While East Prince Gong was making hectic preparations for the Immortal Court, deep within the East Sea Dragon Palace, Candle Dragon coiled amid the mists of time, his dragon eyes, which had seen through the ages, gleaming with calculation.
Di Jiang's declaration that day—"In the Primordial World, only you and I can claim supremacy!"—and his advice to unite the myriad clans and establish a teaching to earn merit and cleanse their karmic burdens had been like a boulder tossed into Candle Dragon's placid heart, stirring up towering waves.
After careful deliberation, Candle Dragon began secretly laying plans and consolidating his forces. His first targets were naturally the other two ancient clans: the Kirin and the Phoenix! Once he subdued all three clans, the other clans of the Primordial World would flock to join them, and founding a clan would fall neatly into place!
The Kirin Clan now had only one public figure to support its reputation: Fire Qilin, a mid-stage Golden Immortal. Its overall strength was even inferior to that of some powerful vassal clans that had once served it, such as the lions, tigers, and wolves—the great beast clans. The Kirin Clan's title as "Overlord of the Beasts" had long since become an empty name.
More importantly, the Kirin Clan now dwelt on Mount Kunlun, the Daoist sanctuary of the Three Pure Ones! Those three members of Pangu's True Lineage were newly ascended Quasi-Saints!
Pangu's True Lineage—after what had happened with Di Jiang, Candle Dragon felt a trace of wariness toward the Three Pure Ones as well. Going to Mount Kunlun to provoke the Kirin Clan now would be no different from directly confronting the Three Pure Ones. It would invite unnecessary complications and do more harm than good.
"The Kirin Clan can wait."
Candle Dragon made his decision without hesitation and turned his gaze toward the south, where the Immortal Volcano was wreathed in flames all year round.
It was the ancestral home of the Phoenix Clan! Candle Dragon could clearly sense the familiar aura deep within the Immortal Volcano. Though restrained, it remained vast and boundless, bearing the true essence of rebirth through nirvana. Yuanfeng's cultivation was probably just like his own: trapped at the Primordial Origin Golden Immortal realm, weighed down by karmic burdens and unable to advance.
Besides Yuanfeng, the Phoenix Clan also had a crown prince, a rising star who had even caught Candle Dragon's eye—Kong Xuan! He had an extraordinary origin: he was the first peacock between heaven and earth. Born with the power of the Five Elements, he had never gone to the Purple Sky Palace to listen to the Dao, yet he had reached the late stage of the Golden Immortal realm. His potential was boundless.
With Yuanfeng holding the fort and a talent like Kong Xuan among its ranks, the Phoenix Clan still maintained its control over the bird clans. It was far stronger than the Kirin Clan, whose once-proud title had become an empty name.
Most crucially, Yuanfeng, like Candle Dragon, desperately needed vast amounts of merit to cleanse the immense karmic burden clinging to her like a bone-deep affliction! This was the pain they shared, and the foundation for cooperation.
Uniting the myriad clans of the Primordial World and establishing a great clan in accordance with the Heavenly Dao's grand design was one of the fastest and most effective ways to earn merit. Yuanfeng would never turn down such an opportunity. Candle Dragon was certain of it!
Candle Dragon immediately made his arrangements. On one hand, he dispatched several Golden Immortal elders of the Dragon Clan, bearing precious gifts, to secretly travel throughout the Primordial World. They were to contact and invite the leaders of powerful beast clans, such as the Sky Tigers, Nine-Headed Lions, and Moon-Howling Heavenly Wolves. They would lay out the advantages and disadvantages, promise generous rewards, and begin consolidating the strength of the beast clans.
He also added Kunpeng, a newly ascended Golden Immortal with decent strength and no backing, to the list of invitees. But he did not invite Di Jun and Taiyi, the brothers in the Southern Wilderness, or Fuxi and Nuwa, the siblings who were on friendly terms with them.
For one thing, all four were Quasi-Saints, and would take a large share of the merit he hoped to gain from founding a clan. Besides, Di Jun was no ordinary figure who would willingly take second place to him. Better to avoid trouble than invite it.
The main event was that he, the Dragon Clan's ancestor, would personally set out for the Immortal Volcano to visit his old rival and old friend, Yuanfeng!
He would speak with Yuanfeng in person about the grand undertaking of uniting the birds and beasts, founding a clan, and earning merit! He believed that faced with shared interests and similar predicaments, Yuanfeng would make the wise choice.
A profound ripple of time spread through the air. Candle Dragon's enormous body vanished from the East Sea Dragon Palace, and in the next instant, he was already speeding south toward the Immortal Volcano.
Candle Dragon crossed endless mountains and rivers before quietly arriving at the Immortal Volcano. This ancestral land, shrouded year-round in Southern Bright Leaving Fire, was so hot that even the space around it warped slightly. But for a being like him, it was as easy to tread as level ground.
"Clan Leader Yuanfeng, it has been a long time!"
Yuanfeng was quite surprised by Candle Dragon's sudden visit. The two old rivals had not met once since the Dragon-Han Calamity, and now that they stood face-to-face, both were filled with emotion.
"Oh? What brings you here, fellow Daoist?"
At Candle Dragon's arrival, Yuanfeng appeared as a middle-aged beauty dressed in a rainbow-feathered robe. Her features were noble and dignified, though a weariness and world-worn sorrow lingered between her brows.
When Candle Dragon's divine sense carefully swept over Yuanfeng, he was suddenly startled. He had thought his own karmic burden was already heavy enough, but the sheer density and depth of the burden coiled around Yuanfeng far surpassed his imagination!
That burden was like dark shackles, staining even the radiant essence of the phoenix within her. It weighed so heavily that Candle Dragon felt a chill in his heart.
"Fellow Daoist, did you truly take upon yourself the karmic burden of the entire bird clan?"
Candle Dragon was shocked. He instantly understood why the Phoenix Clan could still produce a peerless talent like Kong Xuan, and why its princes had been able to preserve relatively pure Dao Foundations. Yuanfeng had borne it all alone! Her resolve and sacrifice moved even Candle Dragon, who had devoted himself tirelessly to the Dragon Clan, and left him feeling inferior!
Yuanfeng remained calm, as though the karmic burden that could crush a Primordial Origin Golden Immortal did not exist. She simply said, "If I had not, the Phoenix Clan's lineage would have ended long ago. Candle Dragon, you didn't come here merely to marvel at my karmic burden, did you?"
Candle Dragon composed himself, knowing this was no time for sighing. He went straight to the point, explaining Di Jiang's proposal to unite the myriad clans and earn merit, and making it clear that this was their best chance to cleanse their karmic burdens and secure a future for their clans.
Yuanfeng listened in silence, her eyes gleaming. She understood her own circumstances. Even if they established a great clan, the merit they gained might cleanse only one or two tenths of the burden weighing on her. The road ahead would still be long. But as Candle Dragon had said, this was the only path that offered any hope.
The more immediate pressure came from the Phoenix Clan's current predicament. With her karmic burden weighing on her, she could hardly leave the Immortal Volcano, and she did not dare use her full strength. Meanwhile, the Southern Wilderness, once under the Phoenix Clan's control, was now being steadily encroached upon by the forces of the Sun Palace, established by the brothers Di Jun and Taiyi!
Her most outstanding son, Kong Xuan, was already a late-stage Golden Immortal, gifted with the Five-Colored Divine Light. But against the two equally brilliant Quasi-Saints Di Jun and Taiyi, who had powerful forces and spiritual treasures, he was fighting alone and being pushed back at every turn. The Phoenix Clan's territory in the Southern Wilderness continued to shrink.
What was more, Di Jun and Taiyi seemed to have invited Nuwa and Fuxi of Fengqi Mountain to join them. The Phoenix Clan urgently needed reinforcements! Candle Dragon's proposal and the strength of the Dragon Clan were exactly what she needed now.
After weighing it over, Yuanfeng lifted her eyes to Candle Dragon and made her decision:
"Candle Dragon, you speak the truth. Founding a clan to earn merit is indeed a glimmer of hope for cleansing our karmic burdens. My bird clans are willing to join."
"But since this is a partnership, the Dragon Clan must help the Phoenix Clan stabilize the Southern Wilderness and curb the Sun Palace's expansion."
Candle Dragon felt reassured. He knew the matter was settled. He nodded in agreement. "Of course. With the Dragon and Phoenix Clans united, what have we to fear from those two feathered crows? The Dragon Clan will not stand by and do nothing about the Southern Wilderness."
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