262: Chapter 262 Coveting the Shen Family's Treasure

Upon hearing Shen Qingyuan ask about this matter, the smile on Shen Quan's face faded slightly, replaced by a touch of gravity and anger.

"Ninth Uncle, you might not know this." He lowered his voice and leaned in closer. "During the time you left Guangnan City, news suddenly spread throughout the Southern Region that our Shen Family hides a Saint's Legacy. It is said we possess not only Saint-level Cultivation Techniques but also plenty of Spirit Pills and countless high-grade Magical Artifacts, which has attracted many Cultivators."

Shen Qingyuan paused his steps and turned his head to look at him. "A Saint's Legacy?"

Shen Quan nodded forcefully, his face twisted in distress. "Exactly! I don't know which dark corner this news crawled out from, but it's being spread so convincingly, with every detail explained clearly. They say it's the 'Shen Family Dragon vein, the burial ground of a Saint.' It claims the Shen Family has been passed down for thousands of years and are the guardians of the Saint's tomb."

"At first, only a few scattered Loose Cultivators came to try their luck. Later, I don't know how, but it spread wider and wider, and several large Sects in the Southern Region even sent Disciples to investigate."

"However, it's strange. The news has been spreading for so many days, yet I haven't seen a single person from the Three Great Holy Lands."

He paused and lowered his voice. "In the past few days, Third Uncle and the others have already caught several petty thieves sneaking over the walls at night. The ones with higher cultivation are at the Primal Chaos Realm, while the lower ones are only at the Soul Fire Realm. It has made the household restless. Third Uncle is so angry he's cursing, saying that once he finds out who is spreading rumors behind our backs, he will throw their entire Family into the Xuantian Secret Realm to farm."

Upon hearing this, Shen Qingyuan's lips curled slightly, though a flash of amusement flitted through his eyes.

He chuckled softly, his tone indifferent. "It seems someone has set their sights on our Shen Family. They have deep intentions, even knowing how to lure people here to test us."

Shen Quan was stunned for a moment, then a thoughtful expression appeared on his face. "Ninth Uncle, do you mean... someone is deliberately causing trouble behind the scenes?"

"What else?" Shen Qingyuan kept his hands tucked in his sleeves and continued walking toward Wutong Garden. "A small city on the edge of the Southern Region, a Family with thousands of years of heritage, and suddenly a rumor of a 'Saint's Legacy' pops up and spreads like wildfire—do you think that's a coincidence?"

Shen Quan pondered for a moment, his brows furrowing tighter and tighter, before he slapped his thigh hard. "Tiangang Sect! Is it the remnants of the Tiangang Sect causing trouble?! We wiped out their entire Sect; they must be harboring resentment and are deliberately spreading rumors to annoy us!"

Shen Qingyuan shook his head slightly. "We will know who it is later; they will reveal themselves."

Returning to Wutong Garden.

Jiang Li pushed the door open first, tiptoeing and craning her neck to peer inside.

Then, she froze.

The wutong treasure tree stood majestically in the courtyard, its branches densely hung with golden leaves. Each leaf glowed with a gentle, jade-like luster in the night, and even the air beneath the tree was shrouded in a layer of misty Spiritual Qi.

On the thickest branch at the very top of the canopy, a crimson-gold light cocoon about a zhang in size hung quietly. Fine flame patterns flowed across its surface, looking like a sleeping sun.

"Ph... Phoenix?!" Jiang Li turned her head abruptly, her almond eyes wide as copper bells, her voice cracking. "A live Phoenix?!"

Luo Qingyue, dressed in white as snow, watched Jiang Li's shocked expression and smiled. "Jiang Li is truly the young princess of the Chiyan Divine Palace; you are indeed knowledgeable."

Jiang Li clutched her chest, staring blankly at the light cocoon, unable to speak for a long time.

Although she was the Young Miss of the Chiyan Divine Palace and had seen many grand scenes in the Central Plains, she had truly never seen a live Phoenix.

The Chiyan Divine Palace's treasury did have a tail feather from an ancient Phoenix, but its purity was far less intense than the aura radiating from the light cocoon before her.

Shen Qingyuan flipped his hand and took out that drop of heavenly phoenix emperor blood.

The moment the crimson-gold blood was exposed to the night, the air in the entire Wutong Garden trembled violently.

The drop of emperors blood hovered in his palm, pulsing slightly like a heart. Each beat triggered a tide of Spiritual Qi in the surroundings, causing even the golden leaves of the wutong treasure tree to rustle as if in a breeze.

Just then— "Hum!"

The crimson-gold light cocoon at the top of the wutong treasure tree suddenly erupted with blinding light!

The light was as intense as fire, dispersing the darkness of the entire courtyard and bathing it in gold.

The flame patterns on the surface of the light cocoon moved wildly as if they had come to life, emitting a low humming sound, as if responding to something.

Following that, with a crisp "crack," a fine crack appeared at the top of the light cocoon and spread rapidly across the surface, like an eggshell baked to the extreme by fire, about to hatch!

Shen Qingyuan looked up, his lips curling slightly.

Jiang Li stood at the entrance of the courtyard, her almond eyes wide and her hands covering her mouth.

A Phoenix descending to the world?

Luo Qingyue, dressed in white as snow, stood quietly beside Shen Qingyuan, watching the changes before them.

"Boom—"

With a low and intense muffled sound, the crimson-gold light cocoon exploded completely.

The fragments of Spiritual light scattered across the sky like fireworks. Each sliver of light burned with a tiny wisp of Nirvana True Fire, and as they fell onto the bluestone slabs of Wutong Garden, they hissed and left hair-thin scorch marks.

And that figure, having broken out of the cocoon, stood in mid-air with its wings spread. Its entire body of crimson-gold feathers shimmered with a flowing luster under the moonlight, each one like burning glazed glass.

Its tail feathers were long and slender, trailing strings of sparks as they hung down, dragging a brilliant golden trajectory through the air.

In those crimson-gold vertical pupils, the fear and weakness from when it was dragged back by Shen Yuanshan and the others were gone, replaced by a sharp majesty, carrying the keenness of one reborn from the fire.

It lowered its head, its gaze falling upon the drop of heavenly phoenix emperor blood hovering in Shen Qingyuan's palm, its eyes surging with indescribable excitement.

"This is... the emperors blood of my Phoenix Clan!"

Its voice was no longer hoarse, carrying a clear and resonant texture.

Shen Qingyuan kept his hands tucked in his sleeves, looking at it lazily, and then looked down at the slightly pulsing emperors blood in his palm.

"What, do you want this?"

The Phoenix's gaze fluctuated violently. It folded its wings slightly and descended from mid-air, landing on a thick branch of the wutong treasure tree, level with Shen Qingyuan.

It was silent for a moment, its voice dropping low.

"The emperors blood of the Phoenix Clan is extremely important to me. The emperors blood contains... the Legacy of my ancestors. If I can refine it, it will be enough to awaken the innate Legacy within the Phoenix's Nirvana True Fire, and my strength will far exceed what it was before."

It paused and lowered its arrogant head.

"I am willing to serve you as my master!"

"Then I will give it to you."

Shen Qingyuan's voice was indifferent as he tossed it casually.

The drop of heavenly phoenix emperor blood was guided by an invisible hand, turning into a streak of crimson-gold light and flying straight toward the Phoenix.

The Phoenix's pupils shrank, and it instinctively opened its beak, the drop of emperors blood falling precisely into its mouth.

The next moment— "Boom!!!"

The Spiritual Qi of the entire Wutong Garden exploded.

The feathers all over the Phoenix's body suddenly bristled, and crimson-gold light surged frantically from within its body, dyeing the entire night sky a golden red.

Its wings spread instinctively, and it let out a clear and long cry.

The sound wave spread out like a solid substance, causing the tiles nearby to tremble slightly.

The aura around its body began to climb at a terrifying speed!

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