Mountains spanned endlessly with treacherous cliffs. Some towered into the clouds with centuries-old precious grass and vines growing on top.
Their medicinal fragrances traveled for miles but numerous poisonous snakes spewed out black smoke in that area so no one dared to get close.
There existed valleys with miasma as well, almost as deep as an abyss. Below came the roars from unknown monstrosities.
This was the rough area outside of Endless Land with perilous terrains and dangerous beasts. Even cultivators wanting to train in adversity rarely came here.
Of course, there were paradises of nature here too, completely separated from the world. They have turned into their own domains with beautiful sceneries.
“Whoosh!” Two people suddenly landed on the shore of a rippling lake, scaring a group of three-colored peacocks nearby. They quacked and flitted away on the lake surface, making quite a few waves.
They left behind eggs on the shallow side. These eggs also had three colors - white, green, and purple. Each was as big as a human head and emitted a faint glow.
The peacocks noticed that the two humans only got here by accident so they returned back for their eggs. The females sat down on the eggs again and focused on incubation.
Of course, their long neck and round eyes all pointed in the same direction - the two intruders.
“Just who are you? Let me go already.” The goddess’ tender body struggled in order to get away from his clutch by the waist.
Her silver staff exploded with holy light as she swung it towards his head.
Feiyun put away the cloak before easily catching the staff. He then took a good look at her.
It has been many years and the young girl grew up to be a great beauty. Less innocence and more elegance.
He has matured compared to his fourteen-year-old self so his face changed a bit. It was understandable that she didn’t recognize him.
“Why are you staring at me?” She frowned, afraid of the intense stare. This evil-looking man was definitely not a good person. His cultivation was high too. This place was completely remote, what was she going to do if he has impure ideas?
Her thoughts were written on her face so he knew exactly what she was thinking and became slightly amused.
“Nothing.” He chuckled and loosened his grip before looking around.
This was a large lake with clear green water. A cliff nearby had a waterfall running down and issuing splashing noises. Several old willow trees were on top of this cliff with long branches drooping down, perched by some white cranes.
Next to the lake were the incubating peacocks arranged in an orderly fashion. They had a golden glow on their feathers due to the sunset.
This was a peaceful place, very rare in the Endless Land. It was around 8,000 miles from the ancestral altar.
Not a bad place to seek temporary refuge.
No place was safe in Ancient Jiang since Senluo Temple was so strong. Feiyun needed to grow stronger in order to seize the initiative.
‘I hope I can get that second phoenix bone soon.’ He found a shiny boulder worn down by the waterfall current, weighing around ten thousand pounds or so. He sat on it and took out a beast core to absorb its spirit energy, once again falling into cultivation for his phoenix physique.
This core was taken from a spirit beast in the dragon spirit vein. He had absorbed more than half of its energy. The rest should be enough to create the second bone.
Heretical cultivators must be searching everywhere right now for them. It wouldn’t be long until they find this place. He needed every second for cultivation.
The goddess stared at the man in meditation. His body was covered with a faint layer of fire. All of the spirit energy nearby condensed on a bone in his head. It issued a pinkish glow, looking like a heavenly peace of jade.
She secretly converged her aura, thinking about escaping.
“They’ll catch you right away if you run.” Feiyun said with his eyes still closed.
She stopped and said: “You’re a villain too. I need to return to Witch God.”
“They certainly prepared traps all around the city. You’ll be captured before you can set one foot into Witch God. Be a good girl and stay, I will protect you.”
She had an anxious expression and hesitated for a moment before speaking: “I’ve used my pot to look at the heavenly images earlier and saw dangers from all directions gathering at Witch God. I know how perilous it is… but I must return.”
“Foolish girl.” He said before focusing on cultivation again.
She scowled, not liking this comment. Next, she started floating with silver particles around her before flying across the lake and disappearing into the mountains.
Strangely enough, she returned a short while after and landed in front of the waterfall then quietly stared at Feiyun.
“Why are you back?” He said without moving.
She found him to be more and more familiar: “I was only testing to see if you’re a bad person.”
“And?”
“If you’re a bad person, you would have given chase earlier to capture me again. You didn’t do so.” She said after a short pause.
“Looks like you’re a tiny bit smarter than I thought, not completely foolish.”
“You really can protect me?” She bit her lip, not wanting to be called stupid.
“Senluo Temple is the force that wants to take your divine tree. No one can protect you from them without a miracle.” He wasn’t trying to scare her. The powerful enemy was the reason why he needed to grow stronger right away.
He has won the first exchange but that was only the beginning. One misstep from now on and he could lose everything.
The sun returned to the west and came nightfall.
A crescent moon hung in the black yet clear sky with stars over in the horizons. They looked like jewels that have been engraved on a black canvas.
The goddess sat by the shore and kept quiet with a long silver cloak keeping her warm. She blamed herself for being too stupid, unable to wake up the divine tree after several years. With its power, she could end this war and avoid needless casualties.
‘Yu’er, you’re not worthy of being the Heavenly Witchcraft Goddess, you’re only a waitress from a tea shop, this is all your fault, more people will die because of you… you idiot, a harbinger of misfortune and disaster…’ Tears built around her eyes during this moment of reflection.
She wanted to return to the city and help her people but given her current abilities, she would only be troubling them.
Feiyun has fallen into a zen state. This was a crucial moment to create his second bone. The wisdom bone on his head has been carved with phoenix runes. The laws of heaven and earth flowed towards it, causing it to be more profound and covered with a faint phoenix flame.
Changing a human bone to a phoenix bone was arduous. One couldn’t change the bones themselves, only the runes inside the bones and the cultivation method.
The bones created from this physique were true phoenix bones. This type of bone contains double the runes compared to a regular phoenix bone. Each successful attempt resulted in a full polishment of one’s bones, flesh, blood. This would also increase the user’s cultivation talents.
This would be Feiyun’s first self-refined bone, not adding a pre-existing bone from another phoenix. More and more runes appeared, turning the wisdom bone into a jade with the shade of blood.
Waves of flame emerged around him and started rotating. They eventually formed an ethereal image of a phoenix that fully engulf him.
Half of the lake surface turned red from the illumination to the horror of the creatures nearby. They sensed the aura of the great mythical bird - a phoenix!
A few gigantic shadows came from the distance. One could see a pair of large wings flapping among the clouds. This particular bird circled in the sky with skepticism.
In another location, the head of a golden bird as big as a hill stretched out from the void and surveyed downward with eyes as bright as the stars. It illuminated an area with a radius of several hundred miles before disappearing into the void again.
This aura of a phoenix has alarmed the beast kings in Endless Land so they started investigating the area.
Tens of thousands of miles farther away inside Endless Land was a transcending woman in a white fox-fur cloak holding a Pekingese. She stood inside a primitive forest with several monstrous spirit beasts around her.
She also sensed this aura. Her eyes gleamed with rumination as she stared towards the horizon then murmured: “That half demonic blood actually belongs to the noblest bloodline, a phoenix?”