The Ultimate Divine Class-Chapter 437 - 358 Death of Gugu Bird_1
"...They surmised that the person might have been unable to resist the lure of the top-tier unique Treasures growing inside the Forbidden Volcano, venturing deep to pick them. As a result, he encountered a volcanic eruption, missing the best opportunity to evacuate..."
Yin Muqing bit her lips tightly, complex emotions flooding her face. Even though Ling Yu repeatedly emphasized the truth and accuracy of the news, she still found it hard to completely believe that the three-headed, six-armed man, as mighty as a Demon God, would perish so easily, dying in a volcanic eruption.
"...It’s normal for casualties to occur during Secret Realm exploration. The temperament of a Hidden Star is usually quite fragile and unstable, not matching their strength. This kind of thing has happened before."
Ling Yu sighed regretfully and said, "What a pity. If this man had not died and joined this operation, our Sum Country would have a much better chance of capturing the Phoenix Egg. The Distant Star Federation has completely abandoned all pretense. They even want to deploy the Ice God. Although this idea has been stopped by the council, it’s rumored they’re still submitting applications repeatedly, even threatening to unilaterally tear up the agreement...."
Yin Muqing didn’t say anything, looking around with a complicated expression. She and Ling Yu were currently at the edge of the Deep Fog Area. Ten kilometers ahead, a sea of fire was gradually spreading.
Within the sea of fire, dark red lava flowed wantonly. Looking down from a high altitude, it seemed as if Ash Mountain was slowly shedding its green fur, revealing the alternating red and black flesh underneath. Perhaps this was the original appearance of Ash Mountain, a thought that suddenly flashed through Yin Muqing’s mind.
At the edge of the encroaching flame-licked forest, a large number of Phoenix Bloodline natives were standing. These long-haired, red-skinned, humanoid natives were all kneeling on the ground. Led by figures of elder status within their tribe, they were continuously kowtowing towards the direction from which the flames swept, muttering something under their breath. As fire and lava washed over their bodies, scorching their skin, they didn’t choose to dodge. Their faces showed no pain but rather an expression of ecstasy. Their reverence was profound, as if this were some unparalleled honor for them.
There were several other teams like Yin Muqing’s in this area, but no one paid any mind to these Phoenix Bloodline natives. Everyone was waiting quietly, constantly checking the news and instructions relayed on their communicators. This was a joint deployment for the "Hunting Legend" operation. If the third hunting plan proceeded smoothly enough, the suspected Phoenix Creature carrying the Phoenix Egg would most likely pass through this location. Their job was to obstruct it when the Phoenix Egg arrived. Even if they couldn’t stop it, they had to drive it towards a predetermined direction to form an encirclement. They were like a part of a pocket being formed.
After a moment, the lava and flames had almost reached Yin Muqing’s feet. Just then, Ling Yu suddenly said urgently, "It’s here! Get ready!"
Yin Muqing’s expression turned solemn, and she swiftly drew her alloy long knife from her waist. Not long after, she felt an incredibly dense legendary aura and a dozen powerful energy fluctuations rising in the distance, rapidly heading towards them.
"CAW!"
A clear and melodious bird cry echoed from afar. A stunningly beautiful and graceful orange-red bird appeared in Yin Muqing’s vision. The bird clutched a colossal, snow-white egg to its chest, with a dozen figures closely following behind.
"Attack!" Ling Yu commanded in a low voice. Yin Muqing, with no time to think, executed a reverse-grip slash with her knife, striking out from a distance at the rapidly approaching orange-red bird.
"BOOM!"
The region instantly erupted with dozens of attacks, all targeting the same point. At the exact moment they collectively struck, the Phoenix Bloodline natives kneeling at the edge of the molten lava and flames suddenly cried out loudly. Each one, with an ecstatic expression, charged towards Yin Muqing and the others, launching an attack with a fearless, defend-to-the-death resolve.
"WHOOSH!"
Ling Yu casually swung his knife downwards, slicing a few of the charging Phoenix Bloodline natives in two. Watching as pitch-black figures emerged from the ashes of their corpses, Ling Yu frowned and snorted coldly, "I knew we should have cleared the area first..."
Of course, discussing this now was pointless. Fortunately, although the sudden uprising of the Phoenix Bloodline natives was unexpected, their strength was generally low. In front of the exploration team members qualified to participate in the hunt, they were insignificant and only caused a minor disturbance.
The barrage of attacks intended for containment still proved effective; the orange-red bird carrying the Phoenix Egg was impeded. Ling Yu and a few other powerful experts charged forward. After several more rounds of attacks, the magnificent orange-red bird suddenly went "BOOM!"... and exploded entirely!
Amidst the scattering golden-red rain of light, an orange shadow emerged. The crowned Gugu Bird, clutching a Phoenix Egg easily dozens of times larger than itself, flapped its wings rapidly. It transformed into a streak of white light, intending to break out of the encirclement.
"Stop it!" Seeing the suspected Phoenix Creature, which they had pursued and blockaded numerous times, finally reveal its true form, the morale of all the hunters surged.
Yin Muqing also took action. She remembered this bird. It was this very Gugu Bird that had once dangled a Phoenix Feather from its beak, making fools out of a large group of people, including her.
Then... Yin Muqing couldn’t help but recall Lu Yuan, the Demon Blade. It was because of this mysterious Gugu Bird before her that everyone had witnessed his true strength. He took on many by himself, defeated Matiss of Jilie Saber, wielded the Life-and-Death Earth Armament, and his fame skyrocketed, like a comet rising swiftly in the Secret Realm...
She hadn’t expected so much to change, for things and people to be so different, in such a short time.
Yin Muqing sighed lightly in her heart, not understanding why she was filled with so many emotions and sighs.
The dozen or so figures chasing the Phoenix Egg also quickly caught up. The Gugu Bird holding the Phoenix Egg was trapped in their encirclement. However, this palm-sized bird, whatever its origin, was incredibly fast. Dozens of experts, the weakest among them at least Tier Three, surrounded it, yet not a single one could touch it. All their attacks were dodged.
Just as the Gugu Bird was about to penetrate their encirclement—
"BOOM!"
A sound like rolling thunder suddenly tore through the air, followed by a second, and then a third...
Yin Muqing glanced up to see dozens of figures rushing in from all directions. The aura emanating from each figure was like a coiling dragon, soaring straight into the clouds. Among them were seven or eight Sky-level Mechas, and the rest were almost all renowned experts whose faces were familiar to Yin Muqing. Yang Nan, whom Ling Yu had mentioned previously, was among them.
With the arrival of these dozens of powerful individuals from various factions, the initially loose encirclement instantly tightened, becoming as impenetrable as an ironclad ring.
"FZZT! FZZT!"
Five Sky-level Mechas from the Distant Star Federation emerged, immediately firing a vast number of deep yellow beams. These interwoven beams instantly formed a gigantic, deep-yellow super Power Field, enveloping the Gugu Bird clutching the Phoenix Egg. The Gugu Bird, caught within the Power Field, was affected; its once nimble movements became considerably sluggish.
Then, all the Supernova and Modification System powerhouses, led by Orelsha, unleashed their ferocious energy attacks, descending like a great net to swiftly ensnare the Gugu Bird. Yin Muqing watched as the Gugu Bird darted left and right, bumping into unseen restraints, its beak letting out rapid ’GUGU’ chirps. However, it failed to find any viable escape route.
By the time the dense volley of attacks fell, the Gugu Bird managed to dodge a couple of times but inevitably collided with an energy beam... With a ’BANG!’ it exploded on the spot, bursting into a small shower of blood.
Watching a few shattered orange feathers float past her eyes, an inexplicable discomfort welled up in Yin Muqing’s heart, and her spirits sank further. She silently sheathed her alloy long knife, momentarily losing all will to fight.
With the death of the Gugu Bird, only the solitary, massive white egg remained.
The gazes of everyone present instantly grew fervent. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
The Phoenix Egg!
The legendary Phoenix Egg!
From it could very well hatch a true Phoenix, promising the name of the Immortal, the mystery of eternal life...
These thoughts swirled in everyone’s mind, and the atmosphere grew subtly tense.
However, just at this moment, under everyone’s watchful eyes, the unsupported Phoenix Egg abruptly began to move on its own. It moved with astonishing speed, even faster than the Gugu Bird had. In merely an instant, it pierced through the super Power Field conjured by the five Sky-level Mechas and, with a "SWISH," burst out from the encirclement.
Then, it astonishingly darted towards Yin Muqing, who was on the outer edge of the encirclement, and with a "PLOP!" landed right in her arms.
"Uh..."
All these changes happened so fast that no one on the scene, including Yin Muqing, could react in time. Yin Muqing, holding an egg almost half her size, stood rooted to the spot, completely stunned by the sudden, unforeseen turn of events, until Ling Yu’s yell snapped her out of her stupor.
"Run!!"
Yin Muqing snapped back to reality as if waking from a dream. The moment her senses returned, she saw at least twenty attacks whistling straight for her. Each attack was potent enough to obliterate her, a mere Tier Three, more than ten times over. Without a moment’s thought, Yin Muqing summoned all her strength and darted off in a random direction.
"BOOM!"
A deafening explosion resounded behind her. The terrifying energy shockwave scraped against her back, causing a searing pain, as if her battle suit had been torn to shreds.
"Hmph!"
Yin Muqing heard someone snort, followed by the roar of Mecha super engines and harsh, clashing sounds... Her Spiritual Power relayed the events unfolding behind her. She saw the forces of Sum Country—the Yellow Bear’s contingent, including Yang Nan, Ling Yu, and two Sky-level Mechas belonging to Sum Country—frantically blocking the other factions attempting to hunt her down.
However, the combined forces of the coalition, led by the Distant Star Federation, were incredibly powerful. Due to the vast disparity in strength, Sum Country’s defensive line was torn apart in mere moments. Yin Muqing saw Orelsha—cold-eyed, radiating killing intent, and adorned in Sky-level Armaments with golden metallic wings spread wide—rapidly closing the distance, accompanied by several other Sky-level Mechas. In the blink of an eye, the gap between them had shrunk.
Yin Muqing’s heart raced as overwhelming panic, helplessness, and the looming shadow of death enveloped her. She had no idea what to do. She didn’t even understand why the Phoenix Egg had suddenly leaped into her arms. She tried to discard the Phoenix Egg but found a powerful suction force emanating from it, latching her firmly to its surface.
Then, "BOOM!" The enormous Phoenix Egg, with Yin Muqing still stuck to it, abruptly changed direction and shot towards the depths of the Secret Realm!
Aah! Yin Muqing was completely carried along by the egg, her head buzzing, her mind a complete blank. She heard the unintelligible shouts of the Phoenix Bloodline natives from below. Then, one by one, they soared into the sky, fearlessly intercepting the pursuers behind her.
