Great Demon - Chapter 95 Part 1

The parasol tree was uprooted, with soil cascading down.

Changying released a strand of spiritual energy, enveloping the entire tree completely. With a flip of her palm, a mustard seed appeared in her hand, and in an instant, the parasol tree vanished, absorbed into the seed.

Yunshuo withdrew his hand, his fingers twitching slightly from the sudden loss of force. He lowered his gaze, took a deep breath, and hastily filled in the tree pit that was now missing its tree.

Lingyan stood beside him, unsure why this tree needed to be sent away. She furrowed her brows, but since Yunshuo remained silent, she took out a porcelain bottle and filled it with Liqueur Spring’s water.

Instantly, the spring lost more than half of its water, while the porcelain bottle became noticeably heavy.

Lingyan handed over the bottle and said, “This tree might not easily adapt after leaving Mount Danxue. This is Liqueur Spring water—once the tree is replanted, water it with this. For the first three days, water it once per day; afterward, every other day. Once the Liqueur Spring water in the bottle is used up, you can switch to another spring’s water.” She paused for a moment before adding, “If Your Divinity finds it too troublesome to care for, you may take a magpie from Mount Danxue along. These birds have lived here long enough to understand how to nurture a parasol tree.”

The trees rustled with the chirping of birds in response, and a few took flight, their wings stirring the leaves.

When Changying reached out to take the bottle, her wrist sank under the weight. She thought to herself that it truly contained half the spring’s water. Nodding, she said, “That won’t be necessary. I will tend to it myself. However, there is something I have heard.”

“What is it?” Lingyan asked.

“I’ve heard that phoenixes drink nothing but Liqueur Spring water. If deprived of it for too long, would they die of thirst?” Changying spoke in a calm but serious tone.

“They wouldn’t die of thirst, but they would be uncomfortable,” Yunshuo replied. As if something had suddenly occurred to him, he asked, “Your Divinity, would you like to taste the Liqueur Spring water as well?”

“I would.” Changying’s voice was indifferent.

The spring continued to flow ceaselessly, as though it would never dry up. Before long, the water level, which had lowered significantly, rose again to the pool’s edge.

Yunshuo said, “In that case, let’s fill another bottle for Your Divinity.”

Lingyan was slightly taken aback. She furrowed her brows but nonetheless took out another porcelain bottle and filled it with half of the spring’s water again.

The water was clear and pure, untouched by even a speck of dust despite being in the mountains. Mist curled above the surface, and faint glimmers of light danced upon it like tiny ice crystals.

As soon as the spring refilled, it was depleted once more.

Lingyan respectfully offered the porcelain bottle with both hands and said, “Your Divinity, Liqueur Spring water can be consumed daily—it is even sweeter than Longjing tea.”

Changying placed the bottle into the mustard seed storage as well. After a brief silence, she stiffly said, “Thank you.”

Yunshuo was momentarily stunned. He had not expected the Divine Venerable to thank him, and for a moment, he was at a loss for how to respond.

“If Your Divinity ever has need of it, you may come to Mount Danxue at any time to retrieve more Liqueur Spring water,” Lingyan said. She hesitated slightly before adding, “In the future, when the qingluan ascends to the throne, I am certain they will say the same.”

A change in rulership at Mount Danxue was inevitable. But as it was for the sake of the Phoenix Clan and the Nine Heavens, Lingyan held no resentment.

Yunshuo’s gaze darkened. “Unfortunately, compared to the Heavenly Palace, Mount Danxue is rather barren. We have little with which to properly host Your Divinity.”

“There is no need for hospitality.” Changying cast him a sidelong glance. “I have lingered too long—I should be going.”

“No intrusion at all. It is an honor for the Phoenix Clan that the Divine Venerable would come.” Yunshuo cupped his hands in a respectful gesture.

Changying rested a hand on a smaller parasol tree beside her, her expression dimming. “I fear I must descend to the Mortal Realm. If I arrive too late, another incident like the burning of the Observatory Pavilion may happen again.”

Yunshuo had heard of the fire at Observatory Pavilion, but he had not known that the truth of the matter was different from what he had been told. “I heard that the pavilion collapsed due to age, which caused the Divine Sun flames to fall.”

Changying’s golden eyes lifted, and she let out a light scoff. “A mere excuse.”

“Could it be… the Devil Lord Guanshang…?” Yunshuo’s pupils contracted sharply.

Lingyan hurriedly tugged at his sleeve upon hearing the name, her brows knitted in worry.

Changying shot him a warning glare and said coldly, “I cannot say for certain right now. But the Nine Heavens has long been caught in his web. This scheme dates back over a thousand years. Do not spread word of this, and there is no need to inform the Heavenly Emperor.”

“The Heavenly Emperor doesn’t know?” Yunshuo was taken aback.

“I suspect he does,” Changying replied indifferently. “But he has his own concerns, as do I. Guanshang holds more pieces in his hand than the Nine Heavens does. We must act with caution.”

Yunshuo quickly bowed and asked no further questions.

Changying gave the phoenixes couple before her a slight nod before stepping into the wind. In an instant, she transformed into an Obsidian Dragon, her form as dark as flowing ink, and was swiftly swept away by the wind, vanishing from sight.

By the Liqueur Spring, Lingyan gazed skyward. Where there had once been dense green foliage, a bare patch now remained. She felt a pang of inexplicable sorrow and furrowed her brows. “Why would a divine dragon need to rest in a parasol tree?”

“A divine dragon does not, but a Vermillion Phoenix does,” Yunshuo said quietly. He suddenly smacked his forehead and muttered, “I nearly forgot something.”

Lingyan did not understand. She frowned and asked, “Do you mean Her Divinity has past dealings with that person?”

“The Divine Venerable desires nothing. Since returning to the Nine Heavens, she has never asked for anything. Do you think, given her aloof and indifferent nature, she would request a parasol tree that serves no purpose for her?” Yunshuo shook his head slightly and retrieved a wooden box carved with the image of a phoenix.

The box was about the length of his forearm, intricately engraved with fine patterns, and secured with a small lock.

Lingyan knew that the Divine Venerable indeed seemed to be without desire. A parasol tree was meaningless to her—divine dragons could slumber among the clouds; they had no need for trees. A dragon coiled around a tree would only seem out of place.

She watched as Yunshuo took out the wooden box, momentarily stunned. “What is that?”

“I had originally planned to give this to Her Divinity… but I forgot,” Yunshuo sighed. With his frail and scholarly appearance, his sigh made him seem like a failed scholar from the Mortal Realm.

Lingyan raised her hand and placed her palm over the wooden box. “This is… the fledgling feathers she shed in the past.”

Yunshuo gave a slight nod. He had only just touched the small lock, barely two fingers wide, when it clicked open with a crisp sound.

Lifting the wooden box’s lid, he found inside layers upon layers of feathers, each one carefully collected. They were still tender, bright crimson in color, though their radiance had dimmed somewhat after shedding, as the phoenix fire that once coated them had fully extinguished.

“Why do you wish to hand this over to the Divine Venerable?” Lingyan asked.

“It should be returned to its rightful owner.” Yunshuo closed the wooden box. “And those two jars of Liqueur Spring water—who do you think they’ll end up with?”

Lingyan pursed her lips and remained silent.

“That person will not stand with the Devil Lord, but I don’t expect her to return to the Nine Heavens either. That parasol tree was meant for her from the start. It is only fitting, in both sentiment and reason, that the Divine Venerable delivers it. And as for the Liqueur Spring water, naturally, it is for her as well,” Yunshuo said indifferently.

Lingyan’s tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed. “At first, I truly thought you were planning to give the parasol tree to the Divine Venerable. I’ve never heard of a dragon roosting in a parasol tree before.”

“When the Divine Venerable asked just now, wasn’t it precisely to claim the parasol tree and the Liqueur Spring water on her behalf?” Yunshuo shook his head slightly, lowering his gaze to the wooden box in his hands. “This box, it seems, will have to be returned another day.”

Lingyan nodded, sighing inwardly. She had never expected the ancient god’s reincarnation to appear within her own clan, nor had she anticipated that even Guanshang had set his sights on the Phoenix Clan. If this was that person’s tribulation, then it was also the Phoenix Clan’s tribulation. Otherwise, how could things have come to such a state?

A phoenix does not bear its young as mortals do, through ten months of pregnancy. Instead, it lays an egg, which Yunshuo then nurtures with his spiritual power and phoenix fire, allowing the chick to hatch. Because of this, Yunshuo’s bond with the young was always deeper than hers. He even collected the feathers they shed as fledglings, whereas she had only briefly considered keeping them.

It wasn’t that she had no feelings for Zhuyou—she simply didn’t dare acknowledge herself as the birth mother of the ancient god’s reincarnated body. It was the ancient god who chose the Phoenix Clan, yet the Phoenix Clan had failed the ancient god.

Thinking back, whether it was Zhuyou or Jingyi, she had always been harsh and never showed favoritism. Now, uncertainty clouded her heart—she no longer knew whether she had been right or wrong.

Yunshuo put away the intricately carved wooden box and sighed. “Some things, unfortunately, cannot be returned.”

Lingyan understood what he was referring to—the immortal bone that had been extracted from Zhuyou and the piece of Burning-Heart Wood that had been stolen by Jingyi. She shook her head slightly, frowning as she asked, “What did you say to the Divine Venerable earlier at the mountaintop?”

“Old matters,” Yunshuo replied.

“What old matters?” Lingyan pressed.

“I promised the Divine Venerable not to mention it to anyone else.” Yunshuo’s gaze darkened.

Lingyan understood and asked no further.