Eternal God Emperor: Only I Am Emperor One

Chapter 227 Qiao Zu and the Ice and Fire Phoenix

The colorful world inside the Phoenix Nest is vast, and the colorful mist can obscure a cultivator's senses. Without guidance, it is easy to get lost.

Deep within the Phoenix Nest, mist lingered.

In the deepest part of the fog, all life is extinguished, and everywhere there are the skeletons of dead phoenixes and fallen ancient pine, cypress and parasol trees.

The ruins, the forest of tombstones, and the piles of bones that litter the fields silently tell of the past glory and the brutal battles that took place here.

A huge depression, about five miles in diameter, is located in the area where the colorful mist is thickest.

At the bottom of the giant pit stood a huge red sycamore tree.

The tree canopy, like an umbrella, obscured the sky for miles in diameter, occasionally casting streaks of crimson-gold fire. It contained a rich life force, causing spiritual and sacred herbs to grow along the edge of the giant pit. These herbs were all relatively young, having only grown in the last ten years or so, forming a stark contrast with the surrounding wasteland of skeletons.

Following the connection with the sacred Wutong tree, Di Yi passed through layers of mist and was shocked by the scene before him. However, he quickly calmed down and carefully examined the enormous creature in front of him.

The towering tree trunk is covered with cracks, like cracked ceramic, as if it would shatter at the slightest touch.

It was these wounds that led to Qiao Zu's demise. After returning to Phoenix Nest, he passed away peacefully.

Phoenix Nest is the training ground of the Ice and Fire Phoenix, and also the birthplace of Qiao Zu.

The lifespan of plants and trees is extremely long. As long as they do not embark on the path of cultivation, many magical plants and trees can even live for tens of millions or hundreds of millions of years.

The five divine trees of Kunlun Realm all existed hundreds of millions of years ago, especially the Heaven-Connecting Divine Tree, which can be described as a living history book.

Qiao Zu's cultivation level is not the highest in the Ancestral Spirit Realm, not as high as that of the Hunter God and the Ice and Fire Phoenix, but he is the one who has lived the longest. He is the only being in the Ancestral Spirit Realm who has survived for more than one Yuanhui.

The god of hunting attained enlightenment beneath his tree, and the phoenix of ice and fire was born from his canopy.

Qiao Zu is equivalent to the sacred phoenix tree in the Ancestral Spirit Realm, a historical record of the rich history of the Ancestral Spirit Realm.

"Da da!"

Emperor Yi, dressed in an ink-black robe, descended into the giant pit and walked step by step to the foot of the paulownia tree.

The fiery rays hanging from the tree canopy enveloped him, and the scene before him transformed into a fragrant hillside.

"I am not a descendant of the plant clan, but since I have found this place, it can be said that we are destined to meet."

An old man with a full head of bright red hair stood on the hillside, in the wind, his colorful clothes and bright red hair being blown about.

Emperor Yi activated the Hundred Saints Blood Armor, his blood energy surging, his aura becoming powerful and vast. He cautiously stepped forward.

He is not Qiu Yu after all, and it is uncertain what attitude Qiao Zu will have towards him.

One must always hold a sense of awe towards a Great Sage, the emperor of the Holy Path, even if he is a dead Great Sage.

“You don’t need to be so afraid of me. I am just a remnant soul, not even comparable to a lower-level saint. Moreover, you are not a plant or tree, yet you were able to get here, which means you have already gained the approval of the Ice and Fire Phoenix,” the old man said.

Upon hearing this, Di Yi was slightly surprised: "The Ice and Fire Phoenix is ​​dead, so how could it still control the entire Phoenix Nest?"

"It's not so much about control, but hiding some places and things isn't difficult; it all comes down to fate."

"Young man, my time is running out. Now that you are here, I will give you these two things. I hope they will be of some help to your future path to sainthood."

Two orbs of light flew out from the old man's body. One orb transformed into a crimson bronze city, while the other, radiating a rich life force, was crystal clear and about the size of a fist.

"The Flaming Copper City is a weapon I forged. It is a three-elemental king-level weapon and contains the power of a Great Sage that I left behind. According to common sense, it is a Great Sage ancient artifact of considerable value."

"The Heart of the Sacred Tree is the culmination of my life's insights and knowledge of the Sacred Path. It will be of some help to your understanding of the Sacred Path. It also contains more than 90% of the inherited methods of the Ancestral Spirit Realm. If you have the ability in the future and still remember this small gift today, please help me pass on these inheritances so that the accumulation of tens of millions of years in the Ancestral Spirit Realm will not be cut off."

“My immortal holy body also has some value. It can be used for alchemy, weapon crafting, talisman crafting, and array crafting. It can be exchanged for a lot of cultivation resources in the Heavenly Court. It’s a pity that you are not a plant or tree species and cannot integrate the immortal holy body into your body.”

The old man continued, "I have said everything that needed to be said. It is time for me to reunite with my old friends. Hunter God, Little Golden Crow, Phoenix... all my old friends have passed away. The Heavenly Court is vast, but there is no place for us in the Ancestral Spirit Realm."

The old man walked down the hillside, his figure gradually dissipating until he turned into a shower of light and vanished completely from the world.

The surrounding flowers and plants were broken, as if waking up from a dream.

With the Flaming Copper City and the Heart of Sacred Wood in his hands, Emperor Yi looked up at the tree canopy. In an instant, all the leaves of the paulownia tree withered and fell, creating a rain of fire among the heavens and earth, as if bidding farewell to an era and the entire Ancestral Spirit Realm.

Emperor Yi put the battered phoenix tree into the World-Stabilizing Banner and walked out of the giant pit.

At the edge of the giant crater, the seven-colored mist gradually dissipated, revealing the void above, a ball of light intertwined with ice and fire.

Activating the True Source Demon Eye reveals a phoenix of ice and fire soaring within the ball of light, its body ablaze with pure white purifying divine fire and surging with dark blue-black extreme yin ice power.

This is the Emperor Flame that extinguishes divine fire and the Extreme Yin Nether Ice Power of the Upper Yin Level. It makes one wonder if the Ice-Fire Phoenix has never died, and if the one soaring within that ball of light is indeed her.

"Even the location of the inheritance is in the void directly above the trunk of the Qiao Ancestor Tree. The relationship between the Ice and Fire Phoenix and Qiao Ancestor is truly extraordinary."

Di Yi gazed into the distance, soared into the air, and stepped toward the ball of light.

Luo Sha and the others, including Twenty-Seven Snow, have disappeared. Perhaps they did not find the location of the Ice and Fire Phoenix's inheritance and did not appear nearby.

Passing through the rainbow vines, Di Yi arrived at the edge of a Yin-Yang lake.

Half of the lake is filled with the purifying divine fire, and the other half with the power of the extremely yin and dark ice.

At the center of the lake, a three-foot-sized, dazzling crystal floats. Inside the crystal, a palm-sized phoenix floats, formed from rules and holy energy—the Great Holy Source of the Ice and Fire Phoenix.

Within his sea of ​​consciousness, the seven-colored phoenix cocoon on the Wutong Divine Tree revived, yearning for the Ice and Fire Phoenix Sacred Source before him.

"With the Wutong Divine Tree and the inheritance of the Ice and Fire Phoenix, I should be able to condense a second spiritual power seed, corresponding to the fire among the four elements of the Derivation Realm."

"The inheritance of a Supreme Saint can greatly enhance my strength."

Undeterred by the flames and cold air in the lake, Di Yi walked straight to the bottom of the Ice and Fire Phoenix Sacred Source.

He activated the Heavenly Demon Black Hole Diagram. As the technique circulated, the purifying divine fire and the extreme yin ice power in the entire lake surged towards him, slowly merging into his body.

Di Yi possessed the Chaos God-Demon Body and was a cultivator who had achieved sainthood through his physical body. The inner world of each of his acupoints was as large as 36 million cubic meters, and his own body was a special spatial magic treasure capable of holding a massive amount of essence and energy.

The power of the Ice and Fire Phoenix is ​​too vast. It is the legacy left by a being with near-divine cultivation. It would take a considerable amount of time to fully absorb it.

With some time remaining before the end of the Merit Battle, Di Yi was not in a hurry, focusing intently on absorbing the vast power of the Ice and Fire Phoenix.

……

"You were defeated by Di Yi, but what about Lei Xiao? Why didn't he retreat into the Phoenix Nest with you?" Luo Sha looked at the three disheveled people in front of her, her feelings complicated.

Twenty-seven Chongxue's injuries were slightly less severe, and she had recovered somewhat by now. However, recalling her previous battle with Di Yi, she lost her invincible fighting spirit and felt fear in her heart.

That person was simply invincible. He didn't seem like a cultivator from a weak realm; he was a true young war god, surpassing even the leading figures who had emerged from the world of the ruler.

"Lei Xiao... stayed behind alone to hold off Di Yi so that we could retreat."

The colorful mist inside the Phoenix Nest was beautiful and dreamlike, but Luo Sha's heart was bleak, filled with a deep sense of defeat.

Even with the four of them working together, they were no match for Di Yi. As for Lei Xiao, who was fighting alone, his fate was not hard to predict.

"If we can find the legacy left by the Ice and Fire Phoenix in advance, we still have a chance to turn the tide. You are the Rakshasa clan's prodigies who came out of the Emperor's Holy Camp. How can you let a cultivator from the Heavenly Court Realm defeat you and make you lose your fighting spirit?"

Luo Sha was mentally strong and quickly regrouped.

She is not the type to give up easily; even if there is only a sliver of a chance, she will spare no effort to try.

He took out three precious Earth-grade healing pills and distributed them to the three people, including the Twenty-Seventh Snow.

"Hurry up and recover from your injuries, then come with me to find the legacy left behind by the Ice and Fire Phoenix."

……

Meanwhile, outside the Phoenix Nest, on the ninety-nine sacred mountains, more than three million Rakshasa marquises and more than one million saints from the seven realms of Shatuo were engaged in a fierce battle, with blood spilled on every sacred mountain.

Countless saints perished, and some young prodigies, who had just become saints and had not yet had time to grow, died in battle at the hands of the Rakshasa clan.

Similarly, many older generation powerhouses broke through the Saint King barrier and advanced to the Saint King realm in the face of life and death.

Among them, the number of Saint Kings who broke through to the next realm in the Kunlun Realm was the largest.

The leaders of the four major schools of Confucianism and Taoism, the Sword Saint of Burial Moon, the Burial of Dragon, the leaders of the four major Taoist sects, and the leaders, clan heads, and patriarchs of some ancient religions, clans, and families all broke through one after another, gradually rewriting the balance of power on the battlefield.

Even without Emperor Yi, the Kunlun Realm is strong enough to hold its own on the battlefield and is not so easily manipulated.

As time went by, the great battle of millions of saints destroyed the last world origin of the Southern Continent of the Ancestral Spirit Realm. The entire edge of the continent began to collapse, breaking into smaller fragments that gradually moved towards the Giant Whale River Basin and towards the Phoenix Nest.

The ice and fire ocean, surrounded by thirty-three sacred mountains on the inner side, gradually diminished in the power of the purifying divine fire and the extreme yin ice. After more than half a month, it completely dissipated, revealing the phoenix nest in the center of the sea.

Rakshasa and Shatuo cultivators from the Seven Realms began attempting to break in and join the fray for the Ice and Fire Phoenix inheritance.

(End of this chapter)