Chapter 953

Shan Shan looked at the male phoenix, somewhat surprised he hadn't reverted to his true phoenix form; he dragged his heavy steps, yet walked very resolutely toward that ball.

I don't know what others think, but Shan Shan is certain that the male phoenix now has his own will.

He is not a puppet controlled by the Chanchen Pearl.

At this moment, however, the loose Chanchen Pearl feels an extremely strong need for him.

Shan Shan silently evaluated in her mind: if, at this moment, everyone gathered their strength and attacked that loose Chanchen Pearl together, could they completely seize it?

In that case, would the male phoenix be able to survive?

But the answer is no.

After all, the shattered Chanchen Pearl still resists impact.

To completely seize it, we must first confine it within a sealed space…

Lost in thought, the male phoenix had already stepped before the Chanchen Pearl.

He extended a finger, touching the Chanchen Pearl.

The loose "ball" instantly elongated, wrapping around his finger, then quickly burrowed along his finger into his body.

Shan Shan thought that most people present, watching this scene, must have felt countless urges to rush forward and interrupt the process.

Only the Phoenix Lord had given no order, so no one dared act rashly.

Shan Shan also felt tormented inside; she wanted more than anyone to stop all this, but she knew she couldn't.

When the loose Chanchen Pearl had finally fully entered the male phoenix's body, he spread his arms, lifted his face to the sky, and let out a loud roar.

Immediately afterward, a faint red light began to glow between his brows.

This is the manifestation of the Chanchen Pearl absorbing his internal power and gathering it toward his brow.

The Chanchen Pearl strengthens itself by consuming his cultivation and essence blood in this way, then turns around to control him.

The male phoenix fell to his knees with a thud, his whole body curling up, trembling in pain.

Behind him, inside the spirit shrine, the light of the illusory space brightened again, growing brighter with time.

By then, Liu Junyan had already sealed off all the external ley lines of the spirit shrine; Ao Jing came to Shan Shan's side, Shan Shan had already assumed human form, and she instinctively grabbed Ao Jing's hand.

She was too nervous.

The light inside the spirit shrine comes from the illusory space constantly splitting.

If the Chanchen Pearl intended to control the male phoenix to bring it back into the spirit mirror for secluded cultivation, this situation would not occur.

Therefore, the Chanchen Pearl's ambition remains.

It wants to seize this rare opportunity; even though it knows it cannot swallow the entire Feng Clan in one gulp, it is unwilling to give up and wants to try again.

The great battle is imminent.

Ao Jing reversed his grip, tightly clasping Shan Shan's hand in his big hand, squeezed hard, and gave her strength.

Xiao Jiu had already communicated several rounds with Liu Junyan in the sea of consciousness, and they had prepared for coordinated combat.

Everyone was preparing for battle.

The white light of the illusory space drew nearer to the male phoenix bit by bit.

Now, as long as the male phoenix stands up, those countless illusory spaces, stacked together like glass facets, will become his greatest weapon.

This is also the key for the Chanchen Pearl to devour the Feng Clan.

What no one expected was that the male phoenix, who had been curled up there, suddenly slowly lifted his head.

At the moment he lifted his head, the pair of magnificent, enormous wings on his back unfurled; even though they were now covered in blood, with feathers missing in places, they still exerted tremendous pressure.

The white light of the illusory space climbed onto those wings and spread over the male phoenix's body.

This should be the Chanchen Pearl controlling him.

In the sea of consciousness, Liu Junyan said to Xiao Jiu, "I'll make the first move—I'll strike the male phoenix's wings with my dragon tail; then you all join in, focus on long-range attacks, and don't get sucked into the illusory space."

Xiao Jiu agreed with Liu Junyan's deployment and told the few people nearby.

At that moment, the male phoenix's wings moved.

Those wings moved far too suddenly.

They were not aimed at the people surrounding the spirit shrine, but instead swept backward toward the illusory space, fiercely fanning the shrine's gate.

The force was like a hurricane kicking up.

Liu Junyan had just prepared to meet the attack when she heard the phantom mirror space shattering, one after another.

At the same time came the male phoenix's painful low growl.

He… he was actually attacking the illusory space.

Such an unexpected action was something no one had imagined, nor dared to imagine.

Including the Chanchen Pearl.

Although it had already controlled the male phoenix, at the critical moment it was struck back; the Chanchen Pearl surged wildly inside his body, giving him a lesson.

But obviously, the male phoenix wouldn't put up with that.

He gritted his teeth, his body aching to the point of spasms, blood trickling from the corners of his mouth, yet he struggled to stay upright, his pair of huge wings continuing to assault the illusory space without cease.

If it were merely the male phoenix himself, he could never generate such attack power against the illusory space.

But his body now imprisons the Chanchen Pearl.

At first, the Chanchen Pearl was absorbing his essence blood and internal power; now, somehow the male phoenix has begun to reverse‑suck the Chanchen Pearl's Spiritual Power.

The Chanchen Pearl could already not re‑condense into its original form, and now this adds insult to injury.

After a brief shock, everyone quickly realized what had just happened… the male phoenix was actually helping them!

The male phoenix was helping the entire Feng Clan!

He… isn't he a puppet?

How on earth did he manage that?!

There was no time left for them to sort out the cause; Liu Junyan took the lead in activating earth vein power, while Lóngwěi stirred up a great wind, assisting the male phoenix.

The others followed closely behind.

The male phoenix's body trembled more and more violently, blood trickled down from the corner of its mouth, staining its chest red.

The Dust Pearl is sentient, and the male phoenix also realized this.

After all, it is just a spiritual artifact—where would it get spiritual consciousness and wisdom?

At first, when the male phoenix was trapped in the Spirit Mirror Space, he was observing and sensing, waiting for the person behind the scenes controlling the Dust Pearl to appear.

The male phoenix had thought it might be inside the Spirit Mirror, or emerge from one of those countless illusory spaces.

But even after the Dust Pearl severed its connection with the male phoenix, no one appeared.

At that moment, the male phoenix realized that the spirit controlling the Dust Pearl had merged into the Dust Pearl itself.

But to reach the state where it could transform its form or rebuild its true body, it still needed to devour more spiritual power and cultivation.

Perhaps the Feng Clan is the opportunity for it to break through its current bottleneck.

Having figured this out, the male phoenix instead felt that… perhaps this was also an opportunity for him.

An opportunity to avenge the ancient Feng Clan, his family, and his sister.

An opportunity to help Shan Shan, yet also to eliminate this disaster and bring stability to the Feng Clan side.

He is the ancient male phoenix.

No matter when, he is always a member of the Feng Clan.

He will never betray his clan...