Volume 1: South Sea ? Blood War Volume Chapter 22: How the Flower Blooms, Nine-Colored Fire Phoenix

  On the ninth day, I saw Lian Tian's eyes change color, and he quickly turned his head to gaze intently at something. It seemed that on top of an ancient tree, a colorful aura was still flowing, like a mass of objects, just about to open his mouth to ask Lian Tian in surprise when suddenly the tree seemed to shake slightly, and the colors slowly faded, actually slowly shrinking, sliding down, as if moving away. With this movement, the five colors gradually formed into a peacock's shape, with its head sharp and slender like a neck, its body long and slender, and its lower part fluffy and beautiful. The colorful aura was mostly on the lower part.

  At the beginning, I suddenly understood that the colors were alive and should be a giant bird. It was perched on the other side of the tree just now. It must have been enormous, with brilliant colors, feathers, and a longer tail. From a distance, it looked like the entire tree was covered in five colors! Now it's getting smaller and smaller, probably because it was disturbed by us and flew away to a distant place with its back to us on the other side of the tree.

  He thought of this, was shocked, turned his head to look at the crowd, only to see that Second Brother was also looking at him in shock. The others, seeing the colors slowly disappear, all had disappointed expressions, clearly their powers were not enough, and they were too far away, none of them had seen the big bird.

  His heart was pounding, shocked and amazed, thinking that peacocks were mostly seen in the south, but rarely on Mount Cangshan. And yet, this bird could fly so high into the sky, it was truly a rare sight. Could it be that this large bird wasn't a peacock at all, but rather the legendary phoenix?

  He knew that the male peacock's feathers were emerald green, with a purple copper sheen on its lower back. The upper tail feathers were particularly well-developed and usually folded against the body, stretching out to about one meter in length when spread open, which is what people call "peacock spreading its tail". These feathers were colorful and magnificent, with slender branches, like golden green velvet, and at their ends there were many large eye-like spots made up of purple, blue, yellow, red and other colors. When the peacock spreads its tail, these spots reflect light, like countless small mirrors, truly dazzling to behold.

  But from a distance, it was such a huge mass that on the ninth day, I couldn't help but be bewildered - where in the world is there such a huge peacock?

  "What in heaven's name is that?"

  What has been on his mind for days, yet different from others. He was taught by his mother since childhood and knew that according to the "Er Ya . Release Bird" annotation, the characteristics of the phoenix are "chicken head, swallow forehead, snake neck, turtle back, fish tail, five-color, six feet high." It is also said that the phoenix "comes from the eastern country of gentlemen, flies over the four seas, passes through Kunlun, drinks from the grinding pillar, washes its feathers in the weak water, does not live in the wind hole, and when seen, the world is peaceful." It is also said that "the phoenix sounds like a Xiao Sheng, with a sound like a bell drum. The male phoenix cries out 'ji ji', the female cries out 'zu zu', and the male and female cry out together 'qiang qiang'".

  It's impossible to determine just from a glimpse of the bird in flight, and even if we see its shape, it's still impossible to determine, after all, this divine bird phoenix is something that no one under heaven has ever seen.

  In just a moment, the big bird had completely disappeared into the distance, and the colors that filled the tree also vanished without a trace. When the crowd arrived within 100 meters of the tree, it had returned to its usual appearance, only slightly taller than the surrounding trees.

  At this moment, only Chunjiao and Lian Tian were surprised.

  Everyone stopped and finally arrived at the top of Qifeng Slope, under a big tree. Lin Ming'er panted and said: "It's strange, it's strange. Just now, I clearly saw that there was...

  "Colorful, came under the tree but somehow can't see it?"

  Everyone was puzzled, and after walking around the trunk of a large tree that several people could barely encircle with their arms for several rounds, they still couldn't find anything. They guessed for half a day but couldn't come up with a reason. Seeing that night was about to fall, they hung their heads in despair and were about to leave.

  Suddenly everyone heard a loud "ah" sound, and the first nine hurriedly turned their head, only to see Lian Tian staring blankly, not speaking, his right hand slowly raised, pointing at the top of the tree.

  On the ninth day, Chu Yun hurriedly followed Lian Tian's gesture and looked over, only to discover why Lian Tian was so shocked!

  The tree crown is about 60 or 70 feet high, with the leaves below forming a canopy-like shape, all facing in the same direction. Only on the topmost layer of leaves are there sparse small flowers that have bloomed, and those flowers are a deep crimson color. At dusk, if you don't focus your eyes carefully, they can't be seen at all.

  Although it's rare to see, on the ninth day of the first lunar month, Lin Meng'er was certain that this flower had definitely bloomed recently, because last month when everyone came here to play, Xiao Qiuzi and Chu Jiu even climbed trees to play, but there wasn't a single sign of blooming.

  Everyone looked up and slowly saw that it was not only astonishing. Even Wan Rou said, "Big brother, Xiao Shi Xiong on the ninth day of the new year, I really didn't expect this flower to be actually dark red in color. Is this ancient tree of the Cangpai Protection Sect really an ancient tree?"

  Lu Lun, Qian Ren, Luo Tian, Sun Hui Guang and Lin Man Er were all extremely excited when they heard that the colors of the legendary strange tree flower matched what Chu Jiu had just told them. They all looked up at the trees above their heads with great excitement, discussing among themselves.

  Suddenly, Xiao Qiuzi said: "Just now, didn't Shi Xiaojie say that this flower is not only dark red in color, but also has petals that are rarely seen in the shape of seven petals? Let's take a look and we'll know for sure."

  Lin Meng'er smiled and said: "Next time I'll definitely remember! It's 'color dark red, difficult to see the shape of seven petals.' However, yes, this method is good!"

  She patted Xiao Qi's shoulder and said, "This time, you're really clever, not bad!"

  Lu Lun, Qian Ren, Luo Tian, Sun Hui Guang also agreed. Luo Zhi Han and Lian Wan Rou didn't say it out loud, but they thought the same way.

  "It's just that this ancient tree only has flowers on the topmost layer, and it's seven zhang tall. This task of climbing the tree to pick flowers is now yours!" Lin Meng'er said with a smile, and Chu Jiu and Lian Tian couldn't help but exchange a knowing glance.

  Among the loud laughter, Xia Qiuzi stuck out his tongue, spat on his palms, and started to roll up his pant legs, preparing to climb the tree. He pointed at the nineteen peaks of Cangshan Mountain, where trees were abundant. These young men often climbed trees and mountains, which was a common sight. As for Xia Qiuzi, who had been doing this since he was nine years old, he was exceptionally skilled at it.

  Lian Tian smiled and said, "Ming Er, Xiao Qi Zi, this is not needed." Everyone was puzzled, but Lian Tian lowered his head and searched around on the slope, picking up two small stones that were just right. There were many rocks on this mountain slope.

  Lin Meng'er suddenly understood that Second Master was going to knock down the small flower with a stone, and couldn't help but clap her hands in surprise: "This tree is so tall, yet Second Master can actually knock down the flower with a stone, it's really amazing! I'm afraid even if I practice for another three years, I still won't be able to do it!"

  Qian Ren, Luo Tian and Sun Hui Guang all looked embarrassed. They knew that the three masters could easily do it, but for themselves, it was extremely difficult. Luo Zhi Han was even more puzzled, thinking: "One stone is enough, why did he pick up two stones?"

  Jiǔ and Xiǎo Qīzi were also paying attention to Lián Tiān, waiting for him...

  Take action.

  Only to see the aura of the heavens, the elixir field, sinking into stability, a loud shout, two stone blocks in his right hand flew out in two directions, diagonally up and straight up, half a sound, on top of his head and far away, slowly falling down a flower.

  Everyone cheered, and it was a good sound. These flowers were so far apart, with many leaves in between, yet they could still be connected to the sky with such precision, especially the two of them, which truly required decades of skill.

  Lin Meng'er hastily stretched out her hand to catch the nearby falling crimson small flower, and suddenly felt a wisp of fragrance drilling into her nostrils, making one's heart feel carefree and joyful. Even Wan Rou also hastened to lean over, and the two of them counted together:

  "One, two, three, four...... seven, it's really seven pieces, Second Master!" After counting, neither more nor less, the flower fruit was indeed seven pieces. The two of them jumped up and shouted!

  Everyone rushed forward to take a closer look at the small flower, and Lian Tian said again: "Xiao Qi Zi, go pick up that patch of flowers over there and count them too." Luo Zhi Han finally understood why Lian Tian wanted to pick up two grains of rice, thinking that Lian Tian was indeed extraordinary, with attention to detail as fine as a hair.

  Xiao Qi Zi and Chu Jiu went over there and found another small flower. The two of them counted it together, and it still had seven petals.

  "It seems that the legend is also wrong, this flower indeed has 'dark red color and difficult to see seven petals'. But how can this tree be 'fifty feet high', 'leaves one foot long and two feet wide' is even more absurd. Under the vast sky, how can there be a taller tree than this?" Sun Hui Guang said, and everyone also believed it, nodding in agreement.

  Xiao Qi Zi continued, "According to the legend of the ninth day, it is said that 'the fruit has a pit, shaped like a date, five feet long and about the same width. If cut with a golden knife, it tastes sour; if cut with a reed knife, it tastes bitter. Eating it gives one the ability of an earth immortal, fearing neither water nor fire nor sharp blades!' The only thing is that this tree has been seen to bloom after so many years, but who knows when it will bear fruit? It's all about verifying the magical properties of the fruit."

  Everyone heard him say this, and remembered the saying "300 years to bloom, 300 years to bear fruit". Thinking again that human life is only a short span of decades, how can one personally witness it, all are just empty thoughts.

  Lian Tianjian said, "I've been wondering since I came up the mountain. Fifth Master told me that this tree is our sect's protective divine tree. I couldn't understand why there were no unusual signs in the past decade or so. Why did it become so strange on the day of the seventh generation's great disciple sword conferring ceremony?"

  Only Jiǔ knew he was talking about the big bird that had just perched on it, while everyone else thought Lián Tiān was saying that the tree had bloomed for no reason.

  Chu Jiu said: "This slope is called Qifu Slope. When we return, let's ask our master, perhaps he will know some reason!"

  "Let's go back first, and ask Father tomorrow, maybe he'll know!"

  Everyone then walked back with excitement, and when they returned to the backyard gate, they only saw Gu Baiyun standing there in a daze, his eyes also looking in the direction of the ancient tree. He had seen the colorful sky in the yard and came out to take a look, but since Lian Tian was already gone, he didn't go over to check.

  Lin Meng'er hastily handed the small flowers from the ancient tree to Gu Baiyun and asked, "Master Gu, this ancient tree is strange. It suddenly bloomed recently, and just now there was a ray of light on the tree. Why?"

  Gu Baiyun counted the petals for a long time before mysteriously smiling and saying: "This ancient tree is actually our sect's..."

  The divine tree of protection, it is said that the nine-colored fire phoenix, the guardian deity of this sect, perches on top of it. However, for several decades... more than twenty years, no one has seen it." It turned out that he had known the name of the tree all along, and now it was actually related to the legendary nine-colored fire phoenix. It seemed that the reputation of Phoenix Perch Slope was not unfounded after all.

  On the ninth day, Lin Qing'er and Dian Cang Mountain's Chong Sheng Temple Abbot Chen Lun's disciple got along exceptionally well. Abbot Chen Lun also treated the two young friends as people with a Buddhist connection, often telling them some Buddhist scripture stories. Lin Qing'er listened, and they both knew: "The Buddha said: 'From the time of chaos, heaven opened at midnight, earth cracked at 2 am, humans were born at 4 am, heaven and earth renewed themselves again, all things were born... All things have walking beasts and flying birds, walking beasts take the Qilin as their leader, flying birds take the Phoenix as their leader. The Phoenix also obtained the essence of the atmosphere, giving birth to peacocks, giant peng birds..."

  The phoenix is indeed the king of flying birds in the world. It seems that the legendary guardian deity of this sect, the nine-colored fire phoenix, should be like the luan bird, dan feng, and jiutou cai feng, all of which are descendants of the phoenix. Often heard "the phoenix only perches on wutong trees, not on others", it is very picky about where to land.

  These nine-colored fire phoenixes also seem to have inherited this fastidious habit, and they perch on the ancient trees on Phoenix Slope. These ancient trees are known as the Guardian Trees of our sect, and they live up to their name!

  On the ninth day, Zheng Chen thought deeply and suddenly heard Lian Wanrou laughing: "The Book of Songs records: 'The phoenix does not perch on anything but the wutong tree, nor does it eat anything but bamboo seeds.' Could it be that the nine-colored fire phoenix also has such a temperament?"

  Just then, he turned his head and met Lian Tian's gaze again, both of them were puzzled. The huge bird with five colors that they saw from afar earlier, could it really be the Nine-colored Fire Phoenix?

  What is the true ability of this nine-colored fire phoenix and why is it the guardian deity bird of our sect, guarding the gods?

  Gu Baiyun smiled and said, "Alright, everyone can rest now. Today's events... the divine tree's manifestation is definitely a good omen! Don't think too much about it, tomorrow we still have to attend the memorial ceremony and the sword-granting ritual!" After finishing speaking, he turned around and returned to the Grand View, without giving the seven-petaled red flowers from the ancient tree back to Lin Cang.

  This tomorrow is the memorial ceremony of the Diancang Sect and the grand ceremony of granting the great disciple's sword, which only happens once every few decades!

  Everyone bid each other farewell and dispersed for the time being.

  In the depths of Mount Hou, in the Worry-Forgotten Cave, the Old Man Shooting Heaven's heart was restless. His profound and mysterious skills were unmatched. He calmed his mind and calculated, and astonishingly, it turned out to be the appearance of Jiucui Feng, the nine-colored fire phoenix, the guardian deity bird of the Diancang Sect, which also stirred excitement.

  After another calculation, it was a sigh, tomorrow will be the grand ceremony of granting swords, and the Jianghu era of this generation of young people is finally coming.

  But next year the Son of Heaven will pass away, and the world will be in great chaos. The demonic cults will rise again, and all will be resolved by the one born on the ninth day. This young man is truly born to fulfill heaven's mandate!

  The thirty-year peace is finally over, and another storm is brewing!

  But at the beginning of the ninth day, the strange birth of the world, the old man who shot the sky couldn't calculate it no matter what, and could only wait for the ninth to enter the Jianghu before one by one to unravel.

  On the night of August 18th, the moon shines brightly in the sky, a peaceful scene. But how many people on this mountain can truly calm their minds?

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  Note: The "Shenyi Jing (Nanhuang Jing)" records: There is a giant tree. It blooms once every 300 years and bears fruit once every 300 years. The flower is red, the fruit is yellow. It is 50 zhang tall, with leaves one zhang long and two chi wide. The fruit has a pit, shaped like a date, five chi long and about the same width. When cut with a golden knife, it tastes sour; when cut with a bamboo knife, it tastes bitter. Eating it gives one the ability of an earthly immortal, not fearing water or fire, nor white blades. It is similar to the Queen Mother's peaches, the ancestral tree of the earthly immortals, and Zhenyuanzi's ginseng fruit tree.

  The legend of the phoenix is described in reference to "Er Ya · Shi Niao" Guo Pu annotation, "Shan Hai Jing · Da Huang Xi Jing", "Shan Hai Jing · Nan Ci San Jing", "Shi Jing · Da Ya · Juan A" and so on.