Crisis and Opportunity

"Senior Yuan Feng, please show mercy. This Humble One is Qing Xuan of Three Immortal Islands. Greetings, Senior."

Qing Xuan hurriedly brought Da Bai out from the shadows. He really hadn't expected to run into such a situation while scavenging corpses. He'd originally spotted two Quasi-Saints chasing each other in the sky and thought to hide to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

Who would have guessed that Ao Yue would fall right into the valley where they were hiding? Qing Xuan sensed great trouble and tried to cover himself with Chaos Qi to slip by unnoticed, but a single blaze burned the entire valley to ashes, leaving nowhere to hide.

"Oh, so you're Qing Xuan of Three Immortal Islands. You do have some skill—This Venerable didn't even notice you just now."

Yuan Feng recalled Hongjun's assessment of this man and began scrutinizing Qing Xuan closely.

"Oh~ You've already cultivated to the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm." Yuan Feng said in surprise.

"She's heard my name!" Qing Xuan's heart jolted. In all his time wandering the Primordial World, he'd met very few people. After a moment's thought, he realized Hongjun must have mentioned him to Yuan Feng.

"Yes, Senior Hongjun took a liking to me and once bestowed his teachings upon me. This junior was fortunate enough not to disgrace that honor and managed to break through to the Zenith Heaven realm."

Qing Xuan replied with neither humility nor arrogance, hoping Yuan Feng would spare him trouble for Hongjun's sake.

Yuan Feng fell silent upon hearing this. Normally, whoever it was, she would simply kill them. But this man had a connection with Hongjun, and given the Phoenix Clan's current situation, making an enemy of him was unwise.

Just as Yuan Feng was about to let him go, a thought struck her, and she spoke.

"Young one, for Hongjun's sake, I won't kill you. But you must take one strike from me. Do you dare?"

Qing Xuan looked at the relentless Yuan Feng, bitterness in his heart. With her Quasi-Saint Peak cultivation, killing a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal like him was as easy as slaughtering a chicken or duck. But now he was fish on the chopping block—refusing wasn't an option.

"Fine. Da Bai, go hide over there."

Qing Xuan agreed, settled Da Bai, then summoned his treasures. The Myriad Heavens Celebration Cloud shielded him, the World-Purifying White Lotus settled beneath his feet, thirty-six Sea-Calming Divine Pearls arrayed around him, and he gripped the Primordial Halberd as he unfolded his Primordial Domain.

"Good lad, deep blessings indeed." Yuan Feng watched Qing Xuan go all out. Even as the Phoenix Clan's chieftain, her own wealth couldn't compare to his, and her resolve hardened.

"Boy, it seems you do have some skill. Take this strike—Blazing Brahma Heaven."

A fire-element divine ability surged toward Qing Xuan with the force to burn heaven and earth.

Qing Xuan gathered his Primordial Qi, raised the Primordial Halberd, and slashed fiercely.

"Primordial Tribulation!"

A crescent of black light shot toward the flames. Wherever the black light passed, space collapsed and mountains and rivers shattered. Yet even so, the Primordial Tribulation only held out for a moment before dissolving into the blaze.

"Damn it, am I going to die here?" Qing Xuan's heart refused to accept it. Then, a sudden inspiration struck.

He deployed the thirty-six Sea-Calming Divine Pearls into the Innate Sea-Covering Great Formation, then poured Three Lights Divine Water into it. Instantly, the formation blazed with three-colored divine light.

Blazing Brahma Heaven burned all around. Qing Xuan resisted with the Innate Sea-Covering Great Formation and the Three Lights Divine Water, filling the air with steam.

Though Qing Xuan's strength was far below Yuan Feng's, she hadn't used her full power. The flames of Blazing Brahma Heaven weren't Southern Bright Lihuo Flame, only ordinary fire elements. Just as the Three Lights Divine Water was about to be consumed, the flames were extinguished.

"Thank you, Senior Yuan Feng, for showing mercy!" Qing Xuan knew he had survived this ordeal and sincerely expressed his gratitude.

"Your realm is still low. Once you cultivate to the Quasi-Saint stage, I won't be your match." Yuan Feng now regarded Qing Xuan as an equal. After all, one favored by the Heavenly Dao would surpass her sooner or later. At this thought, her eyes dimmed.

"Senior Yuan Feng, this junior will take his leave now." Qing Xuan mounted Da Bai, eager to flee.

"Wait. Are you interested in making a deal with me?" Yuan Feng spoke up.

"What deal?" Qing Xuan grew wary. Since he couldn't win in a fight, it was better to be cautious.

"I have two children. I hope you will take them as your disciples."

"Senior, your children must have extraordinary origins. I'm afraid I'm not qualified to be their teacher."

Qing Xuan knew she was referring to Kong Xuan and the Great Peng Bird. Both had bright futures—Kong Xuan especially, who could be called the Number One Under the Saints. His Five-Colored Divine Light could brush away anything. If not for Zhunti's intervention, no disciple of the Four Sects could have matched him. The Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird was no slouch either, eventually joining the Buddhist path as the Great Peng King.

"You carry deep blessings and endless opportunities. Your future will not stop here. My two children have yet to be born. Following you, at least they won't die young." Yuan Feng had great faith in Qing Xuan's future.

"Senior, why don't you teach them yourself?"

Hearing this, Yuan Feng sighed inwardly. It wasn't that she didn't want to raise her own children, but given the Phoenix Clan's current predicament, keeping them in the clan was unwise.

"I have a clan to manage and no time to teach them. So I must find them a good master, to fulfill some of my duty as a mother." Yuan Feng decided not to tell Qing Xuan the truth. The less he knew, the safer for him.

"In that case, I can take them in. But since this is a deal, what do I get out of it?" Since things had come to this, Qing Xuan didn't refuse. The thought of Kong Xuan and the Great Peng under his tutelage was exciting, but he still wanted Yuan Feng's compensation.

"Don't worry. Come with me to the Southern Bright Undying Volcano. The Phoenix Clan's treasury is yours to choose from." Yuan Feng said generously. As long as this man taught her children well, mere treasures were nothing.

"Hiss!"

Qing Xuan hadn't expected Yuan Feng to be so open-handed. As the saying goes, "soft hands make one compliant." As the overlords of the sky, the Phoenix Clan's treasury must be full of good things. With free rein to choose, his heart had already flown to the Southern Bright Undying Volcano.

Seeing Qing Xuan's expression, Yuan Feng knew the matter was settled. The two then flew toward the Phoenix Clan.

Along the way, Qing Xuan didn't forget to collect the corpses they passed. After years of scavenging, the Tens of Millions of Beast Bones needed for his formation were already 80% complete. A few more years of collecting, and he'd have them all.

Watching Qing Xuan gather corpses as they traveled, Yuan Feng's expression turned odd, and she asked.

"Young friend Qing Xuan, why are you doing this?"

"Senior Yuan Feng, as an Innate Being born in the Primordial World, this humble one simply cannot bear to see these corpses polluting the environment. Thus, I collect them to bury them together later."

Qing Xuan began spouting nonsense with righteous fervor. After all, he was doing it for the good of the Primordial World. Whether they ended up buried in the earth or fused into his formation, it was all recycling, wasn't it?

"Heh, you're quite thoughtful." Yuan Feng clearly didn't believe him, but thinking that he would be her children's teacher, she felt more at ease. After all, to survive in the Primordial World, good people didn't live long.

Besides, the Phoenix Clan always collected their own dead and buried them in the Wutong Forest. As for how the Dragon Clan and Kirin Tribe's corpses were used, that was none of her business.

And so, the two chatted as they traveled. Several years passed, and they finally reached the Southern Bright Undying Volcano.