Chapter 928: The Nest of the Phoenix

A true phoenix nest, actually built within an ancient herb garden!

Not just them—even the strongest figures from the three thousand provinces would be stunned speechless.

“Tricky business. It looks close, just a few miles away, but actually getting there? I’d say it’s a nine-deaths-one-life gamble.” The Divine Striking Stone quickly calmed down, no longer restless.

It knew all too well—this herb garden was perilous at every step. Even if most of its ancient defenses had crumbled, it was still no place for ordinary beings to tread lightly.

Shi Hao remained silent, his gaze fixed ahead.

A few miles away, dense clusters of herbs shimmered with radiant light, mist-like luminescence flowing like water. There stood a broken mountain, not particularly tall—just a few hundred zhang high—with a blackish-brown rocky surface.

Atop the broken mountain rested an ancient nest, woven from Phoenix Feather Wood. This was no ordinary material used by common birds—it was a rare spiritual timber, long extinct in the world.

The wood shimmered with five-colored brilliance, like the iridescence of phoenix feathers. Though time had dulled its glow, it remained uncorrupted by decay.

That alone spoke volumes!

Beside the ancient nest grew numerous spiritual herbs, with sacred medicines even taking root directly upon the nest itself, their radiance cascading like flowing water.

Shi Hao couldn’t help but marvel—the Immortal Ancient Era was truly extraordinary, its spiritual energy so dense, especially in this immortal herb garden, where treasures abounded.

In comparison, the lower realm seemed barren. He had once visited the Kun Peng’s Nest, where medicinal herbs grew in abundance, but they were merely spiritual medicines. At the time, he had been awestruck, but now, seeing the upper realm’s richness, he realized how sparse its spiritual energy was. If it had even half the essence of this place, all those spiritual medicines would likely evolve into sacred medicines.

The upper realm’s abundance of experts was no accident—it was the environment itself that fostered them.

“Wait—there’s even a divine medicine!” Shi Hao gasped, spotting a streak of light flicker and vanish near the nest, within a crevice of the cliff.

Longevity medicines, ancient divine trees, divine herbs… this garden was overflowing with treasures. Shi Hao even suspected there might be more than one longevity medicine—perhaps several.

“Let’s try… to catch one!” He turned to the Divine Striking Stone, only to find it drenched in sweat.

He rubbed his eyes, making sure he wasn’t mistaken. Beads of liquid dripped from the stone’s surface, and when he touched it, he found it was a rare, fragrant stone milk—a precious fluid.

“Hey, you can even produce milk? From now on, fill ten gourds for me!” Shi Hao teased, ready to exploit it.

“Don’t mess with me!” The Divine Striking Stone gnashed its teeth, its focus locked on the path ahead as it frantically calculated, nearly on the verge of collapse. Even as a stone, it was “sweating”!

The formations here, though fragmented beyond recognition, were still terrifying. After just a short while of deciphering, the Divine Striking Stone felt utterly disoriented, its mental energy severely drained.

“These formations are less than one percent intact—completely ruined,” the Divine Striking Stone said.

“Then isn’t that great? We can just march right in,” Shi Hao replied.

“Ruined formations, yes, but don’t forget—this is no ordinary place. These were laid by beings beyond anything we’ve ever seen,” the Divine Striking Stone lamented.

This was an unparalleled forbidden formation, a true immortal-era construct, surpassing all others. Even in its ruined state, one misstep could spell eternal doom.

Shi Hao frowned. This was troublesome. While the formations might not pack their original lethal force, trapping and grinding them to dust would still be effortless.

“This isn’t even from this era. I don’t even know where to begin cracking it,” the Divine Striking Stone admitted helplessly for the first time.

After further calculations, it concluded the best-case scenario was a razor-thin chance of survival, while the worst was death within a few dozen steps.

“Think of another way,” Shi Hao urged.

“Hmm… there’s an ancient method called the Formation-Touching Art,” the Divine Striking Stone mused after a long pause.

“Explain.”

“We leave first, then use special formation flags to trigger the ancient arrays and test the path’s safety,” it said.

The Formation-Touching Art only worked on ruined formations—useless against intact ones.

But it wasn’t without risk. If the original caster had malicious intent, it could still be deadly.

Shi Hao immediately shook his head.

“Immortals are proud. I doubt they’d resort to such pettiness. If someone breaks their formations, it means they’ve earned passage,” the Divine Striking Stone reasoned.

Since the formations here were already damaged—albeit not by them—it assumed no hidden traps remained.

“Formations reflect the caster’s heart,” the Divine Striking Stone said.

“Fine, but be careful,” Shi Hao agreed, his expression grave as he summoned the Ten Thousand Spirit Diagram, ready for battle.

Since entering the Immortal Ancient Era, he’d faced many dangers but rarely used this artifact—only resorting to it against the mysterious flute player in the Savage Nest.

“The Formation-Touching Art… I found it on a nearly rotted bone. Never used it before—no idea if it’ll work,” the Divine Striking Stone admitted.

Shi Hao’s face darkened. This guy was seriously unreliable.

The Divine Striking Stone forged formation flags. With the abundance of divine materials on them, materials weren’t an issue. Within half an hour, hundreds of small flags were ready.

Shi Hao and the Divine Striking Stone retreated, leaving the island and standing amidst the chaotic void currents.

The hundreds of flags moved as if alive, advancing along a narrow path toward the phoenix nest—following the route the Divine Striking Stone had deduced.

“Whoosh!”

Just a short distance in, the leading flag was severed. A sword qi shot skyward, triggering hidden runes in the void that wove into a net.

“See? Even the sky’s sealed. This is a forbidden spatial domain—no crossing it,” the Divine Striking Stone said grimly.

Over the next while, dazzling divine lights erupted one after another. Though not deafening, their power could slay deities, the fluctuations alone enough to unsettle the soul.

Shi Hao’s expression changed. In mere moments, nine flags had been destroyed. If they’d been walking, that would’ve meant nine deaths.

The remaining flags shifted positions, still advancing but now spread far apart, resembling a long dragon from a distance.

Soon, the area grew turbulent. Wisps of chaotic mist emerged, lightning crackled like divine punishment, and countless symbols flickered.

The Divine Striking Stone’s face turned green. “Ruined formations, less than one percent intact—and still this terrifying?”

Over half the flags were already lost!

Without the Formation-Touching Art, following its earlier deductions would’ve meant certain death—even with hundreds of lives to spare.

“Even with hundreds of chances, we’d still die,” Shi Hao sighed.

Finally, with only a few flags left, they found a safe path.

“Let’s go! Our chance is here!” the Divine Striking Stone exclaimed excitedly.

As they stepped back onto the island, they noticed someone waving from behind—Xue Lin, the silver-haired maiden, tall and breathtakingly beautiful.

“It’s dangerous here!” Shi Hao transmitted.

“I know, but I feel something resonating with me, stirring my phoenix blood,” Xue Lin replied.

“Let her come. We might need her to enter the nest,” the Divine Striking Stone suggested.

Xue Lin carried phoenix blood—her lineage ancient and mysterious.

Shi Hao hesitated, worried for her safety, but seeing her persistent waves, he relented and went with the Divine Striking Stone to fetch her.

Together, they advanced cautiously, gathering sacred herbs along the way until their baskets overflowed, their bodies glowing with medicinal radiance and fragrance.

Soon, they reached the broken mountain.

Though the mountain itself lacked formations, they dared not ascend recklessly—the phoenix nest was extraordinary, spewing clouds that formed phoenix silhouettes circling above.

“Silver Girl, lend me some blood. I’ll set up a Blood-Guiding Formation to test the nest,” the Divine Striking Stone said.

“Thud!”

Xue Lin, usually elegant and noble, smacked it flat on the ground.

“My bad! Lady Xue Lin of the Phoenix Clan, I humbly request your aid. This is a true phoenix nest—I need your blood to test it,” the Divine Striking Stone groaned.

Reluctantly, Xue Lin offered some blood, which the stone smeared on flags before casting toward the ancient nest.

“Hum!”

The nest lit up, unleashing a storm of runes that stunned them. Before they could react, the runes followed the blood’s trail and surged toward them.

“We’re done for! Kicked the iron plate this time! I don’t wanna die—I still have a big secret! Actually, I’m—” the Divine Striking Stone wailed.

Suddenly, they were enveloped by the runes—not killed, but swept up and pulled into the ancient nest.

The nest wasn’t excessively large—just a thousand zhang across—and lacked the pavilions Shi Hao had imagined. It was simply a bird’s nest.

Yet, it held treasures. A five-colored dao platform, only three chi tall, drew Xue Lin onto it, immobilizing her in meditation.

“I feel the call of my blood. I’m about to have an epiphany,” Xue Lin murmured, astonished. Though her mind wasn’t calm, she suddenly grasped new insights into phoenix techniques.

She closed her eyes, her body glowing as ancestral imprints in her blood ignited like stars, her snow-white skin turning translucent before being engulfed in phoenix flames.

“Phoenix Blood Stones! They really exist! Awoo—” the Divine Striking Stone cheered, spotting several blood-red stones emitting mist.

Legend said phoenix roosts bore such stones—originally used by chicks to sharpen their beaks, they absorbed phoenix essence over time. During intense evolutions or rebirths, shed feathers and bloodstains turned them into these treasures.

Four in total, each crimson like jade marrow—priceless materials for refining artifacts, imbued with unfathomable power.

Fearing Shi Hao would snatch them, the Divine Striking Stone yelled, “I need these to cultivate immortal energy and take that step! Don’t steal them!”

Then it swallowed them all, nearly choking.

“You wasteful brat!” Shi Hao wanted to throttle it. Since when did stone weapons need to “take that step”?

The stone dodged with a “whoosh.”

Resigned, Shi Hao gathered the nest’s sacred herbs until a metallic glint caught his eye. He hurried over.

Amid the Phoenix Feather Wood, he found a single feather!

Shocked, he picked it up. Though five-colored, it showed no runes—yet when he swung it, it split the void!

“Incredible! Even a shed phoenix feather is this powerful?” Shi Hao gasped.

“If I refine this into a Five Elements Fan, its power will be terrifying,” he mused.

As Xue Lin meditated, phoenix silhouettes formed from the nest’s mist began circling her before merging into her body.

Leaving her undisturbed, Shi Hao walked to the nest’s exit and gazed at the herb garden from the broken mountain.

“Wait—” He spotted the Divine Tree again, nearby!

Then, from a crevice in the mountain, a divine light flickered—the same divine herb he’d glimpsed earlier.

The herb, black-gold in hue, appeared at the mountain’s base, clearly keeping its distance.

Before Shi Hao could react, it transmitted: “My master wishes to speak with you.”

Shi Hao blinked. The herb was talking? And it had a master?

“Who’s your master?” he asked.

“The Immortal Tortoise sends word,” the herb replied.

“The White Tortoise Bearing Immortality?!” Shi Hao looked like he’d seen a ghost. A longevity medicine, acting like a person, wanting to talk?!