CHAPTER 359: CHAPTER 359: SECRET SPIRIT SWARM

Chen Guan’s mind stirred, controlling a piece of mud from Yellow Mud Island, mixing it with some water, to shape a small clay bowl he often made as a child.

In the past, he and little Qinghua frequently played with mud. Back then, little Qinghua was most fond of the small clay bowl Chen Guan made. Every time they finished playing, she would take Chen Guan’s little clay bowl back to dry and use it as a small flower pot, planting little flowers and grass in it.

Unfortunately, without using his hands, and relying only on mental control, the shaped small clay bowl turned out crooked and unrefined.

Chen Guan was no longer in the mood he once had as a child, so he naturally didn’t continue playing. After tossing it aside, his consciousness retreated from Yellow Mud Island.

He still had to continue practicing secret skills; both the Pure Yang Sword Immortal and the Disabling Fist needed to level up.

By the time the expedition was set to depart, Chen Guan rode the Zhaoye Lion Horse, followed by Fu Tianji who had been dressed, and then Shi Zhimen along with three commanders.

The troops moved towards the primordial forest outside the Qilin Mountain Range, with Chen Guan cooperating by following Shi Zhimen’s commands, almost conveying Shi Zhimen’s instructions. Naturally, Bai Yueguang and the other two had nothing to say.

After several days of clearing, Bai Yueguang and the others found that Shi Zhimen was extremely meticulous and left nothing to chance, indeed able to think of many things they overlooked.

Gradually, Shi Zhimen could communicate directly with the three without needing Chen Guan to convey instructions, acknowledging Shi Zhimen’s role as the unofficial commander.

Under the sweep of the large battalion, a large number of Secret Spirits in the primordial forest were slaughtered.

They opened paths through the woods and built bridges over water, pioneering a broad road through the primordial forest.

The Secret Spirit resources in the Phoenix Forest were indeed abundant, teeming with countless birds and beasts. The Yellow Springs River also had channels crisscrossing the Phoenix Forest, more plentiful than the waterways in the Qilin Mountain Range.

Everywhere were the tributaries of the Yellow Springs River, and the main river’s water volume was greater than that in the Qilin Mountain Range.

Compared to the Yellow Springs River in the Qilin Mountain Range, this should be its upstream.

When Chen Guan first saw the Phoenix, he indeed had some doubts whether this was a subspecies of the Phoenix.

It looked too much like a Fire Phoenix, entirely scarlet, feathers resembling fire, crowned with a phoenix plume, and was a fire attribute alien elemental energy—undoubtedly a Fire Phoenix.

But the Phoenix and the actual Phoenix were somewhat different. When killed, its body would spontaneously ignite, burning itself to ashes.

Legend has it that a Phoenix can be reborn in flames, not truly dying.

However, in reality, it does truly perish and does not resurrect. The Phoenix encountered thereafter is actually a different bird.

The Third Awakening Phoenix, in addition to possessing the fire attribute alien elemental energy, also has the Sun True Demon Secret Collection, which when used, causes the primordial energy in its body to burn, emitting a brightness similar to the sun, and the resultant high temperatures not only have a scorching effect but can also consume primordial energy.

When a Phoenix uses the Sun True Demon, the surrounding Heaven and Earth Elemental Energy ignites. If not controlled properly, even the cultivator’s energy within their body could ignite.

This is somewhat similar to the Profound Nether Yin Fire Palm, but while the Profound Nether Yin Fire Palm is Yin Force, the Phoenix is Yang Fire. The burning Yang Fire ignites everything, and it affects a wide range.

Indeed, if a few individuals encounter a Phoenix, it would be troublesome. Such wide-range capabilities, coupled with flight ability, make it extremely difficult to kill. Instead, there’s a possibility it would ignite a cultivator’s energy, leading to a tragic self-immolation incident.

However, in the face of such a large army, the powerful Phoenix didn’t present much resistance.

With merely a round of coordinated archery, they shot down the Third Awakening Phoenix on the spot, leaving it no chance for resistance and resulting in a Phoenix self-immolation.

Being an undeveloped area, the Phoenix’s data isn’t quite complete. After killing several, one Phoenix dropped a Secret Skill Core.

The skill was named "Flaming Saber." Chen Guan discovered this skill seemed to be the same as the flaming saber Fu Tianji had used before.

"So, the Flaming Saber is the Phoenix’s secret skill." Chen Guan was not particularly interested in the Flaming Saber, and as this was army loot, he couldn’t claim it solely for himself yet.

Nonetheless, it aroused Chen Guan’s curiosity, wondering if Phoenixes could drop secret skills with burning abilities. If they could coordinate with Profound Palm Yin Fire Palm, forming a composite secret skill would be quite decent.

The main task for the army wasn’t to kill Phoenixes but to eliminate those gathered Secret Spirits.

According to the plan devised before departure, originally they were supposed to head straight to the River of Flames.

The River of Flames is a tributary of the Yellow Springs River, named for the section where the water appears red, not due to blood-like substances or actual flames, but because of a type of red algae.

Phoenixes prefer to appear around the River of Flames which is very close to the Qilin Mountain Range.

Recently, many Secret Spirits have been gathering near the River of Flames, and their mission is to either kill them all or disperse the gathered Secret Spirits.

Yet when the scouts sent by Chen Guan saw the current state of the River of Flames, Chen Guan ordered the army to initially station at the perimeter, refraining from charging directly into the River of Flames.

Chen Guan and Bai Yueguang along with others reached a vantage point using a telescope to observe the River of Flames.

The scene they observed surpassed what the scouts had described, as the River of Flames, meandering like a giant dragon without end, had its banks densely packed with an assortment of Secret Spirits.

Rough estimates suggested that just the visible Secret Spirits numbered probably close to a million.

"Third Awakening Demon-toothed Crocodile group... Third Awakening Killing Feather Immortal Crane group... Third Awakening Giant Demon Python group... Third Awakening Vajra Giant Ape group... Third Awakening Sharp-toothed Beast group... Also, some unknown Secret Spirit groups... Each group numbering in the tens of thousands... Such a gathering of Secret Spirits... Surely, there must be a King Level presence among them..." Zhang Yujian said gravely.

"With our current forces, trying to take down such a gathering of Secret Spirits might not be feasible." Bai Yueguang expressed with equal seriousness.

"It is possible to fight, but it’s hard to say how many will survive at the end." Zhu Hongzhi added.

"Previous intelligence didn’t mention there being so many Secret Spirits—how come so many appeared in just a few days, and the count now fearing a million? The prior estimates were supposed to be around a hundred thousand, right?" Chen Guan frowned.

He wasn’t concerned about the number of Secret Spirits but rather frustrated with the inaccurate intelligence.

"Perhaps a large number of Secret Spirits have gathered here recently." Zhang Yujian pondered aloud. "The Phoenix is the local emperor, summoning so many Secret Spirit groups obviously intending a direct bloodbath in the Qilin Mountain Range. We must quickly relay this intelligence back and have the regiment leader prepare accordingly."

Chen Guan nodded, instructing them to send the intelligence back as a precaution.

After returning to camp, they studied whether to proceed with the battle or not.