Chapter 76 – Chi Qiong

Li Zheng and the Golden-Winged Great Peng were in poor condition; upon returning to safety, they separated from their fusion state, transforming into a gaunt man and a bald Great Peng. If Yun Xiguang hadn’t pulled them back in time, they would’ve been drained dry. Yun Xiguang’s right hand wasn’t fundamentally injured, it had merely lost some energy, which could be treated by a healer. However, Li Zheng’s injuries were more complicated. Their heads had been invaded by white soft tubes, most of their soul energy had been siphoned away, and they were left with very little life force remaining. Healers could replenish energy, but they couldn’t restore life force. Life force was vitality, spiritual energy, a power only possessed by the Supreme Deity Zhuzhao.

The bald Great Peng, seeing the haughty-looking Chi Qiong, flapped its wings twice and opened its mouth as if wanting to say something, but was unable to speak.

Chi Qiong jumped down solemnly, pecked the bald Great Peng, then pecked Li Zheng, before lifting a small wing ceremoniously.

Yun Xiguang reached out to support that small wing.

Yun Xiguang could sense that perhaps Chi Qiong wanted to heal the two of them. Under normal circumstances, Chi Qiong couldn’t treat them, but within the Youying domain where the power hadn’t completely dissipated, Chi Qiong could appropriately exert his strength. Yun Xiguang didn’t know how Chi Qiong would display his power, but he would do everything in his power to assist him.

Chi Qiong’s wing rested on Yun Xiguang’s hand, using his eyes to signal Yun Xiguang to place the other hand on Li Zheng and the bald Great Peng.

Yun Xiguang placed the bald Great Peng on Li Zheng, raised his hand to cover them both at once, half his palm over Li Zheng, the other half over the bald Great Peng.

Then, Yun Xiguang felt a vigorous force surge into his body from the flesh wing of the little spirit bird.

This was different from when he used the power of the Phoenix Feather.

The energy contained within the Phoenix Feather was very domineering; he could use this energy to execute any powerful skill.

But the power Chi Qiong transmitted now was vitality.

How to describe this power?

It was like the early spring days when a blade of grass, amidst frozen soil, struggles to break through the surface, sprouting its tender shoots.

It was like a fledgling bird struggling inside its eggshell, pecking open the hard shell, its fragile body forcing its way out.

It was like a crab slowly shedding its hard old shell, carrying its new soft shell bravely facing the world.

It was like after hiding indoors to avoid the cold all winter, suddenly stepping out one day to see the outside world blooming with warmth and greenery, filled with joy and hope.

This was the power of “life.”

With Chi Qiong’s Phoenix Feather and without it were two entirely different things.

From Chi Qiong, Yun Xiguang felt his love for the life of this world, even the aquatic creatures he complained about, he still loved.

Chi Qiong… no, Zhuzhao loved this world he had personally imbued with life.

He was the Eye of Pangu, the vast universe, the brightest firework in the sky, who could have soared high above the nine heavens at any moment, enjoying the worship of fire, the following of wind, and the adoration of the earth. But his existence, his flames, would bring disaster to the fragile lives of this world. When he occasionally passed over the ice plains, they would turn into rivers, causing ice-dwelling creatures to flee in all directions, seeking new homes. When he occasionally flew over forests, raging fires would be ignited, turning lush jungles into scorched earth. When he occasionally flew over a stream, the water would dry up, leaving stranded fish gasping on the shore. Zhuzhao was powerful, but his might affected the world he had personally given life to.

He didn’t care about the life of a single individual, but he cared about the life force of the entire world.

So he chose to sleep.

During his long slumber, he learned to restrain his flames, to control his power.

Thus, the boundless universe became confined within a pond, his wings clipped for the sake of this world.

That was Chi Qiong.

At this moment, Yun Xiguang finally understood the true meaning of the name Chi Qiong.

Zhuzhao fell in love with this vibrant world first, before willingly transforming into Chi Qiong, using this pool of universe to protect this world.

Right now, Yun Xiguang and Chi Qiong resonated spiritually, assisting Chi Qiong with his human body to unleash the most primitive and powerful force of “life.”

Li Zheng and the Golden-Winged Great Peng quickly recovered, and Yun Xiguang’s right arm also returned to normal under this power.

Seeing Li Zheng and the Golden-Winged Great Peng fully restored, Yun Xiguang withdrew his hand, looking seriously at Chi Qiong.

He held Chi Qiong in both hands, allowing this little bird to look him in the eye, gazing intently at Chi Qiong.

“You will awaken,” Yun Xiguang said softly.

“Chirp?” Chi Qiong tilted his head toward Yun Xiguang, not understanding what he meant; he had always been awake.

Yun Xiguang said, “Even without Ling Qingkong, without Yun Xiguang, you would still awaken.”

Regardless of the purpose of the laws, Zhuzhao wouldn’t allow the world he had personally imbued with life to perish. Even if all his power was exploited, even if he had no combat ability, he would awaken.

He and Chi Qiong, under the impetus of the Heavenly Laws, inevitably met in an encounter that was a certainty made of coincidences.

Yun Xiguang’s heart still reverberated with Chi Qiong’s love for the world, and he found himself filled with unprecedented affection, feeling compelled to express his love somehow. Unable to resist, he leaned in and gently kissed Chi Qiong’s little head.

Chi Qiong’s feathers bristled again, chirping at Yun Xiguang for a while, unable to articulate his feelings, ultimately flying up in frustration, pecking at Yun Xiguang’s forehead fiercely.

Since Yun Xiguang kissed him, he would repay him tenfold!

We, the Supreme Deity Zhuzhao, would never fall behind.

Chi Qiong pecked lightly. Yun Xiguang didn’t feel pain, so he simply closed his eyes and let Chi Qiong peck.

If Chi Qiong sensed resistance from Yun Xiguang, he would certainly peck him until it hurt. But with Yun Xiguang’s submissive behavior, Chi Qiong couldn’t bear to apply much force, turning his pecks into gentle taps, occasionally rubbing his head against Yun Xiguang’s face.

While the sight of a man and a bird doing this could be considered warm, thinking about it happening between two humans was an intimate scene, almost too much for others to witness!

The divine beasts like the Azure Dragon, Bai Ze, and The Mirage dared not look.

They led the newly revived Li Zheng and Golden-Winged Great Peng aside, The Mirage spitting out a bunch of bubbles that refracted light, blocking Yun Xiguang and Chi Qiong, giving them space to be alone.

They would handle the important matters.

The Golden-Winged Great Peng opened its eyes and said, “Thank you for the blessing of the Supreme Deity, Little Peng wants to thank the Supreme Deity!”

“The Supreme Deity is busy; wait a bit before going over,” the Azure Dragon grabbed the impulsive Golden-Winged Little Peng, afraid it would anger Chi Qiong and become bald again.

Li Zheng covered his head and sat up, saying softly, “I remember everything.”

Chi Qiong’s power not only healed his injuries but also shattered the Golden-Winged Great Peng’s force, allowing Li Zheng’s memories to be reborn, recalling what happened to the Yun family that day.

Bai Ze said, “That’s great; finally, our conversations won’t be censored. What did you see inside the Youying Academy? Tell us.”

A flood of information poured into Li Zheng’s mind, he paused for a moment before saying, “When we first entered the Youying Academy, the sky was overcast. It was sunny when we arrived, but it turned cloudy inside the academy. At that time, I found it strange. The Golden-Winged Great Peng said this was within a domain, and the domain’s power might be blocking the sunlight.

“We landed at the school gate, seeing that the Youying Academy had become ruins, many buildings appeared to have ruptured from the inside.

“Just as Yun Xiguang analyzed, there was hardly any life here.

“Our instincts told us this place was dangerous and we should leave as soon as possible. But we wanted to gather some intelligence no matter what, so we continued inside, quickly encountering a student.

“Except for a dazed expression, the student seemed like a normal person. I thought the monster controlling this place needed living people to help it communicate with the outside world, so it left some survivors. I thought this student could still be saved.

“I approached this student to gather intelligence and save him. Upon seeing me, the student said, ‘You’re a day early? How come only one person came; didn’t they say a dozen workers would come?’ Seeing he could still communicate with the outside world, I was even more certain he was alive, believing if I took him out, I could obtain more information.

“So I said the main group was still coming; I just came to check it out first. My obviously false words were believed, and he even offered to invite me to sit and rest for a while.

“My goal was to gather intelligence, so despite knowing the danger ahead, I followed him.

“At the time, my plan was to follow him to take a quick look at the situation inside the Youying Academy, determine the real source of danger, and immediately take this student out of the Youying Academy.

“As long as I knew what the danger source was, I could ask this student for details.

“The student led me towards the center of the academy; his speed was inhumanly fast. After merging with the Great Peng and flying, I could barely keep up with his walking pace.

“The Youying Academy was truly vast; the deeper we went, the stronger the eerie feeling grew. After about ten minutes, I saw patches of forest. Clearly, they were flowers and trees, yet they seemed to lack any vitality. Something was moving in the woods; it was terrifying.

“I immediately decided not to go deeper, to take this student away.

“So I struck this student with a feather. When I saw him collapse, I moved to pick him up.

“That’s when things went wrong. As soon as I touched him, I saw a white soft tube appear on his head, connecting to the sky. And when I touched him, countless white soft tubes emerged from his entire body, piercing into mine.

“I was too late to escape, feeling my power draining continuously, my life force rapidly dissipating. I tried to have the Great Peng use Mind Communication to send a message, but the Great Peng couldn’t muster any strength.

“The white soft tube inserted into my head didn’t cause pain; instead, it created a feeling of pleasure and comfort, as if relaxing my body would end the pain.

“Fortunately, you rescued me in time; otherwise, I would’ve been devoured by that monster soon.”

“When you were implanted with the white soft tubes, did you discover anything else?” a voice asked.

Everyone looked and realized it was Yun Xiguang. He had somehow ended his intimate actions with Chi Qiong, coming over to listen earnestly to Li Zheng recount his experience.

Li Zheng said, “I think I saw the creature’s true form.”

Everyone’s eyes lit up; they exclaimed together, “What was it?”

Li Zheng thought for a moment and said, “It seemed like a towering mushroom reaching into the clouds; those white soft tubes were its mycelium.”