Shui Miao was bold yet meticulous, daring to do things ordinary people would never dare. This wasn’t merely due to his possession of the supreme immortal artifact, the Fire Dragon Cannon; more importantly, Shui Miao had seen through the structure of these sects.
They were merely scattered immortals who had taken to mountains for survival. Their courage was especially weak—once encountering someone with a powerful background, they would immediately become followers, all for the sake of better survival.
Therefore, these immortals who lived only for survival would certainly choose a better path if offered one.
Shui Miao precisely understood this aspect of their minds, hence his confidence.
If anyone resisted, a swift and forceful elimination would suffice, allowing the rest to be liberated.
“Big brother, we’re here.”
Lian’er led Shui Miao to the foot of a large mountain. By now, the sky had just begun to lighten.
Shui Miao expanded his divine sense, entering the mountain, sensing its interior.
“From what I’ve learned, the Tianyi Sect has more than thirty Immortal Lords and seven Immortal Elders. Among them, Zhao Tianyi’s cultivation is the highest—he’s just a step away from becoming an Immortal Sovereign.” Lian’er shared her knowledge with Shui Miao. Undeniably, the Tianyi Sect possessed some strength, and Lian’er worried whether Shui Miao could handle such a tough opponent.
“Indeed, they do have some strength!”
Shui Miao’s divine sense detected many powerful presences and had already alerted several experts.
“Yes, their cultivation is quite strong, but they don’t possess any high-grade artifacts. From what I know, their only supreme immortal artifact was seized by the beast clan in the last conflict.”
Lian’er had intended for Shui Miao to proceed cautiously, unaware that Shui Miao had already alerted Zhao Tianyi with his divine sense.
Suddenly, the mountain cave entrance became lively. Countless immortals flew out like disturbed bees.
In an instant, thousands of immortals emerged, surrounding Shui Miao and Lian’er.
One dark-skinned, fat, and bearded immortal shouted at Shui Miao, “Kid, what do you want? Daring to probe us with your divine sense—who the hell are you?”
The seven Immortal Elders had all arrived, dressed uniformly like bandits, their appearances fierce and imposing.
However, as Lian’er had said, they didn’t possess any superior immortal artifacts.
Shui Miao glanced at the immortals around him and spoke calmly, “Who I am isn’t important. What matters is my purpose here.”
Zhao Tianyi attempted to sense Shui Miao’s cultivation level but failed to detect anything. When his divine sense touched Shui Miao’s gloves, it vanished like a cow into the sea, leaving nothing behind. Thus, Zhao Tianyi suppressed his temper, no longer daring to be careless, and quickly adjusted his tone, “Friend, then what is your purpose?”
“It’s like this—I intend to establish the Tianji Sect and wish to absorb your Tianyi Sect. So I’ve come to inform you. If anyone disagrees, feel free to challenge me one-on-one. Though I’m currently only an Immortal Lord, I’m also an artifact crafter. I won’t hide from you—I possess supreme immortal artifacts. Joining my Tianji Sect will only benefit you, never harm you.” Originally, Shui Miao had planned to massacre them, but seeing they were all rough, pitiful outlaws forced into their situation, he lost interest in bullying the weak.
“…”
Shui Miao’s words left everyone stunned.
Shui Miao’s mysterious aura prevented even Zhao Tianyi from acting rashly, let alone the others, who dared not utter a word.
Some scattered immortals with low cultivation levels began whispering among themselves. For them, if given a choice, they would naturally opt for a better path.
After a pause, Zhao Tianyi suddenly smiled, “Friend, we appreciate your goodwill. It’s not that I, Zhao Tianyi, am unwilling to lead everyone into your Tianji Sect out of selfishness—it’s just that we don’t wish to drag you into our troubles. The Tianyi Sect and the beast clan are bitter enemies, and a great battle is imminent. If we join your Tianji Sect, we will inevitably bring the beast clan’s wrath upon you. Then it won’t just be us suffering…”
“Don’t worry needlessly. Just answer—will you join or not?”
Lian’er had learned Shui Miao’s boldness and spoke directly.
Zhao Tianyi furrowed his brow, exchanged silent telepathic messages with his companions, then clasped his fists, “This matter is of great importance. As sect leader, I must proceed cautiously. Here’s an idea—there’s a Fire Phoenix Mountain not far ahead. Inside dwell two twin-headed fire phoenixes at the Immortal Elder level. These phoenixes, owing to their ties with the beast clan, often harass and kill our Tianyi Sect disciples. If you, friend, can slay these two beasts and avenge our brothers, I, Zhao Tianyi, will be the first to join your sect. Not only that, I can also invite the thirty-six sects and hundreds of thousands of scattered immortals to join your sect!”
“Deal!”
Shui Miao turned, looking at Lian’er, “Lead the way.”
“…”
Lian’er hesitated but had no choice but to proceed under the watchful eyes of the crowd.
She had heard of the twin-headed fire phoenixes before—capable of spewing both yang and yin flames, they were ferocious and evil. Lian’er worried that Shui Miao might not be their match.
In secret, Lian’er transmitted her thoughts to Shui Miao, “Big brother, don’t be careless. If you fight them, strike first—otherwise, the consequences will be dire.”
“Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.”
Shui Miao sensed with his divine awareness that thousands of Tianyi Sect immortals were following him toward Fire Phoenix Mountain.
At this point, there was no turning back.
Shui Miao had no choice but to fight for his life.
If successful, he could control the majority of the scattered immortals, obtain vast quantities of crystals, establish a powerful faction to rival the beast clan, and then find ways to subdue the beast clan, reorganize, and wait for the right moment.
※※※
Fire Phoenix Mountain
Two phoenixes—one soaring in the sky, the other incubating two crimson phoenix eggs in the mountain.
Sensing the approaching crowd of immortals, the airborne twin-headed phoenix suddenly dove toward them…
“Ahh! Run!”
“The fire phoenix is coming…”
Weaker immortals, seeing the phoenix dive, panicked and turned to flee.
But at this moment, Shui Miao suddenly clapped his palms together, emitting a brilliant crimson light, accompanied by a dragon’s roar. A lightning bolt shot forth, striking one of the phoenix’s heads. The phoenix screeched in pain as it crashed to the ground, smoking and with its feathers scorched.
The twin-headed phoenix thrashed on the ground but did not die.
Suddenly, Lian’er summoned a bone sword and chopped off the phoenix’s head.
Yet even decapitated, the phoenix lived on, writhing and slowly regrowing a new head!
Seeing this, Shui Miao was about to use the Fire Dragon Cannon again when another phoenix flew from Fire Phoenix Mountain!
“Boss, you handle that one. We’ll take care of this half-dead one.”
“Big brother, leave this to us. You can rest assured!”
Zhao Tianyi led his six companions, all excitedly brandishing their artifacts to surround and attack the phoenix. Other immortals, seeing this, also rushed forward to assist.
Lian’er raised her bone sword again…
Shui Miao turned and flew upward, clapping his palms again, roaring like a dragon. Another lightning bolt shot forth, hitting the phoenix’s wing. The phoenix screeched and tried to flee, but Shui Miao pursued relentlessly, roaring like a dragon repeatedly. The phoenix, struck by continuous fierce attacks, finally crashed to the ground. This phoenix was powerful, and Shui Miao dared not be careless. Ignoring his spiritual energy depletion, he unleashed successive thunder strikes until the phoenix lay blackened and motionless. Only then did Shui Miao stop.
Seeing the phoenix dead, Shui Miao used his immortal energy to split open its belly and retrieved two phoenix cores—one red and blazing, the other black and filled with yin-slaughtering energy, even containing traces of the Asura Realm’s energy.
Shui Miao’s mind stirred, and he absorbed both phoenix cores into the Fire Dragon Cannon’s formation.
Meanwhile, the half-dead phoenix was also killed by the others.
Lian’er flew to Shui Miao’s side with two phoenix cores, smiling excitedly, “Big brother, you’re amazing! Phoenix cores are essential materials for crafting fire and yin-slaughtering immortal artifacts. You keep them. Oh, and there must be treasures inside Fire Phoenix Mountain that you want. Let’s go check it out.”
“Good!”
Shui Miao accepted the phoenix cores and entered Fire Phoenix Mountain with Lian’er.
“Haha! Phoenix eggs! Great, big brother, quickly take them. These phoenix eggs are treasures. If you hatch and train them, you’ll have an endless supply of yang and yin fire. Oh, and I’ve heard that if you feed them phoenix cores, allowing the cores to merge into the eggs, then when they hatch, they’ll possess the strength of adult fire phoenixes. Big brother, why not give it a try?”
Shui Miao spread his divine sense and found the embryos inside the phoenix eggs still very small, far from hatching. At this size, they couldn’t possibly possess memories. Thus, Shui Miao willed the phoenix cores near the eggs, which were gradually absorbed into the eggs, beginning to nurture the phoenix embryos.
After storing the phoenix eggs into his inner world, Shui Miao sensed a massive amount of crystals hidden beneath Fire Phoenix Mountain!
Taking advantage of Zhao Tianyi’s absence, Shui Miao and Lian’er swiftly looted all the crystals.
“Boss, another beast is coming! I can smell it!”
Just as Shui Miao and Lian’er flew out of Fire Phoenix Mountain, Zhao Tianyi and his six companions rushed over urgently. The scorched phoenix corpse nearby had already been stripped bare by them, not even leaving a single blackened feather.
“Where’s the beast? Making a fuss over nothing!”
Lian’er looked around, seeing no beast at all.
“Roar…”
But at this moment, a thunderous roar erupted from behind Fire Phoenix Mountain. Suddenly, a winged fire kirin descended from the sky, landing before the crowd… The fire kirin fixed its large eyes on Shui Miao, its entire body ablaze like a massive fireball, its surrounding area scorching rocks within a dozens of meters radius.
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