C292 Blood of the Dark Phoenix!

The blood of the Dark Phoenix!

Liu Ying's revelation startled Yu Yuan, nearly causing him to choke on the grapes he was eating.

After a couple of dry coughs, Yu Yuan hastily crammed the amethyst grapes he had taken from Liu Ying into his mouth, swallowing them whole.

As wisps of warm spiritual energy trickled into the little world of the Golden Sanctum, he finally took a deep breath and asked with a grave tone, "Wei Feng has the blood of the Dark Phoenix coursing through her veins?!"

"What else could it be?" Liu Ying shot him a sidelong glance and huffed, "If it weren't for the blood of that ancient Dark Phoenix, the Emperor wouldn't have so abruptly altered his stance. Without the blood of that old Dark Phoenix, why would the Thunder Sect, Winter's Bite, and Dragon Lake go to such lengths to mobilize?"

In just a short time, she had polished off another juicy pear and casually tossed the core aside.

A heap of freshly discarded fruit peels and shells lay at her feet.

She dusted off her hands and, with a wet handkerchief, began to clean herself up.

It seemed she had satisfied her appetite for the moment.

With her hands resting on her slightly distended belly, she reclined in an unladylike manner, gazing up at the dazzling stars. One leg was propped up on another stone platform, gently swinging back and forth.

Despite her sweet appearance, her legs were surprisingly long and straight. The goose-yellow pants she wore clung to her form, accentuating the graceful curves of her legs as they moved.

Unconcerned, she was not wary of Yu Yuan, who was very close by, nor did she feel the need to be on her guard.

Her Fallen Star Eyes were in sync with her intentions. Here, in her domain of the Golden Sanctum, this peer from Asvetaesi was still at a disadvantage.

What sort of tricks could he possibly have up his sleeve?

In Liu Ying's mind, no matter how desperately Yu Yuan struggled, within the realm of the Fallen Star Eyes, it was impossible for him to inflict even the slightest harm on her.

The reason she hadn't made a fuss earlier was simply because Yu Yuan had snatched a string of amethyst grapes from her hand, not because he had intended to harm her.

She looked up at the star-filled sky, having divulged the secret of Wei Feng's Dark Phoenix blood, and then fell silent.

She was giving Yu Yuan time to process everything on his own.

"In Asvetaesi, Yu Yuan, where did Ms. Xu and Wei learn about him? Did Liu Zaihe, that good-for-nothing, really die because of him, because of the Sword Sect's Chen Qingyan?" Occasionally, she would steal a glance at Yu Yuan, pondering silently.

Liu Zaihe was a distant relative from the Liu family, whom she had disliked since childhood. This so-called cousin had a gloomy and antisocial personality due to his lackluster talent for cultivation.

When Liu Zaihe suddenly discovered his aptitude for alchemy, he began to frequent the family gatherings.

Many elders in the family finally started to take notice of him, inflating his pride. He strutted around the empire like a peacock, making friends with peers everywhere.

The once antisocial and morose Liu Zaihe transformed, becoming affable and sunny, earning him widespread acclaim.

Yet, with her keen insight, she could see through Liu Zaihe's many facades to the true nature beneath.

In her eyes, Liu Zaihe had never changed. He remained sullen and distant, his very core laced with venomous thoughts, adept at masking his true self with a veneer of insincerity.

Because she saw right through him, she rebuffed Liu Zaihe's deliberate attempts at flattery and friendship.

That's why, upon hearing of Liu Zaihe's disappearance in Gloomhollow, she remained as unmoved as a still pond, without a hint of sorrow—in fact, she felt a faint sense of relief.

"Wei Feng, the blood of the Dark Phoenix!"

After a moment's contemplation, Yu Yuan fixed her with an intense look and declared, "Wei Feng is the daughter of the current emperor of the Sunblessed Empire. Her Dark Phoenix bloodline should be..."

"Have you lost your mind? What are you thinking?"

Liu Ying was taken aback, her shapely legs quivering to a halt.

She glared fiercely at Yu Yuan, her small fangs grinding together as she pointed at his mouth and urgently said, "You better not spout such wild theories! The Dark Phoenix resides in Shadow's Keep and is among the top three most formidable Dark Deities in all the Everlands! How could someone of her stature ever deign to notice a mere prince of the Sunblessed Empire?"

The Dark Deity possessed an extraordinarily terrifying perception. Among all of evilkind, the Dark Phoenix stood as an ancient and fearsome entity, ranked within the top three. Her consciousness, capable of wandering the Everlands, could potentially capture any secret dealings related to her, no matter where she was. This meant that the conversation between Yu Yuan and Liu Ying, which touched upon matters concerning her, might very well be within her knowledge.

Liu Ying was fraught with fear, worried that Yu Yuan's reckless words could resonate across worlds, leading the Dark Phoenix to trace the source back to them. Even a mere malevolent thought from a Dark Deity could wreak tremendous havoc. Yu Yuan acknowledged this concern, agreeing, "That's exactly what I was thinking."

To suggest that she had borne a child with a prince of the Sunblessed Empire was a grave insult to her. Were she present in the Everlands, employing her arcane demonic arts to detect any unusual disturbances, she could potentially overhear her own conversation with Liu Ying. A misinterpretation that Liu Ying and the prince had a child together could easily provoke her ire. Such displeasure from her could spell disaster for both Liu Ying and himself.

The Dark Phoenix, a legendary figure from the ancient times of the Land of Quiescence, was a tenth-level Dark Deity. It was said that the age-old Dark Phoenix played a pivotal role in the decline of the Nagas. In a bygone era, before the rise of humanity and their dominion over the Everlands, the Nagas were the revered leaders of evilkind, commanding all demons and receiving worship from all creatures. Humans, in that age, were as insignificant as ants.

The Nagas and evilkind would mercilessly slaughter humans, offering their flesh and skulls as sacrifices to the heavens. But as humans learned to harness the divine force, discovering potent methods of self-improvement, they grew increasingly formidable. With an unstoppable force, they emerged onto the grand stage of the Everlands. The Nagas, as the supreme rulers, exerted all their might to suppress the humans, but to no avail. Humans were indomitable, growing stronger with each battle, while the death of each Naga was a devastating blow to their kind.

Over time, divisions arose within evilkind. Some, recognizing the unstoppable ascent of humans, chose to adapt, seeking peace and a shared existence with humanity in the Everlands.

The Nagas were resolute in their decision to defy all opposition and engage in a battle to the death with humanity.

Led by the Dark Phoenix, the evilkind betrayed the Nagas at the last moment, directing their attacks against them and joining forces with the human cultivators. This alliance led to the downfall of the Nagas' giant dragons, which were condemned to the abyssal depths of the sea, never to rise again.

Thus, the Nagas were left devastated and unable to recover.

The evilkind who chose to ally with humans continued to thrive, and the Dark Phoenix herself became one of the founders of the Shadow's Keep.

For the Dragon Clan and Dragon Lake, which served them, the Dark Phoenix—ensconced in the Shadow's Keep, eternally powerful and virtually immortal—was an archenemy beyond reconciliation.

Regrettably, the Dark Phoenix had endured through countless eras, weathering tens of thousands of years, and had become a fearsome entity that not even the Ebon Star, Sunlit Order, or Sword Sect dared to provoke lightly.

Rumor had it that the Dark Phoenix's presence in the Shadow's Keep was mostly just a projection of her demon soul.

Her real body had long been traversing the Infinite Galaxy, and she might not return for decades or even centuries.

Only in times of great crisis within the Shadow's Keep, or when a new Dark Deity was to be inducted, would the Dark Phoenix return from the far reaches of the extraterrestrial to the vast Everlands.

Such an ancient and fearsome being would not deign to favor the Sunblessed Empire, let alone a mere prince.

Even in his previous life, Yu Yuan, despite his brief and illustrious existence, never heard news of the Dark Phoenix's return. It was inconceivable for a prince of the Sunblessed Empire to sire offspring with her.

"It was one of the Dark Phoenix's distant descendants, with a diluted bloodline, who married Wei Feng's father and gave birth to her," Liu Ying unveiled the truth. "You see, the more powerful the being, the less likely they are to reproduce. In her early days, the Dark Phoenix had a mate within her kind, but he perished in battle long ago. The descendants she left behind did not inherit her formidable bloodline, which grew increasingly weaker with each generation."

"She paid no mind to the weaker bloodlines, indifferent to their fate."

"Yet, every century or millennium, there emerges a descendant from her bloodline, one of exceptional purity and strength. It is only these descendants that she takes a slight interest in, ensuring that the Shadow's Keep provides them with some measure of care."

"If a descendant arises from her bloodline and astonishes her, she will dispatch an archdemon to retrieve them and bring them to Shadow's Keep for training."

Liu Ying paused after sharing this.

Yu Yuan, grasping the implications, his eyes widened, exclaimed, "So, part of Wei Feng's bloodline is inherited from her? And that segment of her lineage is exceptionally pure and potent?"

Liu Ying's face grew stern as she explained, "Perhaps due to the mingling with human blood, Wei Feng's aptitude for cultivation was quite mediocre in her early years, and her Dark Phoenix lineage remained latent. Furthermore, before her Dark Phoenix bloodline emerged, no one was aware that Wei Feng's mother belonged to the evilkind. Her mother perished long ago in the purges, and now her fate is unknown."

"It's precisely because she was deemed ordinary that the emperor doesn't see her as a threat and has continued to look after his niece with care."

"That is, until she was immersed in her master's medicinal brew, which ultimately awakened her Dark Phoenix bloodline."

"I'm not privy to the details, but after her Dark Phoenix bloodline came to light, the emperor made his decision. Dragon Lake, upon hearing the news, swiftly dispatched a seventh level Silverfrost Dragon."

"The emperor is concerned about potential mishaps, fearing that Shadow's Keep might find out and covertly seek assistance from Thunder Sect and Winter's Bite."

"And so, the situation has evolved to this point."

Liu Ying gestured openly, conveying to Yu Yuan all she knew about Wei Feng.

"What about the commander of the Blackfang Legion?" Yu Yuan inquired further.

"The emperor and the commander have long been at odds. Wei Feng was sent to the Blackfang Legion in her youth and was taken in by the commander. When the emperor demanded her return, the commander refused, leading to his defection." Liu Ying revealed the Sunblessed Empire's secrets to Yu Yuan without reservation.

She then added, "I've shared so much with you because, through the Fallen Star Eyes, I've seen that you, the black and white figure, and that peculiar, thin girl all share a hidden connection."

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