The Old Ancestor thought, Your name may have "phoenix" in it, but... aren't you a Golden Pheasant?
Of course, he would never say that aloud.
He then thought that if Yin Phoenix truly agreed to part with a life-bound feather, it would lose a thousand years of cultivation. No wonder it had reminded the True Person of his old promise.
The carriage left the fissure and headed east across the Wasteland. The Bone Flute sounded again, no longer desolate, but distinctly more joyful.
Yin Phoenix crouched on the roof, its tail feathers trailing several dozen feet behind, like a braid that had grown from the carriage and was streaming in the wind.
Its somewhat shrill voice kept flying through the wind as well.
"True Person, you must say something about this."
"Little Four has been locked in Hidden Peak. What are we to do if Yuan Qijing becomes Sect Master?"
"Yuan Qijing isn't like the Sect Master True Person. He truly wants you dead."
"What's wrong with designating a successor across generations? Do the sect rules forbid it?"
Of course Yuan Qijing wanted True Person Taiping dead. The reason was simple: of Green Mountain's three hundred-odd sect rules, apart from those concerning sexual misconduct and the like, his master had broken practically every one.
So when Jing Jiu took the First Child Sword to the Hanging Bell Sect and wandered all over the continent, he completely disregarded his dignity as a mighty Heavenly Access cultivator and followed like a bodyguard.
The problem was that True Person Taiping understood him too. Despite knowing the importance of the First Child Sword, he refused to appear. With no other option, Yuan Qijing returned to Green Mountain.
Though Green Mountain was far away, he had the Three Feet Sword, which made things