Chapter 22
Scolded by Feng Chiyue and pressured by the other members of the feathered race, Bi Feng lost all his enthusiasm. He felt like all his efforts were for nothing. He decided to just give in to Feng Chiyue and stamp all the documents she sent him. As for those who were dissatisfied with the decisions, they could take it up with Feng Chiyue!
Feeling vindicated, Bi Feng returned to Danxue Mountain with a spring in his step. However, before he even reached his clan’s territory, he was intercepted by a group of Heavenly Immortals from the feathered race. Those who served the Heavenly Court were called immortal officials, including those who were still in the selection process and hadn’t been assigned a position yet. They were waiting to become attendants, and the attendants were hoping to be promoted to emissaries. All these transitions were handled by the Heavenly Mechanism Department. Feng Chiyue’s sudden transfer to the Celestial Feather Ministry had given them hope that Bi Feng could pull some strings, but he had turned out to be useless!
Bi Feng’s smile vanished under their barrage of accusations, his smugness replaced by a different emotion. He couldn’t understand what he had been thinking before.
Back in Dong’e Mountain, Zhu Wan was also asking Feng Chiyue about the situation at the Celestial Feather Ministry.
She was truly afraid of another incident like the Morning Sun Assembly’s siege. Last time, they had been in the wrong, targeted for their own misdeeds. But if it happened again, would they be so lucky? Zhu Wan pondered for a moment and arrived at an answer: They might actually be.
Feng Chiyue’s cultivation was more profound than she had imagined. And if her Master wasn’t dead… she would probably twist the heads off anyone who dared to offend Feng Chiyue. As for reason and logic, those were meaningless.
Feng Chiyue glanced at Zhu Wan, her expression impatient. However, she had already vented her anger outside and was still in a relatively good mood, so she didn’t bother scolding her.
Zhu Wan knew from that look that she was being annoying. She quickly shut her mouth, not wanting to provoke Feng Chiyue. To her surprise, however, Feng Chiyue didn’t mock her. She sighed in relief. Then, Feng Chiyue’s lazy voice reached her ears.
“Are you asking how I made Bi Feng obey?”
Zhu Wan’s eyes lit up, her curiosity piqued. She nodded vigorously.
Feng Chiyue extended her hand.
Zhu Wan stared at it, confused. “Your fist?” she murmured.
“Cinnabar Jade,” Feng Chiyue corrected.
Zhu Wan: “…” Her first thought was that Feng Chiyue had bribed Bi Feng, but then she remembered that no one, except her Master, could actually use her money. So she was asking for Cinnabar Jade? Zhu Wan pondered for a moment, then took out a piece of Cinnabar Jade and placed it gently in Feng Chiyue’s palm.
Feng Chiyue closed her hand, not complaining about the small amount. She patiently explained, “All birds pay homage to the Phoenix. The Phoenix lineage possesses a technique called ‘Virtuous Sound.’”
Zhu Wan took out another piece of Cinnabar Jade. “If it’s so powerful, why are the Phoenixes in such a state?”
“The power of the technique depends on the strength of both parties.” Feng Chiyue paused, then chuckled disdainfully. “Besides, those Phoenixes… what could they possibly achieve?”
Zhu Wan blinked. It was clear that Feng Chiyue still held a grudge and didn’t hide her disdain for Phoenix Mountain. But even now, wasn’t Phoenix Mountain still somewhat reliable? Taking advantage of Feng Chiyue’s good mood, Zhu Wan couldn’t help but voice her thoughts.
Feng Chiyue smiled. “Besides the dead, nothing is reliable.”
Zhu Wan: “…” Were they talking about the same thing? Was this “dead person” a reference to her Master? Although Feng Chiyue didn’t show it, she must be missing her Master dearly. Otherwise, why would she suddenly go crazy and cause trouble everywhere? Her gaze softened with sympathy. She sighed and said sincerely, “Immortal Monarch, Master must still be alive. Even facing the Demon Sovereign, Master wouldn’t lose, let alone anyone else. She must be trapped somewhere we haven’t found yet.”
Feng Chiyue raised an eyebrow. “Do you know who the Demon Sovereign is?” After the previous Demon Sovereign, Ming Ji, was slain, the Demon Abyss was in chaos, with no leader. The Heavenly Court avoided talking about those matters. Someone like Zhu Wan, a clueless nobody, couldn’t possibly know what was happening in the Demon Abyss.
Zhu Wan had blind faith in Ming Jian Su. “No matter who it is, they wouldn’t be a match for Master.”
Feng Chiyue fiddled with the two pieces of Cinnabar Jade for a while before speaking. “The current leader of the Demon Abyss is a fox. She wasn’t born a demon.”
Zhu Wan was surprised. “A fox? From Qing Qiu?”
“Yes,” Feng Chiyue confirmed. She took another piece of Cinnabar Jade from Zhu Wan and continued, “A purebred nine-tailed white fox from Qing Qiu. Her name is Tushan Liusu. She was the Holy Maiden of Qing Qiu before she fell into darkness.”
Zhu Wan was puzzled. “Why did she fall?”
Feng Chiyue said slowly, “That lecherous old fool wanted to force her to become his Heavenly Consort. So…” She trailed off, looking at the gossip-hungry Zhu Wan with an expression of amusement.
“So what?” Zhu Wan asked.
“So the second war between immortals and demons is inevitable. If you don’t want to die, stop wandering around and focus on your sword practice. There won’t be another Phoenix to sacrifice for a ‘Fall of the Phoenix’ pact between the two realms.” A hint of mockery flickered in her eyes. She looked at the horrified Zhu Wan and said coldly, “But perhaps a ‘Sacrifice of Heaven’ pact is possible.”
Zhu Wan wasn’t completely stupid. Hearing the emotionless tone of that last sentence, she quickly realized that “Heaven” referred to the Heavenly Emperor. She had no respect for him. She looked around, making sure no one was listening, and lowered her voice. “If the Heavenly Emperor becomes a captive, who will be the new Emperor? Do you want to be Emperor?”
“Why would I bother?” Feng Chiyue said impatiently.
Zhu Wan chuckled awkwardly, thinking to herself, wasn’t that exactly what she was doing? Even her documents were being reviewed by Undefeated.
Undefeated truly lived up to its name. It was unique in the entire Immortal Realm.
It could handle documents and decapitate enemies. When would her own sword reach such a level?
After sending Zhu Wan away, Feng Chiyue didn’t watch plays on the Chaos Mirror. Instead, she stood by the window, gazing at the enormous peach tree outside.
The wind blew, scattering peach blossoms on the ground, covering the green grass. A few petals landed on the windowsill, trembling delicately.
Ming Jian Su had planted this peach tree. It bloomed all year round.
Feng Chiyue flicked her sleeve, brushing away the petals that had fallen on the table. She frowned slightly.
Enjoying the flowers together was romantic. Doing it alone was… pathetic.
Ming Jian Su had promised to watch the flowers bloom and wither with her. It was all a lie.
On the battlefield between the Immortal and Demon Realms.
Ming Jian Su’s ears felt hot. She rubbed her forehead and continued searching for a suitable location to stage her “unfortunate demise.” Her efforts paid off. After days of searching, she finally found a crevice near the Demon Abyss. A wave of turbid energy washed over her, making it difficult to breathe. Suddenly, she sensed a faint trace of sword intent, pure and righteous, unlikely to belong to a demon.
Could it be that a fellow immortal had fallen here? She muttered to herself and cautiously followed the sword intent. After walking for about a hundred feet, she saw a headless skeleton impaled by a simple-looking six-foot-long sword. Three phoenix feathers were tied to the pommel, swaying gently in the wind.
Ming Jian Su’s eyelids twitched, her mind filled with questions.
Whose sword was this? The demonic energy lingering on the skeleton was faint. The flesh had completely decayed, indicating it had been here for centuries.
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