Just as Ji Yuan expected, regardless of whether someone had seized Zhu Tingtao's communication talisman or not, the noise caused by the fight in the middle of the night had already alarmed the masters of Xianxia Island.
Well, in fact, it wasn’t just the masters of Xianxia Island who were alarmed. There were also some cultivation sects on Wutong Island, and the noise also alarmed them.
However, compared to Xianxia Island, there are few large sects of immortal cultivators near Jianyun Kingdom. The noise of the fight even affected the light of the stars and the moon, turning the night sky into a whole sea of red. Some cultivators were so scared that they dared not come over, and some who wanted to investigate the truth would be dissuaded from going back by the cultivators of Xianxia Island after getting close.
Hundreds of monks from Xianxia Island gathered at the place where the battle took place, and all of them landed on the scorched earth. After a simple greeting, Zhu Tingtao, as an eyewitness, was more suitable to tell the story than Ji Yuan.
From the appearance of the person pretending to be a monk from Xianxia Island, to the subsequent pursuit turning into an ambush, to the successive appearance of Ji Yuan, Huo, and Xiezhi and the fight that ensued, until the final result.
As for why Ji Yuan was here, Zhu Tingtao also gave an explanation. It was because Ji Yuan came to visit before the Xianxia Island's great teleportation formation was activated, and Zhu Tingtao secretly kept Ji Yuan here and asked for his help.
"Master, fellow Taoists, this is the cause and effect."
Dugu Yu had been listening quietly, and during this time he had also been observing Ji Yuan and Xiezhi, but the former had a calm look in his eyes, and the latter also had no change in expression.
"So, it was indeed Mr. Ji and Fellow Daoist Xie who helped Junior Brother Zhu to be safe, but I didn't expect that they would attract an unheard-of ancient beast..."
Ji Yuan nodded slightly. To outsiders, his eyes did not seem to be wandering, and it was impossible to tell where he was focused, but in fact, Ji Yuan was always observing the other cultivators on Xianxia Island.
First of all, it is absolutely impossible for the headmaster Dugu Yu to betray Xianxia Island. Otherwise, Ji Yuan believes that the other party will definitely have more than one way to define him, Ji Yuan, as someone who covets the Phoenix. Even if Zhu Tingtao has objections, it will be useless and it will also make it easier for the Phoenix to be deceived.
Although they had already exchanged greetings before, Dugu Yu still bowed to Ji Yuan and Xiezhi again. This time, Ji Yuan and Xiezhi bowed lightly, which was considered as accepting the greeting without arrogance.
"In fact, when Mr. Ji came to Xianxia Island, I, as the head of Xianxia Island, actually noticed something, but..."
Ji Yuan glanced at Zhu Tingtao, who was looking elsewhere, which made Ji Yuan's mouth curl up slightly. It was obvious that Zhu Tingtao was very embarrassed at this moment, which meant that Zhu Tingtao had actually told the headmaster about his visit from the beginning.
"Only what?"
Ji Yuan asked this, and Dugu Yu looked at Xiezhi with a smile on his face.
"But how did this fellow Daoist Xie appear? Could it be that he was already in Wutong Continent? And he just happened to appear when Mr. Ji was fighting with the Xie?"
Xiezhi also grinned. It was no wonder that the head of Xianxia Island was suspicious. If it were him, he would have thought too much, because because of this matter, those who originally trusted Ji Yuan might start to doubt Ji Yuan.
“Hahahaha, can that dead dog-like thing be considered to be fighting with Mr. Ji? It’s just being chased and beaten. As for me, Master Dugu, there is no need to worry too much. I, Xiezhi, am just a painting in Mr. Ji’s hands!”
Xiezhi, who always "planned for Ji Yuan" in private, now defended Ji Yuan and even intentionally raised his image. After saying this, his whole body slowly changed and shrank, his full mentality gradually became vague, and the colors also faded in the faint changes of light and shadow.
In the end, the body of Xiezhi became flatter and flatter and smiled more and more, stopping the light and shadow from shrinking into a scroll and slowly floating into Ji Yuan's hands.
Ji Yuan was actually a little surprised. He never thought that with the arrogance of Xiezhi, it would take the initiative to do such a thing at this moment. But with Ji Yuan's reaction, there would certainly not be any drastic changes. He just held the Xiezhi scroll in his hand and looked at Dugu Yu, who lost his composure for the first time since coming here.
"Master Dugu, Fellow Daoist Xie is hiding in Ji's sleeve, so even Fellow Daoist Zhu has not seen Fellow Daoist Xie coming with him."
Not only Dugu Yu, but all the masters of Xianxia Island looked at the Xiezhi scroll in Ji Yuan's hand in disbelief. The aura displayed by Xiezhi just now was so powerful, even more powerful than any celestial demon they had ever seen. And according to Zhu Tingtao's description, the body of Xiezhi was even more powerful before. With one swallow, it could make the Hou nowhere to hide.
Such a demon cultivator, no matter whether he is an ancient mythical beast or not, cannot be ignored by anyone in the world, but he... is actually a painting
'How can this be?'
"Please have a look, Fellow Daoist Dugu."
Ji Yuan generously handed the Xiezhi scroll to Dugu Yu, who took it carefully and examined the scroll in his hand. Zhu Tingtao and several Xianxia Island masters who were nearby also came over to take a look, and they were equally shocked.
The thin paper had a vivid body of the Xiezhi monster, but it was indeed just painted on it, and at this moment there was not even a trace of monster aura left. Moreover, this was definitely not a method of transformation. Although there were many magical methods of transformation in the world, immortal cultivators of their level could still tell what was transformation and what was the original appearance.
On the contrary, when facing the Xiezhi scroll at this moment, after comparing the two, the masters of Xianxia Island realized belatedly that the heroic-looking Xiezhi they had seen before was actually a change, which was created by this scroll.
"Thank you, Mr. Ji, for clearing up my confusion..."
Dugu Yu returned the Xiezhi scroll to Ji Yuan, but he still felt uneasy. He certainly had a good understanding of Ji Yuan. In fact, among all the sects of the immortal way today, as long as they were not closed for a long time, it was difficult for them not to have heard of Ji Yuan. Even some of the small sects and schools of the cultivation families had heard of Ji Yuan to some extent.
Some people who knew Ji Yuan well knew that in addition to his profound magical powers, Ji Yuan also loved fine wine, chess, and was also an expert in calligraphy and painting. As for music, his song "Feng Qiu Huang" was said to be so magical that there seemed to be no one better in the world.
In this case, it is hard not to wonder whether this painting of Xiezhi was created by Ji Yuan's brilliant brushwork.
Ji Yuan took back the Xiezhi scroll. The cultivators from Xianxia Island just needed to recognize the Xiezhi scroll. He shook the scroll lightly, smoke rose and magical light flowed. The Xiezhi once again turned into a human form and appeared beside Ji Yuan.
"Well, I think you fellow Taoists will not wonder why I came to Wutong Island. In fact, Mr. Ji and I are just here to deliver a book. We still have a lot of places to go. I think Mr. Zhu's previous suggestion is good, so let Mr. Ji play a song. If it can make the phoenix appear, that would be the best. If not, there is nothing we can do."
Dugu Yu looked at Zhu Tingtao and other cultivators from Xianxia Island, and then at Ji Yuan.
"It is Dugu Yu's fault that I have doubts about Mr. Ji, because what I heard tonight was really horrifying. If Mr. Ji is willing, then please play a song for me!"
Ji Yuan nodded slightly.
"Before coming here, Ji had already promised Daoist Zhu."
Zhu Tingtao looked at the mountain in the distance and pointed.
"Mr. Ji, there is still a sycamore tree on the hill over there that is still intact. Go over there and play the flute."
"Okay, let's go here."
Ji Yuan had no objection, and naturally the cultivators from Xianxia Island had no objection either. A group of cultivators rode the wind and clouds and in a short while they had arrived under the paulownia tree in the distant mountains.
Although it was only a few days, the monks from Xianxia Island had already searched all the most likely places at the first possible moment. The search for the phoenix later would have to be done slowly and by consuming more time.
However, even after using the Phoenix Feathers, they still couldn't find it. Perhaps the Phoenix itself was hiding.
During the previous fight, all the birds and beasts that could escape had already fled from here, so at this moment, under the paulownia tree, it quickly became quiet after the immortal cultivators landed.
In this small area under the tree, apart from Ji Yuan and Xiezhi, there were only a few masters from Xianxia Island, including the head of Xianxia Island, Dugu Yu and Zhu Tingtao. Of the elders that Ji Yuan knew, only one was standing here, and the rest were either still on Xianxia Island or far away.
When Ji Yuan took out the flute from his sleeve, everyone looked at him subconsciously. When he focused his mind, what he recalled was the scene in the world in the book where the real phoenix Dan Ye danced and sang on the Wutong tree in the sea.
'I wonder if the sacred bird mentioned by Xianxia Island would appreciate this song.'
Ji Yuan took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, then closed his eyes slightly and put his lips on the flute.
"Woo~~~~Swallow~~~~~~~~"
The moment the melodious and distant sound of the flute sounded, it spread in all directions as if ignoring distance. No matter who heard the flute sound, they put aside their impatience and were surrounded by a faint sense of tranquility.
Ji Yuan, who had played "The Phoenix Seeks the Phoenix" perfectly before, no longer felt nervous about playing this piece for the first time. He just followed his inner enlightenment, and the realm of Tao was born in the music. The sound of the flute was either gentle or high-pitched, or the rhythm was lingering or could penetrate metal and stone...
The sound of the previous song has not yet faded away, and the next song has already begun. Everyone's expression is unconsciously intoxicated. This is not some kind of magic or enchantment, but simply a feeling of being moved by the beauty of the world's music.
When Ji Yuan was halfway through playing his flute music, the sky had already turned white, and then a fiery red glow emerged along with the morning light, but that glow gradually turned into colorful clouds. The sun had not yet risen, but the colorful clouds in the sky were becoming brighter and brighter.
“Woo~~~clang—”
The sound of phoenixes singing and Ji Yuan's flute playing could be heard in the distance. A pair of eyes sparkling with water light slowly opened.
At this moment, all the cultivators on Xianxia Island were excited, but no one spoke, and no one wanted to interrupt the flute music. Until the melody of the flute reached its end, the bright but not gorgeous glow of the sunset had fallen on the paulownia tree.
Ji Yuan gently put down the flute at this time, but the sound of the flute still echoed in everyone's ears for a long time.
"Does this song have a name?"
A magnetic voice that was elegant and charming rang out from the branches. The divine bird on the tree, shrouded in the glow of the sunset, ignored all the concerned monks from Xianxia Island and just looked at Ji Yuan.
Ji Yuan held the flute in his hand and bowed towards the branches.
"Fellow Daoist Huang, the name of this song is "The Phoenix Seeks the Phoenix"."
... ...
PS: I wish you all a happy New Year’s Eve!