Chapter 53: Exposed

If not for the True Demon Remains lurking menacingly outside, Yu Hengwei—who had snatched the phoenix right in front of them—would probably have been pecked to death by the birds.

Flames still swirled around Yu Hengwei’s body, unextinguished, while the Little Phoenix was tucked securely in her embrace, hidden beneath her clothes.

The Feather Race kings, who had lived for thousands or even tens of thousands of years, puffed up their feathers like fledglings. Apart from the Bi Fang King, the other kings did not recognize Yu Hengwei. Her act of seizing the phoenix had crossed the birds’ bottom line, but they feared she might harm it even more, so they held their distance, frozen in place, not daring to approach.

Yu Hengwei’s expression had also turned somewhat cold. After expending her strength, Wen Qiwu reverted to her palm-sized form. Yu Hengwei tucked the soft, fluffy ball deeper into her clothes until the little bundle in her palm pecked at her fingertip in mild annoyance.

Yu Hengwei’s hand stiffened slightly, a flicker of guilt flashing across her icy demeanor.

The atmosphere outside grew tense, swords drawn. At that moment, Wen Qiwu finally poked her small head out from Yu Hengwei’s clothes.

All the birds’ attention snapped to her. The kings’ eyes lost their ferocity in an instant, replaced by gazes of utmost tenderness as they looked at Wen Qiwu.

Their Little Phoenix was still so young, so adorable, and grew so beautifully.

How could it have fallen into the hands of such a vile human!

Wen Qiwu had barely stretched out her head to catch her breath when she noticed several blazing stares. She lifted her head and saw the expressions of the Feather Race kings. Instinctively, she let out a crisp chirp.

The Feather Race had a special way of communicating information among themselves. She wanted to tell them they meant no harm. But upon hearing her somewhat immature yet clear voice, the kings paused, then responded in unison with their own calls.

Not just them—the distant birds joined in the chorus. In an instant, myriad birds sang together, all rejoicing at the appearance of their new sovereign.

[The Little Phoenix’s voice is so strong. It must be a healthy child. We have to find a way to snatch it back from that human and take it to Dayrise Palace. That’s the perfect place for it to grow!]

Dayrise Palace was the residence of the previous-generation Demon Sovereign. It housed the oldest parasol tree in the Cangwang Realm, the most suitable dwelling for phoenixes.

[You’re right. By the way, Azure Luan King, don’t you think this Little Phoenix looks a lot like Her Majesty?]

After the death of the previous Phoenix Lord, the Feather Race had not been as united as they appeared. Relations between several kings were particularly poor. Without the Phoenix Lord to mediate, those clans had drifted apart over the past tens of thousands of years.

Yet today, for the sake of safely escorting the Little Phoenix back to Dayrise Palace, even those kings with past grudges were willing to set aside their differences and join forces.

[It does look like her, but Her Majesty never had any children…] The Azure Luan King was equally baffled, but it seemed unlikely that the Little Phoenix before them had no connection to the late sovereign.

[And the age doesn’t match either.]

This was clearly a phoenix that had just hatched not long ago.

The Feather Race kings transmitted messages via their spiritual sense, deeply puzzled by the Little Phoenix’s origins. But puzzled or not, nothing could change the fact that it was now the only phoenix left in the entire Cangwang Realm.

These birds were determined to take the Little Phoenix back.

The Bi Fang King shifted back to her human form and approached Yu Hengwei first, ahead of the others. Meeting Yu Hengwei’s wary gaze, she curved her lips into a kindly smile.

They had met once before, so their conversation remained civil, without barbs.

“Young Daoist Yu, I presume the one in your arms is Little Friend Wen?” The Bi Fang King noted Yu Hengwei’s protectiveness toward Wen Qiwu. Now that she felt the same toward the Little Phoenix, it confirmed the connection between the two.

Yu Hengwei furrowed her brows slightly. Don’t be fooled by the Bi Fang King’s gentle, approachable demeanor—this bird was notoriously a smiling tiger, her true thoughts an enigma.

The other large birds widened their eyes upon hearing the Bi Fang King’s question. She had met the Little Phoenix before? That despicable bird! She must have curried favor ahead of them!

“Chirp… cough cough, Bi Fang King, I’m sorry for hiding the truth from you earlier…” Wen Qiwu couldn’t help chirping at first when she spoke. She coughed twice before continuing.

“No matter, no matter. You don’t need to apologize. It’s good to be cautious around outsiders. Most demon or human clans out there are bad sorts—you must never trust them lightly.” The Bi Fang King glanced at Yu Hengwei with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

The Bi Fang King knew Wen Qiwu’s identity was extraordinary, but she hadn’t imagined it was a phoenix! As for Yu Hengwei, she had no prior opinion of the human, but her strong possessiveness toward the Little Phoenix made her an obstacle to bringing it home. Thus, the Bi Fang King found her rather disagreeable.

Yu Hengwei’s lips twitched into a cold smirk.

Only when the fuzzy sensation rubbed against her palm did the light in Yu Hengwei’s eyes soften abruptly. She stopped locking eyes with the Bi Fang King and quietly stroked Wen Qiwu’s little face.

Wen Qiwu pecked her hand in huffish protest. She was discussing serious matters—how could she rub her face?

Yu Hengwei immediately froze, not daring to move, though her softened gaze lingered on Wen Qiwu.

The birds shot over furious, jealous glares. That unreasonable human! How dare she rub the Little Phoenix’s face? They hadn’t even had the chance!

Seeing Wen Qiwu peck Yu Hengwei’s finger, the Bi Fang King’s smile grew even gentler. “We’ve just discussed it among ourselves. We plan to escort you back to Dayrise Palace. What do you think?”

“Dayrise Palace was the previous Phoenix Lord’s residence. We’ve guarded it all these years, keeping other demons from desecrating it, so everything remains intact. It has Chaos Primordial Fire underground, hot springs above, and the mountains are full of parasol trees—including the world’s oldest one. It’s perfect for a young Little Phoenix to grow up there.” The Bi Fang King’s words held no exaggeration; Dayrise Palace truly was the ideal home for Wen Qiwu.

But…

Wen Qiwu didn’t even need to look up to feel a lonely gaze silently fixed on her.

Yu Hengwei had heard of Dayrise Palace and knew the offer was genuine. For Wen Qiwu’s sake, she shouldn’t object, but a dense ache filled her chest, making her bite her lower lip, looking utterly pitiable.

The little bird bundle in her palm lifted its head and glanced at her, taking in Yu Hengwei’s expression fully. Wen Qiwu sighed. How could she bear to leave?

Wen Qiwu thanked the Bi Fang King for her kindness. “I still have some matters to handle, so I won’t go for now.”

She at least needed to stay until her patient recovered fully, body and soul.

Light reignited in Yu Hengwei’s dim eyes. She wanted to stroke the little bird’s head, but the fuzzy bundle tilted away from her fingers.

“Young… Daoist Wen?” Yu Hengwei keenly sensed Wen Qiwu’s poor mood and knew she was being denied touch.

The little bundle turned sideways and shot her a glance. Though no words were spoken, Yu Hengwei felt a pang of guilt, like a child caught misbehaving.

Petting was a reward; wrongdoers lost the privilege.

“Then where are you staying now? We need to send someone to protect you!” As the sole survivor of the Phoenix Clan, Wen Qiwu’s safety concerned every Feather Race member. The Bi Fang King pressed urgently.

“I live at…” Before Wen Qiwu could decide whether to reveal her identity to these Feather Race kings, a thunderous boom erupted from the sky, followed by blood-red light tearing through heaven and earth.

“Roar!” The True Demon Remains seemed to unleash some spell. A gash split open on its body, revealing a crimson maw from which bloody mist billowed endlessly.

The barrier jointly formed by the Feather Race kings was shredded by a single claw. The blood mist spread toward them at unimaginable speed.

The remains’ power surged once more. The kings could no longer gauge its level, but Yu Hengwei knew—it had reached the True Immortal Realm.

With the space sealed, Yu Hengwei disliked these birds but knew Wen Qiwu couldn’t abandon them. She had planned to use a space-crossing secret technique to send all the birds away together, but that path was now blocked.

Yu Hengwei noticed several Golden Immortal Realm demon beasts from the Endless Tree Sea’s core wandering outside. Their divine lights had extinguished, yet under the blood mist’s influence, their bodies rose again.

The True Demon Remains formed twin arms and plunged its claws into itself. As its talons slashed down, Yu Hengwei scooped up Wen Qiwu and dodged aside. The other birds reacted swiftly too, scattering.

But the True Demon’s destructive power had multiplied several times. Compared to its current strikes, its previous attacks seemed like child’s play.

The Golden Immortal Realm birds were soon injured. In the dire crisis, to let the Little Phoenix and the young ones escape, the two eldest kings decided to stay behind as rearguard.

“Azure Luan King.” At that moment, Yu Hengwei suddenly called out to the Azure Luan King, who had resolved to remain.

Time was short, and the Azure Luan King urged her to speak quickly. But she hadn’t expected this human—who had nearly fought them earlier and refused to release the Little Phoenix—to suddenly show reluctance as she placed the little bundle into her hands.

“I’ll handle that demon. Please take care of her for me.” Yu Hengwei naturally hated to let go even for a moment, but the demon was too dangerous to bring Wen Qiwu along.

She chose the Azure Luan King because she was an honest bird. With the life-debt the Feather Race owed her, the honest one would return Wen Qiwu upon her return. But a crafty bird like the Bi Fang King? She might never see Qiwu again.

The little bird bundle’s eyes widened. “With your body like that… don’t push yourself!”

Yu Hengwei smiled gently and soothed her softly. “Don’t worry. My body’s fine. It’s just dealing with some remains.”

If she were merely “Yu Hengwei,” Wen Qiwu might have believed her without knowing her true condition. But she knew Yu Hengwei’s other identity.

Wen Qiwu’s feathers fluffed up, her body visibly swelling. As Yu Hengwei turned to leave, she snapped, “You think I don’t know what’s wrong with your body?”

“Senior Sister!”