Chapter 1458 - 518: Phoenix Youth
After the Water Bright Crystal was placed, three more days had passed in a flash.
The mysterious array master still hadn’t arrived, but this time, Ye Lingyue was not in a hurry.
She waited until a certain late night three days later.
A red glow suddenly streaked across the sky — it was that earlier "mysterious firelight" that had set the village ablaze.
"That is the Water Bright Crystal!"
As if smelling some enticing aroma, the red glow sensed the presence of the Water Bright Crystal.
Under the moonlight, the Water Bright Crystal nearly blinded the eyes of the mysterious creature within the red glow.
It hesitated, suspecting that this was another trap set by the Human Clan.
The mysterious array master was clearly still apprehensive about the earlier confrontation with Little Wuya, especially since Little Wuya had dared to break its Fire Spirit Array. It was undoubtedly a heavy blow to it.
It even speculated that Little Wuya was no mere beast pet of those earlier cowardly human clan members but must have a powerful human great power behind it.
Although its tribe had little interaction with the Human Clan, it had still learned a lot about human great powers from some elders in its clan.
Now was not the time to clash with human great powers; only after it obtained that position would it no longer fear the humans.
For that position... within the red glow, a pair of pale green eyes flickered.
Desire flashed briefly through those eyes.
Finally, it couldn’t suppress its desire and carefully used its divine sense to scan the area again, confirming that there were no human auras around before the red glow suddenly accelerated, rushing toward the Water Bright Crystal at an astonishing speed.
Captured by the red glow, the Water Bright Crystal rapidly sped towards Jiunie Mountain.
Just as the mysterious array master pocketed the Water Bright Crystal, Ye Lingyue, who was sitting cross-legged in a room in the village, leaped to her feet.
"Gotcha."
In nearby village houses, members of the Huangquan Team, alarmed by the noise, burst in through the doors.
"The mysterious array master has already stolen the Water Bright Crystal, and inside the crystal is my power of primordial spirit. There’s no time to lose; we must follow the guidance of the power of primordial spirit and enter Jiunie Mountain quickly."
After Ye Lingyue spoke, everyone nodded and together vanished into the night.
Under the vast night sky, Jiunie Mountain, located to the west of Ah County, was rapidly approaching.
"Haha, who would’ve thought it would be so easy to obtain. These humans really don’t know the value of things, leaving a precious Water Bright Crystal just lying around in a shabby mountain village."
The red glow, after stealing the Water Bright Crystal, flew rapidly forward without anyone tailing it, and it was overjoyed.
Just thinking about returning to its clan with the Water Bright Crystal and finally gaining the position it had longed for made the mysterious creature within the red glow laugh out loud.
It had no idea that the Water Bright Crystal it had just stolen contained a wisp of Ye Lingyue’s primordial spirit.
Earlier, it only knew to check for human traces around the Water Bright Crystal, not realizing the need to check the crystal itself. Ye Lingyue had anticipated this, allowing her to successfully tamper with the Water Bright Crystal.
To avoid being detected by this creature, Ye Lingyue’s primordial spirit avatar had to suppress its spiritual sense to the lowest level.
As a result, her five senses and six consciousnesses’ perception ability sharply decreased.
She could only vaguely discern that she had already moved far away from the sphere of influence of Ah County.
At this moment, Ye Lingyue felt the Yao Stone suddenly sink downward with great force, indicating that the creature was landing from high altitude.
The red glow dissipated, and the living being previously hidden within was finally revealed.
It was a bird with feathers in alternating shades of green and red, large wings, and emerald green eyes — indeed, a phoenix bird!
In a flash of thought, the phoenix bird descended, clutching the Water Bright Crystal, landing in the mountain forest.
This was an expansive ancient forest of continuous mountains with beautiful scenery all around.
Nine mountain peaks encircled together, with towering trees visible everywhere in the mountain forest, known as the Ancient Wood Forest.
Villagers who wandered here would get lost, as it was a natural barrier of Jiunie Mountain.
The phoenix bird landed, transformed into a youth.
The youth wore a jade crown, a colorful embroidered robe, and had a dashing appearance, yet his emerald green eyes revealed a cold and heartless nature.
The place where the youth stood was the unreachable Jiunie Mountain, according to the villagers.
Ye Lingyue’s primordial spirit was hidden within the Water Bright Crystal, unknown to the youth.
The youth approached the Ancient Wood Forest and counted aloud as he walked to the tenth tree on the far east side. With a light knock, the deeply rooted tree moved back more than ten steps.
The youth continued in the same manner, proceeding straight forward, altering his position every few steps and selecting a corresponding tree before moving forward again.
The trees seemed alive, moving according to the youth’s steps.
After walking like this for an hour, the Ancient Wood Forest finally reached its end.
Hiding within the Water Bright Crystal, Ye Lingyue finally understood why villagers were lost in Jiunie Mountain before.
It turns out this mountain forest had long been set up with a special array by the ancient Phoenix Clan, baffling not only clueless villagers but also powerful martial artists and alchemists.
At the edge of the Ancient Wood Forest, dawn broke, revealing a cluster of treehouses.
Groups of birds with beautiful plumage, in various shapes and sizes, perched on branches, singing harmonious and melodious songs.
Among them was a particularly melodious singing bird shaped like a purple cloud magpie.
Evidently, besides the Phoenix Clan, many other Bird Clan members inhabited this Jiunie Mountain.
These Bird Clan members seemed much stronger than the three-legged birdmen Ye Lingyue initially encountered.
"Lord Rui, you have returned."
Upon seeing the young man in ornate clothing, the phoenix birds assumed human forms, landing before him and respectfully greeting him.
"Zixian, you are getting more and more beautiful. Come to my treehouse tonight."
Although young, the youth radiated a lewd aura as he addressed a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl standing before him, teasingly caressing her fair face with a finger.
The girl, called Zixian, was frightened, shrinking back, and pleaded.
"Lord Rui, I am already engaged; I serve as the personal soldier captain to Lord Yi."
"Just a lower-level eagle bird, how could he compare to me? If you dare disobey, I’ll personally kill that boy."
Suddenly, malice flickered in the youth’s eyes.
Zixian remained silent in fear; as the absolute ruler of Jiunie Mountain, the Phoenix Clan had the noblest bloodline.
The girl before him, beloved granddaughter of the Phoenix Emperor’s third son, was one of the strongest contenders for the new young clan leader of the Phoenix Clan.