Chapter 196 - Fallen Phoenix Ridge

Mists floated about the mountains. Under the illumination of the morning clouds, five or six different colors emitted their misty brilliance.

The morning dew rolled off the blades of grass, each droplet sparkling with the light of day. The grass were fresh and clean, and the sun was currently giving off its warmth. The little guy went on his way, leaving behind the war-scarred land behind him as he walked towards the distance.

In the end, he adjusted his state of mind and began to quickly run. He welcomed the morning clouds and sped along like a gust of wind. As the little guy crossed the great earth, he was as brilliant as a shooting star, completely separating himself from that land of grievance.

The Heaven Mending Pavilion was destroyed. It was struck by a huge calamity, and every single area was disturbed. This was an event that was both far-reaching and long-lasting; the entire great wastes were shaken.

Was everything going to fall into chaos? Everyone was quaking in fear. That was a magnificent Archaic pure land! Its tradition had been passed down for countless generations, yet it was actually destroyed in a single evening.

“What a terrifying battle! Destroyed just like that... Is this an omen for the upheaval of this world? Perhaps that day isn’t too far off!”

Regardless of whether it was humans or other creatures, all of the ancient powers felt deeply restless. After just a single battle, the Heaven Mending Pavilion was turned into ruins.

It was known as a pure land, and from the ancient era until now, not even deities were able to turn this place into a wasteland. It was able to preserve itself even through the era when terrifying saints battled for supremacy. In the end, the school was turned into scattered ashes and dispersed smoke, disappearing from this world.

Many people had a rather bad premonition. There was a type of fretfulness within the great wastelands, as well as a type of brutality. It was likely that this place would not calm down again, and that this was a prologue to true turmoil.

“It truly difficult to imagine... A school so ancient and great like the Heaven Mending Pavilion could even be destroyed. Sure enough, even glorious traditions can decay, leading towards its end!”

“The Tuoba Clan, Western Tomb Beast Mountain as well as many other ancient families were all apart of this. With such a large force gathered together, who could defend against something like that? Even if you didn’t want to be destroyed, you would still have no choice.”

“The most important thing was that even the Archaic divine mountains were involved in this affair. Places like Mount Yi and Southern Meteorite Mountains even sent their experts to descend here. Their attitude decided everything!”

Within the great wastes, everyone was discussing what had happened one after another.

The destruction of the Heaven Mending Pavilion influenced too many things. Meanwhile, the actions of the Archaic beast mountain also made others began to reconsider many things. They dispatched a Golden Beast to unleash a huge massacre; this type of situation was too terrifying, as it created a huge calamity.

“The divine seed is simply world-shocking. It’s a supreme treasure that the old vine nurtured from the Archaic era until now. Accumulated within are symbols of the dao, and after endless years of refinement, it reached the point where it can even make deities’ eyes red with greed.”

If there wasn’t a divine seed, perhaps the supreme experts would not have made a move.

However, the obliteration of the Heaven Mending Pavilion was unavoidable. After all, the old vine had lived from the ancient era until now. It was already at a point where it couldn’t support itself any longer and was on the verge of dying. If those powerful enemies didn’t make their moves now, when would they?

This was a crisis that engulfed every region. After this topic was brought to the table, everyone’s expressions would change. This type of conclusion was extremely terrifying.

When anyone talked about it, their expressions would change. This kind of ending and conclusion was a terrifying afterthought.

The divine land was exterminated just like that, far surpassing many people’s expectations.

News began to proliferate like great waves, making this entire region tremble. There wasn’t a single person who wasn’t affected, and there were discussions regarding this everywhere.

“Heaven Mending Pavilion encountered a huge calamity. How many of their people could still have survived today? You have to realize that’s an alliance between many school and clans. Even a king might not make out with his life after being surrounded by them.”

“I heard that only a few small fry were able to escape the net. The rest were probably completely killed off.”

Some sighed, others took joy in this disaster. The opinions of the creatures in this world differed quite greatly.

During this battle, the pure land’s leader, Mu Yan, elder Liu and the other upper level figures from the Heaven Mending Pavilion were specifically targeted during their encirclement. They feared that these individuals had some great technique that could transport out the disciples.

If any individuals of this caliber left, it would inevitably bring great misfortune.

According to the people’s conjectures, the upper level figures of the Heaven Mending Pavilion were all eliminated. Apart from the War King, Marquis Lingtian and some others who left with the Stone Country Emperor, there were practically no other individuals of great importance that were able to leave.

“Too cruel... After an ancient ancestor was killed, the hundred disciples he was protecting with his great ability instantly exploded into pieces.”

During the Heaven Mending Pavilion’s great retreat, the upper level figures were being focused, so they encountered the most terrifying attacks. As a result, choosing to stay by their sides was not the best decision the disciples could have made, and the chances of surviving was greater if they had split up.

Apart from the upper level figures, there were a few carefully nurtured geniuses within the Heaven Mending Pavilion that were also targeted. They were also the focus of the elimination, and so all of them died in a similar fashion.

Linmu, Wufeng and the others were all killed in battle. Their blood died this calamity-ridden land.

“The Heaven Mending Pavilion is finished. The elders level figures have practically been wiped out, and the number of disciples are practically zero. The great pure land has turned into ruins. Only a few ordinary disciples escaped from the disorder out of luck, and none of them were significant”

“Wu, what about that devilish brat? His natural talents seems rather terrifying... Is he still alive?”

“It will be difficult for him to escape death. The Four Great Clans are always pursuing him and are focused on dealing with him. It is difficult for someone targetted like this to survive.”

“The disciples that followed him are most likely going to be killed off as well...”

The outside world had a difficult time calming down. These news shook the great wastes, and this was still a hot topic even after many days had passed.

Within the mountain region, Qingfeng’s eyes were extremely red as he continuously shed tears. The Heaven Mending Pavilion was turned into scorched earth. Too many people had died, and there was no information on how many were able to truly escape.

“Wuwu... I won’t be able to see those senior brothers and sisters every again. We were drinking together just a while ago...” He weeped.

The little guy also clenched his fists as he sat there without uttering a single world.

He still remembered the times when they enjoyed delicious stolen wine from the Heaven Mending Pavilion, as well as the time they united to deal with the Four Great Clans outside the mountain gates.

Many of these senior brothers and sisters had pinched his little face before as they looked after and protected him. They urged him to cultivate with all his efforts so that his prestige would suppress all directions and protect the pure land.

However, all was lost in the blink of an eye. He would never see many of those people ever again, such as that senior brother Lin Mu who ignited his own life force to cut off their enemies, dying on the battlefield.

There were also brother Wufeng and many other less well known senior brothers and sisters who turned around at the most crucial moments to help their junior brothers and sisters escape.

The pure land previously filled with cheers and laughter was now enveloped in a shroud of death. Everything was scorched black, and broken walls littered the ground. This place became the graveyards for many of their senior brothers and sisters.

“No one can come back to life after death. Save your grieving.” Second baldy sighed as it spoke. It had forgotten just how many splendid and ancient schools had been buried throughout the years. There was no lack of ancient countries among them.

“I need to cultivate earnestly in order to avenge my master, elders, and seniors!” Qingfeng clenched his fists. His small face was extremely emotional as he wiped away the last of his tears.

Rising winds and scudding clouds brewed in the outside world as all types of rumors were being spread around.

“Eat some, the spiritual hound’s meat is very fragrant!” The little guy said.

The prey was being barbecued on top of the bonfire until it was golden. The meat was very tender, and a wave of fragrance would gush out after a piece was torn off and eaten. It was exceptional at stirring up one’s appetite.

“I’ll eat. I’ll eat a lot!” Qingfeng bit down with all his strength.

This was a spiritual hound that the Four Great Clans released to catch the little guy. Along the way, they encountered several difficulties, almost allowing the Four Great Clans to catch up.

Fortunately, the hidden orchid fragrance on the little guy’s body had already weakened greatly and no longer left trail.

Hairy Ball was constantly screeching, and his mouth was full of flowing oil.

Half a month passed by in the blink of an eye. After all, they were still children, so the sadness and sorrow within their hearts had already been diluted quite a bit. If they did not purposely think about it, then they wouldn’t become completely depressed.

The little guy advanced with his party through the great wastes. They wandered the world while refining themselves without rushing anywhere in particular. However, they had a goal in mind, and that was to return to Stone Village.

After a month had passed, the haze previously covering their hearts faded away. After shedding it away, their faces once again revealed the pure smiles children possess.

“Where are we now? How far are we from Stone Village?” Qingfeng asked.

“We are currently within the borders of Stone Country. There is still another three to four hundred thousand li before we reach Stone Country’s western border. If we travel another three hundred thousand li from there, we’ll reach Stone Village,” the little guy said.

While within Stone Country, they unavoidably thought about the Rain Clan. Yu Feng and the other experts were simply too despicable. He enrolled within the Heaven Mending Pavilion to cultivate, yet there wasn’t an ounce of gratefulness from him. He even hit them while they were down, killing many disciples within the pure land. It truly filled people with a wave of incomparably dense anger and fury.

“Sigh, this is a huge noble clan. We can’t do anything to them right now, otherwise we will truly be digging our own graves.” The little guy sighed.

His animosity with this clan was extremely deep. It did not just stem from the destruction of the Heaven Mending Pavilion, but from everything else he experienced as well. The reason he lost his Supreme Being Bone was all due to the actions of a woman from that clan.

Qingfeng nodded. Even someone as pure as him had the urge to murder and wipe out the Rain Clan. Many of the senior brothers and sisters did not die at the main enemies’ hands, but rather by the Rain Clan’s people.

This was a debt of blood, one that had to be paid back eventually.

Furthermore, that year when he was at the second ancestral land in the western border, it was precisely the Rain Clan that bribed the servants to act discourteous towards Qingfeng. They crippled his foot, and his body was nearly ruined.

“Even though you can’t provoke such a huge power right now, you can still collect some interest...” Second Baldy said in an unhurried manner.

“A stomach full of evil tricks! However, I like it!” The big red bird excitedly said. It slapped Second Baldy on the back of its head, almost making it jump up in anger.

“That’s right. We can collect some interest when we cross paths.” The little guy nodded in a serious manner.

Second Baldy, the little guy, big red bird, and Qingfeng began to discuss. Afterwards, they began to gather anything relation to the Rain clan to carefully research their territories.

Attacking the Rain Clan was unrealistic since none of them had that much power. They could only do such a thing if they had the power of kings and nobles.

Their plan was rather practical. It was simply to loot every single territory that the Rain Clan occupied; this goal was quite simple.

“This is it - Fallen Phoenix Ridge. It’s perfectly situated on our way back to the western border. We’ll conveniently pay them a visit along the way!”

That was an one of the Rain Clan’s most important territories. It was abundant in natural resources like black gold ore and spiritual medicine fields. There was even an auspicious beast ridge that was inhabited by many precious creatures.

They did not want to cross the line either. They were only going to rob one area before they left to avoid being caught up in a dangerous situation.

According to legends, Fallen Phoenix Ridge was the resting grounds of a genuine phoenix during the Archaic Era. In the end, it passed away here, allowing the spiritual essence here to flourish. It was a precious land even now.

It was situated two hundred thousand li from Stone Country’s border, and was a very rare and precious territory.

“There are great experts guarding it, so it’s going to be tough to steal anything. Everything is up to you, Hairy Ball.” The little guy said. He gave hairy ball a large beast pouch and said, “We don’t ask anything else from you other than to fill this bag up.”

The golden Hairy Ball showed its dissatisfaction by screeching nonstop. This beast skin pouch was too big! If this was going to be filled to the brim with spiritual medicine, just how many stalks would that be?

The Fallen Phoenix Ridge occupy a vast piece of land. It was originally covered densely in old trees, and was an ideal place for growing spiritual medicine. This was because after the Archaic divine phoenix perished, its blood dyed this entire place red, giving the soil here a unique spirituality.

Not to mention the spiritual stalks that were moved here, even the number of ancient medicines that grew here originally weren’t few. For the sake of capturing this territory, the Rain Clan fought with many great clans and paid a great price. In the end, they were able to claim this area.

“Sigh, this isn’t going to be easy... There are too many forces guarding this place.” The little guy’s head ached. There were too many powerful individuals guarding this place, and a single slip up would alert the experts guarding this place.

It was quite possible that relying on Hairy Ball was their only choice. It behaved like a keep and perceptive little thief, and since it was even able to steal the egg of a Rainbow Peacock, infiltrating this spiritual medicine garden shouldn’t be a problem.

Hairy Ball did not start immediately. It wandered about the perimeter of Fallen Phoenix Ridge and carefully pondered for several days while blinking its large eyes.

The little guy was like this as well as he carefully searched for a weak point. He wanted to make sure that this operation was absolutely safe, because they were only here to collect some interest. If they had to pay a huge price, then the gains would not make up for the losses.

𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

“Is something strange going on within the Fallen Phoenix Ridge? Why are they moving people so often, almost as if they are getting ready to face some great enemy?” The little guy was astonished.

After several days of observation, he decided that there was definitely something fishy about this place. The defenses of the regions surrounding this place seemed to falling apart, and there seemed to be some type of major event occurring inside.

“Go now and take advantage of the current situation. There might be something happening happening within this spiritual land,” said the little guy. He warned Hairy ball repeatedly to be careful, and even gave it the broken sword. He told it to utilize its symbols if it was accidently trapped by enemies.

With a chiliu sound, Hairy Ball turned into a streak of golden light as it entered Fallen Phoenix Ridge furtively. Its entire body was golden and was only the size of a fist. After scuttling into a bush, anyone would have a hard time discovering its existence.

“Over there! Chase!”

“Quickly, don’t let it escape!”

Shouts echoed out from within the Fallen Phoenix Ridge. The little guy and Qingfeng’s faces immediately paled. Could it be that Hairy Ball was discovered as soon as it entered? This was definitely not good. Its life could be in danger, and the losses would have definitely outweighed the gains.

The little guy was incredibly regretful and immediately thought that his actions were too reckless. If something bad happened to Hairy Ball, he would definitely feel incomparably guilty and be full of self blame.

“There’s nowhere to run. This time, we must catch it! As long as it’s within Fallen Phoenix Ridge, it will have a difficult time escaping!”

“It has been two months since it first appeared, and its tracks has repeated shown up here. I refuse to believe that we can’t catch it!”

After hearing the yelling going on within Fallen Phoenix Ridge, the little guy’s group were stumped for words. It seemed like they weren’t talking about Hairy Ball at all. Could it be there were other creatures that broke in?

“We have to catch it. We won’t be able to see even a single one of these creatures for many many years. They are more valuable than ten stalks of precious medicine combined, simply a priceless treasure! I have already reported this to the higher-ups in the clan. We definitely have to capture it!”

All kinds of shouts echoed out from within Fallen Phoenix Ridge. All the experts were moving about as they looked everywhere for this thing.

“It seems like some pretty formidable creature appeared. What could it possibly be? From the way they are talking about it, it seems like some holy medicine took gained intelligence. Rain Clan’s guards all seem stirred up, as if they were about to go mad.” The big red bird muttered.

Fallen Phoenix Ridge was in a great state of disorder. All of their experts were on the move to capture this divine creature. They were so noisy that everything was in chaos; nothing was peaceful here.

The little guy, Second Baldy and the others all had complicated feelings. They really wanted to break in and look around to see exactly what kind of creature it was that made the Rain Clan this excited.

“Don’t let it escape! The Rain King gave out the order that we had to capture it and offer it up regardless of what methods we have to use. He has great use for it!” An elder shouted.

“This kind of creature is rarely seen in this world. One might not even appear after hundreds of years. Currently, there is only one being raised within the imperial household.”

After these words were spoken, the little guy had an even harder time sitting still. His large eyes shone and he became extremely impatient. He really wanted to sneak in to steal it.

Half a day later, a sound was heard from an underbrush in the distance. Hairy Ball appeared, and its small stomach was as round as a ball. It couldn’t even walk properly anymore, and was just rolling its way out.