Blue Phoenix

by Tinalynge

  Lan Feng paused slightly as if to go through all his memories about inscriptions.

  ‘Inscriptions can be used in multiple ways,’ Lan Feng said hesitantly as he recalled the uses. ‘Firstly it can be used like the one on your armour and the one on the knife, enhancing the items themselves. Secondly, inscriptions can be used to inscribe some specific spiritual skills that the creator knew, allowing for other cultivators to have an extra attack. Doing it this way is slightly weaker than the original attack practiced by the cultivator, but it is definitely beneficial for the buyers.’

  Hearing this caused Hui Yue to nod. Inscription seemed to be at least as useful as alchemy, and yet it was not as rare because a dual affinity was not needed.

  ‘There is also the possibility of inscribing actions or consciousness into items much like your target dummies which are capable of react to your training. This is really quite hard to learn as it requires the creator to absorb the soul and instincts of a living magic beast, and then inscribe it within the metal creation. It is considered the pinnacle of the profession and life goal of a metal affinity cultivator.’

  ‘Your second affinity was earth right?’ Hui Yue asked curiously, as he was leaning back against the wall in the scruffy looking room he had rented.

  ‘Yeah,’ Lan Feng nodded. ‘Earth is simple but strong. Everything within this world relies on the earth for life: birth, stability, death. All made possible through earth’s elemental essence. We rely on soil for eating, and we could not live without the earth below our feet. It is what give everything life, without Earth we would have nothing. Since I could not get wood affinity I have to admit that Earth is the one I wanted next. If you control Earth you control life itself. Upon controlling life, death too is within your grasp.’

  Hui Yue felt excited upon hearing this. After the soul fusion, Hui Yue now had a part of Lan Feng’s soul, which meant that he too had an affinity for Earth and Fire. His affinity was much weaker than that of Lan Feng’s, but it was still present, and it was something which could increase his strength tremendously later on.

  ‘When you have wood you can control the time of plants helping them sprout and grow or wither and die. As a wood elemental you have to work with plants which are at least seeds. There has to be a plant or seed there before they are capable of injecting their spiritual power into it.’ Lan Feng paused for a moment before continuing. ‘Earth is different. Every plant is born from the earth, every stone and mountain grew from the soil. With earthen elemental affinity you are able to create something from nothing. Your spiritual energy allows for you to create seeds from soil, sprout mountains from the ground, or control the ground on which humankind stands.’

  Hearing these words that Lan Feng said, caused Hui Yue’s heart to race within his body. Before he had not thought too highly of Earth, yet after hearing this, he could not help but feel a shiver run through his entire body. He had severely underestimated the earthen elemental affinity.

  ‘The Earth is sacred,’ Lan Feng continued as he felt Hui Yue’s reaction. ‘All energy is split between the heavens and the earth. To have Earth as an affinity is a gift sent from the heavens which allows for easier comprehension of the secrets of deities.’

  ‘The secrets of the deities?’ Hui Yue asked while frowning, this was one thing he had never heard about before.

  ‘To ascend into immortality you need to understand the truths of the heavens and the secrets of the earth. But don’t rack your little brain too much with things such as this. If you manage to break into the middle dantian within the next couple of years, then we will be satisfied.’

  Hui Yue nodded his head, agreeing to what Lan Feng had said, yet within his soul was an unyielding fire burning as he heard about the truths of the heavens and the secrets of the earth.

  Truth be told, Hui Yue was grateful to Lan Feng. Had Hui Yue stayed within his old world, then his life would have turned into a sad love story, yet here he no longer thought about his own misfortune.

  Yes, Hui Yue had died, but together with death was his rebirth. Hui Yue was walking down his own path; he was paving a road in front of him, a road of cultivation which lead to ascension into immortality. This was a path much more suited for him than the empty life which had been there before, and deep inside Hui Yue was grateful to Lan Feng for bringing him here.

  This was what Hui Yue was born to do. This was the road he wished to walk. The strong determination was evident within his eyes as he slowly closed them and sat down forming the bird seal with his hands, and then he submerged himself into his dantian cave where he kept refining essence into Qi.

  The following day, as Hui Yue was about to leave the inn at which he stayed, he suddenly ran into Deng Wu. This time his friend was inviting him to dine with the Deng family, their purpose much like the same as the Ma Family, but they also had another agenda with this visit.

  “Welcome to the Deng family,” Deng Tsang Ying said as he was seated in the family leader’s chair within their main hall, greeting Hui Yue.

  The Deng family had summoned Hui Yue as he was the closest anyone could get to the esteemed expert that had appeared almost a year ago, and the Deng family owed this expert an incredible amount of gratitude.

  Not only had this expert given them plenty of face which had improved their standing within the city, she had also given them the blueprints of watermills which had allowed for their business to sky rocket.

  Half a year ago, this expert gave another gift to the Deng family, she gifted Deng Wu with two high ranked martial art skills, which was known by all the elders of the family.

  Truthfully these skills had been gifted to Deng Wu by Hui Yue, but it was not something which Deng Wu could tell his family.

  The Rong twins, Ma Kong, and Gao Yan had all hidden the secret that they had gained high ranked skills from Hui Yue, however the situation with the Deng family was slightly different. After talking it over, Hui Yue and Deng Wu together decided that because the Deng family knew about the relationship between ‘Li Fen’ and Deng Wu, along with their knowledge of his actual cultivation base, they chose to tell them about the skills.

  Knowing about the skills didn’t change anything as Deng Wu still had not perfected either, and he was therefore unable to store it within memory stones, to save as family heirlooms.

  Still, having a son within the Deng family practicing two high ranked martial art skills, albeit secretly,would help pave the road for their future, and also count as another important pawn within the hands of Deng Tsang Ying.

  Standing in front of Deng Tsang Ying and the eight elders of the Deng family, Hui Yue felt a certain amount of pressure, yet nothing could be seen on his small and naïve face as he bowed deeply to all of them, greatly pleasing the elder generation.

  “It is my honour to be invited. My master ordered me to bring her best wishes.” Hui Yue said politely, ignoring the grumbling bird within his dantian that mumbled something along the lines of ‘I never said anything of wishing anything for such a minor family.’

  Yet hearing these words caused all the people present, elders and juniors alike, to be astonished. This was the first time where it was known that Hui Yue had acknowledged Li Fen to be his teacher, as to why he had decided to reveal this was something which only Hui Yue and Deng Wu knew about.

  Getting such sudden information caused the Deng family to once again feel as if they had the upper hand when it came to gaining favour with the elusive expert, and they instantly decided to keep this knowledge a secret.

  A smile was protruding on Deng Tsang Ying’s face as he waved his hand and called forth a servant much the same way the Ma family had done the previous day.

  Unlike the Ma Family, the Deng family did not produce some sort of weapon or armour. Instead, they brought forth a white jade case which was sealed with a small red ribbon.

  This ribbon had a pattern on it, and as Hui Yue focused his eyes he was shocked to noticed that the entire ribbon was filled with inscriptions all over it.
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br />   ‘This can’t be….’ Lan Feng said as he stirred within the dantian cave.

  “This is a gift we wish to give your master as a thank you for assisting us as much as he has,” Deng Tsang Ying said as he stood up and headed down the stairs to stand on the same level as Hui Yue.

  His hands picked up the jade case with great care and moved towards Hui Yue. The spiritual energy started to fluctuate around Deng Tsang Ying’s hands and it was obvious that he was circulating his energy.

  After a few minutes a click could be heard and from within the case a strong spiritual aroma wafted out, filled the entire room.

  Within the case a small white flower was visible. This flower was as white as Hui Yue’s Qi with a small blazing sun in the middle and drops of shining liquid falling from the petals.

  The flower was only a flower, no stalk nor any other way to gain nutrients, yet even still it showed no signs of withering any time soon.

  ‘To think that they had something like this….’ Lan Feng said shocked, and Hui Yue felt the greed, astonishment, and shock reverberating within his soul. This hit Lan Feng hard.

  Chapter 50 - Divine Flowers

  * * *

  Chapter 50: Divine Flowers

  ‘What is this?’ Hui Yue quietly asked Lan Feng as he looked at the stunning flower in front of him. Somehow the feeling he got from it caused the blue cloud within his dantian cave to boil with excitement, and Hui Yue secretly rejoiced with his choice of allowing these people to know about ‘Li Fen’ being his master.

  ‘In this world there are some plants which are capable of cultivating,’ Lan Feng stated breathlessly. ‘These plants are the ones considered medicinal herbs; plants which absorb the essence from the heavens and the earth to increase their own cultivation. When a plant like this absorbs the essence from heaven and earth it will naturally become stronger which is seen by how the effect of these specific herbs becomes multiplied. This is also why older plants are much more beneficial than younger sprouts.’

  Hearing this, Hui Yue was almost about to nod as this was information he had been given previously.

  ‘All these medicinal plants are material plants which sprout from seeds left behind by the same type of plant. They are all able to cultivate, but they are nothing like the plant in front of you.’ Lan Feng said, awestruck.

  ‘This is a Divine Flower,’ Lan Feng finally said after a small break, but he did not get the time to continue to conversation.

  The two of them were still within the Deng family’s main hall, and all the Deng family members were looking at the dumbstruck facial expression which was spread across Hui Yue’s face.

  “Oh I am sorry,” Hui Yue quickly said, the shock which had previously been on his face was now completely sealed behind a perfect poker face. “I was astonished by the beauty and aura of such a flower. I have never seen anything like it before.” Hui Yue continued while praising the beautiful flower in front of him.

  Currently, Hui Yue was capable of making an oath to the heavens and earth that he did not know what the flower in front of him was, so he had no fear of playing the role of an unknowing boy.

  “This was a beautiful flower which has been in our treasury since the first generation of our family. No one has found anything particularly about it, yet its beauty is outstanding.” Deng Tsang Ying said while smiling towards the child in front of him, fully believing Hui Yue.

  In fact, everyone within the main hall fully believed Hui Yue when he said that he was astonished by the beauty. Everyone except Deng Wu, and this particular young man had a knowing smirk on his face as he was feeling grateful that the item they were giving to Hui Yue had some actual usage.

  “This is a gift which we hope your teacher will like,” Deng Tsang Ying continued, and with a strand of spiritual energy he managed to reseal the box.

  “Anyone who possesses spiritual energy will be capable of opening this box,” he explained as Hui Yue bowed deeply in front of him. “I am sure your teacher will value it.”

  Hearing this, Hui Yue could only silently agree. He could feel the waves of excitement clash into his soul from Lan Feng’s their mental connection filled with happiness and excitement.

  The following meal was eaten in a side building next to the main hall, and Hui Yue was seated next to Deng Wu. The entire meal was like a long trial for the young boy as everyone at the table used the time to talk badly about Deng Wu, intentionally degrading him as they were unaware that Hui Yue knew his actual cultivation level.

  What Hui Yue quickly noticed was that the elders were clearly not used to degrading Deng Wu and obvious discomfort was shown by their expressions whenever they attempted to do so, yet Deng Wu’s own father, Deng Tsang Ying, was insulting him and calling him trash with no qualms whatsoever.

  At first, Hui Yue had considered it odd, but had brushed it away with thinking that Deng Tsang Ying was a great actor, yet after half an hour it was obvious that he enjoyed trashing his son. Hui Yue could not help but feel astounded that none of the elders seemed to understand the family head’s true feelings.

  Hui Yue had looked at Deng Wu, wondering if he were to comment on the obvious hostility from his father, yet the older boy shook his head ever so slightly. It was obvious that this was family affairs, something which he would deal with on his own.

  The meal was finished with a feeling of impatience from Hui Yue’s side. He smiled and chatted with everyone yet his biggest wish was to rush back to the inn to hear more about the Divine Flower.

  Could it be a flower which had reach Deity from cultivation? A specific type of flower who could cultivate much stronger than any other cultivator? No matter how much Hui Yue thought, he couldn’t get any closer to an answer, and Lan Feng was completely quiet within the dantian cave. The only thing which betrayed his presence were the feelings of joy and excitement which flooded Hui Yue’s soul.

  To make a Saint ranked divine beast show such attention towards it, it definitely was an immense treasure. If the Deng family knew about this, it was obvious that they would not have gifted it to anyone, not even an esteemed expert.

  Slowly the sky turned dark outside, and the moon rose above the Deng family compound allowing for Hui Yue to say his goodbyes and slowly slip back to his inn.

  The day had been filled with rewards for Hui Yue. Firstly, the Divine Flower which he still did not know enough about, and secondly was the knowledge about Deng Wu’s background.

  Seated in the inn, Hui Yue looked at the jade box within his hands and waited patiently for Lan Feng to start speaking.

  ‘Last time I saw a Divine Flower was in the Dungeons of the Divine,’ Lan Feng sighed his remembrances of the past leaving Hui Yue at a loss. What was the Dungeons of the Divine?

  ‘Do you remember what I told you about medicinal plants?’ Lan Feng asked first, and a satisfied harrumph could be heard when he felt the knowledge reemerge within Hui Yue’s mind.

  ‘Those plants are born from seeds which have been left by their ancestors, much like humans are born from other humans, but there are some flowers that are born from nothing.’ Lan Feng paused slightly. ‘These flowers are born from seeds created by the essence between the heavens and the earth.’

  ‘In areas where there is abundant essence, this essence will gather into a seed which it will nourish until it sprouts and turns into a flower. The petals are made from Qi, the drops are refined Spiritual Energy. The blazing sun is Wu Wei. A flower like this one will never die as long as it is in an area with essence from the heavens and earth, instead it will be nourished into a great treasure.

  ‘But what does it do?’ Hui Yue asked curiously while he looked at the flower with newly found astonishment.

  ‘You eat it.’ Lan Feng said directly. ‘You eat it and absorb the energies within. In the middle of this flower, currently submerged in the shining energy known as Wu Wei, is the seed from which it sprouted. We need you to absorb this seed and place it in your Qi swirl. If it is there it will attract the essence from t
he heavens and earth, allowing your cultivation technique to refine Qi even faster than it already does.’

  Hearing this Hui Yue could not help but gape in astonishment. This was indeed an immense treasure, yet he could not help but wonder why no one within the Deng family had tried to eat it before.

  ‘It is obvious,’ Lan Feng said with a sigh as he felt the confusion. ‘Do you remember how I previously told you that if you eat a beast core it will do you no good, absorbing all the Qi you have spent your time refining?’

  Hui Yue nodded. He had heard this many years ago, but it was one thing which he had not forgotten. Eating a beast core was one thing which Hui Yue would never do.

  ‘This is a great treasure, but it could be like the beast core. Once eaten it would have taken the cultivation base of the cultivator who ate it, yet since there was only one flower, they cannot test it on lower ranked family members as the flower will be wasted by then. Even such an immense treasure has pros and cons when it comes to figuring out what it can do.’