Unsealing Emptiness

Chapter 450: Festival.

The days slipped by in the blink of an eye.

The trio focused on their Origin Locks, but their cultivation was beginning to feel sluggish.

Ember quickly noticed the problem and according to her, it was because they were doing nothing else but cultivating for a long time.

It was about time that they exercised their will and faced some dangers as well. No pampered man could ever reach the heights of their cultivation journey by secluding himself all the time.

And so, she chose odd jobs for them with relatively high difficulty. But with the experience of Blaze and Raven, they rarely found themselves in a bind.

While they were exploring Phoenix City, running danger-trodden errands for Ember, Ozul felt the time pass excruciatingly slow.

There were times that Rai convinced him to help him with some shady tasks, but that didn’t happen occasionally.

He would spend most of his time in the room, taking a nap together with Jinx.

Whenever Ember would pass by, she would shake her head in disappointment, muttering something about keeping two cats was never in her retirement plans.

. . .

Days turned into weeks and weeks into months.

Rumors of Ember hosting a few Dragon Hatchlings had long reached the ears of the Immortal Sect. Ryujin had also sent out the information about one of them having some connection with the Celestial Phoenix.

All matters regarding the Celestial Beasts and the Land Above Realms were concerning and the Sect would prioritize them above all else.

However, they let it be in this case. They had already stated that all the Dragon Hatchlings were free to choose for themselves in the new Realm. They feared losing face, so they couldn’t do anything to the Hatchlings, at least not openly.

After hearing how Ember killed the sly Alliance Leader without any consequences, not many people dared to kick at the hornet’s nest again.

Although Ryujin held immense resentment toward Ember in his heart, he had to hold it all down as the day of the trial neared.

As the lamps on every corner increased, people also put up various signs and colorful boards, with different symbols related to Phoenixes, but mostly fire.

Even when the Celestial Phoenix was black, the festival took the color of red, adorning the whole city in scarlet hues.

Ozul finally realized what Ember meant by ’you would know when the trial begins.’

He spent most of his time sleeping, but when he ventured outside the estate, he began to notice an unusual amount of cultivators swarming the city.

Ember explained that these people were mostly accompanying the few participants of the trial.

Even with the cultivators swarming the streets, there weren’t many incidents.

At least not until Ozul came face-to-face with someone he had seen long ago.

It was the princess of the Silverbird Kingdom.

"You!" Sarah Silverbird pointed her finger at his face shakily. The confusion in her eyes quickly transformed into clarity before turning into rage.

In front of her stood the man who had caused her countless nightmares. He was the reason for her family’s downfall!

Feeling the torrent of negative emotions directed at him and the finger pointed right at his nose, Ozul sighed as a familiar fatigue took over his body.

It was the first day he had come out of the estate to stroll around with Jinx and this happened. He shouldn’t have caved into Ember’s pestering after all.

To his annoyance, however, this girl wasn’t alone here.

Before he could turn around and leave, another face popped up right behind her.

Sarah calmed down and couldn’t help but shout, "Aakal! Look who I ran into."

He couldn’t even remember their relationship, but judging from how their hands had interlocked and he too was giving him a cold stare, it wasn’t hard to conclude that they were lovers.

As Sarah stood there, looking down at him, a smirk formed on her face as if she had somehow won against him.

’Hmm... Both are at the Nascent Soul Realm. Ember did say it was rare,’ Ozul noted down their cultivation before he was about to turn around and leave again.

"Hey, stop! Where are you leaving?" Sarah shouted, bringing him to a halt.

Sarah Silverbird was afraid of this man before, but it was different now.

Now that they were in a new Realm, she learned that every Dragon Hatchling had to cultivate from the start again. So, they had the same starting line.

Looking at the same dull clothes on him, she couldn’t help but compare them to the ornamental robes around Aakal. She too was adorned with rare artifacts; they would stand out immediately in the public.

However, Phoenix City was an exception. Here, people seldom cared about the cultivators, much less stole glances at them.

Noticing the questioning look in his eyes, Sarah sprang up, "Why, are you afraid now? You destroyed my home, did you think no one would come for revenge!?"

The Spiritual Essence wildly revolved around her.

’She thinks she is strong enough for revenge already?’ Ozul sighed, giving her an incredulous look. ’Shouldn’t they assume that I am stronger than them since they can’t feel Spiritual Essence from me?’

It was then that it clicked in his mind; no one wanted to think that their enemy was stronger than them, so they assumed the opposite. And Aakal’s next words only confirmed his thoughts,

"Sarah, even though he isn’t a cultivator, we’re still inside Phoenix City!"

But Sarah Silverbird had been imagining her revenge every night since she witnessed the downfall of the Silverbird Kingdom. How could she let go of this opportunity now?

Gritting her teeth, she struck with her arm and Aakal was too late to stop it from happening.

*Fuu!*

Just when Sarah’s hand was in front of Ozul’s face, something caught it mid-air.

A man appeared with fluttering robes. On his chest was the leaf symbol indicating his allegiance to the Immortal Sect.

Ozul calmly stared at the man; he had already sensed his presence around the corner of the street. He was at the peak of the Transcendent Realm, so he had to be wary of him.

Still holding Sarah’s hand, the man also observed Ozul from head to down.

"So you’re that kid," he mused, "Pity you did not accept the kindness of the Immortal Sect. You wouldn’t have been far behind these two."

Then, the man turned back to Sarah and Aakal and berated, "Was I not clear in my instructions?! This is Phoenix City, and you are not allowed to start fights in the middle of the streets here!"

As a member of the Immortal Sect, he was painfully aware of the fact that no one from the Sect would step forward to save their lives if the Celestial Phoenix decided to appear. So they had to be careful in their dealings here.

’I can’t let these brats endanger my life here. I will have to teach them manners again!’ the man thought before letting go of Sarah’s arm which almost went limp in his presence.

The man then dragged Sarah and Aakal back to their group which included two more people.

It seemed that they too were the Dragon Hatchlings brought here with them, but Ozul couldn’t recognize their faces.

Sarah Silverbird gave him a resentful glare and Aakal too turned to eye him with a warning in his gaze.

’What are you warning me for?’ Ozul shook his head. Fortunately, that man from the Immortal Sect was decent enough not to engage in a fight. He was the only threat in the vicinity.

’I should be more careful,’ he decided and continued walking, but in the opposite direction now.

He had already felt the presence of the peak Transcendent near him and yet he continued walking without any worries. He didn’t expect to meet those crazy brats.

He quickly let go of the incident and tried blending in with the crowd again, but it wasn’t easy considering his appearance and a cat walking beside him.

For some reason, walking amidst the crowd and feeling merry emotions all around didn’t annoy him.

. . .

The outsiders during the festival were mostly guests of the City Lord.

So, the people from the Immortal Sect had their lodging within the City Lord’s estate as well.

Later that night, while the Dragon Hatchlings were in their rooms, the Elder of the Sect was together with Ryujin.

"It’s only been a few months, and I haven’t even seen a single trace of the battle between the three Sages. You really are worthy of your title, Phoenix Lord." The man praised Ryujin offhandedly.

"Do not try to flatter me if you do not wish to, Elder of the Sect," Ryujin was still a powerful Sage, so his words were backed by authority that the Elder couldn’t deny.

"Ahem, I should have introduced myself, you can simply call me Saiko." Changing the topic, the Elder spoke, "I met the kid that the Sect Leader had informed us about. But I must say, he didn’t even exude a speck of Spiritual traces. Are you sure he’s special?"

Ryujin smirked, he understood that not many in the Immortal Sect believed his report. Even he wouldn’t have believed himself in their shoes.

"It is curious, but have you considered that the Celestial Phoenix does not contain any Spiritual traces either? The other Celestial Beasts are also the same in that regard..."

His words trailed off into silence, but the meaning behind his words was clear.

Thinking about it, Saiko couldn’t help but feel his body hair stand in fright, "Ha-ha... Surely you jest, Phoenix Lord."

But there was no smile on Ryujin’s face, and the silence in the room only intensified the seriousness of the situation.