123. Birth Of A Phoenix
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*(Hello! ＼(?▽? )／
Thank you all for reading this far! ?:.?.(???@).?.:?
From here, we're delving into past events fully (The Immortal back story)! This might take severallllllll chapters, so feel free to skip ahead to chapter 156 if you're not interested!
Thanks so much once again! ?*:.?.(′??? ' ).?.:*?)
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'It's Yin Bailong!' Weiyan concluded.
With black hair and regular robes, he looked completely mortal, but one could say his eyes and general appearance were more vibrant, and there was even that mild but supreme aura she was beginning to recognise around the immortals.
This was certainly Yin Bailong, but disguised as a mortal!
However, this confused Weiyan...
Because the one in Yin Bailong's arms... the one who looked exactly like her, held the same light, lustre, brilliance, and aura of an immortal!
At the moment, the vision Yin Bailong shook his head, clearing the effects of the kiss. "I'm a bad influence through and through!" But then he sighed, linking their fingers, a serious veil falling over his features.
"That dense demonic aura is certainly from here... I don't know what it is, but I sensed Yin Zhi's aura around here, and according to Yinying, he caught a glimpse of Immortal Jin within this city as well.
"I also found a strange formation at the heart of the city. I think there's something buried beneath this place..."
But at that moment, his ears perked, and he sat straight. "Yin Zhi is close. Let's not alert the enemy!" He shot to his feet, bringing Weiyan with him, and the two vanished, right before another immortal appeared with a familiar cloaked woman.
The Immortal was as beautiful as most of them were, though with a more angular face than those Weiyan had seen. It was as if the air bent around him, wavering like water, and something about him reminded her of the mermans on Caoyang.
Yet there was a slight resemblance to Yin Bailong...
"My Mistress!" He knelt and bowed to the cloaked woman. "I suspect my brother might be on our trail! If he discovers this city, our doom won't be far off!"
The cloaked woman remained still for a while, her cloak gently swaying in the breeze.
"Hao." She spoke suddenly, then swivelled. "Then it might be time to act..."
Weiyan was still struggling to understand what she was witnessing, when a strange sensation washed over her, forcing her to squeeze her eyes shut in discomfort.
If she could compare it to anything, it would be the moment she locked eyes with the gatekeeper and he painted her into the fake Yu Shui city.
But this was different.
This time, she could feel herself being torn away from here and transported elsewhere, and by the time the sensation stopped, she opened her eyes in a magnificent place which should surely be some strange, fantastical dream...
A place mortals could only dream of.
Yet it was familiar.
"The Tree of Swallows!" Weiyan whispered, right before more confusion set in. "H- How do I know such a place?!"
Here, quaint floral houses merged from the ground onto the branches of an impossibly large tree- a tree so large that its gnarled branches carried an endless array of round flame-shaped wooden houses, going all the way to the top, which sat in the skies.
The houses were large, brilliant and colourful, and with giant mystical flowers around them, these houses resembled fruits growing out of the tree's branches.
She smiled as two children chased each other with trinkling laughter.
They both leapt off the tree and transformed into swallows, their laughter switching to ringing birdsong as their wings soared through the skies.
Weiyan's irises roamed everywhere, a warm feeling entering her heart and permeating her bones.
This was a familiar feeling... It was a little similar to when she entered her father's house, the Xu central residence, but mostly similar to how she felt whenever she returned home to Luoyin in the Yan house...
This was the warm feeling of coming home.
Which only fueled her confusion as she leisurely walked to the top of the great Swallow Tree.
On the highest branch, her eyes fell on a magnificent home, bigger, grander, and more intricate than the rest.
"*Yan Gong!" The words left her lips on a breath, and she clenched her fist in discomfort, as those warm feelings were strongest in this place.
(*Swallow Palace)
She looked towards the doors, and three figures descended to stand before it, all immensely beautiful and dressed in iridescent robes adorned with glorious feathers.
One was a man who oddly reminded her of Sect Leader Xu, the other was a woman, whose waist the man held. Crystal crowns sat on both their heads, and they beamed at her warmly.
The third was a young girl, a playful smile on her own face.
All three held out their hands to Weiyan and the man said, "Weiwei! You've finally returned home!"
Weiyan felt an instant tug on her heart.
"Father! Mother! Linlin!" She whispered, her eyes blurry with unshed tears.
She placed a hand to her heart as the pearl within her flared its brightest, surrounding the entire area with light...
'I remember...' She thought, letting an endless swirl of memories settle within her, filling her with an air of warmth, joy, laughter, and love...
...but also an aching feeling of cold dread...
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(Ultimate Flashback!)
It all began with a war.
Somewhere in Sky Realm, the Immortals, led by the most powerful deities, faced the Demon King who sought to rule over all beings.
"Bold! Don't overestimate yourself!" The then Sky Emperor thundered, his golden armour glowing under the sun.
"You filthy demon King! You have a large appetite, but can you handle it?!" Another deity raged.
The response was the demon King's cold and cruel laughter. "Immortals talk too much. You can let me know how you feel after I seat on your golden throne!"
A battle ensued.
The demons, clad mostly in black, clashed with the immortals in their myriad of regal colours, each side darting across the skies in jets of brilliant lights, too fast for the eyes to follow.
The skies darkened from sheer power, and multiple colours of lightning split the skies, as large divine beasts were summoned, and immortal spells previously reserved for the worst of enemies, flew left and right.
This war was in Sky realm, but it's echo was felt even on the Mortal plains, as thunder and lightning rumbled across the lands. Mountains were leveled, and seas were roiled up into fierce hurricanes.
This continued for five whole days, but on the eve of the sixth day, the demon king finally fell, personally defeated by the war deity, a phoenix who gave her life to defeat him...
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Five Hundred Thousand Years later,
The Bird Tribe of Sky Realm was huge, making up almost thirty percent of the entire immortals of Sky Realm.
The Bird Immortals were also popular...
After all, the most famous War Deity in Sky Realm's history had been one and the same grand phoenix who had slain the Demon King, and at the point of her death, she had left a prediction:
"The tides of years flow, the stars align... The summer solstice brings forth a golden phoenix whose power will surpass mine..."
She died without clarifying the details, and her final words, originally a blessing, nearly turned to a curse.
This was because in the wake of the Demon King's death, a few hidden powers in Sky Realm sought to use this so-called golden phoenix to overthrow the then Sky Emperor.
But Zhurong Sheng, the then Sky Emperor, was as shrewd as the worst of them.
He quickly sent the most precious gifts to the Bird Clan, accompanied by a decree which stated that the golden phoenix would automatically become the War Deity once he came of age, and if it was a lady, then she would be the bride of the ruling Sky Emperor.
A clever move which bought the Bird Clan's loyalty, forcing the enemies to back away, while everyone in the Bird Clan did all they could to birth a phoenix by all means.
But the 'tides of years' were longer than anyone expected, and a full Five Hundred Thousand years had gone by.
Yet no phoenix...
The Bird Clan Central tree, almost twice larger than the tree of swallows, began to wilt and wither as the light from the past phoenixes slowly faded away.
The Bird King was sickly and childless, so he promised the throne to whoever could produce a phoenix, which turned all eyes to two particular families... the only two families where it could happen.
First was the Feng family, a family of Azure Peacocks who ruled the Peacock Clan. The *'Feng' in the surname originated from actual phoenixes in their genealogy, so everyone secretly believed the Feng family had more of a chance to birth a phoenix.
(*Feng/Fenghua - Phoenix)
The second family was the Yan family, a smaller family of Golden Mist Swallows who also ruled the overall Swallow Clan.
Both families were quite prestigious, and with the added possibility of ruling the entire bird clan, their entryways were piled high with countless marriage proposals.
Meanwhile, within the peacock clan, was a promising family with two daughters of immense talent, sought after by both the Azure Peacocks and the Golden Mist Swallows.
Both families requested Yao Lien, who was younger, more beautiful, and more talented, but being a fellow peacock, her father offered her up to the Feng family, while the Yan family settled for the older daughter, Yao Ling.
However Yao Ling had always envied her younger sister's beauty and talent, and bitterness rose in her heart after both families requested her sister.
In her envy, Yao Ling cast a spell on Yao Lien, sending her into a deep slumber. Then she wore Yao Lien's wedding robes, taking her place.
It was too late by the time anyone realized. The wedding had been consummated, and Yao Ling became the Peacock Queen.
Surprisingly, Yao Lien the younger sister did not raise an issue, and happily married Yan Liyun, the King of Swallows...
It was a decently grand wedding and the guests marveled at how Yao Lien and Yan Liyun seemed so in love.
"Tch! The bride's smile is brighter than the sun, despite her original fiance being snatched away!"
"I hear she and this Yan king grew up together, so this may be a blessing in disguise for them!"
"But what's the point? She will miss out on being the Bird Queen!"
However...
In the summer solstice of the following year...
It was still Yao Lien who gave birth to a Golden Phoenix!
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