Blue Phoenix

by Tinalynge

  The traps were getting more dangerous now, and Xiao Ning and Hui Yue could no longer focus fully on their own thoughts. They needed their full focus to overcome the traps blocking them from the main tomb.

  As they moved forward more and more blood covered the walls, but there were no signs of what kind of weapon or attack wounded these Saints. It was clear that they were energy attacks of some sort, attacks that vanished as soon as they had been unleashed. No more corpses were seen but the amount of blood they were seeing made them quite unsettled.

  Soon they heard voices in front of them, voices that sounded quite frantic. A loud, crashing noise accompanied the voices and a humming sound also penetrated the silence of the tunnel. Hui Yue and Xiao Ning glanced at one another before they both nodded their heads and rushed forward, towards the voices.

  As soon as they reached the voices, they were shocked to see a large golden warrior. It was a human who was created from Wu Wei. Powerful energy undulations burst forth from him, and his rank felt no weaker than Xiao Ning. For these experts to fight him, they truly needed to give it their all and looking at them they did not look too good.

  Although Hui Yue did not care too much about these people, he saw the worry in Xiao Ning’s eyes. For the sake of his friend, Hui Yue summoned a blue fireball which he allowed to grow to its maximum size before he tossed it at the golden Wu Wei warrior.

  Seeing that the warrior was focusing on the group of experts who had triggered the trap, it stood defenseless against the blue Fire Orb. As soon as it impacted the Wu Wei warrior he was knocked sideways and a large hole appeared in its side; however, this was not a creature created by flesh and blood, so it had no problems continuing to fight even though a large hole was present on its side.

  Seeing this, Hui Yue grunted with displeasure. Had it been a Saint who bothered to take this attack head on, then they would have been seriously injured. Not trying to defend against such an attack was silly and both Hui Yue and Lan Feng were slightly insulted that this Wu Wei warrior treated their strong attack as if it were nothing. More spiritual energy exited his body, and merged with Lan Feng’s elemental affinity, and another massive Fire Orb appeared in front of him.

  Much like last time this attack was aimed at the exact same place, the side where there was a gaping hole. Once more this Wu Wei warrior did not go against them, and allowed for the Fire Orb to land straight on his side. The blast forced the Wu Wei warrior back once more.

  Unlike before, this time, the Wu Wei warrior did not stand back up; instead, his entire body had been split into two separating the upper and lower body. ‘Don’t just stand there!’ Lan Feng said. ‘Do you remember the devour ability of the wolf?’ He asked curiously, and Hui Yue remembered with a shudder. How could he forget when he had once absorbed so many souls?

  ‘This Wu Wei warrior is not done fighting just yet, but most important of all, it that it is not a human. Devour it and slowly refine the Wu Wei from the warrior. Although it might take some time as this is sentient Wu Wei; it will bring you many benefits in the future.’

  Hearing this Hui Yue was a little surprised, but he quickly nodded his head and headed towards the two parts of the Wu Wei warrior. Very much like Lan Feng said, the two parts were still struggling to get up, but suddenly a red light shone from Hui Yue’s palm. A thick killing intent billowed outwards as a wolf head was created from this red energy. The wolf head soared up where it let out a thunderous roar. It then dove at the Wu Wei warrior and scarfed down the two parts of energy before returning to Hui Yue’s hand. After returning the red light slowly retreated into his palm and vanished leaving the present Saints deeply shocked. The Saints who had fought the Wu Wei warriors previously in the tunnel were deeply frightened seeing how easily it was taken down.

  “We’ve fought them before,” One of them stuttered. “When we fought them the first time it was not enough to just sever the body into two as it kept fighting. How did he make it vanish?!” Although he had seen it with his own two eyes, the Saint talking was filled with disbelief. This youngster was impossible to see through. Was he a Saint, or an Emperor? What was that red energy he had used? How could he control blue flames? There were so many unanswered questions that they all had, yet no one, not even Xiao Ning, asked any questions. Questions were useless as they all knew that he would most likely laugh and say something completely nonsensical not answering the question at all. Were they in his position no one would answer either.

  Looking at the worried expression on Xiao Ning’s face whenever he looked at the surviving Saints, Hui Yue could only sigh. He was not really interested in roping in more Saints but having Saints owing him a favor was always a good idea so without saying anything he picked up three red medicinal pills from his storage stone and tossed one to each of the Saints.

  “Eat this,” He said not allowing them to argue. The Saints did not question him as they popped the medicinal pills into their mouths.

  The moment the pill entered their mouths shock filled their bodies. Previously they had been exhausted, nearing the brink of their capabilities, yet now a new and unknown energy flooded their system. It refilled their exhausted Wu Wei cores, healed their wounds, and almost restored them to their peak performance. One pill alone was enough to almost fully restore their power which showed just how strong these medicinal pills were.

  “Why would you give us these?” One of the experts asked shocked as he looked at Hui Yue. It was clear that the expert had previously used them to trigger traps and shown no signs of caring about them, but now he was helping them. He was an enigma; someone completely impossible to understand.

  “A friend of mine values your lives,” Hui Yue said with a shrug. “And I am certain that you’ll remember the favor, so let’s continue heading down the tunnel. If more of these Wu Wei warriors appear they are mine though.” He said straightforwardly, and everyone nodded their heads. The three surviving Taiyang Kingdom Saints even wished to say ‘take them! Take them all!’ But they kept their mouths shut worried that he might misunderstand it as ridicule.

  Chapter 366 - Light at the End of the Tunnel

  * * *

  Chapter 366: Light at the End of the Tunnel

  After Hui Yue and Xiao Ning joined the group, the traps were far easier to deal with. Xiao Ning constantly had a barrier of Wu Wei around them, one that was very similar to his Radiant Aegis, and the wayward Wu Wei attacks all crumbled against the golden barrier.

  The Wu Wei warriors they came across all ended up being swallowed whole by the red light with a dense killing intent that Hui Yue summoned. At first, everyone expected that Hui Yue had only successfully absorbed the first Wu Wei warrior because it was injured, however, now they knew that whether or not it was injured it would still be swallowed. The red energy was simply far too dominating for the warriors to stand against it.

  While they were slowly moving forward, Hui Yue took the space at the very back. While the other experts were completely focused on what was happening around them in the tunnels, Hui Yu was struggling against the amounts of sentient Wu Wei he was constantly absorbing. Refining it was no easy task.

  The energy was fighting Hui Yue, struggling every second, but since it was within Hui Yue’s body, he had used his own Wu Wei to counter it. He would flood the sentient Wu Wei and force it to be refined in his meridians. It would swirl around time and time again until the dominating energy slowly settled and became part of his own energy as he merged the two kinds of Wu Wei together.

  ‘What is the benefit of sentient Wu Wei?’ Hui Yue suddenly asked Lan Feng while he was refining the final scraps of sentient Wu Wei he had gotten from the last Wu Wei warrior. He felt that the Wu Wei in his Wu Wei core took a qualitative leap up in power. Where he previously used much more Wu Wei to form attacks, he now needed around half that amount. This allowed for him to fight for far longer. Not only that, the energy seemed stronger in a way, but he could not explain how. This was why he went to Lan Feng who always had the answers he was looking
for.

  ‘Sentient Wu Wei is strong because it evolved the power to think for itself. You can see how this warrior was able to counter attack, now your Wu Wei, although not as strongly as the warriors, will be able to counter attack, evolve, change, and adjust to the situation without needing you to direct it. It will be able to battle almost on its own.’ Lan Feng said satisfied. To the other Saints, the Wu Wei warriors were a trap they feared yet to Lan Feng and Hui Yue, they were priceless treasures worth far more than even all the armor and weapons they had gathered in the second treasury in this tunnel.

  The Wu Wei warriors had previously caused one of the Saints to lay down his life, yet now with Xiao Ning’s barrier and Hui Yue’s red energy the traps were not difficult, and they soon saw light at the end of the tunnel. A bright light which illuminated the tunnel more and more the closer they walked towards it. This light was so bright it seemed as if there was a large star right in front of them.

  Seeing the light, everyone felt excited. Was this the place where they could gain more treasures? Was this the innermost realm of the grave, the place where the exalted expert rested?

  Leaving behind the darkness of the tunnels they saw that nineteen tunnels let to this room. Looking in front of them they saw a large sun hanging in the wall, a sun which cascaded rays light bathing the beautiful building in front of them in a soft, warm light.

  They walked into a massive hallway; a hallway with figures carved from marble. There were figures of humans, beasts, and being of mixed blood yet all of them were different from those that resided in this world. They were clearly from the world where the owner of the tomb had lived.

  Looking at these figures, Hui Yue felt uncomfortable. Although they were carved from marble, there was a gleam in their eyes that made them see alive. The many sculptures of beasts and creatures had one meter of space in between them, and they lined the hallway all the way down the path. As to where the hallway led, they could only guess.

  Looking around the room, there were no signs of anyone else having made it this far yet, and thankfully there was nothing like Heaven’s door present either. Shaking his head Hui Yue mocked himself. Although there was no sign of other Saints, it was impossible to tell if some skilled experts had passed through without leaving a trace.

  “We.. Should we continue onwards?” One of the three surviving Saints asked cautiously. He did not see any real danger within the room; however, a dark shadow was cast over Hui Yue’s face, and this caused them to be quite worried.

  “I guess we have no other option than to continue onwards,” He said with a stiff nod of his head, and with resolute steps, he moved forward. Every step of his was light and barely touched the floor with his gentle movements. He did not step hard and made no noise. Looking at the other Saints, they understood that he was worried about the traps in this room. Therefore they all followed his example, moving as silently as they could.

  They made it past the first beast statue with no problems, and there was nothing making him think that they were going to awaken the marble statues. Heaving a breath of relief caused him to loosen up; however, deep within the feeling of worry was no less than what it had been moments before. Even Lan Feng was now completely still. He was not cultivating, saying anything, or moving a feather as he was clearly as worried as Hui Yue.

  A quarter of the way through the hallway nothing had happened, and halfway through the hallway nothing had yet moved. The eyes had the same menacing light as always while staring out into nowhere. Soon they were almost through the hall when a loud boom resounded, and a group of Saints were blasted into the hallway from the tunnels. Their voices were filled with relief and laughter as they were expecting priceless treasures to be in this room much like Hui Yue and his friends. Unfortunately, these experts did not know what the word quiet meant, and their loud, noisy disturbance caused the sound of stone grinding against stone to be heard. Looking around, Hui Yue found that the statues were coming to life. All the statues were coming to life one by one. Their menacing eyes landed on Hui Yue and his party as they were the furthest down the hallway, yet some of them went for the experts who had just entered the hallway.

  Hui Yue wanted to rip his hair off his head in anger. He rarely got angry yet this time he was furious. He had been so quiet and careful yet they had been put in a very dangerous situation by another group of Saints; a group who obviously didn’t care in the least, and their arrogance might lead to his group’s demise.

  Gritting his teeth, Hui Yue reached deep within himself and regained a calm and tranquil air. This something he needed right now if he was to survive; he needed to display some sort of ability. ‘Don’t transform today,’ Lan Feng said with a hesitant voice. ‘See if you can use the blue cloud to overcome this obstacle. If you transform, you will definitely defeat these foolish stone creatures, but then everyone will know of that transformation.’ Lan Feng continued to explain. ‘If you can avoid it, then you should use the blue cloud. Break the stones. Deep within these statues, they have cores. Destroy their marble shell and take their cores. All these cores are from the tomb owner’s old home if you absorb them your wolf core will definitely become stronger.’

  Hearing this Hui Yue was taken aback. This grave, although they were traps, seemed to have been build for the sake of strengthening him. The Wu Wei warriors increased the strength of his Wu Wei; now these beasts were going to become useful for him as well.

  Looking around, he heaved a heavy sigh and closed his eyes. The marble beasts were slow but strong. He released the blue cloud to surround one beast at a time. The moment they were surrounded by the blue cloud, they stopped moving, and the energy within them was absorbed into the blue cloud before the stone crumbled to pieces. Sure enough, deep within was a black core. A core which emitted violent energy fluctuations. Grabbing the stone, Hui Yue headed towards another beast.

  Xiao Ning was with the three surviving Saints and looked after them. He ensured that the Radiant Aegis was constantly surrounding them, not allowing for even one beast to enter. He felt that he was doing a good job, but when he saw how Hui Yue jumped from one beast to another leaving only rubble in his wake he was once more deeply shocked.

  Xiao Ning was not the only one who was shocked. The group who had joined long since understood their mistake and all of them were fighting hard to just keep their ground. One expert against one beast and often they had to run away just to ensure that they did not get hit by their attacks. Only by running were they safe.

  These Saints saw how Hui Yue was killing them effortlessly, and they were stumped for words. He was an Emperor yet here he was, completely dominating the battlefield killing one beast after another. He showed no signs of being humble and sharing the treasures with others as he grabbed one core after another. Looking at all the black cores he obtained, every Saint felt like drooling from greed, yet they were clearly his. He had managed to collect them on his own with no assistance from any Saint. Stealing them would not be wise.

  While the loud group was still considering it, Xiao Ning and the three surviving Saints from the Taiyang Kingdom had long since admitted Hui Yue’s strength and had no thoughts whatsoever about his things. They how powerful he was, and they pitied the greedy looking Saints at the other end of the hallway.

  Soon the stone beasts had all been slain, and the two group of Saints were now staring at one another both waiting for the other to take the initiative. The loud Saints were all staring at Hui Yue their eyes filled with undisguised greed and their faces having smiles of expectation as they were already dreaming of how to best use his treasures. All those beast cores would be worth quite a bit as they were clearly not normal cores. Their group alone had managed to get rid of one beast, so they had one beast core, but Hui Yue had taken everything else.

  Everyone expected a showdown, but Hui Yue just looked at the greedy bunch before he snorted and turned around. “Let’s move out. I am certain others have been here before us, and we just wasted a good three hours fighting t
hese stone creatures,” He said to his group while walking away.

  Seeing that they were leaving, the greedy bunch of Saints was at a loss for what to do. Should they attack or follow? The other side had four Saints and one odd Emperor while their group had five Saints. They should have the advantage, but something made their leader squint his eyes. His group was made up of Saints who had not participated in the opening of Heaven’s door, so none of them knew about Hui Yue, but their leader still felt a tinge of danger coming from this young man.

  “Boss, why are we letting them go?” One of the others asked in a low voice. His face was filled with greed as he looked at the departing Saints, but he was quickly reassured by the smile of his boss. “We are not letting them go,” He said smilingly. “We are just going to find the opportune moment to strike. Strike when they don’t expect it and then get our treasures from them.”

  Chapter 367 - Playing Catch Up