An Age-Old Mystery Finally Solved

Primal Phoenix raised her wine-red eyes.

"I believe your method is indeed effective, fellow Daoist. If it succeeds, I will naturally present the Southern Ground-Severing Flame Light Banner."

Give it a try and die trying—don't be afraid, Empress. I heard the Phoenix Clan possesses the innate divine ability to be reborn through fire. You have nothing to worry about. At worst, you can just start over...

Hearing Zhou Qingqing's deliberately solemn words,

Supreme Pure Laozi's expression nearly cracked.

His One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones was an avatar technique, not a suicide technique. It wasn't fatal, all right?

Now that Primal Phoenix had declared her willingness to try,

Supreme Pure Laozi naturally had no objections.

Of course.

Primal Phoenix only needed to create an incarnation in the form of the Vermilion Bird; she did not need to produce any other avatars. Supreme Pure Laozi therefore merely explained the avatar method without going into excessive detail.

Eldest Master could still hold back a few tricks. One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones had become One Qi Transforms into Supreme Purity.

Primal Phoenix truly did not need the rest. As long as she could transform into the Vermilion Bird, the goal would be achieved.

Within the Primordial World, many cultivated avatars and incarnations. Old Ancestor Minghe, for instance, had refined the entire Nether Blood Sea into 1.08 billion Blood God Children, claiming that as long as the Blood Sea remained undried, Minghe would never die.

Yet none of those divine abilities could compare to Supreme Pure Laozi's One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones.

Even if it was only one-third of it, it still contained the condensed profundities of the Great Dao.

Of course.

Zhou Qingqing spoke that way because she was completely lost.

Primal Phoenix, a Primordial Chaos Golden Immortal, was not as hopeless as she was. She merely nodded repeatedly, clearly having gained genuine insight.

Fortunately, Zhou Qingqing did not need to envy her. As the chief disciple, she could slowly seek guidance from her master on this supreme divine ability in the future—and the complete version at that.

As for the two brothers, Jade Pure Yuanshi and Upper Pure Tongtian, they too listened with rapt attention.

But then,

at a certain moment, they suddenly came to their senses.

The two of them were still here. Why was their elder brother already talking about One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones?

Could it be that they were less obedient than avatars?

Faced with his two younger brothers' questioning, Supreme Pure Laozi decisively denied it.

In truth,

this divine ability, One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones, had come to Supreme Pure Laozi in a flash of inspiration. It was merely an idea, one he had not personally tested.

Now that Zhou Qingqing had voiced it in her inner thoughts,

he had thoroughly resolved to perfect and improve this divine ability.

His exchange with Primal Phoenix had likewise brought him many insights. It could be considered a joyous outcome for all.

Now that the theoretical knowledge had been perfected, all that remained was for Primal Phoenix to put it into practice. It should not be a problem.

Hearing their disciple brim with confidence, even more assured than they, her masters found it amusing.

They all raised their eyes as well.

Now, they could only watch Primal Phoenix, the hegemon of the previous Calamity.

"One is the Dao."

"Scattered, my form becomes the Vermilion Bird; gathered, it becomes Primal Phoenix."

"Phoenixes soar together; the Vermilion Bird leads the way!"

Before anyone realized it,

Primal Phoenix had returned to her true form. She circled above the magma of Undying Fire Mountain, then uttered the voice of the Great Dao. Five colors arose together, and her cry stirred the eight winds.

The instant Primal Phoenix spoke the words "the Vermilion Bird leads the way,"

Southern Bright Fire separated from her body. Three above, two below, it divided her form into five parts, gathering the qi of the southern Undying Fire Mountain. Amid surging flames, a vermilion bird spread its wings within, facing Primal Phoenix and answering her in kind.

Countless streams of volcanic magma became pillars that shot into the sky, yet they could not harm either of them in the slightest.

They were like celebratory cannon fire for the birth of the Vermilion Bird.

So this ancient mystery of whether the Vermilion Bird belonged to the Phoenix Clan had finally been solved by me.

I, Zhou Qingqing, testify that the Vermilion Bird in this world was not merely part of the Phoenix Clan—it was Primal Phoenix herself.

Hearing Zhou Qingqing's jubilant cheers,

Supreme Pure Laozi narrowed his eyes.

Zhou Qingqing had not merely witnessed this with her own eyes; she had personally resolved this mystery.

In the original course of the Primordial World, the Vermilion Bird might truly not have counted as part of the Phoenix Clan. But now, under her influence,

there was no longer any difference between Primal Phoenix and the Vermilion Bird.

Primal Phoenix used the Southern Bright Fire within herself to grant it boundless divine intent and immeasurable fortune.

"Cry!"

The Vermilion Bird flapped wings that were equally sacred and resplendent, then slowly settled at the center of the magma lake where Primal Phoenix had originally been. Zhou Qingqing only felt the temperature of the southern Undying Fire Mountain instantly drop a little lower than before.

The southern Vermilion Bird's effect in suppressing the southern Undying Fire Mountain was actually even better than Primal Phoenix's.

Now that was more like it—South Mountain South, a perfect match.

Primal Phoenix had to be utterly convinced now, right? Eldest Master had helped a Primordial Chaos Golden Immortal solve a difficult problem while only at the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm~

The Three Pure Ones could all hear the smug emphasis in Zhou Qingqing's tone.

They did not know whether Primal Phoenix was truly convinced.

In any case,

the Southern Ground-Severing Flame Light Banner had already drifted down from the sky.

The enormous phoenix dharma image vanished once more, returning to the hegemon who had once ruled the skies.

Her wine-red eyes were now filled with firelight.

"I never imagined it. I never imagined that my freedom would come so quickly, so easily!"

Back then, the Phoenix Clan had suffered a complete defeat in the Calamity. She had no choice but to personally suppress the southern Undying Fire Mountain in exchange for a path to survival.

Compared to Ancestor Dragon becoming dragon veins and First Qilin becoming Qilin Cliff, Primal Phoenix's outcome was already rather good.

The southern Undying Fire Mountain was like a prison of the Heavenly Dao, firmly trapping her within it, leaving her with no freedom at all.

Her future had been plain to see.

Now,

everything had changed.

The Primordial World in her eyes had become vibrant once again.

"Many thanks, fellow Daoists. The previous Calamity ended only a short while ago, yet beings such as the Three Pure Ones have already emerged. This is truly Primal Phoenix's good fortune."

"Now that I have escaped my plight, many insights have arisen in my heart. Why don't we discuss the Dao together?"

Discuss the Dao?

After obtaining the Southern Ground-Severing Flame Light Banner, the Three Pure Ones had intended to take Zhou Qingqing and leave. They had not expected Primal Phoenix to take the initiative and propose continuing their discussion of the Dao.

What they had discussed most just now was merely the method of avatars; they had naturally not touched much upon their own Great Dao.

Jade Pure Yuanshi and Upper Pure Tongtian had merely served as background figures for their elder brother, with no opportunity to contribute.

The discussion of the Dao had begun.

The three masters' opportunity had arrived as well.

It seemed Primal Phoenix understood that she was the one who had received the greater favor and wished to compensate them proactively.

Life was precious, love was dearer still; but for the sake of freedom, both could be cast aside.

She was the only Primordial Chaos Golden Immortal still alive in the current Primordial World, a mighty expert who had nearly embarked upon proving the Dao through fortune. It was not that the Dao Ancestor's corpse-slashing method from his second lecture was bad, but having one more path was always better.

The Three Pure Ones' expressions stiffened slightly.

Their earlier hesitation had come because those who attained sainthood in the current Primordial World followed the path of corpse slashing, and they had instinctively believed it to be the sole orthodox path.

Only after Qingqing said this did they realize that they seemed to have been somewhat narrow-minded.

Why hesitate when a being who had pursued the Dao in the previous Calamity wished to discuss the Dao with them?

At once, the Three Pure Ones nodded together and quickly agreed.