Blue Phoenix

by Tinalynge

  Another thing that confused him was the obvious distance between the two groups of experts. As he looked closer at Hui Yue, he discovered that this expert was a mere Emperor.

  Looking at the room, it was impossible to tell what had transpired since the first person entered the chamber, and instead of wrecking his mind over it, he decided not to think about it. Looking at these two groups he was somewhat uncertain about what to do. Should he pick a side? If he did, it was likely he would have to share all the treasures he found later, and between these two groups, one was not much stronger than the other.

  One consisted of two Saints, yet both of them were clearly just of the first or second star. Whereas the other side consisted of a Saint and an Emperor. The Saint was surprisingly a star higher than him, but the Emperor next to him was definitely a liability. Therefore he assumed that the two groups were about even. One group was weak while in the other he would have to share his treasures with an Emperor ranked expert. Not really liking either group, he chose to be alone for now.

  Coming to this conclusion, the Saint seated himself at the wall between the two groups making it clear that he was not joining either. Seeing this, Hui Yue was satisfied. This Saint was most likely a three star Saint, someone who was fairly strong. But he was not strong enough to face off against Xiao Ning. Especially now that he had broken through.

  “That guy comes from the Yueliang Province,” Xiao Ning’s voice drifted into Hui Yue’s ear as he looked curiously at the Saint. “We don’t know much about him, but I would assume that he was my match before I advanced.” He continued his analysis.

  Hearing this Hui Yue nodded his head as he sat down and started to cultivate. The last few days he had only cultivated to regain energy so that he could continue his training, but now that he had smoother control over his energy, he once more sat down and cultivated seriously. Although he had just broken into the Emperor rank, he was still very far from the Saint level. He knew every time he advanced it would be more difficult than the time before.

  The new Saint was correct in assuming that it would only take a few hours for the experts who had been following behind him but just as they entered the chamber. Though what caused him to be dumbfounded was when he saw the pair of Saints jumped to their feet and charged at them forcing them to hand over their treasures.

  “How can the treasures from the outer grave have such an effect on a Saint?” He mumbled shocked. Although he had not left all the treasures alone on the way here, he did not seek them out as he was aware that this was just the outer grave. But it seemed that these two Saints were acting shamelessly without a care.

  Hui Yue and Xiao Ning showed no signs of stopping them. Hui Yue cultivated, and Xiao Ning had taken over training using the dummy. The energy ripples that came from their part of the chamber were so strong that the hearts of all experts within the chamber were secretly shocked. Even amongst Saints, this was the strongest energy many of them had ever experienced. Even when they broke the seal, not many of the Saints were able to produce such a tremendous amount of energy.

  Unfortunately, these experts could not stay in the grand hall for long due to the strong energy ripples that crashed against everything. The stream of new arrivals was constantly decreasing as word of the thieving Saints had gotten to the majority of the experts headed to the hall. Most of them soon decided to be grateful for their treasures and head back to the city. Better to have a few treasures and keep them than be greedy and lose everything.

  Although while Hui Yue was cultivating he had spread out his spiritual energy in the chamber allowing for him to sense what was happening around him. If any of his friends were to enter the chamber, he would instantly know about it and would be able to support them. Although he was not willing to fight the Saints for no reason; he was definitely going to defend his friends if they made it this far. But, sadly, none of them appeared and soon no more experts made their way into the hall.

  The silence from before once more descended upon them, but only a few hours passed before one more gate opened up and yet another Saint walked in. This Saint was from the former Siban empire, and his eyes went wide when he saw Hui Yue sitting in the corner.

  Unlike what one would have expected, the Saint did not rush over to Hui Yue to get revenge for his fallen empire; instead, an image played out in his mind. It was what he saw back during the war; an image of a massive blue phoenix which appeared for only a few moments. Even though he did not see it for long it was a sight he would never forget. The might of the bird and the pressure that appeared the moment he transformed was so great that even the strongest Saint of the Siban Empire was like dirt under his feet.

  Remembering that day, he could only snort at the level of strength this Emperor ranked young man showed. He knew that he was hiding his true strength. Seeing this, the pair of Saints misunderstood and thought it was a sign of disdain for an Emperor to be amongst them, but these two Saints felt worried as they remembered the sudden energy ripples that had appeared when his strength had suddenly shot up to the Saint rank. Not just the first star of the Saint rank, but he seemed so powerful that even they would be rendered useless next to him.

  A few hours later the experts started pouring out from the entrance where the Siban Empire Saint had appeared. Once more the Saint pair started robbing people below their rank, and it did not take long before the rush of people again died out. This time they had not touched anyone who had the backing of a Saint, yet at the same time the experts feared that it would be their turn when no other experts were left. Therefore they rushed to leave the chamber together with everyone else.

  This happened multiple times. Saints appeared followed by experts who were then robbed by the Saint pair. Every Saint within the room looked at them shocked wondering how they could throw their face away in such a manner, yet they did not move to stop them.

  Unfortunately, no matter how many cultivators these two Saints robbed there were no more golden pearls. All they got was inscriptions, items, and herbs. Looking at all the herbs they had gathered a cold feeling appeared in Hui Yue’s heart, and he greatly considered killing them for all their items. Sighing, he knew that this was no way to do things so instead he stood up and headed towards them.

  Seeing the Emperor starting to move, all eyes were drawn to him. Some were filled with disdain, yet a few knowledgeable experts felt anticipation for what would unfold, as well as fear and apprehension towards the Emperor walking across the room.

  “What do you want?” One of the Saints asked nervously as he saw the white-haired man stop in front of him. “Let’s trade. You each want a golden pill, and I want all the herbs you have obtained. What do you say? You get a golden pearl, and I get something I would like as well.”

  Hearing the words fervent gazes appeared in the eyes of the two Saints and after a quick glance at one another, the two Saints nodded, and the herbs were quickly traded for two golden pearls. Although these pearls were almost priceless, herbs from outside this world were truly priceless, and they were only found in this grave. If Hui Yue ever wanted to create any with the celestial alchemy, he would need them anyways so getting as many as possible were of the utmost importance.

  Seeing them trade everyone was dumbfounded. Why this Emperor wanted these herbs no one knew, but everyone was much more interested in this golden pearl they saw. Especially when the two Saints popped it into their mouth, which caused energy ripples to exploded out from their bodies. And in no time, their cultivation base soared to the heavens.

  Seeing this, many of the Saints started eyeing Hui Yue greedily. Perhaps the young man had more of these miracle pills. Sensing the gazes on his back, Hui Yue smiled as if he did not know what everyone was thinking. If they were to attack him, he would prove that he was in no way a pushover. Perhaps this was for the better. He was slightly annoyed by the glances of disdain he had been given for the past few hours after all the new Saints appeared in the grand hall.

  Chapter 358 - A Wolf In Sheep’s Cl
othings

  * * *

  Chapter 358: A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothings

  Seeing the many greedy, cold gazes that were watching him, the young man could not help but smile wryly. He somewhat expected that some would be unable to contain their greed but to see so many gazes, was something he could not have guessed would happen when people saw the effects of the pills pill.

  Instead of waiting for anyone to make a move, energy ripples appeared out of nowhere. It was so powerful it felt as if a strong gale had appeared within the chamber. The little boy who was an Emperor ranked expert, and who looked just shy of twenty years of age, suddenly no longer seemed like a mere low-ranked Emperor. His strength was increasing, growing at such a rapid speed that even the Saints who had considered taking action were shocked speechless. His strength kept rising, kept condensing around him and soon his aura was that of a Saint. Even after reaching the Saint rank it steadily rose, showing no signs of stopping.

  Seeing the sudden strength that this man had up his sleeve, everyone was dumbfounded. The fact that he was a Saint as young as he was, completely dumbfounded everyone, but the Saints of the Siban Empire, Xiao Ning, and the pair of Saints he had just traded with. They had previously seen his true strength of him and they were not going to make an enemy out of him if they had an option to chose.

  Finally, it stopped rising. Though his power was not on Xiao Ning’s level, with the two of them standing side by side everyone lost their original idea of robbing him. Even putting pressure on him would be impossible.

  Seeing that he intimated everyone, Hui Yue withdrew the strength once more. Allowing for Lan Feng’s aura to shine through was nothing much. It was in no way causing for Lan Feng to exhaust any of his energy nor did it require Hui Yue to do much. In a way it was the same as opening and closing a lid, allowing for his energy to be let out easily.

  Having withdrawn the aura once more, no one moved to trouble them. Even if the greedy Saints together were to charge at Hui Yue and Xiao Ning, it was highly likely that they could hold their own against them. While not knowing whether or not Hui Yue really had any more pills, it was far too risky to attack him.

  The smile on Xiao Ning’s face increased tenfold when he saw Hui Yue display what he assumed was his actual level. He had felt unrightfully judged on Hui Yue’s behalf since the many Saints started appearing yet now that his partner had proven his strength he felt smug.

  Looking around Hui Yue knew that more Saints were coming; however, quite a few had already appeared and he was considering if they were enough. Enough people meant that they could once more advance, but Hui Yue was also aware that now that he had shown his strength, he would actually need to use some of it when they went to open Heaven’s door.

  Sighing deeply, he looked at Xiao Ning for some time contemplating if they should wait for more Saints to come or if they should just rally the Saints that were already there. He was as eager to continue onwards as the others were. Although he wanted treasure as much as the next person, he was even more curious about the strange powers he could obtain. So far he had already learned a lot of things. He had learned about Blood Essence and Celestial Alchemy.

  He had advanced to the Emperor rank and he had found a strong Saint to be allied with. In general, he had already gotten an insane amount of valuable treasures, but he was not satisfied. After hearing what the voice had said, Hui Yue was lured in by the promise of even more astonishing treasures.

  He was not being silly; he trusted his strength, and although he was not expecting to be the one getting all the benefits, he was realistic about the situation. He knew that more golden pills and herbs awaited him inside the inner grave.

  By now Hui Yue felt incredibly lucky, and he decided it was worth a try. Once more his strength exploded forth causing everyone to pay attention to him. “Let’s stand together and bust through this door blocking our way to the inheritance of the grave!. Waiting for more Saints might make this easier, but the longer we wait, the more people we have to share the treasure with.” He said.

  His voice was strong, and he was filled with certainty. Certainty that did not come from just anywhere, this was confidence he gained from Lan Feng. The phoenix believed that if everyone went all out, and Hui Yue used a few skills as well, then they could open the door. As always in life, Hui Yue fully trusted and believed Lan Feng, and his words quickly rallied the other Saints. One after another stood up cracking their necks and summoning their energy.

  The energy within the room rapidly turned chaotic. The energy that everyone was emitting was frighteningly powerful, and if anyone ranked below the Saint rank had been in the chamber, they would have been completely overwhelmed. Every Saint was aware that although they had used their strength to break the original blood essence inscription at the entrance, this door was far more challenging, not to mention they were fewer experts present.

  Still, somehow something in this young man’s voice made them believe they could do it, and all the energy they could muster was summoned. Attacks formed in the air and even Hui Yue started channeling his energy to attack.

  The attack he formed was his old-time favorite the ball of blue fire. He used this attack for quite a few reasons. The attack did not require much of Lan Feng’s Wu Wei but instead required his elemental affinity something he had plenty. This was the most energy efficient attack he had, yet the strange blue flame was so powerful that the heat radiating outward caused many of the Saints present to be worried in their hearts. Could they take such a hit without being seriously injured? It was clear that this young man who they previously looked down upon was indeed a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

  The massive Fire Orb Hui Yue controlled was released with a low shout, and it soon soared through the room landing on the door with a massive boom. It caused the entire chamber to tremble. Seeing his attack had land a smile appeared on Hui Yue’s face as he channeled one more Fire Orb.

  Boom after boom sounded out as the great hall shook violently causing dust to fall from the ceiling. The Saints tried to outdo each other with each attack getting more and more powerful. Sending out a second Fire Orb, Hui Yue saw that the door was showing signs of caving in as cracks appeared on the surface. This caused a cheer to erupt throughout the room and their battle spirits soared. Their attacks rained down on the door at an even more frantic pace than before.

  A smile appeared on Hui Yue’s face as he saw how Xiao Ning was summoning one shield after another, and with a force unlike any he had seen before, the powerful cultivator ran towards the door colliding directly with it. Although they could easily have laughed at him saying it was a pointless attack, none did so. Everyone could feel the tremor that ran through the chamber was no less than from what happened after their attacks, and the cracks that formed on the door made it obvious just how strong a Saint he was.

  Looking at the immensely hot Fire Orbs used by Hui Yue and the sheer power employed by Xiao Ning many of the Saints felt ashamed of the overconfidence they had; all of them made a mental note to not fight them unless it was absolutely necessary. They were a terrifying team, and their strength was not something one could trifle with.

  Proving their strength was a part of Hui Yue’s plan. Although Hui Yue was aware that he would have to battle the other Saints sooner or later, he would prefer to fight as few as possible. Unlike them, whenever Lan Feng used his Wu Wei he would not be able to restore it just by cultivating much like everyone else could, he had to refine it all over again and store it within his soul that was waiting to be returned to his own body.

  Even if Hui Yue could battle the Saints, he could by no means take all of them on, nor could he battle for extended periods of time. Because of this, Hui Yue wanted the other Saints to understand that he and Xiao Ning were not to be touched.

  Everyone understood that Hui Yue was showing off his power. As for why he did so, everyone just assumed that he was trying to warn them not to take his treasures, even Xiao Ning was certain this was the reason, and a sly grin
appeared on his lips. After which he summoned an even stronger force around his body willing to prove that it was not only Hui Yue on their team who was frightening.

  Seeing the golden Wu Wei swirling around Xiao Ning everyone held their breath as they were shocked to see that he was actually capable of controlling so much Wu Wei at once. Creating another shield, he charged at the door. A resounding boom rolled through the entire hall followed by the sound of stones collapsing to the ground.

  The final attack of Xiao Ning had broken through the door, and it was slowly crumbling in front of everyone. This only reaffirmed their belief that this duo was frighteningly strong.

  Seeing the door collapse everyone rushed backwards to make sure that they were not being buried under the debris. Even Xiao Ning had to rush backwards right after the impact. He did not even have the time to feel smug about breaking through the door as he knew that no matter how strong he was, being caught by a door this massive, even if he was a master of defense, would kill him.