Discussions and Doubts

As one of the Elders of the Fenix Clan, Barden Fenix sat there in a stupor. He had been completely dead inside ever since John had perished within the pocket realm, and the words that just filled the hall seemed like a dream.

Silence filled the Fenix Clan's assembly hall for a short time before the room exploded in an uproar.

"How is this possible?" one Elder asked loudly.

"Just who was that woman? And how do we know she was telling the truth?"

"True, she could be a spy, or have some other sort of objective."

"John was not transported out of the pocket realm with everyone else, how could he possibly be alive."

Many opinions regarding what just happened were spoken out loudly. Many Elders questioned whether the information was believable.

"Silence."

A soft but powerful voice filled the hall, causing every Elder to stop speaking. The Elders all looked towards the shadowed figure sitting behind Cade Fenix. The figure stood up and stepped into the light, revealing his features to all in the hall. He was quite elderly, with a long grey beard and white hair. His body radiated a powerful aura.

"That woman was not a spy. If she wanted to, she could have killed us all here without us being able to resist."

Every Elder was shocked to hear these words, but when they thought back to the mysterious person, they began to believe that woman's words.

"Patriarch, just who was that woman?" One Elder asked.

"I have no idea, as she blocked my divine sense from inspecting her. Only those in the Heaven Tribulation Realm are able to do so," the Patriarch responded.

"Heaven Tribulation Realm!" many Elder's exclaimed in shock.

"How is that possible, the peak powers of this region only have Meridian Forging experts. The only place that has Heaven Tribulation experts is the…" the Elders words trailed off as he thought of a frightening possibility.

"You are correct. The only place with Heaven Tribulation experts, is the Holy Lands," the Patriarch affirmed.

The Patriarch's words once again stunned the Elders. They very rarely heard mentions of Heaven Tribulation experts from the Holy Lands, let alone meet them face to face. Although the Fenix Clan was a peak power in the surrounding thousands of miles, they knew they were no match for the mighty cultivators from the Holy Lands.

Clamorous uproar once again filled the hall as the Elders began to discuss this news, before the Patriarch silenced them once more.

"As I was saying, her power's are something we cannot match, and if she came here with ill intentions, we would not be alive right now. That can only mean that her words are true...John still lives."

Barden's eyes began to fill with tears as he listened to the Patriarch, his grandfather, utter these words. He would not have believed it had it come from anyone else's mouth, but Barden knew his grandfather had worldly experience and would not speak of things such as this unless he was certain.

"John's alive!" Barden cried out with a loud yell, venting his emotions that had welled up inside him. The nearby Elders congratulated Barden for the great news. Cade's eyes also became slightly reddened at the news of his grandsons survival.

After some time of celebration, the Patriarch once again silenced the hall.

"This news most likely means that John is in the Holy Lands, and that someone of importance has taken notice of him. Otherwise, they would not waste their time inquiring about him here."

"Patriarch," one Elder called out. "How can he possibly be in the Holy Lands. The last news we had of him was that he fell in the pocket realm."

The Patriarch shook his head and responded. "I'm not entirely sure, but the evidence leads to the fact that John is in the Holy Lands. The pocket realm is a mysterious place beyond our understanding, and so such a thing cannot be ruled out. This is a great thing for now, as his cultivation should soar in those lands, so long as he does not perish."

The Elder's began to once again discuss this news, with various emotions and doubts displayed.

The Patriarch paused for a moment before turning to his grandson, Orenn Fenix; the father of Parker.

"Orenn. Your son gave us an account of how he saw John fall down a chasm to his death, yet John still lives. While Parker's story is not proven false by John being alive, as he could have somehow survived such a fall, I still must ask you...How loyal is your son to our Fenix Clan?"

Orren Fenix blanched slightly at what the Patriarch was suggesting. He wanted to know if there was a possibility that Parker could have betrayed them, and lied about his fate...or worse.

"Grandfather, I can assure you that my son Parker is one hundred percent loyal. He would die for our clan if need be! I have never once questioned his loyalty to our clan." Orren stated resolutely. He had to convince his grandfather that his son was loyal, as he was sure that his son would never betray them.

The Patriarch remained silent for some time, filling all the Elders with unease. His voice once more filled the hall, alleviating Orren's fears.

"I believe your son is loyal as well. Everyone may leave, I have much to think about. And one more thing, none of this information is to be told to anyone, even within the clan. Am I understood?"

The Elders all nodded their heads in understanding, and the Patriarch waved his hand in dismissal. The Elders all bowed their heads before leaving, and before long, only Clan Leader Cade and the Patriarch remained.

Cade turned to the patriarch. "What do you think, father?"

The Patriarch thought for a moment before replying. "It is great news that John is alive, and he seems to have found some powerful people who are interested in his identity... I'm sure we'll hear from him before long. You may leave as well."

Cade Fenix nodded his head and began to stride out of the room.

"One last thing," the Patriarch spoke out as Cade was about to leave the room.

"Yes, father?"

"While I have no grounds to suspect anything, something doesn't sit right with me. From now on, keep Parker under close watch, and report to me if anything suspicious occurs."

Cade Fenix narrowed his eyes at what his father was insinuating.

"It will be done."

…

Back in the Heavenly Lightning Sect, John sat in his meditation room, contemplating on what to do next. He had expected Elder Ragur to return promptly, but it had been some time yet the Elder had not returned.

"This Immortal Asura Transformation Art is amazing. Unlike battle arts, which can only be used one at a time, this Transformation Art can use used on top of the Supreme Battle Art, increasing my power further. Although I'm sure the burden on my body is going to be immense."

Battle Arts used Qi to empower attacks, and the Supreme Battle Art was no different. John would send Qi throughout his body in accordance with the battle art, allowing his body to unleash devastatingly powerful attacks. Battle arts could only be used one at a time, since the Qi used for two different battle arts used at the same time would clash, resulting in them canceling out and potentially causing internal harm.

However, body transformation arts were different. Body transformation arts were transformations with the body itself, which absorbed Qi passively, instead of being actively used in attacks. As such, battle arts and body transformation arts could be used at the same time, resulting in devastating power.

The only two drawbacks were that body transformations could only occur in bodies born with the natural ability to do so, as well as the immense burden transformations put on a body. Additionally, cultivators with ancient beast bloodlines could also transform if their talent was high enough, increasing their strength greatly.

John was initially surprised that the Immortal Asura Body allowed him to transform, but his surprise quickly faded as he realized the cultivation technique contained more secrets than he could possibly imagine.

"So far my body transformation is minimal, but it might get stronger and more apparent the stronger I get. In the meantime, what should I do now that I've exhausted my blood essence reserves?"

John's thoughts filtered through his various inheritances, before his eyes lit up.

"That's right. Now that I am in the Qi Condensation Realm, I can begin to train that essence battle art."

An ancient page made of some sort of animal hide appeared in his hands. John's eyes glanced over the ancient language at the top of the page.

"Divine Reaping Scythe"