Chapter 962: Secret Whispers of the Past
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
In the sea of trees before them, one could clearly see that a few of the Parasol Trees were much bigger than the rest.
The biggest few Divine Parasol Trees were not congregated together but separate instead. As they stood in the center of the sea of trees, they appeared to be independent from one another. Yet, at the same time, they appeared to be forming an ancient, mystical formation.
Li Yuanfang looked at the scene and his gaze flashed. A rare look of focus and obsession surfaced in his eyes.
In the center of the Parasol Tree Forest, there was a gigantic tree that was bigger even when compared to his fellow brethren. The Divine Parasol Tree stood in between heaven and earth and was at least ten thousand meters tall. The circumference of that Divine Parasol Tree already occupied a good portion of the entire forest.
Lin Feng stared at the Divine Parasol Tree and nodded his head. Without asking, he knew that was the Parasol Tree King.
The Parasol Tree King had not revealed his true form. If he had done that, then his size would be even more humongous.
Wang Lin, Shi Tianhao and Zhuge Zhan all looked at the gigantic Divine Parasol Tree.
After a while, Wang Lin turned his head over. He had an odd look on his face as he said, "I feel… as if the Parasol Tree King had not yet undergone the Cardinal Tribulations, right? However, why does he exert a bigger pressure on me than a demon such as the Xiangliu Grand Sage?"
Zhu Yi and he possessed the strongest souls among all of Lin Feng’s disciples. However, they specialized in different aspects. Wang Lin’s soul was powerful and resilient, but it was not as sensitive and intuitive as Zhu Yi’s. Hence, there existed significant difference between the two of them.
After they reached the Immortal Soul First Level and their powers increased exponentially, their differences became more pronounced.
The Parasol Tree King was calm and he did not reveal his true form. Nor did he deliberately attempt to show off his demon powers. However, Wang Lin was still able to discover some of his powers.
Shi Tianhao and Zhuge Zhan looked at the giant Divine Parasol Tree and their expressions were deeply contemplative too.
Lin Feng said "Among all humans and demons, other than the Emperor of the Dead who came back from the dead and the Golden Cicada, the Parasol Tree King probably lived the longest. The amount of time he spent on cultivation is measured in the tens of thousands."
"A very long time ago, he was already an Undying Demon Soul Third Level demon. However, no one knows why did he not undergo the Cardinal Tribulations," said Lin Feng. "A few thousand years ago, he met with a calamity and since then, he has yet to recover. Hence, he decided to push this matter back indefinitely."
"When Lin Tong came to the Parasol Tree Forest, she was only able to offer him temporarily relief from his injuries. However, she was unable to cure him completely."
Lin Feng smiled and said, "Even so, the Parasol Tree King is extremely powerful and one should not underestimate him. Coupled with his geographical advantage and support from his kind, his powers here are massive indeed."
"However, if he can avoid a fight, the Parasol Tree King will surely avoid it. On one hand, he does not like to fight. On the other hand, any fight with someone of the same level as him will cause his injuries to hurt once more."
"Of course, with the Phoenix Grand Sage around, there was no need for the Parasol Tree King to attack. The Phoenix Tribe and the Divine Parasol Tree Tribe lived together. They are almost a single entity and the Phoenix Grand Sage could use the combined powers of both tribes."
The Phoenix Grand Sage was the leader of the Phoenix Tribe. He was in the Vipralopa stage and one of the most powerful demons of the Barren Expanses.
As he said that, one could hear the clear chirps of phoenix from the Parasol Tree Forest. With that, a few figures flew out to welcome Lin Feng and company.
The first one was a green phoenix whose entire body was green like jade without any imperfection. The phoenix had the head of a chicken, the beak of a swallow, the neck of a snake, the back of a tortoise and the tail of a fish. Around the phoenix, five-colored lights shone. The phoenix was not big and it was only about six inches tall.
However, looking at the five-colored light around the green phoenix, Lin Feng and the rest knew that this phoenix had started the Cardinal Tribulations.
Earlier, he had only seen the Fei Ye Grand Sage and the Black Jade Phoenix, who were surrounded by only gold light. Only by undergoing the Cardinal Tribulations would a phoenix obtain the five-colored light.
By completing the Cardinal Tribulation and achieving the Vipralopa stage, regardless whether the phoenix was red, green or black, its body would turn reddish-gold and be surrounded by the five-colored light.
In this aspect, they were similar to the Immemorial Celestial Dragons. However, the two types of demons still had many differences.
Behind the Green Phoenix Grand Sage, Lin Feng recognized familiar faces. He saw the red phoenix, the Fei Ye Grand Sage, and the Black Jade Phoenix.
It was worth mentioning that the Black Jade Phoenix had formed its Undying Demon Soul and should now be referred to as the Black Jade Grand Sage.
When the Green Phoenix Grand Sage saw Lin Feng, it bowed its head and said, "I am the green phoenix, Cangyuan. Greetings, Master of the Celestial Sect."
The Fei Ye Grand Sage and the Black Jade Grand Sage bowed too, "Hope you are well, Master of the Celestial Sect."
Lin Feng smiled and bowed and said, "Thank you for hosting me."
"Here, Master of the Celestial Sect, follow me," said the Green Phoenix Grand Sage as it turned around to lead the way. Lin Feng and the rest followed him while the Fei Ye Grand Sage and the Black Jade Grand Sage flew by the two sides of the entourage.
While Lin Feng joked that he would leave Shi Tianhao and Tun Tun outside, it was nothing more than a mere joke. Shi Tianhao and Tun Tun followed them and two of them were on their best behavior as they followed obediently behind Lin Feng. All they did was to look excitedly at their surroundings.
While the Parasol Tree Forest appeared calm, endless amount of demonic powers, which were as vast as the sky and the sea and boundless, could be felt. However, the demonic powers were not ferocious or violent. Instead, they appeared pure, clear and otherworldly.
The group of them followed the Green Phoenix Grand Sage as they arrived before the biggest tree in the center of the Parasol Tree Forest. The tree branches shook gently and then, a tall, old and elegant man appeared.
The old man clasped his hands together in the direction of Lin Feng as he said with a smile, "Your old friend, the Green Parasol Tree Jingfang, greets you, Master of the Celestial Sect. I have to thank you for bringing little Lin Tong along the previous time. She really did help me recover quite a bit."
The old man was the leader of the Divine Parasol Trees, the Parasol Tree King.
Rays of light appeared behind the Parasol Tree King and turned into humans. Some were middle-aged, and some were younger. All were dressed like scholars. They were the light projections that the many surrounding Divine Parasol Trees projected with their demon powers. Standing behind the Parasol Tree King, they clasped their hands together to greet Lin Feng.
Lin Feng smiled and returned the gesture, "Thank you Parasol Tree King for your hospitality. It is the will of heaven that Lin Tong should emerge from the belly of the Kun Peng. All I did was to try my best. The ceremony too was beneficial for Lin Tong as well and our sect obtained the Pure Yang Primordial Fire through it. We should be thanking you instead."
"There’s no need to thank us, Master of the Celestial Sect," said a clear voice from the canopy of the Parasol Tree King. Then, a five-colored light shone and descended next to the Parasol Tree King’s human projection.
It was a female phoenix whose entire body was red and gold. She shone with a five-colored light.
Unlike the Green Phoenix Grand Sage, there appeared to words carved on this female phoenix’s red-and-gold body.
On her head, there was the word ‘virtue’. On her wings, there was the word ‘compliance’. On her back, there was the word ‘righteousness’. On her belly, there was the word ‘trust’. On her chest, there was the word ‘compassion’.
While these words were not written in the human language, Lin Feng was able to understand them just by looking at them.
A red-and-gold body with the five words carved over her body. At the same time, her body shone with five-colored light. It was evidently a Vipralopa stage phoenix.
There was only one phoenix in that stage, and that was the Phoenix Grand Sage.
After the two of them exchanged greetings, the Phoenix Grand Sage and the Parasol Tree King showed Lin Feng and the rest to their seats.
In response to Lin Feng’s feud with the dragons, the Phoenix took the neutral ground. To what they knew, the Red Dragon King sought to prevent Lin Feng from obtaining the Celestial Mountain Yingzhou. In a fair fight between the two sides, the Red Dragon King was unable to beat Lin Feng and hence, he was killed. The dragons sought revenge on Lin Feng for this, and rightfully so. Both sides were blameless in this aspect and hence, the best way to settle it would be for the two sides to fight it out based on their abilities.
However, the Phoenix Tribe and the Divine Parasol Tree Tribe were rather critical of Lin Feng’s decision to cultivate the body of the Red Dragon King into the Thunder Dragon Avatar. However, this did not affect their ties.
Regardless whether it was the Phoenix Grand Sage or the Parasol Tree King, both were upright and spoke their minds directly. Lin Feng smiled slightly and did not attempt to argue with them. This concerned the different customs and rites of different tribes and hence, any further discussion was fruitless.
If a human died at the hands of the Phoenix Grand Sage of the Parasol Tree King, he might still be afforded a proper burial. However, if he were to die at the hands of the dragons or other demons, then he would be eaten.
The Phoenix Grand Sage and the Parasol Tree King did not say much about this too.
After they talked for a while, Lin Feng started to talk about the main topic. He told them his purpose for coming. However, he communicated to them telepathically so only the Parasol Tree King and the Phoenix Grand Sage could hear him.
"Forgive me for asking and I hope that you will answer me truthfully," said Lin Feng to the Parasol Tree King, "Do you remember who was the one who inflicted the calamity on you all those years ago?"
"I know that this question is sudden but it’s important. If I have offended you, please forgive me."
The Phoenix Grand Sage looked at the Parasol Tree King for a while and both fell silent. After a long while, the Parasol Tree King sighed and said, "This may make you laugh, but till today I cannot ascertain who did it."
Lin Feng’s pupils shrunk as he looked at the Parasol Tree King, who nodded. The Phoenix Grand Sage said, "I was not in the Parasol Tree Forest then and the opponent came too suddenly. Hence, Jingfang was injured. The opponent was surrounded by a dense fog and hence, we could not see his true face. Furthermore, we do not possess any special ability to force our opponents to reveal themselves and hence, we could not see through him."
She knew what Lin Feng was thinking and shook her head before continuing, "It is not the Heavenly Charms Grand Sage of the Barren Expanses. While the two of them seemed similar, the Heavenly Charms Grand Sage only emerged after the last War of the Two Worlds. She only entered the Vipralopa stage recently."
Lin Feng said quietly, "Even if she appeared before the war, it was highly unlikely that she could have injured Daoist Parasol Tree King in the Parasol Tree Forest without revealing her true form."
"However, the Heavenly Charms Grand Sage and the Sirius, Sha Yu, are fellow disciples. Hence, they must have a master."
The Phoenix Grand Sage lowered her head slightly and said, "I have the same hunch too. Hence, all these years, while I remain in the Parasol Tree Forest, I have asked Cangyuan to look for the Heavenly Charms Grand Sage. However, her movement was mysterious and hard to track and hence, I did not obtain much information."
The Parasol Tree King said quietly, "The person then was extremely powerful. Furthermore, he knew a great deal about the Parasol Tree Forest as he was able to break through many of our seals."
"While the phoenix went out, only I remained in the Parasol Tree Forest. After I had faced off against the person, if not for what happened afterwards, I may have died."
"Oh?" Lin Feng’s gaze flashed as he stared at the Parasol Tree King.