Phoenix's Requiem

“Silver dragon, to think you’d go to this extent for your goals!” Li Mo’s voice was low with rage and anger. Li Yan was the most important thing in the world to Yun Ruoyan and Li Mo, and they had thought that the silver dragon elder viewed Yin Xiao similarly. They hadn’t expected that the silver dragon elder would be so uncaring, even for his last living descendant.

The silver dragon elder was looking at Yin Xiao, who was getting closer and closer to him within the protection of his spiritual energy membrane. “You haven’t underestimated how much I care about Yin Xiao; you’ve simply underestimated how much I care about your child. He’s worth the risk.”

“Where’s my child?” Yun Ruoyan resisted the temptation to rush over to the silver dragon elder. “If I don’t see Li Yan today, none of you will leave!” She tossed her silver bracelet into the air, which instantly enlarged. Qiuqiu leapt up onto the bracelet, then blocked any flight paths out of the area along with the demonic spirit.

“Right now, he’s probably being sent into the blood formation, haha!” The silver dragon elder laughed. “And you don’t think I’d just sit here and allow you to attack me, do you?”

Yun Ruoyan and Li Mo glanced at each other, prepared to rush to the silver dragon castle to save Li Yan. Just then, everyone felt a large group of cultivators approaching them.

“Since you’re all here now, I might as well end all of you.” The silver dragon elder’s laugh, twisted from disuse, sounded even more frightening than the demonic spirit’s. “All my enemies shall fall today.”

“Silver dragon bastard,” the demonic spirit called out. “That’s our plan as well. Our grudge that has lasted millennia shall end today.”

“Demonic spirit, the demonic dragon forefather has already died. I advise you to give up and flee, or you’ll follow in his footsteps.”

“The reason the heavens saw fit to grant me my body back was to deal with the likes of you!” the demonic spirit suddenly shouted.

“In that case, let’s stop talking and start the fight.” The silver dragon elder dragged Yin Xiao to his side, then instructed the guards that had surrounded them, “Warriors of the silver dragon palace, slaughter the enemies you see before you to the last! Each of you will receive a bottle of holy water for your efforts.”

Hundreds of silver dragon swordsmen took to the air, surrounding Yun Ruoyan, Li Mo, and the demonic bandits.

“Yan’er, leave this to us. Find an opportunity to save Li Mo from the palace,” Li Mo whispered to Yun Ruoyan.

Yun Ruoyan nodded, then glanced at the warriors all around her. Although there were a large number of them, the majority of whom were sword saints, it wouldn’t be much of a problem to sneak past them and escape the encirclement with Qiuqiu’s help. “Take care of yourself,” she whispered back.

This would be an important, decisive battle, but she wouldn’t be able to help Li Mo. Her son was in danger, as was her husband. Yun Ruoyan felt as though she were torn in two.

“Don’t worry,” Li Mo consoled her. “If nothing goes wrong, your brother will be here with reinforcements soon. We just have to hold out until he gets here.”

They were interrupted by the silver dragon elder’s call to battle. Some among the demonic bandits soared into the air. Others remained on the ground and began holding off against the hordes of silver dragon warriors, easily outnumbering them ten to one.

The demonic spirit tussled with the silver dragon elder, a gigantic black broadsword against a silvery, glowing rapier. Fights among such experts generally lasted a long time, and it wouldn’t be unusual for it to rage on for two whole weeks.

Li Mo helped out wherever he could, securing any boundaries that seemed liable to fall under the silver dragon warriors’ onslaught.

Qiuqiu stood in front of Yun Ruoyan, blocking any attack that came her way. Any swordsman that walked within three paces of her would be sent flying with a breath of flame. While searching for an opportunity to leave, Yun Ruoyan suddenly noticed that Yin Xiao had vanished from sight.

“Mistress, I see him! That brat’s escaping in that direction with the help of some silver dragon warriors!”

Yun Ruoyan looked in the direction in which Qiuqiu was pointing. They were clearly heading to the silver dragon castle. Yun Ruoyan had drugged Yin Xiao with a particularly potent paralytic poison, so he was currently unable to use his cultivation. Even walking would have been an exertion.

I’ll use him as a hostage, Yun Ruoyan thought.

“Qiuqiu, let’s go.” Yun Ruoyan jumpedo nto Qiuqiu’s back, her Scarlet Eye in one hand and tufts of Qiuqiu’s fur in the other.

Two days ago, upon Yun Ruoyan and Li Mo’s request, Yun Moxiao had headed to the Mingyuan continent in search of reinforcements from Feng Yicheng and Pi Yang. Li Mo and Yun Ruoyan had written them a letter explaining the situation, and had requested over a hundred second-rank sword saints to head to the Jiyuan continent to support their cause.

Feng Yicheng and Pi Yang had both been shocked by the request—they had never dreamt of entering the Jiyuan continent, let alone fighting against the silver dragons there! If anyone else had made that request, both Feng Yicheng and Pi Yang would have rejected it on the spot, but Yun Ruoyan and Li Mo had both done them favors beyond compare.f𝐫𝑒𝗲𝙬𝒆𝚋𝐧૦𝘃𝗲l.c𝚘𝘮

Without Yun Ruoyan’s help, Pi Yang would have been naught but bone and ash, let alone the husband of the next head of the Lie family. Yun Ruoyan and Li Mo had also helped Feng Yicheng defeat the Pis and become the head of the Feng family. No matter how unusual or shocking their request, both Feng Yicheng and Pi Yang would do their best to honor it. They had immediately gathered to discuss the matter.

Although Yun Moxiao had never met either of them, he had heard Yun Ruoyan describe her experience on the Mingyuan continent, and he knew most of what had happened.

“My sister and brother-in-law knew that the two of you would be concerned, so they also bade me convey you their words,” Yun Moxiao said.

“What did they say?” Feng Yicheng and Pi Yang asked.

“The Jiyuan continent isn’t as sanctified as you might imagine. The continent is currently under the control of the silver dragon clan, itself led by the silver dragon elder, a sly, greedy, and malicious man. Although you’ve never met him, he was the backer behind the Pi family, and much of their tyrannical behavior can be traced back to the silver dragon elder. A thousand years ago, he incited the war that drove the demonic dragon clan to their end; if we don’t stop him from consolidating power now, he might do the same in the future.”

Feng Yicheng and Zhuo Yifeng had only heard stories about the mythical war a millennium ago, but just the fact that only the silver dragon clan had been left on the Jiyuan continent was concerning in and of itself.

“This isn’t necessarily a losing battle,” Yun Moxiao emphasized. “I came from the Jiyuan continent, and we already have quite a number of expert cultivators in our alliance. We simply have a numerical disadvantage, and if the two of you are willing to provide these forces, we stand a good chance of winning against the silver dragons. At that point, we can easily allow for transportation between the Jiyuan and Mingyuan continents.”

Feng Yicheng and Pi Yang were indeed moved by Yun Moxiao’s words, but they weren’t yet fully convinced.

“Oh, and I almost forgot something.” Yun Moxiao walked up to Pi Yang. “Ruoyan told me to inform you, Young Master Pi, that the silver dragon castle contains a miraculous liquid known as holy water, with which it may be possible to regrow your arms. Regardless of whether you intend to help her, she’ll do her best to get you some.”

“Do you mean it?” Lie Yun, by Pi Yang’s side, seemed to react far more eagerly to the news than Pi Yang himself. She had heard Pi Yang mention holy water before, but it had never seemed like a feasible possibility.

“Absolutely. It’s guarded deep within the silver dragon castle, however, so it isn’t easy to acquire,” Yun Moxiao replied.

Feng Yicheng stood up and asked Yun Moxiao, “Could you explain why Brother Li and Miss Yun are so adamant on fighting against the silver dragons?”

Yun Moxiao explained the truth behind Yun Ruoyan and Li Mo’s parentage. “Not only has the silver dragon elder seized my sister’s father, he’s been planning on kidnapping my nephew. My sister and I will stop at nothing to bring the silver dragons down.”