Kunpeng was the eldest legitimate son of Primordial Phoenix, the sovereign of all birds, and the fastest creature in the primordial world without the use of any spells or divine abilities. One wing spanned 1.8 million li, and a beat of both wings carried him 3.65 million li. Ascending into the Heavenly Sun Realm of the Nine Heavens, he could become a peng; descending into the Ninefold Nether Yin, he could become a kun. At his birth, ten thousand birds came to pay homage, and Primordial Phoenix personally bestowed the name "Kunpeng" upon him.
As for Ao Yue, he was Ancestral Dragon's eldest legitimate son. His destiny was so exalted that it was in no way inferior to Ancestral Dragon's, yet their destinies clashed. His birth coincided with a Nine-Star Alignment, and his bloodline harnessed that celestial phenomenon to forcibly devour half of Ancestral Dragon's magical power from afar. As a result, while Ancestral Dragon was fighting Primordial Phoenix and Primordial Qilin, Kunpeng ambushed him, leaving him utterly humiliated.
This caused Ancestral Dragon to harbor intense hostility toward Ao Yue. Although pressure from Torch Dragon and the many other Dragon Race elders forced him to appoint Ao Yue as crown prince, Ancestral Dragon had never intended to let him inherit the throne. At one point, he had even allowed his other children to bully and ostracize their eldest brother.
But no matter what, Ao Yue was still the Dragon Race's crown prince, Ancestral Dragon's eldest legitimate son!
As Primordial Phoenix's eldest legitimate son and the phoenixes' crown prince, Kunpeng was his natural enemy. Thus, Kunpeng would only be satisfied once Ao Yue was dead. Given an opportunity, he would never let him live.
This time, Ao Yue's departure from the Dragon Race's territory to visit Mount Buzhou presented just such an opportunity. Kunpeng seized the chance to ambush him, wounding him from the outset. When they subsequently fought, the injured Ao Yue was naturally no match for him. He could eliminate Ao Yue and let the Phoenix Race vent a great deal of their pent-up resentment.
That was what Kunpeng had been thinking. What he never could have imagined was that, just as he was about to dive down and finally dispose of Ao Yue, that thorn in his eye, a black-and-white figure suddenly shot out from Mount Buzhou. It moved so fast that it slammed into him before he could even react, and then...
"Aaah!" Kunpeng screamed, his entire body hurtling backward like a kite with its string snapped.
Houtu, who sat astride Gungun, did not waste the opening his collision had created. She struck at Kunpeng with a palm from afar. In an instant, another bang rang out. Kunpeng suffered another blow and spewed a great quantity of blood.
"Ah, that hurts! Nine Heavens Kunpeng really lives up to his name. The recoil from hitting him made my head spin. Lady Ancestral Shaman, I think I might be injured. I'll need to eat a few spirit fruits later to replenish my nutrients." Seeing how easily he had knocked Kunpeng away, Gungun blinked in surprise. A moment later, a trace of pain appeared on his face, and he spoke to Houtu, who was riding on his back, in a voice as faint as a thread.
Tch, that's it? I thought Nine Heavens Kunpeng was supposed to be impressive. He couldn't even take a bump! What good is being bigger than me? You're all empty bulk, unlike me. I'm solid.
"..." Hearing Gungun's thoughts again, Houtu raised an eyebrow. He was faking it. Just how many spirit fruits had he swindled out of her over the years?
Smack! Houtu lightly slapped Gungun's rump and ordered him, "Stop pretending. Hurry down and check on Ao Yue."
"Oh." Gungun was a little surprised that he had failed to trick her into giving him spirit fruits as usual, but he nodded and carried her downward as instructed. Inwardly, however, he kept muttering.
Strange. Why didn't Houtu fall for it today, let her compassion flare up, and promise me a few extra spirit fruits to replenish my nutrients when we got back? And why did she suddenly come to save Ao Yue? The Witch Race and Dragon Race don't have any ties, do they? On top of that, doing this will offend the Phoenix Race. Why bother?
Houtu's delicate hands quietly tightened around Gungun's fur. She gritted her teeth and thought, Isn't this all because you said Ao Yue would one day become a quasi-saint who had severed the Three Corpses? And if I didn't save him, Eastern Emperor Taiyi would appear and rescue him. Then he would join the Demon Race and become Taiyi's guardian and mount. To prevent the Demon Race from gaining another mighty quasi-saint, and to make the Witch Race stronger, I had no choice! As for Kunpeng, so what if I offended him today?
Would the phoenixes of today even dare contend with us shamans? Surely he wouldn't also join the Demon Race and become some guardian of Taiyi's?* Gungun had no idea what Houtu was thinking. Otherwise, he would certainly have pointed at her nose and said, Congratulations, you got it right! Kunpeng really will join the Demon Race in the future, though he won't become the Eastern Emperor's guardian like Ao Yue. He'll become the Demon Race's Demon Preceptor instead.
Huh, now that I think about it, the Demon Race had not only the Demon Emperor, the Demon Sovereign, and the Ten Great Demon Sages, but also the eldest legitimate sons of both Ancestral Dragon and Primordial Phoenix. Meanwhile, on the Witch Race's side, Gonggong and Zhurong fought each other to the death. Even so, the Demon Race still ended up mutually devastated in their war against the Witch Race. They really were... pretty useless.
Mm, it was all Kunpeng's fault. At the crucial moment of the final battle, he ambushed Dijun, stole the Hetu Luoshu, and broke the Zhou Tian Star-Dipper Formation. Otherwise, things probably wouldn't have ended that way.
Thud! Before long, Gungun landed on all fours beside Ao Yue. By then, Ao Yue had transformed from his dragon form into an innate Dao body. He was a fair-skinned, handsome youth wearing purple battle armor, with two dragon horns on his head. By human standards, he looked only fifteen or sixteen.
At that moment, many parts of his armor had shattered, exposing mangled flesh beneath. Blood kept seeping out, his face was pale, and he lay on the ground with his breath as faint as a thread.
Kunpeng's claw strikes were no laughing matter. The violent magical power contained within them would spread through the victim's flesh, continually corroding other parts of their body and even their soul. Ao Yue's injuries were extremely severe!
"You, you... cough, cough... who are you?" Unable to move, Ao Yue looked at Houtu and Gungun, who had knocked Kunpeng away and then landed beside him, and asked hoarsely. As he spoke, he coughed up more dragon blood.
At the sight, Houtu's brows furrowed slightly, and she climbed down from Gungun's back. Gungun stepped forward twice, extended a bear paw, and felt all over Ao Yue's body. Then he withdrew his paw and delivered his assessment. "His injuries are serious. An extremely cold, overbearing magical power is continuously destroying his vitality and freezing his soul until it cracks. Mm, he's basically beyond saving."
Ao Yue: "???"
"Stop talking nonsense." Houtu shot an exasperated look at Gungun, who was clutching several magical treasures he had searched out from Ao Yue's body.
Then she raised both hands and drew upon the power of the earth beneath her feet to heal Ao Yue. At the same time, she parted her lips and introduced herself. "My name is Houtu. He's my mount, Gungun."
"Ancestral Shaman Houtu?" Upon hearing her words, Ao Yue's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
To be honest, encountering an Ancestral Shaman on Mount Buzhou was not particularly surprising. But for an Ancestral Shaman to intervene and save him was completely beyond Ao Yue's expectations. After all, he had no ties whatsoever to the shamans.
"Screee!" Just as Ao Yue was marveling inwardly, a fierce wind suddenly howled, accompanied by a bird's shrill cry. Gungun looked back and saw that Kunpeng had flown back. He shouted furiously at Gungun below... or rather, at Houtu beside him, "Houtu, you dared ambush me and ruin my plans! Do you mean to make an enemy of me?"
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