Blue Phoenix

by Tinalynge

  She was not the only one looking sick, Wang Ju Long and Sha Yun were also incredibly pale. Surprisingly, even the necromancer, Deng Wu, was uncomfortable with the situation.

  At the end of the stairs was large cast iron door which had been closed. It was so heavy that one needed immense strength to break through it. Although it would bring some trouble to the Emperors and Saints, it was not even a challenge to a God ranked cultivator. When Hui Yue lifted his hand and pushed the door open, it burst into pieces.

  No one knew what to expect when they entered the Dungeons of the Divine, but none of them expected what they found.

  The mansion which belonged to the Dragon Corps had been completely trashed. There were signs that many pyres had been lit signifying that someone had been cleaning up after many deaths. People were moving through the rubble, all of whom looked sick, but nonetheless, they were working. The air within this world was polluted, and the smell of death permeated it.

  "What happened here?" Hui Yue asked as he went to one of the first men he saw. He had nothing to fear from this place and thus he was not on guard.

  Looking at Hui Yue, confusion was evident in his eyes. The man he spoke to cleared his throat. "Are you from one of our sister dungeon systems?" He asked curiously. "I thought everyone knew that this Dragon dungeon system had been contaminated with disease and only a few have been allowed to migrate to the other systems."

  "We are indeed from one of the other dungeons." Hui Yue said seriously as he nodded his head. "We came to investigate the cause for so many people suddenly wishing to join our tunnel system."

  "I see." The man nodded his head as though the explanation made sense, and Hui Yue could not help but see that the others were grinning behind him.

  "Well, it is simple. Three months ago an expert appeared. He was flying in the sky over the capital and called for all the Dragon Corps members to appear. After he arrived, the majority of the corps were forced to leave. No one knows where they went, but because of that there were less than half of the force left."

  "Then one night this person reappeared and called for the rest of the Dragon Corps to appear. He laid waste to the entire Dragon Corps headquarters and killed any guard that appeared in front of him. When he had killed them all, he suddenly vanished."

  "We cleaned up the dead, but because so many people died, it was hard to avoid having the majority of our city become sick. We are trying to ensure that none other of the caves become infected, but it is hard."

  Hui Yue nodded his head and turned to leave. He saw that there was hope in the man's face. Hope for survival. Hui Yue spoke no more with the man, but both he and his friends had heard the words spoken by this man, and they all knew what had happened.

  "Considering that they are fleeing to other caves, this cave should be the the only one where they have been punished." Hui Yue mused but then he shrugged.

  "We don't have to kill anyone here." He said casually as he looked into the sky. "Tear down the roof!"

  As his words rang out, Ancestral Worldpower erupted from Hui Yue's body and blasted into the ground above. A beam of red energy poured from Hui Yue's body illuminating the entire underground cave. The energy burned the air, making it much fresher and seemingly absorbing the aura of death.

  As soon as this energy touched the ceiling above ground, there was a struggle. The entire cave started trembling, and fine dust started to fall to the ground like gently falling snow. No massive stones fell, nor did the cave show any signs of collapsing, but the formation which kept the ceiling from being able to be dug through was slowly being eroded by Hui Yue's Ancestral Worldpower.

  The formation was as old as the Dungeons of the Divine themselves, and it had never been created as a formation that would last for eternity. Because of this, Hui Yue was quickly able to overcome it.

  The moon and the sun which had hung in the sky of the cave, in the formation on the roof, slowly dimmed as the formation was destroyed. It was clear that it was no longer possible to keep illuminating this world if the formation was gone.

  Terror! Pure terror! Everyone felt horrified as they saw the sun and moon fading. They knew that were it not for these two phenomena then they would live in a world of darkness, and now some unknown person was trying to get rid of their only source of light.

  Some of these citizens who were in a frenzy jumped towards Hui Yue, but around him was a circle of extreme experts. Anyone who went for him was pushed backwards. The lucky were just knocked unconscious; the unlucky died on the spot. The Gods were simply not able to control their sheer power.

  Hui Yue's Ancestral Worldpower dug into the ground and slowly managed to turn the stone into nothing but fine dust that kept falling to the floor. Soon a gust of wind entered the cave, and the look of the citizens became stunned. The moon and the sun had completely vanished, but from above, from this big hole in the ceiling, the humans saw light! They saw a soft light slowly descending through the roof, and even more, they felt the fresh breeze which brought with it a scent of rain and nature.

  It was not that these citizens had never experienced rain or the wind before. However, the wind they were used to was stifled as the air they had beneath ground was much denser. The rain they had was lukewarm, and it was never really cold, but here was a sharp cold wind bringing with its freshness and a promise of a new life.

  Hui Yue had used a bit of his Ancestral Worldpower to erode this piece of the earth, but he was far from his limit as he pushed out more power, the hole expanded. Soon his constantly expanding red Ancestral Worldpower filled the sky of the entire capital. With its expansion more and more dust fell to the ground. More and more of the sky and outside world were revealed to these people in the dungeon. At this moment they felt like turtles in a well! Only now did they realize that the world was simply vast beyond measure!

  The man whom Hui Yue had asked for information had stayed close to Hui Yue this entire time, and at some point, he had felt hopelessness. He had not joined the frenzied citizens in attacking because he felt there was no point, but now, for the first time in three months, he felt excitement. He felt as though he had been given another lease on life, and he fell to his knees. He was kowtowing on the ground with tears streaming from his eyes.

  All over the city, the same display happened over and over again. One person after another sank to their knees, kowtowing to the strange thing that was happening in the sky. They all knew that a God had descended from the heavens to bring them out of their misery!

  Chapter 479 - Rescue Mission

  * * *

  Chapter 479: Rescue Mission

  Hui Yue was unaware of what was happening to all the citizens; his full focus was on the Ancestral Worldpower which flowed from his body. This was the first time he was using his internal energy ever since he became a God and the feeling was intoxicating.

  Hui Yue was unable to fully control the energy that was flowing from him, and a lot of it dissipated into the essence of the heavens and the earth. This caused the area around him to be dense with energy ripples.

  Still, Hui Yue was satisfied when he managed to open up the ceiling of the entire cave. As he finished, the Ancestral Worldpower returned to his body. Although Hui Yue had done something as major as reform the capital of the Dungeons of the Divine, the energy he used was actually so little that he hardly felt the change. Only now did he truly understand just how strong he had become.

  Hesitating for a short while, Hui Yue straightened his back and flew into the air where he overlooked the entire capital.

  "Everyone!" His voice boomed through the air, through the streets, and into every single home. There was nowhere in the capital where his voice did not reach. "There is an aboveground world! A world where there is no roof above one’s head; a world where you do not have to travel through a tunnel to enter another city."

  "This world is now open to you! I will not force anyone to leave what they are used to, neither will I open up the ceilings of the other caves. Those who wish to
stay within these divine dungeons can keep living their lives here. If you wish to experience something new, go to the world above."

  "But this also means that many adventurers will be coming to the Dungeons of the Divine to experience the new and unknown. Welcome these travelers as you would your own!. Live the life as you wish to live it, treat others as you wish to be treated!" Hui Yue called out before he landed on the ground again.

  "That was quite the speech." Deng Wu laughed as he looked at Hui Yue, but the young man just shrugged his shoulders. It did not matter to him what these people decided to do. His goal was to unite the Divine Beast World, and when he said unite, he was not going to just leave the Dungeons of the Divine alone.

  "Let’s move to the next cave." Hui Yue said as he turned to leave the location where he was standing. He was the only one present who had previously gone into the other dungeons. The others had only been at the Dragon dungeons but now they needed to move towards the Vermilion Bird dungeons so he led the way back into the headquarters of the Dragon Corps where the entrance to the other dungeons was located. He still remembered every twist and turn along the way.

  They met many experts along their way. Experts who were trying to enter the other caves but instead started flooding the streets of the capital as they had heard what Hui Yue had said earlier. The promise of a new future, of a blue sky above them was just too tempting.

  As Hui Yue and his friends entered the headquarters of the Dragon Corps, all the commoners and cultivators alike were filling up the roads. They were all just stopped and staring at the blue sky far above them. They were having a hard time truly comprehending what was going on.

  Some were scared, others were jubilant, but most people were filled with hope. The last many months more and more people had gotten sick because of all the death that had permeated through the cave, but now it was different. Now the air was fresh; now the world was filled with life. They were as shocked and stunned as Xu Paio had been when he had heard about the world above for the first time.

  Leaving this massive cave behind, Hui Yue no longer thought of what he had done. Instead, he thought of what to do. They soon reached a round chamber where there were four entrances. One of these entrances went to the Azure Dragon’s tunnels, and this was also the only place where there were no guards guarding the entrance. The other three were protected by a group of twenty guards for each entrance.

  These guards were all King ranked experts, and they seemed incredibly arrogant but also very confused.

  "Halt!" One of the guards at the gate to the Vermilion Bird’s tunnels called out as he took a step forward. His body was overflowing with Wu Wei, and his eyes showed hostility. His actions were increasingly arrogant, but when Hui Yue looked at him, this guard suddenly felt as though he were just a minor figure. As though he were a bug in front of an elephant, waiting to be stepped upon.

  "Kill them all." Hui Yue ordered. His voice was cold and detached. Although he valued life, there were some people who had to pay for kidnapping and abusing the Laws. This was enough for Hui Yue to claim the life of all the soldiers within the Dungeons of the Divine. He also needed the dungeons to change if they wanted to unite the Divine Beast World. They should no longer be condemned to live underground.

  When Hui Yue called out he did not act and neither did his friends. The ones who moved were the beast Gods that had chosen to follow Hui Yue, and although they moved casually none of the guards noticed what happened before they dropped dead.

  Hui Yue, who had lost most of his lifeforce when he had merged with the realm, stepped forward and absorbed the lifeforce of the sixty guards.

  Lifeforce was invisible, and no one was able to see Hui Yue's actions, but what they did notice was the energy which fluctuated through the air and even more so how Hui Yue suddenly got a boost in his aura.

  The moment this lifeforce entered Hui Yue's body, he felt invigorated and much stronger than he had before, but he knew that this power was going to be used later for the realm. It was best if he did not use it for fighting unless necessary.

  With a flick of his hand, many small fireballs appeared over Hui Yue's hand, and they all shot towards a corpse, burning them to ashes. They left behind only a few ashes on the floor and a little blood on the ground. Hui Yue was not going to be as carefree as the person who had dealt with the Dragon Corps.

  Once again, no one questioned Hui Yue's decision of going into the Vermilion Bird’s tunnels first, and thus they all just went into the tunnels entering through the gate.

  On the other side, they ran into a major force of the Vermilion Bird Corps as they had arrived right in the middle of their stronghold.

  "Capture a high ranked officer alive, kill the rest." Hui Yue ordered, and the Gods all had smiles on their faces as they went on a rampage. They all vanished from the position behind Hui Yue and rushed through the headquarters, killing any uniformed guard on their way.

  "I bet they will forget about keeping someone alive." Sha Yun said dryly as she looked at the bloody massacre which was occurring in front of them. Everything had happened so fast, and no survivors were left. Although the Gods moved quickly, the smell of blood in the air was even swifter. The guards were all alarmed as they rushed to the area where this scent came from, rushing to their own deaths.

  Sighing, Hui Yue shook his head. The guards were doing their duty, but now their fate was to die. Hui Yue was the one who had ordered this massacre, and he felt no pity for the guards. Without any reservations, he absorbed all the lifeforce that was released from the corpses, but he still felt slightly numb. The first time he had been the cause of so many deaths was when he was the Grand Marshall of the Siban Empire, but that was different. That was war. A war where his side had also lost many soldiers as well; however, now they were not at war. Now it was a just one-sided slaughter.

  Hui Yue rushed through the headquarters but everywhere he went he found blood and corpses. No one had been left alive, and there were no signs of the Gods either. All of them were gone like the wind, busy killing at another place.

  Seeing the mess left behind by the Gods, Hui Yue was not completely sure what to do. Sighing, he shook his head and turned to leave. "I believe that the Laws are being kept very similarly to how they were kept in the Dragon Corps. Let’s look around the Vermilion Bird Corps' headquarters and see if we can find them. I highly doubt that there will be anyone alive when they finish."

  Deng Wu chuckled, and Wang Ju Long just nodded her head. Sha Yun grinned, and the two children were both slightly pale. Now they were both much more used to battle than they had been before; they were no longer children but youths. Still one had to remember that Jo had never killed before, and even though Lao had killed, he had never killed many people so seeing all those soldiers dying one after another, was clearly a baptism of blood for these youngsters.

  Hui Yue looked at the two with a worried expression on his face, but although pale, both seemed as though they would pull through. They held each other's hands and Hui Yue was proud of them.

  The group split up and started searching around the area. They were looking for a house which reminded them of the one they had seen before, and true enough, after searching for a few minutes, Sha Yun's voice cut through the silence. "It’s here!" She called out and everyone rushed to her side to see a small group of houses. The guards here were still alive and when they saw Sha Yun and her friends hurrying over they did not hesitate to attack.

  They felt that the aura of Sha Yun was domineering, but they had the advantage of numbers, and they truly believed in their own ability. Suddenly a whip appeared in Sha Yun's hands, and she started lashing out with it and her tail. She was quite skilled at fighting now, and her offense was especially frightening. When she finished, all the guards had been beaten to a pulp. Only a few managed to retreat and those who had looked at this snake-woman with fear in their face.

  Suddenly a shadow appeared behind them, and Hui Yue struck out with his palm. He completely destroyed t
he whole group of people in one go. Suddenly silence filled the ground as no more guards were present.

  "That's that." Hui Yue said as he used his Ancestral Worldpower to clean the blood off Sha Yun and himself. After ensuring that both of them were clean, he beckoned for the others to follow him and slowly entered into the biggest of the houses.

  As soon as he entered, he was stunned. It was exactly the same as the one within the Dragon Corps' headquarters. Seeing this, Hui Yue felt hateful as he thought about how long these Laws had been forced to live like this. How they had been forced to constantly die and then were revived over and over again.

  Waving his hand, all the Laws suddenly vanished from the chains they had been weighed down by, and all of them appeared within the realm that Hui Yue had become the sovereign of. In this realm, all of them were laying down side by side unconscious.

  "Look everywhere." Hui Yue ordered. "If we find more Laws tell me so that I can get them into the realm, if not, destroy anything we come across."

  "I will never let these divine beast corps' off the hook, and when I meet An He I will make him wish that he was dead!"