115: Chapter 115 Phoenix City

[Your expression changes.]

["Xingzhi Academy?"]

["Mm." Long Batian nods. "My mother served as a visiting scholar at Xingzhi Academy for a period of time before she passed away."]

["Something happened to her shortly after she left the academy."]

["Furthermore, I discovered some records regarding secret research at Xingzhi Academy among her belongings."]

["However, those records were encrypted, and I have yet to decrypt them."]

[A chill runs through you; the name Xingzhi Academy has appeared once again.]

[In your previous simulations, Xingzhi Academy was intertwined with many unspeakable secrets.]

[Collecting soul fragments, manipulating wars, cultivating forces in the shadows...]

[Now, even the death of Long Batian's mother is connected to Xingzhi Academy.]

[Just how many secrets is this academy hiding?]

["Those encrypted records..." You suppress the waves in your heart. "May I take a look at them?"]

[Long Batian retrieves a dark red jade slip from his storage space and hands it to you.]

["This is what I found among my mother's belongings. The encryption method used is very unique; it is not standard array encryption."]

[You take the jade slip and probe it with your divine sense.]

[Indeed, the encryption method is extremely complex, blending arrays, array patterns, and a type of divine sense imprint you have never seen before.]

[With your current mastery of arrays, it will still take some time to crack.]

["I will take this to study for now." You put away the jade slip. "I will let you know once I have deciphered it."]

[Long Batian nods gratefully.]

["The clan leader selection is in a month. We will set off half a month early, as we still need to make some preparations on the way."]

["I will take you to the Yitian Clan's territory then."]

[You stand up and brush the dust off your body.]

["Alright, we set off in half a month."]

[You turn and leave. After walking out of the valley, you look up at the darkening sky.]

[Yitian Clan leader selection... Longyuan Secret Realm... dragon soul bead...]

[And the secret that Long Batian's mother died at the hands of Xingzhi Academy...]

[You feel that things are becoming more and more interesting.]

[You return to your cave dwelling and take out the jade slip, placing it on the table.]

[The dark red jade slip glows faintly under the lamplight, as if silently recounting a truth that has been buried.]

[You take a deep breath, and your Pupil of Supreme Knowledge activates.]

[Golden light swirls within your pupils.]

[You begin to decrypt it.]

[Half a month later.]

[You ask Qiu Long for leave, giving the reason that you need to go out to visit a senior expert in arrays, which may take one to two months.]

[Qiu Long does not ask further, only telling you to be careful and giving you a token of Xingzhi Academy as proof.]

[Before departing, you leave a clone in the cave dwelling to maintain the illusion that you are still cultivating at the academy.]

[You have used this trick many times in your simulations, so you are well-versed in it.]

[After meeting up with Long Batian outside the academy, the two of you fly south.]

[The Yitian Clan's territory is located deep within the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range on the border of the Southern Region, tens of thousands of miles away from the Central Plains.]

[At your speed, it will still take three days of flying at full capacity.]

[On the way, Long Batian introduces the situation of the Yitian Clan to you in detail.]

[The Yitian Clan is one of the oldest demon clans in the Upper Realm, and the Phoenix Bloodline is considered the orthodox lineage within the clan.]

[However, after a great catastrophe ten thousand years ago, the pure Phoenix Bloodline was almost severed.]

[Most of the current Yitian Clan cultivators possess the Vermilion Bird Bloodline or even thinner bloodlines.]

[The clan is divided into five branches: the First House, the Second House, the Third House, the Fourth House, and the Fifth House.]

[The First House is the branch Long Batian belongs to, and his father, Long Tiangang, is the current clan leader.]

[The Second House is led by Long Xiaotian, and his son, Long Aotian, is the most outstanding young cultivator of this generation.]

[Long Zhantian of the Third House has an ambiguous attitude, constantly wavering between the First House and the Second House.]

[The Fourth House and Fifth House are weaker in power and basically take sides based on which way the wind blows.]

["Why does the Second Branch want to seize the position of clan leader?" you ask.]

[Long Batian sighs: "The reason is simple; they believe that the First House has declined and is no longer fit to be the clan leader."]

["But the real reason is the Bloodline Holy Pool in the Yitian Clan's ancestral grounds."]

["Bloodline Holy Pool?"]

["Mm, that is the most precious treasure of the Yitian Clan. The pool contains the bloodline essence of the ancient phoenix."]

["Only the clan leader has the authority to open the Holy Pool and allow clansmen to enter it to baptize their bloodlines."]

["The Second Branch wants to control the Holy Pool so that Long Aotian can enter it to awaken a higher-grade bloodline."]

[You nod, understanding in your heart.]

[At the end of the day, it is still for the sake of interests and resources.]

[Whether in the human race or the demon race, the essence of conflict in the cultivation world is the same.]

["What is your father's current situation?" you ask again.]

[Long Batian is silent for a moment: "Very bad. He was severely injured in a conflict with the Second Branch two hundred years ago and has never recovered."]

["He is holding on with his last breath to arrange this clan leader selection, just to give me a chance to compete fairly."]

["If there were no selection, the Second Branch would directly force a coup, and the First House would have no power to fight back."]

[You can feel the heaviness and guilt in Long Batian's words.]

[He feels that he is not strong enough, which is why his father has to drag his injured body to buy time for him.]

[You do not say any words of comfort.]

[Because you know that at a time like this, comfort is useless.]

[Only strength can solve all problems.]

[Three days later.]

[Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range.]

[You stand on the clouds, overlooking the endless, vast mountains below.]

[The spiritual energy is so dense that it is almost tangible, and the roars of demon beasts occasionally drift up from the mountains.]

[Long Batian brings you to land in front of a towering mountain peak.]

[On the front of the mountain is a thousand-foot-high waterfall, and behind the waterfall, a massive stone gate is vaguely visible.]

[The stone gate is engraved with two vigorous and powerful characters: "Yitian".]

["We have arrived." Long Batian takes a deep breath. "This is the entrance to the Yitian Clan's ancestral grounds."]

[You follow Long Batian through the waterfall and walk to the stone gate.]

[Two guards are standing on each side of the stone gate, both with cultivation levels above the Early True Immortal stage.]

[Upon seeing Long Batian, the attitude of the four is very subtle; there is a hint of aloofness within their respect.]

["The Eldest Young Master has returned." The leading guard bows, then his gaze falls on you.]

["And who is this?"]

["My friend, Yuan Chen." Long Batian introduces you briefly.]

[The guard sizes you up, a flash of disdain appearing in his eyes.]

["An outsider... can also enter the ancestral grounds?"]

[You chuckle inwardly.]

[It seems the Yitian Clan's attitude toward outsiders is even more exclusionary than you imagined.]

[Long Batian's expression sinks: "The clan rules do not forbid clan leader candidates from bringing attendants into the ancestral grounds."]

[The guard opens his mouth, but ultimately, he steps aside.]