Chapter 325 – The Legendary Phoenix

The blue shuttle reflected a gem-like sheen under the sunlight, resembling a gracefully curved deep-sea fish, quietly hovering over the ash-gray clearing.

The shuttle’s door opened, revealing a tall and upright figure.

Lu Yuan’s eyes flickered as he stepped forward to meet the new arrival.

The nano armor on his body automatically changed form, transforming from the casual outfit of a thin down jacket and jeans into a black tight-fitting combat suit.

“Long time no see!”

The handsome youth standing at the shuttle door greeted Lu Yuan with a cheerful smile.

Lu Yuan smiled slightly and sighed lightly, “I never expected it to be you picking me up.”

“I didn’t expect it either. The higher-ups told me to pick someone up, and it turns out to be you.”

The youth shrugged in response.

Lan Chen.

The newcomer was Lan Chen.

He was the one who, during Lu Yuan’s first encounter with the elephant deity emissary, secretly assisted from the shadows under the order of Yuwen Tong, the Flying Bear.

After the incident, Lu Yuan had noted him down as a “credit-seeker.”

Lu Yuan indeed didn’t expect that after receiving permission from Yuwen Tong to enter the secret realm of Embers Mountain, it would be him who came to take him there.

Was it because Lord Tong had no other subordinates to command?

It seemed like there really was no one else…

Lu Yuan followed Lan Chen onto his shuttle.

The shuttle gradually took off, and Lan Chen plopped down on a soft couch, motioning to Lu Yuan, “Sit anywhere you like, no need to be formal. Make yourself at home; we’ve got quite a journey ahead.”

Lan Chen had a carefree and unrestrained personality.

Lu Yuan didn’t stand on ceremony either, responding with a simple “Mm” before casually picking a spot to sit down.

As he occasionally glanced toward Lan Chen’s left chest area, he noticed the Flying Bear insignia. To his surprise, the small Golden Bear with wings now had an additional pair of wings attached at some point.

“You had a breakthrough?”

Lu Yuan asked, slightly surprised.

He slightly spread out his mental power to sense Lan Chen’s aura.

He discovered that Lan Chen’s mental power was indeed much stronger and more refined than before, according to the internal categorization standard of the Yellow Bear, he had reached the level of second-stage mental light.

“Yeah, after being stuck for so many years, it’s about time for a breakthrough…”

Lan Chen replied with mixed emotions, lacking any joy on his face and displaying a rather complex expression.

Sensing his fluctuating emotions, Lu Yuan’s heart stirred, and he uttered, “Embers Mountain?!”

Lan Chen glanced at him and nodded.

“Yes.

I had my breakthrough during the exploration of Embers Mountain…”

“But you don’t seem particularly happy about it.”

“If you had gone through what I did… you wouldn’t be happy about the breakthrough either…”

Lan Chen sighed, his eyes filled with melancholy and complexity.

“A lot of people died in that battle… Did you see the list of martyrs for Operation Eight?

If it hadn’t been for… my name would probably be on that list too.”

Lu Yuan’s expression turned more serious as he asked, “Is Embers Mountain really that dangerous?”

Lan Chen lifted his head to look at him, “What do you think about a legendary level secret realm? It’s many times more dangerous than you’d imagine. Embers Mountain has true Phoenix bloodline beings…”

“Phoenix bloodline?”

It was the first time Lu Yuan had heard the term, and he sat up a little straighter.

At that moment, the shuttle was buzzing through the clouds, with large amounts of white mist streaming past the windows beside them.

“Yes.

They are stronger and more troublesome than ordinary deity emissaries because they inherit some characteristics of the Phoenix, making them extremely hard to kill…

They have been reproducing in Embers Mountain for a long time and are highly aggressive towards us outsiders…”

Lan Chen spoke briefly, then added seriously, “But the most perilous parts of Embers Mountain aren’t these native bloodlines, but rather, those terrifying forbidden lands that still bear traces of the Phoenix’s residual power.

Sometimes what appears to be an ordinary pit can, in the next second, erupt with magma flames capable of melting Earth level Mecha…

Do you know what material Earth level Mecha is made of?…”

Lu Yuan remained silent, feeling a hint of fear from Lan Chen’s words.

These emotions slowly painted a partial picture of Embers Mountain in his mind.

Lu Yuan realized that he might have underestimated the term “legendary level secret realm.”

Perhaps it was because the Elephant Deity Secret Realm was called sub-legendary level, and he hadn’t felt much pressure while traversing through it.

But on second thought, only three supernova members had gone to the Elephant Deity Secret Realm, whereas Embers Mountain had triggered a joint operation by extraordinary organizations worldwide when it was previously opened.

So far, four supernova members had fallen there.

This showed that the danger levels between the two were indeed vastly different.

“Honestly, I’m puzzled as to why Lord Tong would permit you to go there?”

Lan Chen said with a bitter smile, “In a place like that, even level SS beings are cannon fodder, and level SSS beings have to tread carefully. You need at least third-stage combat power to be truly qualified for a certain degree of exploration and benefits. But the risk of falling is still high… What’s your current power evaluation level?”

Lu Yuan fell silent for a moment, then shook his head, “I don’t really know; it’s been a long time since my last evaluation…”

Lan Chen assumed Lu Yuan just didn’t want to disclose it because combat power levels are quite personal, so he didn’t press further. However, he still made some mental assessments about Lu Yuan’s capabilities.

But Lu Yuan genuinely didn’t know his current power level.

If he used Xilin, whom he had thrashed in the Elephant Deity Secret Realm, as a benchmark, he figured that in his normal state with [Three Flowers] active, he could probably fight Xilin to a standstill.

Switching to the Ming King Stance would allow him to crush Xilin effortlessly.

And if he activated his [Demon] form…

Even Lu Yuan couldn’t calculate that.

He had too many ways to boost his combat power. If he stacked several of these methods, his fighting strength would increase exponentially.

The potential of his multi-professional panel stacking was gradually being unlocked, and sometimes his power surges would even shock himself.

“This time, Embers Mountain will gather numerous experts from the combat power ranking. It’s a great chance to gauge where I currently stand…”

While Lu Yuan was lost in thought, Lan Chen seemed to lose interest in the conversation. He pulled out a bottle of liquor from somewhere and started drinking by the window, looking quite melancholic.

Not wanting to disturb him, Lu Yuan leaned back in his seat and casually browsed the Forum to pass the time.

The entrance to the Embers Mountain Secret Realm is located on the other side of this planet. Even traveling by shuttle, it would take them more than ten hours to reach it.

Lu Yuan was casually browsing posts when he suddenly received a series of messages.

Curious, he opened them and found they were from Lan Chen.

Surprised, he turned his head.

Lan Chen, sitting by the window across from him, nodded at him and said, “Some classified information from internal exploration teams. Take a look, but remember not to spread it around…”

Lu Yuan’s eyes lit up, and he quickly clicked on the messages to check them out.

There was a Secret Realm Map of Embers Mountain, with most of the regions depicted in black.

Only a small area in the lower-left corner was illuminated.

Despite being such a small area, it had at least forty red circles densely drawn in it.

Each red circle represented what Lan Chen had just mentioned-a “Forbidden Land.”

There were also marked areas indicating the activities of the Secret Realm natives.

Lu Yuan took a quick glance, committing the entire map to memory, and then continued viewing the material.

Following the map were several videos.

The first video showed a group of people surrounding and transporting a thumb-sized red fruit.

The fruit looked like an olive but was entirely crimson, resembling a piece of iron heated until it was translucent.

Its temperature was alarmingly high.

The exploration team used a black box to contain it, but within seconds the box was burned through by the fruit. As it dropped onto the ground, it immediately ignited a large patch of grass, generating such intense heat waves that people around it instinctively stepped back.

They tried several containers, but none could hold the fruit. Eventually, they succeeded in carrying it away by wrapping it in an oval, palm-sized leaf.

“Legendary level material?!”

Lu Yuan’s immediate reaction after watching the video was to wonder if the fruit was a legendary level material.

Judging by its extraordinary phenomenon, it seemed highly likely.

Unfortunately, he didn’t know which organization had taken it, making it almost impossible for him to obtain it.

The second video was just as astonishing, if not more so.

The camera angle was from a very distant location, with the lens zoomed in multiple times. It captured what appeared to be the mouth of a volcano in the distance.

Surrounded by countless streams of scarlet lava, there grew a small, golden plant with leaves that burned with flame.

“That’s definitely legendary level!” Lu Yuan was certain the moment he saw the small plant.

The golden plant appeared exceedingly extraordinary, even more remarkable than the previously seen fruit.

One glance and words like “myth” and “legend” instantly came to mind.

“No wonder all the extraordinary organizations spare no effort in exploring Embers Mountain Secret Realm the moment it opens, even at the cost of losing so many strong members…

This secret realm is practically an untapped mythical treasure trove, filled with wondrous items everywhere!

It’s possible that the secret of the Phoenix’s immortality is hidden somewhere within this place…”

Just watching the videos made Lu Yuan feel an urgent and fervent excitement. He could only imagine how those who witnessed these wondrous items firsthand must have felt.

Lan Chen might have spoken of fear, but his willingness to continue the exploration demonstrated that there indeed existed immense opportunities in Embers Mountain capable of granting someone a rebirth.

“Whoo-“

Lu Yuan exhaled slowly, calming his racing heart.

He then clicked on the last video that Lan Chen had sent.

As the video began to play, a dazzling fiery red scene filled the screen.

Lu Yuan’s pupils constricted sharply, and he finally couldn’t hold back his excitement, blurting out, “The legendary Phoenix?!”

“I don’t know.”

Lan Chen’s voice came through his ears. He didn’t seem surprised by Lu Yuan’s reaction.

“We can only say it’s a possibility. After all, no one has ever seen a real Phoenix; it’s a mythical creature that exists only in legends.”

Lu Yuan remained silent, staring blankly at the screen.

The footage was quite blurry, likely affected by some wave of evil energy.

However, it was still possible to make out a large bird enveloped in orange flames, elegantly gliding through the sky.

After the flaming bird flew away, the video abruptly showed several figures soaring upward, chasing after the Phoenix.

The video then abruptly cut off.

“What happened next?” Lu Yuan asked, still eager for more information, turning immediately to Lan Chen. “Did they ever find this supposed Phoenix?”

Lan Chen shook his head, “No, they didn’t. Not only that, but many people died in the attempt…

In the most recent list of martyrs, Kang Jiancheng, who was ranked fifty-third on the supernova ranking, died in the Phoenix incident.”

Lan Chen paused here, frowning as he continued, “Actually, this supposed Phoenix has appeared several times before, each time resulting in significant casualties.

Aren’t legends supposed to say that seeing a Phoenix brings good fortune?

I suspect it’s not a Phoenix at all, but rather an evil creature adept at disguise, spreading disaster and misfortune wherever it goes…”