nycdaug Chapter 292 Xuannv 157
Chapter 292 Xuannv 157
"Zheyan, are you an idiot? You really do have a small brain."
Donghua still held the unglazed teacup between his fingers, not even lifting his eyelids. His wide sleeves, adorned with gilded patterns, were casually draped over his knees. The nonchalance in his tone was more infuriating to Zheyan than a direct rebuke. He was already in the wrong, and his ears turned red from being choked by the retort. He clenched his fists under his sleeves, and could only stubbornly retort, "Donghua, why are you siding with outsiders? That girl Zihu hasn't even joined the clan yet, and you're already protecting her!"
"Zheyan, I think you really should go back to Nirvana." Yaoguang Shangshen finally couldn't hold back any longer, slamming her jade cup heavily on the table, her eyes full of impatience. "The ten-tailed purple fox was born with the potential to become a Shangshen. Once she transcends her tribulation and becomes a Shangshen, she will naturally be able to join the fox clan based on her strength. At that time, she will be on equal footing with you and me—you've wasted tens of thousands of years, and you still don't understand this?" As she finished speaking, her gaze swept over Zheyan, full of "disappointment and disappointment," clearly feeling that this old phoenix had become increasingly confused in recent years.
Zheyan was rendered speechless by her retort, and the hall fell silent for a moment. Jiaojiao sighed softly, her slender white fingers brushing against the prayer beads on her wrist, her voice tinged with solemnity: "Let's not talk about this anymore. God Moyuan, your younger brother Moheng... he shouldn't have been born in the first place. It was only because Father God insisted on defying Heaven that we've created this situation where his soul needs to be kept alive by accumulating merit." She paused, then added, "Moreover, the power behind Bai Zhi is still unknown. If we act rashly now, we might alert them and make things even more difficult."
"Why bother with so much?" Yao Guang, known for her fiery temper, immediately raised an eyebrow, a fierce glint in her eyes. "If Bai Zhi really wants to protect someone, let him fight if he wants. Are we afraid of him?"
"Indeed." God Mo Yuan spoke slowly, his brows showing a hint of weariness, yet also a resolute determination. "Anyway, Bai Zhi now knows that the old phoenix has regained its cultivation, and Bai Qian has been driven out of Kunlun Ruins by us. Now we'll see how they arrange things—if they really want to tear off the mask, there's nothing to fear." At the end of his sentence, his tone suddenly softened, and when he looked at Jiao Jiao, his eyes were full of pleading: "But... I beg you, Immortal, to save my younger brother, Mo Heng. He is someone I have nurtured with my merits for hundreds of years, and I really can't bear to give him up."
Looking into his earnest eyes, Jiaojiao remained silent for a moment before saying, "You know your brother's situation. There are only two paths now. First, continue to nurture him with merit. When the merit is complete, he will naturally take human form. However, this will consume half of your life's merit, and you can only begin after you have quelled the rebellion of Qing Cang. Second, let him reincarnate." She paused when she said "reincarnation," and her gaze unconsciously drifted towards Donghua. Seeing that he still acted as if it were none of her business, she couldn't help but roll her eyes—everyone knew that the Crown Prince's Consort of the Heavenly Clan had been infertile for many years, and that so-called "good place" was clearly something Donghua had secretly suggested earlier. Yet, he was pretending not to hear it.
Upon hearing this, Mo Yuan's tense shoulders relaxed slightly, and the anxiety in his eyes faded a bit. He solemnly bowed to Jiao Jiao and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Immortal. I still want him to use his merits to transform into human form." Even if it would cost him half a lifetime of cultivation, even if he had to wait until after the war to make a decision, he was unwilling to let his younger brother abandon his hundreds of years of spiritual consciousness and reincarnate from scratch.
Jiaojiao put down her prayer beads, nodded slightly, and softened her tone: "Alright, once you have pacified Qingcang and the time is right, I will help you stabilize Moheng's spirit body and ensure his smooth transformation."
"So we're just going to wait for Bai Zhi to make a move?" Zheyan, who had been keeping quiet to the side, finally found a chance to interject. He couldn't help but lean forward, his phoenix feather sleeves sweeping across the table, raising a wisp of smoke. His tone still carried a hint of lingering frustration.
“No, we must strike first.” Jiaojiao picked up the teacup beside Donghua’s hand—it was a pre-Qingming Longjing tea that Donghua had just brewed but hadn’t touched. She took a sip, her fingertips pinching the rim of the cup, and her gaze fell on Zheyan with a half-smile. “The vanguard position naturally belongs to you, God Zheyan.”
"Me?" Zheyan's eyes widened suddenly, his golden-red phoenix eyes filled with disbelief. He even subconsciously swept his tail feathers behind him. "Me, go be the vanguard? Bai Zhi is such a cunning old fox. Wouldn't I be at a disadvantage if I went?"
"How could you possibly suffer a loss?" Jiaojiao put down her teacup, tapping her fingertips lightly on the table, her tone carrying a hint of certainty. "As far as I know, when Donghua divided the four seas and eight wastelands, the Eastern Wasteland was originally designated as the fiefdom of the Bird Clan. It was you who found yourself bogged down in trivial matters and unwilling to manage it, which allowed Bai Zhi to take over and occupy it for tens of thousands of years." She looked up at Zheyan, her eyes flashing with calculation. "Now that your cultivation has recovered, you can use the pretext of 'reclaiming the ancestral land' to first establish your presence in the Eastern Wasteland—we want to see if Bai Zhi will lose his composure and act rashly because of this lost territory."
Donghua, who was standing to the side, finally raised his eyes. His gaze swept over Zheyan, and his tone remained indifferent, but with a hint of guidance: "If you can't even take back your own ancestral land, you are truly unworthy of being called an ancient divine bird."
Provoked by Donghua, Zheyan immediately stiffened his neck, his phoenix-feather-like eyelashes trembled, and he said defiantly, "Who said I can't get it back? I'll go then! I want to see if Bai Zhi dares to stop me!" Although his words were tough, a trace of barely perceptible apprehension flashed in his eyes—after all, Bai Zhi had been managing the Eastern Wilderness for tens of thousands of years, and his foundation was already firmly established. If he went, he would probably have to fight a tough battle.
Yao Guang, watching from the sidelines, found it amusing and couldn't help but add, "Don't worry, we'll be there to support you in secret. You won't really fall into Bai Zhi's hands. Just remember, the bigger the commotion, the better. It would be best if the entire Eight Desolations knew that you, the old phoenix, have returned."
Zheyan stood amidst the sea of clouds in Qingqiu, with the ten-mile peach blossoms in full bloom beside him—saplings he had transplanted from the Ten-Mile Peach Forest, which had now accompanied him to guard this border for half a day. His fingertips casually brushed across the petals, but his gaze fell upon the barrier shimmering with azure light in front of him. It was a fox clan restriction that Bai Zhi had laid out in the Eastern Wilderness over the years, capable of even blocking some of his ancient phoenix aura.
Before long, a sound of auspicious clouds churning came from within the barrier. Bai Zhi, dressed in the black court robes of the fox clan, emerged on a cloud with two elders, his face still bearing his usual gentle smile: "Zheyan, what brings you to the Eastern Wilderness today? Could it be that the peach blossoms in the Ten Mile Peach Forest have faded, and you've come here to find some fresh scenery?"
He knew Zheyan's intentions perfectly well, but deliberately avoided the main topic. Zheyan didn't expose him, but casually tossed the peach branch in his hand into the sea of clouds, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable air: "Bai Zhi, I didn't come here to admire the scenery. Back then, I found the affairs of the Eastern Wilderness too cumbersome and entrusted them to you for temporary care. Now that I've left the Peach Forest to manage affairs, this ancestral land of the bird clan should be returned to its rightful owner."
Bai Zhi's smile faded slightly, and he sighed, his tone carrying a hint of earnest concern for the people: "Zheyan, that's not quite right. Think about it, the Eastern Wilderness has been under the jurisdiction of my Fox Clan for tens of thousands of years. From Junji Mountain to Yanbo Spring, where are there no settlements of Fox Clan people? Where are the defenses not conducted according to Fox Clan regulations? For tens of thousands of years, you've spent your time brewing wine and admiring flowers in the Peach Blossom Forest, and you've barely heard of the new laws of the Four Seas and Eight Wilderness. Suddenly taking over the Eastern Wilderness, you probably don't even know the current territorial boundaries. Such 'unfamiliarity' will surely disturb the peace of the people."
These words, though seemingly gentle, carried a veiled threat, subtly implying Zheyan's neglect of his duties while presenting a seemingly legitimate reason for "obstruction." Upon hearing this, the gentleness in Zheyan's eyes faded, a cold glint appearing in his golden-red phoenix eyes, and his celestial aura solidified slightly: "Bai Zhi, it's not your place to judge whether I'm 'skilled' in my ancestral land of the bird clan. When Donghua divided the four seas and eight wastelands, every inch of the Eastern Wasteland was etched with the totems of the bird clan. It was I who led the ancestral spirits of the bird clan to quell the chaos of the demonic beasts in the Eastern Wasteland, thus bringing peace later. When you took over, the Eastern Wasteland was ten times more chaotic than it is now, yet I managed it all perfectly; now, it's merely the reclaiming of a fiefdom—how could I possibly be worse than you?"
Bai Zhi's expression changed slightly, and he wanted to say something more, but Zhe Yan interrupted him by raising his hand. A cluster of golden-red phoenix fire ignited at Zhe Yan's fingertip, the flames leaping half a zhang high, illuminating half the sky with a glow. Behind him, a huge phoenix phantom faintly appeared, its wings flapping and creating a gale that made the leaves of the trees on Cangwu Mountain rustle—that was the pressure of an ancient divine bird. Even the elders behind Bai Zhi couldn't help but clench their magical artifacts, their faces turning pale.
"I'm not here to discuss this with you today, but to reclaim the Eastern Wilderness." Zheyan's voice, imbued with divine power, echoed through the sea of clouds. "If you know what's good for you, remove the barrier now and have the fox people move out of the core area of the bird clan's ancestral land—from Yanbo Spring to Cangwu Mountain—and I can overlook the past. If you insist on obstructing me, I don't mind dismantling this barrier and letting the Eight Desolations see how you occupy someone else's ancestral land and dare to turn around and accuse them."
Looking into Zheyan's resolute eyes and feeling the oppressive aura that almost suffocated him, Bai Zhi knew all too well that Zheyan was serious this time. He had just recovered his full cultivation, and with the support of Emperor Donghua and God Yaoguang, if a fight broke out, the Fox Clan would not only come out worse off, but would also be branded as having "seized their ancestral land." Moreover, Bai Qian of Qingqiu had just been driven out of Kunlun Mountain by Mo Yuan; the Fox Clan needed stability and couldn't afford any further turmoil.
"Alright, I'll remove the barrier." Bai Zhi finally gritted his teeth, waved his hand to let the elders behind him withdraw their divine power, but his hands under his black sleeves were clenched tightly. "But Zheyan, my fox clan has been operating in the Eastern Wilderness for tens of thousands of years. Relocating people will take time. You have to give me half a month. After half a month, I will have the fox clan's defenses withdraw from the core area."
“Alright.” Zheyan put away the phoenix fire, and the phoenix phantom gradually dissipated, leaving only a faint scent of fire feathers in the air. “But if I see the fox clan’s sentries again by the Flame Wave Spring in half a month, I will not show any mercy today.”
Bai Zhi's face was ashen, but he could only nod in agreement and turn to lead the elders back into the barrier. After their figures disappeared, a soft laugh came from behind the clouds. Yao Guang Shangshen walked out with his long sword in hand, his eyes full of amusement: "I didn't expect you, old phoenix, to have a moment of composure. You didn't burn down Bai Zhi's barrier right away."
Zheyan turned around and saw Donghua Dijun and Jiaojiao also emerging from the peach blossom shadows—Donghua was still holding a piece of osmanthus cake he had brought from Kunlun Ruins in his fingertips, and said in a light tone: "You still have some brains, you didn't make things too ugly. For the next half month, have your Bifang bird keep an eye on things, don't let Bai Zhi play the guise of 'relocation' while secretly moving the defenses to Junji Mountain."
Fairy Jiaojiao lightly flicked her sleeves, her gaze fixed on the depths of Cangwu Mountain: "This step in the Eastern Wilderness has been successful. Bai Zhi has always been concerned about his reputation, and now that he has lost his ancestral land, he will certainly not let it go easily. He might even take advantage of Bai Qian's expulsion to collude with the Winged Clan—we need to make plans as soon as possible."
Zheyan nodded, raised his hand to summon the Bifang bird, and whispered a few instructions. The Bifang bird cried out and flew into the depths of Cangwu Mountain. He watched the direction in which the bird disappeared and said softly, "Don't worry, I will know the slightest movement in the Eastern Wilderness in the next half month."