?"

Shen Yi casually stored away the Blue Phoenix's corpse, and cast his gaze toward An Yi.

He had just noticed that this little tiger demon had, unusually, used her left hand when pressing down on the head.

"Just a small wound."

An Yi gently rolled up her sleeve, revealing a right arm covered in cracks, and explained softly: "She was much stronger than me; there wasn't time, I could only take it head-on."

Hearing this, Shen Yi was slightly taken aback.

He was somewhat surprised by the strength of that Qingyue Sect Master.

When he had first met the Liu Sect elders, Elder Liu Shiqian's performance had made one think the Qingyue Sect was the bottom of the Liu Sect.

"Alright, let's head back and recuperate first."

Shen Yi gathered his thoughts, and drew An Yi back into his Sea of Consciousness.

This was the best one could do under the circumstances.

After all, the South Hall Master had already decided: every single Glazed Blue Phoenix was to be spared if at all possible, let alone its chieftain.

Earlier, having sensed the moonlight, Shen Yi had roughly guessed what had happened here.

If he had spoken up and asked Sect Master Ji for this Blue Phoenix, it would very likely have worked.

But even with the dark clouds' aid, Shen Yi found it hard to match a true Heavenly Realm expert in long-distance travel speed; the gap in foundation was simply too great, so he could only let An Yi come ahead first to save that phoenix demon.

The Yu Nanhong Seven did indeed need aid.

But from what Shen Yi had seen of the situation in West Hong, rather than seeking reinforcements from the Gedaxian Sect, it was better to seek them from the demons—not only was the efficiency higher, the effect was greater too.

Thinking of this, he released Yu Lan, whom he hadn't seen in a long while.

"Yu Lan greets My Lord."

Dark Phoenix soul, Blue Phoenix body.

This South Hall Master had always been of a temperament unwilling to remain under another's heel—otherwise, how could she have weathered the calamity of illness?

But ever since slaying the young Blue Phoenix last time, her master had never encountered another Blue Phoenix, leaving her stuck at the Bai Yu Jing level; who would have thought that the moment her turn came, it would be such a generous gift.

Yu Lan watched in silence as her master took out the three phoenix demon corpses; even as she strove to steady her spirit, the fingertips beneath her blue feathered robe could not help but tremble faintly.

Setting aside those two phoenix demons from Bai Yujing, this patriarch of the Azure Phoenix clan is a genuine great demon at the peak of the Earth realm.

Such heaven-soaring advancement could probably only be bestowed by the Master.

With a wave of Shen Yi's hand, the three corpses instantly transformed into a river of blood that wrapped around Yu Lan. While the Town Stone was being elevated, he wasn't idle either, and began condensing demon-origin essence.

Not every Town Stone can be as economical as An Yi's.

However, reshaping a single wisp of a demon soul at the Dao-Unification realm would likely cost even more; better to just feed it to the Mysterious Phoenix he'd already grown accustomed to using.

The Town Stone's aura surged rapidly.

It leapt from Bai Yujing all the way to the Dao-Unification realm, only stopping once it barely reached the great perfection of the Earth realm.

And the demon soul needed the same elevation.

Shen Yi quickly fed in twenty-seven demon-origin essences, finally coaxing Yu Lan into moving again.

The full-bodied figure wrapped in a long gown of azure feathers trembled slightly. She slowly opened her eyes and looked down at her palms in pleasant surprise—such majestic demon power; if left to her own devices, she would likely never achieve it in this lifetime.

"Yu Lan thanks my Master for the gracious reward!"

"It's not over yet."

Shen Yi transmitted the contact technique he'd forced out of An Yi to the remaining three Palace Masters.

Even the weakest among them, Ke Shisan, had barely stepped over the threshold of the Earth realm. Sending them to deal with true powerhouses might not be useful, but merely hunting down the remaining Liuli Azure Phoenix clansmen was absolutely sufficient.

If he could get Yu Lan to break through into the Heavenly realm category before returning to Yu Nanhong, then when the time came, even if he couldn't suppress the South Long Gong—after all, the Prince Nanlong King really was unreasonably strong—just protecting the South Yang treasure land shouldn't be much of a problem.

"We humbly obey our Master's decree."

The three Palace Masters accepted the order and transformed into streaks of light, fleeing toward the surrounding area.

After their figures had completely vanished.

Shen Yi finally looked ahead. At the far end of the clear sky, a faint glimmer of moonlight had already begun to emerge.

That Ji Sect Master was actually still tracking the Azure Phoenix's aura.

Shen Yi didn't have such convenient aura-concealing methods as the Town Stone, nor could he transform into a streak of light at any moment to return to Wan Yao Dian to avoid being accidentally harmed by the moonlight. He obediently hovered in the air.

Before long, a familiar graceful figure drew near.

"You... why are you here?"

Ji Jingxi had sensed the familiar scent from far off, so she quickened her pace. But upon seeing Shen Yi with her own eyes, she couldn't help but feel a little surprised.

One must remember, from the time she received news of his safety from Deng Xiangjun, rose to return to Yunhe Sect, and then pursued the Azure Phoenix patriarch, no more than a few days had passed.

Shen Yi had just finished his clash with An Tingfeng—why would he appear here?

Looking again at this young Sect Master, the bloodstains on his body had long since dried, yet a fresh scent of blood lingered in the air around him.

"Just happened to be passing by. I sensed the moonlight and came to take a look." Shen Yi offered a casual explanation.

"..."

Ji Jingxi faltered for a moment. She had clearly come pursuing the Azure Phoenix, yet now that Azure Phoenix's aura had completely vanished from heaven and earth.

She recalled what Hong Xiu had once said—that Sect Master Shen had some odd quirks.

His hurried appearance didn't look like someone who just happened to be passing by.

On that pretty face of the Qingyue Sect Master, a strange look crept in: "Is it dead?"

"Dead." Shen Yi nodded.

"So what Deng Xiangjun said—that you slew An Tingfeng—is also true?" Ji Jingxi pressed her lips together, then suddenly took a few steps closer.

"True." Shen Yi tilted his body slightly, only to find himself face-to-face with that fair, delicate countenance right before his eyes. He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow: "..."

"Then, do you happen to know me? I mean, before you left the South Yang treasure land."

In Ji Jingxi's clear eyes, the usual cool composure was gone, replaced by earnest intensity.

She stared fixedly into Shen Yi's eyes, refusing to give him any chance to look away.

As a Heavenly realm cultivator, Ji Jingxi was quite certain she didn't possess any ability to reincarnate and rebirth, nor could she achieve it through prior arrangements.

But the senior brothers and sisters still held onto hope—after all, back then Qin Shixiong had been at the great perfection of the Heavenly realm. Perhaps in the course of battling an immortal, he had broken through to the Dao realm. Perhaps a Dao realm cultivator could possess such mysterious methods...

"I don't know you. Never heard of you."

Shen Yi wasn't a fool. He was well aware what this woman had misunderstood—after all, the speed at which his realm advanced was truly difficult to explain by common sense.

He could have easily borrowed the identity of "Qin Shixiong" to conceal his panel while also requesting the Sect Masters of the Qizide Sect—especially these few at the Heavenly realm—to do many things for him.

But without the slightest hesitation, he shook his head and denied her guess.

Doing so was rather pointless.

Moreover, with a Heavenly realm Town Stone protecting him, he didn't really need to explain everything to others anymore.

Shen Yi's crisp, decisive response left Ji Jingxi momentarily stunned. The young man's eyes were so calm—even straining her gaze to the utmost, she could only find a mere two or three parts of carefully concealed wariness and distance, as if he felt offended.

"..."

Ji Jingxi frowned slightly, then stepped back a little, and immediately noticed that the wariness in Shen Yi's eyes dissipated along with it.

She pressed her lips together, somewhat speechless: "You—"

Sure enough, this kid just felt she was standing too close to him.

This absolutely could not be the reaction Qin Shixiong should have. If it really were Zhu Shixiong, no matter how much he restrained himself, he absolutely could not have shown such an expression toward his little junior sister.

"Really isn't him after all."

Ji Jingxi sighed in a mosquito-thin voice, a little disappointed. But having already had a hundred thousand years of mental preparation, she didn't lose her composure too much.

But soon, she looked at Shen Yi again. If it wasn't Qin Shixiong's reincarnation, then all the wondrous things happening to Shen Yi could only be attributed to himself.

Thinking of this, a tremor of awe inevitably rose in the heart of this Qingyue Sect Master.

So it turns out cultivation in this world could be like this.

Rather than saying the Qizide Sect had sheltered him for a time, it was more accurate to say that they had been fortunate enough to witness the days before a Taiyi Zhenxian had fully grown.

"Hah."

Ji Jingxi adjusted her mood, glancing around the vicinity with a hint of nervousness.

Once a person has attachments, they can no longer afford to lose, and their courage diminishes as well.

For instance, right now, she did not want her own self to cause any mishap to befall this young sect master: "Come with me first, Wan Yao Dian is nearby. You still wanted to protect that Azure Phoenix, but now that you've killed it, you've offended Wan Yao Dian — we cannot linger."

Having said that, she directly took hold of Shen Yi's sleeve and led him toward the waters.

Shen Yi hesitated for a moment, but in the end did not refuse.

He roughly knew where Sect Master Ji intended to take him. It just so happened that he had left in a hurry earlier; the West Long Gong was a place he would have to visit sooner or later, so getting familiar with the terrain in advance would do no harm.

……

West Hong, the peak of Yushan.

A resplendent inner chamber.

Zi Xian was still sitting on the bed, though her clothes were slightly disheveled and her demeanor somewhat languid.

This was a deliberate act on her part, meant to prevent Jingxi from feeling too distant — so that upon returning, it would feel like sisters in a boudoir chatting about everyday matters.

Between breaths, Zi Xian sensed that long-cherished aura.

She hurriedly sat up a little straighter, swept her sleeve to push open the door, a smile playing at the corner of her lips: "You're back—"

The Dragon Consort's smile stiffened, and her words cut off abruptly.

"……"

Ji Jingxi's fingertips twitched, and she instinctively tugged the youth beside her behind her.

Zi Xian drew a deep breath, staring at that familiar face.

She had absolutely no idea why, after clearly saying she was leaving, the other party had suddenly returned to West Hong — truly a haunting presence that would not disperse!

She put away her smile, tugged at her clothes to cover the large expanse of eye-catching fair skin, and said with a forced, mirthless smile: "Please, come in."

Shen Yi, for his part, showed no particular reaction, and stepped leisurely into the inner chamber.

He was simply rather curious.

Last time they met, this Dragon Consort had been quite polite — why was she now carrying a hint of unfriendliness?

However… unfriendliness suited him just fine.

If every demon and monster were kind and amiable toward him, given the saying that one doesn't strike a smiling face, who would Shen Mou's path of cultivation be walked by? He couldn't very well walk it himself.

"Could you be a bit more careful next time."

Ji Jingxi reminded in a helpless low voice, truly baffled — the other party was, after all, a Purple-Bearded White Dragon on par with the Heavenly Realm; surely she could spare the effort to sense who was outside the door.

"You're one to talk."

Zi Xian rolled her eyes, her tone teasing: "Little Jingxi, oh little Jingxi, you've truly learned bad habits from those senior brothers of yours."

In the past, Ji Jingxi would absolutely never have done something like this — she was only acting this way because she had Zi Xian to back her up and wasn't afraid of the news getting out.

And to tell the truth, she really could not just sit by and let that news spread.

"They really went too far."

Ji Jingxi found a seat beside Shen Yi. With her own sect master present, Zi Xian would have to rein herself in somewhat.

Zi Xian took in the scene, especially Shen Yi's calm demeanor, and suddenly felt her teeth itch with irritation, grinding them as she muttered under her breath: "I, on the other hand, think you're the one going too far."

"By the way, I ran into Wan Yao Dian." Ji Jingxi looked over seriously.

"Mm?"

Hearing this, Zi Xian instantly dropped her playful air, her expression turning solemn: "There really is a Wan Yao Dian?"

Although this information had been given to Ji Jingxi by her, it had actually only been a rumor obtained from people under Ke Laoqi's command — it sounded convincing, but in truth she had never seen it with her own eyes.

"How strong are they?"

Hearing this, Ji Jingxi hesitated for a moment, then said cautiously: "Not weak — at least I couldn't do anything about her. However, it seemed she only came to save that phoenix demon, with no real intention to fight; she left after just a single exchange."

"Who had the upper hand?" Zi Xian furrowed her brow tightly.

If Wan Yao Dian truly had a Heavenly Realm great demon, that was no laughing matter—every Heavenly Realm powerhouse was no fool; why would they offend the Liangdaohuang Sect for no reason? It could only prove that they truly had the confidence.

"I used a divine ability, and she merely resisted with her demon body — I couldn't wound her." Ji Jingxi's eyes flickered, then continued: "Moreover, she left whenever she wished, transforming into a black streak of light to escape; I couldn't hold her."

"……"

Zi Xian fell into thought. She suddenly recalled the last time An Tingfeng had inexplicably gone mad — it seemed that one had also transformed into a black streak of light to flee, and in the end had redirected the disaster, setting this fire onto Yu Nanhong and the Seven Sons… that is, onto the detestable young man before her.

"Wan Yao Dian bears you no goodwill — be careful."

Zi Xian finally swallowed her grievance and offered Shen Yi a reminder.

"Many thanks."

Shen Yi gave a slight nod of his chin, saying nothing more.

The views of these two Heavenly Realm powerhouses could, in fact, represent the majority of West Hong's forces. If even they couldn't make out the details of Wan Yao Dian, then there was still plenty of room for him to maneuver.

Of course, beyond that, another reason he was unwilling to say more was… Shen Yi always felt that the relationship between the Qingyue Sect master and the Dragon Consort was a little strange, and he didn't particularly want to get involved.

"By the way, what about that phoenix demon?" Zi Xian suddenly remembered something.

Since Wan Yao Dian wanted to protect it, hadn't Jingxi suffered a silent loss?

"Shen Zongzhu took care of it for me." Ji Jingxi lowered her gaze slightly.

Sure enough, Zi Xian reacted instantly, her face looking as though she had swallowed a bitter pill.

No wonder! No wonder she had come back so quickly — so this was her plan to borrow Zi Xian's Yushan to shelter this lad from the storm.

Thinking of this, Zi Xian pointed at her own nose: "Look."

Ji Jingxi looked over curiously: "Look at what?"

"Look at the sucker."

Zi Xian glared at her, and with a sulk, swept her sleeve!

(End of chapter)