Transcending the Nine Heavens

Boundless spiritual energy spread out in all directions like tidal waves. All the birds that had come to pay homage felt as if their fatigue from their long and tiring journeys had been swept clean in this instant. Every one of them was full of vigor and energy. Even their feathers seemed to have become a lot more vibrant…

Chu Yang and the others, the few ‘abnormal birds’, also felt reinvigorated at once.

A soft cry rang out. Dong Wushang, Mo Lei’er and Mo Qingwu who had already gotten up and released their cultivation looked over in surprise to see Rui Butong, whose face was flushed red and his neck swollen, trying desperately to suppress something.

On his forehead, a little bump gradually started to bulge from under the surface of his skin.

In a mere instant, a bump extended from his forehead, just like a unicorn.

Rui Butong moaned in agony, a look of hopelessness in his eyes.

Dong Wushang and the other two got a huge shock. They were completely unaware of what had happened.

The consequences of Rui Butong forcefully activating rebirth finally erupted at this point. The phoenix bloodline in his body concentrated in a spot and surged into his head. Should he be unable to hold it back, this bit of phoenix bloodline would break through his skull and shoot into the sky in the form of a true soul.

And Rui Butong would truly be destroyed in both form and soul!

Dong Wushang didn’t have the time to think. He went over in a flash and reached out his arm, pressing against Rui Butong’s back where his heart was. Pure internal energy gushed into Rui Butong.

It was apparent that it was beyond Rui Butong’s power to resist. Since that was the case, then that meant that he needed power!

Dong Wushang’s incomparably intuitive mentality played a critical role in this instant. If it had been someone else, they definitely wouldn’t be this rash. But should they delay even a moment longer, Rui Butong would be done for.

Dong Wushang was the only one who rushed forward without even thinking.

The two of them combined their efforts. At last, Rui Butong felt a little better. That blood-red flesh mound also stopped growing. But as time continued to pass, it started to bulge outwards bit by bit again.

Mo Lei’er and Mo Qingwu stepped forward at the same time, one placing her hand on his left shoulder while the other placed hers on the right.

The power of the four of them started a struggle with the mysterious power within Rui Butong.

But just how massive was the power of the phoenix true soul? Six hours later, the four of them gradually became somewhat unable to suppress it any longer.

Right at this moment, a clear howl resounded. Chu Yang was the first to arrive. The moment this situation entered his vision, he reached his arm out without even thinking and pressed against Dong Wushang’s back.

Gu Duxing, Mo Tianji and the others also did the same subsequently.

The power of the Nine Tribulations Sword Master and the Nine Tribulations came together at the same time to form an inexplicably mighty and powerful flood current!

Especially with Ao Xieyun joining the fort. In this instant, Ao Xieyun could feel his own bloodline swelling rapidly, as if even he himself could hear the blood within his body making ‘whooshing’ noises as it surged and flowed.

Just like a young golden dragon weaving about in his body.

In his palm, torrential vital energy surged madly into Rui Butong’s body!

Rui Butong’s expression finally turned a little less pained. He could feel that phoenix true soul bloodline slowly withdrawing into his body.

At last, all of a sudden, the roar of a dragon resounded, followed closely by the resonant cry of a phoenix.

A hologram of a golden dragon suddenly burst out of Ao Xieyun and soared into the fair skies. Just like that, the boundless awe-inspiring presence of a ruler suddenly pervaded the atmosphere between heaven and earth!

The shadow of a phoenix burst out of Rui Butong wildly and soared into the skies in the blink of an eye!

In the sky, a dragon and a phoenix appeared at the same time!

Instantly, within a radius of a few thousand miles of where they were, be it humans or beasts, flying creatures or land-bound animals, all of them were as silent as a mouse!

In this instant, the brothers simultaneously sensed that that powerful wave of resistance in Rui Butong’s body had suddenly disappeared. Then, as though a mild river stream, it came back at them. For a moment, everyone’s bodies were filled with warmth and an indescribable sense of comfort.

Not only did the extreme energy output that they had just gone through not cause any harm to them, everyone instead improved by a large margin!

In mid-air, the hologram of the golden dragon curled and stretched majestically as it soared in the sky, extremely lively. However, the hologram of the phoenix looked a little dispirited. After a long while, the golden dragon suddenly disappeared.

The phoenix let out a long cry into the heavens. Without any warning, it spread its wings and took off into the sky. In this instant, colorful streams of light suddenly filled the entire night sky, as though billions of fireworks set off into the sky at the same time.

A majestic and beautiful large bird with a long tail spread its wings and took off into the sky. As it soared into the sky, various breeds of birds followed closely behind and started flying as well.

There was only a single bird from each of the various breeds. They slowly formed a formation in mid-air, actually using 9,999 different birds based on their different feather colors to form a massive phoenix!

On the ground!

Billions of birds lowered their heads at the same time.

The phoenix hologram seemed extremely satisfied. Nodding slowly, a wave of pure energy gushed out once more and infused into the birds. Then, the phoenix flew one round in mid-air and circled thrice around Rui Butong.

It actually sighed in an extremely human-like manner. A mouthful of violet aura gushed out and poured into Rui Butong. Then, it spread its wings and took off into the sky. This time around, it didn’t look back anymore.

At last, in mid-air, it dispersed once more into brilliant colors which filled the entire expanse of the sky!

All the birds lifted their heads and puffed out their chests as one, emitting the loudest cry they could muster!

In this instant, the heavens and earth shook!

Every bird sported an extremely satisfied expression.

So what even if ten people shared the blessings even though only one of them possessed the bloodline of the Phoenix race? The heavens shall bless the phoenix’s palace of eternal life and the legend of immortality and indestructibility.

A sigh could be heard vaguely.

As if questioning, as if frustrated, as if melancholic, as if finding it a pity, and as if… lamenting.

But no matter what, from the moment Rui Butong had awakened completely the first time, the tradition of the Phoenix race had been altered!

Be it the heavenly fire of nirvana or the secret arts of the phoenix, these had always been solely enjoyed by one person in order to achieve a boundless Tao state.

Yet Rui Butong had shared it with his brothers right from the start.

It was like that the first time and so was the second time!

Whether this was a blessing or a calamity, even the phoenix true soul within Rui Butong couldn’t tell…

At last, Rui Butong opened his eyes. The first thing he did was to anxiously check his hands, his legs and his body. Then, he let out a loud cheer. “Wahaha… My hands didn’t turn into claws! My feet didn’t turn into claws! My body didn’t produce feathers! I’m still a human and not a bird, wahahaha…”

During the process of rebirth earlier, this fellow had already been mentally prepared to evolve into a phoenix. After all, all those countless holograms had come from his subconsciousness; he naturally thought that he had already evolved into one long ago.

In the midst of extreme apprehension, when he saw that he was actually still ‘human’, his surprise in this very instant was truly at its peak!

The brothers laughed and jumped about as they surrounded Rui Butong.

Luo Kedi and Ji Mo rushed forward. One of them pressed down on his head while the other punched him in the gut. Rui Butong let out a loud cry, but he had already been wrestled to the ground.

Letting out a cheer, Luo Kedi sat on him in one smooth motion.

Then, the brothers started to stack on top of him one by one.

Rui Butong cried out loudly. “Spare me… Spare me, my bosses… F*ck, why are all of you here… My god, who is this! Who is this! His ass goddamn stinks…”

It was Luo Kedi who hadn’t had the time to clean himself after suffering through a bird’s diarrhea. And now, a great deal of the smell had been passed on to Rui Butong, the ‘king of birds’ to enjoy…

As they laughed and fooled about, the birds in the vicinity were already starting to disperse.

Mo Qingwu had already extracted herself at the first moment a long time ago. She stood quietly under a tree, smiling as she watched them.

There was a hint of apprehension and a hint of unease in her smile.

As well as deep longing.

She tried to force herself to calm down, yet she couldn’t control herself.

Chu Yang and Mo Tianji found this rather strange at the same time. By right, whenever Mo Qingwu saw Chu Yang, she would usually dive toward him and enter his arms, acting coquettishly and seeking care and adoration as if she had suffered great injustice…

Why was it totally different this time around?

Chu Yang watched Mo Qingwu as she stood quietly and delicately under the tree while looking at him. All of a sudden, an incomparably familiar feeling welled up in his heart!

This was just like in his past life — Every time he left her, she would stand under the tree and send him off just like that.

Be it the way she carried herself, her expression or her feelings, it was practically identical…

Tumultuous waves suddenly surged and crashed within Chu Yang’s heart.

If Mo Qingwu was still the same naive and adorable way she behaved, Chu Yang would have already gone forward to embrace and dote on her. But right now, as she gazed at him in this familiar way, for a moment there, Chu Yang actually became timid and didn’t dare to go forward.

As if the one standing in front of him now was the Mo Qingwu from his past life whom he had let down so much and felt immense guilt toward, as well as the Mo Qingwu who had refused to leave him even in death and held no regrets even in her moment of death, and not… the tender and delicate little girl of this lifetime.

Mo Tianji was the first to regain his senses. He glanced at Chu Yang weirdly, finding his reaction at this moment rather strange. But subsequently, he was overwhelmed by and his actions taken over by the huge surprise of seeing his younger sister again. Full of joy, he rushed forward. “Little Wu! Little Sister!”

He spread his arms, wanting to hug her.

Tears welled up in Mo Qingwu’s eyes and her tiny face flushed red. However, she took a step back in a rather timid manner.

With his arms still spread out, Mo Tianji suddenly froze just like that.

Even his expression was rather stiff.

That uncertain and vaguely distant and hostile look in his younger sister’s eyes suddenly pained him.

Why was this happening??

“Little Wu…” Mo Tianji asked with some heartache, “What’s the matter?”

Mo Qingwu looked at him in a manner that was rather unfamiliar but also somewhat longing. “You’re… Second Brother?”

In this instant, Mo Qingwu suddenly mixed up reality and her dreams.

For some reason, Mo Qingwu just had a certain feeling — Everything in her dreams was real!

But her life was obviously not like that… This conflict between reality and her dreams reached its pinnacle in this moment of meeting Chu Yang and Mo Tianji!

Her mind was filled with chaos. It was only a long while later that she recalled that en-route to the Far North Wastelands back then, Second Brother had already explained to her what had happened back then.

Her disoriented eyes gradually turned clear again. Yes, Second Brother loved and cared for her. In her dreams, it seemed like she had never given him the opportunity to explain, right?

Mo Tianji nodded vehemently. “Yes, it’s Second Brother, it’s Second Brother. What… what’s the matter?”

Mo Tianji, who had always been clever and wise, was so anxious at this moment that even perspiration had formed on the tip of his nose. He called out, “Chu Yang, come over and take a look… What’s wrong with Little Wu?”

Chu Yang walked over slowly. He could feel the agitation in his heart at this moment.

Every step he took, that feeling in his heart became a notch clearer. All of a sudden, he felt an upsurge of emotion; even his face was red. At last, when he reached Mo Qingwu, he looked at that pair of clear-cut black and white eyes.

Their eyes met and stared into each other.

There was clearly a hint of avoidance and aggrievement in Mo Qingwu’s eyes.

Chu Yang asked softly and carefully, “Are you Little Wu? Or Qingwu?”

His voice was very soft, so much so that it was as if he feared disturbing a dream… But that deep devotion that could easily overturn rivers and oceans in his voice was something which even Mo Tianji could so clearly detect…