Chapter 183 A Secret Maneuver
Huang Long stood up, intending to catch Jin Ling, but one hand grabbed Jin Ling's wing first.
“This bird… I feel like I’ve seen the mark between its eyebrows somewhere before…” Yuanshi pinched the fluttering golden spirit in front of him. “It doesn’t look like a cub, but rather like it has been sealed into the form of a cub.”
"Chang Hao, have you checked it? Don't bring everything into Lishan." Yuan Shi pondered deeply, feeling as if he had seen it before. He closed his eyes and quickly went through his memories, but still couldn't find the source of this mark.
“She is a phoenix, and her bloodline appears to be very pure. It’s probably a seal placed by the ancestral phoenix to protect her.” Chang Hao didn’t think there was any major problem. As long as he didn’t try to break the seal, the golden spirit would still be more beneficial than harmful to him.
"It's best not to keep people of unknown origin around, especially since the situation in the prehistoric world is still unclear." Yuanshi felt inexplicably uncomfortable, not because of the bird's appearance, but because of a seal between his eyebrows.
"If you get involved, I'm afraid you'll be in danger." Yuanshi's mind flashed back to the divination he had performed atop Buzhou Mountain: mountains of corpses, rivers of blood, the sun and moon falling, Chang Hao's battle robes tattered, and his master writhing in fury…
Very bad omen.
That was a nightmare for Yuan Shi. Recalling that divination, Yuan Shi's mind buzzed, and he felt somewhat confused. "I can conclude that the Lich is like a dragon..."
Chang Hao quickly covered Yuan Shi's mouth.
"Shut up!" Chang Hao thought, cold sweat breaking out on his back. "You're a saint, please, please watch your mouth and don't talk nonsense, okay?"
The words of a sage are lawful; every word he utters has a magical effect.
Yuanshi's hazy mind suddenly cleared, but he couldn't remember what he wanted to say.
Tongtian's eyes gleamed. He had learned another trick today. Next time his second brother wanted to say something unpleasant, he could just cover his brother's mouth and he would be silenced. The world would be peaceful again.
"I've let go. You just promised me you wouldn't interfere with the Lich, so you're not allowed to talk about the Lich, especially about predictions. A sage's words are law. If you really have to say something, just say the demon race will win." Chang Hao hesitated before letting go, ready to give Yuan Shi another blow at any moment.
Yuanshi remained silent. To say that the demon race would surely win? That was far too difficult. He couldn't say that he was hoping for the two birds' misfortune every moment, but he certainly had no intention of helping them either.
Love is a complicated affair, and the fact that he didn't secretly curse Taiyi with the Seven Arrows of Nailhead was already a testament to his integrity.
"Second Brother, if you're really worried, why don't we remove the seal on Jin Ling?" Tongtian had long had this idea.
"Let's wait until it's fully grown before we talk about it. You know the situation with the Lich King is dire, and I'm afraid the cooked Golden Spirit will fly away." Chang Hao knew that Tongtian was a hands-off leader, and such a sect leader had to ensure the loyalty of every disciple he took in.
Tongtian immediately stopped. He still wanted Jinling and planned to take her under his wing along with Kong Xuan when the time was right.
Seeing the bright moon hanging high in the sky, Yuanshi and Tongtian obediently returned to their respective side halls under Chang Hao's cold face, while Chang Hao appeared inside the Hongmeng Pearl in the blink of an eye.
Xiao Shibai rolled over listlessly, but Chang Hao, who was standing nearby, rolled him back over. "So bored?"
"Don't even mention it, how can I not be bored? I'm just a remnant soul, and even a hundred years of cultivation is not as good as your fifteen minutes of effort. Why bother with all that effort? Taking care of kids isn't something I enjoy."
“Xiao Jiu and the others are a bit scared. It’s not good for them to keep hiding here. I’m worried about their mental state.”
“I’ll handle this,” Chang Hao said, sitting down cross-legged. “Keep an eye on Xiao Jiu and the others for me. I’m refining some magic weapons, so they won’t bother me.”
"No problem, they know what's important," Xiao Shi assured him.
Chang Hao took out a series of materials he had intentionally collected, such as hibiscus fruit shells, ordinary phoenix blood essence, and paulownia wood spirit roots, and began to refine a magical artifact that disguised his bloodline.
When Chang Hao opened his eyes, he saw a circle of little golden crows squatting in front of him, eagerly waiting for him. He smiled and picked up the little golden crow that was closest to him, "Which brother is this?"
"It's Seventh Brother..." Little Eleven's face was conflicted. He was the first person to call his younger brother "Dad," and no matter how much he was corrected, he couldn't get it right. Recently, even Little Fifth, who was a bit silly and cute, had started calling him that. It was so frustrating.
"Seeing how terrified you both look, I've thought about it and decided to let you out two by two. Before you leave, I'll seal your bloodlines, and then you can bind the bracelets to your owners. As long as the bracelets stay with you, no one will discover your disguised phoenix bloodlines. What do you say?"
Even prisoners in jail get time to go outside. Little Golden Crow is like a little sun; if they're kept locked up for too long, problems are bound to arise.
Seeing them huddled together whispering, Chang Hao smiled knowingly, "You guys discuss who goes first and who goes last. Of course, Xiao Shi must go out with you every time, so that I can get there instantly if there's any danger."
"No need to discuss, just follow the order." Little Eleven made the final decision. What's there to discuss? They're taking advantage of my kindness. They're already lucky to get out of here, yet they demand that I accompany them the whole time.
Xiao Shi presented two golden crows, saying, "These two will come out with me first; they're the most obedient."
Chang Hao readily sealed the true fire of the sun within them, then took out ten blood-red bracelets that had been reversed using the Qiankun Cauldron. After they had recognized him as their master, each little golden crow's three legs became two.
Chang Hao examined them one by one and saw that each of them had a blood-red seal between their eyebrows that was similar to but slightly different from Jin Ling's. He used all the methods he knew to investigate and concluded that they were phoenixes, and only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
"Xiao Shi, tomorrow we'll see how things go. Every day when you get back, you have to tell the brothers what happened that day. If there's anything you've missed, Xiao Shi, you fill in the gaps." Chang Hao gave him a series of instructions, and after thinking it over, he felt there weren't any major problems.
"With me here, nothing will be exposed." Xiao Shi can guarantee that.
Chang Hao took out the Hongmeng Pearl and reviewed the plan again to make sure there were no oversights.
The next morning, Chang Hao enthusiastically took Yaochi on a tour of the mountains near Lishan.
While we're at it, let's also bring Huanglong and Jinling Guiling along so that the people on the nearby hills can recognize them. In case of emergency, they can help or hold them off until reinforcements arrive. That should be no problem at all.
Under the bright sunshine, Yaochi, sitting in her vehicle, glanced at the sun in the sky, then looked at Jinling on Huanglong's shoulder. "Huanglong, how about I hold Jinling?"
"Sure, please, Uncle-Master." Huang Long couldn't be happier. What was Jinling? It was a phoenix.
Huang Long hated it more than he could bear, but he was forced by the Venerable One's orders to take Jin Ling with him. He was more than happy to have someone take over.
Yaochi picked up Jinling and examined it; it was indeed unlike the golden crow she had briefly encountered before.
"Yaochi," Chang Hao narrowed his eyes, "what are you suspecting?"
Yaochi's back stiffened, "Senior brother..."
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