Chapter 78

Xiao Jin was forcefully pulled down from the top of Zong Shou's head, but the little creature in his hand continued to struggle, a sense of anxious longing faintly emanating from it.

Zong Shou laughed wryly, knowing that this little guy was mostly eyeing the Thunder Phoenix egg.

The essence inside had already been absorbed by him, but the eggshell remained intact, and there was still some juice left, which could be compared to the finest spiritual elixir.

"If you want to eat it, go ahead; it was originally yours. This time, you've also contributed to our success—"

With a casual slash of his sword, he shattered the purple eggshell. Then he threw Xiao Jin forward, landing on the fragments of the eggshell. A series of crunching sounds followed as the broken shell of the Thunder Phoenix egg began to disappear bit by bit into Xiao Jin's belly.

There were no other guardian spirit beasts here, and the Cold Hell Tiger was only left with its soul, so this little guy got the benefit.

The next moment, Chuxue, who was standing beside him, opened her eyes wide and looked over curiously, "Young Master, are you okay? The situation just now was quite scary. Have you already broken through the seven meridians of the body? By the way, how did you know the Thunder Phoenix egg would be here?"

A series of questions were thrown at him, and he didn't miss a single one. Zong Shou shook his head and suddenly punched the mountain rock beside him, causing the entire area to tremble slightly, sending fragments of rock flying.

This punch had the force of three thousand catties, barely crossing the threshold of a Secret Martial Artist. His bones were solid, his flesh strong, even surpassing rock. The skin on his right fist was undamaged.

As for the intense pain during the strike, he ignored it completely.

What was peculiar was that when he punched, a faint purple electric glow appeared around his arm, making his punch speed and weight increase significantly. He didn't know why.

A glint of insight flashed in Zong Shou's eyes as he saw Chuxue still staring intently, not letting up. He had to explain reluctantly.

"It was just a guess. Thunderbirds prefer to lay eggs in cold places. I estimated that the Thunder Phoenix would be similar. And within this Blood Valley, only this natural water vein can condense into a cold spring—"

Zong Shou's gaze returned to the spring. Although he had already absorbed the Thunder Phoenix egg, the spring still boiled as usual, filling the small cave with steam.

Chuxue was somewhat relieved, but there was still a hint of doubt in her eyes. She muttered, "But I've also heard that thunder and fire are interrelated. In ancient times, the Thunder Phoenixes always liked to stay with the Fire Phoenixes—"

Before she could finish, Zong Shou suddenly took out the Pine Pattern Wind Sword and silently dug up the mud around him.

Digging down about ten feet, he saw several red rays of light shining through, turning the cave red.

Even Xiao Jin, who had been 'gnawing' on the Thunder Phoenix eggshell, shrank back, seemingly frightened.

Chuxue focused her gaze and saw a red fire pearl, about the size of a longan, lying quietly in the soil, just three feet away from the spring. This made the cold spring water scalding hot.

Fortunately, this prevented the surrounding soil from being completely melted.

"Is this a Crystal Fire Pearl?"

Chuxue's pupils contracted. As a Spirit Master, she knew the value of this item. It was a material that surpassed a spirit tool and could be used to refine 'Mystic Treasures,' or even be considered a Mystic Treasure itself.

Seeing two rare treasures in one day, even Chuxue, who was usually naive, felt a bit dazed.

"The fire veins in this Blood Valley are scarce, yet the water veins gather to form a hot spring. Isn't that suspicious? So, you should read more books!"

Zong Shou chuckled and used the Pine Pattern Wind Sword to fill the dug-out soil back in.

In his heart, he felt a hidden admiration for the Spirit Master who had found this item in his previous life.

The words he had said to Yin Yang were not made up. The clues he found in ancient books were real.

That Spirit Master had indeed searched through countless ancient texts to find clues and deduce the place where the Thunder Phoenix laid its eggs. After ten years, he finally found the Thunder Phoenix egg in this remote place, strengthening his sect. Unfortunately, his talent was limited, and his cultivation did not advance further. In the end, he not only failed to make his sect one of the nineteen Spirit Palaces during the peak of the Spirit Tide but also brought about the destruction of his sect.

The reason for the destruction was the Crystal Fire Pearl in his possession and the remaining half of the Phoenix Pearl.

Chuxue finally regained her composure. Seeing Zong Shou's actions, she was puzzled again, "Young Master, the Crystal Fire Pearl is a great treasure. Why are you burying it again?"

"Great treasures are good, but life is more important. Haven't you heard of the saying 'to be punished for possessing a precious jade'? If you can take it away without being noticed, I'll dig it up."

Smiling, Zong Shou continued to fill the soil, burying dozens of water-type beast crystals, forming a small sealing spirit array.

When Zong Shou activated the seal with a hand gesture, a faint blue light flashed below, completely sealing the remaining fiery aura.

Since the Spirit Tide was still ten years away, it wouldn't be too late to retrieve the item in a few years.

Ignoring the frowning Chuxue, he fell into deep thought again.

He had observed the sea of souls and noticed some unusual conditions that he hadn't thoroughly investigated, which made him curious and uneasy.

In an instant, Zong Shou's consciousness returned to the outside of the massive vortex in his soul.

Thirteen runes were swirling around the sea of souls. However, the most complete one was no longer the 'Yun' rune but the 'Li' character.

It kept changing, taking on the forms of lightning and thunder. Sometimes, it would transform into the shape of a bird, deep purple in color, with lightning surrounding it, and a graceful posture. Its size was expanding, drawing on the innate essence stored in his body to grow continuously.

When it entered his body, it was about the same size as the 'Yun' rune. Now, it was already three times larger.

Fortunately, the expansion had gradually slowed down. However, the 'Li' rune was gradually moving closer to the vortex, showing a tendency to merge with it.

"Could this rune be the true spiritual core of the ancient Thunder Phoenix?"

Zong Shou felt a bit lost, as he was only a martial practitioner in his previous life and had limited knowledge of Spirit Masters.

He didn't know how to respond.

After hesitating for a moment, seeing the rune approaching the center of the vortex, his spiritual origin, Zong Shou reluctantly sent a thread of consciousness to touch the rune.

He intended to control it with his consciousness and return it to its original position. However, as he approached, a sudden explosion echoed in his ears.

Zong Shou felt his consciousness become hazy, a faint electric current flashed, and his soul felt light, as if it had been freed from some kind of restraint.

When he regained clarity, he found himself soaring in the sky. The view was vast, and below was the Blood Valley and the Corpse Demon Mountain.

"Am I in the air? How is this possible? A martial practitioner needs to reach the Heaven Rank to walk on air! Could this be a dream? But why does it feel so real?"

He shook his head violently, and then it seemed he thought of something. His 'heart' almost stopped.

Since he wasn't truly walking on air, there was only one possibility.

—His soul was currently soaring through the sky!

Looking down, he indeed saw no sign of his body. Instead, he saw feathers formed by soul power and a pair of sharp claws. On both sides, a pair of purple wings were spread out, with lightning flickering around them.