After descending the mountain, Youyou didn't leave immediately but instead took a stroll around the foot of the mountain. Many others were doing the same, so she didn't attract much attention. The others were either reluctant to leave or wanted to wait three days to continue, while Youyou was there to familiarize herself with the terrain and check for any loopholes. She didn't return to the city until nearly evening.
"Xiao You." Yuan Qi greeted her, carefully scanning her before asking, "How did it go? Was it alright?"
"Hmm, it's alright." You You nodded, walking inside as he said, "I just didn't expect that the Jingling Academy only allows cultivators to go to Fufeng for training and doesn't allow them to move around freely, so we couldn't find anything... Huh, where's Feng Rong?"
She went inside and glanced around, only to find that only Yuan's father was there, and she didn't see Feng Rong.
"Oh, he was just invited out by a friend, who also wanted to gather information," Yuan Qi explained.
"Friends?" You You was somewhat surprised and blurted out, "He actually has friends?" With his bad temper. But thinking about it carefully, back in the True Journey Sect, compared to Yuan's father, who was a mascot, it seemed that the disciples did indeed prefer to ask Feng Rong for melon seeds.
"..." Yuan Qi thought of the cabin full of frail 'friends' on the spirit boat, and suddenly felt a little speechless. So he changed the subject and asked, "Xiao You, did you find anything else at the Jingling Courtyard?"
“No!” You You shook her head and said, “There are protective arrays around the floating peaks, so I can’t easily slip out. Moreover, I could feel that during the cultivation just now, at least dozens of divine senses were repeatedly patrolling between the peaks in the entire Jingling Academy. So I couldn’t use my divine sense to investigate, but the cultivators who went in with me didn’t seem to be able to detect those divine senses.”
"Then the masters of those divine senses must have cultivation levels above these cultivators, perhaps even two major realms higher." That's why they didn't notice at all.
"Among the cultivators, there are Nascent Soul cultivators. Does Father Yuan mean... that the people of Jingling Academy are all at the level of immortals?" You You asked, somewhat surprised.
“That should be the case.” Yuan Qi nodded and said, “There are always many Nascent Soul cultivators who participate in the ceremony, and there is no such thing as ascension in this world. The next step for cultivators is naturally to become immortals.”
"But those divine senses didn't do anything; it seemed like they were just making a routine patrol." This is why they were able to discover the person who had gone mad with cultivation so quickly. "And the cultivators who returned from there did indeed increase their cultivation levels. Do you think we might have guessed wrong, and the Jingling Academy is really just doing charity work?"
"That possibility cannot be ruled out." Tianqi smiled gently and continued, "However, Xiaoyou, you overlooked a detail. If they have been using the spiritual power in that formation to help others break through to higher cultivation levels, then after so many years of grand ceremonies, what kind of spiritual veins can support such consumption? And the Jingling Academy has existed for a long time. Do you see any signs of its spiritual veins drying up?"
That's right. The spiritual energy flowing back from the formation most likely comes from those spiritual veins. But when she came out just now, the spiritual energy in those veins showed no signs of weakening; each one was even thicker than the last. Clearly, the number of people participating in cultivation across all the floating peaks totals over a thousand, and they were all relentlessly pushing their cultivation levels. How could it possibly have no impact on the spiritual veins?
Unless... that spiritual energy didn't originate from the spiritual veins. The question then arises: where does spiritual energy come from?
Thinking about it this way, the mortuary seems even more mysterious!
“They will reopen the mountain gates in three days,” You You said after thinking for a moment. “I need to think of a way to secretly investigate elsewhere instead of going to Fufeng.” I need to find out what Jingling Academy is up to.
“Alright!” Yuan Qi nodded, then added, “However, this time, Feng Rong and I will have to go with you.”
“But…” Just as she was about to object, a familiar aura suddenly wafted over, and a familiar red flame appeared on the originally dark horizon to her right.
The two were startled and stood up at the same time. "Feng Rong!" Isn't that the aura of Feng Rong's Phoenix True Fire erupting?
Youyou didn't have time to think it through. She grabbed Yuanqi, turned around, and rushed towards the fire.
——————
West of the city.
A group of men were blocked in front of a teahouse, huddled together in fear. Only Feng Rong stood tall and blocked their way, glaring angrily at the four or five malevolent female cultivators in front of her, and said, word by word, "Get out of my way! I don't want to hit women!"
As soon as he finished speaking, not only the female cultivator in front of him, but also the surrounding cultivators were stunned for a moment, and then burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha... This young master certainly has a big mouth. Let me tell you... how do you want to hit a woman?" He finished speaking and winked ambiguously, his eyes full of teasing.
The female cultivators around them burst into laughter, as if they simply didn't believe that a man who couldn't cultivate could do anything.
Feng Rong's anger intensified, his eyes blazing with fury. He was never one to have a good temper, especially since these people had suddenly appeared to cause trouble, blocking their way for so long and even trying to snatch someone away, their words dripping with lewdness. Aside from You You, this was the first time anyone had dared to be so arrogant in front of him.
For a moment, they couldn't help but want to transform back into their original phoenix form and kill the other party.
But the group opposite them only grew more arrogant. After laughing their fill, they pointed behind Feng Rong to a man whose veil had been ripped off and who was trembling the most, saying, "I've taken a liking to him. What can you do about it? If you know what's good for you, get out of my way, or... I'm not one to show mercy to women." With that, they continued to step forward to snatch him away.
"You're courting death!" Feng Rong's face darkened, as if he couldn't bear it any longer. The next moment, crimson flames ignited on his body, instantly covering his entire body. In an instant, it was as if the air itself was ignited, and a terrifying heat wave swept over him.
The female cultivators were startled, a tremendous sense of crisis washing over them. They hastily retreated several steps, staring in horror at the person engulfed in flames before them. The flames grew ever stronger, and Feng Rong's figure twisted and contorted, seemingly about to transform back into her phoenix form.
"Feng Rong!" A cry of surprise rang out, and the next moment You You and Yuan Qi appeared behind him, grabbing Feng Rong's hand.
Suddenly something swept towards him, and the flames all over his body went out instantly, the scorching heat disappeared completely, and Feng Rong, who was about to transform back into his original form, was directly suppressed back.
"Youyou?" He was stunned for a moment, then his anger flared up again. "Don't stop me. I'll turn back into my original form and burn these scumbags to death."
"Stop fooling around, listen to me!" He pulled the person back again and whispered a reminder, "Otherwise, half the city won't be able to hold you!" Exposing yourself is one thing, but do you think your phoenix prototype is tiny? What are you going to do to compensate for the damage you cause to the buildings?!
Feng Rong: "..."
Yuan Qi: "..."
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