Leng Yaozhu had held that Phoenix Divine Feather in her hand for a month now. The crimson-gold feather's surface was so still it seemed dead. She turned it over several times, then placed it back in her palm and let out a long sigh. "Xiao Cheng, do you think it's broken? Otherwise, we wouldn't have nearly crossed the entire secret realm without even finding a general direction."
"My old man personally modified it, so it shouldn't be." Xiao Cheng crouched atop a slab of lava and swept his gaze over the surrounding terrain. "But have you noticed something?"
"What?"
"The deeper we go, the more Flame Spirits we encounter that tend toward the shape of firebirds." Xiao Cheng pointed at the remains of a Flame Spirit in the distance that was dissolving into fire elements.
"Out in the outer region, they came in all shapes—lizards, snakes, pillars. But over the past half month in the inner region, firebird-shaped ones have accounted for at least half. Flame Spirits are ultimately condensed from fire elements, so their forms are bound to be influenced by their environment. What kind of environment could make all the Flame Spirits in an entire area grow into birds?"
Leng Yaozhu blinked. Of course she understood—Undying Volcano was rumored to be where the Phoenix had fallen. It seemed that rumor was not baseless after all. At that thought, Leng Yaozhu immediately perked up, tightening her grip on the Phoenix Divine Feather. "You're right. Let's keep looking. I refuse to believe this Phoenix inheritance grew legs and ran away."
Before she could finish, a faint sound came from behind them, like a student raising a hand in class but feeling too embarrassed to speak.
"Um, Sister, Xiao Cheng, I think we may need to stop for a moment."
Leng