At this moment, Primordial Phoenix atop the Volcano of Immortality finally noticed Hong Yuan's presence.
With a beat of her wings, she transformed directly into a woman.
She wore an incomparably gorgeous golden-red gown, as though it had been woven from the most dazzling sunset clouds at the horizon. Its skirts danced lightly in the wind, drifting like immortal clouds curling around her.
Her black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, loosely pinned up with nothing more than a simple yet elegant jade hairpin. A few strands fell by her ears, adding a touch of enchanting charm to her appearance.
An exquisite silk sash was tied around her waist, and every movement she made carried an air of elegance and dignity.
"Greetings, Dao Venerable!"
"Oh?"
Hong Yuan showed a hint of surprise.
"You recognize me?"
Primordial Phoenix's vermilion lips were naturally red. As they parted slightly, she explained to Hong Yuan, "When the Dao Venerable proclaimed your presence throughout the Primordial Wilderness, I had yet to undergo Form Transformation, but I had already gained a faint measure of intelligence. Naturally, I recognized the Dao Venerable."
"If the Dao Venerable does not disdain it, would you care to enter my Volcano of Immortality? Though it cannot compare to even one ten-thousandth of the Dao Venerable's dojo, it has its own unique charm."
Hong Yuan looked at Primordial Phoenix before him, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. "Who told you that I have a dojo?"
"To be honest, I came today because I felt that the Volcano of Immortality was highly suitable to serve as my dojo, so I came to have a look. When do you plan to move out?"
"Uh..."
Hong Yuan's words completely stunned Primordial Phoenix.
She had just wanted to ask whether the Dao Venerable was joking.
But when she saw Hong Yuan's utterly serious expression, Primordial Phoenix swallowed her words.
She could not understand why a dignified Dao Venerable did not even have a dojo of his own.
But then again... it seemed she truly had never heard where Hong Yuan's dojo was located.
Though she was reluctant to give her own dojo to Hong Yuan, she also knew that this was not something she could decide.
After holding it in for quite a while, Primordial Phoenix could only carefully say, "Since the Dao Venerable wants it, Little Phoenix shall offer the Volcano of Immortality to the Dao Venerable."
"Offer it to me? Wouldn't that be inappropriate? Clearly, I was seizing it by force!" Hong Yuan looked at Primordial Phoenix with a half-smile.
Primordial Phoenix was once again rendered speechless by Hong Yuan's words.
Seeing this, Hong Yuan stopped teasing the little phoenix before him.
He merely chuckled and said teasingly, "I was only joking with you. Do not take it seriously. Your Volcano of Immortality is not something I would set my eyes on."
Though Primordial Phoenix felt somewhat embarrassed and annoyed, she quietly breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Hong Yuan no longer intended to seize her dojo.
"If you do not mind, then take me around your Volcano of Immortality."
"The Dao Venerable is too courteous. It is Little Phoenix's honor that you have come to my Volcano of Immortality!"
With that, Primordial Phoenix led Hong Yuan on a tour of the Volcano of Immortality.
At this time, the vast Volcano of Immortality held only Primordial Phoenix herself. Apart from the Wutong Tree at its center and a few Spiritual Roots, none of the other famous phoenixes had yet appeared, making the place seem rather empty.
Seeing this, Hong Yuan looked at the Wutong Tree in the center of the Volcano of Immortality and asked, "When do you intend to develop your clan?"
Primordial Phoenix was startled upon hearing this.
Only recently had she felt that having just one phoenix in the enormous Volcano of Immortality made it seem somewhat desolate. She had planned to use the Wutong Tree, with herself as the foundation, to develop a clan.
Yet she had not expected Hong Yuan to have seemingly foreseen it already.
"As expected, nothing can be hidden from the Dao Venerable. It should be happening soon."
"Very well! Since we are fated to meet, I shall lend you a hand!"
With that, Hong Yuan took out a small branch of Immortal Nurturing Wood and waved his hand, directly merging it into the Wutong Tree.
Within the Primordial Wilderness, there was nothing more suitable than this for raising the grade of a Spiritual Root.
"Give me a drop of your essence blood!"
Primordial Phoenix immediately forced out a drop of her essence blood.
With a flick of his finger, Hong Yuan directly merged Primordial Phoenix's essence blood into the Wutong Tree.
In an instant, the Wutong Tree began to shine brilliantly, with divine radiance swirling around it.
The Wutong Tree, originally only a top-grade Innate Spiritual Root, began to rise rapidly in grade.
In the end, it was only a sliver away from fully becoming a Chaos Spiritual Root.
Though it had not transformed into a Chaos Spiritual Root, it was still far more powerful than the renowned ten top-grade Innate Spiritual Roots of the Primordial Wilderness.
After the Wutong Tree completed its transformation, fruits began to grow from its branches.
There were as many as three thousand of them.
But upon closer inspection, they were not fruits at all. They were clearly phoenixes, one after another.
Feng were male, while Huang were female.
There were half of each.
Because Primordial Phoenix was the first phoenix between Heaven and Earth, though she was female, she was still called Feng.
Hong Yuan looked at the Wutong Tree before him and pondered how, after he had raised its grade today,
the future Phoenix Clan would certainly become far stronger than the Phoenix Clan in its original course.
By then, perhaps the Dragon Clan and the Qilin Clan would have to join forces against the Phoenix Clan.
As she watched the phoenixes condensed by the Wutong Tree, a faint smile appeared on Primordial Phoenix's beautiful face, as lovely as a painting.
At this moment, Primordial Phoenix inwardly marveled at Hong Yuan's generosity.
Though she did not know what Hong Yuan had merged into the Wutong Tree just now, she could tell from the changes before her eyes
that it was undoubtedly a supreme treasure.
Without a second thought, Primordial Phoenix bowed slightly toward Hong Yuan to repay his kindness.
"Many thanks, Dao Venerable!"
Hong Yuan merely nodded calmly.
To thank Hong Yuan, Primordial Phoenix brought out the rare Spiritual Fruits she had accumulated over countless years to entertain him.
Though she knew that, given Hong Yuan's status, he would naturally look down on such Spiritual Fruits and Spiritual Wine,
these were the best things she possessed.
Fortunately, Hong Yuan did not say anything. Instead, he ate them with great interest.
This allowed Primordial Phoenix to breathe a sigh of relief.
In the blink of an eye, the day Luohu had previously agreed upon with Causality and the others had arrived.
Moreover, because they had deliberately spread the news,
all living beings throughout the Primordial Wilderness eagerly anticipated this gathering.
After all, Luohu, Causality, Qiankun, and Five Elements—the four ancestors themselves—had initiated it.
Originally, some of the other ancestors had dismissed it with disdain.
But three Yuan Hui ago, when those individuals announced that they had already entered the realm of Primordial Origin Golden Immortals, no one in the Primordial Wilderness dared to object any longer.
Among them, quite a few beings worked desperately to improve their cultivation
so that they would be qualified to attend this gathering.
For a time, the Primordial Wilderness was filled with conflict, plunder, and slaughter.
As a result, the surging Grievance and Fiendish Energy between Heaven and Earth increased considerably.
Within the Volcano of Immortality, Primordial Phoenix looked at Hong Yuan hesitantly.
Even without Primordial Phoenix saying anything, Hong Yuan knew what she wished to say.
"If you wish to go, then go. You can also contribute some strength while you are there, and it will be beneficial to you. As for me, it is time to return to my dojo and take a look."
Primordial Phoenix's heart trembled at those words.
Over these nearly ten Yuan Hui, she had deeply experienced the Dao Venerable's greatness.
He was simply unfathomable.
Since the Dao Venerable said it would be beneficial to her, then it would certainly be beneficial.
Yet for some reason, she suddenly felt reluctant to see the Dao Venerable leave.
Once he left, who knew when she would have another chance to hear the Dao Venerable preach the Dao?
"Thank you for the reminder, Dao Venerable."
"Alright, it is time for me to leave. You may also come find me at Zhou Mountain when you have the time!"
With that, before Primordial Phoenix could react, Hong Yuan's figure instantly vanished from the Volcano of Immortality.
Only Primordial Phoenix remained, staring blankly at the spot for a long while, unable to come back to herself.
"So... the Dao Venerable's dojo is on Zhou Mountain?"
Before you continue