Miao Yi asked, "Are you the current owner of the phoenix nest?"
The beautiful woman replied sincerely, "My name is Ling Lan. I am a servant who guards the phoenix nest."
'Servant?' Miao Yi thought to himself, then probed, "So what if I'm passing by? So what if I'm visiting?"
Ling Lan replied gently, "Of course you're passing by. If you're visiting, you should be treated with courtesy. Please come in and rest."
Miao Yi said, "I've come from afar. It would be rude of me to not greet the owner of this place. Is the owner here?"
Ling Lan replied, "The old owner passed away many years ago. The young owners are now serving the Heavenly Court. I am the only one left to guard the phoenix nest."
Miao Yi was startled. 'Is this woman a servant of the phoenix clan?' He asked again, "Anyone can enter? Aren't you going to ask me where I came from? "
Ling Lan replied, "There is no such thing as just anyone. Anyone who can come to the phoenix nest is a guest. There is no reason to mistreat a guest. As for where you came from, you will tell me if you want to. If you don't want to, then there is no need to force it."
Miao Yi looked at his surroundings and said, "My journey here was fraught with dangers. I was chased by many Ice Spirits and Ice Flame Phoenixes, so I was really scared. I wonder if the phoenix nest is safe?" He was questioning whether there were any traps in the phoenix nest.
Ling Lan smiled and said, "You don't have to worry too much. The Ice Flame Phoenix and the Ice Spirit are only here to stop the evil spirits from entering the Phoenix Nest. The Phoenix Nest has its own rules … As I said before, anyone who can come to the Phoenix Nest is a guest. We will not mistreat you. The Ice Flame Phoenixes and ice spirits will only guard the perimeter of the phoenix nest. They will not invade the plains. "
'At this point, should I go in or not?' Miao Yi was a little hesitant, but then he thought about it. 'Didn't he spend so much effort to come here just to enter the phoenix nest?' The other party didn't seem to have any ill intentions. Even if they had any ulterior motives, they wouldn't have lured him into the phoenix nest, would they?
Miao Yi gritted his teeth and put away his spear. He cupped his fists, "If that's the case, then I'll have to trouble you."
Ling Lan stepped aside and extended her hand in a polite gesture.
Miao Yi jumped down from Charcoal's back and strode forward. Just as he was about to ascend the stairs, Ling Lan, who was on the stairs, reminded him, "The Phoenix Nest is a clean and spotless place. Shouldn't you clean yourself first?"
Miao Yi stopped in his tracks, stunned. He looked at his own body. If it wasn't his own blood, then it was Charcoal's blood. The dried bloodstains on his body were indeed a little dirty. He invoked his arts and shook his arms, causing a cloud of dust to erupt from his body. The bloodstains on his face and armor were all swept away, revealing a brand-new armor and a face full of heroic spirit.
Up on the steps, Ling Lan extended her hand in invitation once more. When Miao Yi came up, she glanced at Charcoal behind him and smiled, "Your steed is truly unique."
Miao Yi turned his head to take a look. He knew that the word 'special' could be interpreted as' ugly '. Charcoal was now like a dog that had lost its fur.
After entering the door, he saw an empty circular hall with a high dome. The space was vast, and the four walls were engraved with all kinds of lifelike phoenixes. They were sparkling and translucent, exquisite and elegant. On the top of the stairs, there were two chairs carved out of ice in the shape of phoenixes. They were placed side by side.
Ling Lan quietly stayed by his side. She didn't rush him, and allowed him to look around.
Actually, Miao Yi was secretly on guard against her. He scanned his surroundings. After looking around, he asked, "If I'm not mistaken, you were the one who used your arts to sweep away the snow outside?"
Ling Lan smiled and nodded, "You are not mistaken. It was indeed me. When a guest comes to visit, I naturally have to sweep away the snow to welcome him."
Miao Yi said, "If that's the case, then you should be the ice spirit as well. There are many ice spirits in this Ancient Ice Plains. Why aren't there any in this phoenix nest? "
Ling Lan said, "Not just any ice spirit can enter this phoenix nest. Only the ice spirit chosen by the master can stay here."
Miao Yi said, "This phoenix nest is so big. Did your master choose you to guard it alone?"
Ling Lan said, "There were quite a few at first. But after the phoenix nest clashed with the Heavenly Court, all the ice spirits in the phoenix nest were destroyed by the Heavenly Court."
Miao Yi asked, "Why did the Heavenly Court let you go? Why did they let the ice spirits outside go? "
Ling Lan said, "Back then, all the ice spirits in the phoenix nest had been destroyed. The ice spirits outside had yet to take form. Moreover, Master pleaded on the grounds that the Evil Essence couldn't be taken over by the Evil Spirits, so the Heavenly Court let the ice spirits outside go. In order to prevent the Evil Spirits from invading, I just happened to be one of the ice spirits outside that had just taken human form. Master then chose me to guard the phoenix nest. "
Miao Yi was doubtful, "You haven't taken human form yet? With your strength at the time, could you stop the Evil Spirits from invading? "
Ling Lan said, "When Master was still here, there weren't any powerful Evil Spirits outside. How could those weak Evil Spirits enter? Even though the Evil Spirits outside have grown stronger, the strength of the Ancient Ice Plains has grown as well. It won't be easy for those Evil Spirits to enter."
Miao Yi thought for a moment. It made sense. He asked again, "If that's the case, then your master should be the phoenix clan that serves the Heavenly Court now."
Ling Lan said, "Yes!"
Miao Yi said, "It seems like your master rarely comes back."
Ling Lan said, "Indeed, he rarely comes back. In the past hundred thousand years, I've only seen him three times. The first time was when I was assigned to guard the phoenix nest. The other two times were when Master was ordered by the Heavenly Court to destroy the Evil Spirits that were growing stronger in the Primordial Era."
Miao Yi said, "You didn't ask about my background, but answered every question I asked. Why is that?" What he meant was, 'How do I know if you're telling the truth?'
Ling Lan chuckled, "When I came to the phoenix nest, it was already like this. I've only seen Master three times, so I don't know much. There's nothing for me to hide. Besides, Master had already told me that those who could come to the phoenix nest should be sent by the Heavenly Court. He told me not to hide anything and to answer every question I have."
"..." Miao Yi was speechless. It seemed like Ling Lan already knew he was from the Heavenly Court.
But then again, it made sense. The Primordial Ice Plains were too effective against the Evil Spirits. Yu Sha was probably a top-notch expert from the Primordial Era. If even Yu Sha couldn't get in, then how could other Evil Spirits? The only ones who could get in were those who weren't from the Primordial Era, and the entrance to the Primordial Era had been sealed by the Heavenly Court. Those who could enter the phoenix nest were naturally those who had the Heavenly Court's permission. Now that the phoenix clan claimed to be serving the Heavenly Court, they were actually slaves of the Heavenly Court. They had no rights to speak of, and their actual power was even lower than his own headquarters. Since the Heavenly Court had sent someone here, how could the people of the phoenix nest not be polite?
After thinking it through, Miao Yi's previous doubts were resolved. Although he couldn't completely relax his vigilance, he could at least relax a little.
After a moment of silence, he asked, "Since you will answer every question, then let me ask you this. I saw the seven-colored specks of light within the Ice Flame Phoenixes that were obstructing us earlier being locked within the Ice Phoenix outside. Why is that?"
Ling Lan hesitated for a moment before answering, "Those are the souls of the phoenix clan that were punished by the Heavenly Court in the past. The phoenix clan is different from the other clans. After death, they won't enter the cycle of reincarnation. They will never perish, and will forever remain in their homeland. Even though they don't have any transcendence energy after death, they still have the ability to summon the Ice Flame to protect their homeland."
Their souls will never perish? Miao Yi was shocked. He didn't expect the phoenix clan to have such a strange place. Even after death, their souls wouldn't fade away, and they would still continue to guard their homeland. No wonder they had been guarding this place all those years ago. If it weren't for the Demonic Monk Nan Bo, they wouldn't have bothered with the affairs of the outside world.
He had many questions about this place. After thinking about it, he asked, "Then where did the evil source of this phoenix nest come from?"
Ling Lan shook her head. "I really don't know. Master should know, but he never told me about it."
Miao Yi asked, "Then can I go take a look?"
Ling Lan said, "Other than the source of evil energy, you can go anywhere else in this phoenix nest. The only place you can't go is the source of evil energy. This is also the reason why Master ordered me to stay here, and why the Heavenly Court allowed me to keep my life. It's to guard this source of evil energy."
It wasn't easy for him to come here, but he couldn't see the source of evil energy. Naturally, Miao Yi wasn't satisfied. "Can't you make an exception?"
Ling Lan calmly said, "It's not that I can't make an exception. If you really want to go take a look, there are two ways. First, if you have the Heavenly Court's decree, I naturally wouldn't dare to stop you. But can you bring out the Heavenly Court's decree? "
Where would Miao Yi get a decree? "What's the second way?"
Ling Lan said, "The second way is very simple. You just have to defeat me. If you defeat me, I naturally won't be able to stop you."
Miao Yi looked her up and down. "May I know what Miss Ling's cultivation is?"
Ling Lan revealed the Fifth Grade Golden Lotus on her forehead. "Golden Lotus Fifth Grade."
Miao Yi's lips twitched. He was amused. He invoked his arts and revealed the Ninth Grade Golden Lotus on his forehead. "Miss Ling seems to be quite confident. I think there's no need to go through so much trouble, is there?" His meaning was clear. 'Your cultivation is so much lower than mine. Even the ice spirits outside couldn't stop me. How could you possibly stop me?'
Ling Lan chuckled. "I understand what you mean. However, I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. My strength cannot be compared to the ice spirits outside. Since Master asked me to guard this place, he must have left behind a transcendent artifact that can help me defeat my enemies. I can summon countless ice spirits and ice flames to merge with me at any time. I have the geographical advantage in this Ancient Ice Plains. I'm afraid it won't be easy for an average expert to defeat me. Of course, since you're a guest, the phoenix nest won't make things difficult for you. Ling Lan also doesn't want to destroy the phoenix nest by fighting here. Master once left something behind. He told me that if there's someone who can break through the artifact left behind by Master, I won't be a match for him. He told me that I don't have to ask for trouble anymore, and that I can let you do whatever you want in the phoenix nest. "
"Oh!" Miao Yi asked with interest, "May I know what your master left behind?"
Ling Lan waved her sleeves lightly, and a beautiful blue ripple appeared on the hard ice surface beside her. Soon, a translucent, ice-blue bead emerged. It was a few times smaller than an egg, but it was extremely beautiful. There seemed to be the shadow of a dancing flame within it.
The bead floated to the surface, and the ripples on the ground calmed down.
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