Dayan Imperial Capital.
Across inns in various districts, secret chambers of the Imperial Palace, and caves outside the Imperial Capital, countless people looked up at the thundercloud phenomenon rolling in the sky at the same time.
"How could thunderclouds suddenly arise out of nowhere?"
"Could it be a monster has appeared, causing the world to unleash a Heavenly Tribulation?"
"And the sudden surge of Fire Spirit Power in the city, could it be that a Fire Spirit Root monster has also appeared?"
"..."
The crowd, shocked and uncertain, kept gazing at the boiling clouds in the sky, continuously speculating.
For some unknown reason, possibly due to the Great Defense Formation of the Dayan Imperial Capital, or some other cause, the thunderclouds gathered for a while and then quietly dissipated.
...
In the Cultivation Inn.
Not far from the Heavenly Rank Cultivation Chamber where Mu Jinyu was, a clear sound suddenly echoed in another secret chamber.
"Click!"
"Hmm?"
Wen Rou, who was immersed in cultivation, heard the strange noise and opened her eyes, looking with surprise at the Phoenix egg on her lap. Instantly, her eyes widened.
The egg, smooth and jade-like, had a hole in it, but no brilliant light emerged from it, only something seemed to be moving inside.
"Click!"
With another sound, the eggshell cracked further, and the tip of a bird's beak could be seen pecking from inside.
"This is..."
Upon seeing the beak, Wen Rou's eyes, already wide with amazement, shone with both surprise and joy.
She never imagined that she could really hatch a Phoenix.
In truth, throughout this near month of cultivation, she was initially very attentive to this Phoenix egg, but after seeing no movement, she eventually paid it little mind.
Yet unexpectedly, Jian Ruyan's Ice Phoenix Bloodline could indeed hatch the Phoenix egg!
Wen Rou's mind was in a jumble, but her beautiful eyes remained fixed on the beak inside the Phoenix egg, with a strange feeling welling up in her heart.
She was witnessing the birth of a small life.
Although this small life wasn't birthed by her, it was hatched by her after nearly a month, and this feeling of witnessing the birth of a life was truly wonderful.
Could she consider herself this little Phoenix's mother?
She wondered if this little Phoenix would be very attached to her after it emerged.
What a pity, witnessing the birth of a small life without Mu Jinyu by her side...
While Wen Rou was lost in her thoughts, the Phoenix egg was finally pecked open completely by the creature inside, revealing its true appearance.
"This..."
Wen Rou was stunned at the sight revealed by the broken eggshell.
Standing among the pieces of eggshell was a bird, completely bare like a plucked chicken, looking extremely ugly and unsightly.
'Is this really a Phoenix? How can it be so ugly?'
Wen Rou couldn't help but mumble in her heart.
Then she remembered, well, newly-hatched birds without feathers were normal.
"Crunch crunch..."
At this moment, the little Phoenix, looking like a plucked chicken, freed itself from the eggshell's restraint and, instead of glancing at Wen Rou, looked down to peck at the eggshell fragments on the ground.
Just like eating biscuits, it quickly munched through several pieces of eggshell, and in Wen Rou's dumbfounded gaze, it gobbled up all the eggshell bits on the ground.
After the little Phoenix devoured the eggshell, its body began to emit strands of Radiance, which soon retracted.
Seeing this, Wen Rou finally believed it was indeed a Phoenix and not some odd bird that had pecked at the Phoenix egg while she was unaware!
Then, after eating the eggshell, the little Phoenix raised its head to glance at Wen Rou, again not acknowledging her and turned to survey its surroundings.
Soon, it fixed its gaze on a target.
It was none other than some Top-Quality Spirit Stones and Spiritual Medicine that Wen Rou had placed aside.
"Screech!"
With a sharp cry, the little Phoenix flapped its bare wings and teleported next to those Top-Quality Spirit Stones, opening its mouth wide to swallow a Spirit Stone whole!
"Hey, you can't eat that!"
Snapping back to her senses, Wen Rou worried that this little creature might develop problems by munching on Spirit Stones, so she rushed to grab it.
However, the little Phoenix was too fast. In a few pecks, it consumed over a dozen Top-Quality Spirit Stones, flitting away from Wen Rou's grasp, and then scampered over to those Spiritual Medicines to start munching.
Watching this, Wen Rou found the situation both frustrating and amusing.
Though consuming some Spiritual Medicine shouldn't cause issues, and since the little Phoenix had already devoured the Spirit Stones, she decided not to chase it.
She felt a bit aggrieved, as Mu Jinyu had mentioned that with Jian Ruyan's body having a Phoenix Bloodline, this little creature should be close to her, right?
Why then, did it look at her with so much disdain just now?
"Sigh, I wonder when Little Mu will finish his closed cultivation..."
Wen Rou murmured softly, her voice tinged with a hint of lament.
"Buzz."
Just then, Wen Rou noticed a Jade Talisman placed aside which shifted from a red glow to a blue glow.
This was a special Magic Artifact Mu Jinyu had given her and Jian Ruyan before entering closed cultivation; while in seclusion, he'd set it to red to signify he was still cultivating, and upon completion, it would turn blue to signify he was out of closed cultivation.
When Wen Rou and Jian Ruyan finished their cultivation and saw this change in light, they would understand his cultivation status and wouldn't be tormented with indecision about whether to seek Mu Jinyu out.
"Little Mu is out of seclusion?"
Wen Rou's eyes gleamed with surprise and joy, and she hurried out, disregarding the little Phoenix she had painstakingly hatched but wasn't the least bit close to her.
She pressed a mechanism, causing the heavy Stone Gate to open, and ran out.
As it happened, Mu Jinyu had just opened his door simultaneously, and they both saw each other instantly.
"Little Mu, you're out of seclusion."
Upon seeing Mu Jinyu come out at the same time, Wen Rou's eyes shimmered with a tender glow, and she softly asked.
"Yes." Mu Jinyu nodded with a smile, about to say something when his eyes suddenly focused.
"Whoosh!"
A yellow light suddenly shot out from behind Wen Rou, flying straight at him.
"What's this?"
The speed was so fast that Mu Jinyu couldn't make out what was attacking him, instinctively forming a Fist Seal and punching at it.
"Bang!"
The yellow light arrived quickly and left quickly.
After taking Mu Jinyu's punch head-on, the yellow light flew back, slamming into the stone wall behind Wen Rou, hanging like a picture for over ten seconds before slowly sliding down!
"Eh, why is it a plucked chicken?"
During those ten seconds, Mu Jinyu finally saw clearly what had attempted to attack him and spoke in surprise.
He was quite puzzled; how could a plucked chicken be so fast, and why could it withstand a punch from him without exploding?
It wasn't just that it didn't explode; it wasn't even injured or dead?
What on earth is this thing?