Chapter 524 - 523: The Shattered Ascending Path, The Deception

Although falling is not the end for the Phoenix Tribe, Blue Phoenix had mentally prepared herself in advance.

However, upon confirming that Fire Phoenix had indeed fallen, she couldn’t help but feel deeply saddened.

Li Jing did not disturb Blue Phoenix.

He allowed her to stand there, quietly waiting for her to gather her thoughts.

Focusing on the giant egg phantom revealed by the triggering of the Forbidden Skill of Sky Burning, Li Jing removed the Smoke Eye, raising his hand to rub his brow.

Although he didn’t know the specific principles of the Phoenix Tribe’s rebirth from fire, it was clear that the existence of a giant egg in the phoenix nest meant that the Fire Phoenix had fallen.

Just a phantom.

Perhaps the Fire Phoenix’s God Soul had not returned to its place, making it impossible to have rebirth from the fire.

During his leisure time before.

Blue Phoenix had explained in detail to him.

The God Soul of the Phoenix Tribe had the characteristic of never dimming.

Under the influence of the power of ancestors within the bloodline, when the physical body dies, the God Soul naturally returns to the phoenix nest to await rebirth from fire.

If it has not returned, there are two possibilities.

One.

After the Fire Phoenix’s death, its God Soul was bound and imprisoned by someone.

The other possibility is what was mentioned before.

The Fire Phoenix had fallen in another Space level, and its God Soul was unable to cross realms to return.

As it stands now.

The probability that Fire Phoenix encountered the first possibility is very low, most likely it had fallen within the Ancient Fairyland.

Putting back on the Smoke Eye, Li Jing turned his head.

Just at this time, Blue Phoenix looked over, teardrops in her eyes.

As their eyes met.

Li Jing startled slightly, Blue Phoenix somewhat flustered, turned her head to wipe away her tears, then looked back at him with a smile.

"It seems I need to trouble you to accompany me to the Ancient Fairyland."

Upon hearing this, Li Jing smiled warmly.

"No problem, I’ll accompany you."

"Mmm."

Blue Phoenix nodded, turned around, and said.

"Let’s go, we can discuss it outside."

Without waiting for someone to respond, she slowly walked towards the ground.

Seeing this, Li Jing quietly followed behind her.

...

Not long after, the two arrived above the ground.

As they emerged from the cave connected to the ground, Blue Phoenix stopped, looked back at the profound cave, and remained silent for a long time.

Seeing her distracted appearance, Li Jing felt a pang of heartache.

Unlike Blue Phoenix, who was greatly affected.

The Companion Contract had a very limited effect on him.

It only made him feel more affectionate when facing Blue Phoenix, it didn’t affect his emotions.

Before him.

The sight of a haggard Blue Phoenix upon confirming Fire Phoenix’s fall was heart-rendingly pitiful.

After some hesitation, Li Jing reached out, pulled Blue Phoenix over and hugged her in his arms.

Blue Phoenix, who was lost in thought, was suddenly embraced. She looked up at him in surprise, then buried her head in his chest and whispered her sobs.

Seeing this, Li Jing felt quite helpless.

Comforting women, especially crying ones, had never been his strong suit.

He also never imagined.

Despite living for tens of millions of years and always being indifferent in front of others, Blue Phoenix could show such sensibility.

After an unknown period of time.

Blue Phoenix gradually calmed down.

She nestled in Li Jing’s arms for a moment, then lifted her tear-streaked face.

"Thank you."

With that, she took half a step back, tidying up her somewhat chaotic blue hair, and asked.

"When will the space anchor point of the Western Immortal Realm open, have you gotten a rough idea from Karana?"

"I didn’t ask him at the time."

Li Jing shook his head, saying.

"Unless something unexpected happens, it should be a few more days before the anchor point opens. To avoid any delay or missing it, we can go directly to the location of the anchor point."

Speaking, Li Jing asked.

"You should know the location of the anchor point, right?"

"Yes."

Blue Phoenix agreed, then hesitated before speaking.

"You... do you want to return to the Cangming Realm first?"

After speaking, she continued.

"Plans can’t keep up with changes, more than half of the half month we agreed upon has already passed. Going to the Ancient Fairyland again could delay us for some time. We probably won’t be able to return on time. You..."

Before the Blue Phoenix could finish speaking, Li Jing waved her off.

"Let’s head for the anchor point first, we can discuss everything else later."

He then took a closer look at Blue Phoenix and said softly.

"To be honest, I not only control the rules of space, but also have the ability to see the essence of things. Taking a look at the space anchor might yield some unexpected rewards. There’s no rush to go back and notify them."

Hearing this, Blue Phoenix obediently nodded.

If it was before.

If Li Jing had told her about his ability to see the essence of things, she would have been surprised.

Such an ability is unheard of.

But now.

As time goes by, the impact of the couple’s contract on Blue Phoenix grows stronger and stronger.

It’s not as if she can’t help herself.

The couple’s contract itself doesn’t have such an effect.

Presently.

Blue Phoenix sees Li Jing as "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder".

Whatever ability Li Jing has, she sees it as a given.

He is her world.

An omnipotent world.

This change took place subtly, and Blue Phoenix wasn’t fully aware of it, but Li Jing felt it strongly.

But there’s nothing he can do about it.

The contract has been signed.

And one can only sign it once in a lifetime.

If it’s terminated, there might be some repercussions.

Right now, they could only hang in there.

At least Blue Phoenix, affected by the couple’s contract, did not demand that he "accept" her. She simply found herself drawn to him.

Blue Phoenix’s original intent.

Was to use the contract to restrain herself, and to have Li Jing dissuade her when necessary to prevent her from doing something foolish.

This was not unacceptable.

...

The spatial anchor point connecting to the Ancient Fairyland is present in all Four Realms of Immortals.

The location is always in the center of the land.

This is not a secret, anyone who has been in the Immortal Realm long enough would know.

The distance from the birthplace of the Fire Phoenix to the anchor point in the Western Immortal Realm is incredibly vast.

Blue Phoenix, in her original form, carried Li Jing all day before finally reaching the vicinity.

They did not rush to approach the space anchor.

Blue Phoenix flew to the clouds with a flap of her wings, while Li Jing looked down with her.

In their view.

There was an ancient Ascending Immortal Platform, along with a dim and collapsed Ascending Path left there.

As Blue Phoenix had already explained about the anchor point, Li Jing wasn’t surprised.

Though the fact that the Ascending Path, which only appeared during ascension, was shattered and collapsed, gave him a lot to ponder.

The essence of the Ascending Path is a rule related to ascension.

The collapse of the Ascending Path means that the corresponding rule has encountered some problems.

By combining the fact that among the space anchors of the Four Realms of Immortals, only the anchor in the Western Immortal Realm is functional, it’s easy to deduce that the rules related to the Ascending Path in the Immortal Realm are basically unusable, barely maintaining some functionality in the Western Immortal Realm.

This...

Could it be that someone deliberately did this, and deliberately left a segment that could occasionally be used?

Anyone capable of shattering the Ascending Path, or even destroying the corresponding rule, should logically obliterate it completely. There’s no need to keep a segment.

Looking again at the ancient Ascending Immortal Platform and the collapsed Ascending Path around it.

Many humanoid Alien Species were moving around the nearby Earth Realm.

The activation of the space anchor was imminent.

It’s not surprising that the Western Immortal Realm would make lots of preparations.

In fact.

Due to the space anchor point opening, a nearly "fixed feature" that happens every ten thousand years in the Western Immortal Realm, ancient fortresses have been built around the Ancient Ascending Immortal Platform and the crumbling Ascending Path, their origins lost to time.

Looking over now.

The humanoid Alien Species of the Western Immortal Realm mostly operate within the fortresses, with only a few setting up camp in the wilderness.

Observing this scene, Li Jing activates his Eye of True Vision.

These fortresses, whose existence spans unknown years, seem to serve not only as places for the humanoid Alien Species of the Western Immortal Realm to settle during the activation of the anchor point, but more importantly as defensive structures.

Indeed, it is indeed so.

Under the scrutiny of the Eye of True Vision, each fortress is engraved with formidable Attack Defense Arrays, some of those near enough to the Ascension Platform even bearing multiple Powers of Rules.

Having surveyed the surroundings, Li Jing turns his gaze to the Ascension Platform.

Upon this, the Eye of True Vision provided feedback.

The Ascension Platform.

Seeing no substantial information from the Eye of True Vision, Li Jing focuses on the crumbling Ascending Path.

An unstable, broken Ascending Path.

The destination is unknown.

Receiving this feedback, Li Jing frown.

The space anchor point tunnel is located within the Ascending Path.

There’s nothing to argue about this.

It should be.

The problem is that he should be able to discern the destination of the Ascending Path, the normal Eye of True Vision would give him feedback on where it leads.

But the current feedback is an unknown destination.

This...

It couldn’t possibly lead to the Ancient Fairyland, could it?

Although the Ancient Fairyland is in ruins, it is undoubtedly a clear destination.

The feedback from the Eye of True Vision has never been so vague, giving an unknown.

Isn’t this intriguing?

Unknown.

This indicates that the other end of the tunnel is not a definitive destination, or its destination is random.

Which of the two possibilities it might be, is hard to say.

All that can be felt with certainty is that,

This section of the broken Ascending Path does not connect to the mysterious Ancient Fairyland.

Damn it...

Things seem to be getting more and more complicated.

Li Jing’s brows furrowed tightly.

If before he was only suspicious,

Now he’s almost 90% certain, the Ascending Path before him is a deliberate arrangement.

Whether it’s intentional or not is hard to say.

If it’s not.

Then the person who destroyed the Ascending Path was careless.

If it is.

There is definitely a big pitfall behind this, a scheme that has fooled those in the Immortal Realm for countless years...

Without solid evidence, Li Jing would never jump to conclusions.

But between the two possibilities, he would rather believe the latter.

The key here is that this semi-ruined Ascending Path opens every hundred thousand years, and every time it opens, things believed to be from the Ancient Fairyland would trickle out, Immortal Medicine even appearing amongst them.

This, it’s like fishing, isn’t it!

Fishing, this is something Li Jing is very familiar with.

The "bait" behind this section of the Ascending Path is honestly quite enticing.

Items such as the Immortal Medicine that’s been passed down the Ascending Path are just "gimmicks". The real attraction for those in the Immortal Realm is the possibility of making further breakthroughs beyond the Venerable Realm and reaching the Upper Three Realms.

Over the years, how many impatient or daring apex experts in the Immortal Realm have set foot on this section of the Ascending Path?

That’s an unknown number.

But the number is definitely not small.

Fire Phoenix is one of them.

Those who stepped onto this Ascending Path, none have ever returned...

At this point of thought, Li Jing spoke with his head down.

"Blue Phoenix, in the records of the Ancient Fairyland’s destruction by the Charming Spirit, is there any mention that the disconnection of the Ascending Path was also her doing?"

"No."

Blue Phoenix replied, saying.

"The records of the Ancient Fairyland destroyed by the Charming Spirit are very limited, no one knows the details. But as I told you, that she almost destroyed the Immortal Realm when coming here, it was the first hundred thousand years after the Ancient Fairyland was destroyed."

Hearing this, Li Jing nodded, his expression somewhat grim.

His question was merely aimed at confirming if it had anything to do with the Charming Spirit.

If it had nothing to do with the Charming Spirit, then there must be a big problem behind this shattered Ascending Path.

If it did, perhaps he could ask the Charming Spirit herself and gain some insight.

Unfortunately, the Charming Spirit had already returned to the Realm of Desires.

He could have Ling Ling bring her back, but it wasn’t impossible.

Yet, when it came to the distant past when the Ancient Fairyland was destroyed, he feared the Charming Spirit might not give him an answer.

Moreover, she might not even know what exactly happened, and she was only acting to fulfill her own mission.

Perhaps the only one who truly understood the situation was the Taoist of the Big World.

That being, he had no patience to look for.

Moreover, even if he found it, the chances of getting a response from it were even lower than from the Charming Spirit.

The Will of Heaven usually refrains from interfering in worldly matters.

As long as it does not threaten the normal functioning of the Big World, the most she would do is stand by.

To put it harshly, to the Taoist of the Big World, many things are meant to happen, and how many people die as a result is irrelevant.

Glancing at the strongholds around the Birth Platform, Li Jing spoke again.

"These fortresses are all inscribed with powerful Attack Defenses arrays, and some even bear the seal of the Power of Rules. Is this to prevent living creatures from coming out of the Ancient Fairyland?"

"Hm."

The Blue Phoenix replied, saying,

"During the opening of the space anchor point, anything could come out, including living creatures."

With that, she continued,

"In the past, many living beings crossed the borders, not all of them necessarily of the same species, and even humans have appeared. But even the humans had no hint of rationality, killing on sight upon encountering a great calamity. By the way, regardless of what comes out, their strength is generally at the Emperor Level."

Emperor Level!?

Li Jing gasped in astonishment.

This is...

Pretty intense.

But also very exciting!

Emperor Level...

If he could meet one, and one with a Health Bar...

How many Essence Sources would he get if he killed it?

But while excited, Li Jing did not dare to think too much.

Emperor Level, this was certainly not something he could deal with at the moment.

He might not even have the chance to sneak attack from the side.

"I’ve noticed some things here that you might need to know."

After saying that, Li Jing continued,

"Let’s go to the surface first and find a secluded place."

"Ok."

The Blue Phoenix obediently complied, transforming into a human form in mid-air. She and Li Jing silently landed without alerting anyone.

...

Soon.

The two climbed up a mountain on the Earth Realm with a wide view. They dug a hole halfway up the mountain.

Li Jing had no plans to interact with the inhabitants of the Western Immortal Realm.

Key point being, such humanoid Alien Species were not friendly to him.

The Smoke Eye could hide his aura and appearance, but it could not change the fact that he was a human.

Besides, Li Jing didn’t want to reveal his whereabouts and let the four emperors, including Xiang Dong, know he was here.

After hiding in the cave, the Blue Phoenix used Illusion Art to conceal the entrance, both to prevent anyone from accidentally walking in and to observe the Ascension Platform and Ascending Path in the distance.

After sitting down, Li Jing went straight to the point and told everything he had observed and inferred.

Upon hearing the details, the Blue Phoenix fell into a long silence.

Aside from everything else, the fact that the space anchor point doesn’t lead to the Ancient Fairyland was somewhat shocking to her.

The key point was that it was related to the death of the Fire Phoenix.

After struggling to digest the news, the Blue Phoenix spoke in a low voice,

"I have two questions, have the folks in the Immortal Realm been duped for many years and are still in the dark? What’s the purpose of the person behind the scene, and what benefits has he gained over the years?"

"Who knows?"

Li Jing shrugged, saying,

"But I think it has something to do with luring the top powerhouses in the Immortal Realm to attempt to enter the space anchor point, whether for trapping and killing or enslavement, or perhaps some other purpose beyond our imaginations."