Blue Phoenix

"Are you saying that the Frozen General is in town?" Hui Yue asked Gao Yan excitedly, and the older man nodded his head but had a frown on his face.

"Yes, he has arrived in the city, but it seems that he is waiting for something. He sent an expert to wait outside Zhong Hei's rooms, and he waited there for almost eleven days. It was not until today that Zhong Hei emerged and when he did, the two instantly vanished from here. I am sure they were headed towards Zhong Fai."

"Zhong Fai has rented the entire Prince of Taiyang's Inn. It is one of the more upscale inns in the city, and the whole inn has been closed for at least eleven days now. The servants say it’s rented out for at least two weeks."

"They also said that there is a snake-woman with the lord who rented out the inn, but she is in no way a prisoner. She orders the lifeless experts around, and they follow her commands. When she is not training or resting, she is in the chamber with Zhong Fai conversing about various topics. She seems to be in good spirits and a good mood." Gao Yan continued. The info he had obtained was almost unbelievable to him, but when Hui Yue heard it, he was stunned at first yet moments after he started laughing.

His laughter grew louder and louder until Gao Yan was worried if he was ok. Hui Yue had finally understood the situation.

"The Frozen General has never been interested in the items from the Alchemist Guild." He said as his laughter stalled some. "It was never his intention to get his hands on such items. The only thing he wanted was to give me a test he believed I could win."

"He never intended to kill Sha Yun, nor was he interested in harming her at all. She was his prisoner, but more than that she was just a way for him to get into contact with me and a way to gain someone who was by my side. I would bet my Silvermoon’s Pill formula that she has been treated perfectly well this whole time and that a genuine friendship has grown between them." He continued and his words, although shocking to Gao Yan, made some sense. He was the Frozen General, had he truly wanted the items from the Alchemist Guild then he would be able to get them without any trouble.

Shaking his head at himself, he understood that had he been thinking clearly earlier then he would have understood such simple facts, but he had been blinded by Zhong Hei's killing intent, and seriously believed that Sha Yun was in danger.

"Although I am glad to hear that Sha Yun is in no danger, I am sorry that they tricked you." Gao Yan said tentatively, uncertain as to how Hui Yue would react to this but the young man just shrugged his shoulders.

"I would rather be tricked day in and day out than have my friends in genuine danger." He said seriously. Although he felt slightly annoyed with himself, more than anything he was relieved. Sha Yun had not lived her life as a prisoner in some frozen mansion. She had not been under constant supervision, nor had she been mistreated. If anything, this realization was without a doubt the best news he could have gotten.

"Well considering that Sha Yun is being treated as well she is, there is no reason for me to rush to the inn where they are. I believe that Zhong Fai needs me for something specific." Hui Yue mused out loud. "And if he does need me for something, then he will come to find me. If he does not, then, it makes no sense for him to have gone through all this trouble to try and find some common ground between the two of us."

"I think you are probably correct." Gao Yan nodded, "but even so, I will keep having the servants observe the inn. On another note, Deng Wu told me he would give me his entire savings if I managed to figure out how the Frozen General controls his lifeless army. They are clearly dead but still alive. It is truly mysterious." Gao Yan continued, and Hui Yue nodded his head. He too was curious about these lifeless experts. They had a different feel than Crusaders, but they were not any more alive than aforementioned cloak wearing undead.

"I guess I could ask him directly." Hui Yue said half-joking half-serious. "I mean, if he wants my help, he should be willing to help me in return. Increasing Deng Wu's strength is without a doubt a good reward for my help. Although I am strong, I know that alone I will never be able to get what I want. Facing his Generals, I know that I too will need my friends to help. Therefore helping my friends gain strength is the same as gaining strength myself." Hui Yue said, for the first time voicing his own thoughts.

"I will help you as much as I can." Gao Yan said with a smile on his face. "I would love to become stronger as well and take a more active role, but at my current level of cultivation to cultivate to the God rank would really take a long time. I need to work harder. Although my talent is decent, there is still a massive divide between my current King rank and the Saint rank. Even Lao is further down his path of cultivation than I am... I fear that he will pull ahead further and further while I am stuck way behind." Gao Yan said with a shake of his head, and Hui Yue could not help but nod. He was already aware of this.

"It’s not only you," Hui Yue said with a sigh. "The Rong twins have found something more important to them than cultivating. I would never ask them to stop doing what they love for the sake of fighting by my side. Instead, I wish for them to be happy. I want them to lead a good life and do as they please."

"Deng Wu, Wang Ju Long, Sha Yun, Lao, and Jo will be the ones who join me on my path down the road I have chosen," Hui Yue said with a smile. "I have some Saints who owe me favors. If they ever reach the God rank, then they I will drag them with me to help."

"Do not worry about me; I believe that as long as I have my family by my side and my good friends for support, then I will never lose!"

Hearing Hui Yue, Gao Yan felt warmth in his heart. He owed Hui Yue far more than anyone else, but even so, Hui Yue did not rush him to cultivate so that he could support him. Instead, he allowed for Gao Yan to live out his dream of controlling information. He was truly grateful.

"It seems like I will also have the likes of the Frozen General owing me a favor as well." Hui Yue joked, and Gao Yan smiled too.

"Well, thank you for the information." Hui Yue changed the subject and nodded to Gao Yan before he got ready to leave. He felt as though a large stone had been lifted from him as he moved back home to his inn. A large smile was on his lips, and a small whistle could be heard.

Arriving home, everyone could feel a great change in the master of the mansion. He was smiling and welcoming everyone; he was willing to assist anyone who had questions and was in no hurry as he spent some time trying to teach Lao some cultivation tips.

Seeing the sudden change in Hui Yue's mood, everyone who knew about Sha Yun was aware that something good had happened. However, no one wished to ask, instead, they all just waited for Hui Yue to say something on his own, but he did not.

Two days went by while Hui Yue was in a great mood. He spent the entire time cultivating and concocting medicinal pills. Many of the pills he made were made from formulas he had created after contemplating on the many formulas he already had for a long time.

The pills he was making were equal to the pill Zhong Hei had produced in the alchemist’s contest. They allowed for a cultivator to skip a level, but Hui Yue's real goal was not to create pills equal to this, his goal was to create a Silvermoon's Pill from the herbs of this world. Unfortunately, it seemed a lot harder than he had originally assumed.

Finally, after having waited day in and day out a party of guests finally arrived at the front door of Hui Yue's mansion. Within this group were Zhong Fai and Sha Yun leading a total of ten lifeless experts.

The guards outside the mansion shuddered, and all of them felt a bone-chilling cold penetrate their bodies as these lifeless experts moved past them. They could not help but feel uncomfortable. In spite of this, they knew that this group of experts were Hui Yue's important guests, and since they had been treated perfectly by their current employer, they would do what they could to fulfill their task as guards.

"Zhong Fai, Yun." Hui Yue called out as he walked down the set of stairs and looked at the group which had just entered the mansion. Zhong Hei was not a part of the group, but the ten lifeless experts all stood behind the two.

Hearing their names being called both Sha Yun and Zhong Fai smiled. Zhong Fai looked at Hui Yue, clearly looking to see the changes he had undergone since their last meeting within the Dungeons of the Divine.

It had been quite some time, and by now Hui Yue was no longer a juvenile but instead a young man with quite some strength behind him.

"Let’s go to the library and talk." Hui Yue said with a smile, and a look of relief appeared on Zhong Fai's face.

Together the three moved to a small library where no one could hear what was said. Hui Yue had personally inscribed inscriptions and runes all over the room. These were runes and inscriptions he had found in the Universe Box. Hui Yue ensured that it was impossible for anyone to eavesdrop on the conversation within.

"So why go to such extremes as kidnapping Yun?" Hui Yue asked as they sat down looking at the drinks and food that had been delivered earlier.

Looking at Hui Yue, Zhong Fai realized that the young man had guessed his true intentions and he shrugged his shoulders with an apologetic smile.

"I apologize, but I needed at least one of your friends hear my case. Our current relationship can be considered somewhat strained, but I am really not a bad guy." He said with a sigh.

"Well, beating around the bush does nothing. I am here because I need you to help me get the Formation of Life. To become a God, my own cultivation is not enough. Looking at me, what you see is a young man. However, my real form is quite different; truthfully I am an Ice-Serpent from the Southern Seas. The Ice-Serpent is a divine beast much like the four divine beasts and their descendants. Unfortunately, there has never been an Ice-Serpent which managed to grow stronger than a Saint ranked beast, it is as though we are incapable of becoming Gods."

"I have been waiting year after year, looking for a way for me to become a God. At first, I found nothing on the subject, but after reading scroll after scroll and book after book, I realized that the four divine beasts left behind the Formation of Life."