Chapter 28: Youthful Heroic Spirit

Above the pond surface, atop the bone of the Celestial Phoenix, the enchanting figure named Luo Hongyan furiously stamped her feet. This woman was the blood shadow the Sinister Soul Temple had sealed for hundreds of years in the white paper fan.

The jade-like feet of her ethereal form sank into the bone of the Celestial Phoenix. Startled, she quickly withdrew them upon realizing her mistake.

Her eerie crimson eyes turned as cold and sharp as blood-stained blades. Her gaze landed on the clear surface of the pond.

Since she had been released from the seal, she sought to restore her body, and the essence of the Celestial Phoenix was imperative to achieving that goal.

By fusing her ethereal body with the essence of the Celestial Phoenix, she could rebuild her physical body and regain her former strength. With this newfound power, she could exact bloody revenge on those who had conspired against her.

However, she feared the mysterious individual capable of raising the Giant Abyssal Serpent in Blackwater Pond and dared not venture into the water in her current ethereal form.

By making the inhabited members of the Shadow Specter Sect enter the water in her stead, she could avoid the risks and remain undetected while spying from above.

Nobody could have anticipated that the young man chosen by the Blood Moon Sect's Eye of Imprint would emerge from the darkness riding a python, swiftly dispatching the members of the Shadow Specter Sect. Not to mention, the python devoured the Spirit Devils she had painstakingly refined.

"It's merely a Rank Two spirit beast, Black and White King Python. Its spiritual awareness is still weak. It should not be able to detect the presence of the Spirit Devils, let alone consume them."

After her initial surge of anger, Luo Hongyan gradually got a hold of herself. However, the longer she thought about it, the more she felt something was amiss.

"How did that brat seize Hong Tai's Black and White King Python? And after changing owners, the python began devouring my Spirit Devils. Things are not what they seem."

She suspected the ones responsible for raising the Giant Abyssal Serpent were lurking in the shadows and using the young hunter to carry out their plans.

Once her frenzied mind fully calmed down, she became increasingly reluctant to act.

"I still have some Spirit Devils that I left outside the valley. It looks like I'll need to summon some of them."

Having lost her eyes, she commanded the Spirit Devils outside the valley to seek out wild beasts to inhabit and await her next instructions.

***

Blurp!

At the bottom of the pond, Hong Tai released a stream of bubbles from his mouth in shock. He had previously been engaged in battles around the bone of the Celestial Phoenix but was now staring blankly at Pang Jian.

Pang Jian rode his spirit beast and slaughtered his disobedient subordinates one after the other.

Despite his screams, he made no sound, only expelling a stream of bubbles from his mouth.

Bewilderment filled his heart. How long had it been since the Black and White King Python, which he had painstakingly raised for seven to eight years, gained spiritual awareness?

He simply could not understand why the Black and White King Python would betray him and switch allegiance to the young man.

Not to mention, he had explicitly forbidden his subordinates from entering the pond. Why would they ignore his orders?

Hong Tai racked his brain but could not find an answer to his questions.

Jin Yang and the two squad leaders of the Meridian Opening Realm were also stunned when they saw Pang Jian riding Hong Tai's spirit beast and cast questioning glances at Hong Tai.

Hong Tai solemnly shook his head in response to their questioning looks, indicating that he was also unsure.

Jin Yang suddenly became agitated and pointed toward the bone of the Celestial Phoenix.

While they were engaged in battle with Ouyang Duanhai, the white light in the bone of the Celestial Phoenix transformed into a cluster of mysterious faint light and slowly ascended toward the top end of the bone.

"The essence of the Celestial Phoenix!" Jin Yang screamed uncontrollably, expelling a stream of bubbles of his own.

He frantically gestured at Hong Tai and the other two, signaling them to assist him in intercepting Ouyang Duanhai.

Meanwhile, he chased after the faint white glow, determined to intercept the essence of the Celestial Phoenix as quickly as possible!

Hmm!

Pang Jian had slain all the Qi Practicing Realm members of the Shadow Specter Sect. As he rode on the python inhabited by the Giant Abyssal, he also noticed the reappearance of the mysterious light in the bone of the Celestial Phoenix.

He immediately commanded the Giant Abyssal Serpent beneath him.

However, for the first time, the Giant Abyssal Serpent ignored him.

Pang Jian lowered his head and saw its dark eyes filled with both boundless hatred and profound fear.

You harbor resentment toward the bone of the Celestial Phoenix for consuming your physical form. But fear? You no longer have a physical body. You're merely inhabiting another serpent's body. What's there for you to fear?

Pang Jian silently pondered, unsure if the python could hear a thought that was not a command.

Pang Jian came to a sudden realization. If even the Giant Abyssal Serpent was afraid of the essence of the Celestial Phoenix, then Jin Yang would likely find that coveting it for himself would not have the results he imagined.

With his thoughts still in turmoil, Pang Jian directed the Giant Abyssal Serpent to swim closer to the top of the withered bone and trail closely behind the anxiously ascending Jin Yang.

This time the Giant Abyssal Serpent obeyed his order.

With a noticeably slower speed than before, the Giant Abyssal Serpent brought Pang Jian closer to Jin Yang.

Pang Jian kept an eye on Jin Yang, occasionally casting glances toward the serpent's skull where Hong Tai and the other two squad leaders were restraining the strange figure.

After the mysterious light had appeared, the strange figure seemed to go berserk, frantically rushing toward the faint light.

However, with Hong Tai and the other two squad leaders attacking it, it could not leave.

At this moment, Hong Tai wielded a golden spirit sword, the masked squad leader wielded a bamboo flute, and Xu Rui held a black iron shield.

Despite their combined efforts, the trio found themselves at a disadvantage when confronted with the onslaught of the strange figure.

Discontent with his black iron shield, Xu Rui exchanged looks Hong Tai before withdrawing from the battle. He then approached the still-ensnared Ning Yao.

Xu Rui tightened his grip on the iron chains, and with a gentle shake, released Ning Yao from the net.

Having retrieved his silver net, Xu Rui did not even spare Ning Yao a glance before promptly returning to Hong Tai.

He threw the silver giant net in his hand high up in the water. The net resembled a silver cloud as it whistled through the water and headed straight toward the strange figure.

The silver net ensnaring Ning Yao was obviously his weapon of choice. It was the most suitable weapon for restraining the strange figure.

Meanwhile, Pang Jian noticed the ascending Jin Yang had sneakily pulled out a lotus leaf.

The lotus leaf looked like green jade and shimmered with a crystal-like luster underwater. Its delicate veins seemed to conceal many mysteries within.

Jin Yang lifted his clothes, placed the lotus leaf on his chest over his heart as a protective shield, and put his clothes back down

The confidence in his eyes grew as he charged toward the mysterious light. His lips moved as though repeatedly mouthing something.

Although his words were silent, Pang Jian could discern what he was trying to say from the repeated movement of his lips.

The words he was repeating were "the essence of the Celestial Phoenix."

Pang Jian quickly worked out that the amber light emanating from the withered bone was, in fact, the essence of the Celestial Phoenix.

Recalling Jin Yang's unusual actions of covering his heart with a lotus leaf, he then glanced at the strange figure with the tattoo of the Celestial Phoenix on its chest. Seeing this, he soon realized that the essence of the Celestial Phoenix sought a vessel capable of containing its power and intended to nest within the heart of the chosen host.

Once the essence of the Celestial Phoenix successfully entered the host's body, the individual seemed to transform into a strange monster.

Jin Yang knew the consequences of having his heart devoured by the essence of the Celestial Phoenix. Therefore, he used the lotus leaf to protect his heart.

Help me kill this man!

Pang Jin could not command the Giant Abyssal Serpent to approach the essence of the Celestial Phoenix, so instead, he set his sights on Jin Yang!

Out of all the members of the Shadow Specter Sect, Jin Yang had inflicted the most pain on Pang Jian with his seven Cicada Wing Swords, repeatedly stabbing them into Pang Jian's back and arms.

Thus, Pang Jian decided to put Jin Yang on the top of the list of the Meridian Opening Realm cultivators he wanted to kill.

Splash!

The Giant Abyssal Serpent writhed its body, stirring up the water at the bottom of the pond, and bringing Pang Jian rushing toward Jin Yang.

The current greatly reduced the strength and movement speed of those at the bottom of the pond.

The Giant Abyssal Serpent, however, was completely unaffected. Its movement speed was faster than on land, and it could swiftly bring Pang Jian to Jin Yang's side.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Jin Yang launched his Cicada Wing Swords at Pang Jian.

However, they had lost much of their spiritual power after Ouyang Duanhai had struck them. Additionally, they were now submerged in water, which significantly impaired the efficacy and speed of the spirit swords.

With the aid of the Giant Abyssal Serpent, Pang Jian blocked the Cicada Wing Swords with his spear, sending them sinking toward the bottom of the pond.

Pang Jian borrowed the momentum of the Giant Abyssal Serpent, gripping his Dragonwood Spear tightly with both hands as he aimed at Jin Yang.

Once he drew close enough, he unleashed the strength in his arms and threw the spear forward with all his might.

Bang!

Jin Yang immediately formed a block of ice with the Hornless Ice Dragon Jade Pendant.

It shattered upon impact with Pang Jian's Dragonwood Spear.

Jin Yang let out a muffled groan as he watched cracks form on his life-saving jade pendant. It would be difficult to restore its previous effectiveness without the help of experts.

Temporarily retreating, he glanced back at Pang Jian only to see him once again charging ferociously in his direction.

With the added speed of the python, the impact of that python paired with Pang Jian's divine strength, and the heavy force of the dragon spear, Jin Yang, who had lost his jade pendant to protect his body, secretly cried out in dismay.

At the speed the python was going, the momentum of its impact, combined with Pang Jian's inherent physical strength and the weight of the Dragonwood Spear would surely be immense.

Jin Yang grimaced at the impending danger now that he no longer had the protection of his jade pendant.

The Black and White King Python that Hong Tai painstakingly raised not only failed to assist him but even aided an outsider in attacking him.

Still, Jin Yang could not let go of the essence of the Celestial Phoenix. He had come too far to just give it up so easily. Thus, in the end, he chose to press on with his ascent.

If he could not evade Pang Jian's attack, he decided he would rush out of Blackwater Pond and figure out how to obtain the essence of the Celestial Phoenix before launching a counterattack to kill Pang Jian.

Being underwater was profoundly frustrating as he felt neither he nor his Cicada Wing Swords could display their full abilities.

After they surfaced, the Rank Two Black and White King Python would not necessarily be able to overpower him.

Swish! Splash!

Having been released by Xu Rui, Ning Yao also desperately swam upward.

She had only recently advanced to the Meridian Opening Realm and could not compete with seasoned veterans like Hong Tai and Xu Rui. If she did not resurface soon, she risked drowning at the bottom of the pond.

As she struggled to swim upward, she caught sight of Pang Jian riding the python in pursuit of Jin Yang.

After Pang Jian had killed all the Qi Practicing Realm members of the Shadow Specter Sect, he seemed to have switched targets to higher-level prey.

Ning Yao gazed intently at Pang Jian. Her heart churned like tumultuous waves and she started to harbor doubts.

She was skeptical about whether Pang Jian was the real owner of the three stone houses.

Was this fierce and bloodthirsty figure truly the same young man the townsfolk of Linshan Town had described?

That young hunter lived together with his younger sister. So why did they not encounter his sister in the courtyard?

Could it be some upper-world talent impersonated Pang Jian to set up a trap for us?

Ning Yao's mind swirled with confusion.