Chapter 463 : Phoenix True Fire
463: Phoenix True Fire
Sect Leader Qingxiao made decisions quickly. With a thought, he went directly to the lightning pool to find Yun Qingyue.
At that time, Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue were chatting leisurely in the lightning pool area, occasionally engaging in small intimate but harmless gestures. When Sect Leader Qingxiao arrived, Jiang Mo was laughing while playing with Yun Qingyue's hand. Then, speaking of something, she suddenly lowered her head and bit Yun Qingyue's fingertip. It was evidently a gentle bite—at least with Sect Leader Qingxiao's eyesight, he didn't see any wound—but he did notice Yun Qingyue's ears turning red.
Still single to this day, Sect Leader Qingxiao wasn't familiar with such romantic interactions. Although he vaguely sensed something unusual in the atmosphere between the two, with urgent matters at hand, he didn't give it much thought and directly approached them.
Jiang Mo, having just bitten her beloved, was about to kiss her again when she caught a glimpse of a figure from the corner of her eye, immediately frightening her so much that her hair nearly stood on end.
She quickly turned her head and, seeing that the arrival was Sect Leader Qingxiao, Senior Sister's proper elder, her entire body froze. Feeling awkward and guilty, she held onto Senior Sister's hand, momentarily unsure whether to let go or not.
On the other side, Yun Qingyue noticed Sect Leader Qingxiao's arrival half a beat slower than Jiang Mo, and her heart also couldn't help but skip a beat. However, she quickly composed herself, naturally withdrew the hand that Jiang Mo had bitten, stood up to straighten her clothes, and bowed in greeting: "Greetings, Sect Leader. May I ask why Sect Leader Uncle has come to find us?"
Yun Qingyue acted briskly, and Sect Leader Qingxiao was even more direct. He immediately explained the situation to her, concluding: "Those mutated flowers need to be completely eradicated, and this matter cannot be delayed. I need your assistance to accomplish this."
For disciples, protecting the sect was their natural duty, so Sect Leader Qingxiao didn't mince words at all.
Yun Qingyue certainly didn't feel any need to hesitate and immediately agreed, even preparing to follow Sect Leader Qingxiao on the spot. But as she took a step forward, she felt her robe being tugged, and turning back, unsurprisingly found it was Jiang Mo.
Jiang Mo wasn't trying to be difficult. She frowned with concern: "That mutated flower was pinned in Ah Yue's hair for so long, and we were worried she might be infected with demonic energy, which is why we stayed in the lightning pool. Now she's leaving—what if something happens?"
Before Sect Leader Qingxiao could speak, Yun Qingyue patted her shoulder reassuringly: "It's fine. I just circulated my spiritual energy to check, and there's nothing unusual..."
Jiang Mo pressed her hand down on Yun Qingyue's, her expression no less serious: "How can it be fine? When demonic energy enters the body, is it something you can easily detect? When Abbot Huining's wound was contaminated with demonic energy, had it not been for Golden Peng's alertness, he himself wouldn't have noticed. Compared to Buddhist cultivators, compared to Abbot Huining, would your perception of demonic energy be more acute?"
The little tiger was usually meek and gentle before Senior Sister; this was probably the first time she had been so serious and argued so reasonably. Moreover, her points were valid, making it difficult for Yun Qingyue to find a counterargument.
Listening to Jiang Mo's words, Sect Leader Qingxiao also found them reasonable. After some thought, he took out a jade pendant: "This is Lightning Condensation Jade. Wearing it will have the effect of tempering the body with lightning, and its effectiveness should be no worse than staying in the lightning pool." Of course, this tempering occurred gradually over time, so it wouldn't be as intense as soaking in the lightning pool, but it was certainly better than nothing.
Hearing this, Jiang Mo felt it was a good item and unhesitatingly accepted it, hanging it at Yun Qingyue's waist. With her head bowed and eyes lowered as she fastened the jade for Yun Qingyue, she showed none of Jianbing's usual flamboyance and arrogance, appearing instead docile and gentle.
Yun Qingyue had wanted to say something, but faced with this side of Jiang Mo, she momentarily forgot to speak.
With the Lightning Condensation Jade worn on her body, she indeed felt a faint electric current entering her body. Though not particularly powerful, it was continuous and unending, seemingly tempering her body at every moment—Yun Qingyue knew this was a valuable item. If worn consistently over a long period of time, being tempered by lightning would be beneficial when facing lightning tribulations in the future.
Knowing its value, she didn't dare accept it, but before she could speak, Sect Leader Qingxiao saw through her thoughts. He voluntarily reassured her: "This Lightning Condensation Jade isn't being given to you; it's merely lent for your protection, so you can proceed without worries."
Yun Qingyue was relieved to hear this, but when Jiang Mo heard these words, she pursed her lips and muttered: "So stingy."
Though not spoken loudly, with the hearing abilities of those present, who wouldn't have heard it?
Yun Qingyue felt inexplicably embarrassed. She always felt that she and Jiang Mo were one entity, so when Jiang Mo made such a complaint, it was as if she herself had spoken those words. She secretly glared at Jiang Mo.
Sect Leader Qingxiao didn't mind much; after all, his words were only meant to temporarily reassure Yun Qingyue. After this matter was resolved, if the Lightning Condensation Jade proved useful to Yun Qingyue, he had no intention of taking it back. And if it wasn't useful to her, he could reclaim it and gift her something else instead. He certainly wouldn't let a junior disciple suffer any loss.
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With the Lightning Condensation Jade, Yun Qingyue was ready to leave with Sect Leader Qingxiao to help. Naturally, Jiang Mo wanted to follow. Unfortunately, there was only one Lightning Condensation Jade. Just as she could prevent Senior Sister from leaving the lightning pool due to concerns about demonic energy infection, Yun Qingyue could use the same reason to make her stay. And when faced with Senior Sister's insistence, the little tiger was always the one to yield.
In the end, Yun Qingyue and Sect Leader Qingxiao left, leaving Jiang Mo alone, who angrily found a lightning pool to soak in—she wasn't afraid of being infected with demonic energy, as she still had her system's antivirus. But others didn't know that, so if she wanted to leave the lightning pool, she'd better soak first.
Leaving the lightning pool, Yun Qingyue looked back once, seeing only the deep tunnel. Through this tunnel, she could almost glimpse Jiang Mo's thunderstruck expression, as well as her current pouting appearance.
Thinking of Jiang Mo's likely expression at this moment, a smile unconsciously bloomed on Yun Qingyue's face.
Seeing this, Sect Leader Qingxiao couldn't help but remark: "In the past, you were like your master, always cold-faced and rarely smiling. Now you've acquired a smiling countenance. These years outside, you must have experienced quite a lot."
Hearing this, Yun Qingyue was first startled, then realized that she had indeed smiled. She touched her cheek, feeling somewhat embarrassed, and naturally wouldn't explain why she was smiling. She quickly suppressed her smile and changed the subject: "That's all in the past. Sect Leader Uncle, please tell me what you have planned and how I can help."
Sect Leader Qingxiao's sentimentality was only momentary, and hearing Yun Qingyue bring the topic back to business, he naturally adopted a serious demeanor. When discussing important matters, he was concise and direct: "Those mutated flowers need to be completely eradicated. Qingyuan has tried, but his spiritual fire struggles to burn them completely. I've heard that phoenix true fire can incinerate everything, so I wanted to ask you to give it a try."
Hearing this, Yun Qingyue was slightly taken aback, then shook her head: "This... I'm afraid that won't work."
Asking Yun Qingyue to help with phoenix true fire was definitely the simplest, quickest, and most harmless method. Sect Leader Qingxiao hadn't expected her to refuse, so he frowned and asked: "Why won't it work?"
Yun Qingyue didn't find his attitude forceful. She raised her hand, a faint blue flame appearing at her fingertip, and explained: "The Sect Leader may not know, but years ago in the Canglán Secret Realm at Mingzong Mountain, I accidentally obtained a spiritual flame. Because I have an ice spiritual root, by a strange twist of fate, that spiritual flame was refined by me into ice flame. Later, when I underwent ancestral reversion and passed through lightning tribulation, the phoenix true fire within my body was also influenced by it, transforming into its current state."
Phoenix true fire should be an extremely fierce and positive spiritual flame, as dazzling as the sun. But the spiritual flame at Yun Qingyue's fingertip was deep blue, visibly very different from the legendary phoenix true fire, not to mention the profound coldness one could feel without even approaching it.
Sect Leader Qingxiao stared at the flame in surprise: "This..."
With this mutated spiritual flame having lost its extreme fierceness and positivity, he wasn't sure if it would still be effective against the mutated flowers.
However, since she had already been summoned, they might as well try. There was also a backup plan. So he continued: "In that case, let's try it first. If it works, that's best. If not... I remember that Niece's ice can temporarily freeze demonic energy. In that case, I'll trouble you to freeze all those mutated flowers, and then I'll have people uproot them and send them to the lightning pool."
Undoubtedly, the latter approach would be much more troublesome, not only requiring more complicated steps but also demanding more consumption from Yun Qingyue. Nevertheless, after hearing this, Yun Qingyue didn't refuse; after all, being able to help was a good thing.
After briefly discussing how to proceed, they didn't fly too far, landing on another small spirit peak not far from Mount Tianyang. This small peak had a pleasant climate and abundant spiritual energy, with flowers blooming year-round. It also had many mutated flowers growing, making it a perfect place for Yun Qingyue to practice and test before deciding on large-scale action.
Having seen the mutated flowers before, Yun Qingyue immediately spotted them mixed among the lush flower beds. Without hesitation, she flicked her finger, sending a thread of ice flame directly toward the mutated flowers.
As the deep blue flame landed on a mutated flower, it was like a spark falling into boiling oil—a great burst of flames exploded.
In less than a breath, those few mutated flowers were burned completely and thoroughly.