Cultivation Begins From The Desert

Chapter 622 - 607: Father and Daughter Reunited! [Subscribe Please]

[Phoenix Goddess] Jiang Yufeng, the most famous disciple of the current generation at Divine Lady Palace, mentored by the palace’s current Palace Master "Master Fei Feng" Lou Feifeng, with unknown parents.

Her first rise to fame was ninety-seven years ago at the Donghua Immortal Assembly, where she represented Divine Lady Palace and performed a dance, "Phoenix Dance Nine Heavens," which amazed the audience. The young Palace Master of the Donghua Immortal Palace hosting the event praised her as the number one beauty of the Donghua Continent Cultivation Realm, and from that moment on, her name spread throughout Donghua.

At that time, [Phoenix Goddess] Jiang Yufeng was merely a Fourth-Layer Purple Mansion Cultivator.

Twelve years ago, Core Formation Celestial Phenomenon appeared at the Spirit Mountain’s gate at Divine Lady Peak, causing the "Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix" Golden Core Phenomenon. Later, news came spreading that [Phoenix Goddess] Jiang Yufeng successfully formed her Core.

The news shocked many people because, according to observations from a predecessor great power, Jiang Yufeng’s bone age was estimated to be over a hundred years, making her Core formation age more than two hundred and thirty.

A Golden Core Stage Cultivator of over two hundred and thirty years!

This cultivation speed is beyond the reach of many Spirit Body Cultivators.

Even the young Palace Master of the Donghua Immortal Palace, born with the Xunfeng Spirit Body talent, was over two hundred and eighty years old when he formed his Core.

If this news alone was astonishing, then the subsequent news almost shattered the Dao Heart of many cultivators who heard it.

It turned out that less than two years after [Phoenix Goddess] successfully formed her Core, the Dragon Taming Family, who was well-known but rarely seen in the Donghua Continent Cultivation Realm, suddenly dispatched a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator to personally propose marriage. The proposal was for the grandson of the contemporary clan leader, Dragon Taming Golden Radiance, to marry [Phoenix Goddess] as his wife.

And shockingly, Divine Lady Palace agreed to the marriage!

When this news spread, it caused a stir across the Donghua Continent Cultivation Realm.

The Dragon Taming Family, as one of the most prominent powers in the Donghua Continent Cultivation Realm, though having few clan members and seldom appearing in public, their every move draws attention from major forces within the realm.

Divine Lady Palace, with a legacy of over eight thousand years in the Donghua Continent Cultivation Realm, has had generations of "Divine Ladies" renowned for their beauty, seen as dream lovers by countless cultivators. Many consider marrying a female disciple from Divine Lady Palace their lifelong honor.

The sudden alliance by marriage between the key members of these two forces commands attention from other powers.

Especially as, over five hundred years ago, the contemporary Palace Master "Master Fei Feng" Lou Feifeng openly declared Divine Lady Palace’s membership in the Longevity Immortal Alliance assembled by the Longevity Hall, becoming an important component.

This makes the marriage between the Dragon Taming Family and Divine Lady Palace effectively an alliance with the Longevity Immortal Alliance.

A matter of this magnitude cannot escape notice.

Moreover, as the current "Divine Lady" of Divine Lady Palace, [Phoenix Goddess] had already garnered vast popularity among young cultivators in the Donghua Continent Cultivation Realm, admired by numerous talented heroes who viewed her as their heart’s goddess.

The sudden news of their heart’s goddess being wed in an alliance as a marriage partner shattered countless dreams, and many cultivators found their Dao Hearts collapsing.

Rumor has it that upon hearing the news, the young Palace Master of the Donghua Immortal Palace, in anger, personally went to challenge Dragon Taming Golden Radiance to abandon marrying [Phoenix Goddess] because he had previously professed his admiration to her only to be diplomatically refused.

If these events merely served as gossip among the discussing cultivators, then the further rumor of unknown origin spread afterward enraged many [Phoenix Goddess]’s admirers.

According to this baseless rumor, [Phoenix Goddess] was not willing to marry Dragon Taming Golden Radiance, but was coerced by her master "Master Fei Feng," threatening her with her biological mother’s life to force her into marrying him.

Regardless of the rumor’s credibility, its very existence reignited the shattered Dao Hearts of many cultivators, inspiring them to save their heart’s goddess.

Thus, in the following years after the news broke, at least a thousand young cultivators traveled from various places to gather outside Divine Lady Palace’s mountain gate, protesting, demanding Divine Lady Palace abandon the marital decision, and grant [Phoenix Goddess] freedom to choose her Dao Companion.

Among these protesting young cultivators were numerous disciples of major sects, and Divine Lady Palace couldn’t resort to forcible suppression, thus allowing them to cause a disturbance outside the gate without response.

Later, unbeknownst to the angry protesters, Dragon Taming Golden Radiance was so incensed by something they said that he personally rode three Tier Five Flood Dragons to Divine Lady Palace, where he unleashed a massacre, killing hundreds of protesters and terrifying everyone.

Afterward, despite the voices of condemnation from the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm sounding everywhere regarding Divine Lady Palace, nothing could prevent the marriage of [Phoenix Goddess] becoming a reality.

Five years, five years later, the Dragon Taming Family will formally arrive to greet and escort [Phoenix Goddess] to their clan’s ancestral land, "Five Dragon Island" in the East Sea, to complete the marriage.

These are all the details Zhouyang extracted from the drunkard Yu Deshui.

To pry these details from the drunkard, Zhouyang even sacrificed half a jug of his cherished Bee King Brew, using the high-tier Spirit Wine to inebriate the fellow, leading him to spill all the secrets in his drunken stupor.

"Jiang Yufeng, Jiang Yufeng..."

Inside the Immortal Inn, Zhouyang muttered the name of the "Phoenix Goddess" under his breath, then couldn’t help but let out a long sigh with a bitter smile: "Fengxian, oh Fengxian, you’ve really given me a difficult problem!"

When he first heard the nickname "Phoenix Goddess," he already realized it must be related to Jiang Fengxian.

When he later heard that this "Phoenix Goddess" successfully formed her core at the age of over 230, and that her surname was Jiang, Zhouyang immediately knew this woman must be his and Jiang Fengxian’s daughter.

Twelve years ago, he and Jiang Fengxian had just parted ways two hundred and thirty years in the Kunxu Realm, and as far as he knew, the gestation period for "Celestial Phoenix Race," this alien race, was several times longer than that of the Human Race.

Moreover, the strong forewarning he felt last time usually only occurred when one’s blood relatives are in danger.

Of course, for now, these were just Zhouyang’s speculations, and he still needed further verification to confirm their truth.

However, if these speculations were true, the enemy he would face would be excessively powerful.

Five years! If his speculation was true, he had less than five years to prepare.

With such a pressing timeframe, Zhouyang dared not delay any longer. The next day, he left Donghua Immortal City and made his way toward the mountain gate of the Divine Lady Palace.

The mountain gate of the Divine Lady Palace was over a million miles away from Donghua Immortal City. Zhouyang was completely unfamiliar with the Donghua Continent Cultivation Realm, so it took him nearly a month to arrive.

To avoid alerting the enemy, he stopped tens of thousands of miles away from the mountain gate of the Divine Lady Palace, then descended into a deserted mountain forest. From the Spirit Beast Ring, he released the Seven-Colored Peacock Jiang Cai’Er to attempt to sense the whereabouts of her master, Jiang Fengxian.

"Found her, found her; the master is nearby, not far from us. Let’s go find her quickly!"

In the forest, Jiang Cai’Er closed her eyes to sense, then exclaimed with joy and was about to flap her wings to pursue in the sensed direction.

Seeing this, Zhouyang hurriedly reached out and held her back, saying, "Cai’Er, don’t be hasty; things are not as simple as you think."

"What do you mean? Male Master, what do you mean by that?"

Jiang Cai’Er stared wide-eyed at Zhouyang, completely not understanding why he stopped her from finding the master.

Zhouyang, seeing this, told her the information he had gathered and his own speculations.

After hearing his account, Jiang Cai’Er shouted angrily, "Too despicable! Those humans are really too despicable! Male Master, you must save the master!"

Zhouyang knew she had a child’s disposition and was not surprised, just comforted her, "Rest assured, I will definitely rescue Fengxian and them, but this matter needs to be planned carefully. We may need your help as well."

Hearing this, Jiang Cai’Er nodded repeatedly and agreed, "Cai’Er listens to Male Master; whatever you ask Cai’Er to do, Cai’Er will do."

Thus, Zhouyang immediately returned her to the Spirit Beast Ring and left the forest.

At the same time, as Zhouyang released the Seven-Colored Peacock Jiang Cai’Er from the Spirit Beast Ring, a colorful, stunning woman watering flowers in the front courtyard of a palace on Divine Maiden Peak thousands of miles away suddenly paused slightly, quickly put down the watering can, and returned to the inner chamber of the rear courtyard.

"The mark I left on Cai’Er has been triggered; how could Cai’Er have come to the Donghua Continent Cultivation Realm? Could it be that Zhou Lang has found her?"

In the chamber, Jiang Fengxian’s beautiful eyes opened slightly, filled with excitement, her heart turbulent with emotions.

Ever since she was trapped in the Divine Lady Palace, her greatest longing was for Zhouyang to come and rescue her someday.

Even though she knew, given Zhouyang’s cultivation level, coming here would be of no help, and he couldn’t possibly rescue her and their daughter.

Now, after waiting over a hundred years, she finally awaited the arrival of her beloved, which made her incredibly excited!

"The connection with Cai’Er only lasted a moment before ending, indicating Zhou Lang already knows my current predicament, which is good; this way, he won’t rashly walk into a trap."

"However, Zhou Lang will certainly not give up on rescuing me and Yufeng and will find ways to contact me or Yufeng."

"I am now imprisoned here and cannot move, so the only one he might contact is Yufeng. I must inform Yufeng about this matter, letting her prepare beforehand so she won’t lose control of her emotions and reveal Zhou Lang’s presence!"

Jiang Fengxian’s eyes flashed with wisdom, and relying on her understanding of her lover, she had already deduced some things.

Thinking it through, she immediately walked out of the chamber, sternly shouting towards the tightly closed gate, "I want to see Yufeng. You have one day, if I don’t see her in a day, you’ll have to pay the consequences!"

Saying this, she felt a bitter chill in her heart.

Imprisoned in this palace for decades, every time she wanted to see her biological daughter, she had to make a scene, cry, and threaten to hang herself to get attention, so that her daughter would come to see her.

Fortunately, she was strong-willed and accustomed to living alone from a young age, so she wasn’t broken down by this life of confinement.

Half a day later, a colorful-clothed beauty with a white veil on her face pushed open the palace doors and walked in.

"Child greets mother. I wonder what instructions mother has for calling daughter here? Did those two old wretched women outside anger you again?"

The colorful-clothed beauty entered the palace and first removed the veil on her face, revealing a stunning face strikingly similar to Jiang Fengxian’s. She respectfully greeted Jiang Fengxian, then turned to look at the tightly shut door behind her, coldly scolding certain people outside.

Jiang Fengxian looked at her daughter, whose beauty matched her own, yet with a face full of heartache, stepped forward to grasp her daughter’s jade hand, asking concernedly, "Feng’er, how is your recovery from the injuries? It’s all because of mother. If mother hadn’t been so greedy back then, you wouldn’t have attracted the Thunder Tribulation from forming your core and nearly lost your life!"

"Mother, don’t worry. That old woman still hopes for your daughter to marry into the Dragon Taming Family to exchange for her advancement’s spiritual object, so how could she not care for your daughter’s safety!"

Ginger Yufeng pouted, filled with a tone of resentment.

Jiang Fengxian’s face also turned sour.

With a bitter expression, she hissed, "The Dragon Taming Family is also full of ambition! Although we don’t know exactly what they are planning, we can guess it’s mostly for Feng’er’s True Phoenix Bloodline!"

After speaking, her eyes showed a hint of pain, looking at her daughter full of guilty expression, she sighed, "In the end, it’s all mother’s greed that harmed you!"

"Mother, why do you say such things again!"

Jiang Yufeng hurriedly grabbed her mother’s jade hand, looking at her sincerely, said, "I have told you many times, I do not blame you at all for this, because I know you did it for my own good, and I have never regretted refining the True Phoenix Blood!"

"Feng’er, you..."

Jiang Fengxian’s jade lips parted slightly as if unable to say what she wanted, her expression extremely complex.

Outside the palace, two old women of Golden Core Stage cultivation watched this scene through a treasure mirror artifact, a cold smile flashed on their faces. They exchanged glances, nodded slightly, then waved their sleeves to erase the image on the mirror, not wanting to hear the mother-daughter grievances anymore.

As for Zhouyang, after confirming through the words of the Seven-Colored Peacock Jiang Cai’Er that Jiang Fengxian was indeed in the Divine Lady Palace, he was almost certain that his suspicions were correct.

He immediately went to the most bustling Immortal City nearby to purchase an East Sea specialty spiritual object, the Echoing Conch.

There is a special demon beast in the East Sea called the Double Echoing Conch. After these conch-like demon beasts die, their shells can be refined into a unique communication artifact capable of transmitting voices across distances.

The stronger the cultivation of the Double Echoing Conch, the farther the communication distance of the artifact refined from its shell.

It is said that a communication artifact made from a Tier Five Helix Demon shell can freely transmit sound over hundreds of thousands of miles.

The Tier Five Helix Demon shell is extremely rare and not easily bought, so Zhouyang only managed to get a pair of communication artifacts made from Tier Four High-Grade Helix Demon shells, costing him two hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones.

This pair of artifacts can achieve free communication within a hundred thousand miles, barely meeting his requirements.

After obtaining the artifacts, Zhouyang personally refined one, then gave the other to the Seven-Colored Peacock Jiang Cai’Er to swallow and hide inside its body.

Thereafter, Zhouyang altered his appearance and concealed his cultivation, disguising himself as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, infiltrating an Immortal City near the Divine Lady Palace, inquiring everywhere about the whereabouts of the Phoenix Goddess.

Many cultivators within this Immortal City were not surprised by his actions.

Ever since the news spread that Phoenix Goddess was forced to marry Dragon Taming Golden Radiance, many such cultivators came near the Divine Lady Palace, probing about this information, hoping to rescue their goddess and elope with her.

Although these cultivators were completely ignored by the Divine Lady Palace, the Divine Lady Palace still found an excuse to place the Phoenix Goddess under house arrest, forbidding her from meeting any outside cultivators before her wedding.

Initially, Zhouyang did not find out anything and faced countless ridicule both openly and covertly.

But he was not discouraged at all and continued blending in marketplaces and Immortal Cities around the Divine Lady Palace, doing just this.

Over two to three months, although he obtained no information, he established ties and agreements with many like-minded cultivators to share information.

On a certain day over three months later, while Zhouyang was routinely inquiring about information within an Immortal City, he suddenly received a communication flying sword.

It turned out to be a Foundation Establishment Cultivator born in the top sect of Donghua Continent’s Cultivation Realm, the Donghua Immortal Palace, who discovered important news, saying that the [Phoenix Goddess] would visit Fengming Mountain for leisure in three days.

Since the news was obtained by a cultivator from the Donghua Immortal Palace, Zhouyang believed it to be highly credible, so he quickly went to the so-called Fengming Mountain to make arrangements.

Fengming Mountain is a Tier Five Spirit Mountain less than eighty thousand miles from the gate of the Divine Lady Palace, with picturesque scenery and charming landscapes. It is also a branch location of the Divine Lady Palace. According to the Donghua Immortal Palace cultivator who obtained the information, the [Phoenix Goddess] had also cultivated there for a period of time.

Zhouyang spent some Spirit Stones to hire more than a dozen Foundation Establishment Cultivators to monitor the route from the Divine Lady Palace to Fengming Mountain to avoid missing the carriage of the [Phoenix Goddess].

He himself restored his Golden Core Stage cultivation and original appearance and, a day earlier, rode the Seven-Colored Peacock Jiang Cai’Er from over a hundred thousand miles away towards Fengming Mountain.

When the day of the [Phoenix Goddess]’s outing arrived, Zhouyang passed a thousand miles outside Fengming Mountain right on time, coincidentally encountering the group of [Phoenix Goddess] coming from the opposite direction on a flying vehicle.

Then he and Jiang Yufeng, the father and daughter who had never met before, began a tacit theatrical performance.

At that moment, the Seven-Colored Peacock under Zhouyang’s feet suddenly lost control and threw him off, letting out an excited and urgent screech as it rushed toward the flying vehicle carrying the [Phoenix Goddess].

The cultivators of the Divine Lady Palace escorting the [Phoenix Goddess] naturally couldn’t allow such a Tier Five Demon Bird to approach recklessly and were about to repel the Seven-Colored Peacock.

Having been reminded by her mother, Jiang Fengxian, Jiang Yufeng immediately rushed out of the flying vehicle, draped in a pair of Seven-Colored Phoenix Wings, soothing the Seven-Colored Peacock in a gentle voice.

Following Zhouyang’s instructions, the Seven-Colored Peacock Jiang Cai’Er cooperatively calmed down, but kept calling out to Jiang Yufeng continuously from a distance.

At this time, Zhouyang appeared in a panic, repeatedly cupping his hands in apology to the group, saying, "I’m sorry, truly sorry, it was due to my inadequate restraint that this beast collided with the [Phoenix Goddess] and all the fellow comrades of the Divine Lady Palace, I hope the Goddess and everyone can forgive me."

"No need to be so polite, my friend. In truth, this is my fault. If it weren’t for the sense from my body..."

Jiang Yufeng, veiled in white gauze, glanced at Zhouyang’s handsome face, suppressing her excited emotions as she began to explain something softly.

But before she could finish, a soft cough sounded near her ear.

Hearing this cough, her pretty face beneath the veil slightly changed, then immediately she changed her words, saying, "In any case, it’s not your fault, my friend, there’s no need for you to apologize."

Zhouyang’s expression also changed, as if he had discovered something, and he quickly cupped his hands, saying, "Lady Goddess, your great understanding is admirable, there’s no interference now with the Goddess’s outing, I’ll take my leave."

With that, he angrily shouted at the Seven-Colored Peacock, "You beast, come back immediately!"

The Seven-Colored Peacock, however, ignored him, gazing eagerly at Jiang Yufeng with a pleading look in its eyes.

Seeing this, Zhouyang’s expression drastically changed, looking at Jiang Yufeng, he said, "Lady Goddess, this..."

"Friend, to be honest with you, this Seven-Colored Peacock actually carries [True Phoenix Blood], making it a rare exotic beast. Due to certain reasons, I happen to possess a treasure of great benefit to its growth and evolution, that is why it wants to abandon you, its master, and follow me instead."

As Jiang Yufeng explained, she gazed toward the flying vehicle behind her.

Zhouyang took the opportunity to say, "Then can the Lady Goddess sell that treasure to me? I am willing to offer a high price!"

"I’m afraid that’s beyond my ability," Jiang Yufeng said with a slight shake of the head, firmly declining.

"Lady Goddess, no need to refuse so quickly, I can..."

Zhouyang, seemingly unwilling to give up, suddenly raised his voice, as if proposing an even better deal.

But at that moment, an icy woman’s voice suddenly sounded from within the flying vehicle, "Hmph, how oblivious you are, young one, haven’t you heard that a good bird choses a tree to nest? Since this Seven-Colored Peacock is unwilling to follow you anymore, it means your fate with it is over. If you insist, you will be acting against the heavens and might meet with disaster!"

The sinister voice echoed in Zhouyang’s ear, accompanied by a palpable and ominous aura emanating faintly from the flying vehicle.

Zhouyang’s face immediately changed.

He looked in fear at the azure flying vehicle, then glanced at the Seven-Colored Peacock, who paid him no attention, finally with reluctance cupping his hands toward the azure vehicle, saying, "Senior’s lesson is indeed so, I am taught, and now I will take my leave!"

After speaking, he walked away, turning back repeatedly with reluctance to glance at the Seven-Colored Peacock and the veiled Jiang Yufeng until his silhouette completely vanished from the group’s sight.