The immortal is beside me

Chapter 61 Phoenix Tour

This is?

Cheng Xiaomeng's heart moved, and she looked at the mural carefully.

Compared with the previous portraits which were obviously rough, this one was probably made by elite craftsmen or something, but the technique was obviously much more refined, and even used some representational techniques.

In that painting, an immortal in a red Taoist robe occupied three-quarters of the entire picture. He stretched out one hand to touch the phoenix's head. Red-gold flames accompanied the two on their sides, as if they were blending together. The whole picture exuded a sense of sacredness.

"This should be the immortal mentioned in the information who once gave guidance to the Demon King, right?"

At this time, everyone in the Super Research Institute had leaned against the car windows, looking at the murals with great interest.

The group had read the information before coming, and when they saw this, they immediately remembered the legend about the "Phoenix and the Immortal".

This mural was placed at the entrance to the Imperial Capital, a place admired by all. This must have been commissioned by the Demon King. It seems that this legend's importance in the Demon Nation may be even greater than outsiders imagine.

At the same time, Peacock's commentary also kept up.

"At that time, the Three Demons occupied Mount Qishan, and countless demons were killed or injured."

"To slay the three demons and avenge his own people, Your Majesty fled to Mount Qishan—and unexpectedly encountered an immortal outside the mountain!"

September 690, the first year of Tianshou (), Guandong.

Above the yellow-green forest, two figures flew over the mountains and headed straight into the depths of the forest.

"Brother Zhou, there is a demonic aura emanating from the forest ahead." Ye Qiansheng looked into the distance and said in a low voice.

"It looks quite big." Zhou Wuqing beside her nodded, "So the rumors in the mortal world must be true."

Not long ago, Empress Dowager Wu Zhao of the Tang Dynasty ascended the throne in front of the Zetian Gate Tower, changed the country's name to Zhou, changed the era name to Tianshou, and issued a general amnesty.

This is sensational news for both the mortal world and the world of immortal cultivation.

Although most of the time the monks did not interfere with the power changes within the royal family, when the memorial from the mortals came, it still aroused surprise in the Immortal Alliance.

A woman ascending the throne as emperor was unprecedented in thousands of years. Several meetings were held in the council hall for this purpose, and the discussion lasted for several days, which was rare.

Like previous emperors, Empress Wu Zetian held an altar to offer sacrifices to heaven and provided incense to the Jiuli Immortal Alliance on the first day of her accession to the throne. This was equivalent to announcing that the Wu Zhou royal family would still follow the old system of the Li Tang Dynasty and respect the Immortal Alliance.

As early as when she was the empress dowager, she continued to promote "encouraging agriculture and sericulture, reducing taxes and labor service", promoting the imperial examination system, and stabilizing people's livelihood in the country. After she ascended the throne, her policy strategies seemed to be no different from those when she was the empress dowager behind the scenes.

It is also for this reason that although some conservatives in the Immortal Alliance insisted that women were not suitable for the country and impeached him for appointing cruel officials, it ultimately ended in much ado about nothing.

Compared to the mortal world, the world of immortal cultivation is generally more open to differences between men and women. Under the Way of Heaven, all beings are equal. Through their practice, many female cultivators have ascended to powerful positions, and there are even a few female leaders of sects. Regardless of the various issues involved, it ultimately comes down to actual performance.

As far as mortal emperors were concerned, she couldn't compare to the legendary emperors like Emperor Taizong of Tang, but she could still be considered a qualified emperor. The discussion about the empress ended there, but another matter caught the attention of the Immortal Alliance.

According to the memorial submitted by the common people, before Empress Wu Zetian ascended the throne, her ministers reported that a phoenix flew into Shangyang Palace and then flew southeast, attracting tens of thousands of red sparrows to gather in the court. (Note 1)

This was seen as a sign of destiny by ordinary people, but in the eyes of the cultivators, demons inhabited all four regions of the Tang Dynasty, and the "Phoenix" was most likely a bird demon.

The demon race usually lives in the mountains and forests. Under the protection of the monks, these non-human species rarely set foot in the mortal world.

However, this bird demon suddenly flew into the imperial capital, especially at such a special time when the queen ascended the throne. It is hard not to be full of doubts.

After that, the Immortal Alliance immediately sent out several elite teams to investigate the situation of the demon tribes on all sides. They soon discovered that demon tribes were lurking near Mount Qishan. At the same time, there were frequent reports of people going missing in that area.

After hearing the whole story, Zhou Wuqing became quite interested in it, so he and Ye Qiansheng took on the task together, following the traces left by the phoenix into the hinterland to look for its traces.

After flying for several miles, the two arrived at a densely forested mountain. Wisps of demonic energy emerged from the trees, as conspicuous as beacon fires.

"This should be where the demon tribe lives." Ye Qiansheng looked around. "The aura is so mixed. If we go deeper, it will be difficult to find the bird demon."

"With so many demonic auras, it would be too troublesome to find them one by one." Zhou Wuqing said, "Just burn this mountain down. If the bird demon is still there, it will naturally come out."

"Brother Zhou, don't worry." Seeing him about to attack, Ye Qiansheng hurriedly said, "There are many creatures in this forest and the terrain is treacherous. If you act rashly, you might as well lead to other disasters. Why don't you let me try first? If it doesn't work, it's not too late to take action later."

As Ye Qiansheng spoke, she flipped her wrist and a jade flute appeared in her hand. She brought it to her lips and blew gently, and a graceful melody immediately spread through the forest.

A gentle breeze blew by, rustling the leaves on all sides, allowing the melodious flute sound to slowly pass through the woods.

Dozens of birds fluttered from the forest, circling around her. Amidst their chirping, her long hair and white clothes fluttered with the leaves, as if she were about to transform into a white bird and disappear into the air.

After a while, the song ended. Ye Qiansheng put down the jade flute and stared at the flock of birds flying in front of him, as if he was reading a secret letter. After pondering for a moment, he turned around and spoke to Zhou Wuqing behind him.

"According to the bird's direction, there is indeed a great monster in this mountain, but it seems dangerous. Brother Zhou, would you like to go with us to take a look?"

"Since I'm here, I have to see it." Zhou Wuqing glanced at the jade flute in her hand and said, "Your flute playing is quite interesting. When I have free time in the future, I will learn it and have fun."

"Since Brother Zhou is interested, I'll give you one when I get back."

Ye Qiansheng smiled sweetly and turned forward: "The big monster is ten miles to the north, Brother Zhou, please follow me."

The two flew side by side, going deep into Mount Qishan and passing through the jungle. Suddenly, a bloody smell rushed into their noses. Upon closer inspection, they found that there were demon corpses everywhere!
There were hundreds of demon corpses, stretching for dozens of miles in the mountains. A closer look revealed that there were demons of all races, and the most numerous among them were bird demons.

The feathers of those bird monsters were all red, exactly the same as those that appeared in front of the court.

Note 1: "Zizhi Tongjian·Tang Ji ": "In the first year of Tianshou, on September Wuyin, the ministers reported: "A phoenix flew from Mingtang into Shangyang Palace, and then gathered on the Wutong tree on the left platform. After a long time, it flew southeast; and tens of thousands of red sparrows gathered in the court."

(End of this chapter)