The Phoenix Nest and the Ambush on the Ancient Road

Two streams of five-colored light shot down, sweeping Keke and the Little Defiant Dragon into the air. Radiance flashed as the two little beasts were tossed into the Phoenix Nest.

"Please, Phoenix Saintess, spare them," Xiao Chen said. He wanted to leave this place, taking the two little beasts with him.

But the Phoenix Maiden clearly had other plans. Her voice was no longer cold, but as pleasant as celestial music: "Wait here a while. For the sake of the sacred race, I must chastise them properly, or they will surely suffer great losses one day."

Her so-called "chastisement" left Xiao Chen dumbfounded—it nearly made Keke and the Little Defiant Dragon spit blood. The two little creatures rolled their eyes in fury. The Phoenix Maiden actually wanted them to use their primal strength to incubate the Phoenix Egg!

Hatch an egg! The two little beasts were furious in an instant—they were beings who dared to challenge the heavens!

They wanted to smash the Phoenix Egg then and there, but divine power sealed it beyond their reach. Instead, the power they released was absorbed by the egg, indirectly incubating it.

Enraged, the two little beasts cried out loudly.

Immortal mist shimmered as the Phoenix Saintess lightly moved her divine wings. A floating island appeared out of thin air—a paradise covered in exotic blossoms and jade grass, where cranes danced and white apes frolicked. Pavilions, bridges, and flowing water made it seem like a heavenly realm.

The holy floating island, glowing with faint light, hovered near the Phoenix Nest. The Phoenix Saintess turned and flew toward it, her form transforming into a graceful girl before she set foot on the island. Xiao Chen could not see her face, only a beautiful, ethereal figure fading into the distance.

For the first time, the two pitiful little creatures were so thoroughly subdued, yet they had no recourse. The sacred Phoenix's primal power bound them; they could not even flee the nest. They had to constantly circulate their hidden primal strength to resist the oppressive light, which would shrink and crush them if they stopped. The radiance they leaked swirled through the nest and surged toward the colorful egg, indirectly incubating it.

The two little beasts were deeply frustrated but had no choice but to follow the flow.

Xiao Chen was shocked. The Phoenix Nest was far more complex than it appeared. It had integrated ancient, unfathomable formations. Woven entirely from the finest spiritual essences of heaven and earth, its purpose was to gather even more spiritual energy.

After watching for a while, Xiao Chen began to grasp its mysteries. The golden ginseng kings and thousand-year lingzhi hanging in the nest were still alive, absorbing sunlight, moonlight, and starlight amid the celestial essence, endlessly sending vitality toward the Phoenix Egg.

The Phoenix Nest was a true treasure for gathering heaven-and-earth spiritual energy!

After observing for an entire day, Xiao Chen's conjecture was confirmed. Sunlight, moonlight, and the essence of plants surged in like water, along with powerful vitality from the earth's spiritual roots. The most striking phenomenon occurred at night—a brilliant stream of starlight descended from the heavens, gathering upon the Phoenix Nest and making it shine like a bright moon.

Ten days passed. The three skeletons sat silently under the parasol tree cultivating, while Xiao Chen trained atop the phoenix tree, a perfect place for cultivation with its rich spiritual energy.

The two little beasts had long lost their temper, truly cowed by the Phoenix Saintess. Incubating an egg by proxy was torture, even if it resembled cultivation. They wished only to escape.

During this time, the floating island appeared and disappeared, its position never fixed, drifting like a moving cloud over a span of dozens of li.

Xiao Chen was deeply astonished. The Phoenix Saintess's cultivation was terrifying; he could not fathom her true power.

On the fifteenth day, the Phoenix Maiden flew out of the island, transforming into a phoenix from a distance. With a flash of light, she appeared atop the nest, smiling mischievously: "Are you two little runts convinced yet?"

Her voice was clear and melodious, but to the two little beasts, it sounded like the devil's smile. They hurriedly nodded in unison, no longer daring to show temper.

"That's more like it. Hehe."

With a flash of five-colored radiance, Keke and the Little Defiant Dragon were swept back to the ground, released from the light.

"Eh..." The Phoenix Maiden noticed that the colorful Phoenix Egg was pulsing with a strong, healthy life-force, beyond her expectations. She looked at the two little beasts on the ground. "I almost misjudged you. Hmm, you are more extraordinary than I thought. Could you be..."

The two little beasts ignored her, wanting nothing but to flee. But Xiao Chen listened intently, hoping to learn the true identities of Keke and the Little Defiant Dragon. The Phoenix Saintess frowned, unable to confirm her suspicion, saying nothing. Instead, she noticed the dim little tree on Keke's head.

Five-colored light flickered, and the small tree flew into the air. The Phoenix Saintess gently spread her divine wings, sending forth a wave of holy light that enveloped the tree. Instantly, seven-colored divine radiance burst forth, its leaves of ink-jade, white jade, emerald jade, and golden jade blazing with brilliance.

"Ah..." The Phoenix Maiden cried out in surprise for the first time. "Is this... the rebirth of the legendary Sacred Tree?" She was clearly shocked.

Just as Keke was about to panic, she swiftly sent the Little Sacred Tree back, as if deeply wary. The snow-white little beast was bewildered, thinking the mighty robber was about to plunder its treasure, only to have it returned.

"You may leave," the Phoenix Maiden said, as if unwilling to keep them any longer.

Xiao Chen spoke: "Please, Phoenix Saintess, show us the way. We wish to go to the Heavenly Emperor City, but we are lost in the Southern Wastes."

"Very well. I will send you to the ancient road." But then she frowned again, murmuring to herself, "This time, I truly underestimated you." She turned away from the two little beasts and faced Xiao Chen. "Show me the sacred cloth you carry."

The burial shroud had no life-force, yet the Phoenix Saintess had sensed it—a truly divine cultivation. Xiao Chen produced it and flicked his wrist; the cloth shot into the sky like a beam of light.

The Phoenix Maiden took it, examined it, and returned it without a word.

Suddenly, thousands of auspicious rays enveloped Xiao Chen and his companions. The wind howled past their ears, and half an hour later, they landed on a broken ancient road.

A single beautiful phoenix feather drifted down from the sky, landing in Xiao Chen's hand. It pulsed with a gentle luster, as if alive, and a faint fragrance wafted from it.

"I delayed your journey. Accept this feather as compensation."

The heavenly voice descended from above. As the Phoenix Saintess turned, she transformed into a dreamlike girl, her backview ethereal and otherworldly, before vanishing into the distance.

Keke stared longingly at the Phoenix Saintess's retreating figure, deeply disappointed that her heavenly treasures had not been returned. She mumbled a few 'ya-ya' sounds at the five-colored feather in Xiao Chen's hand, as if protesting the unfairness.

Xiao Chen fell into thought.

Three days later, Xiao Chen and his group were already hundreds of li away. Their speed was not particularly fast, mainly because they were in no hurry. Along the way, they had to let the Little Defiant Dragon go into the wild forests to fight savage beasts, and wait for Keke to run off in search of spirit herbs.

But this leisurely pace was soon broken. Now eight hundred li from the Heavenly Emperor City, the Little Defiant Dragon let out an angry roar from the dense forest ahead, as if facing great danger. Xiao Chen rushed forward, assuming it had encountered a powerful alien beast.

As he approached the forest, he discarded that thought. He saw five young cultivators surrounding the Little Defiant Dragon in attack.

This was a team of experts. Three women were spiritists, floating in the air and casting beams of divine light to trap the little dragon, slowing its movements. On the ground, two others attacked without restraint, leaving the dragon battered and bleeding.

Mortal-Shedding Second Heaven! Mortal-Shedding Sixth Heaven!

Xiao Chen was startled. Among the five young people, the lowest was at the Second Heaven of Mortal-Shedding, while one had reached the Sixth Heaven—an absolute expert among the young. No wonder they could stop the Little Defiant Dragon and make its invulnerable body bleed.

Xiao Chen shot forward like lightning, leaving an afterimage in the dense trees. He raised his hand in a blade strike, like a thunderbolt sweeping through the forest. Blinding light shattered trees as a great gale howled.

His cultivation at the peak of the Eighth Heaven of Mortal-Shedding was unquestionable!

In that instant, he shattered the light barrier, rescuing the blood-soaked Little Defiant Dragon from danger.

Xiao Chen stood in the clearing, protecting the little dragon, his tall figure immovable, his gaze fixed on the intruders.

The sudden arrival astonished the five cultivators.

"Who are you? Mind your own business!" The man in the lead seemed displeased, glaring at Xiao Chen with irritation.

Xiao Chen studied him. The man appeared to be the leader, but his cultivation was only at the Third Heaven of Mortal-Shedding—not the strongest among them, as there was a Sixth Heaven expert nearby.

"I think there's a misunderstanding," Xiao Chen said after a moment's thought. "This battle-beast is my companion, not a wild beast from the forest. I hope you can spare it."

The same young man sneered, "A companion? Hah!" His tone was arrogant, showing no regard for Xiao Chen. "This is a battle-beast I've set my sights on—a masterless beast from the wilderness. It belongs to me!"

Xiao Chen said nothing at first, but his mind was already calculating. If conflict broke out, could he annihilate them all? These people were so arrogant they must have a significant background, and their overbearing attitude made a peaceful resolution seem impossible.