Chapter 77

The matter of the Phoenix Clan was temporarily settled with Yuan Feng's slumber, but the influence of the Undying Fire Mountain had only just begun.

The Phoenix Clan recalled its members who were outside exploring grotto-heavens, ordering them to swiftly return to the Nan Fang Undying Fire Mountain; even the clansmen of the Bei Fang Continent, as long as their posts were not crucial, were all summoned back to Nan Fang.

In the primordial wilderness, scenes of phoenixes flying south could be seen everywhere; even in Cloud Dream Marsh alone, such sights could be seen several times a year.

This phenomenon also attracted the attention of many primordial deities, leaving the various clans of the primordial wilderness puzzled.

"This is the ninth batch of phoenix clans to pass through Cloud Dream Marsh in ten thousand years; what on earth has happened in the Nan Fang Continent that it keeps summoning its people back?"

Qi felt somewhat puzzled, wondering if Yuan Feng and Yuan Huang were about to break through, preparing to expound the Dao?

Qi and they were born too late, had never set foot in the Nan Fang Continent, did not understand the danger of the Undying Fire Mountain, and were unaware of the consequences of its large-scale eruption.

Furthermore, they had never come into contact with the fire crystals that flowed from the Phoenix Clan, making it impossible for them to suspect that the Undying Fire Mountain was problematic.

Moreover, given the prior incident with the Water God, they did not think that any primordial deity or clan would dare to defy heaven and earth and commit such a heinous act.

"Perhaps someone among Yuan Feng and Yuan Huang is about to break through; after all, they possess great fortune, so gathering the clan to prepare for expounding the Dao is normal."

Taiyi and Qi shared the same view, not believing that the Phoenix Clan had encountered any major problem that required summoning the entire clan to resolve.

Unless the Phoenix Clan is now preparing to initiate a new round of heavenly tribulation and provoke a war among the three clans.

However, that is absolutely impossible; the three clans have only just begun to enjoy the spoils of the last tribulation, have not yet reached a point of no return, and launching a war now would be more loss than gain.

Thus, most beings of the primordial wilderness now believe that someone among Yuan Feng and Yuan Huang may be about to break through, which is why they have begun summoning the clan.

This way they can prepare for expounding the Dao while also guarding against a sudden attack—a protective measure for the Dao.

Especially since Yuan Feng and Yuan Huang have not been very active in recent cycles, such speculation is quite normal.

"Forget it; it has nothing to do with us. We can simply sit back and watch the clouds roll and unfold across heaven and earth. I expect the coming days to be peaceful for a while."

Qi would not have given it a thought; if his research into formations had not hit a bottleneck, he would not have bothered with these trivial matters.

"How about we go to the starry sky to practice? We haven't crossed hands in over ten cycles."

Taiyi made the suggestion with slight excitement.

Upon hearing Taiyi's words, Qi also felt a spark of interest; indeed, they had not engaged in combat for far too long.

If no one had brought it up, it would have been fine, but upon hearing Taiyi's suggestion, Qi suddenly felt an urge to fight; he also wanted to see just how much Taiyi had progressed.

"Come on, let's see how much your techniques have improved and whether they can satisfy me."

Seeing Qi agree, Taiyi's whole body trembled with excitement; having not exercised his muscles and bones for so long, he felt his body had grown rusty.

"Come, let's race to see who reaches the starry sky first, without tearing space."

"Alright."

The two turned into streaks of light, gradually vanishing at Tian Ji.

Di Jun and Fuxi, seeing this, felt somewhat helpless and could not help but sigh:

"Truly full of vigor and acting on impulse!"

Nüwa then rose from the stone platform, rolled her eyes, and retorted:

"Were we not able to meet today precisely because of our youthful vigor back then? You two are merely pretending to be old."

Having spoken, she likewise turned into a streak of light and vanished.

"Where are you going?"

Fuxi shouted loudly.

Only after a moment did faintly hear Nüwa's voice from afar.

"To watch the battle."

Fuxi and Di Jun exchanged a glance and immediately gave chase.

It would be unlikely for them to participate, but if it were merely to let them watch, there would be no problem.

Qi's clear light and Taiyi's golden light advanced side by side; the two remained composed, and a barrier formed of thin light continually erased the traces of their passage.

Simultaneously breaking the constraints of space, their speed continually increased.

This let them advance at extreme speed while the surrounding clear skies and bright moon remained unaffected, so they did not lose their graceful bearing.

Qi's evasion technique was developed from the basis of the Golden Crow Transforming Rainbow technique; he improved it somewhat, making the technique better suited to his usage habits.

In just a thousand years, the two directly crossed the divide between heaven and earth, arriving in the starry void.

The vast, boundless starry sky always made Qi feel his own insignificance, no matter how long.

Lowering his gaze toward the direction of Yunmze, he could no longer see it; between the starry sky and the Primordial Continent lies a huge 'curtain' that divides them into two worlds.

In the Primordial era, apart from the stars transformed from Pangu the Great God, no other stars could be seen.

Likewise in the starry void, apart from Mount Buzhou, one cannot see other places of the Primordial Continent.

This seems to be a protection for both sides, but now this curtain is beginning to grow thinner and thinner.

If on the Primordial Continent, carefully observing the sky, one can already see faint star shadows; although few, it is still much better than before.

Qi did not know when the intervening separation would disappear; perhaps heaven and earth have their own plans.

Soon after Qi and Taiyi arrived in the starry void, Nüwa, Di Jun, and Fuxi arrived one after another; they remained silent, merely gathering to one side.

Taiyi and Qi clasped their hands and said:

"Please."

"Please."

The two focused their attention until a small meteoroid struck another piece.

The bell of the Chaos Bell rang suddenly; its overbearing sound waves seemed to shake the entire space.

Under the rolling sound waves, all things turned to dust and spread outward.

Qi stood upon the innate twelve-petal pure-world white lotus; the sound waves had no effect on him.

"Taiyi, you who have not fully refined the Chaos Bell should know that this spreading sound wave has little effect on me."

Qi's voice transmitted through the starry void into Taiyi's ear; Taiyi paid no heed, saying:

"Just cleaning up the battlefield."

"The response to Taiyi was the pure light of the World-Separating White Jade Node striking hard against the Chaos Bell, sending Taiyi flying billions of li away."

"Be careful, don't be careless!"

"Qi's voice came with the attack of the World-Separating White Jade Node, leaving a long spatial rift in the starry sky, proving that Qi's words were not false."

"Taiyi no longer spoke, merely controlling the Chaos Bell to condense into a sound thread, sweeping all the way to Qi's side, with a hint of dissatisfaction in the eyes."

"Qi had no intention of taking it head-on; who knows if the Chaos Bell would suddenly respond to Taiyi again—the scene of the previous injury is still vivid."

"Only when there's no way to dodge will one use the Innate Twelfth-Grade Pure World White Lotus to resist head-on."

"The entire battlefield was empty; nothing could remain intact after the aftershocks of their two attacks."

"Within a radius of several million light-years, spatial rifts abounded; aside from Fuxi, Di Jun, and Nüwa, no tangible object existed."

"And this was still with them relatively restraining their power, causing comparatively little damage to the surrounding environment."

"(End of chapter)"