Night fell. Side courtyard.
Lu Zheng, his two companions, and Si Lingxi sat together once more in the courtyard around a small stove. Various vegetables and meats simmered inside, and waves of spicy fragrance rose from the red soup pot.
Glug glug.
Si Lingxi scooped up a scalding slice of snake meat and tossed it casually into her mouth. Her white teeth and fiery red lips crunched twice. The snake meat, laced with faint spiritual energy, disappeared down her throat.
Though the day had been enjoyable, ingredients rich in spiritual energy could not be eaten at every meal. They were hard to digest, and there truly were not enough of them.
Thus, even Si Lingxi’s daily food consisted only of items that held traces of spiritual energy but did not qualify as true spiritual materials.
It was the same as the many plants and animals near Wansong Mountain. None had awakened or counted as spiritual materials, yet because of Wansong Daoist’s presence, they all carried faint spiritual energy.
Phoenix Mountain was no different.
Moreover, because Si Lingxi loved snake meat, many forces under her rule raised snakes, and various combat styles relied on them.
An outsider entering Phoenix Mountain territory might well assume the ancestor here was a supreme snake demon.
“Speaking of snake demons…”
Si Lingxi blinked. “Has the old snake spirit in Jiuqu Bay reached a millennium of cultivation?”
“Replying to Palace Master, it reached a millennium three years ago.” Xuan Miao answered.
“Very well, then we shall not keep it.” Si Lingxi nodded. “Tomorrow you and Bi Hu go capture it.”
“Yes.” Xuan Miao and Bi Hu bowed in acceptance.
Lu Zheng rubbed his chin. “How large is that old snake spirit’s true body? I need to check if I brought enough seasonings.”
Liu Qingyan, “…”
Shen Ying, “…”
“Replying to Young Master, I once saw it swallowing lunar essence under the moon. It was over twenty zhang long and as thick as a water bucket.” Bi Hu said.
“Over twenty zhang for the body alone. That is indeed large.” Lu Zheng clicked his tongue in wonder.
Si Lingxi shook her head with a smile. “We do not have to finish it in one meal. Why the rush?”
“Oh, right, that is true.” Lu Zheng blinked, realising his mistake.
The snakes he had dealt with before had never been that big. One meal had always sufficed.
Here on Phoenix Mountain, the three of them naturally had no need to act. Under Si Lingxi’s arrangements, they were to visit a flower valley to the north the next day.
At that moment, Si Lingxi’s eye twitched. She glanced down towards the foot of Phoenix Mountain.
Soon, a Phoenix Mountain maid hurried over.
“Palace Master, Yun Yi of Caiyun Mountain, Ying Xiaoran of Feiniao Jian, Duan Hongyao of Liaoshan, and Qi Yuyan of Qingye Mountain request an audience below.”
“What is the matter?” Si Lingxi asked coolly.
The maid said in shock, “They claim to have news of another phoenix bloodline.”
“What?” Si Lingxi turned sharply.
Few things in this world could still unsettle Si Lingxi, but a phoenix bloodline was certainly one.
Her brows furrowed as if she had suddenly sensed something. She beckoned. “Bring them to me.”
“Yes.”
The maid quickly agreed and hurried away again.
Lu Zheng blinked. “Should we…”
“No need.” Si Lingxi shook her head. “The matter is important, but not secret.”
“Phoenix bloodline…”
Si Lingxi said with some puzzlement, “I had always believed that in this realm now, I alone possessed phoenix bloodline.”
…
Moments later, two men and two women followed the maid cautiously into the rear courtyard. Seeing Si Lingxi sitting with Lu Zheng’s group, they could not hide their surprise.
Lu Zheng had of course already put away the skewers and stove. Receiving guests required some decorum.
These four had all been at the banquet earlier, though seated towards the back, showing modest cultivation. Qi Yuyan was the gorgeous woman who had first offered the Fire Cloud Silk.
Leading them was Yun Yi, a mature-looking woman in colourful cloud satin gauze. Her features were serene and gentle, but her expression was grave. She held a jade box.
Si Lingxi waved. The box flew to her hand and opened on its own. Inside, sealed at the centre, was a drop of blood the size of a fingertip, glowing red.
A scorching aura spread from it, as though ready to ignite everything.
“Phoenix divine fire?”
Hong Lu, standing behind Si Lingxi, could not help confirming. It felt identical to Si Lingxi’s own phoenix divine fire.
Si Lingxi’s brows lightly knitted. She carefully examined the blood, then looked up at the four and asked coldly, “This drop of blood. Where did you obtain it, and how?”
Phoenix pressure descended. Sweat beaded on the four foreheads. They hurriedly replied, “Replying to Palace Master, the phoenix bloodline is thirty thousand li to the southwest.”
Ying Xiaoran explained, “We gathered briefly before coming to your birthday banquet and happened to discover her in that valley.”
Duan Hongyao continued, “She appeared gravely injured and extremely wary of us. We dared not offend.”
Qi Yuyan added, “So we collected a drop of her spilled blood in the valley and hurried here to Phoenix Mountain for your judgement.”
Si Lingxi’s phoenix eyes swept across their faces. She was silent for a moment, then nodded.
“Is she badly hurt?”
“Not fatally.” Yun Yi shook her head, then quickly added, “The injuries are severe but not life-threatening. She also has a millennium of cultivation, so her life is safe.”
Si Lingxi’s eyes narrowed. She rose gracefully and said to the four, “Take me to her.”
“Yes.” Yun Yi answered at once.
Si Lingxi turned to Lu Zheng. “Do you wish to come? If it truly is…”
Lu Zheng nodded with a smile. “We shall come. Travelling tens of thousands of li into the southern borders without you would be too bold for us.”
Liu Qingyan and Shen Ying smiled behind their hands. Si Lingxi could not suppress her amusement. “You yourself have over a millennium of cultivation. Where can you not go?”
“Very well. Let us go.”
“Palace Master, shall we…”
“You four stay. Prepare a guest room.” Si Lingxi instructed.
“Yes.”
Hong Lu and the others quickly agreed. Then they watched Si Lingxi wave her hand, sweeping Lu Zheng’s group and the four visitors into the sky and heading straight south.
…
“Palace Master. There.”
From the air, Yun Yi pointed to an unremarkable valley below.
With Si Lingxi’s cultivation, she naturally saw the layers of faint, scorching spiritual energy lingering above the ordinary-looking valley.
She descended directly into it. In the centre sat a woman in red, cross-legged, brows tightly furrowed, her aura weakened.
Si Lingxi’s eyes flashed. She landed with Lu Zheng’s group right beside the woman.
The woman looked up sharply. Endless panic filled her gaze towards Si Lingxi.
“Hm?”
Si Lingxi frowned. She placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder and sent phoenix power into her body.
“This is…”
Sensing the familiar yet strangely altered bloodline within, Si Lingxi’s eyes sharpened. The bloodline seemed to be suppressing the woman.
No.
At that instant, with phoenix power entering, the woman could finally speak.
Her first words were a warning. “Careful…”
The next moment, everything changed.
The bloodline within the woman suddenly ran wild, entwining Si Lingxi’s phoenix power and surging back into her body.
Meanwhile, Yun Yi and the other three flashed to the four corners of the valley. Thick demonic energy poured from them.
“Activate the array.”
