Soul Emperor Awakening

After using the Phoenix Wings to evade them and then killing the Tiger Fish, he had already consumed more than half of his Elemental Power. ’But at this point, they shouldn’t be able to catch Zi Yi and the others anymore.’

’The Demon Cloud Sea is vast and boundless. As long as Zi Yi’s group changes their course slightly, the pirates will have a hard time tracking them down. I can finally leave without worry.’ He planned to take out the Phoenix statue, make it manifest, and have it carry him away from this place.

He hadn’t wanted to reveal it, but things had come to this, and he had no other choice. It would be a different story if the statues he could summon had high Cultivation, but unfortunately, their Cultivation was rather low—First Layer of the Essence Pill Stage, as usual. They were even weaker than his current level, so he couldn’t even be bothered to summon them.

Summoning them would just create cannon fodder that would be shattered with a single punch. This was understandable. It was the limitation of the Five-Colored Spirit Wood. Unless he could find better materials to carve from, it would be difficult to improve the quality of the statues.

It was similar to Puppets—if the materials were poor, they couldn’t withstand a beating. While summoning statues was much better than using Puppets, especially in terms of flexibility, the overall limitations were just too great. Without better materials, it was hard to make any improvements.

He was currently wrestling with this problem, unsure where to even begin looking for better carving materials. Regardless, for now, he had to reveal his trump card. ’At least they don’t recognize me, and they aren’t from the Soaring Dragon Empire, so I can reveal it without too much worry.’

"Trying to run? Using those Elemental Power Wings must have drained a lot of your Elemental Power, right?" The Pirate Leader, Li Wei, glared at him. "If I let you escape even like this, I’ll write my name, Li Wei, backward!" He paid little attention to the Phoenix Statue in Lin Xuan’s hand. It didn’t seem worth noticing, as it didn’t look like any type of Weapon.

"Is that so? I look forward to seeing you write your name backward," Lin Xuan said with a smile, drifting to the side as the men around him lunged forward again.

But this time, Lin Xuan’s actions were different. He tossed the statue in his hand into the air and commanded in a deep voice, "Manifest!"

SKREEE—

The statue rapidly transformed into a fiery red Phoenix, soaring in the air. Lin Xuan landed perfectly on its back, and it carried him away into the distance, flying in the opposite direction from which Zi Yi had fled.

The scene left all the pirates stunned. One of them stammered in disbelief, "A-a Divine Phoenix! He actually has a Divine Phoenix with him!"

The Pirate Leader, Li Wei, was dumbfounded. A Divine Phoenix, a creature not seen even once in a hundred years, had just appeared before his very eyes, and it was controlled by a mere boy. He found it utterly unbelievable. When he finally came to his senses, he roared, "After him!"

Without another word, he leaped into the water. His most powerful aura erupted as he sped after Lin Xuan, his velocity easily matching, if not surpassing, that of the Phoenix!

’That speed is insane!’ Lin Xuan thought, watching Li Wei frantically closing in. He had assumed the Phoenix’s speed would be enough to shake them, but he couldn’t get away from the expert at the Peak of the Essence Pill Stage. In fact, the distance between them was shrinking.

It could only be said that the inhabitants of the Demon Cloud Sea were truly gifted. Having adapted to the environment here, they were naturally unafraid of the sea’s strange phenomena. They were likely immune, so the Demon Cloud Sea couldn’t absorb their Elemental Power. Their only drain was the massive amount of energy it took to swim through such heavy water.

As for being wary of the Tiger Fish, since they dared to enter the water, they must have had a way to fend them off.

"You bastard, I won’t let you get away!" Li Wei shouted, chasing maniacally, showing no concern for whether his own Elemental Power would run out.

Lin Xuan urged the Phoenix to fly forward at top speed, but he was still slowly being overtaken. Suddenly, Li Wei shot up from the sea, launching himself straight toward Lin Xuan like a missile.

Lin Xuan’s brow furrowed. He guided the Phoenix to fly higher into the sky; if he continued flying at a low altitude, Li Wei’s attack would surely connect.

As he directed the Phoenix higher, a cold smirk appeared on the lips of Li Wei, who was still in the sea below. It was as if his plot had succeeded.

Then, as he guided the Phoenix higher, Lin Xuan noticed the surrounding air growing thick. He even felt a tingling sensation on his skin. A jolt of alarm went through him. ’Lightning!’ he realized with a start.

He had only just realized it when, with a CRACKLE-BOOM, a bolt of lightning struck down from above. In that instant, Lin Xuan had already dodged to the side, but the bolt, as if it had eyes of its own, swerved in mid-air and struck him squarely!

BOOM!

A terrifying Power of thunder and lightning surged directly into his body, charring his skin black. Even though his body had been tempered in the Bone Forging Pool, it couldn’t withstand this horrifying force. The violent strike nearly caused him to faint.

"Hmph..."

Lin Xuan let out a muffled grunt and spat out a mouthful of blood, staining the Phoenix’s feathers red. A single strike, like a punch from an expert at the Peak of the Essence Pill Stage, had left him severely wounded!

"Haha! Let’s see you fly around recklessly now, kid! Go on, stay up there! If you don’t come down, you can just get struck dead by the lightning, and it’s only going to get stronger!" Li Wei laughed from below, but inwardly he was shocked. Lin Xuan had taken a direct hit and hadn’t even passed out. He had actually managed to withstand it.

He had assumed that a single bolt of lightning would be enough to strike both Lin Xuan and the Phoenix out of the sky. Who would have thought they would actually endure it?

’What terrifying Power of thunder and lightning... I walked right into his trap,’ Lin Xuan thought, looking up at the black clouds. ’It seems this won’t be over so easily.’ The clouds seemed to sense his presence as lightning flickered within them, preparing to unleash another bolt.

There was no memory of this phenomenon in Qing Liuyun’s recollections, which was normal. Although Qing Liuyun was quite Heaven-Defying, he didn’t own a Phoenix and couldn’t fly. It was likely that one had to fly to a certain altitude to be affected by the lightning, and Li Wei had deliberately tricked him into flying up here.

But going down now meant certain death. With a single attack, Li Wei could definitely take his life. At the very least, he could still barely withstand this Power of thunder and lightning.

’Then let’s see who can hold out longer!’ Lin Xuan stood up, gripping his White Pupil Rod. His entire body flickered with golden light as he stared intently at the lightning-filled black clouds.

In that instant, his other souls possessed him. The Fourth Layer Soul was superimposed within his body, and his aura instantly surged to a whole new level! He could feel that the Power of thunder and lightning would only grow stronger, so he had to use his full strength.

Now it was a matter of who would be the first to break: him or Li Wei.

’People always say that the path of Cultivation is a struggle against the heavens,’ he thought. ’And now, I’m truly fighting the heavens!’

A faint smile touched the corner of Lin Xuan’s lips. He considered himself quite lucky to be able to truly fight against the heavens so soon!