Free Web NovelChapter 375: Chapter 299: The Return of the Fire Phoenix
The moment the phantom of the Three-legged Golden Crow Illusion Beast grasped the fiery red tail feather—the one that had absorbed all of Duoluo Cheng’s blood essence—Fang Qingyuan, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, abruptly opened his eyes.
Although the Five Directions Star Meteor Killing Array could disorient and confuse a Cultivator’s senses, it was useless against Fang Qingyuan’s All Things Heart Sound Divine Techniques.
Moreover, Fang Qingyuan was outside the array, unlike Duoluo Cheng, who had been its primary target. Coupled with his extremely powerful Divine Sense, the inside of the Five Directions Star Meteor Killing Array held few secrets from him.
Just a moment ago, he had used the Ten Thousand Luminous Illusion Eye, another Divine Technique from the Bee Queen in his Immortal Mansion, to create the illusion that Duoluo Cheng was still struggling on the verge of death, deceiving Han Yunlong for a few moments.
In those few short moments, the Foundation Establishment Cultivators who had been chasing Duoluo Cheng arrived.
They saw with their own eyes that Duoluo Cheng was trapped in the array. The more impetuous among them attacked at once, launching a barrage of offensive techniques from afar and raining them down upon the Pill Alliance’s position.
Faced with this situation, Han Yunlong was exasperated. He had no choice but to continue operating the array to fend off his enemies, diverting a portion of his focus to the Cultivators outside.
In the White Mountain Territory, blades did the talking. At this moment, even if Han Yunlong revealed his origins, these White Mountain Loose Cultivators wouldn’t care. Only by killing a few Foundation Establishment Cultivators and showing a ruthless hand could he hope to intimidate these desperados.
But Han Yunlong didn’t know that Duoluo Cheng, the "chicken he planned to kill to scare the monkeys," was actually a massive problem. Fang Qingyuan had only told him that a group of Cultivators were fighting, not the real reason why.
With Duoluo Cheng and his great treasure now trapped inside the Five Directions Star Fall array, how could these White Mountain People—men who would risk their lives for the smallest profit—possibly believe Han Yunlong would ever hand it over?
While Han Yunlong relied on his array to wage a heated battle against the White Mountain Natives, Fang Qingyuan, situated behind the formation, sensed the blood-red tail feather floating quietly within his Immortal Mansion and fell into deep thought.
This great treasure, which Duoluo Cheng had risked his life to obtain, looked truly extraordinary. Fang Qingyuan guessed it was likely a remnant shed by a Divinity Transformation Demon Beast from the Barbaric Wilderness.
Although the entire body of a Divinity Transformation Demon Beast was a treasure, where even a single plucked hair could be considered a spiritual material, the value of different parts varied enormously.
For instance, could its fangs and claws even be mentioned in the same breath?
Demonic beasts didn’t know Artifact Refining; they could only rely on their physical bodies and Innate Divine Techniques to fight. However, there were always exceptions. Demonic beasts at the Nascent Soul Level and above possessed intelligence comparable to human Cultivators. They would instinctively refine the materials they shed, and although their methods were primitive and lacked subtlety, their strength lay in the duration. They could often refine an item for a thousand years, which was an astonishing feat.
This blood-red tail feather was likely such an item. The Demonic Power it contained was incredibly immense; just looking at it induced a suffocating sense of danger.
Even though Fang Qingyuan was observing it with his Divine Sense through the buffer of the Immortal Mansion, he didn’t dare get too close, fearing his Divine Sense would be injured by the object.
Fang Qingyuan figured this tail feather must have been refined for several thousand years. He genuinely had no idea how Duoluo Cheng and his group had managed to get their hands on it.
’Besides, how could the remnant of an avian Divinity Transformation beast be here in Awakening Lion Valley?’
’Did some foolish bird come to challenge the Old Lion, have its soul sucked out, and its body eaten until only this scrap remained? And did the Old Lion then find the leftovers unappetizing and just toss them out of its cave?’
The absurd thought flashed through Fang Qingyuan’s mind and was gone. He had no intention of discovering the truth, as it had nothing to do with him. All he cared about now was how to make the best use of this tail feather.
’Let the Three-legged Golden Crow Illusion Beast devour it?’
Fang Qingyuan considered it but couldn’t bear the thought. ’This blood-red tail feather is undoubtedly Tier 4, maybe even mid-grade Tier 4. It would be far too wasteful to let such a precious spiritual material just be eaten.’
The Fish Dragon Wood Spirit and Black Tortoise Water Spirit had only consumed high-grade Tier 3 spiritual materials before. If this item were consumed by the Three-legged Golden Crow of the Fire Element, Fang Qingyuan worried that the already precarious balance among the Five Elements would be completely thrown into disarray.
The *Five Spirits Transformation and Form Refining True Scripture* he cultivated emphasized the Five Elements Rotation. If one element grew exceedingly strong while the other four remained weak, how could the cycle possibly rotate? His cultivation speed would undoubtedly become even slower than it was before.
Stability and balance were what Fang Qingyuan sought. There was no need to enhance the intelligence of the Fire Element Illusion Beast if it meant dragging down his overall cultivation speed.
At this thought, Fang Qingyuan suppressed his own impulse and forced the Three-legged Golden Crow Illusion Beast to settle down. The Golden Crow then hung listlessly in the sky of the Immortal Mansion, its brilliant light scattered feebly, an image of dejection.
Fang Qingyuan sighed. ’As my cultivation deepens, the intelligence of these Illusion Beasts is slowly increasing. The Three-legged Golden Crow, which used to have only simple thoughts, is now capable of negative emotions like this dejection.’
With the treasure secured, Fang Qingyuan settled in to watch the show. As the battle between the Pill Alliance and the Foundation Establishment Cultivators escalated into a fight to the death, the scene grew even more chaotic. Adding the lured Wilderness Demonic Beasts into the mix, the entire ten-li radius descended into utter turmoil.
A quarter-hour later, Fang Qingyuan saw the commotion die down and knew the fight was likely over. He then led his four companions and slowly approached the scene.
When he saw Han Yunlong again, Fang Qingyuan hurried forward to console him.
"Brother Han, you are truly incredible! To single-handedly hold off a dozen or so Foundation Establishment Cultivators and so many demonic beasts... You are truly a pillar of the Pill Alliance!"
A bitter smile touched Han Yunlong’s lips. The whole battle had been a baffling mess. He had only intended to kill one or two of the Foundation Establishment Cultivators to get the situation under control, but he never thought his plan would backfire so spectacularly.
