Chapter 59 – Manifestation

Without the Phoenix Feather, the Carnivorous Tree and the Weaver Ants seemed to go mad, and surged towards Yun Xiguang in an overwhelming tide.

The Carnivorous Tree no longer held back its strength. New branches sprouted endlessly from its body, wrapping around the Spiritbond Master of the Weaver Ants, supplying energy to the ant nest to breed even more Weaver Ants.

Then, countless russet-colored Weaver Ants overflowed from the gaps between the branches. They swiftly crawled up the branches to the marshland’s sky and rained down to suppress the raging flames.

At the same time, more Weaver Ants, like dark clouds, with the help of the branches, charged towards Yun Xiguang.

This scene was truly terrifying. If it were anyone else, they would have nightmares for half a month.

But Yun Xiguang calmly raised his hand, preparing to resist this force.

The spiritual energy within Yun Xiguang was cultivated using the method taught by Chi Qiong, harnessing the power of the Phoenix Feather. He had a portion of his own spiritual energy and could also mobilize some of the energy within the Phoenix Feather through a special cultivation technique. It was this energy that fueled the sea of fire.

Now, the energy from the Phoenix Feather that Yun Xiguang could utilize had been completely depleted, but he still had his own inner strength. The spiritual energy he had cultivated was enough to exterminate these struggling Weaver Ants.

With the Phoenix Feather already in his possession, how could he fear these two spirit beasts that had lost their source of spiritual energy?

Yet, just as Yun Xiguang was about to release a fireball to block the attack of the Weaver Ants, space suddenly froze.

Above the food cart, a blue-haired, blue-eyed man with fair skin appeared. It was Hai Ruobo.

Yun Xiguang lifted his head and looked at Hai Ruobo.

He sat in an opened clamshell, surrounded by dreamlike bubbles. Within the bubbles, a creature with horns that resembled a dragon faintly surfaced — the true form of the Mirage.

A trail of blood hung from the corner of Hai Ruobo’s mouth, indicating that after being brutally beaten by the Azure Dragon, he had escaped here through the “Illusory Reality” spatial passage.

He wiped away the blood on the corner of his mouth and spoke to Yun Xiguang from above, “For someone without a Spirit Root to have come so far, it can be considered your good fortune and a testament to your unwavering resolve. Unfortunately, this is where your journey ends.”

It was clear that when Hai Ruobo escaped here, he had already closed the spatial passage. Spirit beasts such as the Azure Dragon and the Golden-Winged Great Peng were unable to cross through the spatial passage and arrive here.

Only Yun Xiguang was present here. After battling the Carnivorous Tree and the Weaver Ants, he had no strength left to deal with Hai Ruobo, a Spiritbond Master at the Earth-grade.

Yun Xiguang said to Hai Ruobo, “Senior Hai, you are a respected senior in the Spiritbond World. You’ve assisted major organizations in constructing many crucial spaces and barriers. Why did you harm Bai Ze? Why did you collude with demonic beasts and such bizarre spirit beasts?”

Hai Ruobo gazed at Yun Xiguang and whispered softly, “After your mother formed a Spirit Contract with the Crimson Chi, she sought my guidance on how to interact with dragon-like beings. She could be considered my half-student.”

Last time, Yun Xiguang learned from his Uncle Yun Boquan that his father’s name was Yun Botian, but when he asked about his mother, Yun Boquan claimed he couldn’t remember her, as if he had forgotten just now.

Yun Boquan had never had a deep impression of Yun Xiguang’s mother, and under the power of the Zhulong, he had forgotten much. At that time, he had also lost the Azure Dragon, suffering a severe blow to his body and mind. It was normal for him to completely forget the information about Yun Xiguang’s mother.

Yun Xiguang had also asked the Azure Dragon and the Crimson Chi about his mother. The Azure Dragon told him that the Zhulong had a bloodline suppression over all dragons and dragon-like beings. What the Zhulong wanted to erase with time was something they couldn’t speak of, unless they shared it with a Spiritbond Master through a Spirit Contract.

But the Azure Dragon and the Crimson Chi no longer had Spiritbond Masters, leaving Yun Xiguang with no way to learn any information about his mother.

This was the first time he heard news about his mother since the incident involving the Yun family.

“You resemble your mother,” Hai Ruobo said as if lost in memories, his voice soft, “She was an ordinary person, unlike you, who grew up receiving education as Spiritbond Masters. She knew nothing, only encountering cases related to spirit beasts, falling in love with your father. When your father wanted to marry her, neither the Yun family nor the Spiritbond World advised him to drag an ordinary person into the world of Spiritbond Masters.”

As Yun Xiguang listened to him speak, he vigilantly observed his surroundings. Without realizing it, the Weaver Ants were gone, the Carnivorous Tree was gone, the marshland was gone, and he was surrounded by nothing but one dreamlike bubble after another. These bubbles reflected rainbow colors, enveloping him within.

Hai Ruobo had already silently activated his skill while speaking.

He created a layer of illusory space around Yun Xiguang, separating him from the Weaver Ants and the Carnivorous Tree.

But this wasn’t to help Yun Xiguang; it was to blind his senses.

How perceptive was Hai Ruobo? He naturally understood how much strength Yun Xiguang had left. If the Weaver Ants launched a frontal assault, they would only be burned to ashes by Yun Xiguang.

He intended to shield Yun Xiguang’s senses with the illusory space, preventing him from seeing the attacks hidden behind the illusion, thus exhausting Yun Xiguang’s strength.

When Yun Xiguang’s inner spiritual energy was exhausted, it would be the moment for him to be devoured by the Carnivorous Tree and the Weaver Ants.

Yun Xiguang felt a sudden pain in his left arm. He saw nothing, but the sensation of corrosion was real. It must have been the Carnivorous Tree attacking him through the illusory space.

No matter how he guarded himself, he couldn’t detect the Carnivorous Tree’s attack. If not for the pain, he might not have realized he was under attack at all.

This time, he could feel the attack of the Carnivorous Tree due to the pain, but what about the attack of the Weaver Ants? The Weaver Ants had an anesthetic ability. Even Bai Ze, who was being corroded, couldn’t detect the attack of the Weaver Ants. How could he possibly discover it?

Facing an attack from another dimension, Yun Xiguang had no choice but to cover himself with a layer of fire armor. And this was exactly what Hai Ruobo wanted — he intended to exhaust Yun Xiguang until he was completely drained.

Hai Ruobo’s own offensive capabilities weren’t strong, but as support, when coordinating with teammates, this ability was godlike, unstoppable.

In the space constructed by Hai Ruobo, he was the lord of the domain, invincible.

Hai Ruobo seemed oblivious to Yun Xiguang’s predicament and continued reminiscing, “But no one expected your mother to be such a stubborn person. She once said that she could break up with Yun Botian because of his impulsive personality, she could break up with him because he always sent strange gifts, she could break up with him because he loved eating coriander too much, but she couldn’t accept the idea of ‘not being in the same world’.”

“She said that the essence of ‘not being in the same world’ fundamentally meant ‘you don’t have the capability’ or ‘you’re not worthy of her.’ She could break up with someone because they weren’t suitable for her, but she wouldn’t allow anyone to say she wasn’t worthy.

“She hadn’t even entered that world, so who could decide whether she was fit for that world?”

Listening to his mother’s story, traces of ashes appeared on Yun Xiguang’s feet. He understood that these were the Weaver Ants secretly attacking him, turned to ashes by the flames covering his body. But when he looked at his feet, there were only those dreamy bubbles.

Hai Ruobo said, “Do you know what your mother did? She learned from her father that there seemed to be a spirit beast sleeping in the extreme cold. This was a memory of Yun Botian’s spirit beast. She was a young doctoral student in geology. From the few words of the spirit beast, she deduced that the extreme cold was in Antarctica. Following the Antarctic expedition team, she went to the coldest place in the world. Based on the information provided by the spirit beast, she repeatedly calculated and deduced, and in the aurora, she saw the Crimson Chi hidden beneath the ice.

“No one expected that in the Spiritbond World, a world where life and death were decided at age eighteen, a twenty-five-year-old person who had never received any Spiritbond Master-related education became a Spiritbond Master.

“Even fewer people could have imagined that within a few short years, she submitted her application for Earth-grade Spiritbond Master, becoming one of the top figures in the Spiritbond World.

“The day I saw you in the confidential archives room, I felt you resembled her. Both of you are people who don’t submit to fate. She, clearly not a person of the Spiritbond World, could challenge everyone’s perceptions and become one of the best Spiritbond Masters. You, despite lacking a Spirit Root, refused to believe in destiny and managed to become an A-grade Spiritbond Master, potentially even stronger in the future.”

The flames on Yun Xiguang’s body were constantly consumed by the Carnivorous Tree and the Weaver Ants. His inner energy dwindled, and the flames on his body weakened.

Even so, he listened intently to Hai Ruobo’s words and asked at the right moment, “What was her name?”

“Ling Qingkong, a woman who tried to soar above the skies, but alas, no one can defy fate or the laws of this world.” Hai Ruobo sighed, “She died because she didn’t believe in destiny, and today, the same fate awaits you.”

The moment Hai Ruobo finished speaking, the flames around Yun Xiguang extinguished.

He had no more strength to maintain the flames.

What Hai Ruobo had been waiting for was precisely this moment.

“Thank you,” Yun Xiguang said to Hai Ruobo.

Hai Ruobo was his enemy, but he also allowed Yun Xiguang to learn about his mother.

While waiting for his spiritual energy to be depleted, Hai Ruobo could have done nothing, yet he still revealed matters that Yun Xiguang cared deeply about.

Even if Hai Ruobo’s original intention was to let Yun Xiguang know his background before dying, a kind of pity for a doomed enemy, Yun Xiguang was still grateful to him, genuinely thankful.

At this moment, the flames around him had completely vanished. Countless dreamlike bubbles enveloped his body. Yun Xiguang knew that behind these beautiful bubbles lurked terrible and grotesque monsters.

But he was not afraid.

Hai Ruobo was waiting for Yun Xiguang’s energy to be exhausted, but wasn’t Yun Xiguang also waiting for something else to happen?

From the moment he obtained the fourth Phoenix Feather, Chi Qiong stopped calling out.

The little spirit bird rested in his arms, eyes closed, his expression entirely different from the usual drowsy appearance.

Yun Xiguang’s intuition told him that a change had occurred in Chi Qiong.

The combined power of four Phoenix Feathers finally allowed Chi Qiong to slightly resist the laws.

The instant the flames around Yun Xiguang disappeared, the little spirit bird emitted a dazzling light.

A pair of massive phoenix wings emerged from Yun Xiguang. These phoenix wings effortlessly pierced through the illusory space created by Hai Ruobo, shattering the dreamlike space!

Instantly, a golden-orange flame covered everything in this world, the sky, the earth, and space seemed to vanish, leaving only this mass of flame.

The Weaver Ants and the Carnivorous Tree that had surrounded Yun Xiguang so tightly didn’t even make a sound, didn’t leave any ashes, and disappeared instantly in the flames.

Time and space lost their meaning in the midst of this sea of flames.