Just as I strengthened my resolve on acquiring that thing and began using my Martial movement skills to reach for it, a soft but cold voice that was filled with killing intent and seemed to be backed by a strong pressure, enough to force my sprinting to a sudden halt .
I heard my bones crackling, but I was still able to take a one or more steps, but I decided against it, the reason was simple, if I were to take such a risk with the girl in my hands, then I might worsen her situation even more, also my own beliefs that the thing in front of us didn't have bad intentions was what led me to discard that thought .
Feeling that the injured girl in my arms seemed to be completely fine under such pressure, I understood that this green shadowed figure in front of us, wasn't targeting her with this pressure, I was quite grateful for that .
That shadowed figure was the person who spoke just now, it appeared magically like a genie from that green feather, her face was obscured, her body was that of a girl, that what made me suspect that whatever that green shadowed figure made of light, it most like belonged to a girl .
But it didn't belong to either Zi Xue or the girl I came looking for Liu'er, so who could this be and what exactly did it or she wanted with us and what in the world was this thing to start with .
You are quite the rude person, thinking and asking about this many vulgar things, but we at The Phoenix Nest already suspected that you men are like this, nothing but vulgar and vile creatures, what were you trying to do just now .
Hearing what this weird shadow of light was saying, I couldn't help but wanting to withdraw Retribution from my pouch and have her get a taste of how vulgar I can become, she was the thing responsible for all the massacre that happened here, yet she still dare to call me a vile creature .
But soon I calmed myself down, seeing was still able to tell what exactly was I thinking without me saying, I had no doubt that we were dealing with someone very strong here, so I need to treat this delicate situation with patience and a broad mind, not to mention that I was beginning to believe that if she lent me her help, I might be able to help Chu Ji Xi in surviving .
As I thought like this, I saw that the shadowed figure had his eyes squinted at me, two bulbs of light, that was how her eyes looked like, there was no distinctive facial features on her face, a standard eyes, nose, mouse that had nothing to indicate how the person in the light actually looked like .
Her eyebrows were also knitted together as if she seemed to be stunned at something, then with a swap of her finger, I saw the body of the girl in my embrace flow out to her, carried in what looked like a cloud of green energy, I first tensed thinking that she might do her harm or having ill intentions, but then I understand that I was too powerless to do anything in hope of stopping her .
I was completely suppressed and the suppression seemed to not only come from the difference between out stages, but the difference was in the state of our being, I felt as if she was a woman that reside high in the sky and can control my life and death on a whim, sweat soaked my back .
I had never been as terrified as today, but just as I was beginning to feel that all hopes are gone, two strange and bizarre powers inside me seemed to be acting on an instinct to come out on their own and protect me, Mental Energy doing this was one thing, but the seed inside my so-called Dantian acting on its own was something I would have never seen it coming .
Mental Energy materialized like a needle and shot directly towards the image in my mind that almost left shadows on my heart, the image was the illusion of me standing in the palm of that crazy big shadowed figure of a woman, she was looking at me with contempt, Zi Xue looked at me in a similar way, but the difference between the two lied in the nature of their contempt .
Zi Xue's one seemed to have been engraved in her bones, she wasn't controlling it, she seemed was naturally superior, as for the one before me, that was an air of someone acting superior because he had enough strength to boast about his arrogance when facing someone as insignificant as me .
It was not a show of superiority alone but it was a show of arrogant and the lack in her character, at least in my mind now she didn't looked as grand as before, she looked like a weak person who just liked to bully the weak and fear the strong, my Mental Energy needle shot through that shadowed figure face and like a glass screen, it cracked then shattered and the illusion was broken .
Back to the material world, the strange energy wrapped around my body tightly and the pressure that I was feeling before seemed to now lacked some substance for some reason, I wasn't able to tell what changed exactly, but what I was indeed able to tell was that I'm capable of moving again .
I saw that the shadowed figure was still calling for Ji Xi, I used Gliding Swallow, Charging Tiger to jump into the air and step on that weird cloud and was about to catch the girl and get off that weird cloud .
But then I saw a strange expression of bewilderment on the face of the thing in front of us, which shouldn't have been possible, it was a face of absolute disbelief, her next words made me unable to continue with my actions, she said :
You actually able to sense Spiritual Qi and interact with my True Essence .
Her words were so obscured that I couldn't help but stop in my track and look at her with bewilderment this time, the reason was that the notifications that still continued to rang in my mind had identified one of the negative effects that kept on getting removed as the lack of Spiritual Qi, which led to the use of Blood Qi to nourish the seed, those notifications came from the use of the three methods .
The Panel can record the concepts, but can't define it until a more correct way to describe or identify that concept, like now, so the moment that weird woman said those words, the Panel had started using this word to describe the energy I'm borrowing from that seed, which made unable to completely make sense of what is happening since my mind was burdened with more than it can take care off now .
I hadn't replied and was about to still move Chu Ji Xi, but it was like she was stuck to that weird cloud by glue, just as I was about to try and come up with something else, I couldn't help but stop as I sensed that the cloud had already stopped moving .
We hadn't arrived in front of that figure, it was the one who actually appeared in front of us, I got ready to fight her, but I saw that she wasn't here for a fight, she inspected me up and down and even came a bit a close in the distance to me, then as if I was a plague of some kind then suddenly said :
What do you truly want ? .
I hearing what she was saying couldn't help but recall me comparing her to a lamp genie, I saw that her face seem to frown a second after I started to think of that, she was still reading my thoughts it seem, she seeing my bewilderment at what was she exactly implying, she continued to say :
In this place, I meant to leave some inheritance as a compensation for the bad karma that my fight with an enemy here might have caused, so I left a drop of Blood and one of my feathers as a fate changing opportunity for whoever find it .
I originally made the test as to test whoever had the highest affinity with the my wind spiritual energy, those who are good with the Sword Path can also be selected, of course as long as they are females, since the drop of Blood contained inside that green feather was of the Yin energy, men tends to be of inclined to the Yang energy .
You can still absorb the Yin energy, but unless you were carful not to kill yourself in the process, so I'm here asking you what do you want to do now ? .
( Let me see your true colors ) .
I hearing her words, took a minute to understand what she was saying, I have heard about the Yin-Yang concept before together with concepts like Tai chi and Inner Kung Fu, but these were all things that sounded great, but didn't have much meaning or values back in my old world, I was conflicted regarding what she was saying, but I was still able to at least understand something .
" Just to make sure that I understood what that drop of Blood do, it had enough energy to heal this girl .
She seemed a bit offended at this as I saw her cheeks wince a little and she said :
What do you think of this venerable's blood is by no means of any significant, but this drop of Blood in this remote crippled wasteland can allow someone to soar into the Spiritual Sea Realm in less than 10 years, not to mention save her, it can allow even you a guy with no cultivation talent and no Vitality to soar into Heavens with one step, but you will need to decide on what to do now, this projection I left doesn't have enough energy left .
" Then, if that is the case, thank you, you can start then .
Heh, I had already know that you're a despicable, huh, what are you doing ? .
Seeing me getting off the cloud, she suddenly yelled these words out loud, answering her I said :
" Didn't you say that this drop of Blood of yours had great effect on healing her, then do it .
This is a one lifetime opportunity, you might not be able to get this chance ever again, are you certain of your choice ? .
" Could you just go ahead and help her already, she's at her limit .
I'm keeping her alive, so you don't need about her passing away, but are you really sure about letting go of this opportunity, you might not be aware of this, but there is still an outside world bigger than what the people here believe, tell you what, I can keep her alive, but she won't be able to breakthrough in the future, while you get to reap all the benefits, what do you say ? .
Think wisely with your lack of vitality, you won't be able to continue following your Martial Path, I don't know how you acquired to get your hands on Spiritual Qi, but even so, I can't sense the existence of Spirit Root inside you, so you shouldn't be a descendant of a Cultivation Family nor your own efforts no matter how great would make the Powers and Forces out there think twice before turning you down .
I'm not even exaggerating when I say that this is might be your only opportunity to change your fate, are you still willing to let go of your only chance for a far more brighter future, ( you humans are all the same, make your move and allow me to finish you off ) .
I fell into silent for a while not caring about her offer in the slightest, what I was engrossed in was digesting all this knowledge, she intentionally or unintentionally imparted into me, vague conclusion kept on appearing in my head, about that bigger world that she mentioned, the Cultivation stages that I had no clue about Spiritual Sea Realm, what it have in link with Spiritualist, what is Spiritual Qi .
One question after the other kept popping in my head, my mind actually started to heat up, but this time wasn't because of facing another bottleneck, this was due to me overusing it, to the point that it was beginning to breakdown .
Wasting no time, I recalled the urgency of our current situation and decided that it was better not to trust her completely with what she said about reserving Ji Xi's life, so I said a bit bluntly :
" Could you stop with the nonsense already, I had already gave you my choice, I picked her, as for my path in Martial Arts and Cultivation you had mentioned, I will carve my own path .
Since this is your choice, then I will leave you be, wait until I finish helping her in refining the drop of blood .
Seeing that she did seem disappointed with something, but at least she hadn't berated me for my lack of manners just now, I couldn't help but salute her and say :
" Thank you for your hard work on behalf of us both and sorry for my outburst earlier .
I don't know whether my words had reached her or not, all I saw was that a bubble of green energy like the one that almost took my life before, but still quite different appeared and engulfed them both, then I felt a sudden burst of energy coming from that bubble, so terrifying that it was enough to make the whole cave starting to shake like never before .
Waves of energy began to be released from that bubble, wherever they swept, the earth collapsed, as these waves swept over me, I felt even more pressure than with the shadowed woman from before, that was beyond weird for me .
The Spiritual Qi wrapping around me and that I was taking cover in, collapsed instantly and disappeared as if it never have existed, the waves of energy made it look quite weak, that was how terrifying the energy released from that bubble .
I understood a new meaning of terrifying after the barrier dissipated, the energy was suddenly accompanied by a melodious and beautiful, high-pitched and harmonious cry, but even though the cry itself was beautiful, the pressure it brought with it was no joke, could this be the legendary Cry Of The Phoenix .
She mentioned that she was from a place called The Phoenix Nest, could that feather be a Wind Phoenix's Feather, Phoenix is actually real, wait, what that even have to do with Liu'er, could Liu'er possibly be a Phoenix or a descendent of one, but I heard her parents were not even Martial Artists .
Weird, so weird circumstances, but now I at least have a clue, I'm heading for the Phoenix Nest sooner or later, if Liu'er was there, then Li Fu will go there as well, and most like Zi Xue will be with him .
As I was thinking of following the only clue I had, I was finally hit by the pressure that melodious cry exerted, just as this cry seemed to try and dig deeper in my body, I heard an even louder majestic roar coming from deep inside me, one that completely shook my body and as if that wasn't shocking enough .
The roar was accompanied by a visual display, a peculiar one to say the least, but that was something that I had completely no idea about, people outside this place were the one who witnessed something akin to a fairytale, two creatures that were thought to have not been seen before in this land made an appearance together, making people unable to decide if this was a blessing and a sign of good fortune .
Or was it a curse and a premonition of a disaster that is about to befell them, opinions were divided on the meaning of such a phenomena, but one thing was clear, people from all the directions will hear about this, good and bad people alike, for years to come this place will be hailed as the where the Legends came to life .
But in the meantime in the cave, there was still a guy who was bewildered at what exactly was wrong was him, that dragon roar just now was majestic and filled with authority and stubbornness, that sound was enough to force the cry of the Phoenix to come into a halt and retract all the pressure it was exerting on me .
The roar was enough to shook people's hearts and souls, but for some reason the roar sounded too familiar, just as I was curious to figure what exactly going on, the bubble of energy burst and I felt a huge gush of energy directly heading towards me, the gush of energy this time was pure Blood Qi energy, it sunk directly in my body.
It first cleansed up my body from any sorts of waste or hidden injuries, and the next thing I know it settled in my heart and start to quench it, Organ Quenching Realm, even though I believe in my case, it will be Organs Quenching Realm, since I'm not planning on tempering one organ, I will temper all of them .
As the breakthrough came, I felt my whole body ascend to a higher stage, the Tempering Energy swept through my whole body as if giving me my last blessings, I felt a great feeling of satisfaction, the worries from before about my Master's opinion about what happens next, was not that much of an issue, there was a bigger world for me to see, maybe today I had my first step towards greatness .
What are you feeling smug about, this was just some remaining energy that I didn't think should go to waste, did you hear the roar of the dragon just now .
" No, I hadn't, what is roar of the dragon sound like, I did hear the cry of the phoenix though .
She shook her head at me and said never mind, she waved her hand and a girl dressed in azure robe that had the word Phoenix in green written on the left side of the chest and the robe itself had a creature that looked like a divine beast drawn on it, so that was what a Phoenix look like, a green rooster with many wings and tails .
As I thought like this, my forehead suddenly got flickered and the shadowed figure then said :
Since you somewhat gave me a good seedling, I will gave you a compensation that should be enough to satisfy you, think of a rooster again and I will kill you .
I will give you the Soul Weapon Projection in the shape of that Green Feather of mine, it should allow you to have another hidden card that can even slay those who are above you in Realm, as long as your spirit power is stronger than them of course .