Chapter 520 – Obtaining the Phoenix Feather (1/2)

Lolth was unable to hear Li Qingshan and Golden Cicada’s conversation. When she heard Li Qingshan mention “fellow Golden Cicada”, she could not help but become surprised. “What did you call sir Golden Cicada?”

“Even if you don’t challenge me, I’ll be challenging you!” Li Qingshan studied Lolth’s enticing body again and laughed aloud.

“The phoenix feather is right here. You and that… friend beside you, come and take it!”

Golden Cicada sank into silent thought. Through his observations of the battle, he clearly knew Li Qingshan had received powerful reinforcements, but he was unable to see Xiao An, and he was unable to detect her aura either with his senses. Even he found this to be extremely strange, developing a hint of curiosity.

If Li Qingshan used the Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas to hide his aura, then Xiao An’s would be the “nothingness” between life and death. She had no aura to hide in the first place.

“Why?” Li Qingshan asked vigilantly.

“She’s very special. Don’t worry, I have no ill intentions towards you. Perhaps I might even be able to assist her.”

“Alright.”

With benefits up for grabs, Li Qingshan agreed very happily. This did not necessarily mean he had dropped his guard. Golden Cicada’s behaviour had always been relatively gentle, and he still needed him to retrieve the Chant of Deva-Nāga, so there was no reason to turn against him.

If there really was life-threatening danger, the spirit turtle’s daemon core would definitely warn him. So far, he had not developed the ability to divine and predict various random things, but it was enough as long as it was effective in this aspect.

Under Lolth’s surprised and doubtful gaze, Li Qingshan unfurled his wings of wind and flew downwards into the earth with Xiao An. Wherever he passed by, the rock and soil would automatically part and create a tunnel. Even though he would run into large pieces of ores that he could not shift so easily, he only needed to produce a breath and sparks would fly, forming a tunnel in the blink of an eye.

This continued until he arrived at the depths underground, before the lake of magma.

Just when Li Qingshan had caught his footing, a golden-red feather floating on the lake of fire immediately drew his attention away. He was unable to shift his gaze after that.

The slender feather was around a foot long, extending into a gradual curve. The patterning on the end was like a huge eye, constantly producing a bright and gentle glow.

Li Qingshan needed no explanation. He knew this was definitely a feather of the legendary phoenix. Nothing about it could be wrong.

Like how it was possible to learn about a leopard from a single spot, he seemed to be able to imagine the pure and noble bearing of a phoenix unfurling its wings from seeing this one feather.

Li Qingshan immediately strode across the lake of fire and extended his hand towards the phoenix feather. Right when he was about to touch it, he could not help but shy back, like a mortal reaching towards glowing charcoal with their bare hands, afraid of getting burnt.

However, when the tip of his finger touched the phoenix feather, it did not feel scorching at all. Instead, there was an indescribable warmth. The wonderful, graceful sensation was unable to be described through language.

After that, he sensed a powerful aura of life.

The heart of a phoenix was pure and noble, but not arrogant. The fire of a phoenix was scorching hot, but not wounding.

Li Qingshan held the phoenix feather between his fingers, admiring it in complete amazement. He imagined how beautiful a real phoenix would be.

At the same time, Golden Cicada was also observing Li Qingshan. They had carried out their conversation last time from a great distance apart after all, and no one could ignore the interference from the underground magnetic field.

As a result, while they did have a conversation, his impression of Li Qingshan was still the same as last time when Li Qingshan ventured deep underground and demonstrated a hint of the phoenix’s aura.

However, now that Golden Cicada saw him again, he could not help but be taken aback.

That was because the aura of the phoenix on Li Qingshan was extremely feeble, almost non-existent. However, there were three other tremendous auras.

One was as heavy as a mountain, one was as fierce as the wind, and one was as tranquil as the sea.

Each aura represented a bloodline legacy from a powerful lifeform, yet it happened to be that none of them paled in comparison to the phoenix.

Lolth well and truly deserved her defeat. She did not even know what she was up against!

This was utterly unheard of for Golden Cicada. It was impossible for him to be born like this. Merely obtaining one of these powerful bloodlines would have required extremely great luck.

He definitely carried a huge secret on him. He was a mere daemon who did not even know what the Nine Heavens were, yet he earnestly said he wanted to venture beyond the Nine Heavens. As it seemed, it definitely did not arise from conceit.

Golden Cicada did not know about the existence of the black ox, but he could vaguely sense a lofty figure standing behind Li Qingshan.

Afterwards, Golden Cicada directed his focus to Xiao An and immediately became stunned. The feeling of shock was much more intense than when Li Qingshan saw the phoenix feather. He murmured to himself, “Neither living or dead, formless and non-self.”

Golden Cicada had an extremely deep connection with buddhism, which was why he had requested Li Qingshan to retrieve the Chant of Deva-Nāga for him. Now that he saw the successor of the White Bone Bodhisattva, how could he not be surprised and shocked?

Sure, Li Qingshan and Xiao An were still very weak, but they were like tiny seeds. Some seeds could only grow into grass, while others had the potential to become towering trees.