Chapter 580 - 576: Demon Venerable Xingyun

Chapter 580: Chapter 576: Demon Venerable Xingyun

"An Ancient Phoenix Tree! There’s actually an Ancient Phoenix Tree here!"

"No, this isn’t an ordinary Ancient Phoenix Tree. This is a Phoenix Phoenixwood, one where a Phoenix once rested and nested!"

"A Phoenix... that’s a Tier Nine Divine Beast, a truly supreme existence! This Ancient Phoenix Tree is practically a Phoenix Ancient Nest! What is the origin of the Fire Cloud Divine Sect, to possess such a Treasure!"

"No wonder the records of my clan state that if we could obtain the treasures within the Fire Cloud Divine Sect, we could return to the core region and even challenge the Eight Great Battle Clans!" Mang Kun’s eyes were bloodshot, filled with fervent greed.

A Phoenix!

This was a being that truly stood at the apex of this world. It was a Tier Nine existence, comparable to a human Venerable, and was absolutely powerful.

It was an existence on par with the Cyan Dragon, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise.

It could be called a Flame Venerable in its own right!

Legend had it that if the Phoenix True Flame from a newborn Phoenix were to escape, even a tiny wisp falling to the ground could melt the earth and incinerate mountains, transforming the land into an active volcano.

If an adult Phoenix spread its wings and soared, it could set the very heavens ablaze. Lands it flew over would see no rain for a hundred years!

Such a powerful being could likely evaporate an entire great river, leaving only a dry riverbed, just by landing in it.

Normally, it would be extremely difficult for such a creature to even build a nest.

Almost nothing could withstand its Phoenix True Flame.

But the Ancient Phoenix Tree was one of the few things in the world that could withstand the Phoenix True Flame. Moreover, the Ancient Phoenix Tree was an existence that transcended both ordinary objects and Heaven and Earth Spirit Essences.

It contained infinite Life Force.

And this was an Ancient Phoenix Tree that had once served as a Phoenix’s nest?

It was said that an Artifact Refining fanatic once broke off a branch from an Ancient Phoenix Tree and refined it into a Primordial Weapon. Without adding any supplementary materials, he managed to forge it into a Seventh-grade Divine Weapon.

This was an incredibly terrifying feat.

Thus, the appearance of this Phoenix Ancient Nest was utterly astonishing!

"It’s a pity this Ancient Phoenix Tree is already old and dead, completely devoid of Life Force!" Xiao Shilang said with a sigh, recovering from his shock.

Mang Kun said, "If it were alive, a Phoenix would surely still be living on it. We wouldn’t even be able to see it. Just getting within a hundred li would be unbearable due to the scorching temperature!"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

They then began walking toward the Phoenix Ancient Nest.

From a distance, the Phoenix Ancient Nest didn’t seem that large, but as they drew closer, they realized they had underestimated this legendary divine object.

The phoenixwood of this Phoenix Ancient Nest was a full thousand meters tall. Its roots were gnarled and tangled, with massive ones plunging into the earth like the arms of a giant, immense beyond belief.

Hong Yu visually estimated that the thickest part of the Ancient Phoenix Tree’s trunk was likely a thousand meters in diameter.

This was an incomparably terrifying fact.

Imagine a tree trunk larger than two stadiums put together. How terrifying was that?

"Even though it’s dead, it’s still emitting powerful waves of heat. If a Phoenix were still living here, we’d probably be incinerated within a ten-li radius."

Everyone sighed in amazement.

"Look, there’s a stone stele here!"

The crowd was startled, then moved forward to look.

This stele was forged from a massive Fire Soul Stone, but its Soul Power was already gone. Aside from being incredibly hard, it was no different from a worthless rock.

They all gazed at it.

In that instant, everyone felt as if their very souls were drawn into the stele.

The scene before them underwent an earth-shattering change. They were in a starry sky, with countless stars drifting across the cosmos.

In the starry sky, a powerful figure radiating a terrifying red light stood on the back of a Phoenix.

The man’s aura was on par with the Phoenix’s. He was a Venerable!

His face was indistinct, but the Phoenix was incredibly fearsome. It was over a hundred meters long with a wingspan of several hundred li. It radiated a terrifying Phoenix True Flame that scorched the starry sky.

A star streaked by, was instantly set ablaze, and turned into a fireball that gradually melted away in the cosmos.

The man’s brow was furrowed as he spoke, but his words were inaudible. One could only tell that his expression was extremely grave.

Everyone couldn’t help but wonder what could make this powerful existence, who commanded a Phoenix, so solemn.

Just then... from the endless void, a palm suddenly descended with crushing force.

The palm was terrifyingly immense. It shimmered with a faint golden light as it slapped down with a BOOM.

The Phoenix and the man roared in fury. Flames shot to the heavens, covering half the sky as they struggled and resisted like a colliding sun.

However...

With a BANG, this powerful duo was crushed to pieces beneath the golden palm.

The Phoenix fell, and the Venerable perished.

It all happened in a single palm strike!

As the Venerable died, his body was shattered. Only a single broken arm bone, wreathed in a ball of fire, fell from the sky and smashed heavily onto the ground.

The blazing Ancient Phoenix Tree, which stood ten thousand meters tall, was snapped and shattered with a BOOM.

In the end, only a thousand-meter-tall stump remained.

A vast and ancient voice suddenly echoed through the starry sky, "Kowtow before the Demon for thirty thousand years, to await my love and renew our bond. A Blood Slaughter of a hundred million Divine Demons, all so my love may live on in this world! HAHAHA... I, Xingyun, have dominated for countless ages, unmatched in all the world, but so what? In the end, I couldn’t even protect you! HAHAHA! Fate! Oh, fate! What could I do? What could I do..."

The immense, ancient voice shook the starry heavens.

The thunderous sound waves churned the silent starry sky before them.

A terrifying black hole formed, twisting space and throwing time itself into chaos.

Myriads of stars teetered on the brink of destruction from his words alone.

"BOOM!"

The Illusion Realm dissipated.

Everyone except Hong Yu went limp, their faces as white as paper. They collapsed to the ground with a THUD, unmoving.

"H-He destroyed a Venerable and a Phoenix with a single palm strike? W-Who in the world is this Demon Venerable Xingyun?"

"So terrifying... That is a being who truly stands at the Peak!"

"GULP!"

Hong Yu swallowed hard, a bitter taste in his mouth. Though he hadn’t been so shocked that his legs gave out, he was drenched in a cold sweat.

’Who is this guy called Demon Venerable Xingyun? He possesses such terrifying power. Not even a Venerable could withstand the might of his palm. And that bold declaration of a Blood Slaughter of a hundred million Divine Demons... How terrifying and domineering is that? It’s as if Divine Demons were nothing but ants in his eyes.’

"Is this what it means to truly stand at the pinnacle of the world? Just who is this Demon Venerable Xingyun to be so strong? Can that level of power truly be achieved by a mortal?"

Hong Yu muttered to himself, then grew curious. ’I wonder how he compares to the one who created the Profound Celestial Tower? Or to the beings in the Divine City where Rashomon is located?’

In that moment, Hong Yu realized that the world he knew was but a drop in the ocean.

He was still so insignificant.

’I still have a long way to go!’

Hong Yu took a deep breath and looked at the Phoenix Phoenixwood. He clearly remembered that in the Illusion Realm, a piece of the fallen Venerable’s arm bone had landed on this very tree.

’Could it be?’

A sharp glint flashed in Hong Yu’s eyes.

The others naturally realized it too, and their gazes turned fervent as they stared at the massive Phoenix Ancient Nest.

"The bone of a Venerable! If I can get it, I’ll be invincible!"

"This is a heaven-sent opportunity! This is a real opportunity!"

"I have to get it!"

"May the best man win!"

The moment the words fell, everyone charged forward as if in a frenzy.

Only the experts of the Hong Alliance gathered around Hong Yu, watching him and waiting for his command.

Hong Yu smiled. "An opportunity like this is naturally reserved for the fated. Go on and fight for it. If one of you can obtain it, it will be a blessing for our Hong Alliance!"

"Alright!"

"Charge!"

Who didn’t want to become stronger?

After witnessing Demon Venerable Xingyun annihilate a Venerable with a single palm and shatter the cosmos with his words, who wouldn’t be moved?

After getting Hong Yu’s approval, the experts of the Hong Alliance also threw themselves into the competition.

Every one of them rushed toward the Phoenix Ancient Nest at top speed.

Hong Yu took a deep breath and charged over as well.

They weren’t flying—not because they didn’t want to, but because they couldn’t. The Phoenix Ancient Nest suppressed their ability to fly, forcing them to climb by hand.

A thousand meters wasn’t actually that high for them.

But...

That changed the moment they touched the Phoenix Ancient Nest.

Although this phoenixwood was dead, it still carried the pressure of the Phoenix True Flame. The closer they got to the ruined nest at the top, the hotter it became, and the pressure grew even stronger.

Above a hundred meters, thirty percent of the climbers had already been eliminated.

They couldn’t endure the scorching heat.

Above three hundred meters, only half remained. The rest were all eliminated.

After five hundred meters.

An expert from the War Race, unable to bear the high temperature and drenched in sweat, tried to dig a resting spot into the phoenixwood’s trunk. The moment he attacked, a burst of flame erupted from the tree and incinerated him, turning him to ash in an instant.

Everyone gasped, not daring to try and harm the ancient tree.

Mang Kun had a powerful physique, and his body was shrouded in Battle Qi. He charged up to the seven-hundred-meter mark.

Unfortunately, he had also reached his limit.

"No, I can’t accept this..."

Mang Kun roared in despair.

But the scorching temperature made his consciousness blur, and he fell, crashing heavily to the ground.

He wasn’t injured, just utterly exhausted.

Another half hour passed. No one was climbing the Ancient Phoenix Tree anymore; they had all been forced to give up.

Gazing at the Ancient Phoenix Tree, which was only a thousand meters tall but seemed as hard to climb as the heavens, everyone felt a wave of despair and helplessness.

But then, a figure suddenly appeared in their minds.

They all turned in unison to look at Hong Yu, who had yet to start climbing. The same thought emerged in their minds: ’If anyone can actually climb this Ancient Phoenix Tree, it has to be him, right?’

Under everyone’s gaze, Hong Yu smiled slightly. "I’ll give it a try!"

Hong Yu flashed to the base of the Ancient Phoenix Tree.

He reached out and gently stroked the dead ancient tree that had weathered countless millennia. It was as if he could feel its former glory—soaring tens of thousands of feet into the air, home to a supreme Phoenix. What an honor that must have been.

Yet in the end, it had fallen to such a state.

Hong Yu could almost feel the ancient tree’s weeping and sorrow.

"SWISH!"

Hong Yu suddenly moved, as agile as a monkey, and began climbing the massive trunk with incredible speed.

He felt the fluctuations of the ancient tree and advanced steadily, completely unimpeded.

For him, who had broken through to the Eighth Transformation of the Nine Transformation Dragon God Technique, the searing heat was negligible. It wasn’t until he reached eight hundred meters that he began to feel the pressure. A divine light flickered in his eyes, and a faint, cool blue glow circulated around his body.

This was the power of his transformed physique, a result of fusing with the shattered Star River Spirit Bone.

It came from his very essence.

Resisting the heat, he continued to climb, only to be hindered again after nine hundred meters.

Hong Yu snorted. The Cyan Celestial Transformation Dragon Technique circulated through his body as he activated just the Third Layer of his Dragon Spirit Sacred Body and continued to climb.

"SWISH!"

Finally, he reached the top of the ancient tree.

On the mostly destroyed treetop, Hong Yu leaped and finally landed.

But when he saw the scene before him, even though he had been mentally prepared, he couldn’t help but be shocked...

"After the Venerable died, he actually left this behind?"

[What did the Venerable leave behind after his death? Haha, if you want to know, vote now!]