Blue Phoenix

by Tinalynge

  As he entered the training house he was shocked to see that Wang Ju Long was already seated inside, along with Deng Wu. Both of them were in deep meditation and the dense air was filled with the essence of the heavens and the earth which was constantly roiling around, being inhaled and exhaled by the two cultivators as they absorbed it to their hearts content.

  Seeing that Wang Ju Long was here, Hui Yue quietly moved closer to her and placed her present in front of her. A gentle smile appeared on his face as he looked at the beautiful features which were calm and serene as she was focused on cultivating.

  Hui Yue pulled back ever so slowly because he did not wish to disturb her cultivation. He slowly moved away and found a place within the room where he sat down and started breathing steadily. He closed his eyes and increased the activity of his cultivation techniques.

  Having followed Hui Yue into the room, hurt was visible in Sha Yun’s eyes, however, she quickly choked back all the negative emotions and moved next to her white-haired friend, almost arm in arm as the two of them cultivated together.

  Hui Yue was not so blind as to not notice that Sha Yun had feelings for him, but he was very blunt with her back in Riluo City, telling her straight out that it was not mutual.

  Knowing all of this, Sha Yun still stayed by his side and she still hoped that one day the young man would turn towards. Would look at her. Unfortunately, before that happened, Sha Yun found that Hui Yue now cared about another woman instead of her.

  Although the snake-woman was grumbling about her emotions, it all quickly vanished as she entered meditation. The only thing present in her mind afterwards was the feeling of being one with the world. Absorbing the essence of the heavens and the earth, as it rushed through her body before it entered her beast core where it swirled around, turning into a mist energy. This was the kind of energy which magical beasts used when activating their abilities.

  As the four of them were seated in the room together time slowly passed by and the sun which was hanging in the sky changed to a moon, cascading gentle light down onto the beautiful white courtyard.

  In the gentle moonlight that shone through the windows the four youngsters were still focused completely on meditation, the longest meditation session these three Wang Ju Long, Sha Yun and Deng Wu had ever had. Only Hui Yue had meditated longer than this before.

  Suddenly, the moonlight which was shining in through the window was blocked by a person. Had the youngsters not been completely focused on their cultivation they would have noticed Xu Piao standing there with a complicated expression on his face, an expression showing some sort of hesitation and regret.

  Sighing deeply, Xu Piao turned around and slowly made his way out of the courtyard. He had a small memory stone within his hands and he made his way towards the main office of the rentals mansions with steady steps.

  Stepping into the main office, Xu Piao moved straight to the counter where he waited for a person to come and assist him. Within this cave, no matter what time of day the counter was always open, ready to accommodate anyone who showed up.

  Seeing Xu Piao, a person who had previously flashed a B rank emblem caused the manager to act quickly as he rushed towards the man, his hands clasped together while bowing deeply.

  “What can I do for you my good sir?” He asked with a sleazy smile, his hands no longer cupped together, instead, they were now rubbing each other. His expression showed a hint of greed which in no way passed by Xu Piao’s keen notice but there was nothing he could do about it, and he lifted the memory stone from within his hands.

  “I need to send a memory stone to the Dragon Corps’ main office within the Demon Dwelling Cave.” He said with a somber voice, his eyes darker than usual and his entire demeanor anything but cheerful. Each time he sent information to Zhou Long, the harder it became.

  When Xu Piao first encountered Hui Yue and his friends, the Guild Master had been very interested in them, even more so when he heard that they came from the surface world. He expected that he could use his connection with these young cultivators to leave the caves and get to see the world Hui Yue spoke about.

  Seeing the attention Zhou Long put on Hui Yue, Xu Piao was quickly aware that the Dragon Corps leader knew the fact that the white-haired boy came from another world, and he let it slip that he too knew about his past.

  Hearing this, Zhou Long instantly hired the Guild Master to take on the task of reporting important information to him. To relay how their travels went and ensure that no danger came to Hui Yue. On the other hand, he was not to protect any of the other youngsters. It would be ideal if only the white-haired young man was alive by the time they reached the capital.

  Zhou Long had even gone as far as to inform Xu Piao that he would send mercenaries to assassinate the youngsters during their trip, warning him so that they could keep Hui Yue alive.

  Chapter 173 - Explain

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  Chapter 173: Explain

  While Xu Piao was feeling guilty about his behavior, Hui Yue was completely absorbed in his training and as the sunrise was coloring the sky purple, he finally opened his eyes.

  Looking around, he saw that his friends were still cultivating. With a sigh he allowed for his consciousness to sink down into the dantian cave where he saw Lan Feng for once not cultivating, instead, he was seated still as if he was contemplating something.

  ‘I knew you’d come.’ He smiled as he saw Hui Yue’s mental projection move towards him, and the white-haired boy smiled back as he sat down next to the phoenix.

  ‘What do you think I should do with Xu Piao?’ Hui Yue asked with a careless voice. He had already made up his mind, but he still valued the opinion of his lifelong friend.

  ‘I agree with you.’ The bird said with a sigh, ‘He has no hostile feelings towards you, he even said that he sees you as a friend. Even though he is most likely using you for the sake of progressing up the ranks, or escaping these tunnels no one says he is the only one able to abuse the friendship.’ The bird continued with a wicked smile on his face, ‘To get two King ranked protectors is not a bad deal for the sake of allowing him to give information on you to Zhou Long, or whatever he might be scheming.’

  Hearing that, Hui Yue could not help but laugh a little as he nodded his head agreeing with the bird. The two of them stayed seated for a bit in the comfortable quietness while Hui Yue’s eyes scanned the many small caves containing one odd energy form after another.

  His eyes came to rest on the golden wings and he furrowed his brows as he suddenly remembered what Lan Feng said earlier.

  ‘Hey.’ Hui Yue nudged the bird by his side, ‘When I was flying earlier on my Qi fan everyone were deeply shocked. While we were escaping from the illusion of the endless forest earlier, neither Xie Lan nor Xu Piao seemed to be capable of flight.’

  ‘They are both King ranked experts, shouldn’t they be able to create wings and fly?’ Hui Yue asked curiously.

  ‘No,’ Lan Feng sighed, ‘When you were flying by using the golden wings the only reason you could fly was because they rely on a steady stream of Wu Wei. Just those wings consumed an amazing amount of Wu Wei.’

  ‘For a King ranked expert, or even an Emperor ranked expert, to create wings with their Wu Wei and fly with it, they would not be able to fly for more than a few moments before their wings disintegrate and they fall down.’

  ‘How come?’

  ‘Flying is the domain for birds and Saints.’ Lan Feng said with a sigh, ‘Unlike you, no one else should be able to fly. You can levitate and you can hang in the air. You can even fly a certain amount with Wu Wei, but long flight such as the one you displayed with both the Qi Fan and later with your Wu Wei wings, none of them should be possible.’

  ‘The Qi Fan is a skill I had to pay an amazing amount of money to get. It is one of the most peculiar abilities I ever got my hands on. As for those heaven defying Wu Wei wings of yours. I really don’t know and I dare not check them out.’

  Hui Yue was quiet for some tim
e as he processed Lan Feng said. To fly was something which belonged to birds and Saints. It was true that he had seen some people levitate; he had also seen short flight, but he had never seen anyone else who was capable of flying the way could.

  ‘Lan Feng,’ Hui Yue asked once more as he was seated next to him, feeling slightly nostalgic.

  ‘Yes?’ The phoenix replied. For once the bird was not stressed about training or refining. It was the perfect time for Hui Yue to get answers on what he was wondering about.

  ‘This is a cave and I understand that we are heading to the middle of it to this so-called Dragon’s Core to leave the dungeons. But is it not possible to fly to the ceiling and start digging our way out?’ Hui Yue asked curiously, as he looked at the ceiling through the window.

  ‘Digging your way out of the Dungeons of the Divine?’ Lan Feng suddenly started laughing uproariously.

  ‘It is not possible?’

  ‘No. It is not possible. Have you never wondered how caves of this size can keep standing without pillars of support?’ Lan Feng asked while still chuckling about the thought that one could simply dig their way out

  ‘These dungeons are created from the will of my father and the other divine beasts. They are held up by their everlasting magic, the Ancestral Worldpower. Although Sha Yun was rampaging in the tunnels, and even if she were to remove every single wall the ceiling still would not fall down. Just like the cave ceiling will never fall. There is a safety barrier which ensures that it will never fall, but it also ensures that no one can dig their way through.’

  Hearing this, it somewhat made sense to Hui Yue and he nodded his head slightly, ‘So the only exit is at the Dragon’s Core? We need to exit there somehow then?’

  ‘No.’ Lan Feng once more disagreed, ‘When we reach the Dragon’s Core we are going to enter the part of the dungeons which belongs to the phoenix’s descendants. Our aim is to enter into Shanyuan through these dungeons.’

  ‘That will take a very long time, right?’ Hui Yue asked, already feeling that the travel they were going on would take forever.

  ‘My goal is that by the time we reach Shanyuan you will be a King ranked expert.’ Lan Feng said with a sigh, ‘Only if you travel within these dungeons will it be possible for you to quickly advance.’

  The quietness once more sunk in and the two friends were seated in silence once more until Hui Yue remembered one more of his questions he wanted to ask, ‘The Laws,’ He started, ‘Do you have any idea why the Dragon Corps are capturing the laws?’

  ‘No,’ Lan Feng replied his eyes glittering with anger, ‘Back in the day Laws were seen as revered members of society within the Dungeons of the Divine. Now they are hunted. I wonder if all four parts of the dungeon are doing this.’

  ‘Don’t worry,’ Hui Yue said as he felt that the phoenix actually cared a lot about these laws, ‘When I find out what is going on with them I’ll do my best to help them. I guess we can see it as an extra training exercise.’

  After that, no one spoke anymore as both Hui Yue and Lan Feng were quiet, just sitting there, side by side, and calmly observing the cultivation technique within the dantian cave working as quickly as it could.

  After an hour of resting side by side, Lan Feng once more sighed deeply and closed his eyes as his celestial blue body started to shine with golden light. He withdrew drop after drop of spiritual energy from the middle dantian and once more started to refine Wu Wei.

  Seeing that the phoenix once more focusing on refining, Hui Yue sighed too as he returned to his body only to see that now everyone had left left him all alone. Now the sun outside was no longer a beautiful purple color, instead, it was high up in the sky heating up the entire cave beneath.

  Leaving the house, Hui Yue noticed that the entire courtyard was empty no one seemed to be around which made him somewhat surprised. It had been a long time since they all went out together without him, but after a short while he shook his shoulders before he walked into the main house to prepare for he himself to go out. He was looking forward to seeing the beautiful city once more.

  Getting ready was something which took quite a while as Hui Yue enjoyed how his tired body was being caressed by the warm water he was currently in. He also thought that if he was slow perhaps his friends would return, but after he finished no one had come back yet.

  A slight frown was visible on his face as he looked around the empty house. It seemed as if they all had some reason to leave together, yet this was something that had never happened before and it gave the white-haired boy a bad feeling. A feeling as if something dangerous would occur at any time.

  Not waiting at the courtyard any longer, Hui Yue moved with steady steps towards the inner city. He paid a boat to bring him to the marketplace where he was at previously with Sha Yun hoping that perhaps they had all gone to do some shopping. But as soon as he arrived at the marketplace none of his friends were visible, something which made him extra worried.

  Having searched all over the marketplace, Hui Yue went from one marketplace to another before he started looking in restaurants and inns; however, no matter where he looked he found no trace of his friends.

  The sun was now no longer high in the sky, instead, it was setting as Hui Yue moved away from the part of town where he ended up in. He decided to take another boat back to the courtyard hoping that his friends had arrived back before him.

  This was, however, not the case. As soon as he returned back he noticed the house was as empty as when he left, no one was there and Hui Yue felt even more worried than he had been before.

  Looking through all the rooms once more, nothing was visible, but just as he was looking through the final room voices could be heard from outside the building.

  Going outside, he was deeply shocked. He was staring openly as he saw both Xu Piao and Xie Lan enter through the courtyard gate, both of them severely injured as they leaned against each other. Pale green light was visible around Xie Lan’s hands, just enough to keep the two of them standing.

  Looking at the two, a cold flash appeared within Hui Yue’s eyes as he wondered where his own friends were and with steady steps he moved towards the two wounded King ranked experts.

  “Hui Yue,” Xu Piao called out with a weak voice, “You need to help us,” He continued, his voice almost not possible to be heard as all his energy was used to speak, yet the pain was clearly too much for him “We had a fight with the Dragon Corps.”

  “Where are my friends?” Hui Yue asked through gritted teeth.

  “They were taken. You need to get them back. Use the B rank emblem you have been given, I am sure they will let them go.”

  “Why did you not use yours?” Hui Yue asked, anger raging inside of him. The words said by Xu Piao made absolutely no sense to the white-haired boy.

  Firstly, how could two King ranked experts be beaten? Secondly, if the B ranked emblem was enough, why did he not use his? And thirdly, Hui Yue could not trust him after what he had been told earlier.

  Gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, Hui Yue glared at the two wounded King ranked experts, wondering how wounded they actually were and what exactly had happened.

  His ice-blue eyes were filled with frost as he uttered one word, “Explain.”

  Chapter 174 - Criminals

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  Chapter 174: Criminals

  Xu Piao and Xie Lan exchanged glances as they came to understand that it would be impossible for them to be vague about what occurred. It was obvious that Hui Yue would require a complete explanation.

  Sighing, Xu Piao started explaining what happened, “You were still cultivating as the others emerged from the training house and as they did they were discussing what to do. They decided on going out to eat. They all knew that you would most likely be busy most of the day cultivating.”

  “Hearing their decision we decided to tag along. After all, cultivating when you reach our level is not really beneficial, so going out and experiencing the beautiful city with friends was a
much better way to spend our time. We also thought that if we were lucky we could even gain enlightenment. A lot of cultivators have gained enlightenment within this beautiful city.”

  Hearing his words, Hui Yue’s eyes were turning darker and darker, the ice-blue eyes which previously were as light as the summer sky had turned as dark as the deepest ocean. He was not waiting to hear about their plans, what was of importance was what happened with his friends, their condition and current location.

  “Hurry up,” He said sternly, cutting through the long prologue before the actual explanation started.

  Glancing at Xie Lan once more, Xu Piao sighed as he moved an inch closer, however, as he did Hui Yue moved backwards keeping the same distance between them. Internally he started calling on Lan Feng. The phoenix was the only hope Hui Yue had to be able to escape from the two King ranked experts in front of him.