Chapter 711: Divine Bird Phoenix

The saying "phoenix tree in the sea" was not widely known outside. It gained widespread recognition only after Yin Zhaoxian's book, *Treatise on Birds*, was published, at which point the stories within it began to circulate in Dazhen and its surrounding areas. However, the belief that phoenixes prefer phoenix trees has always existed, both among common folk and within the cultivation world.

Ji Yuan's flick of his sleeve, which leveraged the power of heaven and earth at that moment, was not intended to destroy the nine-tailed fox but merely to drive her away. He expended almost no effort, yet for the nine-tailed fox, it felt irresistible, and she was immediately swept away.

As the woman flew backward, Ji Yuan told Hu Yun and young Yin Qing, who were nearby, "You two stay here." He then followed, stepping on the clear breeze.

In the instant she was first swept away, the woman's attempts to control wind and water were ineffective. Whenever she tried to use her abilities, the surrounding waves would be immediately suppressed by Ji Yuan, and any rising winds would be instantly dispelled by him.

This body, formed from a wisp of divine thought, was not entirely useless, but without external power, she could only rely on her own mental energy. The woman considered it unnecessary to do so at that moment.

Whoosh! Bang!

Ji Yuan paid no mind to her intentions. He flicked his sleeve again, sending a streak of green light towards the woman, sweeping her away once more while she was still deep in thought. Surprisingly, the woman did not offer fierce resistance. Instead, as she flew backward, she fixed her gaze on Ji Yuan, who was following her, stepping on the wind.

"Who are you? What is your relationship with this little fox? Why can you enter this little fox's mind?"

Ji Yuan smiled faintly.

"Shouldn't you introduce yourself before asking others? As for my relationship with Hu Yun, I gave him his name. What do you think? However, instead of worrying about Hu Yun, you should worry about yourself."

As he spoke, Ji Yuan pointed behind the woman. She turned her head sideways and saw a colossal tree in the sea, growing ever larger in her sight. Based on its appearance, she recognized the type of tree, but its size was exaggerated compared to common ones.

"A phoenix tree?"

"Precisely, a phoenix tree, a branch where phoenixes alight."

As Ji Yuan spoke, the woman frowned deeply. She gazed at the increasingly distant island, still able to make out the cover of the book in Hu Yun's hand. She also recalled the content Hu Yun had recited earlier.

"Phoenixes alight on phoenix trees? You said we are currently inside a book; is there truly a phoenix here then?"

Ji Yuan did not answer immediately; instead, he looked at the distant phoenix tree.

"Well, I am not entirely sure. If there truly is one, that would be wonderful. Phoenixes haven't been seen in the world for a long time. They are auspicious divine birds; wouldn't you like to see one?"

Regardless of the blue-robed gentleman's true intentions, the nine-tailed fox believed they were definitely detrimental to her. Moreover, this place was too eerie. The sea breeze, the waves, the salty smell of the ocean, and the dimly visible fish in the sea were all far more real than the previous scene within the little fox's mind, with almost no blurring whatsoever.

"Hmph, nonsense. I'll come back for the little fox another day. I'll take my leave now."

No sooner had she finished speaking than the fox maiden pressed her palms together, rubbed them, reversed the motion, and separated them. At the same time, she mentally willed herself to "reverse back."

However, the imagined slight sensation of weightlessness did not appear. There was no feeling of being drawn from all directions, no cracks or doors emerged. She continued to fly towards the phoenix tree under her own momentum.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing at all. As I just said, we are currently inside a book."

"Hmph!"

The woman snorted coldly, knowing that this person named Ji would not tell her anything crucial and that she couldn't rely on outsiders. Thus, she once again performed the hand gesture of merging and reversing, her palms separating and drawing out several thin electric arcs.

Just then, a huge wave suddenly struck, instantly obscuring the morning light above her head. This plunged the woman into the shadow of the surging waves, which shimmered with colorful arcs of light.

Boom... Whoosh...

The woman had reacted in time to dodge, but she was still hit by the giant wave. Though she remained motionless, a large volume of seawater washed over her, making her appear quite disheveled.

"Ji, you're asking for death!"

Her angry roar was extremely sharp. An infinite amount of demonic energy surged from the woman's body, causing a demonic cloud to gather in the sky above the vast sea. Nine indistinct tails sprouted from behind her, extending several feet and swaying on their own.

"Tu Yi is much more direct than you."

As Ji Yuan uttered these words, he formed a sword-finger gesture with his hand, ready to unleash a sword qi at any moment. However, the name "Tu Yi" seemed to deeply affect the woman, who stared at Ji Yuan with wide eyes.

"Tu Yi? You know Tu Yi? So that's it, so that's it! Although that little fox is exceptionally talented, her foundation is incredibly solid. I suppose Tu Yi must have helped her. So that's it!"

"Hahahahaha..."

Ji Yuan laughed upon hearing this, thinking to himself that her imagination was indeed rich.

"Hu Yun's cultivation has absolutely no relation to Tu Yi. He simply comprehended a wisp of true meaning and gained his own insights."

Before Ji Yuan could finish speaking, the woman suddenly lunged forward, instantly lashing out her sharp claws at him.

"Die!"

"I've been waiting for you!" Ji Yuan immediately used his finger to wield his sword, pointing it towards the attacking claws.

Bang...

The collision of demonic energy and sword qi resulted in an explosion, and the currents stirred up massive circular waves that spread in all directions. The nine-tailed fox maiden was sent flying backward, but Ji Yuan, who also endured the impact, surprisingly did not retreat a single step. He stepped on the waves and unleashed another sword-finger attack.

'I can't take this head-on!'

The woman's heart trembled. The previous close-quarters strike was not only grand in scale but also caused her significant loss of mental energy. In a place completely cut off from the outside, she couldn't afford to squander her magic power.

Judging by how he unleashed another sword after the first collision, this person named Ji clearly had far fewer reservations.

With a thought, the woman unfurled her nine tails, several of which struck the surface of the sea, sending waves splashing. Simultaneously, her demonic power erupted, and she moved sideways.

The sword light grazed past the woman's cheek and instantly vanished into the distance. Ji Yuan immediately unleashed another sword, which again brushed past the woman, forcing her to constantly move and dodge using the mental energy accompanying her divine thought.

Although the woman dodged quickly, Ji Yuan was actually deliberately missing. After all, strictly speaking, his presence here was merely a wisp of thought, born from his dream-traveling ability. In terms of strength, it might not even match the nine-tailed fox maiden's at this moment, as she was truly a genuine fragment of divine thought.

If Ji Yuan's sword qi were to hit the woman, she would inevitably counter with her mental energy, depleting the sword qi. Consequently, Ji Yuan's wisp of thought would also be weakened by a corresponding amount.

However, when it came to divine power, the nine-tailed fox maiden's divine thought was arguably far inferior to Ji Yuan's wisp of thought. After all, the art of dream-traveling was incredibly miraculous. At this moment, he could use Hu Yun's mental energy to open the world of *Treatise on Birds*, which meant he could, to a certain extent, influence the rules of this world. As long as his sword qi was not expended by hitting a target, Ji Yuan remained unharmed.

One sword, two swords, three swords...

In this way, he casually and effortlessly herded the woman towards the phoenix tree.

Streaks of brilliant white light, as if limitless, were continuously unleashed by Ji Yuan. The nine-tailed fox maiden had no chance to counterattack; she could only continuously dodge. If she tried to escape too far, the sword qi would instantly intensify. Occasionally, when she could no longer bear it and blocked one sword, before she could even think of retaliating, hundreds of sword qi would already be upon her.

If she were to forcefully withstand these attacks, it would take only a few rounds for this wisp of the fox maiden's divine thought to exhaust its mental energy and be at his mercy. Her apprehension and resentment had reached their peak, especially seeing Ji Yuan's expressionless face—neither joy nor anger at failing to hit her, but always calm with unruffled eyes.

'He's toying with me, he's toying with me!'

Her rage was so extreme that she couldn't suppress it. It had been years since she had endured such indignity, years since she had felt such cold indifference. Ji Yuan's calm face made the woman feel profoundly insulted.

"Aaarrrooooooo—"

In an instant, her nine tails transformed from phantoms into solid forms, and demonic energy surged skyward.

Rumble...

Thunder rumbled over the sea, and demonic energy surged, covering the sky with dark clouds. The nine-tailed fox maiden was now determined to fight for her life in this strange and unpredictable realm.

"You are now before the phoenix tree, nine-tailed fox. Don't you want to see the divine bird, the phoenix?"

Ji Yuan's voice remained calm, his clear and resonant tone even overpowering the sharp fox cry. This caused the nine-tailed fox maiden to pause slightly, and she instinctively turned to look. Unbeknownst to her, Ji Yuan had already forced her to the front of the phoenix tree. Of course, the trunk of the phoenix tree before them, in their eyes, was like a skyscraper viewed up close by an ordinary person, not to mention the canopy that blotted out the sky above.

As expected, just as Ji Yuan had anticipated, curiosity, regardless of who possesses it, expands infinitely when it encounters the right object.

The nine-tailed fox maiden had been on the verge of exploding with rage because of Ji Yuan, but these words temporarily quelled her outburst.

At this moment, Ji Yuan also retracted his sword-finger, gently flicked his sleeve, and with a soft force, struck the sea surface. A huge wave surged up in response, carrying both him and the nine-tailed fox maiden high into the air.

Before long, both of them stood atop the phoenix tree. Numerous thick branches spread out there, and each giant phoenix leaf was as large as a small boat. From this vantage point, looking out at the sea, they could dimly discern numerous islands, both far and near.

These sights had gone unnoticed by the nine-tailed fox maiden, who had been constantly on edge. At this moment, she could even sense that countless birds seemed to inhabit these many islands, some of them exuding indistinct but powerful auras. Because her demonic energy had surged to form a demonic cloud, numerous obscure auras on many islands were now keenly observing the direction of the phoenix tree.

A melodious, resonant cry!

It was then that an exceptionally melodious sound, like a heavenly flute, resonated from far above the nine heavens. The sound was incredibly penetrating; although one could tell from hearing it that the source was still extremely distant, it spread in all directions with perfect clarity.

The next moment, reflected in the nine-tailed fox maiden's incredulous eyes and Ji Yuan's calm gaze, countless birds rose into the sky from myriad islands, both far and near, across the sea.

The birds varied in size, proximity, and type: some were common birds, others were vibrantly colored, some emitted flames as they flew, some flapped their wings causing tides to shift, and others ascended enveloped in gales.

The cry!

The calling sound grew nearer. Countless birds that had ascended into the sky now circled the colossal phoenix tree, all craning their necks skyward and chirping in unison. The calls of the myriad birds varied from sharp to deep, yet they conveyed a single meaning to both Ji Yuan and the nine-tailed fox.

In the sky, the dark clouds gradually changed color, becoming increasingly brighter. Five-colored light flowed within them, causing both the dark clouds and the demonic energy to gradually dissipate.

Above the clouds, amidst the dazzling yet gentle five-colored aurora, a magnificent divine bird with flowing tail feathers, outstretched five-colored wings, and a radiant divine light atop its head, circled in the air.

"A phoenix..."

Both Ji Yuan and the nine-tailed fox maiden exclaimed in awe at that moment.