Chapter 57: Not a Rookie for Many Years

"What is that thing?"

Cheng Xi heard the screams coming from next door and opened the window to look outside.

The pitch-black clouds hung extremely low, a gale rose suddenly, and lightning tore through the sky, exploding with a sudden boom; the entire earth seemed to tremble along with the thunder.

At this moment, on the mountain behind Dazhao Temple, a crowd was escorting the Empress Dowager down the mountain; the group moved with hurried steps, their faces filled with terror, and screams erupted from the crowd from time to time.

Behind them, a rift tore open in the pitch-black sky, and a faint red light leaked out from within.

Yan Shengyu supported the Empress Dowager with one hand and held her mother with the other; the Empress Dowager was elderly, and the mountain climb for worship had already exhausted most of her strength, so this sudden dash left her gasping for breath, her face flushed red.

Fang Huiru followed closely behind, and upon seeing this, she immediately stepped forward to help Yan Shengyu support the Lady of Dingguo; Yan Shengyu gave her a grateful look, freed her other hand, and half-carried, half-supported the Empress Dowager to descend the mountain at top speed.

Seeing that they were not far from the temple's side courtyard, the group breathed a slight sigh of relief; in such ghostly weather, as long as they could find a place to shelter from the wind and rain, things would be manageable.

It was at this moment that the anomaly occurred: that red light suddenly exploded, and a scorching wind poured in from the rift, sweeping everyone present into mid-air as if they were fallen leaves caught in a gale.

Screams rose one after another; Yan Shengyu gripped the Empress Dowager tightly and would not let go, her face deathly pale, not knowing what on earth had happened.

"Freeze!"

Jiang Miao arrived upon hearing the commotion, took a Talisman from her hand, and threw it into mid-air; everyone was frozen in mid-air, and time seemed to stop its flow.

Jiang Miao was overjoyed and was about to step forward to pull down the frozen people one by one when another anomaly occurred; the Talisman she had thrown out suddenly exploded, the Talisman failed, and everyone fell from mid-air at an even faster speed.

Once they hit the ground, they would inevitably be mangled, with no possibility of survival.

Jiang Miao suffered a backlash from her broken Talisman, spat out a mouthful of blood, and was sent flying backward as if struck by something.

Jiang Miao's face was ashen; she had failed to save anyone and had instead gotten herself trapped. Why had she been so hot-headed as to rush out?

Just then, she suddenly felt a warmth behind her, her falling posture stopped instantly, and she was then gently placed on the ground.

Having escaped death, Jiang Miao turned her head to look and saw Cheng Xi leaping into mid-air with a stern expression, her wide sleeves fluttering and her black hair flying; a faint golden light flew from her palm and collided fiercely with the red light.

Everyone in mid-air landed as gently as Jiang Miao had, and the group, having returned from the brink of death, also looked at Cheng Xi in mid-air.

Behind that red light, Cheng Xi caught a glimpse of a fleeting blue light; something flashed vaguely in her mind, and she pursued it almost by instinct.

"Cheng Xi!"

"Xixi!"

The crowd watched helplessly as Cheng Xi was swallowed by the red light, and the rift torn in the sky left no trace; if not for their disheveled hair and wretched appearance, the anomaly just now might have seemed like a collective hallucination.

The Empress Dowager and many of the ladies present had already fainted; Yan Shengyu was both worried about Cheng Xi and had to take care of the Empress Dowager, so she bit her lip and remained silent.

Jiang Miao stepped forward in silence to help; at this time, the Marchioness of Yunping arrived with the Imperial Guard, and the group was carried down the mountain in a sorry state.

Yan Shengyu did not leave; she looked at her mother and said, "I am going to find Xixi. Mother, please take care of Aunt."

"Shengyu, you cannot go!" The Lady of Dingguo grabbed her daughter; her arm had been injured in the collision and was now hanging at a strange angle—the bone was definitely broken.

"Mother! Cheng Xi first saved Brother, and now she has saved us; our whole family owes her a life!" After saying this, Yan Shengyu turned and left.

The Lady of Dingguo shouted with a pale face, "You come back here! At the very least, you must take guards with you."

Yan Shengyu had already walked far away, her heart filled only with the thought of saving Cheng Xi.

She did not know how long she had walked when she suddenly heard footsteps catching up from behind; she turned her head and saw Jiang Miao's face.

"What are you here for?" Yan Shengyu asked, looking at her with cold eyes.

Jiang Miao had a light sheen of sweat on her forehead; she knew that Yan Shengyu was dissatisfied with her because of her previous harsh words toward Cheng Xi, so she only said, "Cheng Xi saved me just now, and I want to find her; it is merely that I am on the same path as you."

Yan Shengyu:...

"You can have such a kind heart?"

She did not believe it!

Jiang Miao was annoyed. "Whether you believe it or not is your business, and what I do is my business. Move aside!"

Fearing that Jiang Miao would find Cheng Xi and take the opportunity to harm her, Yan Shengyu turned and continued forward, determined to keep a close eye on her.

Meanwhile, Cheng Xi, having been swallowed by the rift, saw a massive axe before her eyes; both ends of the axe head were firmly bound by giant Chains, and blue light overflowed from the axe body. Right in front of the axe, a giant Fire Phoenix was spitting flames to burn the Chains, and one of the Chains was about to be melted through.

Cheng Xi's eyes were fixed tightly on the axe; that blue radiance gave her a desire to possess it, and her whole body felt as if it were burning.

After she had transmigrated, she knew her body was weak, and because the Spirit Essence was thin, it was very difficult to repair.

However, that axe overflowed with dense Spirit Essence; if she could absorb it, it would surely strengthen her physical body.

The Fire Phoenix before her also seemed determined to have the axe, and the flames it spat grew hotter with each breath. Just then, one Chain was finally melted through by the flames; freed from the restraint of one chain, the axe's blue light intensified, condensing into a Sword that thrust straight toward the Fire Phoenix.

The two fought, and the tyrannical aura pressed down on Cheng Xi until she could not catch her breath, yet she refused to retreat a single step, staring fixedly at the axe.

She was waiting for an opportunity, waiting for the Fire Phoenix and the axe to both be severely injured.

This patch of heaven and earth was filled with flying sand and rocks due to their battle, and the gale raged; Cheng Xi hid behind a giant boulder, occasionally poking her head out to check the situation.

Just then, a screech suddenly came from mid-air, and a giant bird with red feathers and a white beak descended from the sky, spreading its wings and charging toward the Fire Phoenix.

Sensing danger, the Fire Phoenix immediately turned its head and spat a stream of flames at the giant bird, its entire body's flames flaring with great brilliance as it proudly met the attack.

"Bind!"

The giant bird suddenly spoke in human language; Cheng Xi squinted her eyes to look at the opponent—it was actually a demon that had cultivated into human form.

Countless flames intersected, forming a circle to cage the Fire Phoenix.

The Fire Phoenix was not a true phoenix, but merely a Fire Spirit that had developed its own consciousness; it was clearly still in its growth stage and far less cunning than the giant bird, and it was instantly trapped in the cage, letting out a shrill wail.

Cheng Xi's eardrums felt a sharp pain, and blood leaked out; she reached up to wipe it, then lowered her head to stare at her palm in silence.

Not a rookie for many years, yet even just watching a demon and a spirit fight, she could still be caught in the crossfire.

As expected, a spectacle is not so easy to watch; one always has to pay a price.

Then she must also obtain something to balance it out.

However, she thought that bird looked a bit familiar...

Thinking of this, she poked her head out to carefully observe the bird's eyes; sure enough, it had two pupils.

A Chongming Bird!

Cheng Xi's expression changed instantly; just at this moment, the Chongming Bird was struck hard by the Fire Phoenix, and blood sprayed from its beak.

She immediately seized the opportunity and rushed out.