Eternal Cultivation Of Alchemy

Alex, Pearl, and Bai Jingshen separated from the group during their return. From the Fighting Island, while the Patriarch and the rest returned to the Black and White Continent, the three went to the Phoenix Continent, quickly arriving before the Vermilion Bird Palace.

A large, fire-like dome lay within a larger city, the barrier surrounding the Vermilion Bird Palace. The color of the barrier was a pale red, with the occasional flashes of yellow and purple mixing within it.

The city itself was also massive, surrounding the palace for multiple kilometers all around. Tall buildings with red or yellow roofs were scattered around the city in neat little batches, wide roads separating them.

At each intersection of the road, there was a giant bronze torch that forever burned with flames that sparked with various colors.

Phoenix Flames.

Alex and the rest walked out of the teleportation building and saw their surroundings. Alex’s eyes immediately went toward the barrier in the distance, and he frowned a little.

“We can’t directly teleport inside?” he asked.

“We’re not allowed to,” Bai Jingshen said. “We don’t have the required permissions. We’ll have to get it out here before we can go in.”

“Do you need permission before going to the White Tiger Palace?” Alex asked.

“Yes, but it’s a much looser system. You can get vetted in other cities and directly teleport inside the barrier. But then, we do allow regular folks to live inside the barrier, while the Phoenix like to keep to themselves. In a way, they are the same as the Dragons.”

“There’s not a hole inside there too, is there?” Pearl asked.

“No. These ones just don’t like company,” Bai Jingshen said. He turned toward Alex next. “Do you feel her?”

Alex nodded. “It’s weak, probably because of the barrier. But yes, I can sense her.”

“So she is here?” Bai Jingshen said with slight surprise. “Why wouldn’t she reply then?”

Alex shrugged. “Let’s go find out.”

They walked away from the building and onto the street, and almost instantly, they attracted gazes from all around.

Alex turned to look at the people staring at them — a human, a White Tiger, and a large white cat. Among most of these beasts that were birds and feathered creatures, they stuck out like a sore thumb.

It wasn’t long after they began walking that someone approached them. The one who came to them was a large crow-like beast, but somehow with a red and green pattern to its feathers.

“Dear guests, do you require some help?” the crow asked.

Bai Jingshen turned toward the crow. “Who are you?”

“I am Feng Baixin, a liaison of the Vermilion Birds,” the crow said. “Are you here for someone from the family?”

Bai Jingshen raised an eyebrow. “You’re a Phoenix descendant?”

The crow put on an awkward smile. “I am.”

Bai Jingshen nodded and gestured toward the barrier. “We’re here to meet one of the Phoenixes. A Fifth-Generation Vermilion Bird by the name of Feng Nuanhuo.”

“Oh! You’re here to meet Lady Nuanhuo?” the crow said with a look of surprise. “May I ask your names?”

Bai Jingshen lightly slapped Alex on the back. “Tell her, a human by the name of Alex is here to meet her. She will understand.”

The crow turned toward Alex, scanning him with his inquisitive eyes. After a moment, he smiled sharply and gave a bow. “Please follow me.”

The three were taken to a small building with a large hall, filled with various furniture. Alex’s group was made to wait there while the crow left to deliver the message.

Bai Jingshen stared at the door through which the crow left for a long time. “I wonder if you can find a third leg on his body,” he said.

“What?”

Both Pearl and Alex were confused by Bai Jingshen’s words.

“The Three-Legged Crow,” Bai Jingshen explained. “It’s one of the ancestors of the Vermilion Bird.”

“Oh! You think he has the Three-Legged Crow’s bloodline?” Alex asked. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ N0veI.Fiɾe.net

“Every Phoenix descendant has it, but I wonder if it’s a little more concentrated in this one, or maybe it showed up more because it couldn’t gain much of the Phoenix bloodline,” Bai Jingshen said. “If I’m not wrong, the Three-Legged Crow is also called the Sun Crow or the Golden Crow, so the colors do not match. But then, the Nine-Headed Phoenix is also one of their ancestors, so…”

Alex found the information a little fascinating. He hadn’t known the alternative names for the Three-Legged Crow, nor was he ever in a headspace to see a beast and wonder who its ancestors were.

But it made sense Bai Jingshen would consider as much, given that the surname ’Feng’ almost exclusively belonged to the Vermilion Birds in this region.

“Phoenixes can only have a single child, right?” Alex asked. “I wonder how his parents felt seeing that he wasn’t a Phoenix.”

Bai Jingshen shrugged. “There’s nothing saying his parents were Phoenixes either. They could’ve lost the bloodline lottery long before him.”

Alex nodded. He couldn’t help but feel bad for the ones that weren’t born with the bloodline.

They grew silent afterward, simply waiting for Scarlet to arrive. It had been so long since they had seen each other, so Alex couldn’t help but be a bit nervous about it all.

He kept his attention on the bond, feeling how weak it was. He had tried sending messages through it, but the distance was too much. He just had to wait for her to come closer.

However, even as minutes passed, the distance didn’t change. Scarlet hadn’t moved.

Alex couldn’t help but wonder how much longer he was going to have to wait.

Just then, he felt a wave of Divine Sense pass through the place, focusing on him. Then, he heard the beat of wings.

In a rush, a figure flew into the hall, landing by the open gate.

Alex turned, seeing the sight of a large female Phoenix. He was confused.

The Phoenix’s eyes immediately focused on Alex, a look of anger flashing across her face.

The Phoenix opened its mouth and spoke with a feminine voice.

“Are you the one named Alex?”