NOVEL NEXT Chapter 124: Homeland
The throne welcomed back its old master.
The volcano was no longer calm, as the originally mirror-like molten lava began to rise and fall.
Xie Xuanyi stood on his flying sword, gazing at the petite figure on the throne.
Chen Ke swayed with the tide of molten lava, yet his posture remained remarkably steady.
His expression was quite calm, not even a ripple flickered in his tone of voice.
"You're awake?"
This sentence was like greeting an old friend.
In a sense, they were indeed old friends... it was a bond of nearly twenty years, and more than that, a life-saving bond.
"..."
Jiang Huang frowned upon hearing this.
She really didn't like Xie Xuanyi's expression.
As if...
Everything was within his expectations.
"Thanks to you, I woke up."
The young girl sitting on the throne shifted her body, rested her chin on her hand, and spoke teasingly: "You've known all along what I wanted to do? If I were you, I definitely wouldn't have come to Jinli Mountain."
Xie Xuanyi indeed guessed Jiang Huang's intentions.
The little fellow had no ill intent.
When the Holy Empress perished, she used "Phoenix Blood" to open up a Divine Treasure... this Divine Treasure was destined to cause a resonance among her bloodline. From the moment Jiang Huang pestered him to go north, Xie Xuanyi vaguely guessed the plan of the Main God Soul, not to mention True Master Jun Shan had also left a clue about the "Future Dao Realm."
Xie Xuanyi was well aware of what would happen after coming to Jinli Mountain.
But he came anyway.
"The world says you wield your sword fiercely, as an unfeeling iron face... they are all wrong."
Jiang Huang sat on the throne, sneering and taunting: "You're different from the other Sword Cultivators I know, just because of a sense of guilt... even knowing Jinli Mountain is a place not to be approached, you came anyway."
While speaking, she turned to the side.
The red gauze dress was lifted by the heatwave, revealing white jade-like calves.
There was a scar.
The Sword Qi remained, never faded after twenty years.
Whenever it rained, this sword scar ached faintly.
"To me... there isn't any place in this world that can't be visited."
Xie Xuanyi said calmly: "Since you wanted to see this place, I brought you here to see it."
"What I want is 'to return home.'
Jiang Huang reined in her smile.
She looked seriously at the young Sword Cultivator suspended above the sea of fire, asking solemnly: "Brother, do you say... this is my home?"
The same word, "brother,"
Now it sounded like a different taste altogether.
"..."
Xie Xuanyi remained silent.
He wasn't someone who liked to lie, so every time Jiang Huang asked him where her home was, he found it difficult to answer.
Is Jinli Mountain Jiang Huang's home?
Jiang Huang's home... is further north in the Northern Territory.
"You want to go to the Demon Country."
Xie Xuanyi looked at the figure on the throne, paused for a moment, his voice slightly hoarse: "...you have to ask for her opinion."
"She is me. I am her."
Jiang Huang said softly: "Could it be that if she woke up... this body would not be a demon? Since it's a demon, it should return to where demons belong."
As she spoke.
The molten lava beneath the volcano began to boil.
Just as Xie Xuanyi predicted, this throne was not a simple Magic Artifact, and when Jiang Huang sat on it, Phoenix Blood fused with the throne, and the entire Jinli Mountain began to tremble, the resonance of a "Pure-blooded Phoenix Descendant" pulsed at this moment!
Back then, when the Holy Empress allowed Jiang Huang to escape, she set this move in place. Jinli Mountain, located at the far north of the Northern Territory, wasn't too far from the Demon Country... it's an ideal "Zhanjiao Mountain."
Under the blessing of Phoenix Blood, the throne combined with the void, unleashing boundless light and fire.
Anchor point.
An unmistakably conspicuous anchor point.
A scorching burst of light and fire exploded from in front of the throne, causing Xie Xuanyi to retreat several meters on his sword. This lava light and fire thrust skyward, magnificently rushing toward the heavens!
The world changed color.
Countless flakes of snow swirled and fell.
Gazing up from the volcano's base, the snow-white clouds at the Heavenly Peak took on a faint red hue under the throne's agitation...
Crimson firelight rendered, the snow tide became resplendent.
"..."
Xie Xuanyi looked up at this extremely beautiful scene, his expression remaining unchanged.
True Master Jun Shan's prophecy was fulfilled in this instant.
Using the throne as an anchor, the Phoenix Blood as a guide.
Jiang Huang sent out the signal of "return home."
The responders to this signal were naturally the Heavenly Phoenix Palace, which had inherited all of the Holy Empress's legacy.
As the molten lava surged, a golden door slowly opened, followed by the second, the third...
The Phoenix Fire accumulated in the throne over many years.
In this moment, it all scattered, transforming into nourishment for the Void Formation.
As the three doors gradually opened.
Three searing figures shrouded in golden light stepped out in succession.
Two men and a woman.
No demon could reside in the Heavenly Phoenix Palace unless their bloodline was top-tier.
These three Great Demons did not display their Lifebound Demon Body, but suppressed their bloodline with various Divine Skills, and merely appearing as humans still carried a formidable presence... The female demon wore a snow-white robe, her expression obscured, while the other two Great Demons were clad in gold and crimson armor, and their figures were towering, as scorching as the Blazing Sun.
Yang God Realm, Yang God Realm, Yang God Realm!
Three Yang Gods!
The Heavenly Phoenix Palace's status in the Demon Country surpassed that of the Taoists in the Human Race... it's indisputably the First Holy Land.
Yet to welcome Jiang Huang's return, they dispatched three Yang Gods at once.
Such grandeur was enough to be astonishing.
"Xie Xuanyi..."
Among the three Great Demons, one recognized the Sword Cultivator in black.
The most burly figure frowned and spoke: "You're not dead?"
Ten years ago.
The news of Xie Xuanyi's demise in the North Sea had spread worldwide and throughout the Demon Country.
The civil unrest just ended in the Great Chu, and the news would take some time to reach the Various Holy Lands in the Demon Country.
"Wu Jiu."
Xie Xuanyi recognized the other person, and said faintly: "If you're still alive, how could I be dead?"
Years ago.
Wandering the Northern Territory, venturing through the Demon Country, Xie Xuanyi had crossed swords with many Great Demons.
This Wu Jiu, whose true form was a "Golden Crow," was one of those Great Demons he had faced.
The Human Race had the "Heavenly Pride List," and the Demon Country had something similar. Back then, Wu Jiu was ranked fifth in the Demon Country, and after a few rounds of confrontation, Wu Jiu's Flesh Body was shattered by the Path of Destruction, and he fled in panic... Xie Xuanyi never expected that this Great Demon not only survived but also gained fortune, advancing to the Yang God!
However...
Looking at Wu Jiu's aura, it seemed he had just advanced, and his realm wasn't too stable yet.
It appeared not only the Da Chu Dynasty welcomed a so-called prosperous era of destiny.
If I'm not mistaken, in anticipation of Yuan Huang's legacy, the Heavenly Phoenix Palace likely received a substantial share of destiny...
This Wu Jiu was the beneficiary.
"You..."
Recalling the scene of defeat when they last battled, Wu Jiu hesitated instinctively.
Then he swept with his Divine Thought.
Ten years later, the world had changed!
With numerous fortunes upon him, Wu Jiu was no longer who he used to be—
And the once unmatched Xie Xuanyi was still stuck in the Yin God Realm!
After confirming with his Divine Thought several times, Wu Jiu's expression transformed.
He snickered, coldly voicing: "Xie Xuanyi, who gave you the audacity of a bear or a leopard? The era has changed; you are just a mere Yin God, yet dare to act insolently before me!"
Having said this.
Wu Jiu raised his hand, as if brushing off dust, flicking his sleeve!
A golden Divine Light swept toward the black-clothed Sword Cultivator not far away!
Just a mere Yin God...
Before my paramount Great Demon, nothing but an ant!