Blue Phoenix

by Tinalynge

  The evening was spent in great company as Hui Yue chatted with Fang Wei and Cou Ling. Slowly both the spiritual blacksmith and her trainee forgot all about the dangers Hui Yue was about to go through and instead they enjoyed the entire night. For once, Hui Yue did not train under the moonlight absorbing Yin energy; instead, he allowed himself to relax with his blacksmith friend as they enjoyed their time together. He needed to be in his peak condition the following day.

  Chapter 346 - Blood Essence Inscription

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  Chapter 346: Blood Essence Inscription

  The entire camp was filled with morning mist as the cultivators started stirring. Hui Yue had been awake all night and a smile was present on his face as he looked at the massive forest and mountains that towered in front of him. Excitement boiled in his blood, and his adrenalin was pumping. The young man was so eager to rush into the forests, but he forced himself to stay back.

  For one, he was simply unaware of where the so-called grave even was; all he knew was that it was an opening in the ground covered with a locking inscription. An inscription so strong that Hui Yue assumed at least four or five Saints would need to pour all their energy into them to forcefully break the inscriptions. Unlike everyone else who thought that this was a Saint’s grave, Hui Yue fully believed Lan Feng who said that the grave belonged to a God. A God who had entered this lower plane for the sake of resting in peace. As to why he decided to enter this specific plane… Well that was something Hui Yue did not know, nor did he know the circumstances of this expert’s death. Was he dying from a battle he lost, or had he lived for so long that death was the only thing he sought?

  Hui Yue waited with the craftsmen until he saw a group of ten royal guards. These ten guards were joking with each other, but as soon as they reached the area with the craftsmen, they pulled themselves together and properly introduced themselves.

  ‘Knowing that they are here, I think it’s time to say my goodbyes,’ Hui Yue thought as he smiled to Cou Ling and Fang Wei. Hugging both of them he smiled. “Don’t worry about me.” He grinned. “I can look after myself. I will return to the city before you even notice i’m gone.”

  Knowing that Hui Yue was saying this mainly to calm her down, Cou Ling was a bit ashamed. She was far older than him and yet even still she was the one who needed to be cared for. Deciding not to disappoint her friend, she pulled herself together, steeling herself.

  “Go get some treasures!” She said while nodding. “We will be assisted by the guards while traveling back to town; we will definitely be fine so don’t worry about us. Just do what you can to reach your goal. We’ll be awaiting your return.” Cou Long quickly smiled at the young man before she started packing up all her items. She didn’t even as much as glance back at Hui Yue, it was as though he had already left. The young man understood that this was her way of managing the farewell. She was obviously still thinking about him and his safety.

  “Thank you,” He whispered gratified. “I had a lot of fun on the way here,” He said with a low, gentle voice. “Oi Fang Wei, look after your master well,” He grinned as he rustled the other man’s hair. Although they were around the same age, Hui Yue was far more mature and the other man had grown attached to Hui Yue, much like one would to an older brother.

  “I do not believe that I will be gone for long,” Hui Yue said while shrugging his shoulders. “But as soon as I’ve return I will come by your smithy and show you im safe,” He continued. Hearing this Fang Wei nodded his head solemnly. He understood that men had to protect women. Even if that woman was stronger than him then he had to assist her to the best of his ability.

  Having said his farewells, Hui Yue started moving and managed to move so swiftly that an afterimage remained at the location he left.

  Leaving the merchants and craftsmen, he soon found himself surrounded by multiple cultivators. The majority of these cultivators were all in groups. The groups being mostly families, clans, dojos, friends, or mercenary groups. No matter where Hui Yue looked he found no one apart from himself on their own.

  This did not matter to Hui Yue, in fact, it was beneficial as it allowed for him to slip further and further into the crowd, and soon he had the royal family within sight. As soon as he caught sight of the person he wanted to watch he no longer tried to push forward; instead, he found a good spot between two families he had never seen before; families who were all very tanned and they had an accent unlike any he had heard before. Looking at these families he instantly assumed that they were nobility from the Yueliang Provence.

  Hui Yue was someone almost nobody noticed. He was wearing his black cloak, the one he bought back in Riluo City. This was the cloak which hid his cultivation base from others. The reason Hui Yue used this was partly for the sake of being easily overlooked as it help him fall in with the shadows around him. The other reason was to hide his white hair.

  Although some were unaware of the traits of the Grand Marshall of the Shenyuan beast horde, more than a few were aware of his appearance and knew that some of the families here used to be nobility of the Siban Empire. These families had managed to take their wealth with them when they left Siban and they migrated to the Taiyang Kingdom adn the Yueliang Province. If they were to see the man who caused their kingdom to fall, it was highly likely that they would gang up on him; something he would prefer did not happen. Even if there were no Saints, they would be incredibly troublesome to deal with.

  Sighing he pulled the cloak further down as he intently observed everything around him. Every expert was ready and it was clear that some of them were very eager to rush into the mountainous forest ahead of them. Hui Yue was fine with being around the middle of the massive group of people. In the front they would be taking the heaviest hits from magical beasts, and even if they were first now, the inscription locking down the area everyone wanted to enter still needed to be deactivated.

  ‘It would really funny if they completely misunderstood and this is was not a grave,’ Hui Yue suddenly said to Lan Feng as he observed the many experts around him. Everyone had come under the assumption that great treasures would be gained; how ironic it would be if there was nothing but an empty immortal’s cave.

  It did not take long before the sea of humans started moving forward and moments after some families rushed ahead into the forest. This was something everyone had assumed would happen, but the royal family did not rush. They were after all the only family present who knew the actual location of the entrance. Even if someone were to rush into the forest, they were highly unlikely to find the specific location.

  Even if they did find the location, they would be at a loss for what to do. The grave, or whatever it was, was sealed by a strong inscription. An inscription so strong that multiple Saints were needed to work together to break it, even after thousands of years had passed since it was made.

  As the first group vanished into the forest the royal family finally started moving. Entering the forest Hui Yue could hear the sounds of battle in front of them and on the sides. It was obvious that the families who had charged into the forest were now being held up by various magical beasts. Most of the cultivators encountered their fair share of magical beasts; however the further into the forest they went the more cautious the beasts became.

  These beasts were stronger than the ones at the entrance to the forest. They had lived for eons and throughout the years they had learned caution because their intelligence had risen along with their cultivation.

  Moving through the forest everyone were on high alert. Although most of the beasts kept away, no one knew if there were any traps laid down. They could be from people attempting to take the grave for themselves, or they could be traps set up by the original owner of the grave. Some of the smarter beasts even like to lay traps for human cultivators as well. The beasts within this part of the forest were all as intelligent as humans.

  The travel through the forest took the better part of a day and they soon found themselves on a slope leading up into
the mountains. Following this slope the speed of these daring adventurers became slower and slower, yet the fevered gazes within everyone’s eyes grew increasingly intense. The more they moved the more excited they became.

  Even Hui Yue who was normally quite calm couldn’t help but also became more and more excited about the journey they were about to undergo. He had been below ground before in the Dungeons of the Divine yet this was completely different. This was a place where no man had set foot in thousands of years. As to what waited inside, no one knew, but it was definitely certain that it was nothing like the dungeons.

  ‘It is a shame that it has been such a long time since the grave was sealed,’ Lan Feng commented as he understood Hui Yue’s excitement. ‘Many of the treasures will definitely have become spoiled. I cannot imagine that many herbs will have been able to survive thousands of years passing by. Many of the armors and weapons are likely to have rusted away unless they were sealed by the practitioner who died here.’ Lan Feng was quiet for a bit before he chuckled. ‘Although I say that it is a shame, it is actually a good thing for us,’ He continued. ‘If we had found the grave years before we would have been incapable of entering it. The only reason we can enter it now is because the sealing inscription has weakened so much that even the Saints around here assume it is a Saint ranked expert that set it.’

  Hui Yue chuckled in reply. ‘You win some you lose some,’ He said with a shrug of his shoulders. They found the grave but many of the items would have spoiled. Yet although this could be the case Hui Yue was certain that many treasures would be fine, and he could not wait to see which kind of treasures he could find. His main goal was to find Yin energy somehow and to get rid of the third prince. Even if there were no treasures around he still had one aim that he could strive for.

  Finally the heat of the day subsided as the sun started to set, and only then did the royal party stop in front of a few stones. Looking at these stones one would notice anything out of order, but if one were to probe them closely they would feel a faint energy ripple being emitted from the stones.

  One could only guess why there had been experts out here on a mission, but seeing that they had noticed these strange looking stones, it had to have been a very thorough mission. In fact, Hui Yue did not care too much, what he cared about was how to enter the tomb.

  He soon found that he was not the only one interested in entering. A young man only a few years older than himself charged straight towards the stones, but when he was around ten meters away the man came to a halt. The energy ripple which had been barely noticeable before grew increasingly strong, and the man was stopped in his tracks and forced to his knees. Blood sprayed from his mouth and moments after his body fell to the ground. As for whether or not he was alive, no one could tell knew.

  ‘The expert has indeed used blood essence in the inscription that seals this place,’ Lan Feng commented slowly as his brows furrowed. His words were all spoken very silently but with mixed emotions that made it clear to Hui Yue that this was something out of the ordinary.

  Chapter 347 - Breaking the Seal

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  Chapter 347: Breaking the Seal

  The sight of the young man falling to the ground caused everyone to become completely silent. Glancing at the royal family, Hui Yue noticed that they weren’t surprised in the least.

  It was clear that this family knew about the inscription which protected the stones, but they clearly didn’t care to tell everyone about it. Seeing the expression on the face of the royals one could see that they clearly knew more about this place than anyone else. To try to charge through with force would be incredibly silly.

  Hui Yue looked at the royal family with a complicated expression on his face. ‘What is blood essence?’ Hui Yue asked Lan Feng who was seated deep his dantain.

  Hearing the question, Lan Feng was quiet for some time before he finally explained.

  ‘The body of a cultivator is very different from the body of a regular human. Although everyone on this plane absorbs the essence of the heavens and the earth naturally, only cultivators refine it.’

  ‘Refining the essence of the heavens and the earth refines not only energy, but also the body of the cultivator. During this process, one’s body undergoes refinement as well.’

  These changes are mainly in one’s dantains where their Qi swirl, spiritual energy sea, and golden Wu Wei core are located. The refinement of these energies is what qualifies one to call themselves cultivators. As you progress through the ranks of cultivation, you form these energies in your dantian on your path to defy the heavens and become immortal.’

  ‘To cultivate is to defy the natural order of things as now your body does not rely on its bodily needs, but derives everything from the energy you refine. To cultivate is to refine a body of an immortal. Although cultivators grow old, they do so very slowly. If one were to cultivate all the way to becoming an immortal, then your physical body would be the product of the essence of the heavens and the earth.’

  ‘Deep within the core of your Qi swirl, in the deepest depths of your spiritual energy sea, and at the center of your Wu Wei core is where your energy is the fiercest and purest. It is this energy that if you withdraw some and mix it with your blood, it will become incredibly powerful. If you use this infused blood to write an inscription, to enhance an attack, or to save yourself in a desperate situation, then its power will be undefeatable. Your entire being will become either white, silvery, or golden depending on which energy you used, and your whole body will become as strong as the purest energy deep within you, your energies overflowing as if you had no limits.’

  ‘The inscription guarding this tomb has been written with someone’s blood essence. The energy used is clearly ancestral Worldpower. Although it is strong, and a Saint should not be able to break through it, this expert has been dead for a long time and the power has diminished quite a bit. At least the power of this inscription blocking the outside world as it time after time has been forced to expel creatures and humans who accidentally roamed near the protective barrier.’

  ‘About things within the grave, we are not likely to be as fortunate. The energy inside has been protected by this outside barrier, and the traps will be frighteningly powerful. If Ancestral Worldpower is truly present everywhere inside then we will have to leave instantly,’ Lan Feng said seriously. ‘Although treasures are helpful, and we desperately want to kill the third prince, our lives are far more important. If this is the case and they try to push further into the grave you won’t have to fear the third prince ever returning.’

  ‘Can I also use my blood essence?’ Hui Yue asked curiously as he was enlightened about this new form of strengthening his attacks and making his inscriptions far stronger than normal. He was incredibly eager.

  ‘While it is possible, I would suggest you not do so,’ Lan Feng warned. ‘Every time you withdraw a strand of your Qi essence, a drop of your spiritual essence, and a ray of your Wu Wei it will be gone forever. In total, you only have ten of each of these so use them wisely..’

  ‘Using your energy essence is not hard. All you need to do is will it. You have never known about it before so you have never tried using it. All you need to do is to let your consciousness merge with your energies then search for the center where you will find the densest energy.’

  ‘When you have withdrawn the energy, you then merge it with your blood. This is a step you are familiar with as you have merged your blood with various energies before. You have fortified your body before and used the green energy of the pearl to heal yourself.’ Lan Feng continued, and Hui Yue nodded.

  ‘Well then, let’s get ready for this treasure hunt. Now that you know what blood essence is, don’t ever use it if you have other options. Even if we have to use all the energy I have stored up, that is better than to waste one of your core strands.’

  Nodding his head, Hui Yue returned his focus to the low ripple of energy which was emitted from the energy shield in front of them. The
man who had fallen lifelessly to the ground had been removed yet the blood stains. A reminder to everyone about how dangerous the barrier was.

  “All Saints step forward!” The third prince called out causing many people to involuntarily step backward while the strong Saints came forward. All of them had a mighty air about them. None of them even looked at the lower ranked cultivators who were breathlessly staring at them. It was as though all the many cultivators present, even the Emperors, were nothing more than ants in their eyes. They were not even worth a single glance.

  Hui Yue looked at them with a mocking smile on his lips. Although Lan Feng was not as strong as he had been before, he had been quietly cultivating for more than two years turning all the energy he had refined into Wu Wei.

  Now that he had so much Wu Wei he was far stronger than ever before. Not only was he stronger when it came to the amount of Wu Wei he controlled, he could also transform into his beast form. Although that was on the condition that Hui Yue transformed first, but it was still possible for him to return to his original form. By doing so, he was many times stronger than ever before.