Chapter 87 – The Withering Blood-Red Mandala
"Congratulations on the birth of the world's first divine beast species. Let the creatures of this world be reshaped in myriad splendors. Reward: 10 free attribute points."
Beiluo, Heartlake Isle.
Leaning against the railing to listen to the wind, Lu Fan, dressed in white, took a gentle sip of green plum wine as his robe fluttered lightly. Before his eyes, the system's reward prompt emerged.
"A divine beast species, is it? The first phoenix… A pity, still but a fledgling."
Lu Fan swirled the bronze cup in his hand and smiled faintly.
Perhaps the transformation was not particularly difficult, which was why he had only received free attribute points and not a separate transformation reward—somewhat disappointing to him.
If Bai Qingniao truly intended to raise a genuine phoenix, the road ahead would still be long.
In mythology, the phoenix is an auspicious omen. Once word spreads that Bai Qingniao possesses a phoenix, even if only a fledgling, all under heaven will covet it. Whether she can protect it then is far from certain.
However, it was Jiang Li's subordinate, Chilian, who truly surprised Lu Fan. It made him realize that this world does not lack ruthless or extraordinary individuals.
As for Mo Shougui's death… a man who couldn't even defeat a chicken—what more was there to say?
Suddenly, Lu Fan's mind stirred. He summoned the system interface.
Host: Lu FanTitle: Qi Cultivator (Permanent)Qi Layer: 2 (Progress to Layer 3: 445/1000 strands)Soul Strength: 52 (Exchangeable: 0)Body Strength: 6 (Exchangeable: 1)Spiritual Qi: 389 strandsTransformation Rewards:"Primordial Qi Cultivation Manual", "Enlightenment Technique", "Indestructible Demonic Body (Entry-Level)"World Rating: Five Phoenix Continent [Low Martial World]Permissions: [Missions], [Dao Transmission Platform], [Spiritual Qi Deployment]Branch Permissions: [Furnace of Myriad Laws (LV1)]Spiritual Artifact: Qi Suppression Chessboard (Profound-Grade, Lower Tier)Cultivation Technique: "Celestial Chess Strategy" (Profound-Grade, Lower Tier)Free Attribute Points: 10
Lu Fan examined the attribute panel while sipping the plum wine. He noticed the [Missions] section was subtly pulsing with a concealed light.
He focused his mind. The light faded, and a prompt appeared.
Mission Description: "The advancement of a world is not only reflected in the density of spiritual qi, but also in the diversity of its races."Side Quest: "The phoenix has emerged—can the celestial dragon be far behind? Establish a 'Dragon-Rearing Ground' and cultivate the first Celestial Dragon species."
This time, there weren't many new missions.
Lu Fan furrowed his brow, eyes fixed on the mission panel, and sank into contemplation.
"A phoenix and a celestial dragon… laying the groundwork for a high-martial world, perhaps?"
Leaning in his wheelchair, facing the soothing lake breeze, Lu Fan murmured softly.
Celestial dragons and phoenixes—divine beasts. Dragons that command the clouds and mist, phoenixes that soar across the heavens. Once fully matured, they would be cataclysmic existences capable of reshaping the world.
If a high-martial world truly comes to be, the appearance of dragons and phoenixes would no longer be surprising.
As for the fledgling phoenix now raised by Bai Qingniao, it was still far from a true phoenix.
"A Dragon-Rearing Ground… a place to nurture dragons."
The notion gave Lu Fan a slight headache.
To raise dragons, one must first select creatures capable of evolving into them.
"After five hundred years, the water serpent becomes a flood dragon; a thousand years more and it becomes a true dragon; another five hundred, a horned dragon; and in another millennium, a responding dragon…"
The water serpent referred to the snake—thus, a snake could indeed become a dragon.
Lu Fan could use snakes in the Dragon-Rearing Ground, catalyzing their evolution with spiritual qi to accelerate their transformation.
Besides snakes, fish could also become dragons—'a carp leaping over the dragon gate' was not just a myth.
Lu Fan mulled over it for quite a while.
Eventually, he devised a plan. The Dragon-Rearing Ground… might just tie in with the next secret realm.
"Ning-jie, more wine."
Lu Fan came back to himself and smiled.
Ning Zhao, having brewed plum wine, rolled up her sleeves and approached with the wine pot. The clear, chilled liquid flowed into the bronze goblet.
Inhaling the fragrant warmth rising from the cup, Lu Fan's gaze grew deep once more, stretching across hundreds of miles—there was still a grand spectacle to witness.
—
Eastern Lake, Mechanized City
The world's foremost assassin, Mo Yihen, failed in his attempt on the Overlord's life. With a single strike, the Overlord shattered his long sword and sent him plummeting into an abyss.
The wandering swordsmen of the Mo Family showed no emotion.
To an assassin, death was simply routine.
They crossed the iron chains, fixated on one target—the Overlord.
For every Mo Yihen who fell, ten thousand more could rise.
But there was only one Overlord.
Once the Overlord perished, the Western Command Army would naturally retreat.
Rain lashed like steel as Xiang Shaoyun's long hair danced wildly. His iron-like frame stood unyielding, soaked and cold. His armor reflected a chilling gleam.
He glanced once at the falling Mo Yihen. The assassin met death not with fear but with a serene calm—perhaps even a hint of release.
Of course, Xiang Shaoyun had no interest in pondering a dead man's thoughts.
Turning around, he raised his massive battle axe high, as if to cleave apart the very storm above.
Behind him, Xiliang's warriors roared in fervor, brandishing their spears as their battle cries tore through the downpour.
On the far end of the iron chains, Mo Family's black-clad assassins charged forward with blades drawn.
Dressed in crimson, Azhu dashed like a smudge of blooming red ink across the chains, above her, a rain of sharp bolts from Mechanized City.
The Overlord's eyes burned bright like torches.
His battle axe danced, smashing through the rain of bolts. Like a deity or demon, he charged across the chain.
The enormous eighteen-segment mechanical centipede, blades whirling, lunged at him like a monstrous beast.
Xiang Shaoyun's blood boiled; the storm parted around him. Demonic energy surged from his Qi Core, enveloping him in an aura of overwhelming pressure.
The gigantic centipede recoiled in fear before his two-meter-tall figure.
His battle cry echoed through the storm.
The war drums of Xiliang pounded ever more frantically, stirring blood and spirit alike.
With a single, brutal swing, the Overlord cleaved the centipede in two.
His form tore through the wreckage as it plunged into the abyss.
Black demonic aura cloaked him; his strength was insurmountable.
He relished this transcendence of mortal limits.
Even a martial grandmaster could fall under the weight of a thousand blades. But Xiang Shaoyun—could turn such a siege into a massacre.
The bloodshed at Wolong Ridge had been his metamorphosis.
Strictly speaking, it was Mo Beike who had forged the Overlord.
The Mo Family assassins began to fall back.
Led by the Overlord, Xiliang's warriors surged like a tidal wave over the city walls of Mechanized City.
The Mechanized City… had fallen.
—
Heavy panting filled the stormy air.
Disgusted by the donkey's sluggish pace, Mo Liuqi leapt off and sprinted madly through the rain, splashing mud with every step.
The winding mountain paths could not slow him.
Corpses tumbled down the white waterfall.
Mo Liuqi dared not slow—he feared arriving too late to even glimpse Azhu's corpse.
He ran like a man possessed, the storm-blurred path whipping past him, trees swaying violently on either side.
At last, light broke through.
He burst from the forest, coming to a massive iron chain.
Across the eighty-one chains, a swarm of Xiliang warriors had already crossed.
Mechanized City's massive ballistae had shattered, its walls breached.
Mo Liuqi raised his head. Rain slid down his cheeks.
Through the curtain of storm, he saw the city wall—
There stood the towering form of the Overlord, unmoved by the tempest, imposing as a god.
He loomed higher than the clouds, suffocating in presence.
Mo Liuqi's pupils shrank.
The Overlord, carrying his battle axe, raised a hand. Gripped tightly in it was a figure clad in blood-red robes, like a mandala in bloom.
Mo Liuqi's heart clenched.
In his hand, he clutched a hairpin, crudely engraved with the name "Azhu."
Xiliang warriors swung their blades toward him.
Mo Liuqi surged with spiritual energy, evading the strikes, his toes dancing on their shoulders as he raced up the chain.
On the city wall—
The Overlord strangled the red-robed woman.
Even with a mask, her beauty was undeniable, her figure voluptuous.
But the Overlord's heart belonged to only one—Luo Mingsang.
To him, all others were but alluring skeletons.
With indifference, he hurled her.
The red robe fluttered like bleeding ink, her body falling from the city walls like a withered flower.
"No!"
On the chain, Mo Liuqi turned ice-cold. His face drained of color.
Xiang Shaoyun, preparing to head deeper into the city, heard the anguished cry.
He paused, frowning, and turned slowly.
He saw Mo Liuqi, cloaked in spiritual energy, charging forward. His eyes narrowed.
"The Mo Clan… has a cultivator?"
Mo Liuqi panicked.
Even when he failed to assassinate the Grandmaster on Heartlake Isle and faced Lu Fan's crushing aura, he had never known such dread.
The woman in red bled from her lips… and in that moment, seemed to hear Mo Liuqi's desperate voice...