Chapter 348
In an instant, all sorts of guesses flashed through Xiao Minghuang's mind, and her thoughts raced.
Perhaps sensing her doubts, the Undying Divine Phoenix explained, "Don't be afraid. I mean you no harm. The reason I asked about your ancestors is because your bloodline gives me a sense of kinship. There might be some kind of connection between us. If you can tell me about your ancestors' origins, I can confirm it."
The Undying Divine Phoenix's eyes gleamed with hope, as if it were eagerly anticipating something.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Minghuang temporarily set aside her doubts and revealed some of the information.
"The Great Xia Kingdom, from which I hailed, originated from the Zhongtian Immortal Dynasty. After the fall of its fifth emperor, Emperor Yuanji, the Great Emperor Xia Dynasty declined and eventually migrated to the easternmost point, where it continued to fall. More than eight hundred years ago, it moved to the Southern Border, where it remains to this day."
These histories of the ancient Great Xia all came from the Great Emperor Xia and the secret realm of the Dragon Transformation Pool, which her ancestors told her. She simplified them and told them to the Undying Divine Phoenix.
The Undying Divine Phoenix listened quietly, seemingly lost in some kind of reminiscence, murmuring to itself, "So that's how it is... No wonder my bloodline resonated with you... So that's why..."
As it spoke, it looked at Xiao Minghuang again, its gaze becoming even more kind and gentle. "Child, you are my descendant..."
Upon hearing this statement...
Xiao Minghuang almost lost her composure, exclaiming in astonishment, "Wh... what?"
She is human.
The Undying Divine Phoenix is Innate Being.
How could the two of them possibly be related by blood?
Before Xiao Minghuang could react, the Undying Divine Phoenix seemed to have seen through her thoughts and said with a faint smile, "You don't need to refute it. My blood flows in your veins; you are of my race."
"I know you must want to know why, let me tell you slowly."
Xiao Minghuang smiled but remained silent; she wanted to hear what kind of ghost stories this Undying Divine Phoenix could tell.
"Eternity ago, I was born from a celestial womb, and before me appeared a beautiful woman with long, fiery hair."
"She possesses both the Innate Fire Saint Body and the Heavenly Desire Sacred Body, two Saint Bodies in one. With her essence and blood, she hatched me from the Immortal Embryo. To me, she is both an older sister and a mother. She guides my direction, and I follow in her footsteps."
The Undying Divine Phoenix slowly recounted its story, seemingly reminiscing about its glorious past, but more than anything, it was a lament, a longing for the beautiful memories of yesteryear.
"During my childhood, she took me on journeys through the world, guided my cultivation, and helped me improve my spiritual level. We spent a long time together; those were the happiest and most beautiful days of my life..."
At this point, her tone shifted, becoming sorrowful and mournful.
Unfortunately, one day, everything changed.
"A group of villains broke into our home, destroyed everything around us, and killed all our friends!"
467. Emperor Zhu Yan
"She carried me and escaped with all her might, but she was severely injured and on the verge of death. Her last words were for me to leave, or she would drag me down with her..."
The voice of the Undying Divine Phoenix deepened, as if it were lost in distant memories, unable to extricate itself for a long time.
As Xiao Minghuang listened to this poignant and tragic story, for some reason, her feelings were equally complex and indescribable; she even felt some pain and sadness.
"But..."
Suddenly, the Undying Divine Phoenix sneered, "How could I possibly abandon her?"
"I nourished her body and nurtured her spirit with my blood, and after an unknown period of time, she was reborn!"
"... We will exact our revenge and kill all our enemies!"
"After that, as the only forbidden person since the beginning of the era to live a second life, she successfully attained enlightenment and became an emperor!"
After hearing this, Xiao Minghuang had some guesses, but she didn't reveal them easily. Instead, she deliberately asked, "What you've said, senior, has to do with me and my ancestors?"
Upon hearing this question, the Undying Divine Phoenix did not answer directly.
In the sky, the enormous phantom of the Undying Divine Phoenix suddenly trembled, unleashing a blazing flame that enveloped it completely. In the blink of an eye, it rapidly shrank to about five feet in size, transforming into a woman in red.
She looked very young, around the age of 14, with skin as white as jade and a spirited air about her.
Seeing the Undying Divine Phoenix transform into human form, Xiao Minghuang's heart stirred slightly. Perhaps because of a certain guess in her mind, she looked at the Undying Divine Phoenix in its human form and, in a strange twist of fate, felt that there seemed to be some resemblance between her and the other...
The Undying Divine Phoenix, now in human form, gazed intently at her and said earnestly, "The 'she' I speak of is none other than one of the five emperors of the Great Emperor Xia you speak of, the fourth emperor, the Emperor Zhu Yan!"
"At that time, it was called the Ziwei Divine Dynasty!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Minghuang was stunned for a moment.
According to the ancestor at the Dragon Transformation Pool, Great Xia had no other name...
But the next moment, she felt relieved.
That ancestor only lived in a sacred place after the Great Xia Dynasty moved eastward, and may not have been very clear about the more distant ancient times.
If the Undying Divine Phoenix before us is truly as she claims, on good terms with Emperor Zhu Yan and living in the same era, then her words would be even more credible.
The name Ziwei was probably discarded after the Great Xia Dynasty moved east, and was then stolen by the Ziwei Sacred Land.
However, despite all that, Xiao Minghuang still didn't hear the explanation she wanted to hear.
"Then, where does the connection between us, as you mentioned, come from?"
Xiao Minghuang asked.
Upon hearing this, the Undying Divine Phoenix's lips curled into a smile.
"That's because Zhu Yan and I have had many children..."
Upon hearing this statement...
Even with her vast experience, Xiao Minghuang couldn't help but widen her almond-shaped eyes, looking as if she had seen a ghost.
These words were so revolutionary that she forgot what to say next.
Upon seeing this, the Undying Divine Phoenix laughed heartily.
"You find it strange, but the people back then found it even stranger. After all, before that time, all living beings believed in attraction between opposite sexes and repulsion between the same sex. If people of the same sex were to unite, it was considered that they would be punished by the heavens."
"However, even the Emperor, the agent of Heaven's Dao, has personally given birth to a child of the same sex, so naturally no one cares about this old tradition anymore."
Upon hearing this...
A blush crept onto Xiao Minghuang's cheeks, and her expression became increasingly tense. Judging from this, it was Undying Divine Phoenix who gave birth, but her ancestor!
However, Xiao Minghuang was not easily convinced. She calmed herself and asked, "Even if what you say is true, the Great Xia... Ziwei Divine Dynasty is an Immortal Dynasty with countless descendants. How could you possibly know that I am a descendant of Emperor Zhu Yan?"
"Of course I know," the Undying Divine Phoenix said calmly. "The reason is simple: during the cataclysmic events of that year, all the descendants of the Ziwei Divine Dynasty were slaughtered by the traitors. In the entire Eastern Pole of Zhongtian, the only remaining member of the Ziwei bloodline is Zhu Yan."
"From the beginning of her reign, all descendants of the Ziwei Divine Dynasty are the offspring of Zhu Yan!"
Xiao Minghuang was stunned.
She had assumed that the Great Emperor Xia had a vast and diverse population, but to her surprise, they were all descendants of Emperor Zhu Yan!
The Great Emperor Xia, also known as the Ziwei Imperial Dynasty, truly teetered on the brink of annihilation.
However, what surprised her the most was that if Undying Divine Phoenix said was true, then this mysterious Innate Being before her, the Undying Divine Phoenix, was her bloodline ancestor.
And he is the true progenitor of the bloodline!
Suddenly, a feeling of embarrassment welled up in her heart.
What I thought would be an ordinary cultivation trip in a secret realm turned out to be a challenge I'd encountered.
Xiao Minghuang took several deep breaths, trying to regulate her disordered breathing.
"Then... senior... why are you hiding here?"
"You silly child, you really know how to say the nice things."
The Undying Divine Phoenix didn't correct Xiao Minghuang's way of addressing her, and sighed, "Can't you tell? I'm actually already dead..."
Xiao Minghuang shook her head, not daring to speak ill of the other party.
Do you know why I said that?
Xiao Minghuang continued to shake her head.
"Innate Being have lifespans far exceeding those of Acquired Being. They can live through not just one epoch, but ten, or even a hundred epochs, without encountering any unforeseen circumstances... In other words, even Innate Being will die if they are killed!"
"I was killed."
"Judging from your appearance, senior, your strength should be no less than that of an Earth Immortal. How could you be tricked by someone?"
Xiao Minghuang asked, puzzled.
Upon hearing this, the previously calm Undying Divine Phoenix suddenly became violent and filled with resentment.
Her sudden anger caused the void of this world to tremble, and the calm surface of the blood pool suddenly surged with waves, as if unable to withstand her pressure, rising several meters high.
It took a long time for it to calm down.
Xiao Minghuang her breath and concentrated.
Her intuition told her that this powerful figure before her seemed to have another extremely significant past event.
"You're wrong," the Undying Divine Phoenix just me who was framed, but also Zhu Yan..."
"In an unprecedented war of territorial expansion, Zhu Yan, along with many other soldiers, fought a bloody battle and finally emerged victorious. But just as we relaxed, the Zhenwu True Martial God, the Divine Official Taiwei, and the Seven Luminaries Divine Official, who had been absent all along, suddenly attacked us. To protect me, Zhu Yan..."
"Emperor Zhu Yan has fallen?"
Xiao Minghuang frowned. She knew that there was a True Martial Earth Immortal in the Five Directions One Realm, but she wondered if the "True Martial God General" mentioned by the Undying Divine Phoenix was related to the True Martial Earth Immortal she knew.
"Of course not. Zhu Yan used a rare treasure from all the heavens to suppress the three of them."
468. Above the Immortals
At this point, the Undying Divine Phoenix suddenly changed her expression, gritting her teeth as she said, "But just then, the True Martial God General, using some unknown means, actually summoned a terrifying being!"
Xiao Minghuang's brows furrowed. "What kind of being is it?"
"I have no idea!"
The Undying Divine Phoenix shook its head:
"Who He is, I don't know either..."
The Undying Divine Phoenix shook its head and slowly spoke, a hint of fear seemingly lingering in its expression.
"All I know is that when the Heavenly Gate opened, He descended. He did not belong to this world; with just a glance, my Path of the Immortal Divine Phoenix was shattered, leaving me only with the powerful body of Innate Being to fight back. Then, He used his finger as a sword to kill me..."
Her voice trailed off at this point.
Xiao Minghuang fell silent.
The Undying Divine Phoenix is Innate Being that has already reached the Earth Immortal realm. It has the power to fight even against a ruler of a realm.
But when faced with the extraterrestrial beings she spoke of, they were utterly powerless to resist.
This scene was strikingly similar to what Innate Osmanthus then...
Immortal...
"An immortal?"
After a moment, Xiao Minghuang tentatively asked.
The Undying Divine Phoenix smiled bitterly and said, "Perhaps, I can't think of any other possibility..."
Then she continued, "The universe is vast, Five Directions One Realm are very small. I can see that your future potential may even surpass Zhu Yan's. She stopped at the pinnacle of Earth Immortal. Although her Immortal Qi was perfect, she was never able to condense an immortal embryo and take that most crucial step."
"But you have the hope of taking that step and becoming a true immortal..."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Minghuang's eyes flashed.
She knew what the Undying Divine Phoenix meant by hope.
That is stepping into the legendary Immortal Dao Domain!
Become an immortal!
"What exactly is the path to immortality?"
Xiao Minghuang pressed for more information.
"Sendo?"
The Undying Divine Phoenix murmured something, then let out a long, drawn-out sigh.
"How can I know if I haven't even stepped into it?"
As soon as she finished speaking, she added, "However, I have also heard that above the Earth Immortal realm lies the true Immortal Dao Domain, the first level of which is called: Celestial Immortal!"