Chapter 103: Remnants of the Phoenix Clan (Part 2)
Feng Baichuan's gaze shifted to behind Lan Xueruo, and he said, "Young friend, you look very pale, and you're being carried by this young lady, so you must be seriously injured. I have some rudimentary knowledge of medicine that might be of help."
"My name is Yun Che. Thank you for your kindness, Clan Chief Feng," Yun Che, who was on Lan Xueruo's back, replied politely. His voice made Lan Xueruo's beautiful eyes widen: "You... you're awake?"
"Mm, I woke up when Senior Sister picked me up," Yun Che said with a grin. Though his complexion was terrible, his voice was no longer as weak as before. While falling, he had used the Heavenly Poison Pearl to rapidly fuse together more than thirty types of herbs, including Tianfu Herb, Sweet Dew Flower, and Mountain River Blue, quickly concocting a Rejuvenation Pill and swallowing it. The number and quality of ingredients needed to refine a Rejuvenation Pill were extremely stringent, but the refining environment, cauldron, and method were even more demanding. Even a high-level alchemist would have less than a thirty percent success rate. However, with the vast treasure vault of the Xiao Sect's branch and the Heavenly Poison Pearl at his disposal, these were not an issue.
"Then... then why didn't you say anything and made me carry you this far?" Lan Xueruo's face flushed as she felt a surge of exasperation.
"Because this is the first time in my life that a girl has carried me, and it feels very nice. Also... Senior Sister smells really good." As he said this, he intended to lightly inhale the alluring fragrance from Lan Xueruo's body, but suddenly his expression froze, and he was stunned there...
Was it really... the first time a girl had carried him?
In this life, indeed it was...
But... in that lifetime on the Cang Yun Continent... that girl... every time he returned to her place, just barely clinging to life, he would use his last bit of strength to knock on that bamboo door, then collapse unconscious in front of it. When he woke up, he was always lying on that soft, warm bed... Even though he had been unconscious, he could clearly feel her slender body carrying his blood-soaked form, each step a struggle, and with every step, teardrops fell...
Time and again, perhaps dozens of times, perhaps hundreds—so many that he could never count them, nor did he ever try... The only thing he could remember clearly was that even if he were to live two lifetimes, he could never make up for the debt he owed her. Because heaven no longer gave him the chance.
In a daze, Lan Xueruo, who was holding him close, slowly transformed into that figure that only appeared in his dreams...
"You! If it weren't for your injuries, I'd throw you off right now!" Lan Xueruo huffed indignantly. Earlier, while carrying Yun Che on her back, her heart had been calm because she thought he was unconscious. Now that he was awake, the sensation of their bodies pressed together and his faint masculine scent made her cheeks burn, and her heartbeat grew erratic.
"Clan Chief Feng, could you help us find a place to settle down for my friend?" Lan Xueruo said to Feng Baichuan.
"Of course, please follow me." The world and I love you.
This small village was indeed a small village, with only a few dozen crude houses. From Feng Baichuan, they learned that the entire clan had no more than two hundred people. At first, the villagers were wary of the two outsiders, Lan Xueruo and Yun Che, but soon they all showed goodwill. At the same time, Lan Xueruo and Yun Che noticed something strange: every person they encountered had a profound force cultivation at the tenth level of the Initial Xuan Realm, except for children who hadn't cultivated. All of them were exactly the same, without exception. It was as if the tenth level of the Initial Xuan Realm was the limit they could reach. However, after entering the Xuan Entry Realm, each major breakthrough between realms came with increasingly difficult bottlenecks. But from the tenth level of the Initial Xuan Realm to the Xuan Entry Realm, there was no bottleneck at all—as long as one accumulated enough profound force, they would naturally step into the Xuan Entry Realm.
Yet everyone here was stuck at the tenth level of the Initial Xuan Realm, which left Yun Che and Lan Xueruo deeply puzzled.
"How can there be the aura of a Phoenix here?"
Mo Li's sudden voice startled Yun Che: "Phoenix? The legendary ancient divine beast, the Phoenix?"
"Exactly!" Mo Li's voice carried a hint of weariness. Earlier, she had transferred some of her profound force to Yun Che, and though it lasted only a brief few seconds, it had caused some damage to both her soul and Yun Che's body. "Although it's very faint, it is undoubtedly the aura of a Phoenix. How strange... Could it be that the Phoenix once descended to this low-level plane?"
Low-level plane... These words stirred something in Yun Che's mind, and he suddenly had a terrifying guess about Mo Li's identity.
"As for the flame mark on their foreheads, that is the symbol that bears the Phoenix bloodline! However, the color of that mark is completely different from what this princess knows. Additionally, the Phoenix bloodline mark can normally be concealed and only appears forcibly when one uses the Phoenix Flame force. But everyone here has the Phoenix mark on full display, as if they can't hide it at all. In short, it's very strange!"
Feng Baichuan led Lan Xueruo and Yun Che to a clean little hut. "You two, please rest here. We are merely a reclusive minor clan, unable to compare with the outside world in any way. We can only offer you this humble hospitality."
Lan Xueruo carefully placed Yun Che on the bed, secretly relieved, and turned to say, "Clan Chief Feng, you are too kind. To have a place like this is already more than we could have hoped for."
"Are you the guardian clan of the Phoenix relic?"
Yun Che suddenly asked out of the blue.
Feng Baichuan's usually calm and refined face stiffened instantly, and his pupils visibly contracted. His eyes flickered rapidly as he considered how to deny or evade the question, but after a few short breaths, his gaze calmed, and he let out a self-deprecating laugh. "Guardian clan? We are not worthy of such a title. We are merely a humble family burdened with sin and a curse, far from the world, atoning from generation to generation. Though I don't know how you learned that we are connected to the Phoenix, it seems... that your arrival here is also with the intention of obtaining the so-called 'treasure' we guard?" Rebirth: Foodie Loli Mwah.
"Phoenix? The totem beast of the Shenhuang Empire?" Lan Xueruo looked at Yun Che and Feng Baichuan in utter astonishment, her mind reeling.
"No, you misunderstand," Yun Che said, taking a breath. He tried to sit up, but his body was so weak that even the slightest movement sent sharp pain through his wounds. He gave up and lay back down. "I guessed you might be the guardian clan of the Phoenix relic because of the mark on your foreheads. I've come across many rumors about the Phoenix bloodline, and the shape of the mark on your foreheads is exactly the same as the Phoenix bloodline mark I know—only the color is different. My senior sister and I ended up here purely by accident when we fell from a great height and were severely injured. We have absolutely no other intentions."
Yun Che's severe injuries convinced Feng Baichuan of his words. After all, no one would be foolish enough to covet their "treasure" while carrying such heavy wounds. Yun Che's words left him stunned for a moment, and then he laughed bitterly again. "Phoenix mark... different color... yes, different color. What was once a noble mark symbolizing power and bloodline has now become a pitiful curse seal. Our ancestors committed great sins, but why should we, their descendants, suffer for it!?"
Feng Baichuan's words carried a deep sorrow, as if Yun Che's words had struck a raw nerve.
Curse seal? Yun Che's heart trembled. How could a bloodline mark become a curse seal? Wait... could it be that their profound force was all stuck at the tenth level of the Initial Xuan Realm because of this "curse seal" that Feng Baichuan mentioned?
"I believe you are not evil people, because I can't find any trace of malice in either of you. You also saved my two children, so I should repay you however I can. But..." Feng Baichuan let out a long sigh. "Our clan is currently suffering a calamity. If you stay here, that calamity might also affect you. So please rest and heal well here, preferably recovering before those villains come again, and then leave. Because the next time those scoundrels come, it might be... the end for us."
On the way here, carried on Lan Xueruo's back, he had learned from the conversation between her and the two children what had happened earlier. He asked in confusion, "Clan Chief Feng, there is something I don't understand. Your clan has likely existed here for many years, right? You've been safe all this time, so why has a mercenary group suddenly targeted you now?"
Feng Baichuan glanced out the window and said calmly, "You're right. Our clan has existed for many, many years. We were once prosperous, but due to a heinous crime that incurred heaven's punishment, we declined rapidly and had to choose seclusion just to survive. Now we've been reduced to this humble state, even worse than a run-down human village. Yet over the years, no one has ever harassed us. That's because this place is called the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range. It's infested with all kinds of profound beasts, ranging from the lowly and ferocious Sub-Xuan Beasts to the fearsome Earth Xuan Beasts, and it's even said that there are three terrifying Heavenly Xuan Beasts dwelling in the mountains. This is a paradise for profound beasts, and they hate humans stepping onto their turf. Once a human enters, they will be attacked by the entire swarm. Moreover, the deeper you go, the higher the level of the profound beasts."
"And this place is the very heart of the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range. Some humans might venture to the edges of the range to collect profound beast cores, but except for the absolute powerhouses, no one has the courage or ability to reach this area. And those powerhouses who could wouldn't deign to come to a place like this."
"But there don't seem to be any profound beasts nearby," Yun Che said, frowning. As soon as he said it, he understood. "Could it be... because of the Phoenix's aura?"
"Exactly," Feng Baichuan nodded. "To be honest, behind this place lies a Phoenix relic that our clan has guarded for generations, where the aura left by the Phoenix lingers. Though faint, it never fades. The pressure of an ancient divine beast—what profound beast in this world could withstand that? Who would dare approach?"
"I see."
Yun Che nodded slowly, his expression moved. There really was a Phoenix relic here. Moreover, the fact that the Phoenix's aura never faded over time was the best evidence that there was something left by the Phoenix within that relic!
An item left by an ancient divine beast!
Just thinking about it made Yun Che's blood boil... It was easy to imagine that if news of a Phoenix relic here ever got out, it would cause an earth-shattering commotion.
"In that case, how did those villains who want to take what you guard get in?" Yun Che asked doubtfully. An ordinary mercenary group would absolutely not have the ability to fight a Spirit Xuan Beast, let alone an Earth Xuan Beast. Even if their group were ten times larger, they would be wiped out completely if they encountered an Earth Xuan Beast.
And if they had not encountered any Spirit Xuan Beasts or Earth Xuan Beasts along the way, that would be even more impossible given the density of profound beasts in the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range.
"I don't know," Feng Baichuan shook his head. "More than anyone, I want to know how they got here. Perhaps this is simply the fate we must face."
Could they have also used flying profound beasts that can soar to great heights? Yun Che pondered, but immediately dismissed the idea. The Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range was full of profound beasts, including many flying types. Even if they used ordinary flying profound beasts, they would never make it in. However, profound beasts like the Storm Fury Eagle and the Giant Snow Eagle, which could reach altitudes of several thousand or even ten thousand meters, could accomplish that. But because of their terrifying flight capabilities, very few of them could be tamed by humans. Even the Xiao Sect's branch, the strongest sect in New Moon City, only had one such beast. How could such a common mercenary group possess one?
【Catch-up update begins~~~~】