Chapter 1 The Wings of the Fire Phoenix

The Fire Phoenix spread its wings, and scorching waves of fire swept out.

But the figure who had already leaped up, along with his saber, forcibly parted the waves of fire with an unflinching and unyielding stance.

Carrying overwhelming power,

He cleaved down!

The Fire Phoenix let out a screech, choosing to evade, but despite this, a gap that would not heal for a long time was left on its body.

Tian Wujing stood atop the golden tiles of the great hall, saber pointing downwards, his gaze fixed on the massive Fire Phoenix phantom fluttering its wings before him.

If the Fire Phoenix represented fire, then Tian Wujing, with his white hair, represented a kind of chilling cold.

Ordinary people,

Upon seeing such a sight, would be considered to possess amazing willpower if they could merely restrain themselves from immediately prostrating themselves in worship. But the Jingnan King of Great Yan met it with a saber strike right away!

No preamble,

Because,

None of that superfluous stuff was needed at all.

Not to mention that Tian Wujing didn't believe in the existence of any gods in this world, nor did he believe that the truth sought by cultivators throughout their lives truly existed;

Even if there were real gods above this firmament,

Having already exterminated his entire clan himself,

He had long since completely cut himself off from the world.

Even if a god truly descended,

He,

Would still cut them down without hesitation!

Moreover,

If gods could be wounded,

Would they still be considered gods?

Below,

Pi Yao was frantically pawing at the ground with its hooves, originally, it should have been drawn to the Fire Phoenix's aura, because both were spirit beasts that had existed thousands of years ago;

There was a kind of recognition between their bloodlines.

But now that they were on opposing sides, it was even more unwilling to submit!

Pi Yao could look down on other beasts, even ordinary demon beasts, but it would take this existence with the Fire Phoenix aura seriously!

However, it couldn't fly, couldn't reach it, and could only fret anxiously below, constantly exhaling scorching white breath.

At this moment,

From within the Fire Phoenix phantom,

Came an extremely majestic voice:

"Presumptuous, how dare you offend divine might!"

The voice was melodious, carrying an aura of supreme authority.

Tian Wujing raised his saber again:

"Playing the divine trick!"

Immediately afterwards,

Tian Wujing once again charged forward, cleaving down at the Fire Phoenix phantom with another saber strike!

The Fire Phoenix rose again in panic, but its phantom body was simply too large, inevitably receiving another blow from the saber aura, revealing an extremely clear gap on its body once more.

"You dare, aren't you afraid of divine punishment!"

"This King, seeks it eagerly!"

Tian Wujing stepped forward again, delivering another saber strike.

The Fire Phoenix rose again, but half of its tail failed to escape, and was directly shattered by the Kunwu Saber, turning into a shower of red crystals scattered across the sky.

This Fire Phoenix,

Seemed,

To be nothing more than this!

But if one were attentive, one would notice that the Fire Phoenix had failed to completely evade several times, not because its speed was insufficient, but because its range of movement was limited to the roof of this golden palace, and its flight altitude was also limited.

Therefore, with such a massive body and such a narrow range of movement, how could it possibly completely evade?

After several times of fleeing in embarrassment and suffering injuries,

The voice within the Fire Phoenix phantom finally ceased to be so "aloof", and instead, a human-like emotion appeared:

"Kunwu Saber? A Qian person? The Qian people have actually invaded?"

At this moment,

Another voice rang out:

"It is the Kunwu Saber, after that person's younger brother succeeded to the throne and led the army north, he was defeated, and the saber fell into the hands of the Yan people."

The Kunwu Saber was once the personal saber of the founding emperor of the Qian Dynasty, accompanying him in conquering the world and establishing the current territory of the Qian Dynasty;

Later, his younger brother succeeded to the throne as the imperial brother, and led an army of five hundred thousand north, only to be utterly defeated by the first Zhenbei Marquis. The Taizong Emperor fled back to the Qian Dynasty lying in an ox cart. Originally, he wore the Kunwu Saber on his left and the Son of Heaven Sword on his right, but both were lost on the battlefield.

The Son of Heaven Sword was never found, but the Kunwu Saber was seized by the Yan people long ago and stored in the imperial family.

When Tian Wujing received the title of Jingnan Marquis, the Yan Emperor bestowed the Kunwu Saber upon him.

"Are you blind, what else could that stupid thing below be but a Pi Yao!"

The Fire Phoenix phantom was clearly just one person speaking, yet it gave the impression of several people arguing.

Tian Wujing stood there, no longer rushing to swing his saber, his eyes revealing a look of contemplation.

"The Yan people, how did the Yan people invade? Could it be that the Qian Kingdom has been destroyed, or the Jin Kingdom has been destroyed?"

With the original territorial structure of Yan and Chu, it was truly difficult for the two countries to engage in a major war.

For the Yan people to launch a large-scale invasion of Chu, it would have to be based on the premise that either the Qian Kingdom or the Jin Kingdom had been completely annexed by the Yan Kingdom.

"Qian person, Qian Kingdom? What is that? When did this country emerge? Has another small country declared itself a kingdom?"

This sounded like the Fire Phoenix was asking itself, or like they were arguing with each other.

"The Yan people, the Yan people have actually reached Yingdu, how could this be? Where are the Qu Clan, the Zhao Clan, the Dugu Clan?"

"I also saw the Yan people's Black Dragon Flag below. The Yan people's soldiers have invaded the palace walls."

"How could my Great Chu be reduced to such a state?"

"The Yan people are being suppressed by the barbarians, how could they have reached my Chu Kingdom?"

Tian Wujing finally revealed a look of understanding,

Immediately afterwards,

A look of genuine mockery appeared in his eyes.

At this moment, the "people speaking" in the Fire Phoenix's voice were none other than the past emperors of Chu.

But,

Tian Wujing still held the Kunwu Saber in his right hand, while his left hand was forming a seal at this moment. Then, he placed his left index finger between his eyebrows and pressed down.

A blue light flashed from Tian Wujing's pupils.

This was the spell of "Opening the Heavenly Eye", which could dispel some illusions and see the essence.

This was not a profound spell, but it was very practical.

For example, right now,

If this Fire Phoenix phantom was a mixture of spirit and soul, then its entirety was actually a mass of fire that had been severed.

Although traces of being torn apart could be seen, this part was actually pure in color.

This meant that it was a spirit that had been torn apart, but it was still "complete". Its incompleteness was only relative to what it was before, but it itself did not have any impurities.

This meant that there were no other people's souls within the Fire Phoenix phantom, and there was no situation where the souls of former Chu rulers were mixed together.

At this moment,

The Fire Phoenix seemed to have sensed Tian Wujing's actions,

Immediately,

A majestic voice rang out;

"Yan brat, what are you looking at!"

Immediately afterwards, another voice rang out:

"Heh, he doesn't even know he's about to die!"

"This is Yingdu. When I am alive, I am the emperor of Great Chu. When I am dead, I am still the emperor of Great Chu!"

This was not the past emperors of Chu speaking, because there was only one spirit within the Fire Phoenix.

And when one considers that the Chu royal family had always claimed that the Fire Phoenix bloodline flowed through their veins,

Moreover,

Having seen Xiong Liqing with his own eyes,

Tian Wujing was clear that there was indeed a Fire Phoenix aura within the Xiong clan's direct bloodline, even if it was very weak, it was real.

Therefore,

It was not that the past Chu emperors' souls were preserved by being integrated into this Fire Phoenix spirit after their deaths;

But rather,

That Fire Phoenix spirit had been using the bodies of the past Chu emperors to absorb and nourish itself.

Because the Xiong clan's direct bloodline contained its bloodline, this bloodline allowed the Xiong clan's direct royalty to have a greater advantage than ordinary people when controlling beasts, making it easier for demon beasts to submit to them.

But those generations of the Xiong clan's direct descendants were actually using their entire lives to nurture that strand of Fire Phoenix bloodline, which would be taken back and extracted after they entered the mausoleum.

This was like lending money at exorbitant interest rates.

Because emperors possessed the aura of a true dragon, and those who could become emperors had intentions that surpassed others, therefore, after their deaths, that strand of Fire Phoenix bloodline that had accompanied them from birth to old age to death, like an observer who had witnessed the lives of one emperor after another, after merging into the Fire Phoenix spirit, it had obviously not erased the consciousness that existed in the "previous lives", or rather, it was inevitably influenced by it.

If Blindie were here to see this scene, he would use a simpler way to state it:

This is multiple personality disorder born from absorbing too many people's memories.

"Underneath my Great Yan's deep palace, there is an old Pi Yao. For hundreds of years, my Yan people have used the Pi Yao as a guide to breed Pi beasts, hoping that hundreds or even thousands of years later, the Great Yan iron cavalry can all ride Pi beasts to charge.

Humans,

Are ultimately humans,

Livestock,

Are ultimately livestock.

Humans riding livestock is right and proper.

You Chu people,

Have reversed it."

Tian Wujing raised the Kunwu Saber again,

And said:

"One level of thing,

My Yan people use it as a mount,

You Chu people use it as an ancestor,

A Chu Kingdom like this, why should it continue to exist?"

Seemingly sensing the killing intent that had once again turned cold on the Jingnan King's body, or perhaps this Fire Phoenix spirit, stimulated to awaken by the blood of six princes, had finally passed through its previous daze.

At this moment,

Although its phantom was still fragmented,

Its consciousness conveyed an extremely gloomy emotion. The previous state of you saying one thing and me saying another had completely disappeared.

"If you continue to press me, I will completely release the restrictions of this great formation, summon heavenly fire, and bring down divine punishment, turning your body to ashes and scattering your soul!"

This was the true Fire Phoenix spirit speaking. After completely awakening its self-awareness, it began to become sharp, and at the same time, the golden tiles below the golden palace began to show large areas of cracks.

In many inconspicuous corners of Yingdu City,

From underground,

From the walls of the city walls,

Phoenix heads poked out one after another,

Soon,

Streams of oil began to flow out of the phoenix's mouths.

The great formation,

Had actually begun to operate silently.

The Fire Phoenix spirit was weak because it had only been sacrificed to by six princes, and it was still located in the heart of the formation;

The spirit's strength,

Required sacrifices,

And Yingdu,

The people of Yingdu,

Since hundreds of years ago,

Had actually been placed on the altar!

"Retreat now, and we will coexist peacefully, otherwise, the entire Yingdu will become your burial ground!"

Tian Wujing seemed to have heard a great joke,

He reached out,

Pointed to his chest,

And looked at the Fire Phoenix spirit in front of him,

And asked in return:

"Are you threatening the King of Yan with the lives of the Chu people?"

Immediately afterwards,

Tian Wujing stabbed the Kunwu Saber into the golden tiles under his feet,

Sat down cross-legged on the spot,

And pointed his finger around, where, after nightfall, the "tens of thousands of lights" were clearly not as bright as usual today.

"It's getting cold, let's have a fire."

———

Tomorrow, I'll try to finish this plotline with a big chapter. Don't panic, good night!