Chapter 130: The Mastermind Behind the Scenes

With a "pop," the box opened once more.

Blinding sunlight flooded in, causing Feng Ke'er to squint instinctively.

"Young Master, the person has been brought," the red-clad figure who had been impersonating Feng Jiu said, presenting the box with both hands.

A familiar voice replied, "You didn't alert anyone else, did you?"

The red figure answered loudly, "The Young Master’s calculations were infallible; everyone who knew of this matter is currently inside your cave dwelling." In other words, this was known only to heaven, earth, him, the Young Master, and the unfortunate girl inside the box.

"Good!" The familiar voice was clearly pleased. A cyan-clad figure stepped in front of the red one, patted his shoulder, and laughed heartily. "As expected of a capable general under my father’s command. Vermilion Bird, I am well assured when you handle things."

At this, Feng Ke'er finally recalled the voice—who else could it be but that brat Hua Taiyi! Ah, right, that guy had reincarnated and recultivated several hundred years ago; he went by Feng Fuxi now.

After blinking several times to adjust to the surrounding sunlight, she opened her eyes wide and looked over.

Sure enough, an enlarged face appeared before her. It was that insufferable, bizarre, and wretched face!

"Miss Feng, long time no see. I hope you’ve been well!" Feng Fuxi smiled, looking radiant.

The spiritual "cocoon" binding her was tight and utterly devoid of mercy. With her spiritual power sealed, she struggled for quite a while before managing to sit up—humph, this was called "losing the situation but not the spirit, losing the battle but not the posture, and losing the posture but not the face"!

Lifting her head, she smiled as brightly as spring flowers in March: "Long time no see, Golden Immortal Taiyi—oh, that’s all in the past now. I should call you True Monarch Fuxi." Internally, however, she was drumming nervously: Damn it. Could this guy actually be the ancestor or emperor from those myths?

"Sharp-tongued as ever!" The smile on Feng Fuxi’s face did not fade.

It seemed the guy was in a truly good mood today. Feng Ke'er shifted her gaze toward the red-clad figure and pouted. "Who is this guy? Another Fire Phoenix?"

The red-clad youth clenched his fists, and two small flames of anger flickered in his eyes.

Feng Fuxi raised an index finger and shook it. "No, no. You are mistaken; he is not a Fire Phoenix."

"How is that possible!" Feng Ke'er shrieked. "I clearly saw him reveal his true form. It was a Fire Phoenix."

"He is called Vermilion Bird, a younger clansman of Feng Jiu. It’s no wonder you mistook him," Feng Fuxi said with great smugness. "Even in the God Realm, most people often struggle to tell them apart." As he spoke, he crooked his finger.

Her vision blurred, and she heard a rushing sound by her ears. Before she could even make a sound, she was plucked out of the box by an invisible force, her form returning to normal. Because the "cocoon" remained, she still possessed not a shred of spiritual power.

After exhausting herself again, Feng Ke'er struggled to crawl into a sitting position and looked up at the red figure. "Vermilion Bird?" She had studied archaeology and had been privately tutored by the old dean; how could she not know the origins of the Fire Phoenix and the Vermilion Bird! Sigh, she could only blame herself for trusting what she saw with her own eyes. Because the Fire Phoenix she had encountered earlier was a hatchling after rebirth, its appearance had completely overturned her textbook knowledge, which led to... In short, in this bizarre prehistoric era of cultivation, she had taken yet another heavy fall—hearing can be false, and seeing is not necessarily believing!

As it turned out, Feng Fuxi’s mood today was exceptionally good. Seeing her reaction, he mistook it for doubt and snapped his fingers. He said loudly, "Vermilion Bird, reveal your form!"

The Vermilion Bird stood behind him, glared fiercely at the curious little creature, and reluctantly revealed its true form.

Feng Fuxi turned around, pointed at the massive red-feathered bird, and explained, "Miss Feng, look closely. The Vermilion Bird is a type of Fire Phoenix, but it only has four wings and four tail feathers, whereas the Fire Phoenix has nine wings and nine tail feathers. Furthermore, the Vermilion Bird’s size is less than half that of a Fire Phoenix. Aside from that, their cries are also different. The phoenix cry you heard earlier was something the Vermilion Bird did intentionally."

Feng Ke'er finally lowered her head, looking utterly dejected. Inside, however, she cursed, "Deceptive meat-bird!" Good heavens, when she first saw that meat-bird, it clearly looked like an oversized, hairless Israeli chicken! Until the contract was broken, that thing hadn't grown any nine wings or nine tail feathers!

The smugness in Feng Fuxi’s eyes deepened as he counted off more differences between the two on his fingers:

If the Fire Phoenix had crane-like feet, the Vermilion Bird had the short legs of a chicken;
The Fire Phoenix spat Samadhi True Fire, while the Vermilion Bird spat Profound Fire Flames;
The Fire Phoenix had beautiful phoenix eyes, while the Vermilion Bird had fierce, compound, four-fold eyes;
The Vermilion Bird was adept at flying; after transforming into human form, it required no magical tools for flight, whereas compared to the Vermilion Bird, the Fire Phoenix’s nine pairs of long wing feathers were merely decorative. They were fine for short distances, but for long-range travel, it was impossible without flight equipment like a cotton cloud;
Of course, the main difference was that the Fire Phoenix was the Young Lord of the Phoenix Clan, the future Phoenix Lord. The Vermilion Bird, however, had gone out to make its mark early and was currently one of the four key generals under the Seven Nights Heavenly Lord. Thus, their statuses were entirely different. The former was the future leader of all birds, while the latter, along with the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise, was one of the four legendary auspicious beasts of the God Realm.

He went on as if reciting family treasures, clearly enjoying himself, but Feng Ke'er kept her head hung low, feeling listless.

"Miss Feng, do you not want to listen?" Feng Fuxi paused, pulling up the corners of his mouth in a devilish grin. "Well, no wonder. You will never see him again anyway. Sigh, what is the point of knowing all this now?" With that, he snapped his fingers again.

Receiving the order, the Vermilion Bird gritted his teeth and transformed back into the red-clad youth.

Upon hearing this, Feng Ke'er shivered, suddenly lifted her head, and asked with trembling, panicked lips, "Why... why did you capture me?"

"Hahaha. Miss Feng, you only just thought of this now?" Feng Fuxi turned back and said to the Vermilion Bird, "Look, she really is just a naive, ignorant girl. A 'destined one' indeed! Hmph, if not for your clansman and that fox demon protecting her, this little girl would have been picked clean to the bone long ago."

"So, the Young Master's proposal to deal with the fox demon first was a wise decision." The Vermilion Bird glanced at the little white thing; his gaze was clearly that of looking at a corpse.

Sycophant! Two large tears welled up in her eyes as Feng Ke'er looked at them, biting her lower lip stubbornly and shivering violently.

"Miss Feng, you seem terrified? Well, you don't need to be afraid." Feng Fuxi bent down, leaned toward her, and whispered, "In fact, you should feel honored, because your physical body will attain eternal life."

What did that mean? Feng Ke'er gaped, stunned. Was this guy speaking human language? Why couldn't she understand a single word?

Feng Fuxi smiled, straightened his back, and slowly explained the reason.

He said that it was he who had caused his sister Wa to end up in the ghostly form of a human head and snake tail. He had sworn to restore her to her original appearance, and Feng Ke'er’s body was the most suitable for his sister Wa.

To put it plainly, he wanted to possess her!

For a cultivator, what could be more tragic than being possessed? And he had the nerve to say she "should feel honored"!

Did he think that because he was the male lead, he could do whatever he wanted? Open your dog eyes and look clearly—she was not the tragic female supporting character in their twisted, tortured romance!

She had worked so hard to refine her body, and it was never so that his sister Wa could "restore her original appearance"!

Burning with rage, Feng Ke'er glared at the two of them and spat, "Pah!" Her vocabulary was far too pale and powerless to express the intensity of her current fury.

The Vermilion Bird, neck thick and face red, rushed forward, raised his foot, and gestured to kick her, shouting, "Insolent!"

Unappreciative! Feng Fuxi frowned and raised a hand. "Vermilion Bird, do not be rude to Fellow Daoist Feng." Bullying the weak was not a fine tradition of their God Realm. Dear, please maintain your composure; they had always been known for conquering through virtue.

"Fellow Daoist? Hmph, I don't deserve such an honor!" Feng Ke'er suppressed her rage and spat at him again. "Hypocrite!"

With the Young Master having spoken, the Vermilion Bird dared not voice his anger, though he shot her a look that could kill.

Feng Fuxi did not seem annoyed. He rubbed his nose, smiling as he attempted to persuade her: "Fellow Daoist Feng, let me ask you, with your aptitude, are you certain you can reach the Great Dao?"

Feng Ke'er was slightly stunned. Cultivation was a cruel business; falling was the most common occurrence. Furthermore, what was the Great Dao? Few cultivators in this world could clearly define it. Since it was something no one could define, how could one speak of "reaching the Great Dao"?

However, Feng Fuxi clearly misunderstood her, lifted his brow, and said loudly, "But I believe that my sister Wa will certainly reach the Great Dao in the future. Fellow Daoist Feng, you are merely a rogue cultivator with meager magic and no foundation in the Three Realms. Your future is bleak, and you might fall unexpectedly at any moment. Yet, right now, an opportunity for eternal life is placed before you. Although it is only the body that attains immortality, it is still eternal life. Besides, look, among all the female cultivators in the lower realms, I have only found your body to be the most suitable for my sister Wa, so you are the luckiest one."

Shit! Feng Ke'er stared at his neck, her teeth itching. If she hadn't been bound and stripped of her spiritual power, she would have decisively jumped up and bitten his throat out.

"Sh-it? Fellow Daoist, what does that mean?" Feng Fuxi asked, graceful and eager to learn.

She knew this guy would use mind-reading. Feng Ke'er rolled her eyes in disgust and turned her head away: I won't tell you, I just won't tell you.

"You won't tell me?" Feng Fuxi chuckled with good nature. "No matter. In any case, when your soul is stripped away, you will no longer have any secrets." He raised his hand. "Vermilion Bird, guard the perimeter!" She was merely a lowly little ant; wasting this much time and breath on her was already more than enough.

The Vermilion Bird gave a vindictive salute and responded loudly.

Feng Ke'er shuddered and blurted out, "Wait!" Heaven, the words "no longer have any secrets" truly terrified her.

"What is it?" Feng Fuxi beamed.

Feng Ke'er swallowed hard and stalled, "You... Goddess Nuwa is compassionate, she wouldn't agree to this." At the same time, her eyes darted around—this was a spacious cave, filled with magic arrays and restrictions. A perfect secret chamber...

"You don't need to worry about that, Fellow Daoist. Once your soul is stripped from your body, I naturally have ways to make her agree." The smile in Feng Fuxi’s eyes deepened. "Also, let me tell you, this is the foot of Mount Kunlun. My sister Wa is at the summit. Once the soul is stripped, it will only take me half a quarter of an hour to bring your body to the summit; there will be absolutely no delay." Feng Ke'er’s nervous little glances greatly pleased him. To be honest, the magic arrays and restrictions were only there to prevent the matter from leaking out prematurely and inviting his sister Wa’s opposition. He had never worried about this little girl escaping, because even with his reincarnation and recultivation, his current cultivation level was an entire tier higher than hers. Not to mention, the Vermilion Bird was guarding her.

The Vermilion Bird added gleefully, "Don't be afraid, Miss Feng. The Young Master is merciful and has specially refined a Soul-Locking Pill for you. Once you take it, I guarantee you won't feel a thing."

In other words, there was no room for negotiation! Feng Ke'er shifted her gaze from his face to Feng Fuxi’s eyes and asked silently: Could it be that Goddess Nuwa really knows nothing about this?

The latter nodded with a smile, a flash of light appearing in his palm, revealing a black spiritual pill the size of a pigeon's egg.