Blue Phoenix

by Tinalynge

  Hearing that he wanted to finish the forging today, Cou Ling was taken aback. Although she was surprised, she was also slightly depressed to see that the young man wished to rush through the process. He was clearly too eager to restore his sword to its former glory and did not care what price he would have to pay.

  Gnashing her teeth, Cou Ling could do nothing but agree with the customer. “If you say so, then we will do it, but don’t blame me if you die from it.” She said with a harsh voice, but unlike before, Hui Yue now understood that this harsh voice not only meant that she was angry, it also showed a certain degree of care.

  Nodding his head at the words she said, Hui Yue showed a gentle smile on his face but said nothing. Seeing his silence, Cou Ling could do nothing but sigh deeply, “Let us wait an hour or two and then we will start the blood forging once more.” She said with a sigh.

  The next couple of hours were spent in a tense atmosphere. Hui Yue decided to spend the time cultivating, and Fang Wei followed his example clearly doing everything he could to improve his own cultivation base. Cou Ling, on the other hand, spent her time deep in thought. She wondered how Hui Yue could manage to take one more lightning bolt than he had the previous day. How was that possible? She really had no idea but deep within she believed that he could do it.

  Sighing deeply, for the tenth time that day, Cou Ling picked up the sword which Hui Yue wished to have restored. Currently, all the rust which had been there previously had vanished. The black metal it was created from had been completely destroyed, replaced by a silver metal which devoured the core of the sword.

  The Nine Heavens Blood Devouring Blood Metal was a metal which devoured everything it came into contact with. Not only did it require blood to maintain itself, but it also devoured precious metals, but this time, Cou Ling was astonished as she looked at the sword in her hands.

  She knew that she was only halfway through the reforging process, yet the sword already seemed fully finished. The sword was as mysterious as it’s owner, and when she was seated with it in her hand, she could feel small tremors running through it as though the sword was alive.

  Being deep in thought the hours passed by quickly, and before they knew it, it was time to begin. Seeing that it was time, all three of them packed up their things and headed back to the alter. Just as they were about to start, a creaking sound was heard at the same time as a massive energy fluctuation appeared, causing both Cou Ling and Fang Wei to be completely shocked. They turned around to look at Hui Yue, unable to understand what would cause such a strong fluctuation.

  Turning around Cou Ling’s eyes widened in shock, and her hand instantly went to her chest. A shrill shriek sounded out from her. What should have been a young, handsome man behind her was now a monstrous beast. A massive red wolf with red eyes and a sinister cold gleam hidden within.

  Looking at the transformation her lips trembled, and her entire body shivered in fear. She had long since heard that the white-haired man was truly the Grand Marshall of the beast army, but she had never really realized that this meant that he had to be a beast himself. Looking at him in his beastly shape, a great fear enveloped her. What if his sanity was gone and had been replaced by beastly instincts?

  Chapter 327 - Beast Blood Forging

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  Chapter 327: Beast Blood Forging

  “Sorry to frighten you,” A growling voice sounded out from the strong muzzle as Hui Yue saw the shocked expression on Cou Ling’s face. He embarrassingly scratched the top of his head with his sharp claws and looked down at himself. He had transformed from a human to a beast, and his clothes had burst as his body grew. His entire being was now quite intimidating.

  “I won’t do you any harm, but you see my body is a hundred times stronger in this form than it is when I am a human. If I wish to withstand five lightning bolts today, I will have to be at my best. I promise I am not as dangerous as I look.” Pausing for a moment a toothy grin appeared on his face, “Please don’t tell anyone about my beastly appearance. Although it is known by all that I am the Grand Marshall of the beast army, not many have actually seen this transformation, and I would like to keep it a secret.”

  A little numb, Cou Ling nodded her head. Her mouth was still gaping and her eyes widened. It took her quite some time before she finally managed to pull herself together, and as she did she shook her head to reset her mind.

  Glancing at the wolf-man that was standing by her side, she could not help but be fearful Everyone knew that beasts were dangerous, and the fact that Hui Yue could transform into one proved that he was definitely not a normal human.

  “Let’s start,” Hui Yue said solemnly and with a sharp claw, he managed to cut a long gash on his arm. This allowed for the Metal infused blood to run down onto the altar causing the inscriptions within to shine and the altar to once more activate.

  The sky started rumbling, and clouds gathered above Hui Yue as the young man clenched his teeth. He summoned some of his mist energy to surround him as his blood flowed down upon the sword. The sword which was being forged by Cou Ling. Suddenly, the first lightning bolt struck and landed straight on Hui Yue. It caused him to grit his teeth in pain yet no sound was emitted, and a stubborn expression was visible in his eyes.

  Unlike last time, Hui Yue needed less power to protect his body when he was in his wolf form, and the mist energy was, therefore, capable of protecting him against two lightning bolts. Using the remaining mist energy, the second lightning bolt slammed into his tense body causing him to feel blood pushing itself up his throat and into his mouth.

  Forcefully swallowing the blood, some Wu Wei exited his body and wrapped around him as he got ready to welcome the third lightning bolt. As he did, he saw that Cou Ling was working hard. She was perspiring, and sweat was constantly rolling down her forehead, but it was all removed with the back of her hand as she rhythmically swung her hammer against the beautiful sword she was restoring.

  Looking at the sword, a frown appeared on Cou Ling’s face. The day before when Hui Yue was in his human shape the blood which left his body had been silver; a perfect silver much like the time when she had created her hammer, but now the blood had a slightly red hue. As to where this red hue came from or what it meant, the woman had no idea.

  Focusing on this red hue, she felt a ferocious air coming from the sword. It was as if a beast were trapped within. Feeling at a loss, Cou Ling mumbled to herself, “This must be because of his transformation,” While she could find no other reason, she also found that the metal on the sword seemed to be sharper than she had expected. The blade was thin but at the same time incredibly durable. The edge was sharper than anything she had ever seen before. Creating this sword from the Nine Heaven’s Devouring Blood Metal mixed with the blood of a beast and the nine heaven’s tribulation lightning, it was obvious that this sword in no way could remain as broken down as it had been before.

  Deep within the sword was its core. Deep within was the original sword, but the material had been devoured by the blood metal. The inscriptions, rust, and metal had all become part of the blood metal, and now that Cou Ling spent her time creating it, she felt as though this was a masterpiece. A weapon unlike any she had created before, and deep down she was aware that she would never create anything like it ever again.

  As Cou Ling was busy thinking this, Hui Yue was using all his energy to withstand the lightning bolts. He had almost used the rest of his energy when the fourth lightning bolt descended. ‘I need help,’ He said dejectedly, and a snort could be heard within the mind of Hui Yue.

  A gust of wind appeared and the wolf suddenly changed shape. His red fur turned into blue feathers, and long arms turned to beautiful wings. His legs turned to the legs of a bird. A screech sounded out, and the wolf had completely changed shape into a massive blue phoenix. A bird which was covered with a golden veil to protect it. The wing was injured much like the arm had been before, and where the blood that previously fell onto the sword had a red hue, this blood had a bl
ue hue to it. The magnificent bird roared into the skies, and as the final energy bolt descended upon it, the pride that was contained in its eyes caused Cou Ling’s heart to skip a beat as she hammered away on the sword.

  The moment the final lightning bolt landed on Lan Feng’s bird-like body a shiver went through him. He had used a fair bit of the energy that he had spent countless hours refining, and the moment he took over the body its shape automatically changed from a wolf to a phoenix. Standing there, the lightning ran over his body making the phoenix seem like a Thunderbird. A mythical bird born from lightning and thunder, and before the final sparks died, the shape of the phoenix slowly returned to the shape of Hui Yue.

  As soon as the final lightning bolt had descended the heavens above turned calm as if the lightning had never appeared in the first place, and the altar slowly stopped shining.

  The hammering kept sounding out for a few minutes after the altar died down, but slowly that sound too stopped.

  Hui Yue was currently too exhausted from withstanding the lightning bolts, and he had no energy to stand up and see how his amazing sword was after being reforged. But great interest could be seen in his eyes and Cou Ling gently lifted the sword and went towards Hui Yue where she handed it to him.

  Saying his thanks, Hui Yue picked the sword up and held it in his hand. The sword was created from a silvery metal, but a red and blue hue shone from it. These colors alternated and merged together shining on their own. The feeling Hui Yue had when he sat with the sword in his hand was overbearing to the extreme. The sword felt ferocious as if a dangerous animal was stored within asking for blood.

  Remembering what Cou Ling said about feeding the sword blood, Hui Yue gently cut his arm and placed the sword on the wound only to see it greedily absorbed the blood. It was as though they were drawn into the metal itself. When it absorbed his blood, the hue of blue and red increased dramatically.

  As the sword absorbed the blood, it started to become warmer and warmer in Hui Yue’s hands, and eventually, it became so hot that he had no other option than to let it go. Looking at it with expectant eyes, Hui Yue could not understand what was wrong with the sword until he found that the sword was humming again. A humming very similar to the one it had when Hui Yue had first found it.

  As soon as the humming sounded, Hui Yue felt how it was answered by a humming that came from his lower dantian. Suddenly the lifeless sword on the ground floated a meter into the air and started to spin around. When this happened, the humming increased and became louder and louder.

  As it was spinning small streaks of light started to appear. As Hui Yue looked closer at the sword, he found that it was currently being inscribed with inscription patterns he had never seen before. Looking closely, he guessed that these patterns were the ones which had been on the original sword; the sword which core had been devoured by the Nine Heaven’s Devouring Blood Metal.

  Together with the inscriptions a name was carved close to the hilt. The name Sword of the Icy Tempest. As the inscriptions finished engraving, Hui Yue reached out his hand and grasped the sword while look at every detail. Standing up, he swung the sword around and a whistling sound could be heard as it flashed by leaving nothing but a shadow in its wake.

  Thinking for a moment, Hui Yue added his Qi into the sword and suddenly a massive whirlwind seemed to grow from the tip of the sword. A whirlwind which he could toss wherever he wanted. The more Qi he pushed through, the larger the whirlwind grew.

  Contemplating for a short while, Hui Yue stopped adding Qi into the sword and instead added his Spiritual Energy. This time, the sword trembled slightly and the inscriptions flared up as one shard of ice after another appeared around the sword. With a flick of his hand, the ice shards speed towards a massive boulder Hui Yue targeted. Whistling sounds were heard as the ice shards collided with the boulder. Some sharp cuts could be seen in the stone as a result of the collision with the ice.

  Hui Yue was silent for a short while before he retracted his spiritual energy and instead pushed his Wu Wei into the sword.

  The moment his Wu Wei entered the sword the temperature around him instantly dropped. A gale appeared behind him and started to blow everything around him. Thousands of ice shards appeared, and this time not around the sword but around the young man. These ice shards were even larger than the ones previously, and their edge was as sharp as a knife itself. Seeing how an icy tempest had surrounded him, a satisfied nod could be seen as he withdrew his energy once more. This sword definitely lived up to its name as the Sword of the Icy Tempest.

  Cou Ling and Fang Wei were both completely shocked as they saw how Hui Yue could summon one attack after another from the sword alone. They were shocked that the inscription from the original sword had actually survived the Nine Heaven’s Blood Forging.

  Hui Yue was completely focused on the sword and paid no attention to the two other people who were waiting for him to finish so that they could return to the capital. Although Cou Ling had now finished the job she had promised to do, she was still hesitant when it came to leaving without her employer.

  Hui Yue, who had been completely absorbed in the sword, suddenly paused as he lifted his head. He could feel through the ground that someone was moving this way, and this someone was not alone.

  Chapter 328 - Let Us Try It Out

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  Chapter 328: Let Us Try It Out

  “Someone is headed this way,” Hui Yue said with a low voice. “There are at least twenty walking towards us while there is a carriage pulled by a magical beast alongside four others riding magical beasts,” He continued after placing a hand on the ground.

  Hui Yue had an elemental affinity with Earth, and he had just now merged with the element. He became one with the Earth letting him scan the area around him. As long as someone stepped on the ground within half a kilometer, Hui Yue would be able to feel it.

  “We should get going. It could be troublesome to be here when they arrive.”

  Hearing the words spoken by the young man both Cou Ling and Fang Wei agreed, and the three of them started leaving the altar. Glancing behind him, Hui Yue frowned. The group which was headed their way sped up, and the four people riding magical beasts started moving even faster than the people on foot.

  “The two of you get behind that stone,” Hui Yue said seriously as he pointed at a massive boulder nearby. Although both Cou Ling and Fang Wei had faces which showed that they were about to argue, Hui Yue quickly shook his head; he pointed at the stone leaving neither of them with a choice but to do as he ordered.

  Turning around, Hui Yue’s grip on the Sword of the Icy Tempest tightened. His eyes turned slightly red as killing intent flashed within. At the same time, energy started roiling within his body making it easier for him to use it in an instant.

  “Since it is like this, let’s try it out,” He mumbled as he looked at the sword in his hand. As the riding experts came closer and closer, the sword seemed to vibrate more and more as though a fighting spirit was stirring within. It seemed as if the sword wished to fight as much as Hui Yue did.

  It did not take long before the riders reached Hui Yue. All four of them were riding Qilins, and they seemed comparable to Practitioner ranked experts. The experts seated on top of the Qilins were all Kings, the same rank as Hui Yue.

  Although they were the same rank, Hui Yue had quite a few aces up his sleeve. He had high ranked martial arts, high ranked spiritual arts, the ability to transform into a wolf, not to mention the reforged sword he held in his hand, and even the phoenix which was resting inside his lower dantian.

  Looking at the four Kings, he saw them smirking as they rode closer, but their smirk soon vanished as they felt their Qilins start to tremble with fear. It was almost to the point where they couldn’t moving forward anymore.

  “Useless trash!” One of the Kings said as he jumped from the Qilin, and with a decisive slash, he chopped off the head of the beast causing it to collapse to the ground. Its body twitching while blood
flowed outward.

  Seeing his decisiveness, Hui Yue could not help but raise an eyebrow in surprise. Although he was shocked, he showed nothing on his face nor did he allow it to affect him. It was after all just the murder of a beast, something he himself had done so many times that it would be impossible to count.

  The other experts were not as decisive, but all of them dismounted their Qilins and allowed for them to stay back as they looked at Hui Yue and slowly stepped towards him.

  “Little boy, what is someone like you doing out here?” He spoke as his eyes landed on the silver sword in Hui Yue’s hands. Instantly greed appeared on the faces of the four experts. One of them greedily licked his lips while all of them stepped forward.

  “Give us that weapon of yours, and we will let you leave alive,” Another of the men said as he too focused on the weapon in Hui Yue’s hand. Seeing the greed in this person’s eyes, Hui Yue snorted in distaste.

  “If you have the ability to take it, then come take it,” He said disdainfully. Raising the sword and taking a stance, Hui Yue was ready to start fighting the four Kings. His face was tranquil, but he had an air of coldness about him. Looking at this young man, all four Kings felt a shiver run down their spine before they started laughing.