Blue Phoenix

When Hui Yue reached the crater, his body was almost crushed. He had suffered incredible internal injuries. All his organs felt as though they had been hit by a sledgehammer. The energy shockwaves from the battle had caused wounds to appear all over his body as he was grazed by these waves, but fortunately, he was far enough away not to be hit directly. He had managed to escape with his life intact.

Hiding in the crater, he laid down breathing heavily as he waited for the wounds to at least stop causing him pain.

"This memory is too real." Hui Yue complained. "I have no internal energy, Lan Feng is gone, and I have no way of protecting myself, but I am still able to be wounded! Although it seems as though it is my body which is wounded... It is, in fact, damaging my soul directly."

Resting for a little, his body soon felt better. After recovering a little, his curiosity got the best of him, so he climbed to the edge of the crater. Looking out over the blood-soaked planes, he saw the battle that was happening in front of him.

The battle was truly epic! Flashes of light shone everywhere in every color as one attack after another was used. Unfortunately, Hui Yue was not capable of seeing the attacks; they were simply too swift even for Hui Yue's trained eye to see.

The demon, the two humans, and the four Divine Beasts Gods were all just blurs in the sky, clashing against each other. It was clear that many were ganging up on one, and this one blur was in a very problematic position. It seemed like he was only able to defend and not attack. He looked even less able to retreat.

Watching, Hui Yue was breathless. He hoped with all his might that the beasts would be able to defeat this demon. If they could not, then he would have to find this demon at a later time to settle the enmity between the two.

The fight lasted for a full three days where the lights were getting more and more energetic as the days went by. Eventually, the entire world was lit by the sparks of light that flashed from the battle, and the sky above reflected the many colors of the rainbow.

Every single moment was observed by Hui Yue. The whole time his mouth was agape, and his eyes were wide open. He thought that he had been in more than a few intense and drawn out fights, but compared to these Gods now fighting, Hui Yue had experienced nothing.

Just the shockwaves from the battle caused mountains to be reduced to rubble, canyons to be created, and the ground was torn apart leaving craters which reached so far down that the water underneath started rising, giving birth to new lakes. The entire world was being destroyed, but with this destruction, a new world rose up.

Hui Yue was far away from the battle, so far away that he was not in any life-threatening danger; however, he still felt how wounds appeared on his skin whenever a shockwave was centered in his direction. He was coughing up more and more blood as their attacks got more frantic and energetic. No matter how wounded he became, no matter how much blood he had to cough up, he truly did not mind. As long as he could live, then he would be fine. As long as he could preserve his life, then he would watch the fight in front of him.

At first, he had not expected much, but as time went by his eyes became more and more accustomed to their speed. Over time while he was not able to clearly see what was happening in front of him, the blurs became less blurry. Soon he could almost follow their movements.

By the time the third day broke, the demon had been trapped in a formation set up by the Black Turtle. Soon afterward everything slowed down. The demon could not move, and as he stopped moving so did the others.

Although the demon was incapable of moving, the others were still hesitant. A cornered beast was usually the most dangerous, and the group of Divine Beast Gods and the two humans spread out to surround him before they nodded to one another and slowly inched closer and closer to the demon in the middle.

The beautiful woman had a long sword in her hand. It was thin but so sharp that just looking at it made Hui Yue fearful. The handle was made from pure gold, and when the lady swung this sword, it seemed as though she were dancing. As if she were elegantly floating over water while she effortlessly cut down anything in her path.

The large rough-looking man fought with his bare fists. His hands were tough like metal, and his skin was impenetrable. He had a great smile on his face, but when Hui Yue looked at him, he felt a shiver run down his spine. The man was simply too dangerous. He was like a wild beast that you could not trust; someone who was simply unpredictable. It seemed that he would erupt at any moment with a frightening force and a killing intent so fierce that it could frighten even stronger Gods. If, that is, more powerful beings even existed!

The four Divine Beast Gods were also frightening in their own way. They were less elegant than the woman and, strangely, they seemed less fierce than the man, but their aura was so overpowering, so domineering, that when one looked at them, it felt as though one was looking at a sovereign of the galaxy. They gave off the feeling of an emperor overlooking their kingdom. The demon was but a mere subject to them; someone whom, although he brought them trouble, he was truly nothing in their eyes.

Looking at the demon which was currently sealed, Hui Yue's already wide open eyes widened even more in shock. He had not spent enough time to fully observe the demon before, but now that he had stopped moving, he found that his entire body was riddled with wounds. Black blood poured from his wounds, and his face was filled with boundless hatred.

"Don't think it will be so easy!" The demon said through gritted teeth. With a struggle, he managed to wrest his arm free of the formation and he flicked his hand.

Within this hand, a small watch-like item appeared, and this item was instantly crushed by the demon.

The moment he shattered this item his entire figure became illusionary. "Attack!" The Azure Dragon called out but just as the six experts made their move, laughter rang throughout the area. "I will get my revenge!" He called out with a voice trembling with anger. "One day I will ruin your world!"

Vanishing into thin air the faces of the Divine Beast Gods were filled with sourness. The humans too, even the beautiful woman, had an unsightly expression on their face.

Hui Yue could see that the experts were about to converse, but instead of letting him hear what was being said, the world around him twisted as his body once more returned to the black stone tower.

Opening his eyes, he was at first disorientated. Everything he had experienced was just a memory of the Vermilion Bird. Despite just being a memory it had felt so real. But it was obviously not real as he was without his internal energies. Now that he was back in his own body, the first thing he did was to examine his body to ensure that all his strength had returned. He felt so comfortable, so at home, when he could feel the energies once more roaming free within his body.

''How was it?' Lan Feng asked. He could feel Hui Yue's emotions, but even so, he could not experience what Hui Yue had experienced.

'It was amazing...' The young man sighed as he thought back to the battle he had witnessed. 'I was brought into a memory of your old man. It was a war with demons fighting against beasts and humans. Our side was up against a massive demon horde backed by a demon Lord. While we had the assistance of two human powerhouses, we did not manage to kill that horrifyingly powerful demon lord as he escaped.'

'Say, Lan Feng.' Hui Yue asked curiously as some things had troubled him since he first heard the demon speak. 'What is a constellation?'

Lan Feng looked at Hui Yue as though he were an idiot. 'You don't know what a constellation is?' He asked slightly confused, and Hui Yue who had asked the question felt a little bit embarrassed by his lack of knowledge.

Sighing the phoenix shook his head. 'Well there is no harm in telling you...' He began before he pondered for a short while. 'A constellation is a group of stars which together form a pattern.'

Hearing these words, Hui Yue felt as though someone had knocked him in the head. 'I know that!' He said indignantly. His indignation made Lan Feng annoyed. 'Then why did you ask if you already knew!' He snapped back, and Hui Yue could not help but laugh a little.

'When I was in the memory this demon lord said that the Divine Beast Gods were trying to become constellations. I wonder if perhaps it is a rank above God or something.'

Hearing this, Lan Feng was at a loss for words. He was not sure what he should say but before he had the time to say anything he was interrupted by the voice of his father.

"To think that you, a mere human, was able to make it through my final test where everyone else who had entered so far has died. It is but a memory, but even the shockwaves of this memory contain the strength of a God ranked expert. Unless you are well protected, you will die. As to how you did it, even I have no idea. How you survived the nine heaven’s tribulations lightning I have even less of an idea, but nevertheless well done!"

"I have been looking for my successor for a long time. Promise me that you will look after my son as well as to be a good person in the future. Strength is important but there is something even more important than strength, and that is the will to protect others. You can be strong and kill as you please, but you will never become as strong as those who have someone to protect. The feeling of having people behind you is so rewarding that your strength will soar to the heavens. To protect the ones you hold dear requires more strength than to traverse the world alone."

There was a new fondness in the voice of the Vermilion Bird. "I have already entered eternal sleep. My body has been buried long ago, and I am but a small soul fragment left behind in this realm. I have been waiting for years to find the right person, and now that you have arrived I can finally fade without any regrets."

"This realm will no longer be used to test young experts or allow them to gain the Formation of Life. You are my successor, and you will need to take the formation with you. The position as the Crowned Sovereign of this world will be passed on to you, and you have to take both its benefits and responsibilities."

The Vermilion Bird said sighing. His voice suddenly seemed tired. "I made the final test incredibly hard for a reason. I needed my successor to see the battle between the demon Lord and us. As you saw, the Demon Lord survived and successfully fled from our world. He has not returned yet but one day he will return, and it is clear that when he does you need to be ready."

"You are now far too weak, but one day you will become stronger and will rise above the others. One day you will eliminate the Demon Lord and allow for the Divine Beast World to thrive. To rise from the position of a mere mediocre world to one of the top heavenly worlds!"

The more the Vermilion Bird spoke, the more riled up he became. Hui Yue could not help but laugh a little, but deep inside he was as excited as the Vermilion Bird.