Imperial God Emperor

Ye Qingyu seemed deep in thought as he looked at the old parasol tree and the giant nest.

He suddenly gained a little understanding of the Celestial Phoenix Maiden's reason for coming here.

The Phoenix Parasol.

Legend had it that the Phoenixes were a divine bird species which came into being together with the fiendgods at the creation of the universe, and were considered to be the king of all birds. Meanwhile, parasol trees, which grew on hills facing the eastern sun, represented sanctity and elegance and were called the king of forest trees since ancient times.

Therefore, a Phoenix must fall on a parasol tree to attain nirvana.

In other words, Phoenixes could only attain nirvana and cultivate magical ability if they fall on a parasol tree with an ancient Phoenix nest. However, for millions of years, fiendgods had already died off and the universe had become contaminated, such that everything in the universe lost their purity and there was no longer the presence of Phoenix nests in the outside world.

This was the reason why although the later generations of the Phoenix Race were notably powerful and were, at present, one of the super forces in the Vast Thousand Domains, they could never produce a Quasi-emperor who possessed a Magical Great Dao.

The common people thus had no chance to see the strange sight of a Phoenix rising from the ashes.

Ye Qingyu had acquired an understanding of this because he had read about it in a few wooden scrolls which gave an account of the Fiendgod Age.

Is it possible that the Celestial Phoenix Maiden entered the 18th district all because of this parasol tree and its nest?

Has she... come to attain nirvana?

Ye Qingyu was enlightened.

Upon careful examination, he further discovered that although the parasol tree could not look more ordinary at first glance, it was actually distinct from typical parasol trees. The base of its trunk seemed withered while its bark was heavily mottled and ravined, and under the sun, it gave off a strange glow of metallic texture. It appeared so old that it must have been through tens of millions of years of petrifaction, just like a desert poplar forest, and seemed to have been growing here ever since the birth of this plane.

In addition, the Phoenix nest which hid atop its crown appeared even more peculiar. Although it seemed like a messy pile of withered branches, it possessed great aesthetic beauty. Each branch contained a strange golden luster and looked even older than the trunk, and thus was ostensibly not an ordinary branch.

It appeared that this parasol tree and Phoenix nest had been around for countless years and had experienced many vicissitudes.

Perhaps, using a million-year-old veteran tree and Phoenix nest to attain nirvana in such a primeval plane would have an even more magical effect than elsewhere.

The Phoenix Race must have sent the maiden into the Door of Life so as to find this parasol tree.

Ye Qingyu finally understood.

As he continued to look up and down the Phoenix nest with curious eyes, the Celestial Phoenix Maiden had already walked under the parasol tree without prompting.

She raised her head slightly.

Beneath the Phoenix mask, there was piety in her eyes as she looked up at the Phoenix nest among the treetop.

Her fair and exquisite long neck emitted a jade-smooth sheen while on her golden mask circulated a faint layer of golden halo. Backdropped by her purple battle garments, she acquired an ever more otherworldly fairy-like spirit.

She kneeled down gently and prayed devoutly.

She then opened her mouth and chanted.

An ancient, pleasant voice which sounded like a long Phoenix cry, was issued from beneath the Phoenix mask. After sweeping across the hills, the entire land, and the sky, it finally arrived in front of the parasol tree.

Hoo loo loo!

A wind seemed to be blowing.

As if resurrected, the Phoenix Parasol emitted a joyous consciousness. Its withered branches swayed and rustled as the metallic glow on them became more vivid. In particular, the budding branches atop the tree emitted bouts of intimate and jubilant consciousness, much like the heartfelt sincerity of a mother who finally found her lost child.

Ye Qingyu was amazed like never before as he watched on.

His guess was indeed right.

The origin of this parasol tree was probably not simple.

Next moment.

The Celestial Phoenix Maiden stood up.

She turned her head back to look at Ye Qingyu with eye beams as pure as a late-autumn mountain spring. It was to be a long while before she opened her mouth and exhaled an orchid-fragrant breath, saying, "Can I trust you?"

Smiling, Ye Qingyu nodded.

"Alright, then protect me for four hours."

Her voice remained chilly but was no longer indifferent and distant.

Subsequently, she flew up and floated adroitly in the air as her purple battle garments fluttered in the wind. Accompanied by the cheerful rustling noises of the parasol tree branches, she gently landed in the Phoenix nest on the treetop, resembling a transcendental fairy of ice-like clarity and jade-like pureness.

Ye Qingyu was a little dazed during that moment.

Atop the veteran tree.

After the purple-robed fairy sat down cross-legged in the Phoenix nest.

With her back facing Ye Qingyu, she took off the Phoenix mask she had been wearing along, then opened her palm to take the golden Phoenix, which had absorbed the world primeval power, and placed it on the nest.

A strange sight came into view instantly.

As soon as it was placed on the nest, the golden Phoenix turned into a ball of golden blazing flames which wrapped all around the Celestial Phoenix Maiden.

Boom!

The golden flames swelled violently.

Strangely, although this mysterious ball of golden flames was blazing, it did not begin to burn the dead branches as regular flames would, and even the buds near to the nest showed no signs of being burned. It was as if these crazy flames which licked at their surroundings were actually a gentle breeze brushing past the branches and leaves.

Moreover, those budding branches were not only not scorched or withered by the golden flames, but even appeared to be showered by a timely rain. The buds on them thereafter grew insanely in numbers and bloomed rapidly.

The Celestial Phoenix Maiden sat quietly in the midst of the golden flames.

Closing both eyes, she seemed as calm as having entered a trance, and began to chant some sort of battle song. The surrounding power of the world surged frenziedly and gathered onto the parasol tree while bringing along clouds of gas. Those purple battle garments were lifted by the momentum of fire and wind such that they began to flutter, accompanied by her long hair which could pass for a cascade of flowing light.

Shortly after, a scene that astonished Ye Qingyu even more appeared.

Bathed in golden flames, the Celestial Phoenix Maiden's entire body gradually emitted an extremely gorgeous rainbow mist which was as sparkling and smooth as lapis, and which slowly condensed into a giant egg shape that wrapped around her body.

These flames raged on for slightly short of an hour.

They then died out gradually.

When Ye Qingyu looked carefully, he saw that the rainbow mist had condensed into a giant egg shape, which emitted an irresistible and extremely old power, and encapsulated the Celestial Phoenix Maiden.

Flowing light gleamed.

The Celestial Phoenix Maiden constantly disappeared and reappeared, and presented a strange, near-transparent form.

Below her, the ancient parasol tree, too, drew streams of power from the withered branches. Giving off a sacred radiance, it lifted up the giant egg in the Phoenix nest and allowed rays of splendor to continually surge into the giant egg.

Approximately thirty minutes later, the originally-faintly-transparent golden egg gradually became substantial, with its jade-like surface giving off a golden brilliance.

Underneath the parasol tree.

Ye Qingyu had fallen completely into a slump as he looked up at the giant egg and its chromatic flowing light.

This was the first time in his life witnessing the sight of a Phoenix attaining nirvana, something he thought only belonged in scrolls and records.

At the same time, he understood that these four hours could be considered the most perilous and critical time for the Celestial Phoenix Maiden.

If she succeeded, she would attain a Great Dao.

If she failed, her future would be completely destroyed.

She actually thought it wise to entrust her safety during these four hours to me. Has she already forgotten how my arms were fractured by Lu Li's black claws?

But, given the situation, I guess she had no other choice but for me to protect her.

After walking below the parasol tree, he cautiously released his divine sense to observe the surroundings, with his expression grim like never before.

Although there was temporarily no movement of murderous spirit or breath of other experts within one hundred kilometers of them, he was certain that they were not alone in this seemingly-peaceful fiendgod plane.

Earlier on, Lu Li was but an appetizer to kick things off, while even more terrifying murderous spirits lurked nearby.

During the subsequent time.

Ye Qingyu's figure flickered non-stop.

He rapidly walked along a circumference of approximately one hundred kilometers around the parasol tree to set up a few defensive formations which could provide alerts and protection at critical moments.

While in the Heaven Wasteland Domain, he had learned to use several highly-protective formations from the [Fiendgod Titled Chart], and later on received a large number of rune records from the suspicious palace of the Formation Emperor Luoso. Although many of the recorded runes and formations could no longer be extensively used in the Vast Thousand Domains due to the great universal changes that had taken place, they could be operated very smoothly in this piece of the fiendgod world.

These formations would become even more powerful with the addition of the purest world yuan qi from the plane of the Fiendgod Age.

After examining every formation carefully one more time to ensure no errors, Ye Qingyu returned below the parasol tree and sat cross-legged.

His long hair fluttered in the wind while his clothes wobbled gently.

There was neither joy nor sorrow on his face, which was instead as solemn and mild as that of a meditating old monk.

He operated the nameless breathing technique.

He focused his attention and quietened his breath as he became one with his yuan qi.

His consciousness power dispersed and shrouded the Void all around him like a tide, instantly spreading out a hundred kilometers.

His release of consciousness power was, on one hand, to more acutely perceive any movement within a hundred kilometers, so as to prevent a surprise attack.

On the other hand, since he had the good fortune of coming to a plane of the Fiendgod Age, he naturally did not want to miss out on this excellent opportunity to comprehend the powers of laws of this world.

An Immortal Step realm martial expert must knock on the Immortal gate to become a Saint.

And the only way to knock on the Immortal gate was to comprehend the laws of the universe.

Only after grasping the hidden laws of the universe and adopting the purest wisp of Immortal qi among the laws would one be truly able to knock on the Immortal gate and become a Saint overnight.

At present, all things of the outside world were no longer pure, and the contamination was becoming more and more serious. Naturally, the powers of laws was thus becoming fuzzier as well. This undoubtedly made becoming a Saint more difficult for experts who wanted to knock on the Immortal gate.

However, in this primeval world of the Fiendgod Age, the powers of laws could not be any clearer and purer. With all of the connections and lines so close at hand, it was relatively a lot easier to understand the meaning within a strand of natural law.