Chapter 506 - 505: Bloodline Divine Power, Venerable-Level Shadow Demon

The Blue Phoenix, being a divine beast that had lived for tens of millions of years, looked slim and delicate, yet the slightest effort from her slender hand was able to exert considerable pressure on Li Jing.

Fortunately, his physical strength was exceptionally high.

If Tong Rou had taken his place, her delicate hands, usually used for playing instruments, would have most likely shattered on the spot.

Seeing the Blue Phoenix in such an emotional state, Li Jing spoke solemnly.

"Senior Blue Phoenix, I ask that you to calm down."

Upon hearing his words, the Blue Phoenix reoriented herself and reluctantly pulled her hand back.

"I apologize. The Fire Phoenix and I were as close as sisters, but she disappeared tens of millions of years ago and left only this chess game behind."

Upon hearing this, Li Jing showed an understanding expression.

The Blue Phoenix and Fire Phoenix.

He was very familiar with these names.

But he was somewhat surprised to hear that the Fire Phoenix was female.

In the mythologies he was familiar with, the Blue Phoenix and Fire Phoenix usually referred to a pair of divine bird phoenixes, with the Blue Phoenix being female and the Fire Phoenix being male. They were two different individuals that had differently colored feathers due to their different genders.

Of course,

This only made Li Jing surprised.

Mythologies are, after all, creations of "word of mouth" transmissions.

The people who passed down these myths might not have even seen the real things, so such discrepancies are sure to exist.

The Blue Phoenix standing in front of him claimed to be sisters with the Fire Phoenix, so they definitely must both be female.

At least, this pair were this way for sure.

Without dwelling over this point much, Li Jing said,

"Regrettably, I didn’t receive any news about Senior Fire Phoenix from the chess game, I only gained a certain understanding of a forbidden skill named Burn the Sky."

Upon hearing his words, the Blue Phoenix’s eyes widened, and she exclaimed,

"You... have you understood Burn the Sky?!"

"I have only glimpsed the threshold, it’s still a bit of a stretch for me to use it now."

Li Jing nodded.

When he was about to say something further, the Blue Phoenix furrowed her brows.

"This...doesn’t make sense. Burn the Sky is a divine ability of our bloodline, even if you, a human, have extremely high talent, you shouldn’t be able to comprehend it."

After this, as if she thought of something, she turned to him and asked,

"Have you... cultivated the Divinity Taoist?"

The Divinity Taoist?

Li Jing was stunned.

The words of the Blue Phoenix were very clear. Burn the Sky was not a forbidden skill, it was a divine ability of the divine bird Phoenix’s bloodline.

Now that it’s known as a bloodline divine ability, then it surely wasn’t something that could be comprehended by just anyone.

But the Blue Phoenix offered him another possibility.

The Divinity Taoist...

Didn’t he just happen to have involved himself with it?

Before he went to Sky Music Pavilion, he had only heard of the Divinity Taoist and never touched it.

With an attitude of confirmation, Li Jing said,

"I did involve myself somewhat with the Divinity Taoist, even managing to barely cultivate a little bit of Chaos Power."

"That’s exactly it."

The Blue Phoenix responded, said,

"The Chaos Power cultivated by the Divinity Taoist is of the same origin as ours, the ancient divine beasts. Possessing Chaos Power gives one the potential to control the divine abilities of the divine beast bloodline. Of course, this is just a possibility. Normally speaking, even if someone possessed great talent, they would not be able to comprehend an ability such as Burn the Sky without possessing the respective divine beast’s bloodline. After all, we, the divine bird phoenixes, are not born with this ability either. Without seniors to guide us, we could only seek to improve by exploring our own bloodline."

As she spoke, she wore a slightly complex expression and said,

"To think that the Fire Phoenix didn’t leave her whereabouts in the chess game, but the divine ability Burn the Sky. She likely was worried about me, who hadn’t yet comprehended Burn the Sky back then, and left the chess game to inspire me."

Hearing the Blue Phoenix say this, Li Jing opened his mouth but said nothing.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to respond, but rather that he didn’t know how to respond.

He had come to ask about Burn the Sky, and yet the Blue Phoenix kept mentioning the Fire Phoenix. what could he say about that?

He didn’t even know what she looked like...

Just as he was struggling to find words to respond, the Blue Phoenix muttered as if under a spell.

"No, it’s wrong. The Fire Phoenix must have left behind something else. There is no way the chess game would only contain the imprint of the divine ability Burn the Sky."

Having murmured this to herself, the Blue Phoenix suddenly lifted her gaze to look at him.

"Or rather, you, who has comprehended Burn the Sky, could be a key."

"..."

Li Jing.

When it came to the Fire Phoenix, the Blue Phoenix in front of him did show a bit of obsession and neuroticism.

Just because he had awoken the forbidden skill Burn the Sky, how did he become the key to finding the whereabouts of the Fire Phoenix?

Just as he hesitates whether to respond or not, the Blue Phoenix showed an expression of having made a decision.

"Your Chen Tang City, do you need a patron divine beast?"

???

Li Jing.

This sudden remark had caught him completely off guard.

Is the Blue Phoenix implying...

That she wants to settle in Chen Tang City?

If it was the usual case, Li Jing would have been overjoyed.

The Blue Phoenix standing in front of him was a supreme force comparable to a great emperor.

What was Chen Tang City’s greatest current lack?

Not people.

Not money.

But supreme power.

Li Jing is not weak in terms of strength, but he is, after all, just one person.

And his true realm is essentially only the Tenth Realm.

No matter how many tricks you have, lacking raw power is a major flaw.

If he encounters a truly top-notch opponent, he might not be able to avoid "dying upon exposure".

With such a big shot like Blue Phoenix on his side, not just in the Cangming Realm, as long as Chen Tang City doesn’t overstep with the Four Emperors, they can potentially traverse all four corners of the realm at will.

The problem is that Blue Phoenix wants to leave with him. What about the Immortal Music Palace?

Coughing once, Li Jing says,

"Senior Blue Phoenix, our Chen Tang City is remotely located, and you..."

Before his attempt to dissuade him is over, Blue Phoenix indifferently says,

"If you’re worried about the Immortal Music Palace, there’s no need. I stayed there simply because I liked the environment, additionally, the seniors at the palace and I have some old connections. I don’t owe the Immortal Music Palace anything, on the contrary, over the years, many generations have benefited from me. No one has any reason to stop me from leaving."

"..."

Li Jing.

Understands the logic.

But that’s not how things are going!

Heaven and earth be my witness.

He never thought of coaxing Blue Phoenix away, but now it wants to follow him.

As he racked his brains to formulate a way to temporarily appease Blue Phoenix, the latter pulled him aside,

"Come, let’s go find Miss Tong."

"..."

Li Jing.

Before he could say anything, Blue Phoenix moved and took him directly out of the independent space belonging to her, and in the blink of an eye, they arrived at the Sky Music Pavilion in the heart of the Immortal Music Palace.

Landing in the small yard in front of the Sky Music Pavilion, Blue Phoenix called out,

"Miss Tong, to the Sky Music Pavilion."

The light-hearted tone seemed to carry a peculiar magic power, spreading immediately throughout the entire Immortal Music Palace.

Li Jing’s mouth twitched vigorously.

This person seems a bit ruthless and silent, and quite high-profile in her actions.

This shout.

Probably everyone in the Immortal Music Palace heard.

As he was in distress, a streak of light arrived across the sky.

When Tong Rou landed, her strange gaze fell upon Li Jing’s wrist, tightly bound by the Blue Phoenix, before she raised her eyes,

"Senior Blue Phoenix, the Immortal Music Palace is currently hosting an esteemed guest. What is the matter that you suddenly called me over for?"

"Nothing much."

Blue Phoenix replied, getting straight to the point,

"I plan to reside in Chen Tang City in the future, and wanted to give you a heads up."

"..."

Tong Rou.

The straightforward words from Blue Phoenix left her at a loss.

Why on earth does Blue Phoenix want to leave the Immortal Music Palace for Chen Tang City?

And it’s not just for a visit, but to reside!

This is indeed...

With Blue Phoenix gone, won’t the Immortal Music Palace lack a great line of defense!?

Tong Rou looked startled and worried, her eyes sharply turning to a certain person for questioning.

Seeing this, Li Jing inwardly groaned.

Before he could speak, Blue Phoenix protectively said,

"You don’t have to look at him, I’m going to Chen Tang City due to a matter that is very important to me, regardless of whether it works out in the future, this time I’m leaving and not coming back."

Hearing Blue Phoenix’s words, Li Jing had tears streaming down his face.

He wanted to say,

Sister, could you be a little more tactful when you speak?

Tong Rou was a little confused when she heard what Blue Phoenix said.

However, after hearing Blue Phoenix’s explanation, her rush of shock and worry cooled down quite a bit.

She didn’t know if there was a particular reason why Blue Phoenix had decided to stay in the Immortal Music Palace for many years.

But she had grown up under the watchful eyes of Blue Phoenix.

She knew that while Blue Phoenix appeared to be casual and fond of jokes, many troubles lurked beneath the surface.

Many years of time.

No one in the Immortal Music Palace could truly open her heart.

If going to Chen Tang City could ease some of the worries of Blue Phoenix or potentially open her heart, this might be a good thing.

Looking at Li Jing, who had a mask on his face and was just standing there helplessly, Tong Rou bit her red lips and said,

"I understand. I hope that Senior Blue Phoenix’s journey will go smoothly, and if I have leisure in the future, I will visit you."

Blue Phoenix nodded with a smile upon hearing this,

"I didn’t dote on you for nothing."

After saying this, she turned her head to him,

"Lead the way."

"..."

Li Jing.

With this coming and going, regardless of the intended outcome of Blue Phoenix going to Chen Tang City, is she leaving right now?

As if she could sense Li Jing’s thoughts, Blue Phoenix said,

"I want to go there first to familiarize myself with the environment, you don’t have to go with me."

Upon hearing this, Li Jing was speechless, and silently began to tear open a space crack.

Seeing this, Blue Phoenix raised an eyebrow, saying with surprise,

"I seem to have underestimated you."

While speaking, she took a step and walked into the crack, leaving behind a sentence that only Li Jing could hear,

"You should practice the Divine Ability to Burn the Sky as soon as possible. If you’re lucky, the Chaos Power within you should evolve into the traits of Phoenix Heavenly Fire, through which you may be able to master the rules of the Heavenly Fire."

Hearing this, Li Jing’s eyes lit up slightly.

Qinguan’s message contained an ulterior motive that was too blatant to ignore.

She hoped that he could quickly become familiar with the Divine Ability to Burn the Sky, which is closely related to the Fire Phoenix.

But the benefits of this, were enticing.

Li Jing didn’t know what the Phoenix Heavenly Fire was.

But from the name alone, he realized that it must be a powerful object, and it also came with the Rule of Heavenly Fire.

Looking at the spatial crack slowly closing, Li Jing blinked his eyes towards Tong Rou.

"So, if I say this is not entirely my doing, would you believe me?"

"I know."

Tong Rou waved her hand with a tired expression on her face.

"Whether the predecessor Qinguan stayed or left was at her discretion. We, the Immortal Music Palace, had no reason to detain her."

She added, breathing heavily.

"Let’s not talk about that. The Star God Temple Master and the Third Elder are now in the main hall, where the elder from the sect greets them. I need to hurry back now. Just in case, Master Li, you haven’t revealed yourself yet. You should stay here and find a place to hide. As soon as I have taken care of them, I’ll bring them to the Sky Music Pavilion."

Seeing Tong Rou making no fuss about Qinguan, Li Jing breathed a sigh of relief and nodded.

"Good, I’ll wait for you to bring them here."

At his response, Tong Rou nodded and flew into the sky.

Watching her fly away, Li Jing glanced at the chess set still standing in the courtyard, then sighed softly and walked to the table to sit down.

...

The Star-Temple Master and the Third Elder just arrived recently, so it is unlikely for Tong Rou to bring them quickly.

A proper welcoming ceremony also needs to be arranged for them.

The Immortal Music Palace and the Star God Temple are the top forces in the Cangming realm. The two are closely connected and cannot afford to be negligent in their hospitality.

Li Jing had to wait for more than two hours.

Just when he was getting bored, he suddenly felt something and stealthily transformed into a shadow and merged into the shadows underneath the table.

The Silent Shadow was activated.

The Smoke Eye concealed his aura, along with the rule of the Silent Shadow and Shadow.

If he didn’t act rashly, even a great emperor might not be able to detect his presence.

After a short while...

Under the companionship of Tong Rou and several elders and disciples of the Immortal Music Palace, a rotund man, who was quite wealthy-looking, and a white-haired old man with a gentle face, slowly walked into the courtyard where the Sky Music Pavilion was located.

The man walked ahead with Tong Rou, and the white-haired old man was walking behind with the several Immortal Music Palace elders.

It was clear who the Star God Temple Master was.

The Star God Temple Master was a chubby man, which was somewhat surprising to Li Jing.

Those who follow the Orthodox Immortality Path are usually men of splendid appearance and beautiful women.

Even if they don’t deliberately maintain their physique, or even let themselves show signs of aging, men and women would never let themselves go in such a way.

Then he looked at the top of the Star God Temple Master’s head.

Li Jing didn’t see a health bar above his head.

On the heads of the Third Elder walking and laughing with the Immortal Music Palace’s elders behind him, no health bar could be seen either.

What?

Was Tong Rou mistaken?

Li Jing, who had transformed into a shadow, was confused.

Just when he was about to leave and go find Li Lingyin, a dry laugh suddenly rang in his ears.

"Hehe, I didn’t expect to meet someone from my own kind in the Immortal Music Palace. At first, I was thinking about finding an opportunity to infiltrate the Immortal Music Palace, but it seems that I won’t have to go to such trouble now."

???

Li Jing.

This strange laughter came suddenly.

His words did not mention the Shadow Demon, but he did mention "kind" and "infiltration".

A more critical point is...

The other party was aware of Li Jing’s presence, and if it wasn’t a Shadow Demon, he couldn’t think of any other possibility.

To spot him with three layers of protection in place...

Firstly, one must not be affected by the Silent Shadow, then they must be familiar with and sensitive to the rule of shadows.

Having fulfilled these two conditions, the concealment provided by Smoke Eye seems to have become insignificant.

Its function was merely to prevent others from seeing the depth of his cultivation level.

Those who can satisfy both prerequisite conditions to discover Li Jing could only be the Shadow Demons...

Note that...

Li Jing did nothing at this moment and simply hid.

Normally, even if people have control over the rule of shadows and have a deep understanding of it, they should not be sensitive to such a degree.

Therefore...

Where is this Shadow Demon!?

On instinct, Li Jing looked at the shadow of the Star God Temple Master.

As he looked, he saw a health bar appearing on the ground.

He had never seen a health bar appearing on the ground before.

He had just been trying to get a glimpse of the Star God Temple Master’s and the Third Elder’s heads. His own shadow was on the ground; unless he paid attention, he would not have noticed it.

And the truth is...

At this moment, Li Jing finds it difficult to see the health bar.

The numbers were displayed on the ground, so how could he see them from his position?

Luckily, the group from the Star God Temple were soon on the stage in front of the Sky Music Pavilion, which gave Li Jing a chance to see them.

He took a look and was shocked instantly.

The health bar displayed: 18216.

The Essence Source displayed: 3114396.

This Shadow Demon...

It was past "fat" by now.

Though the Essence Source of more than three million is only a few hundred thousand more than that of the one in Beilang City, it is of an early Thirteenth Realm cultivation level, it is a Shadow Demon of the Venerable Realm.

So here comes the question.

Should Li Jing reply to the man who is trying to talk to him?

After some deliberation, Li Jing chose to play it cool.

If he doesn’t respond, the worst that could happen is that the other party might become a little suspicious.

At this moment, the other person mistakenly thought he was a Shadow Demon, so even if he is suspicious, he wouldn’t think too much about it.

If he was to respond, he might expose himself directly.

As Li Jing had predicted,

The Shadow Demon hiding in the shadow of the Star God Temple Master didn’t do anything upon receiving no response from him.

Perhaps the Shadow Demon thought Li Jing was keeping silent to avoid being discovered, so he too remained silent.

Over there,

Tong Rou and the Star God Temple Master arrived in front of the Sky Music Pavilion. They sang the ballad to remove the pavilion’s seal and led everyone inside.

Seeing everyone entering, Li Jing quietly slipped away in his shadow form.

The Star God Temple Master, he can’t be touched.

At least, not within the Immortal Music Palace.

With a Shadow Demon of the Thirteenth Realm standing opposite him, he knew he couldn’t handle it.

If it was someone in the Entering Holy Realm, he would have a chance.

Venerable Realm... he didn’t even have to think about it to know it was troublesome.

One realm difference,

Made a world of difference.

Comparing himself to others, he was three major realms lower.

Even though Li Jing had previously "dealt with" a couple of Venerable Realm beings, one of whom was a Deceiving the Heavens, that was because he took advantage of the Little Universe.

Out here, he hadn’t built up the confidence to think he could challenge a Venerable from three realms beyond his own.

...

Soon,

Li Jing arrived at Tong Rou’s palace.

Li Lingyin had been waiting for him there already.

Surprisingly, she wasn’t holding her wine gourd.

Quite obviously,

Given that the Star God Temple Master had come visiting, as the Domain Lord of the Cangming Realm, she couldn’t help feeling a bit worried.

This was understandable.

If the Star God Temple Master was replaced by a Shadow Demon, the impact would be vastly different from the incident with the Ningluo Domain Master.

A Domain Lord,

Speaking harshly, is just a "worker" of the Donghua Immortal Palace.

Despite their influence, it was limited.

Most of the impact came from the Donghua Immortal Palace, rather than the Domain Lord themselves.

The master of a top-notch power, on the other hand, would have far greater influence.

Coming back to the subject,

No matter how big a fuss was made about the Ningluo Domain master, it had nothing to do with Li Lingyin’s Cangming Realm.

However, the Star God Temple was a super power in the Cangming domain. If handled improperly, pulling one string might cause a huge mess.

At this moment, Li Lingyin was indeed waiting for Li Jing to bring back news.

Just as he entered, Li Lingyin quickly noticed an unusual shadow brushing the ground and coming in. Her eyes lit up.

She knew someone had gotten a Shadow Crystal.

As soon as Li Jing entered, he saw Li Lingyin had noticed him. Taking the opportunity, he stepped out of the shadows, revealing himself and said.

"I’ve confirmed the presence of a Shadow Demon at the early stage of the Venerable Realm near the Star God Temple Master."

Li Lingyin was about to ask a question when she heard this. She couldn’t help but widen her eyes in surprise.

"Venerable Realm?!"

She had been prepared for the worst, but this was even more disastrous than she had anticipated.

A Venerable Realm Shadow Demon.

This might not be something she, Li Jing, and Tong Rou could handle.

Unless the other party was as foolish as Yuan Qing and carelessly entered the Little Universe.

Otherwise, even if they asked the Venerable of the Immortal Music Palace to take action, they might not be able to catch the Shadow Demon if it decided to flee.

Seeing Li Lingyin’s face turn extremely ugly, Li Jing spoke quietly.

"You might not have noticed the key point in what I said. I mentioned there is a Venerable Realm Shadow Demon near the Star God Temple Master, but he has not been replaced."

?

Li Lingyin shot him a questioning look, and then looked at him earnestly.

"Are you sure?"

"Certain."

Li Jing nodded.

The Health Bar presented things differently, so he could completely confirm that the situation of the Star God Temple Master and Ningluo Domain Master were entirely different.

The Star God Temple Master and Shadow Demon coexisted.

Upon receiving Li Jing’s definite answer, Li Lingyin pulled a face worse than if she had swallowed a bug in her wine, saying,

"It seems like we’ve caught a big fish."

Then, she continued.

"It’s not easy to detect a Shadow Demon hiding in the shadows, but if it’s just lurking, it can’t do anything and can only stare blankly. Given the Star God Temple Master’s peak cultivation level in the Twelfth Realm, he might notice something even if he does nothing over a long time."

Hearing Li Lingyin’s words, Li Jing nodded silently.

He had also had some suspicions that the Star God Temple Master was intentionally allowing the Shadow Demon to hide in his shadow.

He could also hide in other people’s shadows,

But even with Smoke Eye and Silent Shadow, he wasn’t sure he could hide in the shadow of someone in the Entering Holy Realm without being discovered for a long time. After all, using the rule of shadow could not avoid invoking other rules.

In the short term, people might not notice the slight rule changes, but over time, they’d most likely detect the unusual shadow following their moves.