The moment the token was presented, Lu Li felt a surge of emotion, but his face remained calm and composed.
Or perhaps indifference isn't entirely accurate, because Lu Li's eyes also held a hint of doubt, as if he were curious about why Dong Hongyuan would take out a token.
From the moment Dong Hongyuan took out the token, he stared at Lu Li without blinking, not wanting to miss any emotion in Lu Li's eyes.
Unfortunately, Lu Li was too composed. He looked at him for a long time but couldn't see the slightest change in Lu Li's expression. Naturally, he couldn't confirm whether Lu Li was the person they were looking for.
Recalling what they learned about their master's ordeal, if Lu Li were truly their young master, it wouldn't be surprising if the other party was so wary of him.
So, Dong Hongyuan thought for a moment, then added fuel to the fire, and summoned a contract array right in front of Lu Li and Shushu.
As soon as the contract was signed, the token in his hand shone even brighter, as if it were just missing something else to undergo a complete transformation.
Upon seeing this, Lu Li, who had been completely calm, had a slight twitch in his eyes, opened his mouth, and finally let out a helpless sigh.
Immediately afterwards, the aura around him changed abruptly, and a wisp of primal power flew out and landed on the token.
In an instant, under everyone's gaze, the token slowly transformed into a phoenix engraved with a free-flying phoenix, while a phantom image of a phoenix also materialized in the space.
After the illusory figure met Lu Li's gaze, it landed and transformed into a handsome man whose face bore a striking resemblance to Lu Li's original appearance.
He looked Lu Li up and down, a satisfied look in his eyes, but his words were sharp.
"You brat, I knew you weren't dead. If you're not dead, then work harder on your cultivation and ascend to immortality as soon as possible. Your mother and grandparents are going crazy with worry, and you didn't even send us a message."
This was said as if sending a message to the Immortal Realm was as simple as eating and drinking. Not only was Lu Li speechless, but even Shushu standing next to him was dumbfounded.
Then, Shushu met those phoenix eyes.
Seeing the other person's eyes suddenly light up, Shushu swallowed hard. Before his mind could react, he had already hidden behind Lu Li.
Looking at Lu Li's back, Shushu finally realized what was happening, and somewhat embarrassed, moved back, raised a hand with an awkward smile, and greeted him: "Hello... Senior."
Then, something seemed to trigger the other party's nerves, and Shushu saw that the illusory figure reveal a smile comparable to that of the Big Bad Wolf: "Shushu's little brat, you...!"
The rest of the message disappeared automatically, because Lu Li had already stuffed the illusory figure back into the token.
The token jumped up and down, flashing light frantically, but the phantom inside could no longer emerge.
Perhaps it got tired of jumping around, because the token stopped jumping and returned to Dong Hongyuan's hand like an old man, settling directly on Dong Hongyuan's head.
Shushu and Luli's gazes also turned to Dong Hongyuan.
Then, under their gazes, Dong Hongyuan respectfully bowed to Lu Li, saying, "Dong Hongyuan, the 130th generation direct descendant of the Dong family, greets Master."
Lu Li seemed to have expected this, and only called out to Dong Hongyuan after Dong Hongyuan had introduced himself.
Then, a question-and-answer format began, with Lu Li asking questions and Dong Hongyuan answering.
Through their back-and-forth questions and answers, Shushu roughly figured out their relationship and what Lu Li had experienced.
Roughly speaking, the owner of this Flying Continent is actually a subordinate of Lu Li and his branch, and they have a generational contract with Lu Li and his group.
It's just that because the Dong family is human and Lu Li and the others are divine beasts, and the Dong family's main base is in the Middle Thousand World, their relationship is little known.
The phoenix branch that now stands as emperor in this vast world is among those unknown, and naturally, it has not made a move against its master all these years.
The owner, having not received any letters in recent decades, secretly inquired and learned that the Phoenix Clan had changed royal families and that their only direct descendant had disappeared.
Upon hearing this news, the owner's first reaction was to suspect the Phoenix currently in charge of the Phoenix Clan.
So they continued to conceal their identities and secretly investigate.
As they had predicted, the collateral branches had long coveted power.
Furthermore, having been instigated and manipulated by someone with ulterior motives, he decided to go all the way and took the item given to him by that person, directly attacking Lu Li when he was advancing in his cultivation level.
The Dong family didn't know how Lu Li escaped back then, but seeing that the Phoenix Clan had been searching for Lu Li all over the world for years, the Dong family knew that Lu Li must not be dead, so they kept trying to find him.
However, unlike the Phoenix Clan, their purpose in searching for someone was to rescue them.
However, the owner's abilities were limited, and the Phoenix Clan was too powerful; they were no match for them. So they could only try their best to contact the Phoenixes in the Celestial Realm for help.
There was nothing they could do. Apart from Lu Li, the direct descendants of his lineage had either perished or ascended to the upper realm, leaving them with no other options.
Fortunately, because the owner had something left behind by Lu Yan, they were eventually able to contact them.
However, since immortals cannot descend to the mortal realm in their true form, Lu Yan could only send down a wisp of his divine consciousness, which attached itself to the token, to search for Lu Li together with his master.
After searching for Lu Li for many years, Lu Yan only realized that this was his son when he saw Huo Chi beside Lu Li in the small world of Lingxin Academy. This led to Dong Hongyuan's invitation.
Afterwards, Dong Hongyuan explained to Lu Li the situation of the Phoenix Clan that the Dong family had investigated over the years.
The Phoenix Clan in the lower realm is now ruled by the collateral branch that launched the rebellion back then.
Those who remained loyal to the core faction were either suppressed to the point of being powerless or killed.
Of course, some of them betrayed the cause; some betrayed it back then, while others betrayed it in recent years.
The employer compiled a list of all those who defected.
Lu Li took the list and saw that it included those who had betrayed him when he was on the run.
As Lu Li browsed through the exhibits, he couldn't help but feel a bit emotional.
If it weren't for these people's betrayal, he wouldn't have been wary the moment Dong Hongyuan took out the token.
Only after Dong Hongyuan summoned the contract array, and after he secretly verified that the contract array was working properly, did he dare to show himself. This was truly a lesson learned from the past.
Fortunately, the result is not bad now.
Following that, the two discussed the matter for a while before Dong Hongyuan, with Lu Li's consent, sent a letter to the head of the Dong family.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
