"It seems it was really starving. Don't rush off running everywhere; replenish your energy first." Alan shook his head helplessly at the phoenix's disheveled state, then conjured a slab of Tebo Warthog ribs out of thin air and slapped it directly in front of the phoenix.
The phoenix, having made a fool of itself, struggled to get up. Upon seeing the ribs in front of it, its eyes immediately lit up. It then disregarded all divine bird etiquette and hopped over to the meat, pecking at it with huffing sounds. Its famished appearance completely belied the fact that it was a noble phoenix; it looked exactly like a scrawny rooster.
When Thor saw the phoenix's current state, he might have felt sorry for it, so he also pulled out half a can of sweet treats from the spatial ring Alan had given him and pushed it in front of the phoenix. This was Thor's after-dinner dessert. If there was anything commendable about Alan, it was that the food was good enough. Alan would often take the time to cook delicious meals for them when he had nothing to do, and they could eat as much as they wanted of snacks, sausages, and ribs.
The young phoenix gulped down a few mouthfuls of Tebo Warthog meat, then was immediately attracted by the sweet treats next to it. After a simple taste, it was instantly captivated by the sweet flavor, plunging its bird head into the bottle and guzzling down a few mouthfuls. The phoenix then showed Alan and Thor what a divine bird's appetite was like; with its scrawny body, it actually ate that entire slab of Tebo Warthog meat and the sweets clean.
After a satisfying meal, the phoenix stared blankly at Thor beside it, then tilted its head to look at Alan, who was quietly waiting nearby. It suddenly felt that its bird life's ups and downs were too stimulating. Just before, it had been imprisoned in a birdcage, losing its freedom, and couldn't even get a single bite to eat. Now, it had suddenly regained its freedom and could even taste these delicious, lingering foods. An endless stream of emotions surged within the phoenix's heart, and it even started crying, moved by its own experience.
However, just as the phoenix shed tears of emotion, a test tube unsuitably appeared beside its face, collecting every single one of its tears. The young phoenix tilted its head in confusion to look, only to find that Alan had approached it at some point and was now staring intently at the test tube in his hand.
Seeing his sneaky behavior exposed, Alan chuckled awkwardly, "Hehe, sorry, I just thought it would be too much of a waste to let your tears fall like that. It's okay, don't mind me. You cry if you want to cry; just pretend I'm not here." Phoenix tears—these were rare natural healing elixirs! When Alan saw such a good thing appear before him, how could he not shamelessly approach?
Upon seeing Alan's actions, the young phoenix's previously brewing emotions instantly collapsed, and it couldn't help but give him a hard glare.
"Caw!" After eating and drinking its fill, the young phoenix calmly stretched its body and let out a high-pitched cry. Then Alan and Thor saw a ball of flame instantly ignite on the young phoenix, and in a short while, it spread over its entire body until it was completely burned to ashes.
"Chirp chirp!" Thor, seeing this scene, was greatly startled. He didn't understand what was happening with this phoenix; why did it suddenly self-immolate without warning?
"It's alright, Thor, it's undergoing rebirth through fire. After Nirvana, a phoenix can grow and gain a more beautiful body. This is its unique cycle and ritual," Alan gently explained to Thor.
Alan had naturally heard of the phoenix's Nirvana ritual, but this was his first time seeing it with his own eyes. At the same time, he had also made his own conjectures about the Thunderbird's innate tendency to chase storms. He believed this might be similar to the phoenix, a special Nirvana ritual unique to the Thunderbird species. However, the Thunderbird's Nirvana ritual might be much more demanding than the phoenix's. If successful, it could gain increased lifespan like a phoenix, and its life level could also further increase. But if it failed, it might suddenly perish like the Thunderbird that was the predecessor of Wild Lightning.
"Chirp!" After a moment of self-immolation, a faint but clear bird cry suddenly came from the embers left by the phoenix. When Alan and Thor leaned closer to look, they found a featherless chick poking its head out from within, scanning them with clear eyes, and continuously chirping, as if asking its elders for food.
"Uh, I didn't expect a phoenix after Nirvana to be so ugly." Alan was squatting down at this moment, observing the chick with interest, and also rather mischievously extending a finger to gently tap the chick's head.
"Hiss… Lighter!" Perhaps it heard Alan's complaint, or perhaps it was very displeased with his teasing, but the chick phoenix actually turned its head and pecked him hard when Alan was teasing it. Don't underestimate this phoenix; although it had just undergone Nirvana, its strength was considerable, and it directly pecked his finger until it bled. And after making Alan bleed, the chick phoenix actually stuck out its tongue and licked his blood clean, then excitedly chirped at Alan again.
"Hmm? What is this?" After the young phoenix ingested his blood, Alan suddenly felt an anomaly in his spiritual sense. That feeling was very similar to the spiritual connection that appeared with the great Thunderbird when he had just rescued it on the island of Ireland, except this time the object was not the Thunderbird, but this young phoenix in front of him. Furthermore, the sensation that appeared this time was very weak; if Alan's mental power hadn't been strong enough, he might not have even noticed this anomaly.
"Does this mean the young phoenix has already recognized me? So eating my blood has this function." Alan seemed to understand the reason for everything happening before him. "I didn't expect you to be bought off with just one meal, you young scoundrel."
That's right, the spiritual connection between Alan and the phoenix was essentially the same concept as his spiritual connection with the Thunderbird, representing that this highly intelligent magical creature had formed a bond with the wizard. The difference, however, was that Alan's spiritual connection with the Thunderbird originated from his wand. Years of constant companionship and friendship had established a strong connection between him and the Thunderbird feather in his wand, thus allowing him to be imprinted with the Thunderbird's mark very early on. Additionally, the Wild Lightning Rune he later acquired further strengthened this connection, which allowed him to quickly sense the Thunderbird when he first encountered it.
His spiritual connection with the phoenix, however, was much weaker. Although the young phoenix's actions indicated its initial recognition of the wizard in front of it, it was only recognition. For their connection to become as close as with the Thunderbird, it would require a long period of companionship.
*I just wonder, if I establish close spiritual connections with both the Thunderbird and the phoenix, can I simultaneously sign Bloodline Contracts with two magical creature species?* Alan had actually never forgotten about the Bloodline Contract, and he felt that the connection he currently had with the Thunderbird should already meet the conditions for establishing a contract. However, there were still many things to attend to at the moment, and he simply didn't have the time to accompany the Thunderbird back to the United States to find its colony. Now he had actually established a spiritual connection with another intelligent magical creature. Could it be that more than one Bloodline Contract could be signed?
While Alan was lost in thought, Thor next to him had already embraced the phoenix in his arms and was enthusiastically feeding the young chick with his claws, dipping them into the remaining treats in the nearby jar. Soon, he began to enjoy the feeling of caring for a child, and the phoenix chick happily licked the sweet honey. Just like that, a strange and special friendship was established between these two cross-species creatures.
...
On the other side, Fwooper, having received the magical creatures, was now leading the transport convoy along the predetermined route.
Due to the enormous cargo volume this time, they couldn't travel very fast along the way. For this reason, they could only expand their alert range to avoid running into Muggles or wizards who might occasionally pass by. Therefore, centered around three large flying carpets, they dispatched over a dozen wizards to establish mobile alert outposts one kilometer away, moving along with the central convoy.
Thanks to Fwooper's meticulous arrangements, and also due to the sufficient number of escorting personnel, they avoided many troubles along the way, most of which were accidental encounters with Muggles. To deal with these people, the wizards would use the Muggle-Repelling Charm to drive them away, and occasionally, for those who witnessed the convoy, they would use the Memory Charm to erase their memories. Fortunately, for the sake of concealment, they did not make things difficult for these Muggles. Otherwise, given the Death Eaters' personalities, not killing the Muggles they ran into would be considered merciful.
However, along this route, besides Muggles, they also encountered some wizards. Some were just passing by or mysteriously gathered, while others were Aurors or Pure Land Society members undergoing fixed-point training. When encountering these people, Fwooper and her group could only choose to detour. Fortunately, the alert range was far enough to allow them to avoid those wizards before being discovered.
After two days of stumbling forward like this, Fwooper and her group finally arrived in Finnmark County, Norway. As long as they successfully passed through this area, they could cross the border into Russia, escaping the jurisdiction of Northern Europe, thus avoiding the Pure Land Society's control.
Although there were also many wizards in Russia on the other side, their gathering areas were not near the border. After all, Russia's land area was simply too vast, and those wizards basically operated in a few specific gathering areas. Moreover, although the Eastern European wizards in Russia were also fierce, they were ultimately different from those who hated the Silver Spears in the Northern European Pure Land Society; at least they could communicate, not to mention the high probability that they wouldn't even encounter them.
"Excellent, we are expected to leave the Pure Land Society's sphere of influence in about half a day," Jobberknoll closed the map in his hand and let out a long sigh to Fwooper beside her.