Rebirth Of The Phoenix
'This planet... it has to be...'
Qianye Ying'er descended onto another planet, after having been disappointed time and time again. Xiao Jiantian's sword intent hadn't emerged ever since then... making it hard to pinpoint the exact place it came from. Qianye Ying'er was absolutely dedicated, however, as she thoroughly explored the entire region of worlds from where she had roughly sensed his sword intent. Her search led to a planet on the very edge of the Primal Chaos Dimension.
Every time she had been disappointed, she happened to burn down a person or two... or a thousand... sometimes an entire city.
Nothing else mattered.
As long as she had him...
She visited the place with the highest concentration of experts on the planet, which just happened to be the Mighty Heavenly Sword Region. It was a regular day for the sword extremists, who continuously practised their sword art until it was satisfactory... which it never was for those lads.
'This building...'
One thing caught her eye the most... a sanctuary similar to one she had seen many times, littered across worlds on all four Divine Regions. In her state of complete invisibility, not a single person could detect her in any way. Her palm softly pushed open the entrance, though it was locked by a formation and refused to budge.
As she attempted to forcefully breakthrough, a thunderous voice rang in her ear.
"An outsider of divine strength... I'm afraid that your existence is a threat to the harmony of this world. Therefore, you will die here and tread no further!"
'This voice...'
"Master!"
"Master?" A figure materialised in front of the entrance, eventually appearing to be a perfect replication of Xuanyuan Jiantian. "Ying'er... ah, I see. So the original's sword intent has brought you here."
"So, where is he?"
"Ahh, about that. How should I say this?" The replication stroked his chin in thought. "He's not on this planet, unfortunately. You'll have to look somewhere else."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, most certainly." The replication nodded. "Until he releases another wave of sword intent, I'm afraid that finding him will be rather arduous."
"... I see. May I ask what lays inside of this sanctuary other than yourself?"
"That is classified, my dear." The replication smiled. "If you have nothing else to say...I'm going to rest once more."
Qianye Ying'er watched the replication vanish just as swiftly as it had materialised. She was not satisfied with the result... not in the slightest. As she was about to fly away from the Mighty Heavenly Sword Region, a certain statement caught her attention.
"That Xiao Jiantian... man, when is he coming over? I'm dying to see him compete with the other core disciples. I bet his sword skill is sloppy having come from that dump of a place... what was it again? Cloudy Floating Village?"
"Floating Cloud City." Another corrected. "Considering his talent, adjusting to our techniques should not take too long. Let's not forget that he has Sword Attendant Virtuous instructing him as well."
"Yeah, whatever. I think he's just scared to embarrass Sword Attendant Virtuous in front of everyone.... hahaha."
'Xiao Jiantian... just another fraud.' Qianye Ying'er sighed. Though, as she investigated a little further, she realised that this world was, in fact, the origin world of Xuanyuan Jiantian. No one in the Realm of the Gods managed to trace him back to these roots... this discovery in itself was worthwhile to Qianye Ying'er. Added onto his replication's confirmation that 'the original' is, in fact, alive... she was satisfied with waiting a little while longer and exploring the origins of her master.
She would soon find out that the clone had, in fact, lied to her face about Xuanyuan Jiantian being on another planet.
~
"Achuu-" Xiao Jiantian sneezed while enjoying the sweet taste of his soda, leading to some of the liquid wetting his clothes. "Oh my... what a drag."
He took off his upper robes and replaced them with a simple crimson cloak that was somewhat revealing in regards to his rock-hard abs. 'You know... this feels kind of nice.'
As his gaze turned to what was beneath him, he saw a trail of dead Spirit Profound Realm profound beasts... though, it seemed that they had been halted by a beast in the Earth Profound Realm. Meanwhile, on the senior side of things, the Xiao Wu brothers seemed to have formulated a plan to get all the credit towards the kill and take the Emperor Profound Realm beast core for themselves. This led to Chu Yuechan having to face the Emperor Profound Realm beast on her own for quite some time... which did vex Xiao Jiantian a little.
'I suppose the glamour of an Emperor Profound Realm beast core was too great to resist... hmph.'
~
"Countless puny, insatiable, humans have approached my lair in hopes of attaining this king's treasures over the years." The scarlet dragon laughed. "Among them, you are the strongest yet you still lack the strength to defeat this king! Hahaha... I will prize your pretty corpse among those that were foolish enough to approach my territory!"
Chu Yuechan had expected Xiao Wuyi and Xiao Wuqing to assist already... but they were nowhere to be found. As a result, she had sustained several noticeable wounds that slowed her down. Even escaping seemed like an almost impossible task...
As the scarlet dragon prepared to breathe another wave of fire, the back of a figure appeared. His cloak fluttered with the wind as he scattered the flames with a single wave of his hand.
"Who... who are you?"
"A couple of Xiao Sect members still need to be disciplined further, it would seem." Xiao Jiantian smiled as he turned his gaze to Chu Yuechan. "Me fighting the scarlet dragon would make it far too easy... so I'll simply play a supporting role."
A heater-like shield appeared in his right arm, bearing the heraldry of the Shadow Sun Sect.
"This king asked for your identity!"
"Oh, me?" Xiao Jiantian chuckled, staring down at the scarlet dragon as if it was a plaything. "This King is merely the God of Formations."
"... You puny human, you dare look down on this king!? Your strength is so meagre yet you... hahaha, I'll have fun with you."
"Be my guest." Xiao Jiantian's right palm glowed with a radiant golden light as he touched Chu Yuechan's chest towards the abdomen area. His touch was gentle, flowing like water. Chu Yuechan's eyes widened as she watched her wounds swiftly close...
"PAY ATTENTION YOU HUMAN!"
The scarlet dragon noticed that Xiao Jiantian had turned his back to him, making him all the more enraged. He took this opportunity to whip his spiked tail in his direction.
Block.
"Impudent beast..." Xiao Jiantian's azure eyes glowed with overflowing tyranny.
Raising the shield on his left arm, Xiao Jiantian easily pushed back the dragon's massive tail. However, he wasn't done quite yet as time itself seemed to warp for a breath of time.
"Cease your struggle."
'2nd Style... Time Stop.'
Paralysed and unaware of all things, the scarlet dragon was still while time flowed everywhere else. A few breaths later, Xiao Jiantian withdrew his right palm from Chu Yuechan's chest. "You better not get the wrong idea, it's simply easier to heal someone with contact. Now... finish what you started."
After releasing the scarlet dragon of its time prison, it stood there for a moment... confused.
"Worry not, Fairy Chu, I, Xiao Wuyi am here to assist you as well!"
"FLEETING STRIKE!"
Xiao Wuqing and Xiao Wuyi finally emerged, striking the dragon from both sides with their strongest profound skills. Slashes of wind left their swords and flew straight towards the dragon, striking deep into its scaled body This was their newly improved 'Fleeting Strike', the version Xiao Jiantian had personally remastered... making it all the more deadly.
"AHH... DAMN YOU, HUMANS!!"
'That was a critical hit, god damn.' Xiao Jiantian nodded.
The scarlet dragon was not down for the count yet, blocking the Xiao Wu brother's attacks with all its might. Though, that was when Chu Yuechan sealed the scarlet dragon within a Frozen Cloud Domain and suppressed it with a constant wave of ice. Following that, the Xiao Wu brother's were able to coordinate their attacks and severely wound the scarlet dragon further.
In the end, Xiao Jiantian realised that they didn't even need his help anymore.
"So this is how this king falls..." The scarlet dragon coughed up some blood from its internal injuries. "For what reason?"
"Dragon, tell me this... how many profound beasts have you eaten to grow so strong?" Xiao Jiantian wondered.
"Must this king keep count of such meaningless things?"
Xiao Jiantian chuckled at the dragon's response. "That is precisely my own thought process, dragon. Just as you prey on weaker beasts to grow stronger... I will prey on you in the same way."
"When I look at you... I do not see a majestic dragon, no, I see a glimmering emperor profound beast core!"
"Damn you...!"
"Samsara awaits all!"
Slash.
The dragon's head was cut clean off by Xiao Jiantian's Sword of Nothingness, erasing the dragon's entire being from existence.
"Big Daddy Xiao... although you made the finishing strike, I believe the scarlet dragon's profound beast core should go in the hands of Chu fairy. My brother and I waited for the perfect opportunity to strike for far too long, leading to Chu fairy's initial injuries. Also, she helped suppress the dragon throughout the battle." Xiao Wuqing stated. "However... the scarlet dragon's corpse seems to have completely vanished-"
"Worry not!" Xiao Jiantian smiled as a perfect copy of the scarlet dragon's Emperor Profound Realm beast core appeared in his palm. He threw it in the direction of Chu Yuechan who caught it midair. "You can do whatever you want with it. Though, if you need a new weapon, I suggest asking me over anyone else."
"You specialise in creating weapons, as well?"
"I mean... you can say that." Xiao Jiantian nodded. "Honestly, I intended to reprimand you two at first... but Wuqing, your way with words saved you."
"Still..."
BOOM.
He slapped them both deep into the ground. "You two need to work with your fellow senior more. If it was your intention to use Yuechan as bait, then actually plan with her instead of seemingly disappearing without a word!"
"We will do so next time, Big Daddy Xiao, you can be sure of it!" Xiao Wuyi stated resolutely.
"... Thank you for healing my wounds, Palace Master." Chu Yuechan stated somewhat indifferently. "I've never had a medical pellet that could recover one's wounds so swiftly... yet you did so with your profound energy alone. Then you completely paralysed the dragon, making it unable to even breathe. If I may ask, where did you gain all of your knowledge?"
"Most of it is self-teaching." Xiao Jiantian shrugged. "Though, I'd rather not be questioned all the time I do something seen as heaven-defying."
"As you wish." Chu Yuechan nodded. "I will probe no further. However, I would suggest wearing less revealing clothes-"
"Aww, what's wrong? Am I dulling your focus?" Xiao Jiantian chuckled. "The cold breeze feels nice, you know. I'll change into my old robes later... we haven't cleared the scarlet dragon's lair quite yet.
Beyond the rich flora that had gathered in the scarlet dragon's lair, Xiao Jiantian sensed something else. Its alluring aura led him deep into the lair, all the way to a red gem of sorts.
'What could this thing be?'
Xiao Jiantian picked up the Fire Seed of the Heretic God and observed it, though he hadn't seen anything quite like it before.
'Eight shards of my power; Four Creation Gods and Four Devil Emperors…' Xiao Jiantian thought unconsciously for a moment. 'Wait, why'd I think that?'
'I could breakthrough a couple of times by absorbing this thing… but is that all there is to it?'
Xiao Jiantian attempted to replicate it through the Law of Nothingness but failed, making his suspicions more concrete. 'I'll save this beauty for later.'
Before leaving, he harvested all of the flora in the scarlet dragon's lair; all of which was highly attuned to fire.
~
A few days later.
"Senior Sister Qingyue sure is powerful…" Shui Wushuang watched as Xia Qingyue defeated yet another Earth Profound Realm beast. "Such a beautiful and elegant sword technique… it reminds me of our Palace Master."
"We have enough profound beast cores now."
"Well done." Chu Yueli congratulated the group indifferently in regards to the Xiao side while looking more gently towards the Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace's disciples. "I will inform-"
"I'm already here… as a matter of fact, you lot took long enough for me to create a whole new profound art." Xiao Jiantian remarked. "That's not a terrible thing, though. Now hand over the beast cores."
Xia Qingyue gave a spatial ring containing eight low-ranked Earth Profound Realm beast cores along with forty beast cores in the Spirit Profound Realm.
"Sheesh, Qingyue hard-carried this task. I expected no less of my beloved." Xiao Jiantian chuckled. "Anyways, the reason why I had you all fight some beasts is to gain some fighting experience and become aware of where you stand in regards to combat prowess. As for the cores… you can distribute them amongst yourselves."
He handed the spatial ring back to Xia Qingyue.
"Follow me."
Xiao Jiantian felt a familiar aura a good distance away, one that reminded him of Phoenix flames. Or, more accurately, the Phoenix divine spirit.
'There's a second Phoenix Divine Spirit… and in the weak Blue Wind Empire, no less? How intriguing'
~
Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range.
"With all due respect, why are we travelling to this dump? There's no one above the Elementary Profound Realm here…" Xiao Kuanglei inquired, looking down on the village they came to visit.
"Don't you wonder why? No matter how desolate a place may be, there should always be those at the Nascent Profound Realm. Also, if there are beasts far stronger than them in the vicinity... why is it that this settlement still stands?" Xiao Jiantian casually ate a strawberry while moving forward. "Clearly, this is an anomaly."
"Huh… I never thought about it in that way."
As they moved into the centre, all of the residents ran away with mixed expressions… mostly fear, of course. Even the junior disciples under Xiao Jiantian were strong enough to turn the entire village upside down if they wished, after all. Xiao Jiantian frowned when he observed that each and every one of the village's residents had a red mark on their foreheads.
"Such a pitiful fate… they're all cursed by the very thing that once gave them power." Xiao Jiantian shook his head. 'That is why I never accepted a god's blood…'
"The 'very thing'? And who might that be?" Xia Qingyue wondered.
"The remains of a god." Xiao Jiantian answered. "The legacies they leave behind are highly beneficial and help their chosen mortals stand over the rest. The relatively new Divine Phoenix Sect, for example, only stands beneath the Five Great Sacred Grounds… and will likely join their company in a thousand or so years. Maybe even sooner."
"From what I see, these people seem to have angered their god in one way or another… and lost all their potential because of it."
"That's terrible..." Wu Xuexin remarked with a seemingly sorrowful expression.
"The array has been activated!" One of the Phoenix Clan's members shouted once they had all ran into the phoenix ruins.
"They're not taking any chances." Xiao Nan stated. "Do we really look like some villains to them?"
"For people so weak, I suppose it's expected for them to be so fearful." Xiao Kuanglei added. "Though we mean no harm, right, Heavenly Lord Xiao?"
"Mhm, we've only come here for a little sightseeing. Oh and pet adopting." Xiao Jiantian chuckled as he thought about something absurd. "Let's keep pushing forward. This array won't stop us."
Once they reached the formation, Xiao Jiantian simply kicked it open. The formation shattered into pieces instantly as the faces of the Phoenix Clan's members dropped. They watched as he slowly descended into the stone chamber where they had all gathered, his azure eyes illuminating the dark shadows behind him. Every step echoed as terror neared closer...
BOOM.
On his last step, Xiao Jiantian shattered the ground beneath his left foot.
Some of the children... hell, even some men pissed their pants upon his final descent. His face was emotionless, seemingly that of a man who had massacred millions and was looking to add to his resume.
"You will all be brought to heel, chained and sold off to the highest bidder." Xiao Jiantian coldly stated. "Actually, some of you have pretty faces... this King could use some maids."
"Lord Phoenix... pro- protect us!"
"All your strugglers are hopeless. All your hopes and dreams are meaningless. No one will save you from this King's chains. Your lives will have no other meaning other than to serve others until you breathe your last breaths! MUAHAHAHA!"
Xiao Jiantian burst out laughing when he saw the horrified expressions of the Phoenix Clan's members. "My, I'm truly sorry. I'll make it up to you lads."
"He's just a great actor, don't think too much of it." Xia Qingyue turned to the Phoenix Clan's members.
"My Qingyue knows from personal experience; such as the big strong man who takes ad-"
"Shuush!" Xia Qingyue, blushing, punches Xiao Jiantian to the side.
"Ow, that tickled." Xiao Jiantian laughed before turning serious as he looked at the Phoenix Clan's members. "Let this King talk with the pretty Phoenix spirit and sort things out."
Xiao Jiantian was unopposed as he continued forwards, into a relatively short corridor that led to a second formation; the Phoenix's trial ground. He tinkered with the formation for a moment and easily broke in.
The entrance closed behind him, though he wasn't very worried. The trial grounds were pitch-black other than Xiao Jiantian's glowing azure eyes... until another pair of mysterious golden eyes lit up the trial ground.
"... What are you?" Its prideful tone sounded rather shocked, incapable of comprehending one thing.
"What am I?" Xiao Jiantian looked directly in the golden eyes of the Phoenix's divine spirit. "What is it that makes you so curious in the first place?"
"Your aura... it reminds me of many powerful gods and devils of the past." The Phoenix spirit stated. "Although you have traces of them all, you are not any one of them."
"Hm." Xiao Jiantian nodded. "Well, you see, I have an absolute affinity to every Law. I've been discovering new-found power as time passed... actually, there's this one thing I can do that allows my profound energy to surpass its limits further. 'Berserk attribute', if you will."
"Have you found the Heretic God's Legacy, then?"
"Er... no, I haven't. Such a thing exists in this world?"
"Then how..." As the Phoenix observed more closely into Xiao Jiantian, he saw an aura more divine than any other density-wise. Overflowing with thick, illuminating, primordial energy... in terms of richness, it even surpassed the Creation God's and Devil Emperor's in the past!
'Could it be... a perfect shard of the Ancestral Goddess!?'
"Phoenix spirit, you're staring at me a little too much. Yeah, I know I'm truly handsome, but you don't have to make it so obvious-"
"You are a heavenly fellow, indeed." The Phoenix spirit seemingly bowed its head for a moment. "If there is anything you need, all you need to do is ask and I will do my best to support you."
"I want to ask you something, divine spirit of the Phoenix." Xiao Jiantian looked up to the Phoenix's golden eyes, his own azure eyes glowing with resolve. "Will you join me in my quest to Godhood?"
"... Join you? I am but a Divine spirit and so, leaving this trial ground will only swiftly shorten by fading lifespan."
"Who said you had to remain as a spirit?" Xiao Jiantian created a dagger and make a cut in his palm. Drops of his blood fell onto the ground. Then, he replicated the Emperor Profound Realm beast core of the scarlet dragon he had gained the 'blueprints' for (so to speak) over a hundred times, illuminating the dark room. He added other ingredients to the mix, ensuring that the Phoenix's body creation was successful.
"Will you accept rebirth, Phoenix?"
"... I do!"
"Then you shall be reborn!"
Xiao Jiantian's profound energy flowed out of his body, engulfing the entire trial ground and mixing all the ingredients together.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.
~
Xiao Jiantian emerged from the trial ground with a little cute phoenix resting on top of his hair and a radiant look of confidence that could overshadow even the sun.
'I've succeeded... hmph, it was easier than I thought.'