Jin Yue began to chant something in a voice that was very pleasant to the ears, and she pointed a finger at the small vial. An azure thread shot forth from her fingertip before striking the vial, upon which it tremored before rising into the air, heading directly toward where Han Li was situated.
Han Li immediately sat down onto the jade platform with his legs crossed.
At this moment, Elder Xu and the beautiful woman raised their hands in unison to summon an object each, one of which was as crimson as blood while the other carried a refreshing green hue.
They were, respectively, a palm-sized crimson lotus flower and a green banana leaf.
The crimson lotus flower rotated on the spot, expanding to around 10 feet in size and emanating a faint fragrance. Meanwhile, the banana leaf also expanded to around the size of a grown human amid a burst of green light, and a series of strange green runes appeared over its surface, glowing with a dazzling light.
Han Li raised his eyebrows, yet before he could identify what purposes these two items served, the crimson lotus was already descending toward his head.
Han Li was initially startled to see this before he suddenly experienced a rush of weightlessness, having been gently carried up into mid-air by the crimson lotus flower.
The faint fragrance of the lotus flower wafted into his nostrils, striking him with a slightly intoxicating sensation.
However, Han Li didn't panic in response. Instead, he merely sat at the center of the lotus flower with his eyes narrowed, seemingly having fallen asleep, but he made sure to retain a wisp of clarity in his mind.
Elder Xu let loose a low cry and the petals of the crimson lotus flower slowly converged toward the center.
In the blink of an eye, all of the petals had joined together to form a vibrant red flower bud.
Jin Yue flicked both fingers toward the small vial upon seeing this.
Several azure threads shot forth, disappearing into the small vial in a flash.
A ball of green light erupted from the small vial, and its lid abruptly vanished as a ball of azure light emerged from within.
Following a crisp cry, the ball of light receded and transformed into an azure bird that was several inches in size, and it attempted to spread its wings and fly away.
However, Jin Yue was already prepared for this, and she flapped the golden wings on her back.
Swaths of golden light immediately swept forth from her wings, completely enshrouding the azure bird within.
The bird struggled for a while within the light before turning into a small drop of azure liquid with faint undertones of silver light peeking through it.
Jin Yue then made a hand seal with a calm expression on her face before pointing a finger at the drop of azure liquid.
The golden tremored before carrying the azure liquid down toward the flower bud.
The azure drop of liquid then disappeared into the crimson lotus amid a dull thump as golden and crimson light intertwined.
Right at this moment, Elder Xu's body swayed and he appeared on one side of the crimson lotus flower in a wraith-like manner. He then raised a hand and placed it on onto the lotus flower before spreading open a pair of silver wings on his back. Silver spiritual light began to surge from his hand into the crimson lotus flower while the beautiful woman appeared on the other side of the flower and replicated Elder Xu's actions. However, the spiritual light flowing from her palm was white.
All of a sudden, a buzzing sound rang out from the crimson lotus, and the crimson light on its surface also began to flash erratically.
Right at this moment, the green banana leaf hovering mid-air also descended from above. However, as soon as it came into contact with the crimson lotus flower, the banana leaf self-detonated, following which countless green lines shot forth in all directions before disappearing into the lotus flower.
Immediately thereafter, a series of strange green patterns appeared over the surface of the crimson lotus. In the next instant, the crimson light receded, and the buzzing sound also subsided.
Elder Xu and the beauty paid no heed to this as they both closed their eyes, focusing wholeheartedly on injecting pure spiritual light into the lotus flower.
However, Jin Yue heaved a long sigh of relief upon seeing this, and she smiled as she murmured to herself, "It's just as I predicted; the aura within this human's body is able to accept the Kun Peng True Blood. The most important thing now is to see just how much of the Kun Peng Blood's power he can activate as a human."
After that, Jin Yue turned to the other higher-ups of the Tian Peng Race standing nearby, and said in a cold voice, "You've all seen what's happened; the survival of our race hinges on this man. Hence, all of you must keep all information about this man strictly confidential to the outside world. From now on, this man will be known as the third holy disciple that we've been nurturing in secret after sending him far away for cultivation purposes. Understood?"
The Spatial Tempering Stage Tian Peng beings stirred as they vowed in unison, "Yes, Grand Elder; we won't tell a single soul."
Jin Yue nodded as her expression eased, and she said, "I trust that you wouldn't do something severely detrimental to our sect, either. Two months from now, I'll select a few people among you to accompany me and the holy disciples to the trial grounds."
"Two months? Why are we going so early? Isn't there still a year left?" someone immediately exclaimed.
"Apparently, a dozen or so races, including the Chi Rong Race and the Raven Race, requested for the trial to be held earlier than the designated time. Our elders vehemently opposed this proposal on the panel of elders, but it was still passed due to a majority vote."
"Why? Surely they have to at least provide a reason for this," another Tian Peng being chimed in in an enraged voice.
"Of course they've prepared a reason for this. They say that the earth abyss has been a little chaotic lately, so it's best to hold the trial earlier in case any mishaps occur due to excessive delays," Jin Yue explained in a calm manner.
"The demons of the earth abyss have always been sworn enemies of our Flying Spirit Race; when has it not been chaotic over there? They're just doing this to target the weaker branches!" Another Tian Peng being flared up with rage.
"There's no point in discussing the matter any further. The panel of elders has already delivered their verdict, so we can only accept it. Aside from the upcoming trial that we have to prepare for, there have also been beings of foreign races that have frequently appeared on our territory of late, and they've been plundering our lands with reckless abandon. I'll assign some troops to some of you to set off immediately and kill off these abhorrent cowards. Make sure to teach all of the other branches a lesson that they won't be forgetting anytime soon." Jin Yue's voice suddenly turned frosty and forbidding as she spoke.
"Yes, Grand Elder!" the Tian Peng beings answered in unison as they lowered their heads.
After that, Jin Yue began to assign missions to everyone, and all of them departed one after another to carry out their designated tasks.
The jade platform became virtually empty in the blink of an eye. Aside from Jin Yue and the two elders, as well as the two servants standing behind Jin Yue, there was no one else standing on the platform.
Jin Yue turned and cast her gaze toward the crimson lotus flower, where the two Body Integration Stage elders were still relentlessly pouring forth their spiritual pour, and the flower seemed to have expanded even further.
At the same time, the green patterns on the surface of the lotus flower also began to flash erratically as if they'd come to life.
Jin Yue suddenly made a grabbing motion toward the silver disk that the other servant was carrying, and a white bead whistled forth from the disk before being drawn into her grasp.
She plucked the bead between two of her fingers and brought it closer to her eyes before conducting a thorough inspection.
All of a sudden, a peculiar look appeared on her face.
"Which grand elder passed away to produce this relic?" she asked.
"It's the relic left behind by the ninth grand elder. According to your orders, we found the relic that had been stored for the longest period of time, and most of the power within it should have faded by now," the servant replied respectfully.
"The ninth grand elder? Is that Grand Elder Hong Yun, who invented the awakening ability, but died after going insane?" Jin Yue's expression changed slightly upon hearing this.
"That is indeed the relic left behind by Elder Hong Yun. Due to the strange circumstances surrounding Elder Hong Yun's death, aside from his Kung Peng power, there's also a hint of his residual spiritual sense residing within the relic. If it were to be consumed by a cultivator, the wisp of spiritual sense could potentially result in undesirable side-effects. As such, it's been stored in a secret chamber this entire time. If you feel it's inappropriate, I can go back and change once right away," the servant explained in an uneasy manner. "There's no need for that; this one will suffice." Jin Yue's expression returned to normal as she turned her gaze back to the crimson lotus flower.
At this moment, the green patterns on the surface of the flower had begun to twist and warp, and the entire crimson lotus began to swell and bulge…
Two days later, in the air above the jade platform.
A massive azure bird was flying up and down in the sky, leaving a series of afterimages in its wake. Arcs of golden lightning and azure light surfaced over its body and all of a sudden, it came to an abrupt halt and it grabbed the air in the distance with its talons in a vicious manner.
10 white claw projections hurtled through the air, slicing a few faint white marks into space before disappearing in a flash.
It then violently flapped its wings forward and a vast expanse of azure light swept forth before transforming into palm-sized blades of wind, enshrouding an area with a radius of over 1,000 feet.
A loud boom erupted as the massive azure bird opened its beak to blat forth balls of golden lightning, which crashed into one another to transform the space before it into a sea of lightning.
Following a long sharp screech, the azure bird flapped its wings and abruptly disappeared amid a gust of fierce winds.
In the next instant, gale-force winds erupted even higher up in the air, and the azure bird reappeared. Within the halos of azure light, the bird's body expanded rapidly, swelling form around 10 feet in size to over 1,000 feet in the blink of an eye. As it spread its wings, it cast a gargantuan shadow over the entire jade platform.
Meanwhile, the three figures standing on the platform were all quite alarmed by the sight of this massive bird.
"Grand Elder, did you really only feed him that incomplete relic from the ninth elder?" Elder Xu asked in an incredulous voice.
"Do you suspect that I fed this human some kind of miracle pill?" Jin Yue asked in a cold voice as her expression darkened.
"I wouldn't dare to think that. It's just that this man grasped the manifestation technique so quickly, and the true body he's conjured up is superior to that of many Great Spirit Generals. Does he really hail from the human race?" Elder Xu mused with a skeptical look.
"You were the one who infused his body with the Kun Peng True Blood; shouldn't you know better than anyone whether he's a being from our Flying Spirit Race or not? Having said that, it's indeed quite surprising that this man has attained such a powerful transformation. Perhaps the Kun Peng feather and Kun Peng True Blood fused with his body have already changed his constitution somewhat," Jin Yue speculated after scrambling for a reason to explain this situation.
"That makes some sense," the beautiful woman sighed.
Meanwhile, Elder Xu still wore a skeptical look, clearly not convinced by this.
