"I don't want to."
Green Phoenix replied without hesitation.
Cangyuan asked again, "Could it be that you don't want to return to the Phoenix Clan and have a look?"
Green Phoenix said directly, "I grew up on Penglai Island and am not familiar with the Phoenix Clan."
Cangyuan said, "No, you do."
Green Phoenix said seriously, "I do not."
Cangyuan said, "You want to go out."
Green Phoenix was helpless. "Fellow cultivator, I truly do not."
Cangyuan got straight to the point. "I'll be direct. My senior sister wants a mount. I see that you are fated with her. Would you be willing to become her mount?"
Green Phoenix: "..."
Green Phoenix gritted her teeth. "I'm willing. You can take the Spiritual Treasure off my neck now, right?"
At that moment, Cangyuan held the Houtian Merit Supreme Treasure, the Primordial Sky Measuring Ruler, in his hand. Its blade hovered over Green Phoenix's neck, ready to fall and sever her head at any moment.
Green Phoenix was stunned.
This supreme treasure had actually been obtained by this outsider.
It was not as though Green Phoenix had never coveted the Primordial Sky Measuring Ruler before, but no matter how many times she tried, she always returned empty-handed.
Later, Green Phoenix understood that Spiritual Treasures possessed spirits of their own and chose their masters based on fate.
Clearly, she was not fated with this supreme treasure.
"Fellow cultivator, there's no need to be so distant."
Cangyuan smiled as he put away the Primordial Sky Measuring Ruler. "Actually, there is no need for you to be dejected. My senior sister and I are disciples of the Shangqing Saint and members of the Jie Sect. If you follow my senior sister, you will naturally have Jie Sect backing."
"The Shangqing Saint?!"
Green Phoenix was shocked. She had not expected these two to be disciples of a Saint!
If that was the case, then it was not much of a loss.
At that thought, the unwillingness in Green Phoenix's heart faded somewhat.
From the bloodline inheritance left by her mother, she knew that the Phoenix Clan of the Prehistoric World had already declined. Even Golden Phoenix, a Quasi-Saint expert of the clan, had entered Nuwa's sect as her mount.
Though she was now a mount herself, she at least had the backing of a Saint's Great Sect.
"Greetings, Master."
Green Phoenix bowed to Bixiao.
Bixiao grinned happily, revealing an adorable little canine tooth. "Just follow me. Once we leave, no one will dare bully you."
"Yes."
Green Phoenix answered obediently.
Bixiao looked at Cangyuan again. Her gaze lingered on the Primordial Sky Measuring Ruler for two seconds before she said, "Junior Brother, thank you."
Cangyuan smiled faintly. "It was nothing, just a small effort."
Cangyuan remembered that the Sanxiao Sisters did indeed have a Green Phoenix as a mount.
He wondered whether it was this one.
But they were both Green Phoenixes, were they not?
"Senior Sister, how were your gains?"
Cangyuan asked with a smile.
Bixiao did not hide anything. Counting on her fingers, she listed them for Cangyuan one by one.
"One High-grade Innate Spiritual Root, three Mid-grade Innate Spiritual Roots, more than ten Low-grade Innate Spiritual Roots. Oh, right, and one Low-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure."
"That's all. Then I saw her fly past right in front of me. I felt that she was fated with me, so I chased after her."
Green Phoenix had initially been unwilling, even furious. But in the end, Bixiao's Supreme Innate Spiritual Treasure beat all the fight out of her. She could only flee helplessly, hoping to shake off this little demoness.
"Then let's explore for a few more days before leaving."
Cangyuan suggested.
"Okay, okay."
Bixiao naturally agreed.
This trip had made her feel wonderful.
Especially since she had gained a mount at the Peak Taiyi Golden Immortal realm.
Peak Taiyi Golden Immortal!
In the Jie Sect, perhaps only Senior Brother Duobao and Senior Sister Jin Ling had reached that level of cultivation.
Yet she, Bixiao, had directly acquired one as a mount on this trip.
How could she not be happy?
Cangyuan and Bixiao stood on Green Phoenix's back and continued exploring Penglai Immortal Island.
In truth, after refining the Boundary Stele, Cangyuan was omniscient and omnipotent on Penglai Immortal Island. He knew perfectly well where opportunities lay and where they did not.
This journey was called exploration, but in reality, Cangyuan was practically using a cheat map.
He pointed wherever he wanted, and they struck there.
Their harvest was abundant.
In the end, the two of them obtained several more Innate Spiritual Roots.
As well as two Low-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures.
One of them, the Sunset Sword, was bestowed by Cangyuan upon Green Phoenix.
This Green Phoenix was truly unlucky.
She had grown up on Penglai Immortal Island, yet she had not obtained even a single Spiritual Treasure.
Spiritual Treasures avoided her.
Perhaps it was because of the Karma borne by her clan.
Opportunities passed her by without fate.
She walked through a forest of opportunities without a single leaf touching her.
After receiving the Spiritual Treasure, Green Phoenix was immensely delighted, and a little more of her unwillingness dissipated.
"Let's go. There are no more opportunities here."
Cangyuan said.
Bixiao nodded her little head. "Mm-hmm."
Under Cangyuan's control, the Innate Great Formation of Penglai Immortal Island opened a gap.
Green Phoenix spread her wings and shot through it at tremendous speed, her wings slicing through space and trailing azure light.
After leaving Penglai Immortal Island, they were still above the East Sea, though no longer in the same waters as before.
The gap in the Innate Great Formation closed.
Other than Cangyuan, no one could sense the location of Penglai Immortal Island.
"Junior Brother, where are we going to play next?"
Bixiao asked eagerly.
Cangyuan said, "You are going back to digest the gains from this journey."
The moment he said that, Bixiao's little face fell. "Huh? No, Junior Brother. I don't want to go back yet. We've only been out for such a short time. Let's play a little longer."
Before Cangyuan could speak.
The waves in the distance suddenly churned violently.
It was as if some enormous creature was about to break through the water.
The next moment.
The sea surface burst apart!
True Dragons with imposing horns and bodies covered in black scales appeared before them.
With a flash, their True Dragon forms vanished, replaced by a figure with dragon horns, black battle armor, and a great halberd Spiritual Treasure in hand, blocking their path.
"You Phoenix Clan creatures dare set foot upon the territory of my East Sea Dragon Clan?"
"Are you courting death?!"
"You two have quite some nerve, accompanying the mortal enemies of my Dragon Clan onto Dragon Clan territory!"
This was a True Dragon.
He radiated the aura of a Late Taiyi Golden Immortal.
Under his command were ten thousand Aquatic Clan soldiers.
At a glance, they really did seem rather intimidating.
Cangyuan: "???"
Bixiao: "???"
Seriously? The era of the three clans had already ended, and they were still going on about this?
Both they and the Phoenix Clan were failures cast aside by the tides of time. Instead of reflecting on themselves, they still wanted to fight others.
"I'm a member of the Jie Sect. My junior sister and I happened upon this Green Phoenix and have now taken her as a mount. If you have nothing else to do, return to wherever you came from."
Cangyuan spoke expressionlessly, his tone extremely forceful.
It was confidence born from his own strength and the backing of a Saint's Great Sect.
At his words, wariness flashed through the leading Black Dragon's dragon eyes.
The Jie Sect was established in the East Sea.
Its presence had invisibly weakened the East Sea Dragon Clan's control over the East Sea, which made the proud and arrogant Dragon Clan deeply dissatisfied.
But circumstances were stronger than men.
No.
Even at the height of the Dragon Clan's prosperity, they would not have dared provoke a Saint.
This left the Dragon Clan deeply stifled.
Now that they had encountered members of the Jie Sect, the Black Dragon did not dare provoke them openly, but... the Dragon Clan was not made of clay either!
"Since you two are members of the Jie Sect, my Dragon Clan naturally will not make things difficult for you. You may travel freely throughout the East Sea, but... this Phoenix Clan creature is the mortal enemy of my Dragon Clan. We ask that you hand her over to us, so that we may take her back for disposal."
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