Chapter 280 Phoenix Ancestor

Yang Lujia did not waste any more time and set off to the Phoenix Empress Palace as entailed by the coordinates given to him by the Association Head. Meanwhile, Sheng Ao, by his side, was shocked by his master's means as they immediately arrived at the Phoenix Empress Palace in no time, without any warning.

Sheng Ao, however, was still worried about the ever-secretive Phoenix Empress Palace. Among the palaces, one of the oldest ones was the Phoenix Empress Palace while their Holy Light Palace was just a newly emerged one, with no one yet to be called their Holy Light Ancestor.

"Master, if we infiltrate their palace now, I have to remind you that the ancestors of every palace are very strong, much stronger than even the peak Saint Emperors. You have to be careful. I have met one before and that being almost suffocated me—"

Yang Lujia's ears perked up and stopped in the sky as he looked at the enormous palace where different colors of phoenixes were flying—his eyes showing a dangerous light as he thought of cooking them like fried chickens. "What's the difference between these ancestors and the peak Saint Emperors?"

Sheng Ao had a grim look on his face as he looked towards the Phoenix Empress Palace. "Their comprehension of rules surpassed everyone in the realm. The reason why the two temples did not move against any of them is solely because of these ancestors. Otherwise, they would have been annexed by the two temples, just like how they made the Autonomous Region their own."

"Oh? There's a story about this? I'm interested," Yang Lujia said.

Sheng Ao chose to narrate everything he knew to his master before they would infiltrate the palace below them. He breathed a sigh and began his story.

"Before I became the Holy Son, the one who literally had the qualifications to inherit the throne of the Holy Light Emperor, I was just a normal kid in a street. The emperor himself found me and chose to teach me things beyond my understanding as a mortal. At that time, the four regions were not yet at peace as they constantly would try to steal territories, except for the Sacred Region that already had its own and was basically the—"

"Could it be because of the formation around the Sacred Region that those from the two temples did not dare to attack the Holy Light Palace despite knowing that you don't have any ancestor to back you with?" Yang Lujia hit the spot as Sheng Ao nodded.

The latter then proceeded to his story. It turned out that the four regions were always at war at that time. It was also at that time that the Third Region had slowly declined as they lost to the war with the First Region personally annexed by the Phoenix Empress Palace.

"So, that's the story… anyway, ancestor or not, it's not important. What's more important is that I can heal you so that you can continue to cultivate once more—"

"But—"

"No buts. As for your worries about the array formation that surrounded the Phoenix Empress Palace, erase them. The array formation of the Sacred Region couldn't even erase, let alone this puny array formation that contained several flaws in my eyes."

Sheng Ao widened his eyes as he looked at the cunning face of his master, as though he wanted to do something frightening. "Master… you couldn't be…"

Yang Lujia just laughed at Sheng Ao's reaction and looked into his eyes. "Do you worry about your master facing the entire palace head-on?"

Sheng Ao, even though he believed his master was more powerful than the Holy Light Emperor, he still chose to be skeptical when it came to the ancestor of other palaces. "Y-Yes…"

"Do you believe that with just a snap, I can kill everyone in this Phoenix Empress Palace?" Yang Lujia motioned his arms up with a snapping gesture on his hand, his mouth curving into a smile that was not at all a smile.

Sheng Ao gulped, not anymore thinking how strong his master was. He did not think he was a show-off as he thought his master really had the capability to do so. Without anything to say, he chose to keep silent as he unbelievably saw how they disappeared from the spot, appearing in an extremely hot environment. If not for his master having timely coated him with his qi, he would have already been devoured by the surrounding flames of different colors. He then looked on forward and saw how a large phoenix was slumbering on a large platform.

This wizened phoenix might look old, but the essence it emitted was enough for anyone to tremble. This was the Phoenix Ancestor that he referred to about! This was one of the strongest beings in this Realm of Spacetime!

Flames continued to rumble, sizzling sounds of something burnt progressively made the one being think about roasting or frying chickens, the one who led Sheng Ao to this place in a time that not even a second had yet passed.

When the phoenix finally noticed the arrival of the two, it opened its large eyes and it stared right through Yang Lujia. On the other hand, Sheng Ao trembled at this sight. Even though he was not the one being stared at by this being, it was as though they were all seen through by it.

"Who are you? What is your purpose?" The wizened phoenix stood from the platform it was lying down and stood with its beak raised to the sky, looking down at Yang Lujia, who was staring at her like he was looking at his prey.

This phoenix took measures of the situation and knew that the being who was all smiles before her was powerful enough to even bypass the senses of her own daughter, the Phoenix Empress. However, she was still confident of her strength and believed that no one other than the other ancestors and those from the two temples could match her overall prowess.

Yang Lujia woke up from his stupor when he felt the tugging hands of his own disciple behind him, whose face was now scrunching up in fear. "Do monks feel fear as well?" he asked.

'Of course, we feel fear!' Sheng Ao thundered in his heart as he stared at this unreasonable master of his. However, atop these feelings was the warmth he felt that his master was actually willing to brave dangers for him. He had not had that. Even the Holy Light Emperor had his own selfish ideals despite his preaching to save others from their demise even if it meant their doom.

He knew no difference between any situation that required him to do that, but the Holy Light Emperor said that there was still a difference between or among them. Whether or not the difference was really there, he held on to his own beliefs and told himself that having pure virtue is not being selective, it is about being unconditional.

As his thoughts ran wild, Yang Lujia and the wizened phoenix continued to stare at each other, as the flames around them became even hotter than before. However, to the phoenix's surprise, Yang Lujia and Sheng Ao did not even sustain a burn.

"I can feel in your blood the same as that of the dragons. I have not seen the Dragon Ancestor for a while, but I knew that he was definitely not you and your blood seemed to be purer than his. I can also smell from you my own smell, but one that was stronger, that had a stronger bloodline than any of us here. So, who are you?" The wizened Phoenix Ancestor finally grasped the situation and stared at Yang Lujia inquisitively. In all honesty, she was somewhat apprehensive of the young man that was looking at her with ease, his face despite showing nonchalance, was looking at her like she was food. "What is your purpose?"

"I am surnamed, Yang. My name is Yang Lujia. I suppose you are the Phoenix Ancestor as you have the strongest aura among all the other chick—phoenixes here. As for my purpose, you should also know…"

'How the hell would I know?' the Phoenix Ancestor looked at Yang Lujia like he was some kind of idiot. 'I can do so many things that I would not know what kind of purpose you would have if you had to go through me directly and not with my daughter.'

Seeing the confused look of the Phoenix Ancestor, Yang Lujia did not dilly-dally and said solemnly, "I am here for the Nine-Leaf Nirvana Herb, Phoenix Ancestor."

'Chicken Ancestor would still best suit her, though.'