Mahayana 114
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Chapter 114: Turmoil at Golden Rooster Mountain. The Trouble Caused by the Immortal Bird’s Source Blood
TL : Cnine
ED/PF :
Part 1
Without pausing for even a second, the two charged straight into Golden Rooster Ridge, with a swarm of frenzied hounds howling madly at their heels.
The instant they crossed into Golden Rooster Mountain, the wild dogs in pursuit skidded to a halt, refusing to take even one more step forward. Clearly, this land was governed by strict territorial lines.
“Senior Sister, hurry and deploy your defensive treasures. Watch out for the Golden Roosters of this mountain,” Xiao Yifeng called out anxiously.
Su Miaoqing paused, then swiftly enveloped herself in talismans and magic artefacts, layers of light and power encasing her until she looked utterly untouchable.
Xiao Yifeng mirrored her movements with calm efficiency, arming himself step by step. Only when they were both fully prepared did they ascend the mountain.
But as they flew up from the foothills, an unsettling stillness greeted them. The calm was too perfect, and Su Miaoqing felt a quiet unease creep into her heart.
Just as they reached the halfway point up the mountain, a single shrill crow rang out, and it was as if someone had smashed a hornets’ nest.
The entire mountain came alive in an instant, rooster cries exploding from every direction.
The cries carried a hint of mental assault, stabbing at their eardrums until they throbbed with pain, and sending sharp pangs through their heads.
Su Miaoqing instinctively clutched her ears. Xiao Yifeng was equally startled. What was going on? It was as though the whole of Golden Rooster Mountain had gone into a frenzy.
Then the sky filled. From cave after cave carved into the mountain, countless gigantic roosters surged forth, wings beating as they took flight.
Those roosters looked nothing like common chickens. Every one of them was gigantic, the size of a calf, their bodies drenched in deep crimson.
Hideous, flame-red combs crowned their heads, while long, hooked beaks curved sharply like those of birds of prey.
Their wings were vast and unnaturally long, yet their bodies were patchy and bare, almost completely devoid of feathers. Golden, bulging eyes glared fiercely, and long tail plumes dragged behind them.
When they spread their wings, their bellies were revealed to be hollow and skeletal, like those of starving dogs, with no flesh remaining, only bone.
Their burning gazes fixed on the two intruders, as though they had found an incomparable feast. With shrill cries, they launched themselves into the air, swarming forward and blotting out the sky.
Xiao Yifeng and Su Miaoqing shot into the air, but these golden roosters were nothing like the savage dogs below. Not only could they fly, their speed was terrifyingly fast, utterly unlike mortal chickens.
The monstrous birds clung tightly to their tails, while countless more surged forward to block their path.
In the blink of an eye, the two found themselves with nowhere to escape, trapped within a dense ring of golden roosters.
Su Miaoqing let out a clear, piercing cry. Her hands moved ceaselessly, weaving seals as crimson flames wrapped around her body.
A phoenix’s cry echoed through the air. From her form, a giant phoenix soared forth, circling her as it carried her skyward, blasting aside every golden rooster that dared approach.
If anyone else witnessed how effortlessly she unleashed fire techniques, they would be utterly stunned. Yet Xiao Yifeng knew the truth. This was the talent Su Miaoqing had awakened when she broke through to the Foundation Establishment realm: the Fire Phoenix Body.
Normally, cultivators kept their innate talents secret, revealing them only if forced to. Su Miaoqing, however, had willingly confided in Xiao Yifeng during their travels.
Her Fire Phoenix Body was no exaggeration. She was born in harmony with the Dao of fire, possessing a phoenix-like constitution.
Her fire-based techniques and her absorption of fire-aspected spiritual energy were more than three times faster than those of others. She could truly cast fire spells in an instant.
Her fire-based techniques and her absorption of spiritual energy with fire attribute was more than three times faster than those of others. She could truly cast fire spells in an instant.
Such an improvement might seem minor at first glance. Yet as her realm reached higher level, this advantage would became more and more significant.
This was no mere affinity for fire. It was a gift that stood at the summit of mortal talent, a blazing crown among Foundation Establishment physiques. Compared to it, Xiao Yifeng’s Quadruple Resonance was nothing more than a decorative trinket.
The vision at the Three Lives Stone had revealed the truth. Su Miaoqing’s strength was not an accident of fate, but an inheritance written across lifetimes.
Now, with the Immortal Phoenix’s source blood flowing through her veins, that inheritance was awakening once more, fiercer and purer than before.
It was no exaggeration to say that even Xiao Yifeng could no longer estimate her future potential.
Seeing that Su Miaoqing had already unleashed her true Fire Phoenix body potential, Xiao Yifeng let out a long cry. The Luo Hong sword in his hand instantly split into countless streaks of sword light, swirling around him. Closely following behind Su Miaoqing, he struck down every Golden Rooster that tried to attack from the rear.
They fought like blazing comets, their momentum fierce and unrelenting. Yet even that brilliance dimmed beneath the endlessly coming golden roosters of Golden Rooster Mountain. The birds surged from all sides, layer upon layer, sealing the two within a living cage.
Every step became a struggle. Worse still, many among them were Golden Core–realm golden rooster, each claw strike capable of hurling the pair straight into peril.
Xiao Yifeng knew that if this dragged on, the two of them would be swallowed whole by this mountain of feathers and talons.
What baffled him was why their arrival had stirred the entire mountain. It was as though every golden rooster had been awakened at once.
In his previous life, his passage through Golden Rooster Mountain had been far quieter, with only a handful of birds attacking. That memory bred complacency, and now he was paying for it, ambushed by an avalanche of golden chickens.
Xiao Yifeng’s heart clenched when he saw Su Miaoqing’s situation. Danger pressed in from every side. The golden chickens surged towards her in terrifying numbers, their movements unnaturally focused, as if she alone existed in their eyes.
Then realisation crashed over him. The Immortal Bird's source blood.
That sacred blood within Su Miaoqing had been exposed. The golden chickens had sensed it. If they seized it, they might truly achieve nirvana, casting aside their mortal shells and rising anew as beings akin to phoenix.
With the truth laid bare, Xiao Yifeng knew this moment marked the most perilous trial they had yet encountered. His resolve hardened. There was no longer any reason to conceal his power.
He roared, casting a defensive spell over himself. His hands moved swiftly, forming seals before his chest, and the Luo Hong circling his body began to shudder violently.
Luo Hong rose into the air, splitting into more than ten radiant sword lights that streaked upwards, carving intricate and mysterious paths across the sky.
With each arc drawn by Luo Hong, a colossal array formation gradually manifested above them. Beneath its shadow, Xiao Yifeng’s figure trembled under the immense pressure.
Golden chickens swarmed him relentlessly. His defensive spell shattered in moments, forcing him to take the attacks head-on. In mere breaths, blood soaked his body.
From within the sea of golden chickens, Su Miaoqing noticed his plight. A furious scream tore from her throat.
In the next instant, her aura exploded outward. Blood-red energy surged violently from her body. She had activated the Blood ignition Art, sacrificing her own vital blood to force her cultivation to rise.
Her immortal sword flashed. With a single swing, every golden chicken charging her was hurled aside. Sword qi howled around her, and countless tiny firebirds danced in furious orbit as she drove herself forward, sword cutting through the air as she flew towards Xiao Yifeng.
Explosions rang out one after another as her protective treasures and talismans shattered. Blood soon soaked her clothes, wounds blossoming across her body, no different from his.
She had been cherished and protected since childhood, never once tasting pain like this. Yet she uttered not a sound.
Ignoring every strike that tore into her flesh, she poured all her strength into her attacks, carving a blood-soaked path through the swarm, her eyes fixed only on Xiao Yifeng.
She attacked with reckless abandon, hacking open a crimson trails through the swarm, ignoring every strike that landed on her.
Xiao Yifeng’s heart clenched at the sight. Panic flooding his voice, he shouted, “Senior Sister, I’m fine. Don’t do anything stupid!”
Su Miaoqing ignored his warning and flew straight to his side. Gripping her longsword, she invoked her spell, and countless tiny firebirds burst forth behind her, spiralling tightly around them both.
She extended a slender finger, and the firebirds surged forward, colliding head-on with the charging golden chickens. Flames burned beneath her feet, firebirds coiling around her form, and for a moment she looked like a goddess forged from fire itself.
Yet this terrifying power was fuelled by the burning of her own vital blood. To maintain it for long would wreak grave harm upon her body.
“Senior Sister, listen to me and stop at once!” Xiao Yifeng shouted.
“If I stop, we’ll both die here. Don’t worry about me. Focus on your spell. I’ve got this,” Su Miaoqing said, teeth clenched.