Chapter 298 – Heart of the Feathered Serpent Deity, Rebirth as a Knife Seller in Jiaoyan

Jiaoyan Central Park.

A gentle breeze stirred, causing the surface of the artificial lake to shimmer with a delightful golden hue.

On a nearby bench, a young man sat quietly.

He wore an off-white sweater and brown pants, his head bowed as he intently read a thick, black leather-bound book.

The lazy winter sun draped over him, casting a soft golden glow on his silky mid-length black hair and fair, handsome face, creating a peaceful and picturesque scene reminiscent of an oil painting.

“…When He senses that His life is nearing its end, He will gather fragrant twigs and leaves to build His final nest at the quiet volcano’s crater.

At the moment of death, He will spread His wings, invoking the power of the volcano, igniting the nest to be reborn in the orange flames, once again evading the call of the underworld…

Some say He eternally resides in the Sun Palace, atop a Throne forged of gold, with every feather shimmering with eternal light.

Some say He often walks the earth in the guise of a poet, cradling a golden harp, his mouth filled with beautiful and enchanting songs.

Others say His image is engraved on the thirty-seventh pillar of the demon god, with wings as black as pitch, and each beat of His wings could engulf a world in black ashes…”

Lu Yuan closed the book, his eyes still filled with various legends and information about the Phoenix.

He squinted and looked up at the sun before lowering his gaze, noticing a girl with a sketchpad glancing at him from the nearby lawn.

Lu Yuan smiled at her, then lowered his head and continued contemplating his thoughts.

It had been two weeks since he returned from Penglai.

These days had passed like those of an ordinary person, as calm as the winter lake in front of him.

Yet, occasionally, he could still feel the ripples from the outside world.

Lu Yuan habitually opened the Yellow Bear’s internal Forum.

A quick glance revealed that most of the posts were about the legendary level secret realm-Embers Mountain.

One of the nine legendary secret realms, “Embers Mountain,” officially opened nearly two weeks ago, but its popularity shows no signs of waning; in fact, it seems to be intensifying.

“Opening a legendary secret realm requires immense human and material resources, and the exploration difficulty is extremely high. So, each time a legendary secret realm is opened, the exploration process is quite lengthy.

The duration can be as short as six months, or as long as three to five years.

It seems that recently another batch from the mystic deity group has been dispatched, including Song Cong and Zhou Ling, I suppose…”

Lu Yuan’s slender, fair fingers gently traced the cover of the black leather book, his eyes flickering as he pondered silently.

To be honest, he also wanted to go.

The Phoenix Feather in the merit shop, with an exchange price of ten billion, had always caught his eye.

This Phoenix Feather was said to come from the Embers Mountain secret realm.

There were only two in the whole world, one in the Xia State, and the other in the Distant Star Federation.

Due to its association with the mythical immortality of the Phoenix, Embers Mountain had been the most frequently opened secret realm among the nine legendary secret realms.

Everyone was eager for the secrets of “immortality” it might contain, but unfortunately, no groundbreaking research results had been announced so far.

“Xiao Rui said that the existing two Phoenix Feathers might not necessarily be genuine Phoenix Feathers. After all, the two feathers were merely mysterious feathers obtained from Embers Mountain, and the name ‘Phoenix Feather’ was just a title imposed upon them.

The exploration progress of Embers Mountain has not even exceeded ten percent, so the probability of the feathers being fake is very high. This makes it all the more necessary for me to explore it myself…”

Lu Yuan didn’t consider himself superior to all the extraordinary organization members worldwide combined.

But then again…

What if?

What if he had incredible luck and actually found a real feather?

He still had a Hundred-eyed Nether Crow Feather in his possession after all, and as the saying goes, “universal gravitation, the Pythagorean theorem…”

What if different feathers had some sort of mutual attraction?

One could never be too sure about these things.

During this period, Lu Yuan had been diligently researching information related to the Phoenix in preparation.

However, entering such a secret realm wasn’t something he could just decide to do at will.

Lu Yuan had tentatively asked Yuwen Tong several times, but she always refused, citing the high casualty rate inside and telling him to wait a bit longer.

Lu Yuan sighed softly and stood up from the bench, holding his black leather book.

The girl who had been sneakily drawing him from a distance quickly stood up upon seeing this. She abandoned her sketchpad and ran towards him, clutching a mobile phone.

Lu Yuan sped up slightly, his entire figure fading into the mist and out of sight on the grassy lawn, leaving the girl standing there bewildered, questioning whether this silent encounter was just a dream on a winter morning.

As he exited the park, the constant noise of car horns reached his ears.

Lu Yuan walked leisurely along the long street, his eyes glinting as he pulled up another set of information.

“…Sky Wrath Quetzalcoatl, the supreme deity in Aztec mythical legend who controls the sky and the shifts in the air…

He rules the morning star, invented writing and books, and brought abundance to the world.

He also represents death and destruction…”

[The deity who governs the sky.

Serve you with the purest malice.

With blade forged from wind and morning dew, cut open my chest.

Shape my liver and intestines into the form of feathers.

Grant your loyal follower a brand-new heart.

Their skins will transform into red and green mist under this strength.]

Lu Yuan had once obtained a mysterious stone slab from the Hawk Protector of the evil martial alliance, which purportedly contained the treasure of the predecessor before last Evil Emperor.

The slab had once released a winged, transparent serpent monster with emissary level strength.

Lu Yuan deciphered the text on the stone slab.

After the battle in Penglai, where he unified the evil martial alliance, he combined the information from the slab and confirmed…

The so-called “Evil Emperor’s treasure” was actually linked to a legendary treasure known as the “heart of the feathered serpent deity.”

“It is said that this heart is hidden within Sky Wrath, one of the nine legendary secret realms.”

“The predecessor before last Evil Emperor of the evil martial alliance allegedly discovered another entrance to Sky Wrath…”

“Right now, everyone’s focus is on the exploration of Embers Mountain, making it the perfect time for me to explore Sky Wrath alone…” Lu Yuan calculated in his mind.

Exploring alone meant that all the gains were his alone, but he would also bear the risk of facing the terrifying dangers of a legendary level secret realm on his own.

The Embers Mountain exploration had been ongoing for two weeks, with reports of a high casualty rate. Even the Flying Bear General had been sent back for a ‘rebuild.’

For someone of his stature, entering Sky Wrath wasn’t just about whether he could find the heart of the feathered serpent deity-it was also a question of whether he could even come out alive.

Moreover, the exact location of the entrance remained under search.

Lu Yuan had almost all his men from the evil martial alliance dispatched to find it.

This was when having a ‘private army’ paid off.

Otherwise, he would have to rely on Yellow Bear’s strength, which would be impossible to conceal.

Lu Yuan stopped under a bus stop sign, and after timing it right, boarded an arriving bus.

Twenty minutes later, he got off at his home stop.

He then slowly walked towards his house.

The result of the battle in Penglai, from the outside, seemed like just the death of a Great Grandmaster among the Five Elders, reducing them to the Four Elders.

And it marked the end of Lord of Heaven Wu Chao’s era.

But only Lu Yuan knew that Penglai’s splendor was no more.

Although nominally still under pure martial artist autonomy, in reality, Penglai was now under Yellow Bear’s control.

The Hutian secret realm was turned upside down by the people Xiao Rui brought; they not only copied all the information Wu Chao had left behind but also sealed off the entire secret realm.

However, there was one consideration on the brighter side: everything inside was converted into corresponding merit points as a reward for Lu Yuan’s ‘capture of Penglai.’

He was even allowed to keep some things he personally wanted.

Initially, Lu Yuan craved merit points.

But after hearing what Xiao Rui had to say on Martial Saint Island and chatting with Yuwen Tong afterward…

Lu Yuan was now a jumble of confusion and hesitation.

“Sliced Noodles! Sliced Noodles! Delicious sliced noodles!”

After taking only a few steps, Lu Yuan heard the exaggerated shouts piercing the air beside him.

Lu Yuan turned his gaze, expressionless.

What he saw was a newly opened noodle restaurant called “Rebirth: Selling Sliced Noodles in Jiaoyan.”

It was an ordinary noodle restaurant, but it had become quite extraordinary due to its explosive name and the two “remarkable-looking” proprietors.

The person standing at the door, shouting enthusiastically, was a horse-faced middle-aged man in a gray down jacket, greeting every passerby with a full, warm smile.

Inside the shop, an old man with a hooked nose, wearing an apron and sleeve covers, was tirelessly slicing noodles into a pot.

Lu Yuan slowly walked over.

The horse-faced middle-aged man at the door immediately greeted him with over-the-top enthusiasm, “Hey, handsome! Want some noodles?”

“I’ll have a stir-fried sliced noodles,” Lu Yuan responded casually as he walked in and sat at a table deep inside the shop.

Before long, both the horse-faced middle-aged man at the door and the hooked-nose old man slicing noodles leaned over, their backs to the door, and respectfully whispered, “Emperor.”

Yes, that’s right.

This oddly-named noodle restaurant was run by none other than the evil martial alliance’s Lin Protector, the horse-faced man, and Hawk Protector, the hooked-nose old man.

These two were currently the top eagle lackeys under his title as “God Emperor.”

Ever since he returned from Penglai, they had been sticking to him like glue, saying it was to conveniently perform their servitude.

Lu Yuan thought it over and agreed that having a couple of bodyguards near his home wasn’t such a bad idea, serving as an additional layer of security for his family.

So, he allowed them to open a small shop on the street as a cover.

Hence, the sliced noodle restaurant was born.

As for why they chose such an explosive name, Lu Yuan had asked.

Their response was: “Under God’s Emperor’s reign, the deity alliance is as if reborn, and we, your humble servants, too feel reborn…”

(Clap, clap!)

This flattery was certainly unique.

“Quick, go make the Emperor’s noodles!” After the greetings, Lin Protector immediately urged Hawk Protector to cook the noodles, while he respectfully stood in front of Lu Yuan to report the situation.

“…Just got word that Old Lei has got a lead on the entrance to the Evil Emperor’s treasure. It’s said to be within the grounds of a small sect called the Feathered Deity Sect. Old Lei and the others faced some obstruction there, but Xiao Rou is leading reinforcements to support them. We expect things to be resolved soon…”

Ever since cozying up to Lu Yuan, Lin Protector’s demeanor had become much more confident. He now casually referred to Protector Lei and Protector Rou as “Old Lei” and “Xiao Rou,” names he used to utter with fear.

Lu Yuan nodded and asked about some other matters.

Lin Protector answered each question in detail.

Soon enough, Hawk Protector, wearing an apron, came over with a large bowl of sliced noodles.

Before Lu Yuan could reach for it, Lin Protector quickly pulled out two chopsticks from the holder on the table and meticulously wiped them on his clothes before respectfully handing them to Lu Yuan.

“Emperor, please enjoy your meal.”

Lu Yuan took a deep breath, suppressing his sense of helplessness.

He nodded and began eating.

He had to admit, Hawk Protector’s sliced noodles were quite good.

Originally from the North’s Eagle Claw Style, Hawk Protector had further enhanced his skills after acquiring the power of the evil deity from a sect called the Eagle Deity Sect.

The noodles he made were smooth, chewy, and well-seasoned.

It was relatively early, but Lu Yuan had noticed that the shop was usually quite busy during regular mealtimes.

Apparently, just a few days ago, they had quietly made it onto a local Jiaoyan “must-eat” food list. Occasionally, small-time influencers would come by with their cameras to feature the place.