Little Phoenix Is Not An Immortal - Chapter 37

The situation really was just like what Lu Xiaocan had said it would be. Early morning the next day, Lu Binghe took Lu Xiaocan along and went to check on the Devil Spring. It was stated that they wouldn’t return until two days later. The two heavenly kings had just left when in the next moment, Tian Zhen invited all the devils to go sightseeing outside the Devil Realm. Due to the Devil Palace frequently having this kind of activity, no one suspected anything. The result was: all the devils happily played to the very end and when they discovered that a certain woman had run off, they promptly returned to report the loss.

Outside of the common boundary between the Shi Fang Xu Ye and the God Realm, there was a region of continuous mountain ranges. As a result of some of them once being used as fortresses and the Devil Realm thus attacking them, the terrain had suffered severe damage and gave off a ruins-like feeling.

Tian Zhen surveyed the region from a distance.

Send off huh. Rather than letting the eldest heavenly king send her off to some unfamiliar region to be eternally imprisoned, it would be better if she took the initiative to run away instead. Jiu Sicang and the others had discovered she was missing and had gone back to report it. He definitely wouldn’t give up and even now, he might have already secretly dispatched people to hunt her down and arrest her. It would be best to find the Devil God as quickly as possible.

While looking at the heavenly soldier on guard duty, Tian Zhen began to worry.

The biggest problem right now was that You Po Mountain was located in the great wilderness and that area belonged to the God Realm.

When the strong wanted to go somewhere, there usually wasn’t any need to think of a way. Just like Lord Devil God, if they wanted to enter, then they would. No one would discover them and the ones who did would become cannon fodder. Only the weak would worry over this kind of matter. The most commonly seen method would be to use the identity of a very minor ordinary person or a public figure who was on good terms with all the realms to go in.

Tian Zhen stroked her gray wings and sighed.

Thanks to her constitution, from before up till now, her magic hadn’t advanced one bit. Going out there like this would be tantamount to telling everyone “I am a fugitive.” Even if she were to change into her original form and pretend to be a crow, she still wouldn’t be able to break through the barrier. If by any chance she were to encounter someone with a discerning eye, it would be even more problematic.

It looked like the only option was to wait for an opportunity. Hopefully elder heavenly king Lu’s people wouldn’t catch up to her too quickly.

She was still pondering over this when a wide expanse of rosy-purple clouds suddenly appeared in a distant region in the sky.

The beautiful rosy-purple clouds flew over and a group of carriages and horses slowly emerged from within it. It only took a moment for them to descend just outside the God Realm. They were composed of several tens of people although the scale wasn’t very big nor was it flashy enough. However, one look at the purple Immortal Realm symbol hanging in front of the carriage was enough to tell that the newcomer was someone with status.

The God and Immortal Realm had already formed an alliance so travel between the two realms wasn’t anything strange, Tian Zhen inwardly speculated as she planned to find a quiet place to settle down.

Right at that moment, someone came out from the carriage.

Gone were the celestial soldier attire, replaced by common civilian clothing. The expression on that exceptionally refined and elegant face was as gentle as before. The difference was that it no longer had that dejected look of suffering from concealing his prestigious and noble aura. Every one of his movement possessed power. The numerous bodyguards standing at the sides were extremely respectful towards him.

No wonder she never saw him. It turned out he had gone to the Immortal Realm! Tian Zhen was pleasantly surprised and just about to call out to him when she suddenly recalled her current identity. She promptly restrained herself and withdrew behind the rock.

One bodyguard handed a card over to a celestial soldier. A moment later, the defense general himself came out to personally welcome him.Seeing that he was about to go inside, Tian Zhen got an idea and stretched half her head out to give a low, phoenix cry.

Although the Phoenix race couldn’t be considered as thriving, it still had a fair amount of people. There wasn’t anything odd about a phoenix cry in Shi Fang Xu Ye. That person looked in her direction for a moment before quickly turning his head and speaking to the defense general while carrying a smile on his face.

After being separated for so long, it was no wonder that he didn’t recognize her. Tian Zhen gave another cry.

Thankfully, that person finally heard the deliberate nature of that bird cry and seemed to have thought of something. His eyes gazed in her direction again, carrying a slight hint of joy in them.

Tian Zhen was relieved and withdrew behind the rock while holding her breath.

After a long while, the sound of light footsteps drawing near came from the other side.

“Little Phoenix?” That familiar voice sounded somewhat probing.

Tian Zhen coughed.

“Little Phoenix is it you? Come out.” That person circled around the rock. When he saw her, he was initially surprised but then quickly regained his calm, “You……”

“Wen Xi,” Tian Zhen knew what he was surprised about and felt a bit distressed. She pointed at her gray wings and said, “It’s me. There aren’t many phoenixes with gray wings.”

Wen Xi looked at that pair of gray wings and a smiling intent appeared within his eyes as he took in the sight of her.

“You went to the Immortal Realm?” Tian Zhen extended her head out to look at those bodyguards and said, “No wonder I never got to see you.”

Wen Xi said: “I originally had the body of an immortal. You just weren’t able to discern it.”

Things were different now. Tian Zhen looked at him, “We didn’t meet for a year and now I have to have a whole new level of respect for you. I don’t even dare to identify your current position.”

“I escorted His Majesty the Immortal Emperor back home and thus provided a great service to him. His Majesty then bestowed upon me the position of shao gong.“ Wen Xi smiled and lightly tapped her forehead, “Are you trying to find out whether or not I’ve forgotten the little phoenix that saved my life?”

(T/N: I’m not sure term shao gong even exists since I couldn’t find a relevant definition for it so I’m just going to keep it as it is.)

Having her intention seen through, Tian Zhen awkwardly said, “What saving your life. It was just by chance that’s all. You originally weren’t an ordinary person anyway.”

“The last time I came to the God Realm, I had asked Zhao Huajun about you and he had said that you were missing. I was very worried and had ordered my men to secretly look for you. Who would have thought that we would meet today at this place.” Wen Xi paused and raised a brow, “ Little Phoenix, we truly have a connection.”

Guanhe Yuewu had once bestowed a xiongzhang from his mother’s clan with the position of shao gong so she could assume that it was a position of similar rank to that of a prime minister. No wonder these people treated him with particular respect. Facing the current him, Tian Zhen contrarily felt uneasy. It was hard to be as casual as they had been back then. After all, the change between his past and current temperaments was just too big. It was like having your best friend who you didn’t see for over a year suddenly become the president of the country. There was an unfamiliar feeling of reverence present.

(T/N: xiongzhang = formal form for brother and in this case, this brother is most likely actually an older cousin of Yuewu’s rather than his actual brother.)

She bluntly voiced her purpose: “The truth is I called you because I wanted to ask you for your help in entering the God Realm.”

Wen Xi pulled her wings: “The symbol of the Winged race and you still need my help?”

Right now it was the symbol of a fugitive. Tian Zhen was secretly on guard. Her entry into the Devil Realm was something that many gods and immortals had personally seen, not to mention she had even saved them. There was no reason for the Immortal Realm not to spread this kind of important matter right?

“You don’t know?”

Wen Xi recalled: “Two days ago there was a battle at the northern border and a gray-winged woman saved us. Otherwise, the God and Immortal Realms would have definitely lost many soldiers. Could it be that that person was you? You were in the Devil Realm?”

Tian Zhen nodded her head.

“Zhao Huajun sent you there?” Wen Xi frowned and said, “Under that kind of situation, you shouldn’t have been so rash. Just how dangerous do you think the Devil God is? You saved our people which would’ve certainly caused him to doubt you.”

Smart people commonly had a shortcoming. It was that they liked to overthink the most simplest of things and turn them into complicated messes. She couldn’t deny that her actions at that time were indeed like that of a mole. Tian Zhen saw that he had misunderstood but instead, she relaxed her tone and changed the topic: “No matter how dangerous it was it’s already in the past. Aren’t I just fine right now? Since you’ve taken up the position of an official in the Immortal Realm, what are you going back to the God Realm for?”

“I came here because I had received Zhao Huajun’s invitation,” Wen Xi smiled and said, “It just so happens that I wanted to invite you to the Immortal Realm as a guest. Let’s first go to Yu Mo Heavenly Palace and talk to him.”

No wonder he was wearing casual clothing. Tian Zhen pulled him to a stop: “I’m a mole. It won’t work like this.” Finished speaking, she abruptly turned into a very small bird and voluntarily crawled inside his sleeve.

Wen Xi laughed in spite of himself.

The Heavenly Emperor hadn’t issued a pursuit order. Tian Zhen only discovered this once she entered the God Realm and this further explained why Wen Xi was so convinced that she was a mole. Of course, she definitely wasn’t going to assume that His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor had shown mercy to a traitor. The reason wasn’t hard to guess and Tian Zhen felt a twinge of guilt for thinking of him as that kind of person before. However, she also knew that going to Yu Mo Heavenly Palace with Wen Xi wasn’t a good idea.

No pursuit order being issued meant that she could still freely enter and exit each of the gateways. Despite this, thinking that Zhao Huajun might have other plans for her, Tian Zhen continued to hide inside the carriage and refused to show herself.

The carriage travelled for several days before it reached the edge of the vast wasteland. Wen Xi saw that it was getting late and gave the order to rest at the relay building.

The scenery at night was boundless and obscure. The vast wasteland in front of them unexpectedly didn’t seem as scary or cold. Tian Zhen stood on top of a tall platform, both happy and worried. Happy because You Po Mountain was right in front of her, worried because the Devil God might have already left.

“What are you looking at?” Wen Xi’s voice came from behind her.

Knowing that hiding the truth from him wouldn’t be easy, Tian Zhen hurriedly said: “I heard that there was a strange sighting at You Po Mountain and was curious.”

As expected, Wen Xi didn’t suspect anything: “I’ve also heard of this matter. For the past few days, a five-colored holy light has appeared at the mountaintop. This mountain was originally the residence of the ancient gods. As a result of it being abandoned however, it’s furious and aggrieved at the injustice which causes the frequent appearance of strange occurrences. It’s nothing to marvel about. Unfortunately, no one in the present six realms can reach the top of the mountain to investigate.”

Tian Zhen gave an “Oh” in reply.

It was correct of him to exclude the Devil God. That was a genuine god who  surpassed the standard.

Wen Xi said: “I had wanted to look for a spirit pill for you, but as it turns out you obtained your human form this fast. You are truly powerful.”

Tian Zhen smiled: “No need to console me. You didn’t mention it at all this entire trip, was it because you were afraid that I would be upset? The Divine Winged race only has beauties yet it produced an ugly one. You were frightened by me weren’t you?”

“Not at all. In truth, you don’t look much different from what I was expecting.” Wen Xi gave a slight smile and softly patted her shoulder, “This isn’t called ugly, it’s called unique. I was worried that you would undervalue yourself but it’s good that you can think of yourself like this.”

As a bird, they looked like a crow. As a person, she looked like a bird person. Her mental fortitude had already been toughened. Tian Zhen asked: “Is the Immortal Realm the same as the God Realm?”

“You’ll know when you go there. At that time I’ll take you all around the Immortal Realm.”

Sorry fellow student for using you this time. You can just think of it as repaying me for saving your life. Tian Zhen followed him down the tall platform. Seeing that face gradually become indistinct in the dim lighting, her heart was moved. She nodded her head and said: “Alright then, if I’m able to I’ll definitely come in the future.”

Wen Xi heard the problem with that: “Why is it in the future? Is not possible to go with me this time?”

Discovering that she had slipped up, Tian Zhen’s reaction speed got faster: “I’m just afraid that King won’t agree.”

Wen Xi smiled and said: “If it’s me, there’s no way he won’t agree.”

After a change in status even his tone had become a lot more arrogant. His current position in the Immortal Realm probably wasn’t too far off from Zhao Huajun’s rank. Tian Zhen wanted to make fun of him when suddenly, a woman’s laughter dimly came from outside the garden. It sounded quite familiar so she couldn’t help getting distracted. She stretched her neck and peered around: “Who else came?”

Wen Xi turned his face to the side and asked: “Who?”

A bodyguard came over and answered: “It’s the daughter of Divine Moon King, Goddess Heng Yue.”

This woman was definitely going to Yu Mo Heavenly Palace to see Zhao Huajun and had decided to lodge here for the night before passing through. Tian Zhen inwardly cried not good and hurriedly said: “We have to continue our trip tomorrow and I’m a bit tired so I’ll go back to my room first and turn in for the night.”

The relay building originally didn’t have that many people and the one the bodyguards were concerned about wasn’t even her. Slipping away in the middle of the night wasn’t all that hard.