51: The Rising Star

The aftershocks of the Ancestral Dragon attaining the Dao of Hunyuan had not yet subsided, and the Dragon Clan's Luck gathering over the East Sea had already become tangible.

It was the phantom of a giant dragon stretching across heaven and earth; its claws pressed down upon the territories of the Four Seas, and its tail swept across the borders of the Eight Desolations. Every dragon scale reflected the tribal totem of a clan that had submitted to the Dragon Clan.

Such a phenomenon forced all the various powers of the Primordial World to re-examine their own positions.

Atop Qilin Cliff, the First Qilin squeezed the jade cup in his hand.

He watched the sky-high Dragon Qi permeating the Four Seas, his eyes narrowing slightly beneath his white eyebrows.

As a Clan Chief who had also stood out during the Great Calamity and led a major clan, he understood better than anyone what the Ancestral Dragon's Breakthrough meant.

That ambitious fellow would never be satisfied with just the Four Seas.

He was likely already plotting for the Primordial Land, and perhaps even the sky.

Although he was currently in a state of secluded meditation to stabilize his Realm, once the Ancestral Dragon emerged and led hundreds of millions of Dragons to sweep across the Primordial World, no one would be able to stop him.

As such, he could not afford to fall behind.

If he allowed the Ancestral Dragon to use this first move to further expand his advantage, then his Qilin Clan would also be unable to escape the fate of being suppressed.

Thus, the First Qilin also stepped up his preparations, attempting to achieve a Breakthrough in his Realm and then formally establish his clan to contend with the Dragon Clan.

Deep within Hurricane Canyon, Ling Ming sat alone in the center of a Thunder Pool.

His broken crest feathers drooped powerlessly, and his once-majestic purple wings were now covered in scorch marks.

The dragon roar from the Ancestral Dragon's Breakthrough reached him, causing the thunder patterns all over his body to run wild uncontrollably; this was a sign that his Dao injuries had not yet healed.

The failure caused by his haste to achieve a Breakthrough last time had left him with Dao injuries that were almost incurable.

A Half-step Hunyuan was, in the end, unable to compete with a true Hunyuan Golden Immortal.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but look toward the Immortal Volcano.

It was still peaceful there, with the flickering phantom of the Wutong Tree swaying gently, which seemed to hold an indescribable attraction for him.

Perhaps he should pay a visit to that Phoenix Lord and ask her to come forth and lead the various clans... At that moment, a small blue-purple thunderbird flew into the Thunder Pool.

Instantly, numerous bolts of lightning locked onto it, striking it until it was reeling.

The little thunderbird did not give up; instead, it spread its wings and flew upward against the barrage of lightning.

The Purple Cloud Qi flowing between its feathers absorbed all the incoming lightning.

The little thunderbird wobbled in the Thunder Pool, its tiny body trembling violently every time it was struck by lightning.

But she never retreated, instead vibrating her wings with even more stubbornness.

Fine thunder patterns spread between its feathers like a constantly expanding net, absorbing all the falling lightning.

Those eyes, though shimmering with tears from the electric shocks, still burned with the fire of defiance.

Ling Ming's crest feathers stood up unconsciously at this moment, a resonance from his Bloodline Legacy that made him feel a sense of worry.

A bolt of blood-colored lightning powerful enough to shatter mountains suddenly fell.

The little thunderbird shrieked as the feathers on half its wing were instantly scorched black.

Just as it was about to fall into the abyss of the Thunder Pool, Ling Ming's purple wings suddenly unfurled, sweeping it under his feathers.

The violent thunder light struck Ling Ming's back, but he remained motionless.

The little thing in his arms looked up, first nodding to express its gratitude to him.

Then it looked up at the sky, its eyes still filled with a longing for the heavens.

Seeing this, the thunderbird was quite moved; with a flap of his wings, Ling Ming soared into the sky with the little thunderbird.

His broken crest feathers perked up once more in the wind and thunder, and the fire of ambition reignited in his eyes... The Immortal Volcano remained very peaceful.

Yuan Feng leaned against the main body of the Wutong Tree, a wisp of flame twined around her fingertips.

The Ancestral Dragon's Hunyuan pressure swept by from time to time, but she merely gave a light 'tsk' and blocked the pressure, not even lifting an eyelid.

Beside her, the Celestial Dog's fur stood on end, and it ran outside to snarl toward the East Sea.

Jin Feng, Qing Luan, and the many living beings of the Immortal Volcano were quite afraid of the first Hunyuan Golden Immortal powerhouse to actively display his might in the Primordial World.

But seeing that the Daoist Venerable remained in her usual calm state, the beings also felt a sense of peace.

On the other hand, the two women found the Celestial Dog's appearance quite cute and felt delighted, wanting to go forward and play with it, only to be rebuffed by the Celestial Dog.

It was, after all, a natural exotic species that usually fed on the energy of the Sun Star, a proper Primordial Beast.

Aside from its two masters, no one could take liberties with it.

“This little thing has some backbone.” Jin Feng raised her hand to teach it a lesson, but was stopped by Qing Luan.

Qing Luan then took out some Spiritual Roots and spiritual fruits and dropped them on the ground.

The Celestial Dog held its head high, but its two eyes uncontrollably glanced toward the ground.

What Qing Luan had dropped were Southern Departure Dao Fruits irrigated by volcanic lava, which held a fatal attraction for an exotic beast like it that fed on fire essence.

“Little White, if you eat the spiritual fruits, will you come patrol the mountain with us?”

The Celestial Dog gave a soft “wu,” still maintaining its cold and aloof appearance.

Qing Luan covered her mouth and chuckled: “If you won't eat them, forget it. I'll go feed them to the Crystal Fish.”

As she spoke, she made a move to pick up the spiritual fruits and throw them into the volcanic lava lake.

The Celestial Dog suddenly pounced, its front paws firmly pinning down the spiritual fruits, and began to eat.

Its tail wagged like a windmill, and even the pair of wings on its back were glowing.

After devouring the Southern Departure Dao Fruits in a few bites, it resumed its haughty manner, acting indifferent toward the two of them.

Jin Feng had long seen through this dog's nature. Without a word, she grabbed the Celestial Dog by the scruff of its neck.

Before it could struggle or make a sound, with a “plop,” the Celestial Dog was thrown into the volcanic lava lake.

The scalding magma was nothing to it, but the group of Volcanic Crystal Fish in the lake were not to be trifled with.

These fierce fish, with bodies of crimson crystal, would not hold back against living creatures that entered their territory.

Instantly, countless Crystal Fish swarmed toward the Celestial Dog.

The Celestial Dog splashed about in the lake, with thousands of hungry Crystal Fish chasing after its backside.

It dodged left and right, its wings even getting several tooth marks bitten into them.

After finally getting out, it met Jin Feng's slightly mischievous eyes, and the Celestial Dog immediately became well-behaved.

With a start, it flipped over, pressed its front paws together, and bowed frantically to the two women.

It had no choice; for some reason, these two carried their master's aura, making it not dare to resist.

The two women finished training the dog and successfully led it off to patrol the mountain.

As for Qing Wu, he began his secluded meditation after returning to the Immortal Volcano.

The main body of the Wutong Tree spread out, enveloping a radius of ten million miles.

Every green-gold leaf stopped swaying, and the entire world held its breath at this moment.

Above the tree crown, the originally flowing Wood Essence Qi began to collapse, condensing into the phantom of an emerald-colored Dao Fruit at the top of the main trunk.

Phenomena began to arise.

The spiritual plants within the Immortal Volcano moved without wind, their branches and leaves all turning toward the Wutong Tree.

The Wood Spirit Qi in the earth veins surged forth spontaneously, forming nine green vortices at the roots of the tree.

Yuan Feng stood beneath the tree, sensing Qing Wu's imminent Breakthrough.

She then also revealed her true form, circling above the tree crown and sprinkling down strands of Creation Dao Laws to assist in his body's Breakthrough.