Xiao Hua shook his head, dispelling the unnecessary thoughts. His gaze locked onto the Immortal Fire Phoenix, sharp and unwavering. Taking a deep breath, he furrowed his brows into a firm line.
"This will undoubtedly be far more difficult than refining the corpse of the Heaven Demon Phoenix…"
Muttering to himself, his expression grew resolute. He couldn't afford to lower his guard—not when dealing with the remnant aura.
Though he had grown significantly stronger, with his soul now at the Heavenly State, Lady Azure had warned him: the flames of the Immortal Fire Phoenix could burn away the soul itself, much like the Fallen Heart Flame.
Even with his blue-colored Lightning Beast—the nemesis of spirituality—there was no guarantee the phoenix wouldn't turn its wrath upon him.
If its flames struck him, his soul would suffer a severe backlash, and the resulting injuries would take time to heal…
Xiao Hua slowly raised his hand. A golden-green flame flickered to life, elegantly swirling around his arm before coiling around his palm. The temperature in the cave rose slightly, heralding the battle to come.
With a gentle flick of his finger, a wisp of golden-green flame shot toward the enormous corpse. Moments later, the entire figure was engulfed in the flames, slowly being roasted.
Unlike the Heaven Demon Phoenix's corpse, this one was exceptionally fresh, increasing the likelihood of containing even more precious materials. Xiao Hua had to proceed with patience and precision—any recklessness could lead to an immense loss.
As the flames licked at the corpse, the Immortal Fire Phoenix's once-closed eyes suddenly snapped open, smoldering with a quiet intensity. Before Xiao Hua could react, his spirit was forcefully dragged into its spiritual space.
Unlike the gloomy, oppressive atmosphere of the Heaven Demon Phoenix's domain, this space burned with golden-red flames, illuminating the sky with a crimson glow as if setting it ablaze.
"It seems it has begun…" Xiao Hua sighed, shaking his head wearily.
Whoosh—!
A powerful flapping sound cut his thoughts short. He turned sharply, only to find a magnificent phoenix gazing down at him, its elegant eyes filled with wisdom.
"So, you've found my corpse… and now, you wish to refine it?"
A serene, ethereal voice echoed through the space. Its clarity and grace left no doubt—the Immortal Fire Phoenix was a woman.
Xiao Hua, who had steeled himself for battle, felt a flicker of confusion. The phoenix before him showed no signs of hostility—no killing intent, no bloodlust. She simply gazed at him, her elegant eyes calm and unwavering.
"Do not worry. I have no intention of resisting," she said, her voice serene and melodious. "I am already dead. There is no point in clinging to this decaying body of mine… unless it can serve to benefit the next generation."
Her words carried neither hatred nor resentment. More than that, there was no arrogance, no disdain—nothing like what he had expected.
This truly surprised him. The spirituality of the Immortal Fire Phoenix before him was entirely different from the Heaven Demon Phoenix's, which had been full of conceit and superiority.
Noting his reaction, the Immortal Fire Phoenix let out a soft, amused giggle. "It seems you have encountered a phoenix with an inflated ego before," she mused. "My name is Feng Huoyue, the Saint Immortal Fire. May I know the name of the young human who wishes to refine my body?"
Xiao Hua cupped his hands and gave a respectful bow. "Xiao Hua respectfully greets Lady Feng."
Since she had shown him courtesy, it was only natural to return the gesture. Moreover, when she was alive, she had been a contender for the Dou Sheng realm—an existence worthy of admiration and respect.
"From what I can sense, you already possess a pair of phoenix wings within you. Moreover…" Feng Huoyue's gaze lingered on him with curiosity. "This aura feels somewhat similar to that of the Ancient Heaven Phoenix, yet it is clearly inferior. How peculiar…"
"The one I refined was the corpse of a Heaven Demon Phoenix," Xiao Hua replied. "As for the Ancient Heaven Phoenix, they disappeared from the Dou Qi Continent long ago."
"Heaven Demon Phoenix… I see. A descendant of that arrogant one…" she murmured.
"Has Lady Feng encountered them before?"
"Indeed, I have," she said with a weary sigh. "They were merely servants in the past—loyal followers of their ancestors. Yet their arrogance knew no bounds…"
Feng Huoyue shook her head, exasperation flickering in her eyes as memories of the Heaven Demon Phoenix and Ancient Heaven Phoenix surfaced.
She understood now why Xiao Hua had been momentarily stunned upon seeing her. If his first encounter with the phoenix race had been with the most arrogant tribe, it was only natural for him to assume all phoenixes shared the same temperament.
'My condolences…' Xiao Hua could only feel pity for Lady Feng, offering her his silent respect.
He understood all too well how obnoxious the Heaven Demon Phoenix could be—just recalling Feng Qing Er and others from the Heaven Demon Phoenix from the novel was enough to confirm it.
Pushing aside those thoughts, he refocused on the matter at hand. "What is it that you wish to ask of me, Lady Feng?" he asked, steering the conversation toward the real reason behind her approach. He knew she wouldn't have sought him out without a purpose.
Feng Huoyue's gaze lingered on him, lost in thought. After a long silence, she finally spoke. "You mentioned that the Ancient Heaven Phoenix has vanished from the Dou Qi Continent. Does that include my tribe as well? Are there truly no descendants left who carry our bloodline?"
Xiao Hua remained silent. He neither confirmed nor denied her question, but his silence alone spoke volumes.
"…I see." Feng Huoyue let out a heavy sigh, her expression darkening. A deep sorrow clouded her once-proud demeanor—after all, if no one carried her tribe's bloodline, it meant her people had been completely wiped out.
Xiao Hua stayed quiet, an uncomfortable weight settling in his chest. He was the one who had broken the news, yet he found himself at a loss for words—there was nothing he could say to ease her pain.
"I'm sorry for your loss." Though Xiao Hua knew that no words could truly ease her pain, he still felt it was better to say something. His voice carried genuine emotion, a quiet attempt to offer comfort.
"Do not trouble yourself over it. I had already expected this outcome long before my fall," Feng Huoyue said with a faint smile. "My request is simple—I want you to help another phoenix inherit the bloodline of the Immortal Fire Phoenix."
Xiao Hua raised a brow, crossing his arms as a frown settled on his face. "Is that even possible? I don't have any method to transfer a bloodline, nor do I possess the necessary materials to assist in such a process."
"Do not be concerned about the materials, Master Xiao Hua." Feng Huoyue reassured him calmly. "Before my death, I gathered and condensed nearly all of my blood essence into a small crimson gem, hiding it deep within my rib cage. What you will obtain after burning my body is merely the remaining five percent—an insignificant fraction of my true blood essence."
She could understand his hesitation, so she took the initiative to explain. Naturally, she had made preparations before her fall. Her blood essence carried the purest lineage of the Immortal Fire Phoenix, the culmination of countless generations.
More than that, she was the Empress of the Immortal Fire Phoenix—perhaps the last one. She recalled that before her death, her tribe had come under siege. She had ordered the younger generation to flee, hoping at least some would survive.
But now, after hearing Xiao Hua's words, she knew the truth.
None had made it out alive.
"As for the inheritance method, I have left behind a spiritual will to guide any phoenix that successfully inherits my blood essence. I will tell you how to extract the blood essence gem afterward," she continued.
"I see." Xiao Hua nodded in response to her explanation. He was slightly surprised to learn that the blood essence he had extracted amounted to less than five percent of her total.
Even so, he wasn't particularly concerned. To unlock the sealed techniques of the Four Mysterious Body, what he required was the purity of a phoenix's blood, not the quantity of its blood essence.
Even if it is less than five percent of it, it will not affect him unlocking the sealed second technique of Four Mysterious Body.
He recalled one of the defining traits of the Immortal Fire Phoenix— their extraordinary regeneration. As long as a single drop of their blood essence remained, they could be revived.
Moreover, their bodies continuously produced blood essence, granting them an almost immortal existence. However, this ability came with a severe drawback.
The energy required for resurrection was astronomical. The moment an Immortal Fire Phoenix attempted to revive from a single drop of blood essence, the surge of energy would be so immense that other Magical Beasts could easily detect and devour them before the revival could take place.
Furthermore, revival was not as simple as just absorbing the energy of heaven and earth. The purity of the bloodline must be extremely high with requiring a special altar to revive themselves.
Undoubtedly, that altar had long since been destroyed following Feng Huoyue's fall.
And even if, by some miracle, an Immortal Fire Phoenix managed to return without being devoured, their strength would be drastically weakened—reduced to nothing more than a mere Rank 1 Magical Beast.
Xiao Hua nodded thoughtfully. "If that's the case, I don't mind searching for a suitable phoenix to inherit the mantle of the Immortal Fire Phoenix."
He had no objections to fulfilling her request. After all, the revival of an ancient Magical Beast was no small event—it was a spectacle he wouldn't mind witnessing firsthand.
More importantly, if he succeeded, the Immortal Fire Phoenix would become a powerful ally. With their strength, they could bolster the faction his sworn brothers and sisters were striving to establish in the Central Region.
It was an opportunity too great to ignore.
"Thank you, young man… No, Young Master Xiao Hua." Feng Huoyue's eyes flickered with gratitude and relief.
The extinction of her tribe had weighed heavily on her soul, filling her with endless bitterness as she struggled with how to face her ancestors in the afterlife. But now, with Xiao Hua's promise, she could finally let go.
She trusted that Xiao Hua would not deceive her. Having lived for countless years, she had long mastered the ability to discern human nature.
When she mentioned the blood essence gem, she had carefully observed him—yet there was not a single flicker of greed in his eyes.
Had he shown even the slightest hint of desire, she would not have hesitated to destroy the blood essence gem herself. It was better for her tribe to face extinction than to be defiled in the hands of an unscrupulous human.
With her heart finally at ease, Feng Huoyue closed her eyes. Her spiritual figure slowly turned transparent before dissolving into shimmering particles of spiritual essence. The radiant fragments fluctuated slightly before drifting toward Xiao Hua, merging into his spirit.
Understanding that it was time, Xiao Hua did not resist. Instead, he allowed the spiritual energy to seep into his body, carefully encasing it within the Glazed Soul Flame.
Nourishing his soul with it was meaningless—after all, once he completed the trial of Heavenly Judgment, his soul would ascend to Di State. Instead, he chose to preserve it for Wei Jie or Mei Ling.
For them, even upon reaching Soul State, this spiritual essence would undoubtedly be a priceless treasure.
'Now, for the main event…' Xiao Hua murmured softly as his consciousness returned to his body.
Opening his eyes, his gaze locked onto the enormous corpse of the Immortal Fire Phoenix. Taking a deep breath, he began the refinement process, carefully extracting its wings, bones, feathers, blood essence, and monster core.
Unlike the corpse of the Heaven Demon Phoenix, this refinement took significantly longer—something he had already anticipated. He proceeded with extreme caution, knowing that the remaining blood essence was scarce. A single mistake could result in its complete loss, an outcome that would cost him dearly.
Furthermore, he had to extract the inheritance blood essence of the Immortal Fire Phoenix—another reason for his meticulous approach.
The entire refinement process lasted three days. As the sun rose on the horizon, he finally extracted the treasures from the phoenix's remains.
After exhaling a huge amount of breath, his body finally relaxed and put the excess that he doesn't need in his storage ring.
What left are the wings, deep obsidian-red, resembling tempered metal that had withstood countless rebirths in flame. Faint traces of fire essence flickering within the skeletal frame of the wings.
Each feather shimmered with a soft, undying glow, as if flames still danced within their delicate structure. The deep crimson and molten gold hues intertwined seamlessly, resembling the sky at dawn set ablaze by a celestial fire.
Despite the phoenix's death, the feathers remained pristine and majestic, carrying an undeniable sense of nobility.
When touched, faint embers ignited along their surface, radiating gentle warmth rather than searing heat—evidence of the lingering Immortal Fire essence still residing within them.
After retrieving a series of strange and unique items from his storage ring, Xiao Hua began refining the Immortal Fire Phoenix using the Life Execution Flame. Carefully controlling the heat, he is merging the strange and unique materials he had prepared with the phoenix's wings.
By fusing these components with the wings, he sought to enhance their power, preparing them for the creation of his second pair of wings. This step was crucial—only after a successful fusion could he proceed with the Four Divine Phoenixes, Fly and Dance Across Heaven technique.
Failure was not an option. If the fusion failed, the Immortal Fire Phoenix's wings would be reduced to ashes, resulting in an unimaginable loss—one that could easily make him cough blood in sheer regret.
Understanding the stakes, Xiao Hua exercised extreme caution, his full attention locked onto the refinement process, ensuring every step was executed with absolute precision.
...
The refinement and fusion process continued for five days and nights. On the sixth day, a change finally occurred, signaling the nearing completion of the process.
Even Xiao Hua couldn't help but be slightly impressed by the sheer resilience of the Immortal Fire Phoenix's remains.
It hadn't taken him nearly this long to refine the wings of the Heaven Demon Phoenix.
With the merging and refinement complete, a slightly transparent crimson liquid, brimming with vitality, flowed quietly within the emerald flames.
Xiao Hua then spread his Spiritual Strength, penetrating the emerald flame before entering the crimson liquid.
As his Spiritual Strength invaded, the liquid shook violently before gradually expanding. Slowly, it coalesced into a pair of wings, their golden-red feathers shimmering with a majestic, heavenly radiance.
Without hesitation, Xiao Hua bit his finger, allowing a drop of blood to fall onto the newly-formed wings.
The moment his blood made contact, the wings absorbed it instantly, causing an intense, radiant glow to burst forth. A low, resonant hum echoed through the air as the wings trembled, pulsating with newfound life.
Then, in a streak of crimson light, the wings shot forward, dancing elegantly in the air before piercing directly into Xiao Hua's back.
Already accustomed to the discomfort, Xiao Hua paid it no mind. Once the sensation subsided, he focused his thoughts, stirring his mind to examine his newly-formed wings.
As Xiao Hua's mind stirred, two pairs of wings erupted from his back—one vibrant and resplendent, the other a pair of majestic golden-red wings, radiating an aura of unparalleled nobility.
In that instant, a wordless chant resonated deep within his soul, reverberating through his very being:
"Boundless Dance of the Phoenix. No heaven can shackle its flight, and no earth can chain its wings, for its freedom is eternal."
As the ethereal voice echoed in his mind, an overwhelming surge of knowledge poured into him. His thoughts trembled under the weight of the information, forcing him to close his eyes as he processed the influx of insight.
Moments later, his eyes snapped open, and a flicker of astonishment surfaced in their depths. The second technique of the Four Mysterious Body was beyond anything he had imagined—so profound that it left him momentarily speechless.
Curious, he casually waves his hand. As he did, a surge of spatial strength emitted from his finger, shaking the space and gently cutting through the empty space, and a small, faint spatial line appeared.
"Spatial Strength…" A soft murmur, tinged with both shock and disbelief, escaped Xiao Hua's lips.
Spatial Strength wasn't something one could casually control. A Dou Zong barely qualified to sense it, while a Dou Zun could collapse space with a mere wave of their hand.
However, this wasn't a matter of brute force manipulating space—it was as if the very fabric of space had become an extension of his being, bending to his will naturally, effortlessly…
The closest comparison would be the Ancient Void Dragons like Zi Yan. These mysterious dragons traversed space, void, and dimensions as easily as fish swimming through water. Their control over space was an innate racial trait, something bestowed upon them by their bloodline.
And yet, now he could do the same.
Granted, he can only unleashed this ability when he uses the second pair of wings, but even so, this discovery was nothing short of astonishing.
This was all due to the unsealing of the second technique of the Mysterious Four Body.
Xiao Hua's narrowed eyes gradually regained their calm as he recalled the details of this newfound ability.
Boundless Dance was less of an active technique and more of a passive ability. It rendered him completely unaffected by Spatial Lock, allowing him to freely enter any realm created by others without being noticed and to escape without the risk of entrapment.
However, what truly astonished him was its peculiar effect on time. The moment he channeled his Dou Qi into the ethereal wings, he could feel time itself slowing within his perception. Though he wasn't directly manipulating time, the effect was profound—his surroundings seemed to move sluggishly, while he remained unaffected.
After careful thought, he decided to name this ability Temporal Lock—a technique that forcibly slowed his enemies' movements while enhancing his own speed.
In a life-and-death battle, where a single moment of hesitation could determine victory or defeat, Temporal Lock was an unparalleled trump card. Whether to create an opening or evade a lethal strike, this technique would grant him absolute dominance over the flow of battle.
Naturally, if one possessed enough strength, they could break free from Temporal Lock. Moreover, the technique's Dou Qi consumption was immense. However, as long as he used it wisely, it was more than enough to evade a lethal attack or create an opening in battle.
At this moment, even if he faced a Dou Sheng, he might not have the power to defeat them, but escaping from their grasp would be effortless.
That being said, he had to exercise caution. Activating Temporal Lock required him to manifest the two pairs of wings on his back—an unmistakable trait that would undoubtedly draw unwanted attention from the Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe.
"Four Mysterious Body... Sister Azure truly created a terrifying technique..." Xiao Hua let out a bitter smile. Thinking about the creator of this profound ability, he still found it hard to believe that she had devised it merely in her free time.
If the second technique was already this formidable, then what of the two remaining sealed techniques? Just the thought of it sent a surge of anticipation through him.
Unfortunately, Sister Azure had never shared much about the Four Mysterious Body, always speaking of it with an amused and playful smile.
Recalling the time when Lady Azure had briefly mentioned the technique—just before his seven-year retreat—a wry smile appeared on his face. It was clear that she knew about the remaining sealed techniques, yet she had no intention of revealing anything about them.
Shaking his head, he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind. Rising to his feet, he stretched his stiff body, a series of creaks and pops echoing from his bones. His muscles, which had remained unmoved for five days straight, gradually loosened, a wave of relief washing over him.
Afterward, he checked the System and upgraded the ACP Rate, increasing his accumulation to 130 ACP per hour. With 6,600 ACP remaining, he closed the interface and promptly left the cave.
Calculating the time, he estimated that slightly more than half a year remained before he needed to return to the clan.
For now, he chose to remain in the secluded valley, living at a leisurely pace. He knew all too well that once he left, there would be no peace—only endless battles, especially against the Hall of Souls and the Hun Clan.
-------|
Read 20 Advanced Chapters in Patreon:
http://patreon.com/GodYato