"Ayo! Beast, settle down before I give you another jolt!" A half-masked guard angrily shouted. He walked beside the trolley that carried Bai Lin, rolling through the hallways while repeatedly threatening Bai Lin, getting a sick satisfaction from her crying wails or fearful flinches.
Presently, there were five men escorting Bai Lin to the Blood Extraction Room, a room designed for the extraction of essence blood of both beasts and humans. These cultivators were not above the abuse of humans or other humanoid races, including demons. At times, they would pass other escorted prisoners. There was a young human man tugged along by a neck chain by two half-masked men. He stumbled and moved with lifeless eyes.
All the half-masked men used his pole-type armament flowing with faint electric energies a wave. The one who threatened Bai Lin smugly smiled while giving off a threatening gesture before Bai Lin's golden eyes. After seeing Bai Lin's posture lower in a cowardly fashion, fearful glimmer in her eyes, he felt content at his intimidation. Still, he clenched his pole that surged with lightning arcs and stabbed it into Bai Lin.
"Kree!" She cried out in pain, trembling as she flinched away. Her shivering body and watery eyes were quite pitiable. Yet those around her showed no pity.
One of the other guards spoke out at this moment, giving Bai Lin some odd, inspective glances from time to time: "This bird is quite strange, don't you think? I've never seen one like it before. Golden Phoenix Fruits usually just give avian creatures faint golden characteristics, but isn't this too extreme? What's with it?"
Normally, winged beasts who ingested this fruit, having their bodies undergo faint transformations would merely gain certain color changes, such as golden feathers, beak, or eyes. But their overall features would stay the same, so their origins could be easily traced. A pigeon would still be a pigeon, just golden. A crane would still be a crane, just golden. The only trait would be their bloodline would be awakened, and they would gain certain abilities.
Yet Bai Lin wasn't any bird he could pinpoint. She looked like an aesthetically pleasing version of multiple birds, a creature that he had never seen before. His fascination and curiosity had merit. And for some odd reason, he felt disturbed and anxious being near her. To ease himself of his anxiety, he thrusted his pole-type armament into the folds of her feathers, delivering another shocking jolt.
One of the guards shrugged, "Who knows?"
Another chimed in with a sniffle, "I think I heard about a bird like this before, my cousin once said he saw one on Blueglow. I forgot its name though."
"Oh? The cousin with the crooked nose?"
"Yeah, that one. Hehe, dumb as bricks but a bird aficionado."
They began to casually chat about Bai Lin as they moved along, but they were unaware that Bai Lin was unlike the other winged beasts who've taken the fruit. She had nurtured her bloodline of the phoenix using a large quantity of tailor-made alchemical products. Then, she had broken free of the restraints of a world and ignited herself to completion. A feat that most beasts would usually fail to accomplish.
She had earned her right to initiate nirvanic transformation and touched upon her origins of the Fire Phoenix, while those birds were merely beings who've bloodline awakened that dated back to phoenixes or outright just gained abilities of Golden Phoenixes, like Xiao Bai. They hadn't touched their origins, elevating to Genesis Beasts. Inwardly, she scoffed in her heart with contempt.
Her acting skills were impeccable. Bai Lin enjoyed this play, but her feathers were itching for some activity. She had been passive for over a month, pretending to be weak and fragile. A beast helpless to fight back. This was all for Wei Wuyin, and she similarly found this fulfilling. Yet the feeling of using her powers freely was also a fulfilling feeling she wanted.
Her thoughts returned to several weeks back, when they were prisoners in the city's dungeon. Wei Wuyin told her some words.
"Bai Lin, when I give you the signal, you have to promise me a few things. Okay? First, differentiate properly. Don't harm anyone at the Qi Condensation Realm, with weakened life auras, suppressed, or held captive. This is absolutely important. And don't harm anyone with my aura on them.
"Second, don't destroy the structure we'll be in. I can't deal with the situation if everyone gets shot out into the Dark Void and instantly dies from the chill. Third, and most important, have fun. None of those who work here deserve any mercy, so unleash hell.
"I'm unsure what we're getting ourselves into, and it might be too much for me or you to handle by ourselves. If you feel overwhelmed, facing difficult foes, make sure you prioritize your life before anyone and anything else. I'll be fine."
A surging flow of warmth entered her heart. But also a strong, steel-like and unswerving form of determination and resolve. All those years ago, she was powerless to help Wei Wuyin. When they escaped from that wall of natural calamity, ravaging the lands, her speed wasn't enough to escape. Wei Wuyin took it upon himself to carry her, and even protect her instead of himself, leading to him suffering such massive injuries that he had lost himself.
She was sorrowful during that time. If she was just stronger. If she was just faster. If she was just…
Yet her usefulness continued to decline. Not only could she not join Wei Wuyin in battles, her progression being too slow, her strength being too weak, but she couldn't even act as his partner in the sky. While she teased Xiao Bai, she was severely insecure about her position. Xiao Bai, who was younger than her, was also useful.
She had to be carried and left in the Sky Palace, unable to breach the Sky Layers herself. She lost her position as Wei Wuyin's partner in the sky for years. When she sensed her bloodline reaching a zenith, striving to touch upon her origins, Wei Wuyin didn't hesitate a single breath to support her, and she didn't hesitate to take the risk.
She had to.
Now, she had become a Genesis Beast. Now, she had reached the Second Stage of the Nirvanic Rebirth Realm. She was stronger. She was faster. And she swore in her heart that she would never disappoint or have Wei Wuyin risk himself to protect her. It was her turn—for the rest of their lives.
BUZZ!
"Oh?" A half-masked guard prodded Bai Lin, but received no response. "Is the beast dead?" The guard was fearfully shocked. Did he go too far? He moved to view her eyes, noticing they reflected a faint scarlet-gold flame. His heart violently quaked.
He felt a looming sensation of dread, fear, and anxiety overwhelm him.
"We're here!" One of the other guards announced to the others, causing the fearful guard to start. His skittish actions caused them to look at him. The one at the forefront asked, "What the hell? You okay?"
"Probably thought she's dead. But she's breathing yo, probably unconscious from the shocks." Another chimed in, chuckling in ridicule.
"I-I…we…" His words fumbled. The fear and anxious feeling started to elevate in his mind, the sensation of crisis became heavier and heavier. His instincts told him: Run, Run, RUN! His Spirit of Cultivation trembled without ceasing and his astral force was riled up to the point he neared cultivation deviation.
The others were taken aback. What's wrong with this guy?
Then, throughout the entire complicated complex that resembled a castle within the Dark Void, throughout every formation and the entire array, a faint mental tremor flowed out that was easily received by every living being in the castle.
"Bai Lin, now's the time!"
An unfamiliar voice echoed in their minds. They all looked around, wondering if they heard something or not. Seeing the curious and confused bodily movements from the others, it seemed they weren't alone.
Bai Lin's body faintly trembled. The chains and shackles that bound her clink and clanked about, giving off strange sounds of metal being pushed to its limits. They all turned to the feathered beast.
"What the hell was that?" A half-masked escorting guard asked.
At this very moment, another explosive mental transmission command erupted out!
"UNLEASH HELL!"
"KREEEEEEE!!!" Bai Lin's golden eyes emitted a bright, lively, and excited radiance that flooded the corridor, blinding the nearby men. They screamed in painful agony as the golden light scorched their optical nerves, blinding them instantly.
The sounds of chains breaking and metal being crushed resounded. Bai Lin lifted herself, her legs and talons. She crushed the floor beneath her, her claws digging into it like it was hot, melted butter.
Her pristine white and radiant gold feathers, a perfectly balanced ratio of which, started to faintly emit a scarlet-gold fire! It flowed throughout her body, traversing her until her body was engulfed entirely!
Nirvanic Flames!
She unfurled her wings and the heat emitted from her flames caused most of the guards to be unable to react before their bodies were burnt to a crisp, turned into ashes. They were merely beings in the Astral Core Realm, how could they survive beneath Bai Lin's nirvanic flames?!
They didn't even get the scream out before their body, clothes, and Spirit of Cultivation was incinerated. However, as the flames engulfed her, unleashing out into the surroundings, one individual was untouched. Out of the five guards, one of them was unharmed by the flames' heat and pulsating power.
"Argh! Wha-what is this?!" The guard that held a pole-type armament, the same guard that kept prodding Bai Lin without end for his own satisfaction was squirming as his escape routes were blocked by scarlet-golden flames. He stumbled and laid on the ground, the horror in his eyes were at its peak.
Hr had just witnessed his allies turn into ash before him. Unlike the others, he was unharmed by the golden light or flames that followed. Not able to comprehend why, he could only seek refuge at a nearby corner as he erected an astral ward.
Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!
A large, twenty-two meter tall phoenix stepped over. Her body wasn't as large as a being like Anu, being relatively tiny in comparison, but her aura was outrageously more imposing. Her golden eyes beamed out faint eyes, reflecting endless flames within, and they were all focused on one figure.
"You…!" The guard screamed in horror. Every stomp caused his heart to race. Unable to believe it, trying to regain some control, he questioned: "You foul beast! Wha-what are you?!"
Bai Lin arrived just a few feet from him, staring at him from above as he peddled back against the wall, pointing and trembling. Looking at this human, her eyes flashed with disdain.
"I sa-!"
SPUUSH!
Just as he was about to speak, his head was clenched by a golden talon. Like a watermelon, it burst apart with a flex. Brain matter, sanguine blood, and bits of bones were squeezed out and flooded her talon for a moment. The flames burned it away, turning him and everything about him into ash.
Bai Lin unfurled her wings wider, and released a trembling cry that shook the entire structure.
"KREEEEEEEEE!!!"
It was her time. Her nirvanic flames burst out of her body, thoroughly unleashed, flooding through every crevice, hole, and room! The screams of others started to resound!
