Chapter 384

The Chaos Formation Array guarded by my senior sister Yu Nian in Huicheng has been collecting various spiritual artifacts—Buddha Eyes, Spirit Ears, and so on; perhaps the Chaos Fiendish Formation relies on these.

Where is the Taotie Fiendish Formation, and what does it rely on?

What kind of connection exists between them and those towers?

Back when we dealt with the Qiongqi Fiendish Formation, we weren't thorough.

Liu Junyan successfully retrieved the Golden Scale, extracting part of the Dragon Qi from the Dragon-locking Formation; the remainder, she said, could keep the Qiongqi Fiendish Formation calm for ten years.

At that time I was thinking we would definitely return to Bull-Tiger Mountain, and it wouldn't take ten years.

Now it seems my earlier thought was correct.

What could be hidden beneath the Dragon-locking Formation on Bull-Tiger Mountain?

It is said that Dragon-locking Formation was also created by Dahui Chan Master; perhaps another tower lies hidden beneath it.

These thoughts flashed through my mind, taking only a few seconds.

When my gaze fell again on the struggling black bird, a thought arose spontaneously.

Since this black bird is their puppet, perhaps I can glimpse their intentions from it.

Thinking thus, I placed my hand on the black bird's head and chanted the witchcraft.

First, using the first chapter of the ancient witchcraft's Dream Weaving, I built a dream to lure the black bird into its own desire or resentment, constructing a dreamscape for it.

Then, using the second chapter, Dream Breaking, I broke into its dream to investigate.

This is very risky; first, the environment I am in is the Luan Formation, which is inherently dangerous.

Second, if during the dream-breaking I truly uncover the secret of the person behind the black bird, and that person is strong enough to sense me, I could become trapped in the black bird's dream and unable to return.

If the black bird dies then, I will die as well.

But I have no better choice.

Spirit Bones are extremely important to me; to retrieve them fully, I must first break the Luan Formation, and the black bird is the key to breaking it.

Under the manipulation of my Mana, the black bird that had been struggling to grow new wings suddenly stopped moving.

In those originally aggressive bird eyes, a hint of pain suddenly appeared.

I frowned; the first effect of the dream-building on the black bird turned out to be resentment.

But immediately after, I saw that within that resentment was mixed a hint of desire.

Resentment and desire intertwined, constantly shifting.

Without any hesitation, I directly activated the second chapter, Dream Breaking; I must seize every detail—this opportunity cannot be lost.

The next moment, the surrounding environment suddenly changed.

Right before me, I saw a huge black bird standing on a girl's back, its sharp beak drilling into her body and forcibly pulling out her two Spirit Bones.

Even though I have recalled this memory, witnessing it firsthand still causes a faint ache in my shoulder blades.

The scene shifted, and a person stood before the black bird.

Someone I would recognize even if turned to ash…… Feng Xianqiu.

Feng Xianqiu reached out, and the black bird obediently placed those bloody Spirit Bones into his hand.

Feng Xianqiu gripped the Spirit Bones, his lips curling into an evil charm; the next moment I saw only a flash of light, followed immediately by a shrill bird cry.

The black bird's pair of massive black wings were simply severed by Feng Xianqiu's internal force.

Two black-iron chains stretched up from the ground, locking the black bird's legs; it struggled desperately.

It wanted to flap its wings and fly upward to counterattack, but the wing bases kept spurting blood uselessly, to no avail.

It could not fly.

Blood flowed from the edge of its long beak, and it actually began to weep blood.

It lunged at Feng Xianqiu in despair, but the more it surged forward, the tighter the black-iron chains pulled, so it couldn't even touch the hem of his robe.

Feng Xianqiu just watched it go mad with a smile, until it had raved enough and could no longer be tormented; then he stepped forward two paces, looked down at the black bird, and said: "Black Phoenix, you too are a descendant of the Feng Clan, your veins carry the purest phoenix blood—are you willing to remain hidden in darkness forever, unacknowledged by your kin? Now your father gives you this chance; you should understand gratitude, do you not?"

The black bird instantly froze.

Feng Xianqiu pinched some unknown seal with his hand, and a formation instantly appeared beneath the black bird's feet—the Luan Formation.

He extended the hand holding the Spirit Bones toward the black bird; the Bones floated up on their own, and under the impetus of the Luan Formation's pattern, they kept pressing into the black bird's body.

Watching all this before me, my shock outweighed my nervousness.

This black bird is actually the Black Phoenix?

Black Phoenix, that is, a black phoenix.

It is obvious that this Black Phoenix is large, with pure-colored fur and lineage… indeed it appears pure, but it cannot speak, indicating its spiritual intelligence is not high.

It is likely that when it was first trapped, it had not yet reached adulthood.

Not yet adult, it already had its precious wings abolished; this will become the Black Phoenix's greatest lifelong resentment, which is understandable.

Feng Xianqiu first crippled the Black Phoenix, then injected the Spirit Bones into its body to give it hope…… this person is consistently sinister and ruthless.

At the moment the Spirit Bones entered the Black Phoenix's body, its chest puffed up; it closed its eyes, feeling the endless power the Bones brought it……

The scene shifted again.

This time, I saw a pair of… golden wings sprout from the Black Phoenix's back.

The resplendent golden feathers, forged in Nirvana fire, shimmered with iridescent light, flashing like seven-colored clouds—stunningly beautiful!

Seeing this, I knew the Black Phoenix had entered the next stage of dream-building, having fallen into the desire-space woven for it by the ancient witchcraft.

I remained still, continuing to watch.

The Black Phoenix, enveloped in Nirvana fire, grew its wings; its black fur shed away, turning into golden feathers that likewise radiated seven-colored light.

Three golden flight feathers sprouted from its crown, and a blood-red feather mark appeared on its forehead……

It incessantly vibrated its wings, raising its head and crying out.

At this moment I thought the Black Phoenix's desire had been fully unleashed, reaching its peak.

But in the very next instant, it actually shed all its feathers, took human form, sat cross-legged in the middle of the 'Luan' formation, devout as a high monk awaiting divine enlightenment.

What's more, I never would have imagined that, before the Black Phoenix that had taken human form, another humanoid figure indeed appeared.

This humanoid was first Feng Xianqiu.

Feng Xianqiu extended their right index finger, murmuring incantations, and pointed toward the space between the Black Phoenix's brows.

Just as Feng Xianqiu's finger was about to touch the Black Phoenix, this humanoid suddenly changed.

It kept shifting into various humanoid forms and scenes, appearing one after another, then disappearing one after another… it was selecting.

Obviously, the Black Phoenix felt that Feng Xianqiu was not worthy enough to enlighten it.

Those that had just appeared were not worthy either.

The image shifted rapidly, picking and choosing, and finally, the scenery around us changed again.

We found ourselves inside a grand……temple hall.

This hall's single-story height is about thirty meters, the interior glittering with gold and jade, the Buddhist incense thick.

On the walls surrounding the main hall, dozens of lotus-shaped Buddhist pedestals of various sizes were staggered, each pedestal sculpted with Buddha statues of all kinds.

Those Buddha statues were positioned higher, looking down in a gazing-down manner, creating an overwhelming sense of oppression……