The Dragon Phoenix Was Still Alive!

The many prodigies of the Dragon Phoenix Realm rubbed their fists and flexed their palms, all burning with desire for a place in the top ten.

The secret realm within Dragon Phoenix Mountain was sure to hold countless opportunities.

As long as they entered it, their road to becoming powerful would be much smoother.

Futu Yijing, meanwhile, strode toward the depths of Dragon Phoenix Mountain. He could not sense even a trace of the Dragon Phoenix's aura anywhere in this world.

Perhaps he would find something in the secret realm within Dragon Phoenix Mountain.

Yet just as Futu Yijing passed the woman on the sacred mountain, she seemed to sense something and abruptly raised her head. Her gaze actually turned straight toward the patch of void where he stood.

Futu Yijing naturally did not notice this and continued toward the depths of Dragon Phoenix Mountain.

Although he was walking through the void, he moved extremely quickly, reaching the depths of Dragon Phoenix Mountain in just a few breaths.

Then he lightly tapped the void with a finger, and ripples appeared in the space before him.

Passing through those ripples, Futu Yijing entered Dragon Phoenix Mountain's secret realm.

An intense pressure bore down on Futu Yijing, and a gaze swept over his entire body, as though trying to see right through him.

That pressure came from a Saint Grade existence!

"Found it!" Futu Yijing was pleasantly surprised.

He had not expected to find it so quickly.

As he continued forward, an ancient bridge appeared ahead of him.

Stepping onto the ancient bridge, he saw that the space beneath it glowed searing red, as though filled with the flames of magma. It was terrifying, and the temperature was extraordinarily high. They walked step by step toward the entrance to the ancestral grounds, and increasingly scorching currents of air washed over them. Although a wondrous barrier of light blocked the heat, Futu Yijing still felt that a world of fire likely lay inside.

The farther Futu Yijing walked, the more intense that terrifying pressure became.

Just then, a figure suddenly appeared behind Futu Yijing.

"Sir, this is my Dragon Phoenix Mountain's secret realm. Isn't it rather discourteous to enter without an invitation?" A voice as clear as a babbling stream sounded behind him.

Futu Yijing stopped and turned, directing his gaze behind him.

The newcomer was none other than the woman he had seen earlier on the sacred mountain.

Now, a small pagoda circled around her, radiating a sealing power.

The woman's solemn gaze swept over Futu Yijing.

The man who had intruded into her Dragon Phoenix Mountain's secret realm wore shattered purple-and-gold battle armor, exposing half of his bloodstained chest. He looked like a domineering figure.

Yet something was strange. She could plainly see him, but when she extended her perception toward him, she sensed nothing at all, as though he were merely a mass of air.

"How did you discover me?" Futu Yijing asked.

He was a Heavenly Sovereign, yet a Lower Earthly Sovereign had actually discovered him. That made no sense!

"The moment you passed the sacred mountain, I sensed a faint ripple. Though your concealment methods were excellent, you underestimated us far too much," the woman said.

"Your senses are quite sharp. But do you think you can stop me all by yourself?" Futu Yijing asked with a smile.

To the woman, that smile looked like mockery.

Anger blazed in her phoenix eyes, and the spiritual energy of a Lower Earthly Sovereign erupted instantly as she tried to subdue Futu Yijing outright.

But Futu Yijing merely raised a hand and pressed her surging spiritual energy back down.

The sudden turn left the woman dazed, her expression stiffening.

The moment the man before her raised his hand, she sensed his utterly terrifying power. Before that power, she was as insignificant as a frog at the bottom of a well gazing up at the moon.

"How do you divide cultivation realms in the Dragon Phoenix Realm? You only need to tell me your own realm," Futu Yijing asked curiously, a faint air of warmth emanating from him.

The woman was clearly somewhat bewildered. She did not understand why he was showing her such warmth.

But she also knew that if he had harbored even the slightest malice, she would already have died at his hands.

Thus, she still answered Futu Yijing's question.

"Earthly Sovereign."

There was no distinction between lower and upper ranks. Earthly Sovereign was the highest realm in the Dragon Phoenix Realm.

"Aren't you curious why there are Earthly Sovereigns, but no Heavenly Sovereigns?" Futu Yijing said with a smile.

At those words, the woman's expression changed dramatically.

She understood the implication in his words. He stood above Earthly Sovereigns, in a realm that had existed only in ancient texts.

The realm her ancestors, the Dragon Phoenix Empress, and the others had once attained!

"Senior, are you from the Great Thousand World?" Although the woman phrased it as a question, her tone was utterly certain.

"You know of the Great Thousand World?"

"The ancestors of all of us on Dragon Phoenix Mountain came from the Great Thousand World. How could we not know of it?" the woman said.

Clever as she was, she now understood that Futu Yijing would not do anything to her.

After all, if he wanted to, she would be powerless to resist.

"It seems your inheritances are still quite intact. No wonder you were able to cultivate a Futu Pagoda."

Once again, a single sentence stirred towering waves in the woman's heart.

Futu Yijing paid no attention to her inner turmoil and continued, "Since you know about the Great Thousand World, why haven't you chosen to break out of this realm and go there?"

Forcing down the questions in her heart, the woman answered, "Our ancestors belonged to the Dragon Phoenix Empress's Dragon Phoenix Army. We must remain in this realm and protect the Dragon Phoenix Empress until she completes her nirvana."

This time, it was Futu Yijing's turn to be shocked.

"What did you say? The Dragon Phoenix Empress is undergoing nirvana?!"

An apex expert from ancient times was still alive?

If the Dragon Phoenix Empress wasn't dead, wouldn't that put her legacy bloodline out of reach?!

Then what was the point of his coming to this far eastern land?!

He had fought a battle, killed five Demon Emperors, and driven off the Fan Profound Demon Emperor, only to gain this paltry reward.

"Didn't the Dragon Phoenix Empress perish long ago?" Futu Yijing asked.

The woman shook her head.

"You must have already sensed that vast pressure, Senior. It comes from the Empress, and it is also the safeguard she left us. It is shameful to admit, but though we should have been protecting the Empress, in the end, she has been protecting us all along."

Hearing this, Futu Yijing felt as though he had been swindled.

The Dragon Phoenix Empress wasn't dead!

Even if the Dragon Phoenix Empress hadn't perished back then, hadn't she lived far too long?!

What was he supposed to do next?

Return empty-handed?

Inside the Human Emperor Seal, the Human Emperor and the Heavenly Emperor were also visibly dazed upon learning that the Dragon Phoenix Empress was still alive.

"Human Emperor, did the Dragon Phoenix really perish back then?" the Heavenly Emperor asked.

"I was utterly certain she had perished, too. Now, I'm not sure," the Human Emperor said.

Judging by everything they had seen and heard in the Dragon Phoenix Realm, it seemed the Dragon Phoenix had not perished.

Outside, Futu Yijing likewise had no idea what his next step should be.

The news that the Dragon Phoenix was still alive struck like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, leaving him unable to cope.