C699 Divine Bird Ascends to the Heavens
"Swoosh! Swoosh!"
A crisp call of a bird suddenly pierced the air from the direction of Luan Bird City.
Zu Ann, mid-conversation with Yu Yuan, tensed and adjusted his feathered crown, declaring with the gravity of impending battle, "They've finally arrived!"
Rising to his full height, Zu Ann clutched the Skywatch Mirror in one hand. With a gentle flick of his other, Yu Yuan was sent soaring into the dense fog behind, as if riding the clouds.
"I'll do everything in my power to protect you."
The Earth Demon, whose true strength was unknown, no longer assumed human form but transformed into a dark, ominous shadow that positioned itself in front of Yu Yuan.
This shadow swallowed the light, turning an inky black as it slowly gathered demonic energy.
Behind this shadow, Yu Yuan inexplicably found solace.
It seemed that no matter what transpired, this dark guardian would perish before him, standing as his shield.
Zu Ann was a cultivator of the Unrestrained Stage, wielding the Skywatch Mirror and aided by the Ninth Level Green Willow Demon. With Zu Ann's commitment to his protection, who could possibly harm him?
Yu Yuan was astounded.
Then, a more plaintive cry shattered the silence.
Yu Yuan looked up to see, above Luan Bird City, innumerable streaks of dark lightning coalescing into a verdant Divine Bird in flight.
The Divine Bird, regal and commanding, ascended slowly, seemingly draining all the energy and Spiritual Qi from the city and the surrounding hundred miles.
The city itself was a marvel, its high-rises, stone towers, walls, and very earth embedded with innumerable Spirit Stones.
A torrent of spiritual energy poured into the Divine Bird. How mighty it must be!
The next moment, the Divine Bird unfurled its wings, obscuring half the sky, its radiant eyes gazing down imperiously.
The thick "Dark Ash Mist" that had enveloped the city began to thin and fade away as the Divine Bird ascended.
In an instant, the mist that had shrouded the ten miles around Luan Bird City vanished, and the sky was clear once more.
The Divine Bird, rising from the city, soared high, its wings beating against the firmament.
Under the luminous moon and sparkling stars, the Divine Bird, an eternal divine presence, cast a disdainful look upon those below with an air of untouchable arrogance.
Standing within the Evil Cauldron, Yu Yuan felt an icy chill envelop him as he gazed upon the Divine Bird. He scrutinized the creature, noting the interwoven scars on its forehead, which resembled a unique, unknown mark etched by a sharp blade. The sight of the mark sent a shiver through Yu Yuan, and his eyes widened in astonishment.
Suddenly, chaos erupted.
"Chi! Chi! Chi!"
Beams of green light burst forth from the eyes of the Divine Bird. In an instant, the Demon Generals and Demon Guards of the Devaputra Race, stationed outside Luan Bird City, were reduced to ash by the piercing green beams.
A towering figure from the Rock Clan, under the cover of night, raised his arms and bellowed, rallying the dispersed members of his tribe.
Puff!
A streak of green lightning struck, and the crimson Rock Clan member exploded into a heap of deep red pebbles. His soul was obliterated.
A monstrous black ape, its face twisted in savagery, stalked through the Dusk Dust. Clutching a delicate arm as pale as a white lotus, it savored the crunch of bone, its eyes gleaming with a brutal hunger as it sought its next victim.
Crack!
A thick bolt of green lightning, akin to a pillar of divine retribution, slammed into the crown of the ape's head. The nearly ten-meter-tall body of the Seventh Level Great Demon was consumed by the green lightning in mere moments. Comparable to a human at the Soul Wandering Stage, the formidable creature was eradicated without a trace.
Heavenly Demons, Earth Demons, otherworldly beings, and Great Demons—all became targets once the Divine Bird took to the skies.
Evil entities near Luan Bird City, struck by the relentless green lightning, perished upon contact.
"The Divine Luan ascends! The Empress reclaims her throne!"
"The Luan Bird Empress returns from beyond the heavens!"
"The Empress is back in the city!"
The streets of Luan Bird City echoed with fervent cheers.
Zu Ann, with the Skywatch Mirror in hand, stood atop the Chen family's space teleportation array. He let out a dismissive snort, his thoughts stirring the air.
Like a receding tide, the Dusk Dust swept away the Heavenly Demons, Great Demons, and malevolent creatures, retreating swiftly from the vicinity of Luan Bird City.
He seemed reluctant to directly confront the overwhelming might of the Ascension Array, unwilling to let numerous evil demons perish senselessly.
Yu Yuan, standing behind him within the Evil Cauldron, watched as vast demonic shadows and indistinct giant monsters withdrew amidst the Dusk Mist.
He instantly realized that the true powerhouses of the Devaputra Race and the fearsome giant demons were still alive.
Moreover, in the southern skies above Luan Bird City, a slender green figure stood with his hands clasped behind his back.
Bolt after bolt of green divine lightning struck only to be gently halted by a shimmering green water barrier, unable to penetrate and reach him.
"Supreme Commander of the Demon Palace, Lord Lvliu."
Even from such a distance, Yu Yuan could identify the green figure who dared to linger in the sky at this moment—the Ninth Level Great Demon who had fled from Sword Prison.
Lvliu, in human form without revealing his true demonic body, gazed towards Luan Bird City, his brow furrowed in contemplation.
After a succession of green divine lightning bolts were repelled to no effect, the Divine Bird's eyes ceased casting any unusual light.
The Divine Bird clearly recognized the futility of challenging Lvliu and conserved its energy.
Lvliu, watching the Divine Bird, let out a soft humph and spoke in the ancient tongue of the demon race, "Little one, when your Grandfather Lvliu was unrivaled beyond the heavens, you hadn't even grown your feathers."
"Lady Empress! Lady Empress!"
The cheers from Luan Bird City burst forth like a torrential flood, giving heart to all—whether surviving commoners or the disciples and elders of various sects—as the Divine Bird soared skyward.
To the north of the city, atop the space teleportation array, Zu Ann held the Skywatch Mirror and hummed lowly once more.
Whoosh!
A mysterious silhouette materialized out of thin air before Zu Ann.
She was a woman of exquisite stature, dressed in a Luan Bird robe, her head crowned with a bright silver phoenix coronet, from which a beaded curtain fell, concealing her unparalleled beauty from all eyes.
Yet, Yu Yuan, from within the Evil Cauldron, knew at first sight that she was the preeminent figure of the Profound Sky Continent—the Luan Bird Queen.
"Senior Zu Ann, what exactly do you intend to do?"
As the Luan Bird Queen began to speak, Yu Yuan, trailing behind her, felt an involuntary shiver run through his shoulders.
A scene from three hundred years ago, when he roamed the Optimus Empire, unfolded in his mind like a dust-covered scroll being gradually unfurled.
Back then, basking in adoration, he traveled on a high-tier flying spiritual artifact, harvesting herbs from the empire's renowned mountains and rivers. It was during this time that he encountered a Fourth Level Luan Bird fiercely guarding a disheveled little girl, no more than seven or eight years old.
The Luan Bird bore a similar mark on its forehead, and the girl was gravely injured, her life hanging by a thread.
As he approached the Luan Bird with his air-transportation spiritual artifact, the not yet fully sentient bird desperately flapped its wings, attacking the artifact in a bid to protect the girl.
He watched for a long moment, his heart stirred by compassion, and had someone deliver a healing pellet he had crafted himself.
After tossing the pellet to them, he didn't linger on the matter, instructing his people to restart the artifact and prepare to depart.
As the artifact powered up, the little girl, barely clinging to life, uttered a promise to repay his kindness in the future.
He merely smiled, not taking her words seriously.
After all, he was already the Sect Master of the Medicine God Sect, and the girl seemed to have barely set foot on the path of cultivation, her level too insignificant to note.
The Luan Bird was merely a Fourth Level Demonic Bird, its intelligence not yet fully developed.
But now, witnessing the Divine Bird soaring from Luan Bird City and the Luan Bird Queen, who arrived with the grace of a Yang God, he was struck by a sudden realization... Could it be that they were the injured girl and the Luan Bird from back then?
Could a Fourth Level Luan Bird have grown so powerful in over three hundred years?
Was the little girl, once on the brink of death as she embarked on her cultivation journey, now the Luan Bird Queen?
This thought caused Yu Yuan's lips to curl into a wry smile as a sense of absurdity and surreal disbelief washed over him.
The Chen family, guardians of the ascension array, held the key to the heavens, a gateway for those seeking to ascend beyond the mortal coil. The Demon Palace and Sword Prison were places of legend, where the most powerful of beings were said to dwell.
